Chapter 212 Life and Death Without Blame (Part 9)

The cold moon hangs high, casting swaying shadows of trees.

The West Garden wasn't large, but its defensive formations were extremely complex. Jiang Gu investigated for a long time before finding the loophole Yu'er had mentioned. He raised his hand, and a palm-sized wooden puppet jumped down from his palm and floated lightly inside.

The formation fluctuated for a moment, then quickly returned to calm.

Inside the room, Qu Fengyu looked at the little wooden puppet that squeezed in through the door with some curiosity. She reached out to grab it, but the puppet nimbly dodged her and bowed to her in an old-fashioned manner: "Fellow Daoist Qu, please trouble yourself to open the seal on the puppet."

Qu Fengyu squatted down and looked at it, admiringly saying, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, you are truly cautious. You don't even let your divine sense touch the array. No wonder you have lived for so long."

The seal remained unbroken, and the little wooden puppet stared at her motionless. It had a round head and beady black eyes, and its clothes were exquisite and cute, emitting a faint fragrance that made one want to touch it.

Qu Fengyu deftly opened the seal on it and casually touched it. Suddenly, a pitch-black ghost mark burrowed into her heart. She was startled and hurriedly tried to intercept the ghost mark, but she was still a moment too late. The ghost mark had already firmly attached itself to her primordial spirit.

"Fellow Daoist Qu, please forgive me." Jiang Gu's indifferent voice came from the little wooden puppet, "The cultivator Wangyue is cunning and treacherous. I need to verify your identity."

Qu Fengyu laughed through gritted teeth: "I never thought I'd hear Seventh Young Master say that others are cunning and treacherous."

If it weren't for the fact that this little wooden puppet was too cute and that the ghost patterns inside were full of Wei Feng's aura, she would never have fallen for Jiang Gu's trick. But all sorts of coincidences just happened to come together, making it impossible to guard against.

"You flatter me." The little wooden puppet brushed off the fragrance from its sleeve.

Qu Fengyu finally realized: "No wonder it looks so cute, it turns out it's using fox clan charm magic."

"Is there any news about the Golden Spirit Pagoda?" Jiang Gu skipped over the topic.

Qu Fengyu sat cross-legged on the ground and said, "I overheard someone mention in the Tower of Life and Death that the Golden Spirit Tower is where Wang Yue and her group create artificial children, but I don't think it's that simple. By the way, the paper dolls in the auction house seem to really want to enter the Golden Spirit Tower."

"What do you think of Song Chongshi?" Jiang Gu asked again.

Qu Fengyu curled his lip in disdain: "This child seems to be born with congenital deficiencies, as if he's been soaking in a medicine pot."

"He ranked first in the trial realm of Yin Yang Tower," Jiang Gu said, "but he died in the second realm."

Qu Fengyu pondered for a moment: "You suspect he has been resurrected?"

Jiang Gu said, "If the spirit is distracted for too long and does not return to the body, it will be extremely difficult to adapt once it returns to the body, and it will need medicinal herbs to regulate it."

Qu Fengyu instantly understood his meaning and said, "If this is not an isolated case, then the Golden Spirit Pagoda may very well contain a large number of the avatars of Moon Gazing cultivators?"

The little wooden puppet nodded.

Qu Fengyu gasped, "This is...too bizarre."

"Why did Song Chongshi bring you to Shuncheng?" Jiang Gu looked up at her.

Qu Fengyu felt a sense of oppression as the little wooden puppet stared at her. She laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, I am not a prisoner in your secret cell."

“The Ghost Mark was given to me by Wei Feng,” Jiang Gu said calmly. “There are many ways to control you.”

Qu Fengyu fell silent for a long time before letting out a bitter laugh: "He doesn't seem to mind."

Jiang Gu might kill her at any time, but Wei Feng wouldn't. Even though they only had a faint blood relationship, Qu Fengyu was so certain, and even Jiang Gu thought so. She was just a little surprised that Jiang Gu would agree to Wei Feng's request.

Jiang Gu did not explain. Qu Fengyu wiped his face and stood up, a red mark appearing on his palm. He said, "I realized that Wu Hezhi was not right too late. In desperation, I secretly formed a Daoist partnership with him."

“I’ve been waiting for him to do it willingly. Who would have thought that the Daoist partnership would be for the sake of saving his life?” She smiled self-deprecatingly. “I used some methods, and he hasn’t discovered them yet, but it should be soon. This is the condition I gave Song Chongshi. As long as he can rescue me, he can use me to threaten Wu Hezhi. After all, Shunni Tower, Qiankun Tower, and Shengsi Tower have always been at odds.”

"Find a way to get Song Chongshi to take you into the Golden Spirit Pagoda," Jiang Gu said. "Someone's coming."

The little wooden puppet fell silent instantly. Just as Qu Fengyu threw the puppet into the storage bag, Song Chongshi pushed open the door and entered.

Outside the West Garden, Jiang Gu silently blended into the night.

The next morning, he entered the West Garden openly and legitimately.

"I heard that young lady is choosing personal maids," Yu'er whispered beside him. "I wonder if we'll be chosen."

A quarter of an hour later, Yu'er looked at Jiang Gu, who had been chosen, and her face turned somewhat ugly. As Jiang Gu was leaving, she quickly stopped him and said, "Sister Ling'er, everyone knows that you are in love with Young Master Song. Her request for you is probably just a way to make things difficult for you."

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, Wei Feng's primordial spirit had just landed when he heard the hushed voice and raised an eyebrow.

Sister Ling'er?

Is she in love with Young Master Song?

who?

Jiang Gu glanced at Yu'er indifferently: "It's alright."

Yu'er was still unwilling to give up. In desperation, she grabbed his sleeve and said, "Sister Ling'er, I can help you get rid of her."

"Using the loopholes in the formation you mentioned?" Jiang Gu looked at her with an ambiguous expression. "It must have been quite an achievement for you to create a Soul-Devouring Formation from among so many powerful formations."

Last night, he didn't rush into the formation because the so-called loophole wasn't as simple as it seemed. In addition, after thinking about what Qu Fengyu had said earlier, he realized that Yu'er's identity was not simple. The other party lured "Ling'er" to this Soul Devouring Formation to die, probably to make something impossible to prove.

Yu'er's expression changed slightly. "You are not Ling'er."

"Are you Yu'er?" Jiang Gu looked at her calmly. "The medicinal herbs I brought back are not the same as those that were sent in. Miss Yu'er, or should I call you Master Wu?"

Yu'er—or rather, Wu Hezhi—seen a darkening in his expression, his palm crackling with spiritual energy, and asked in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you?"

Jiang Gu smirked, "It's not worth it for you to make a move on Shunlou's turf."

Wu Hezhi said, "Killing you would be more than enough for me."

“I can take you to see Qu Fengyu,” Jiang Gu said. “I can also help you kill Song Chongshi.”

Wu Hezhi narrowed his eyes and then heard him say, "You don't want to get involved, and you can't alert anyone in Shunni Tower. I can be the scapegoat, but in return, you help me get into the Golden Spirit Tower."

Wu He asked, "Are you Wei Feng? Or Jiang Gu?"

Jiang Gu replied without changing his expression, "Wei Feng."

In his mind's eye, Wei Feng touched his face. He had almost forgotten Jiang Gu's ability to lie. He could deceive people without even blinking an eye. Sure enough, the next second he heard Wu Hezhi say, "It really is you. Apart from you, no one in this entire Wangyue cares about Qu Fengyu's life or death. Aren't you afraid I'll kill her?"

"Can you?" Jiang Gu asked instead of answering.

Wu Hezhi was immediately filled with resentment. He should have just killed her. By the time he realized that he had been secretly bound to a Daoist partner, Qu Fengyu had already been taken to Shunlou. This woman was indeed shrewd. If he hadn't had that shred of pity and let her die in the Life and Death Tower, he would definitely not be alive now. Not to mention that now, in order to avoid alerting her, he had to proceed cautiously on Shunni Tower's territory.

"What are you doing in the Golden Spirit Tower? Are you going to have Jiang Gu's child?" Wu Hezhi asked.

"..." Jiang Gu was silent for a moment. He really couldn't figure out Wei Feng's reaction to these words. He even thought that Wei Feng would actually nod.

Wu Hezhi smiled knowingly and said, "You are indeed deeply in love with Jiang Gu. Out of consideration for our past relationship, I will help you with this favor."

Jiang Gu glanced at him, then turned and went into the courtyard.

While Qu Fengyu was still dealing with Song Chong, he stopped in the corridor in front of the door, and his primordial spirit sank into his sea of ​​consciousness, where he saw Wei Feng, whose face was red with embarrassment.

Sure enough, I heard it.

Jiang Gu pretended not to notice and asked in confusion, "Why are you here again?"

“We’ve got eighteen cages. Jiang Xiangyun has decided to split into two groups. He and Lu Liyu are taking Xiao Qingyan to Jiexiang, while Jin Yingxiu and I are on our way to Laishun City. We should arrive tonight.” Wei Feng glanced at him, but immediately looked away after meeting his gaze, feeling a little awkward. “Master, why are you dressed as a woman?”

"To make things easier," Jiang Gu said expressionlessly. "Is there anything else?"

Wei Feng nodded. "Xuan Zhiyan is too badly injured, and his body is completely ruined. Master, I would like to borrow a wooden puppet body."

Wei Feng rarely asked him for anything, and even when he did, it was usually just small, odds and ends. This was the first time he had asked for such a magical artifact, and he wanted to use it on Xuan Zhiyan.

Jiang Gu looked at him without saying anything. Wei Feng thought he was unwilling, so he awkwardly touched his nose and said, "It's okay if you don't have one. I'll think of another way."

"And another thing," Jiang Gu said, "what will you use to exchange it?"

After pondering for a long time, Wei Feng tentatively asked, "Can I exchange it for a marriage compendium?"

Although he possessed many magical treasures, most of them were given to him by Jiang Gu. He hadn't even had a chance to enjoy the only divine artifact he had snatched himself. Fearing that Jiang Gu might think it wasn't enough, he added, "Plus the Golden Spirit Mace."

Jiang Gu remained silent.

Wei Feng took a deep breath, "The Trial Realm?"

Jiang Gu said, "Think of something else."

Wei Feng froze, his handsome face slowly turning red under his gaze, and he stammered, "Master, men can't...give birth...right?"

As if he was unsure, he meticulously added a question word.

A hint of a smile flashed across Jiang Gu's eyes, but he suppressed the corners of his mouth and said, "Mm."

Wei Feng breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly, then his eyes lit up. He rummaged through a pile of ghost patterns behind him and pulled out a small cauldron. He then dragged out the sleeping little primordial spirit inside and stuffed it into Jiang Gu's arms. "Master, I'll trade this for it!"

The little spirit, awakened by the noise, opened its eyes in a daze. Upon seeing Jiang Gu, it instantly became overjoyed, flapping its wings and using its legs to hug his fingers.

The forced buying and selling were done in a seamless manner.

Jiang Gu originally wanted Wei Feng to hand over the gold pendant on his forehead in exchange for his heart, but now he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Wei Feng's primordial spirit took the puppet's body and hurriedly left, leaving behind only a small, dull and stupid primordial spirit.

The little spirit regained its freedom and excitedly flew around in the sea of ​​consciousness. Jiang Gu ignored it and returned the spirit to its place. Just then, Qu Fengyu and Song Chongshi pushed open the door and came out.

“Let her come with me tomorrow,” Qu Fengyu said, pointing to Jiang Gu.

Song Chongshi glanced at Jiang Gu, but didn't take it to heart. "Whatever."

"Thank you, Young Master Song." Qu Fengyu smiled slightly.