Chapter 55
Gu Linzhi's consciousness was like a small boat in a raging sea, tossed, torn, and drowned. His father's bloodstained face, Mo Ya's fallen arm, Feng Mingyuan weeping blood on the golden steps, Su Wanwan's icy eyes, the ferocious dragon shadow beneath the cold pond, the endless frozen corpses in the pit, and the camphorwood box that burst open, spewing out the monstrous obsession of seventy thousand Jingbei soldiers... All the memories, pain, anger, and unwillingness, like red-hot molten iron, mixed with the cold poisons of "Poison Feather Red," "Blue Spider Saliva," and "Netherworld Palm," and the extremely cold power of "Ice Soul," rushed and exploded wildly through his collapsing sea of consciousness and meridians!
“Ughh ...
He heard a shrill, inhuman howl emanating from his throat, and felt as if his body had been thrown into the chaotic furnace of the dawn of time. Every inch of his flesh and blood was being forcibly torn apart, reassembled, and calcined by terrifying forces! The extreme pain exceeded the limits of human endurance, repeatedly crushing and forcibly gluing his soul together.
At the moment when his consciousness was about to be completely shattered and turned into nothingness—
An extremely faint, yet unusually tenacious and clear warmth, like a spider silk hanging from the dark abyss, quietly sprouted without any warning in the depths of his almost frozen heart.
That warmth didn't come from the outside world, but rather from the deepest part of his own blood! It was the residual medicinal power of the bowl of hot, spicy liquid medicine that the old boatman had poured into his mouth. At this critical juncture of internal and external attacks and the drastic change of yin and yang, it was forcibly stimulated and resonated faintly with some dormant, masculine and fiery essence in his Jingbei Gu family bloodline!
This resonance was like a spark, instantly igniting the extremely chaotic and violent energy turbulence in his body!
"boom--!"
Gu Linzhi's body suddenly arched upward, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer! A mouthful of sticky black blood, faintly tinged with a strange golden glow, gushed out of his mouth, hitting the cold ground with a hissing sound, as if it were extremely hot!
After spitting out this mouthful of blood, the destructive conflict within him suddenly weakened a little! Although the excruciating pain and coldness were still raging, the feeling of being completely torn apart and annihilated eased!
In the chaotic vision, the spurting black blood with golden light seemed to have touched some invisible balance in the pit.
“Buzz!”
The seething blue light in the pit and the surging obsession of the Jingbei Army seemed to be attracted and soothed by something, and the violent fluctuations actually calmed down a little. The lid of the vibrating "No. 7" camphorwood box slowly fell and closed again, but a rich atmosphere of sorrow still seeped out from the cracks.
This sudden change startled Cao Wushang and the old boatman who were about to forcibly suppress the out-of-control situation!
Cao Wushang's narrow eyes suddenly flashed with disbelief. He stared intently at the strange bloodstain on the ground, then suddenly looked at Gu Linzhi, whose body was still convulsing in pain but miraculously had not exploded immediately. His voice changed slightly with extreme astonishment and a certain ecstasy: "The blood of the most yin... can actually neutralize the backlash of obsession?! No... That golden light... is... the nature of yang flame?! How is this possible?! His bloodline..."
The old boatman's cloudy eyes flashed with the surging waves! His dry fingers counted unconsciously, his lips moving rapidly as he muttered to himself, "...Yin reaches its extreme, Yang is born... A life-saving opportunity in desperate situations... Could it be... Could it be that the ancient texts describing 'bloodline nirvana' and 'good times after adversity' are actually true?! Without the external aid of the Yang Yan Stone, one can actually force out a trace of the innate Yang Yan essence through the extreme coldness of their own body?! Although it's as weak as a spark, yet..."
His eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, and for the first time, they were truly and unreservedly focused on Gu Linzhi. His eyes were filled with unprecedented inquiry, shock, and even a hint of... indescribable fanaticism!
Gu Linzhi knew nothing about this. He only felt that after the blood spurted out, although his body was still as if it had been torn apart and crushed, his consciousness seemed to be suddenly pulled back from the endless chaotic storm, and he gained a painful but real "awakeness".
He raised his head with difficulty, his vision still blurry and shaking, but he could see Cao Wushang's shocked and ecstatic expression and the old boatman's unprecedented sharp eyes.
What are they...surprised about? Because they didn't die?
Just then—
"laugh--!"
An extremely subtle yet extremely sharp sound of breaking through the air came out again from the crack in the top of the cave!
This time, the target was Cao Wushang's throat! As fast as lightning, ruthless and decisive!
The old boatman, who had been silent like a shadow, suddenly moved without warning the moment the sound of breaking air was heard! His hunched figure flashed like a ghost, not to block the hidden weapon shot at Cao Wushang, but to slam his dry palm against the stone wall beside him!
“Crack!”
There was a slight sound of a mechanism turning! The bluestone slab Cao Wushang was standing on suddenly flipped downwards!
Cao Wushang was caught off guard, and with a cry of surprise, his body instantly fell downwards! The sharp hidden weapon that was shot at his throat flew past his scalp and deeply nailed into the rock wall behind him!
There was actually a pitch-black entrance to a secret passage below!
"Sir! You?!" Cao Wu's roar of shock and anger came from the secret passage, followed by the sound of a heavy object rolling down and a muffled groan, as if it had fallen quite hard.
The old boatman ignored Cao Wushang's outburst of anger and didn't even glance at the secret passage entrance. As he snapped the trigger, his other hand shot out like lightning, snatching up the newly closed camphorwood box "Number 7" from the ground. With a force unbelievable for his withered body, he hurled it fiercely towards the edge of the hole, which had been opened by Cao Wushang's fall.
"Bang!"
The heavy wooden box hit the edge of the pit, and the huge impact force caused the box to bounce again. More obsessions of the Jingbei Army mixed with the dark blue ice soul cold power surged out!
The entire cave shook violently once again! A dark blue light flashed crazily!
"Go!" The old boatman gave a short and hoarse shout towards the crack in the cave ceiling!
At the same time, he turned around abruptly and pounced on Gu Linzhi, who had just regained consciousness! His dry fingers were like iron hooks, accurately grabbing Gu Linzhi's shoulder acupoints and several large acupoints on his back!
Gu Linzhi only felt a gentle but irresistible force coming, and his body was thrown by the old boatman like flying in the clouds to an extremely hidden, narrow crack covered by shadows on the other side of the cave!
"Go this way! Straight to the outside of the marsh!" The old boatman's voice was quick and short, and for the first time, it was filled with obvious emotional fluctuations. It was a resolute urging, "Stay alive! Your blood... is the key... and also... the fire!"
Gu Linzhi's body slammed heavily into the narrow crack and rolled in. The last thing he saw before his vision was swallowed by darkness was the old boatman's hunched figure turning resolutely to face the pit where obsession and cold energy were once again boiling, and Cao Wushang's furious roar and the increasingly approaching sound of chaotic footsteps coming from the dark passage below!
The old boatman… He actually chose to sabotage Cao Wushang's plan at the last moment, securing a way out for himself?! Why?! Because of that so-called "bloodline nirvana"? "Fire"?
Countless questions and shocks flooded Gu Linzhi's mind, but he had no time to think. His body slid rapidly down the steep and narrow natural slide, and the intense friction and bumps almost broke him apart again.
The slide seemed extremely long and twisted downwards. In the darkness, the only sounds were the scraping of bodies against the stone walls and the whistling of the wind.
I don't know how long I slid down, but finally a glimmer of light appeared ahead! And there was the sound of rushing water!
“Plop!”
Gu Linzhi fell heavily into the cold shallow water, splashing a lot of water. The biting coldness hit him again, making him shiver, but his consciousness became clearer.
He struggled to his feet and found himself at the edge of an underground river. Not far ahead, the river flowed into a wider cavern. At the end of the cavern, the faint light of day could be seen! That was the exit!
And in the shallow water beside him, surprisingly, lay the heavy camphorwood box "No. 7"! It had also been washed out along the slide!
The old boatman… not only did he send himself away, he also sent this box along?!
Gu Linzhi's heart skipped a beat. He endured the excruciating pain that felt like his entire body was falling apart, waded through the water, and struggled to drag the box ashore. The box was still heavy, and the lock was damaged, but overall it was still intact. The obsession of the countless heroic spirits within seemed to have subsided for the time being.
He didn't dare stay for long. Who knew if Cao Wushang's men would catch up soon? He had to leave here immediately!
He glanced at the box, then at his own wounds and the rib wound that still sent a sharp chill. To survive... the fire...
He gritted his teeth, used up his last bit of strength, dragged the heavy box, and staggered step by step towards the daylight at the end of the cave.
Every step felt like walking on the edge of a knife, but he did not stop.
Finally, he emerged from the cave. It was morning, the sky slightly bright, and the rain had stopped at some point. Before him lay an unfamiliar, misty swamp.
He couldn't tell the direction, he just knew he had to get away from the terrifying cave behind him.
He dragged the box and trudged through the muddy swamp. He didn't know how long he walked until he was exhausted, his vision went black, and he could no longer move. Finally, he fell headfirst into a relatively dry reed bed and lost consciousness.
…
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of light footsteps and whispers woke Gu Linzhi from his deep coma.
He snapped his eyes open and looked warily toward the source of the sound. Not far away, he saw several men in Cao Gang uniforms, wounded and wary, carefully searching the area. The leader, with one arm slung across his chest and a ferocious scar across his face, was none other than Luo Manzi!
They actually came?!
"Luo...Manzi..." Gu Linzhi used all his strength to let out a weak cry.
The men looked over alertly in an instant, and when they saw Gu Linzhi, covered in blood and dying in the reeds, and the familiar camphorwood box beside him, they were suddenly shocked and delighted!
"Minister Gu! It's Minister Gu!" "And there's a box!" Everyone rushed over.
Luo Manzi's eyes instantly turned red when he saw Gu Linzhi's miserable state. "Minister Gu! You... you hold on!" He quickly ordered his men, "Quick! Bring the water bag and medicine!"
One man untied his water bag and carefully fed Gu Linzhi a few sips of water. Another man took out a golden wound medicine, but was frightened by the wound under Gu Linzhi's ribs that emitted a faint blue chill, and did not dare to act rashly.
"Minister Gu...your injury..." Luo Manzi's voice choked.
"It's okay... I won't die..." Gu Linzhi panted, his eyes sweeping over everyone, "How did you... find Shen Mo here?"
Luo Manzi's face darkened, and he whispered, "Not long after you entered that day, the Dragon King Temple exploded with bloodshed... Then suddenly there was another earthquake... We waited for a long time but you didn't come out, and Doctor Shen was... dying again... I had no choice but to lead the brothers to protect Doctor Shen and fight our way out of the encirclement, and find a place to hide... Doctor Shen was... seriously injured... Last night... he had already..."
Luo Manzi's voice choked and he couldn't continue.
Gu Linzhi closed his eyes, his heart filled with cold sadness. Shen Mo... was gone too...
"After dawn this morning, we noticed something unusual happening in the swamp. The fog was particularly thick, and there were strange noises... We feared it was related to last night's earthquake, so we risked our lives to investigate... and unexpectedly... we actually found you!" Luo Manzi continued, looking at the box. "This box..."
"The box...put it away..." Gu Linzhi said with difficulty, "The things inside...are more important than life...they are related to...the innocence of 70,000 heroes in the North...and...a greater conspiracy..."
Luo Manzi's expression froze, and he nodded heavily, "Minister Gu, don't worry! As long as I, Old Luo, am still breathing, I will never let this box get lost!" He paused, looking at Gu Linzhi's miserable state, and said anxiously, "Minister Gu, your injury can't be delayed any longer! We must find a doctor immediately! I know there's a small town not far from here. There's an old doctor in the town. He's a good doctor and I can trust him..."
Gu Linzhi shook his head, his eyes looking into the misty depths of the swamp in the distance, his voice hoarse but extremely firm: "No... not going to town..."
He raised his trembling hand and pointed to the depths of the swamp: "Go to... Ningxiang Garden..."
"Ningxiang Garden?" Luo Manzi was stunned, thinking he had misheard. "Minister Gu, that's...that's Su Wanwan's territory! And by now, Shengjing City must be full of East Depot spies. That place is too conspicuous!"
"The most dangerous place... is often the safest..." Gu Linzhi's eyes flashed with a cold and resolute light, "and... some answers... can only be found there..."
Su Wanwan's dying hint, the old boatman's "spark" theory, Cao Wushang's conspiracy, the secrets of the Yunze Society... all the clues seemed to point to that place. He had to go! Even if it was a dangerous place!
Furthermore, the complex injuries and cold poison within his body were beyond the reach of ordinary doctors. And Ningxiang Garden... that place might still contain clues left by Su Wanwan about Hantan grass or other cold poison-controlling ingredients...
Luo Manzi looked into Gu Linzhi's eyes, cold as the abyss yet burning with an unyielding flame, knowing he couldn't persuade him. He gritted his teeth and nodded emphatically, "Alright! I'll go with you! Through mountains of swords and seas of fire, the men of the Cao Gang will accompany you!"
He ordered his men to carefully lift Gu Linzhi and the heavy box. The group, like ghosts, disappeared silently into the vast swamp fog again, and moved forward with difficulty towards Ningxiang Garden, a den of licentiousness and debauchery that was famous in the south of the Yangtze River but concealed countless murderous intentions and secrets.
Gu Linzhi lay on a simple stretcher, looking at the gray sky, feeling the weak but tenacious "fire" in his body fighting against the deep cold poison.
The firewood is gone, can the fire really be passed on?
The answer may lie deep in the cold fog where wisteria flowers bloom ahead.
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