Chapter 125 Heartless Love (Part 20)
Wei Feng's primordial spirit emerged from the mud and returned to his body. He stared intently at Jiang Gu, then transformed back into his mermaid form. "Then I'll go and distract them."
"Come back," Jiang Gu said.
The merman, who was swimming away, stopped and turned to look at him.
Although Wei Feng's suggestion of spiritual communication momentarily disrupted his thoughts, Jiang Gu quickly regained his composure. The Eight Pavilions traitors were relentlessly pursuing him, and killing Feng Wujiuyi had already exhausted both him and Wei Feng. Killing more was clearly unrealistic. The Ink Jade Bracelet was too slow in repairing his primordial spirit. The best course of action now was either to contact the people of Qiankun Tower or Yin Yang Tower, or to devise a plan and take Wei Feng to see "Chu Guanshan"...
Now that he is seriously injured, neither option is a good choice.
He pondered for a moment, and found that "spiritual communion" with Wei Feng was actually a safe bet.
There must be other ways.
His fingers, which were resting on his knees, unconsciously rubbed against the fabric. Then, enduring the excruciating pain, he took out two wooden puppets from his storage bag.
"This is... a puppet?" Wei Feng was very familiar with this puppet. This thing could temporarily isolate the aura of the primordial spirit, but the drawback was that the primordial spirit had to return to the body every twelve hours, otherwise there would be a risk of the soul dissipating.
After several years, Jiang Gu's puppets became even more detailed and lifelike. With just a trace of his spirit, the puppets seemed to come alive, moving their legs and tugging at the hem of their clothes with a reserved air.
"Obtain the Sumeru Heart before they come looking for us." Jiang Gu released several dozen less refined wooden puppets and said calmly, "Slice off their primordial spirits."
He spoke calmly and casually, as if he were talking about chopping melons or vegetables.
"What?" Wei Feng thought he had misheard. "Cut everything!?"
“As you said, the other side has a way to sense our presence. In that case, we can only try to buy time. Dispersing our primordial spirit into the puppets can confuse the other side and help us find the Sumeru Heart to transport our main body out of the secret realm.” Jiang Gu added at the end, “Since the primordial spirit has already shattered, we might as well shatter it more thoroughly. However, we still need to keep the largest piece of the primordial spirit together with the body.”
He said these last words to Wei Feng, as if he were criticizing him for being afraid of pain, and made a special explanation.
"...No, Master, this is too dangerous." Even though Wei Feng had endured countless inhuman tortures at Wangyue, he was still stunned by Jiang Gu's ruthlessness. No, this was more than just ruthlessness; it was utterly shocking. "The primordial spirit is the foundation of a cultivator and must not be easily damaged. Cut it up and put it into the puppet..."
He struggled to find the words, "Not to mention what if they were all killed and destroyed by those traitors? Even if they were all miraculously preserved, how could we repair them? Master, even if you don't want to communicate with me spiritually, you don't have to come up with such a tragic method. I would fight to the death—"
“I’ve tried it,” Jiang Gu said coolly. “This method works.”
Wei Feng was momentarily speechless, staring at him in disbelief.
He suffered greatly on the Moon Gazing Continent, experiencing countless hardships and grievances. Although he knew there was something fishy about the slap Jiang Gu gave him in the Song Sui Illusion, the daily torment and hopeless longing for Jiang Gu reduced his rationality from seven parts to one, and his suspicion from three parts to nine. So when he first saw Jiang Gu, the resentment and hatred in his heart far outweighed his longing and grievances. In the days when he was tormented to the point of despair, the unrequited love and longing were not enough to sustain his life, but resentment could.
At first, he dreamed that Jiang Gu would save him like he had countless times before, wielding his sword against the light and slaughtering all enemies, protecting him behind him. Later, he only wanted to see Jiang Gu one last time before he died, and that would be enough for him. Then, he wanted to curse Jiang Gu with the most vicious language and curses after seeing him. He hated Jiang Gu so much that he wanted to kill the culprit. In the end, he had no hope that Jiang Gu would come to Wangyue. He only hoped that he could become stronger by any means necessary, and go to Pingze to torture Jiang Gu until he was in a state of wishing for death.
However, these seemingly poisonous thoughts crumbled the moment he saw Jiang Gu. All those imagined methods of hatred and the surging grievances and longing intertwined, turning into a sticky and awkward dilemma.
But deep down, he harbored resentment. Even though he knew it was unreasonable, he still resented Jiang Gu for not coming to find him for so long, for waiting until now, for remaining coldly distant even after finding him, for still being wary and unwilling to place any trust in him, and for not being more decisive in unleashing a massacre.
Wei Feng suddenly realized the reason.
Jiang Gu was never omnipotent.
He was transformed from having five spiritual roots to having only one. Growing up alone in the Jiang family, a place that devours people without a second thought, without the protection of parents or teachers, and without the support of relatives and friends, and with such a striking appearance, the difficulties on his path of cultivation were no less than those of others. Even with a single spiritual root, it was still worlds apart from a naturally born single spiritual root or a heavenly spiritual root. Yet, he boarded the flying boat to Wangyue in just five years, went bankrupt to buy his crippled spirit pet, and, despite his Mahayana cultivation, risked his life to kill Feng Wujiu, a Golden Immortal. To survive, he even shattered his primordial spirit...
What else does he want from Jiang Gu?
A dull pain shot through his empty heart. Wei Feng looked at the calm and collected person in front of him, his eyes reddening, and asked in a dry voice, "Does it hurt?"
Jiang Gu paused slightly, knowing he was afraid of pain, and coaxed him without changing his expression, "It's alright, cutting along the crack will alleviate the pain."
"Master, do we really have to get the Gouchen Hairpin?" Wei Feng grabbed his hand. "Can't I find you a better treasure later?"
“I have a use for you.” Jiang Gu tried to pull it out but couldn’t. He remembered the guy’s earlier talk about spiritual communication, and his face darkened slightly. “Let go.”
Wei Feng naturally wouldn't back down. He knew that Jiang Gu was a man of his word, and he couldn't disobey him for the time being. He could only suppress his anger and summon his primordial spirit into Jiang Gu's palm. "Then Master, you cut it for me."
"..." Jiang Gu remained silent for a moment, not giving him a chance to regret it.
With a swift stroke of the knife, a shrill scream instantly echoed through the cave. Had Jiang Gu not set up a soundproof barrier beforehand, it would have attracted all living creatures within a thousand miles.
Jiang Gu deftly stuffed Wei Feng's scattered primordial spirit into the puppet, and then did the same to cut open his own primordial spirit. The largest piece of Wei Feng's primordial spirit and body were stuffed into the most exquisite puppet, which had grown to be identical to Wei Feng's appearance. He watched Jiang Gu's knife fall with a pale face, his teeth aching uncontrollably.
Jiang Gu entered the puppet and slowly moved his legs. The puppet's meridians and dantian were intact, making it more functional than his damaged body. He turned his back to Wei Feng and observed the lake's surface, preparing to leave the barrier. "There are only twelve hours left. When the time is up, your primordial spirit must return to your body. Remember that?"
"Hmm." Wei Feng stared at the slightly loose silver belt at his lower back, and on a whim, pulled the man into his arms from behind.
Jiang Gu froze, his voice tinged with confusion, "...What are you doing?"
"Tie, tie the belt." Wei Feng grabbed the loose belt and tugged hard. He was dizzy from the woody scent on the puppet. He decisively let go and took a step back. He met Jiang Gu's deep eyes, looked down at his own belt, and said nonchalantly, "This puppet's belt isn't tied properly."
Jiang Gu glanced at him with a puzzled look, ignoring the strangeness of his earlier approach, and released all the puppets. "Each puppet has an array on it. When we leave the secret realm, all the primordial spirits will return to their original bodies. Sumeru Heart should be with—Wei Feng now?"
He looked at Wei Feng, who was pressing closer again, and subconsciously looked down at his belt.
The belt was fastened properly, and it was even a little tight.
Wei Feng hugged him tightly from behind, buried his face in his shoulder, and said in a muffled voice with a hint of crying, "I'm sorry, Master."
"?" Jiang Gu's shoulder was quickly soaked with warm tears. He was such a realistic puppet that he could actually shed tears.
But he was clearly struggling to follow Wei Feng's completely illogical train of thought. "Why are you crying?"
"It hurts so much to cut off my primordial spirit." Wei Feng hugged his waist tightly, crying so hard that he couldn't suppress his sobs.
Jiang Gu took a deep breath. He thought this guy had finally become stronger, since he had only screamed without shedding a tear. But it turned out he was slow to react and was waiting for him here. He said stiffly, "Don't cry."
Wei Feng sniffed, turned his head and kissed his neck, "Oh."
Jiang Gu raised his hand with a dark face, and met his wet eyes. His eyelashes were wet and clumped together, and his eyes were still brimming with tears. When he saw the large ball of tears in his hand, he shrank back in fright, and a crystal-clear tear fell from his eye.
They were as pitiful as could be.
"I'm leaving." Jiang Gu clenched his fist, turned around, and transformed into a streak of light as he emerged from the bottom of the lake.
Wei Feng licked his lips, still wanting more, and followed.
Although the puppet's skin was soft and warm, it was still not as intimate as the real master. Fortunately, the master did not hit the puppet this time.
Next time, give me an extra kiss.
Countless puppets flew out of the lake in all directions. Jiang Gu, with Wei Feng in tow, flew southeast on his sword. Just as they reached the place Jiang Gu had predicted, a flock of birds took flight, followed by a series of explosions.
Jiang Gu, unaware of the presence of others, cautiously landed on his sword. Just then, a fiery red figure emerged from the dust storm and shouted, "Senior Jiang!"
There was only one piece of primordial spirit inside the puppet. Jiang Gu reacted only a moment too late, and Hu Jingchen darted behind him, tightly grabbing his sleeve, his voice trembling as he said, "Senior, save me!"
As soon as Wei Feng landed, he saw a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in red hiding behind Jiang Gu with a panicked expression. His hand was still tightly gripping Jiang Gu's sleeve. Most importantly, Jiang Gu did not shake him off!
"Master." He strode to Jiang Gu's side, grabbed Jiang Gu's hand, looked down at the young man, and grinned through gritted teeth, "You two know each other?"
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