Chapter 107 Fox Gu
Agu, true to his name, is a stubborn person.
He was tall and his Miao ethnic clothing made him look simple and reliable. Everyone in the village trusted and liked him. They all said that Agu was a good person, the strongest young man in the village, kind, cheerful, and strong. They believed that he would definitely lead the village to a better life in the future.
Agu thought so too. The only pity was that the young man's talent in Gu magic was not good. He had been practicing for many years, but the Gu he raised was only so-so, which made his father and uncles sigh.
Agu scratched his head, "Hmm... I can't help this talent... It's nothing, my sisters are very promising, I'll just help them out."
The young man shrugged, the elder glared and puffed out his cheeks, the young man smiled and bowed his head, and the elder gave him a powerful dunk.
Later, the elders said that the Dragon Balls might be able to help them.
Dragon Balls, that thing really has a complicated relationship with the Miao people.
Originally, this dragon ball belonged to the fox clan; it was indeed an ancient artifact of Qingqiu.
At that time, no one knew that the bead was so useful.
One day, Yunzhou from the north sent someone.
Agu wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, but the gist was that Yunzhou wanted to do business with the Miao village, exchange resources, hold auctions, and so on.
Later, my father and uncle began to research. They consulted ancient books, raised Gu worms, and made money, determined to make this Yunzhou business a success.
Their initial intentions were good, but unfortunately, they ended up finding a use for the Dragon Balls.
People are greedy. The Miao village didn't have the ability to retrieve the dragon pearl from Qingqiu, but Yunzhou did. So, they told Yunzhou that the dragon pearl was precious, and that one was hidden in Qishan and Qingqiu. Anyone with the ability could come and get it.
The Miao people wanted to use the cloud boat to obtain the dragon pearl, and then they spent everything to buy it.
At that time, Yunzhou sent a man and a woman over. Agu had only seen the woman, Yun Jiazhu, while the man was Yun Jiabai, whom no one had ever seen before.
They were really amazing. In just a few days, Yun Jiabai went to Qingqiu and got the Dragon Ball. He even brought a red fox with him, saying it was a little demon that lived near the Dragon Ball.
At that time, Agu knew nothing but that the Dragon Ball was very precious and that his father and uncle valued it highly. The young man looked at Yun Jiazhu holding the Dragon Ball and asked, "How can we buy this Dragon Ball?"
Yun Jiazhu smiled; her attitude was strange and somewhat inexplicable.
"You Miao people are really interesting."
Her words angered Agu.
"What do you mean, what's interesting? We're the ones who gave you the information about the Dragon Ball, and we tamed that gyrfalcon using Gu. Our Miao tribe has helped you so much, so you should be more polite!"
Yun Jiazhu was speechless at the silly young man's words, and the woman finally smiled helplessly, "Never mind, never mind."
She said that Yunzhou would handle this deal, and the Dragon Ball would be auctioned last. If you wanted to buy it, you would need at least 20,000 taels of silver. Whether you could buy it or not was up to you.
As she spoke, she turned around, leaving the young man standing there in shock. 20,000 taels of silver...
The way he stared at the money while reading it out looked so silly, Yun Jiazhu thought. The woman finally laughed and said, "If all Miao people were like you, that would be great."
Unfortunately, the people around him all had their own ulterior motives and plans, which were neither good nor bad.
Yun Jiazhu had a strange feeling at that time that someone like Agu would one day be implicated in the karma and sins of the Miao people—
Well, who knows, maybe this big idiot is doing it willingly.
yes.
He did it willingly.
As the first snow fell in Jizhou, the Cloud Boat Auction ended. A-Ling and Shangguan Han'er, long-time rivals, met again. Wen Guyou watched coldly from the sidelines. A-Gu kindly tried to mediate, not wanting them to escalate the conflict. But just then, Shangguan Han'er said to A-Ling…
"Is your brother a fool? He can't even speak properly, and his cultivation is poor. Sure enough, this is what your little village in the deep mountains is like."
Ah Ling's eyes reddened instantly, and the girl said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Wen Guyou was right there. After all, he was surnamed Wen Gu. Even though he was injured and in a hurry to get on his way, he still protected Shangguan Han'er in the end.
Ah Gu thought it was because he was too incompetent.
Later, Ah Ling told him, "Brother, just you wait and see!"
Agu was stubborn, but not stupid. He could tell at a glance that his sister had done something wrong, and he sternly questioned her about what she had done.
A-Ling felt somewhat wronged, but she didn't think she had done anything wrong. When Shangguan Han'er turned away arrogantly at the end, the girl gave her a Madman Gu.
Shangguan Han'er seemed to sense something was amiss, but she only vaguely felt that something was wrong. Her mind went blank for a moment, and the red fox in her arms quickly slipped away—
That red fox cost several thousand taels of silver. She wanted to chase after it, but Wen Guyou was focused on returning to Jianxue to report on the cloud boat. The two argued and quarreled, and in the end, the red fox escaped.
How ridiculous! That red fox came from Qishan, and in the end, it ran to A-Ling's side, hoping to return to Qishan through their Miao tribe.
It was a clever fox, but nobody paid attention to it back then.
Agu scolded Aling, saying that the Madman Gu would gradually make people lose control of their emotions, eventually turning them into complete madmen. Although it would not lead to death, what difference would it make from killing?
A-Ling remained unconvinced, but the girl coldly said, "The auction targeted us first, and then they insulted you and the Miao people. I don't regret using this poison at all!"
"What does it matter if I commit murder or not? I'll take the blame; I'm willing!"
"If there is any karmic consequence in the future, then come at me!"
Heavenly deities and earthly rulers, cause and effect, reincarnation—my younger sister is young and ignorant; if one day… I am willing to take the blame for her.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Agu silently recited the words to himself, thinking of Aling's stubborn gaze and the final use of the Dragon Ball. The young man prayed desperately to heaven.
Whether you're a Miao person or a younger sister, if anything can be replaced, then come find me.
The young man opened his arms, raised his hands, and shouted loudly at fate, "I am here, come find me, come find me, come find me!"
He was so stubborn that fate actually took notice of this young man.
Then a fox spirit returned, holding a dragon ball and looking at Agu.
Almost instantly, she and Agu began fighting—
The wind blew gently, and fate summoned Ah Zhao once again.
The little girl stood behind Agu, and then the fox demon saw her first.
As the claws extended, Agu turned around. In that instant, amidst the spray of blood, the young man finally handed the Dragon Ball to her.
Little Zhao, you like to jump and bounce around behind your brother all day long, and sometimes you even scare him.
How could my brother not know it was you?
What brings you here?
How could you come?
Are you here to see your brother?
It's all my brother's fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault.
The young man's tall body seemed about to collapse, and a part of his heart was missing. A Zhao looked up and stared blankly at her brother A Gu.
Agu laughed forcefully, and the young man reached out, his hand trembling, trying to cover his sister's eyes.
His hands were large, calloused, and warm. Little A-Zhao often held his hand as they walked together.
The child was restless while walking, so Agu would pull her over, drag her back, lift her up, and carry her down. The older brother was good at adjusting his strength, protecting his naughty sister without letting her get hurt.
Unfortunately, in the end, that powerful hand trembled before little A-Zhao's eyes, and with a gentle push from the wind, it fell to the ground.
Blood was everywhere, and Agu stared blankly at the sky.
He smelled the fragrance of spring orchids, saw the sky ablaze with red light, and heard the clamor of people.
The young man thought about it a lot in the end. He thought,
Ah Zhao is saved! Little Ah Zhao, you must be alright...
Ah Ling, Ah Ling, your brother can't carry you to your wedding anymore. It's true, your brother didn't even get to see you in your wedding dress...
And then there's Sister Zhi. She's only been home a short while, and the house is already in chaos again. Her younger brother is leaving first, and he can't help her at all...
And there's my father, mother, uncle, aunt, everyone in the village. Ah Gu probably won't be able to do anything for the village anymore. He's leaving. He's really useless.
You're so useless, so useless, so...so...I'm so sorry...
The young man kept thinking this until the very end, and he refused to close his eyes.
He's gone.
As the spring breeze blew by, fate gently caressed this stubborn young man and closed his eyes.
His chest was empty, but his soul shone brightly.
Agu, you quietly turned your back and signed a pact with fate to protect the land. Finally, amidst the sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers, you offered your heart and quietly entered the cycle of reincarnation.
Everything is as you wish.
But the people you're trying to protect don't know any of this. They can only see your corpse, see the best young man in the village, heartless, lying quietly in a pool of blood.
How could you die?
How could this be? How could it be you who died?
Why not me?
In the deep darkness of the night, A-Ling stood quietly on an unnamed high cliff in Qishan, thinking and hating.
The moonlight shines, casting the shadows of several foxes.
Su Xuanzhen stood quietly behind A-Ling and said, "A-Ling—"
"My brother is dead."
Ah Ling turned around, the girl was very calm, eerily calm, "My brother is dead."
"He shouldn't have died. I should be the one who died."
Su Xuanzhen looked down at A-Ling, hiding his panic and helplessness. He said, "A-Ling, this is not your fault."
"is that you?"
A-Ling looked up, and the girl asked calmly,
"Is it your fault? You brought the fox demons here. You said they wanted to come and see your wedding, but in the end, they stole the Dragon Ball, killed my brother, and my Miao village was covered in blood—is it your fault?"
"The Dragon Ball originally belonged to Qingqiu. A-Ling and An-Su just wanted to take back our Dragon Ball. A-Gu's incident was an accident."
A-Ling remained expressionless. "An Su? Is that the red fox I brought back?"
Su Xuanzhen paused, and the young man lowered his eyes and said, "Yes."
An Su is the guardian of the Qingqiu Dragon Pearl. Previously, Yun Jiabai stole the Dragon Pearl, forcing An Su back to her original form, preventing her from regaining it, and even taking her to Jizhou.
Later, she returned with A-Ling, and it was A-Ling who released her back to Qianshan. It was through this that she met A-Ling and they fell in love.
"Oh,"
"It really is me,"
Ah Ling finally smiled, "Really, the damned one is really me."
She brought the red fox back, she insisted on the marriage, and the sins of the entire Miao village are all because of her.
No!
Su Xuanzhen interrupted her. The young man stepped forward slightly and said earnestly to A-Ling, "No, about the Dragon Pearl... An Su told my father about it. She mentioned our impending marriage, which is why Qingqiu sent those foxes, A-Ling."
He gazed intently into the girl's eyes, his expression even pleading, "Ah Ling, it all started because of the Dragon Ball, not because of you. An Su is already dead..."
“Ah Ling, if I have to say something, it’s my fault. It was me. I didn’t realize An Su had brought those foxes. It was me…”
"You really don't know?!"
Ah Ling looked at him intently, her expression calm yet filled with immense pain and sorrow.
"You've lived with me in the Miao village for so long, do you really not know about the Dragon Ball?"
"Even if Ansu was the one who suggested the marriage, the Dragon Ball is something you all have to take back, isn't it?"
"With so many foxes appearing together in the Miao village, how could the Fox King not know about us? And the Dragon Ball, how could you not know all of this!"
"Su Xuanzhen, I'm not stupid!"
“Brother Agu is dead. I’ve wronged him my whole life, and you’re still lying to me!”
"Why? Why? Why don't you kill me! If you kill me, you can get the Dragon Balls, wouldn't that be better!"
"Ah Ling!"
Su Xuanzhen interrupted him sharply. The young man stepped forward, put his arm around her shoulder, leaned down slightly to meet her gaze, and said, word by word, with pain in his voice,
"How could I kill you, Ah Ling? You have to believe me. Today is our wedding day. How could I possibly have thought of such a thing..."
"I truly love you, A-Ling! I want to marry you, I love you!"
"I admit, I knew Ansu was coming to get the Dragon Ball... but I really didn't expect those foxes to deliberately cause trouble, and it was even more unexpected that the little demons from the Thousand Mountains would run out!"
"That dragon pearl originally belonged to Qingqiu. It was stolen by the Miao people first. An Su was even taken to the auction stage. She just wanted to take back what belonged to my clan—"
"Then what am I supposed to do?!"
Seeing Su Xuanzhen's tears, A-Ling cried out in anguish, "What am I supposed to do! What can I do!"
"Was the Dragon Ball my decision? Was the feud between the Miao and Fox tribes what I wanted? All I wanted was to be with you... to be together, even if only for a short time, to get married... to..."
"Why...why did this happen...Agu-ge...and Azhao..."
"It's all my fault!"
"Why! Why wasn't I the one who died?!"
"ah!"
Why did it have to be on this day, and why were Agu and Azhao killed? Why did fate have to treat her this way, even if it was her who died, even if it was herself who died...?
She finally broke down in tears, a heart-wrenching, sorrowful, and even heartbroken cry. Su Xuanzhen held her tightly, as if trying to calm her down, but to no avail. A-Ling couldn't forgive all of this—she finally pushed him away. The wind blew by, and the girl seemed to have lost all her strength.
“In the past, I didn’t know how important human life was. Brother Agu scolded me, saying that my Gu poison harmed people and caused them to commit murder. He said that karma is a cycle and retribution is inevitable.”
“I always say I have no regrets, I’m not afraid… but I don’t know, I don’t know why I didn’t die, I don’t know why it was Brother Agu who died…”
"Only now do I realize that retribution, cause and effect, and life are all like this..."
"I never knew a human life could be so important... Brother, I regret it."
"I really regret it..."
She laughed, raising her eyes to look at Su Xuanzhen. In the night wind, the girl's laughter was incredibly poignant, even tinged with irony.
“Su Xuanzhen, you talk about Dragon Balls, but in the end, they belong to dragons, not Miao people, and certainly not foxes.”
"Killing and killing, so many lives are lost so easily..."
"We are all the same, there's nothing different about us."
Seemingly realizing something was about to happen, Su Xuanzhen hurriedly stepped forward, trying to pull A-Ling along, but the girl shook him off—
“Su Xuanzhen,”
She called him, called him earnestly.
They looked at each other, and Ah Ling smiled. The night wind was so cold; she felt so cold that she was shivering all over.
But there was no other way, truly no other way. The woman finally shed tears calmly and bid him farewell.
"My brother didn't carry me to the wedding, and you didn't come to fetch me, so we're not considered married."
"I won't go back to the Miao village, and you don't need to look for me. Dragon Ball and the wedding are both over."
“Ah Zhen.”
"Let's stop here."
Their story is like that of countless other lovers: you look at me, I look at you, we talk, and then we smile gently, and that's how we come together.
Some people will gradually drift apart as they walk down the broad road of success.
Some people are unwilling to part even when walking on muddy, rocky roads.
Some people, however, shed tears upon seeing the blood on the ground, and finally let go in pain, turning away step by step.
The feud between the two tribes is difficult to resolve, and lives have been lost in great numbers, among which lie insignificant individuals like you and me.
You and I, you and I, in the end, I never left my room, you never went to the wedding, and we never even became husband and wife for a single day.
never mind,
Let's stop here.
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