99 Chapter 099 Gu Lianyong
Chapter 99 Gu Lianyong
However, the old man did not find any familiar faces among the strange people initially caught in the net of heaven and earth, but in the end he encountered a younger generation of martial arts practitioners whom he never expected to meet here.
He was also someone trapped in the town of Bewitching Souls.
Although we don't know whether he's a good person or a bad person, Bazhenlou can't linger here any longer.
Both Zhao Tong and Bai Cen, who was using a torch to distract the strange man, needed the old man to go back and rescue them.
So Gu Lianyong was put on the carriage.
But since his face was deathly pale, as if it had been covered in flour, even though he wasn't a freak with a red face, one still had to be wary.
The world is a vast place; you never know if someone might bite you in the back.
Grandpa Weng drove the carriage, while Jiang Yutang held up a torch for him and also helped keep an eye out for what was ahead.
Wang Sumo and Old Master Qu were at the back of the carriage, talking to Gu Lianyong to learn about the ins and outs of the Bewitching Town, while also being careful to avoid any danger behind the carriage.
"What are you doing here?" Old Master Qu asked.
Perhaps because he hadn't felt so at ease in a long time, even though Old Master Weng forced him to tie his wrists, Gu Lianyong still leaned against the carriage and sighed gratefully, replying, "I never expected to see Senior Qu here again. I've been trapped here for over ten or twenty years."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the carriage was speechless.
After more than ten or twenty years, Wang Sumo finally understood. No wonder the old man didn't recognize him at first glance; apart from looking like a ghost, so much time had passed.
Having just reached adulthood, I now find myself in my forties in the blink of an eye.
“Originally, I thought I would never leave the Bewitching Town in my lifetime, but I never expected that after all this time, I would still be with you, senior.” Gu Lianyong said in a deep voice.
Wang Sumo asked softly, "Grandpa, what do you mean by 'going around in circles'?"
Gu Lianyong smiled broadly and said directly, "Miss Wang, I know Senior Qu because I stole his money pouch."
Wang Sumo: "..."
"How could they steal this?" Wang Sumo whispered.
Since the old man didn't say anything, Gu Lianyong smiled and said, "I am a disciple of the Six Fingers Sect. As the name suggests, it means having an extra finger."
Wang Sumo understood: having an extra finger meant taking something.
thief.
"After I completed my apprenticeship, I traveled the world, robbing the rich to help the poor. I offended many people, but my frequent successes also fostered my arrogance. The day I met the old man and learned that he was the Cloud Piercer and Mountain Breaker, I thought I would steal from him to prove that I could steal anything."
Gu Lianyong said softly, "I stole from the old man three times in total, and succeeded twice. The first time I succeeded, I was complacent and thought I was invincible. I was so proud of myself for being able to steal the money bag from the Cloud Piercing Mountain Breaker. I was sure to become famous. But the old man didn't care at all."
"I thought to myself that the old master probably hadn't noticed, so I stole it a second time. This was my second time succeeding, but the old master still didn't care. I decided to continue, but when I tried to steal the string of 'Vajra Pestle' from the old master, I was caught by him. Only then did I realize that it wasn't that the old master hadn't noticed before, but that he didn't care about me."
Wang Sumo looked at the old man, the Vajra Pestle...
That's for sure, it's the old man's most important thing.
Previously, the old man probably didn't bother to argue with him, but stealing the Vajra Pestle touched the old man's sore spot.
"Why are you saying all this? What are you doing here?" Old Master Qu asked in a deep voice.
Gu Lianyong said, "Although I was caught by the senior that day, he let me go and didn't hold it against me. But I had offended too many people before and stolen a lot of things I shouldn't have stolen. Creditors always came to seek revenge. I was almost beaten to death that day, and the senior saved me in the end. I was on the verge of death at that time, but I still remember what the senior told me - even if a petty thief has a reputation in the martial arts world, it is not a good reputation. If you really want to make a name for yourself in the martial arts world, you must be down-to-earth."
Wang Sumo looked at the old man; even the old man had moments like this…
Gu Lianyong took a deep breath: "The senior enlightened me, and it was after that that I decided to turn over a new leaf."
"But when I really wanted to do it, I found that it was hardest to turn over a new leaf in a tainted life. No martial arts sect was willing to take me in because I had stolen too many things. No one was willing to take in such a first disciple and take on the risk. I ran into walls everywhere and encountered many swindling martial arts sects. I was in a desperate situation."
"Later, after hitting walls everywhere, I heard rumors in the martial arts world that a secret chamber had appeared beneath the town of Bewitching Souls, where someone had accidentally found martial arts manuals, treasure maps, and divine weapons. Many martial arts practitioners, especially those who were not affiliated with any sect, went there. Whether they could find the martial arts manuals and treasures depended on their own abilities."
"I thought, since no one would take me in, I might as well go and try my luck. If I get a good opportunity, I won't have to put up with those so-called prestigious sects anymore. I can make a name for myself and create my own martial arts world."
"And so, I arrived in Bewitching Town with a few friends I met along the way..."
At this point, his face still showed endless regret: "Actually, the seniors told me back then to be down-to-earth and not to be overly ambitious, but I didn't listen. I wanted to take a shortcut and ended up here."
Gu Lianyong shook his head: "I see many people like me here, and even some martial arts masters who are already quite famous, rising stars. In the beginning, Bewitching Town was not like this. It was a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, and there were many simple and honest people in the town. But do you believe it, senior? We really found the secret manual of the martial arts here."
Wang Sumo was surprised. There really was one?
Although they are currently still wandering around the Enchanted Town, there is no doubt that Gu Lianyong's experience will help them unravel these mysteries, or at least some of them.
“At first, I didn’t expect it either. I always felt that these things came too easily, and wondered if there was some kind of scam. But at that time, we discovered a lot of martial arts manuals. Everyone gathered together in small groups to practice, and our martial arts skills and internal strength improved by leaps and bounds. There were no signs of us going astray.” Gu Lianyong spoke with extreme sincerity. Wang Sumo and Old Master Qu could even see doubt in his eyes.
But there's no such thing as a free lunch.
He easily found a place, easily discovered a martial arts manual, easily mastered it, made rapid progress, and didn't suffer from qi deviation...
No matter how I think about it, it just doesn't make sense.
"Yes, it doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it, but at the time, everyone around you was so enthusiastic, you wouldn't think there was anything wrong with it, and I was also aware of my own progress, so I didn't doubt the authenticity of these martial arts manuals, until later a rumor spread in the Bewildering Town - the reason why I had never seen these martial arts manuals was that they all came from those sects that had disappeared more than a hundred years ago."
"So these unique skills are all lost techniques. They should have been collected by someone or a group of people and stored in a secret room under the town of Bewitching Souls. But for some reason, this secret room became an unclaimed place. Until someone discovered one of the unique skills here, and later its fame spread, and more and more people came."
"Many people have wandered the martial arts world for years without ever achieving their goals, but they learned a superior martial arts technique here, so they have unwavering faith in the unique manual hidden in this secret room. The secret room here is very large and full of traps. Each time, a part of the secret room is opened, and the secret manual is in the opened part. Everyone enters in an orderly fashion. Some people couldn't wait and broke into the secret room, but the last secret room was destroyed, and the things inside could never be taken out."
"From then on, everyone had an unspoken agreement: every so often, the mechanism in the secret room would open, and everyone would rush in and retrieve the manual in a very short time. This went on for several months, until one day, the door to the secret room suddenly stopped opening..."
The old man frowned deeply.
Wang Sumo also said softly, "Many people would not be able to stand the habit of being fed all of a sudden."
Gu Lianyong chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Miss Wang is right. Many people couldn't stand the sudden closure of the secret room, but having tasted its benefits, no one was willing to leave. They still wait there every now and then, hoping the secret room will open."
Wang Sumo's mind was clear; once the news was spread, those who could come here had already been screened in a sense.
So many more secret manuals have been released. Those who stay here to practice and don't leave have been screened out again.
The rest are all vested interests.
Those who have vested interests often abhor losses.
These people were selected over several months, or even a year and a half, and none of them will leave.
That's human nature.
"And then?" Wang Sumo asked curiously.
Gu Lianyong took a deep breath, his gaze gradually darkening: "Then, the nightmare began. The sealed secret room suddenly opened one day, and it was never closed again. Everyone rushed in and flooded into the secret room. After everyone was inside, they discovered that the secret room under the Bewitching Town was unusually large, large enough to accommodate everyone who had entered at that time, as well as those who entered afterward."
"At the deepest part of the secret chamber, there were three walls, each engraved with a different martial art. By then, the vast majority of people couldn't contain themselves any longer, so many began practicing right there in the secret chamber. They had no time to investigate what these three techniques were or what the consequences would be, because they didn't know when the secret chamber would close, so everyone was impatient. And that's how the nightmare began..."
"Everyone was practicing, but no one cared what they were practicing. Some even practiced the techniques on three walls at once; most chose just one to start with. Everyone was impatient, working day and night, never leaving that dark room. Until one day, the first person to practice one of the techniques suddenly became ferocious, his face gradually turning red, transforming into a terrifying monster. Everyone else was stunned. Unable to accept his appearance, he suddenly went berserk, attacking everything around him. Someone then killed him..."
"From that moment on, panic gripped everyone's hearts. They felt there might be something wrong with the martial arts techniques on the walls of the secret room. Many people began to feel fear and wanted to leave, but the walls of the secret room were already closed, and there was no way to get out. And so, day after day, gradually, people in the underground secret room began to turn red, some became ferocious, some went from fat to thin, and some who were originally short became tall..."
Wang Sumo was surprised and held her breath!
"Everyone wanted to leave the darkroom, but they gradually discovered that the darkroom would still open every few days. However, each opening was only for a short time. Some people took the opportunity to rush out, but many more were too late and had to stay in the darkroom, waiting for it to open again. Can you imagine? In a place like the darkroom, except for the occasional sliver of light that would filter through the cracks during the day, it was pitch black all the time."
"More and more people in the dark room turned red. At first, they hid and were afraid of being discovered. Later, more and more people changed their appearance. Everyone felt uneasy and fearful, and then became suspicious. They were all waiting for the day when the door of the dark room would open so that they could rush out in a swarm. But it was no use. The time when the door of the dark room was open was getting shorter and shorter, and the time they were trapped in it was getting longer and longer."
"Over time, many people couldn't bear this oppression and gradually lost their minds and consciousness; some even went mad and desperately practiced the techniques on the wall. Then one day, someone accidentally triggered the mechanism at the top, and the door to the secret room opened briefly. From then on, people went to try to trigger that mechanism day and night. Sometimes the mechanism would open, sometimes it wouldn't, and no one could say for sure whether it was meaningful to do so."
"As time went on, some of the people who had lost their minds forgot why they had initially banged their heads against the wall, but they kept doing so, their scalps bleeding profusely..."
"Later on, although the dark room was large, fewer and fewer people were still conscious inside. Most of the strange people you see today are unconscious, or rather, they are just empty but dangerous bodies."
Wang Sumo said in a deep voice, "You're still conscious because you didn't practice the techniques on the wall like they did?"
Gu Lianyong nodded again: "Miss Wang guessed correctly. A few of us and I never practiced these techniques from the beginning. In that chaotic place, we had gathered together a long time ago to remind each other not to lose our minds."
"So the people in the dark room are divided into two categories: one is those who haven't practiced those techniques, like you, and the other is those who have practiced the techniques, those who have lost their minds and become monsters?" Wang Sumo asked. "Then why are you like this?"
His face was deathly pale, as if covered with a thick layer of flour...
But reason still prevails.
Gu Lianyong said softly, but with a sigh, "We've been in this dark room for too long, never seeing sunlight for years, lacking salt, and..."
Gu Lianyong paused, as if organizing his thoughts, and then continued, "The people who trapped us in the dark room provided us with food mixed with various drugs every now and then. If we didn't eat it, we would starve to death. After eating it, some people who had previously gone astray in their cultivation would see their condition improve, while others would see their condition worsen... The few of us who did not practice these techniques have become like this after eating this food with added drugs for many years."
Both the old man and Wang Sumo remained silent.
Gu Lianyong took a deep breath: "The longer it went on, the fewer people regained consciousness. We became increasingly convinced that the people who had trapped us here were using the people in the dark room as test subjects, making them practice martial arts to see if they would go into qi deviation. They added medicinal herbs to different foods to see which herbs would alleviate or worsen the symptoms. For a long time, one person's face did indeed return to normal from red, and he no longer looked ferocious; he had simply lost his mind. But this person disappeared not long after."
Wang Sumo's gaze darkened slightly: "He found someone who could heal themselves among countless people who had practiced this technique and tasted all kinds of medicinal herbs..."
[Author's Note]
There should be more tonight.
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