Chapter 325 Extra Chapter 6: Stone Mountain
When Jiang Lin first met Jiang Gu, Jiang Gu was only eight years old.
"His name is Jiang Gu. He will be living with you on Stone Mountain from now on. Please get along well with him." The head maid briefly said Jiang Gu's name and then left.
He was very thin, with an ugly scar on his neck, like a burn or poisoning. His hair was tied back, and his clothes looked tattered, but were very clean and not dirty at all.
The stone mountain was inhabited by orphans of the Jiang family, who had no parents. Although the clan sent people to take care of them, there were too many children, and some could not be looked after. Children with good aptitude and who were obedient would naturally receive attention, while children like Jiang Lin, who were half-human and half-demon, were basically left to their own devices. No children wanted to play with him. He was only provided with three meals a day, some spirit stones, and low-grade magic tools. Even so, some strong children would steal his food and magic tools. Complaining to him would only annoy the adults, and he would occasionally get a beating. Over time, he became a loner, living alone in a secluded tree hole with a little fox.
New children always attract a lot of attention, especially those as beautiful as Jiang Gu—being good-looking isn't a good thing here.
Jiang Man and Jiang Si are twin brothers. Jiang Man has a single spiritual root, while Jiang Si has a heavenly spiritual root. They are already fifteen years old and their size is almost that of an adult. The head nanny also favors them. The two of them often bully others. Jiang Lin had all the fur on his tail plucked by them and was in pain for several months.
With these two brothers around, even if he was curious about Jiang Gu, he didn't dare to go up and remind him.
"Your name is Jiang Gu?" Jiang Man stepped forward and reached out to grab his shoulder, but Jiang Gu dodged her.
Jiang Man chuckled maliciously.
"Just a guy with four spiritual roots, getting even here is incredibly lucky. My name is Jiang Man, and I'm the boss here. From now on, you have to listen to me. You do whatever I tell you to do, understand?" Jiang Man tried to grab his neck, but before he could even touch him, a sharp pain shot through his palm. He cried out in pain and quickly withdrew his hand, "What was that?!"
Jiang Gu walked away expressionlessly, a surge of spiritual energy binding his ankle. Jiang Si said, "You dare to hurt my brother? You're courting death!"
What happened next was a bit chaotic. Many children ran over to watch the commotion, thinking that the newcomer would be severely punished by the Jiang brothers. Jiang Lin hid in the bushes and watched, wanting to go out and help him, but also afraid of the Jiang brothers, so he hesitated for a moment.
Fortunately, although Jiang Gu's cultivation was inferior to the two brothers, he had many tricks up his sleeve and prevented them from gaining an advantage. He even managed to injure Jiang Man.
The head maid rushed over upon hearing the commotion and forcibly separated the three. Without saying a word, she scolded Jiang Gu. Jiang Man and Jiang Si added fuel to the fire from the side, and the maid raised her hand to hit Jiang Gu.
Jiang Linxin was in his throat. He had been beaten by the nanny, and his cheeks had been swollen for several days. Jiang Gu was so thin and small, he was sure to bleed.
But something Jiang Gu said caused the old woman's hand to freeze in mid-air, her expression becoming somewhat distorted. In the end, she even scolded Jiang Man and Jiang Si before angrily leaving.
Jiang Man and Jiang Si were warned and dared not cause any more trouble for Jiang Gu. They could only angrily say, "You'll see."
The children who had been watching came forward one after another. Some talked to Jiang Gu, some looked at him curiously, and some made sarcastic remarks. Jiang Gu ignored them all. Seeing his indifferent attitude, the crowd gradually dispersed.
However, children are no match for adults, and at night, the magic array in the dormitory kept Jiang Gu out of the door.
Jiang Gu didn't mind. He hugged his sword, found a rock to block the wind, and prepared to go to sleep fully clothed.
Jiang Lin hid behind the rock and observed quietly for a while, then tentatively stretched out its tail and gently poked Jiang Gu's hand.
Jiang Gu suddenly opened his eyes and saw a small fox with fiery red fur.
“There are falling rocks here at night, and spirit beasts come to drink water. It’s very dangerous,” Jiang Lin said. “We can’t sleep here.”
Jiang Gu's gaze fell on his fluffy tail.
Jiang Lin was a little afraid of him, so he pulled his tail back and stepped it under his front paws, saying, "I know how to sneak into the dormitory, but everyone sleeps on a large communal bed. Jiang Man and Jiang Si will definitely try to trip me up."
Advisor Jiang: "What kind of sabotage are you trying to cause?"
“They would put poisonous insects and ice spikes in your blankets, and sometimes nightmare spirits, so you couldn’t sleep well,” Jiang Lin said with lingering fear. “They would also pluck all the fur off your tail.”
“I don’t have a tail.” Jiang Gu glanced at the large tail that was being stepped on by his paws.
Jiang Lin said, "You can live with me in the tree hole."
Jiang Gu didn't say whether it was good or bad. Jiang Lin took two steps forward, turned around and looked back at him, signaling him to follow.
Jiang Gu and he arrived at the tree, which was a hollow tree hole. Inside, there was some dry grass, a tattered quilt, and half a chair.
"You sleep here, I'll sleep on the chair." Jiang Lin jumped onto the half-broken chair and curled himself up into a ball.
Jiang Gu hadn't slept. He sat outside the tree hollow, clutching his sword, and asked, "Did they pluck the fur from your tail?"
Jiang Lin nodded: "My mother is a demon. I cultivate demonic power and spiritual power at the same time. Although I only have a single spiritual root, my cultivation speed is very slow. Most of the time I can only maintain my original form. However, this also has advantages. I can go into the forest to hunt and I won't go hungry. I still have half a rabbit for you to eat."
He pulled half a rabbit carcass out of the hole and carried it to Jiang Gu's side.
Jiang Gu glanced at the half rabbit, but ultimately didn't eat it.
Jiang Gu has been on the mountain for half a year, and he spends most of his time alone. Only when he rests at night will he sit in front of the tree hole and listen to Jiang Lin say a few words. Jiang Lin suspects that most of the time he is talking to himself, because Jiang Gu is always cultivating.
One day, he was tricked into the deep forest by a three-year-old child. Jiang Man and Jiang Si broke his legs and tied him upside down to a tree.
"You're a kind-hearted monster. Aren't you close to Jiang Gu? I'd like to see if he'll come to your rescue." Jiang Man took a knife and cut bloody gashes on his limbs. "Just wait to die, little fox."
Jiang Gu did not show up even after they waited until midnight.
Jiang Man asked impatiently, "Did you send him a message?"
"They've spread the word, but they probably don't take this fox seriously at all," Jiang Si said. "Brother, let's not wait anymore, let's go back to sleep."
Jiang Man left with him, but his interest waned.
Jiang Lin noticed that he was getting weaker and weaker, and blood kept seeping from his wounds. The magic arrays were like an impenetrable wall to him. No matter how much he struggled, it was all in vain. He finally lost all his strength and let out a desperate wail.
Then came the whooshing sound, and he fell to the ground.
Jiang Gu stopped in front of him.
Jiang Lin weakly raised its head, then lost consciousness. When it woke up again, it was lying on its haystack, the wounds on its limbs hastily bandaged.
The moon was bright and the stars were few, the dew was heavy, and he smelled Jiang Gu's scent. Then a dying rabbit was thrown in from outside the hole. He lowered his head and sniffed it, then bit off the rabbit's neck and desperately swallowed the warm blood. After regaining some strength, he began to eat the meat in large bites.
Jiang Si is dead.
It is said that his limbs were bitten off by a ferocious beast, and his vital essence was taken out.
Jiang Lin looked at Jiang Gu with some surprise and doubt, but the other party was only one year older than him, an eight-year-old child, and a four-elemental root. How could he kill a young man like Jiang Si, who had a heavenly elemental root?
He soon found out the answer.
When he was captured by Jiang Man and was about to be killed, Jiang Gu reappeared and stuffed a Yuan Dan into his mouth. He immediately felt the surging spiritual power and then, for the first time, revealed his sharp fangs to his abuser.
He trampled Jiang Man under his feet, biting off Jiang Man's neck like he bit off a rabbit's, and tasted human blood.
Still in shock, he transformed into human form, his face covered in blood as he looked at Jiang Gu: "W-what do I do? I killed someone... I... I killed someone."
“He tried to kill you first,” Jiang Gu said coldly.
While Jiang Lin was terrified, a strange excitement and thrill welled up inside him. The feeling of being a powerful person in control of his own life invigorated him, and his expression twisted for a moment: "You... have you ever killed someone?"
“I’ve killed many.” Jiang Gu used his spiritual power to take out Jiang Man’s Yuan Dan and tossed it to him from a distance.
Jiang Lin hurriedly took it.
"Go back to your dorm to sleep tonight." That was all Jiang Gu left behind.
He tried to grab Jiang Gu, but just as he was about to touch him, he was flung away by a cold spiritual force. He didn't care, and his gaze towards Jiang Gu was filled with envy and admiration.
For a long time, Jiang Lin believed that Jiang Gu had killed the two brothers because of him, but later he realized that whether or not he was involved, their deaths were inevitable from the moment Jiang Man and Jiang Si began to show hostility towards Jiang Gu.
The deaths of the Jiang brothers did not cause much of a stir. Jiang Lin and Jiang Gu moved into the dormitory together, and the food and magical artifacts that were supposed to be theirs finally came into their hands. But Jiang Lin knew that the wealth accumulated by the Jiang brothers over the years had also fallen into Jiang Gu's hands, and the things that had been stolen before had also returned to him.
As Jiang Lin spent more time with Jiang Gu, he gradually discovered that Jiang Gu was not as cold and ruthless as he appeared.
Jiang Gu is passionate about cultivation, but he also has the curiosity of an ordinary child. He likes some fluffy and cute little spirit beasts, and he has a preference for delicious spiritual food. He will also go up the mountain to catch birds and down the river to catch fish at his urging. Occasionally, when they encounter a class taught by a sect leader they don't like, they will sneak out and search for some rare things all over the mountains and fields.
That day, Jiang Lin caught several fat rabbits and carried them in his mouth to Jiang Gu: "Jiang Gu! We're having roasted rabbit tonight—"
He was so frightened by the enormous creature in front of him that he loosened his grip: "What kind of spirit beast is this? Did you kill it?"
Jiang Gu shook his head: "It seems to be injured."
The spirit beast was more than half a zhang tall lying on the ground, its snow-white fur stained with blood. It was panting heavily, and its clear, bright eyes looked at Jiang Gu pleadingly. Its tail was wrapped around Jiang Gu's wrist.
Jiang Lin gasped. Jiang Gu hated being touched, and he knew about this bad habit of Jiang Gu's. He usually didn't put his arm around Jiang Gu because the consequences of Jiang Gu getting angry were severe.
Just when he thought the spirit beast's core would be dug out, Jiang Gu squatted down and took out some pills to heal its wounds.
"You want to save it?" Seeing this, Jiang Lin had no choice but to take out his healing pills and channel his demonic power into the spirit beast.
Jiang Gu nodded indifferently.
Jiang Lin was very happy. He touched the spirit beast's ears and exclaimed in surprise, "Its ears are so soft, feel them."
Jiang Gu reached out and touched it, paused slightly, and then the spirit beast nuzzled him into its arms.
“It likes you very much,” Jiang Lin said. “Let’s keep it. Anyway, you don’t have a contracted spirit beast.”
Jiang Gu nodded: "Okay."
"Let's give it a name?" This spirit beast was gentle in nature. Jiang Lin transformed into a little fox and lay on its back. "It looks like my mother. How about we call it Mother?"
“Your mother is a red fox.” Jiang Gu lifted him away, pondered for a moment, and said, “Chi Xue.”
"Its fur is so soft and fluffy, it really does look like snow. Why is it red?" Jiang Lin came closer and touched noses with Chi Xue. Chi Xue tilted its head and rubbed against him, then tilted its head and rubbed against Jiang Gu.
“Let it be your mother,” Jiang Gu said expressionlessly.
Jiang Lin laughed loudly: "Jiang Gu, your joke is really bad."
Jiang Gu ignored him and treated Chi Xue's wounds. Chi Xue imitated Jiang Lin's original form and turned into a small ball. Jiang Gu hugged it in his arms.
Children always have a special fondness for little spirit beasts, so Jiang Lin leaned closer and said, "Let me hug one too."
Jiang Gu handed it to him, saying, "You can only hold half an incense stick."
Jiang Lin retorted, "I'll also pick up a powerful spirit beast, bigger than Chi Xue."
Jiang Gu said calmly, "No spirit beast can be more beautiful than Crimson Snow."
"There definitely is," Jiang Lin said confidently, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh no, my rabbit!"
The summer night sky is filled with twinkling stars, and even the evening breeze carries the fresh scent of grass and trees.
The rabbit sizzled and dripped oil as it roasted. Jiang Lin sat cross-legged by the fire, watching Jiang Gu turn the rabbit over. He took out spices from his storage bag: "I traded these with spirit stones from Brother Zhuang in the kitchen. They say they also contain a secret sauce that's amazing for roasting rabbit. Put some on."
Jiang Gu nodded: "Although it tastes good, you can't eat too much of it, as the turbid energy inside is not beneficial to cultivation."
Chi Xue lay sprawled behind them, its massive body completely shielding the two children in its embrace. Its fluffy tail drooped beside Jiang Lin's legs, pushing away the firewood that was about to burn his fox tail. Its head rested on its two front legs, and it exhaled a breath to seal Jiang Gu's excess spiritual energy, then lazily yawned.
Jiang Lin and Jiang Gu leaned against it and ate rabbit. The two children didn't eat much; the rest went into its belly. Then, the two of them huddled together and piled up the last of their pills and spirit stones, placing them near its mouth.
"The pills are more effective than rabbit meat, even though they don't taste good." Jiang Lin pried open its mouth and tried to stuff it down its throat, but its head was already halfway in. If Chi Xue closed its mouth, it could bite its head off.
Jiang Gu pulled the person out, thought for a moment, stuffed the pill into the rabbit meat, and waved it in front of Chi Xue's nose: "This way you won't taste the bitterness."
Akashi: "..."
It eats people like candy, so it's naturally not afraid of the bitter pills. But seeing the two little cubs racking their brains to feed it the pills, it reluctantly cooperated and slowly gnawed on the rabbit meat, even though it thought the two little cubs tasted better.
After eating and drinking their fill, Jiang Lin and Jiang Gu fell asleep. At first, Jiang Lin was in human form, lying on Chi Xue's belly, while Jiang Gu sat upright in meditation. But not long after, Jiang Lin suddenly transformed into a little fox and rolled into Chi Xue's fluffy fur. Jiang Gu also turned to the side and rested his head on its forelegs.
Chixue snorted and flicked its large tail, covering the two cubs and shielding them from the cold mountain wind.
Then he lazily yawned and drifted off to sleep.
It's all because of the roasted rabbit. Chi Xue thought to herself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
