Zi Gu
Wang Xiaoxia struggled for a while before she managed to break free from his embrace. Unable to sleep, she quietly put on her clothes, went out of the room, and lightly jumped onto the roof, staring blankly at the clear night sky.
In Old Jiang's room around the corner, there lay a blade of grass—no, Old Jiang.
For some reason, Wang Xiaoxia suddenly felt a sense of belonging here, as if this place had always been her home. Perhaps it was because of Old Jiang, or perhaps…
She dared not think any further. Home? But how could she possibly have a home? She thought bitterly, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep again. Her head suddenly sank, and she lost her balance and fell off the roof.
Wang Xiao woke up mid-air and before she could even scream, Cui Heng caught her and landed her steadily in his arms.
"Don't you like being with me?" Cui Heng asked, somewhat displeased, as he gently put her down.
"No, I can't sleep and I'm afraid of disturbing you," Wang Xiaoxia said, lowering her eyelids and breaking free from Cui Heng's embrace.
Her tone was so gentle, as if she were comforting a child, but everyone is willing to revert to being a child in front of their loved one.
However, Cui Heng was unaware of this feeling deep within his heart; he simply found himself feeling cheerful again for no apparent reason.
He lowered his head and wrapped his arms around her waist. In the night, his silver hair resembled the Milky Way, and his eyes shone like stars. The primal restlessness began to overwhelm his reason again. He lowered his eyes, his gaze so soft it seemed to stretch into silk.
Wang Xiaoxia stared at him, mesmerized. How could this old monster be so handsome? So handsome that all the beautiful things in the world paled in comparison. She felt a certain emotion growing wildly within her, and unconsciously she raised her hand to gently brush his loose hair behind his ear.
A tingling sensation spread from his ear to his whole body, and the restlessness in his heart could no longer be suppressed. Although the night was cool, Cui Heng's breathing began to become hot.
Perhaps it was the desire stirred by the night, or perhaps it was some unknown emotion, but he lowered his head and kissed her passionately once again. Wang Xiaoxia no longer resisted and responded by standing on tiptoe. Their two slender bodies embraced tightly in the cool night, entwined with each other. The night was long, and they still had many things to do.
"Why would a demon beast like you live in the Ghost Realm?" Wang Xiaoxia asked, nestled against Cui Heng on the bed, playing with a strand of his silver hair.
Cui Heng, unusually, did not get angry, but looked at her calmly.
"We Bai Ze are auspicious beasts, so we are often captured by people of various races. I lost my parents when I was young and was imprisoned. After passing through several masters, I was rescued by a ghost. He gave me freedom and sent me back to my hometown. Later, when I grew up and went to find him to repay him, I learned that he had already been killed. Later, I traveled to many places and inquired in many ways before finally finding one of his young sons. I had seen that son when he was young. He regarded me as his elder brother, so I secretly helped him until a hundred years ago when he had established himself in the ghost realm. Then I met Lao Jiang. Because of my tribulation, Lao Jiang's body was weak. This is where he grew up. He could not survive if he left this place, so he simply built a house here and set up a barrier. He comes back to live here when he has nothing to do," Cui Heng said, his face unusually gentle and sincere.
It turns out that even someone as capable as Cui Heng had such a tragic childhood. However, Wang Xiaoxia never met him in his childhood, so she couldn't be a part of his past, and now it seems she can do nothing more for him.
However, this was the first time Wang Xiaoxia had heard Cui Heng say so much, and it seemed that he was in a good mood.
"Cui Heng, do you know where the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron is?" Wang Xiaoxia asked, taking advantage of Cui Heng's good mood.
Of all things, they had to bring up the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron again, and Cui Heng immediately felt annoyed.
"What would a mere mortal like you want with the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron?" Cui Heng asked, somewhat displeased.
Wang Xiaoxia immediately sensed his displeasure, and, abandoning her usual demeanor, quickly lowered herself to lean against him and whispered:
"As you know, I am just a mortal with no magical power. I have heard that the magical artifacts forged from the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron are extremely powerful and precious, so naturally I want them."
Hearing her words, Cui Heng's expression gradually softened.
“Since you have no magic power, even if you have the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, you can’t forge a magic weapon. Tomorrow, go find Old Jiang. I once gave him a dagger. That dagger has some history. It injured me a hundred years ago and is stained with my blood. If you encounter an ordinary ghost, it will be enough for you to use for self-defense,” Cui Heng said gently.
"Oh," Wang Xiaoxia replied. Although it wasn't entirely satisfactory, it wasn't bad at all.
"That Soul-Suppressing Cauldron..." Wang Xiaoxia said, still unwilling to give up, but before she could finish speaking, a large hand gripped her chin tightly.
"Don't push your luck," Cui Heng said arrogantly.
He rolled over and pinned her down, rendering her unable to move. He looked at her coldly and smiled wickedly before bending down and sucking on her mouth with all his might.
Although Wang Xiaoxia shouldn't have asked, for some reason, she had developed a slight feeling for Cui Heng after spending the past few days together. This feeling grew uncontrollably, causing her great pain.
"What am I to you?" Wang Xiaoxia couldn't help but ask.
"What do you think? What are you, a mere mortal, qualified to do?" Cui Heng retorted coldly.
Under the moonlight, his long, silvery-white hair cascaded down his chest, and his snow-white skin made his complexion appear even more aloof. Wang Xiaoxia lay beneath him, gazing intently at him. He was so handsome; she thought she liked him.
She turned her head away, and a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. When Cui Heng saw her cry, his heart suddenly ached as if it had been violently squeezed. She was just a mere mortal, a plaything.
She must have drugged herself again, she must have!
Thinking about this, Cui Heng became angry again. He bent down and bit her soft lips hard. He wanted her to repay him severely! So he sucked and rubbed her lips desperately until he collapsed limply, only then did he consider his revenge successful.
Wang Xiaoxia remained silent, letting him ravage her as he pleased.
Recently, Cui Heng has been leaving early and returning late, always looking exhausted when he comes back. Wang Xiaoxia no longer asks him what he's doing, because she'll be leaving soon too. In a few days, it will be Cang Ze's wedding day, and she doesn't know how the Bad People are preparing. Meanwhile, her medicine is almost ready.
She should have prepared much faster, but only when she was here did she feel as if she had ever lived in the human world.
Only in front of Cui Heng could she briefly escape her nightmares, as if she were truly living in this world instead of being a shell filled with hatred.
As for Cui Heng, she found it increasingly difficult to let go, even though she should have let go long ago.
Once people have hope, they begin to look forward to the future.
That's why she asked Lao Jiang for the first time when she was drying medicinal herbs with him.
"Old Jiang, do you know of a medicine that can make someone die but not quite?" Wang Xiaoxia asked.
She asked the question casually, so Lao Jiang didn't think much of it.
"How can it not be completely dead?" Old Jiang stopped what he was doing and asked, puzzled.
Wang Xiaoxia also stopped and looked at Lao Jiang. Perhaps Lao Jiang knew some things because he had been with Cui Heng for a long time.
"It's like this person was clearly killed but suddenly came back to life for some reason, but it seems like they didn't really come back to life. They can't control their body, and their body will do things against their will. When they finally can control their body, they want to die but can't," Wang Xiaoxia explained in detail.
This is what she looked like when she was first resurrected. She couldn't control her body, as if this body wasn't hers but someone else's, which caused her immense suffering.
"Medicine can't do that, but I know of a kind of Gu that can turn a person into what you described," Old Jiang said, stroking his dry, yellowed beard and staring blankly in a certain direction.
"What kind of Gu?" Wang Xiaoxia immediately asked, her body unconsciously leaning forward towards Old Jiang. This was the first time in a hundred years that she had been so close to the truth about her own body.
It turns out that what Cang Ze used back then wasn't medicine, but Gu poison. No wonder she couldn't find the source of this medicine no matter how many medicines she searched the world for; it was Gu poison.
"Puppet Gu, I remember when the young master first took me in a hundred years ago, he was refining a Gu. This kind of Gu is only found in the Demon King Clan. It has a mother Gu and a child Gu. The person who planted the Gu has the mother Gu in their body. After the child Gu is planted in another person, the child Gu will gradually eat away at the host's soul and eventually become a shell for the mother Gu to control. Some people, in order to save time, will kill the host of the child Gu directly after planting the Gu. The child Gu's body is controlled by the mother Gu. It has no thoughts and only obeys the mother Gu's orders. After the mission is completed, the child Gu loses its function and is discarded and dies," Old Jiang explained.
"But what if he doesn't die?" Wang Xiaoxia asked again.
“There is another method, which is to refine the offspring Gu with the heart blood of the mother Gu. The offspring Gu and the mother Gu coexist. As long as the mother Gu does not die, the offspring Gu will not die. Although the host of the offspring Gu has an immortal soul, he has no memory,” Old Jiang thought for a moment and replied.
The young master was by his side when he was refining Gu poison, so he knew a lot more about it.
"Then, what if the mother Gu dies?" Wang Xiaoxia asked again.
"When the mother Gu is born, the son Gu is born; when the mother Gu dies, the son Gu dies," Old Jiang replied.
So that's how it is! No wonder she wanted to die but couldn't.
Wang Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment. She straightened up as if this would make her breathing easier. Those distant memories began to come back, and nightmares began to invade her waking soul.
Back then, Cang Ze, who was still called Wu Huan, tricked her into drinking a cup of tea. She was extremely sensitive to smells and found the tea to be inexplicably strange. Before she could even speak, a knife was plunged into her chest. Her red wedding dress was soaked with blood. The pain wasn't too intense, but the chill that seeped into her bones was unforgettable. All the warmth in her body escaped through the hole in her chest, taking away her life.
She didn't utter a word. His tall figure was reflected in her dilated pupils. He looked down at her coldly, his gaze devoid of any warmth. Blood flowed all over the ground, yet it didn't stain him at all. All the past affection had vanished, leaving only coldness and resolute indifference.
When her body had completely cooled down, she suddenly woke up from this body. Apart from the biting cold and the stench of blood, she could feel nothing.
Without warmth or emotion, like a puppet on strings, manipulated at will.
So was she just a puppet? But why does she still remember those excruciating pains?
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