Chapter 213 Life and Death Without Blame (Part 10)
Yellow sand filled the sky, the air was dry and scorching, and Wei Feng felt as if his throat was filled with sand.
He turned to look at Xuan Zhiyan: "Can you still hold on?"
Xuan Zhiyan nodded. Although this body was made of wood, its level of craftsmanship was no less than that of a human body. Even the smallest joints were extremely flexible. Apart from the inability to cultivate, it had almost no flaws.
He still felt somewhat uneasy about the fact that the puppet's body belonged to Jiang Gu.
“The area around Shuncheng is surrounded by magic arrays, so the flying boat can’t get close. We’ll arrive in another hour.” Wei Feng shared some spiritual energy with him.
Jin Yingxiu and Hu Jingchen walked ahead. Xuan Zhiyan glanced at them and couldn't help but ask, "How are things between you and Jiang Gu?"
"Huh? What happened?" Wei Feng looked at him, puzzled.
“…” Xuan Zhiyan paused, “Is he good to you?”
“Of course, he only has eyes for me, he’s gentle and considerate, and he takes care of me in every way.” Wei Feng grinned. “He’s the best master in the world.”
These familiar words made Xuan Zhiyan's expression even more complicated. He said, "You said the same thing back in Yanghua Sect."
"...Really?" Wei Feng awkwardly touched his nose, trying to make amends, "It's true now."
Xuan Zhiyan remained skeptical, but nodded nonetheless: "That's good."
“He also promised me—” Wei Feng’s words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back down.
He longed to share his joy with Xuan Zhiyan, but then he remembered their past grievances, so he nipped his urge in the bud. Leaving aside Qi Fengyuan, Shen Yuxin had also just passed away, so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to bring up his own affairs with Jiang Gu again.
He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, and Xuan Zhiyan didn't ask any more questions. The rest of the journey was quiet and uneventful. Fortunately, Wu Tuo stayed close to Xuan Zhiyan, preventing the atmosphere from becoming too awkward.
Wei Feng suddenly couldn't wait to see Jiang Gu.
As dawn broke, the group finally arrived in Shuncheng.
Most of the people active in Shuncheng were women, which made Wei Feng and Xuan Zhiyan and a few other men stand out. Jin Yingxiu teased them, "You guys would like to change your identities, otherwise you'll never see the light of day again if you get caught and thrown into the Golden Spirit Tower."
"Why were you imprisoned in the Golden Spirit Tower?" Hu Jingchen asked, puzzled.
Jin Yingxiu laughed and said, "Of course we're going to have children. With your superior aptitude, the children's genes will naturally be excellent. It's said that men are very scarce in the tower, since the truly capable ones have all gone to the Eight Pavilions to risk their lives."
"Do you know where the Golden Spirit Pagoda is?" Wei Feng asked.
“Of course,” Jin Yingxiu said. “The Golden Spirit Pagoda is buried underground in the center of Shunni City. This is not a secret among the Eight Pavilions, but finding the pagoda is easy, but getting inside is difficult.”
"How so?"
“The Golden Spirit Pagoda has recognized the Song family as its master. Without someone surnamed Song leading the way, no one else can get in,” Jin Yingxiu said.
Inside the carriage.
Qu Fengyu frowned deeply and said, "You're negotiating with Wu Hezhi? He's not surnamed Song, how can he take you into the Golden Spirit Tower? Besides, I've already agreed to take you in. Jiang Gu, isn't this too unfair?"
Jiang Gu, however, didn't take it seriously. He had already checked all the formations in the West Garden. Seeing Qu Fengyu's strong reaction, he explained, "Song Chongshi already knows that you and Wu Hezhi have formed a Daoist partnership. If he kills you, Wu Hezhi won't survive either. He's keeping you alive until now to negotiate with Wu Hezhi and gain greater benefits. On the other hand, Wu Hezhi will do everything in his power to save you for his own sake. Comparing the two, who is more reliable?"
“...Even so, cooperating with Wu Hezhi is too risky. I don’t trust him.” Qu Fengyu stared at him and said, “You must have other motives for letting Wu Hezhi into the Golden Spirit Tower.”
Jiang Gu said, "I've only had one goal from the very beginning."
Qu Fengyu's mind raced, and he resolutely said, "I will do everything in my power to help you."
Jiang Gu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"As long as you help me kill Wu Hezhi," Qu Fengyu said.
"Are you willing to do that?" Advisor Jiang asked.
“Of course I can’t bear to part with him. I’ve loved him for three hundred years,” Qu Fengyu said, a ruthless glint in his eyes. “That’s why I must kill him. He’s played me for fools. Only when he’s dead can I swallow my anger. He dared to deceive me, so I dare to kill him to prove my Dao.”
Jiang Gu was slightly surprised.
“The Qu family is not to be trifled with.” Qu Fengyu stared at him with a half-smile. “Wei Feng is half a member of the Qu family, and he has a very strong personality. If you dare to betray him, your fate will only be worse.”
Jiang Gu said expressionlessly, "We are master and disciple."
"You two have already communicated spiritually, haven't you? His aura is practically overflowing from you." Qu Fengyu said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm just reminding you. After all, you said it yourself, this silly boy takes every relationship too seriously."
Moreover, no matter how you look at Jiang Gu, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who can fall in love. She can't imagine a scene where Jiang Gu and Wei Feng are deeply in love. On the contrary, she thinks it wouldn't be surprising if Jiang Gu killed Wei Feng with a sword to prove his Dao one day in order to ascend to immortality.
Jiang Gu glanced at her indifferently.
Song Chongshi pushed open the door and walked in.
The carriage swayed, and he staggered. Ignoring Jiang Gu, he sat down next to Qu Fengyu and said, "We'll arrive in half an hour."
Qu Fengyu looked at him with a smile: "What, you can't bear to part with me?"
Song Chongshi's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Does Wu Hezhi know that you are so frivolous outside?"
"There's something I'm curious about. Wu Hezhi is the name of the body he's currently inhabiting. Was he also called Wu Hezhi before he went to Pingze?" Qu Fengyu asked, puzzled. "Didn't he have his own name?"
“How would I know?” Song Chongshi said irritably. “He’s hundreds of years old, and I’m only twenty at most this year.”
Qu Fengyu immediately smiled maliciously, "So naive."
Song Chongshi frowned even more deeply. "Once you're inside the tower and see my brother, don't say anything out of line, and don't try to be clever. If you can get Wu Hezhi to show himself, you'll save your life; otherwise—"
"Otherwise, I would die without a burial place," Qu Fengyu replied with a smile.
Song Chongshi glared at her but showed no intention of leaving. He stopped looking at Qu Fengyu and instead focused his gaze on Jiang Gu, adopting the air of a master as he asked, "What's your name? How come I've never seen you before?"
Jiang Gu lowered his eyes and remained silent.
"Her name is Ling'er. She used to serve in the outer courtyard," Qu Fengyu said lazily. "She's timid, so don't scare her. If you're angry, take it out on me."
Song Chongshi sneered: "If you can't speak properly, you might as well cut out your tongue—"
Sigh—
The carriage stopped, and someone outside whispered, "Young master, we've arrived."
Song Chongshi asked in confusion, "So fast?"
"The eldest young master has changed the entrance formation," the person outside said. "Please be seated, young master."
A feeling of weightlessness washed over him, and the tassels on the window and the tea and snacks on the table floated into the air. As the array twisted, a wisp of black mist silently slipped into Jiang Gu's sleeve and wrapped around his wrist.
As the carriage landed, a strange smell wafted in from outside, and Qu Fengyu instinctively covered his mouth and nose.
"Let's go." Song Chongshi stepped out of the carriage first.
Qu Fengyu and Jiang Gu followed closely behind and went out.
The surrounding scenery was almost identical to that of Shuncheng. If one had to point out the difference, it would probably be that the air was more humid, though the smell wasn't very pleasant. In addition, the texture underfoot was excessively soft, like... Jiang Gu frowned, as if he were stepping on a sticky corpse. Moreover, the smell in the air reminded him of Muchi Island, which the Jiang family used to forge magical artifacts.
The person leading the way didn't use any magical artifacts to speed things up, and Song Chongshi didn't seem to be in a hurry, following behind them at a leisurely pace.
"It's a malfunction array," Qu Fengyu said in a low voice.
Jiang Gu nodded almost imperceptibly.
Moreover, it was an extremely large and powerful malfunction array. Jiang Gu could not feel any flow of spiritual energy within his body. It was as if he had returned to the time before his tribulation when he was seriously injured. His body became extremely heavy, and he could not even enter his sea of consciousness.
These cultivators lost all their spiritual power upon entering the tower, becoming no different from ordinary people. Jiang Gu finally understood why those women were so terrified when they mentioned the Golden Spirit Tower.
"Keep up," Song Chongshi turned and urged them.
Qu Fengyu strode forward, Jiang Gu lagging behind. A slight itch came from his wrist; thin, ghostly markings were drawn on his skin, spelling out: 'Master, I've come.'
Before Jiang Gu could reply, he continued writing: 'What should I do? It seems I can't turn back into human form after I came in.'
'Is it because of the malfunctioning array?'
'Master, I'm so hungry.'
Even though he was just writing, Jiang Gu seemed to hear Wei Feng's aggrieved voice. He took out a few pills from his storage bag, stuffed them into his sleeve, and the soft, cool tentacles wrapped around his fingers, emptying the pills in one go.
They were all pills for replenishing qi and nourishing the spirit, but Wei Feng chewed them without any taste and was still very hungry. Jiang Gu exuded an enticing fragrance, and if it were anyone else, he would have swallowed them whole.
Wei Feng licked the thin layer of skin on the inside of Jiang Gu's wrist. Black ghost patterns wrapped around his arm, spreading down to his shoulder and back, clinging firmly to it. The cool, soft touch made Jiang Gu pause slightly. He raised his hand and wrote on the ghost patterns: 'Come out.'
Wei Feng naturally refused, and manipulated the ghost patterns to write a series of words on his body.
'Uncomfortable.' This was written on my forearm.
'Master, I'm so hungry I want to eat people.' This was written on his shoulder.
'Don't worry, I won't eat you, I'll just lick you.' This was written on my lower back.
'Something's not right here. Luckily, I brought my black jade bracelet.' This was written on my neck.
...Jiang Gu's forehead veins throbbed. 'Shut up.'
Wei Feng was still recklessly groping around, and Jiang Gu was just about to teach him a lesson when the people walking in front suddenly stopped.
Before them stood a towering vermilion gate, from which came the cries of countless infants, a dense and unsettling cacophony that disturbed the peace of mind.
The ghostly markings on his body suddenly quieted down.
Now that the guy had quieted down, Jiang Gu became a little uneasy. He wrote: 'Not feeling well?'
Ghost Pattern, who was perched on his shoulder, gently tapped his earlobe.
The vermilion gate in front of us slowly opened, and a strong stench of blood rushed out.
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