Chapter 61 She harbored murderous intent. "You should be glad you're your senior sister's child..."

Qi Baitong met Li Yuheng's gaze with neither arrogance nor servility, her eyes showing no sign of backing down.

“I remember you used to be the most disciplined, always listening to instructions with your eyes down. Now you dare to look directly at your master’s face. Do you think you have your sister as your backer? Do you think I can’t touch you?” Li Yuheng’s tone was mocking, his eyes cold and sharp.

Qi Baitong remained expressionless and said indifferently, "Others are none of my concern; I have only one master."

He used to be meek and submissive, not out of servility, but because he didn't care how he lived. Now it's different; everything he has and his future belong to Gu Shanyue.

He bowed down only to her; what did anyone else matter?

"Lord Qi, have you forgotten your place, or have you overestimated your position in my sister's heart?" Li Yuheng stood up slowly, casually dusted off his sleeves, and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "You heard everything that day on the boat, didn't you? My sister chose you to die. Don't you understand? You will never be as important to her as me. I can make her come down the mountain to buy me pastries with just a word. When I'm sick, she will put aside all her unhappiness and take care of me without taking off her clothes. You've seen and heard it with your own eyes and ears. Are you still deceiving yourself?"

Qi Baitong's calm and unwavering eyes flickered. He was afraid of nothing, but Li Yuheng's words struck his only weakness.

“These things have nothing to do with me,” Qi Baitong said in a low voice.

He could suppress any emotion, he could endure anything, as long as he could stay by Gu Shanyue's side.

But the calmer he was, the more he angered Li Yuheng.

"None of your business? I've never seen anyone as shameless as you. Do you have to stick to her like a leech?" Li Yuheng questioned, his eyes blazing with anger. He grabbed Qi Baitong's collar. "She's mine! You're just a lowly rat stealing someone else's treasure! She's mine! Mine!"

Qi Baitong was shaken by him, and slowly raised her eyes, her gaze calm as still water: "She doesn't belong to anyone."

"Is that so? You're playing the saint again," Li Yuheng scoffed, sneering hatefully. "Dare you say that all those underhanded tricks you've been up to aren't for your sister? Don't you want her?"

Qi Baitong remained calm and composed: "I am hers."

Gu Shanyue belongs to no one. He never aspires to possess the moon. He only ever chases after the moonlight.

Li Yuheng was stunned for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. After laughing, his face became even more sinister.

"That sounds so sweet, is that all you're going to say to fool her? How could someone as innocent as my sister have fallen for a despicable and shameless person like you!"

Qi Baitong's lips curled slightly, feeling absurd, and she said sarcastically, "She shouldn't have met me, but you personally delivered me to her side."

Li Yuheng was speechless, his eyes filled with a dark, turbulent light, and in the end, only resentment remained.

“I know Lord Qi is stubborn. Since he won’t listen to reason, I’ll just have to let him experience the power of the Needle-Piercing Gu.”

Li Yuheng's eyes sharpened, and he took out a small silver bell wrapped in the shape of a flower from his sleeve, unlocking the clasp.

With a "ding," the silver bell tumbled down, like a small silver waterfall cascading down.

As the rapid ringing of bells rang out, Qi Baitong's expression suddenly changed, and an unnatural red flush rose to her cheeks.

Yinling's voice was urgent. His blood surged, his throat tasted metallic, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His face instantly turned from red to white, as pale as paper.

Li Yuheng took two steps back, glancing with disgust at the blood splattered on his boots.

Qi Baitong gritted his teeth and made a move, trying to snatch the silver bell.

Bai Yan kicked him over, and at the same time, the silver bells rang loudly. The Gu worms in Qi Baitong's body went crazy, biting and entangled him, and the muscles in his arms visibly bulged out strange fleshy lumps.

Li Yuheng kept shaking the silver bell, looking down at him from his high position.

"Why is Lord Qi so silent? He was just speaking so eloquently a moment ago, but now he's lying on the ground like a dog?"

He laughed loudly. Qi Baitong was speechless, his body stiff and curled up, trembling uncontrollably. In a short while, his clothes on his back were completely soaked.

With a glance from Li Yuheng, Bai Yan picked up the lacquered white tung tree and headed deep into the bamboo forest. Li Yuheng followed with light steps, eagerly chasing after it and ringing his silver bell.

Qi Baitong was thrown to the ground, bamboo leaves flying everywhere. His limbs twitched stiffly as he endured unimaginable pain.

Looking at his miserable state, Li Yuheng felt extremely pleased: "Lord Qi, as long as you promise never to come near my sister again, the silver bell will stop immediately."

Qi Baitong shook his head vigorously, large beads of sweat falling from his forehead, and squeezed out bloody words from between his teeth.

"No……"

He would rather die than leave Gu Shanyue.

"Well done, well done!" Li Yuheng clapped his hands, the silver bells jingling rapidly, and grinned maliciously, "You think I don't know what you used to win my sister's favor?"

"Relying on this face, is that it?"

Li Yuheng took two steps forward, his boots stomping directly on Qi Baitong's pale face, grinding them hard until blood trickled from his lips.

“Perhaps not,” Li Yuheng shook his head, revealing his canine teeth with a smile, his eyes chilling. “It’s because of your teeth, because your canine teeth look like mine, that’s why my sister only glanced at you. You’re just a clumsy and lowly imitation, so she will always choose me, understand?”

Qi Baitong's mind was in turmoil. It was just physical pain, which he could endure, just like every time before.

But why did his heart also clench and throb, as if a violent wave of pain was about to explode overwhelming him?

Li Yuheng, carrying a silver bell, kicked Qi Baitong's face without mercy, his voice gloomy: "Knock out his teeth."

Bai Yan immediately took out a rope and tied up the trembling Qi Baitong.

With a clang, the long sword was drawn, a sound that momentarily cleared the mind of the confused Qi Baitong.

The blade was closing in rapidly; with one slash, not only would it slice off teeth, but it would probably also slice off half of the face.

Qi Baitong struggled to retreat, but Bai Yan grabbed the rope, leaving him nowhere to go, and stabbed him hard with his knife.

A strong wind suddenly arose, and the sound of swords clashing was so sharp it made one's teeth ache.

The long sword clattered to the ground, and the white inkstone flew backward, crashing into the bamboo forest and scattering bamboo leaves everywhere.

A breeze blew, and Gu Shanyue's clothes fluttered lightly.

Her face was as cold as ice and snow, and her gaze swept over the shrunken white tung tree on the ground.

His hands were tightly bound, his body was twisted in an abnormal and bizarre way, his muscles were tangled and his tendons were disordered, and blood was streaming down his pale face. He still managed to raise his head and smile at her, trying to call her name, but only blood came out of his mouth.

Gu Shanyue didn't say a word, but turned to look at Li Yuheng.

That was a look Li Yuheng was very familiar with. When he was traveling the martial world, Gu Shanyue would use those eyes, devoid of any emotion, to draw his sword and kill people when they offended him or when his enemies attacked him.

Gu Shanyue had never looked at him like that before.

Li Yuheng's heart sank suddenly, his hand trembled, the silver bell fell to the ground with a sharp sound, and Qi Baitong then spat out a mouthful of blood.

Gu Shanyue walked towards him with her sword in hand. Li Yuheng was terrified, tears welling in his eyes: "Sister, it's me, Yu'er!"

Gu Shanyue ignored him and continued forward.

Li Yuheng shook his head, his expression a mixture of shock and anger: "You're going to kill me for him?"

Gu Shanyue drew his sword and slashed. Li Yuheng held his breath and closed his eyes tightly, but the expected pain did not come.

He opened his eyes, and a piece of his wide robe and long sleeves was cut off, fluttering to the ground.

The silver bell on the ground that controlled the Gu worms was reduced to dust.

"Sister, what do you mean by this...?"

Could it be a sign of severing ties and breaking off relations?

When Li Yuheng looked up, Gu Shanyue didn't even glance at him, as if he were a crooked bamboo in the forest, not worth her attention.

"Sister, sister..."

Li Yuheng chased after him, but Gu Shanyue flicked his wrist and struck him in the chest with his sword sheath.

Li Yuheng cried out in pain and immediately collapsed to the ground, suffering excruciating chest pain.

But compared to the pain, the overwhelming panic weighed heavily on him, making it even harder for him to breathe.

This was the first time Gu Shanyue had laid a hand on him.

"Sister!" Li Yuheng called out to her unwillingly, "Gu Shanyue!"

Her chest ached from shouting, and she coughed incessantly. Gu Shanyue stopped in her tracks. Hope welled up in Li Yuheng's eyes, and he reached out to grab her hem. "Sister, I can explain, sister..."

But Gu Shanyue didn't turn around, her voice cold: "You should be glad that you are your senior sister's child."

After saying that, she cut the rope, helped Qi Baitong up, and carried him away in her arms.

Li Yuheng was in a daze, but he understood the implied meaning in Gu Shanyue's words.

She had murderous intent.

Because of Qi Baitong, she harbored murderous intentions towards him.

Suddenly, Qi Baitong turned around, her black hair disheveled and her tired eyelids half-covering her pupils, as if she didn't even have the strength to open her eyes. Yet, she accurately caught Li Yuheng's direction, and a smile slowly curled up at the corner of her bloodied mouth.

Amidst the crimson expanse, a glimpse of a pristine white tiger's tooth tip peeks out.

He is provoking us.

Realizing this, a belated anger surged to his head, accompanied by a rush of blood.

She abandoned him for the sake of a white zither.

Li Yuheng pressed his chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsed to the ground, and laboriously reached out his hand to Gu Shanyue.

But from beginning to end, Gu Shanyue never looked back at him.

Gu Shanyue led Qi Baitong back to the courtyard quickly, just as they bumped into Lu Ya, who had come to deliver food.

"His needle-threading gu has been triggered, and he's also suffered some external injuries. You need to take a look at him quickly." Gu Shanyue's face was very pale.

Lu Ya was startled and immediately followed, helping to settle the person on the bed and examining him.

Although the silver bell sound had stopped, Qi Baitong's condition hadn't improved much. Judging from the root-like protrusions on her body, the Gu worms were still active, though not as active as before. Qi Baitong's stiff body could only barely lie flat.

“His condition is very bad. The external injuries are secondary; the main problem is that the Gu worms in his body have become active. If there is no antidote, I'm afraid it will be difficult to calm him down,” Lu Ya frowned, looking troubled. He then asked, “Who injured him? No outsiders have entered or left the mountain. Could someone have secretly infiltrated?”

Gu Shanyue's expression darkened further, and he uttered three words: "Li Yuheng."

Lu Ya stared wide-eyed at Qi Baitong's miserable state, speechless with astonishment.

He thought he had encountered an enemy, but he never imagined that Li Yuheng had injured him so badly. How could a sickly person who always smiled and called her "sister" be so... vicious?

Thinking back to the conflict he had with Li Yuheng at Zhuoguang Mountain, and looking at the white tung tree in front of him, Lu Ya couldn't help but feel a chill.

Fortunately, Gu Shanyue had no feelings for him, otherwise he would probably have ended up in the same situation.

Silence fell over the room. Only Qi Baitong's weak breathing rose and fell. Gu Shanyue wiped the dust and blood off his face with her own hands. His face was even paler than she had imagined. There were also small wounds on his cheeks, from which blood slowly seeped out.

Lu Ya was still lost in thought when Gu Shanyue threw down his handkerchief and said solemnly, "Prepare the horses."

Lu Ya was startled: "You're taking him to the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers and Butterflies?"

Gu Shanyue nodded, his gaze fixed firmly and brightly on the white lacquer-coated paulownia tree: "His life is mine, and no one can touch it."