No, this was part of her body.
However, Qi Buyan didn’t think much of it. So what if their bodies were structured differently? After all, it was just a layer of flesh and skin. He calmly withdrew his hand, his fingertips still warm and slightly damp.
Despite everything, he had developed some curiosity about this.
After killing a few more people, he felt a bit tired and sat nearby to wait for the snake venom to dissipate.
The snake venom would disappear in about an hour.
For He Sui’an, that hour felt incredibly slow. Her emotions were complex and hard to describe. However, seeing Qi Buyan sitting calmly with his eyes closed, her turbulent feelings gradually settled.
After resting enough, Qi Buyan walked over to the Gu pool and crouched down.
The water surface vaguely reflected his face.
Qi Buyan reached in and stirred the water a few times. The ripples fragmented his reflection, and the Gu insects at the bottom of the pool swam over at the disturbance but stopped just a finger’s length away.
They didn’t need to look for an exit; it was diagonally above the Gu pool. The young man who had ordered their deaths had also left from there.
The young man hadn’t taken the zitan wood guqin.
Or rather, the zitan wood guqin had always been placed there.
The Gu insects in the pool didn’t dare to touch Qi Buyan. After staying by the pool for a bit, he walked a few steps to the guqin, bent down, and plucked a string. A “zheng” sound echoed.
As time passed, the snake venom dissipated.
He Sui’an got up from the ground, trying her best to appear unaffected by the previous events. She stood where she was and said to Qi Buyan, “I’m fine now. We can leave.”
Qi Buyan released the strings made of silkworm silk and looked up at her. “Why are you talking to me from so far away?”
She reluctantly walked closer to him.
“No, I’m not.”
He Sui’an wasn’t good at lying. She stammered easily, and her gaze involuntarily fell on the boy’s slender fingers, slightly calloused at the tips.
Qi Buyan responded with a thoughtful “hmm” and said no more. He didn’t bother with the guqin on the stone table and headed towards the exit. He Sui’an followed behind him, rubbing her shoulder that hurt from the fall.
Without lifting her clothes, she could already guess it was bruised purple.
The top priority now was to find the mother Gu of the Yin Corpse Gu. She didn’t want to stay in the Tomb of King Yan anymore.
She didn’t know if it was fate or bad luck, but ever since she got involved with the Tomb of King Yan, she had been suffering continuous injuries, both big and small.
As she walked, she kept an eye on her surroundings.
Leaving the Gu pool, the exit led to a simple hidden passage, constructed with irregularly shaped stones that seemed artfully arranged, appearing quite beautiful. Every ten steps, a lamp hung from the ceiling.
Light shone down, illuminating their path ahead, casting their shadows slantingly on the ground, with occasional drops of water dripping from the walls.
He Sui’an couldn’t stand the sound of water in such enclosed spaces.
She always had the illusion that they weren’t alone, as if something was following them. She shook her head, trying not to scare herself.
Rather than frightening herself, she thought it better to consider something useful, turning her thoughts to the Tomb of King Yan.
Who exactly created the Yin Corpse Gu?
Was it that young man just now?
At first, he didn’t seem to want to kill them. He said that as long as they left, they could find a way out. Only when they refused did he order his men to attack them viciously.
If the young man wasn’t the one who created the Yin Corpse Gu, he must have known something about it. However, there was one thing He Sui’an couldn’t figure out: why would someone create the Yin Corpse Gu in the first place?
Could it be to kill everyone in Fengling Town?
That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.
But her intuition told her that wasn’t the main reason. She caught up to Qi Buyan, who was walking ahead. “Do you know everything about Gu?”
Qi Buyan replied, “More or less.”
“Have you ever created the Yin Corpse Gu?”
He answered, “No, creating the Yin Corpse Gu requires a place like an ancient tomb, with the right timing and location. It’s indispensable. I was in Gu Mountain before, with no ancient tombs around. I’ve only read about it in books.”
He Sui’an asked again, “Does the book mention what the Yin Corpse Gu is specifically used for?”
“Killing.”
Qi Buyan stated bluntly.
He Sui’an knew the Yin Corpse Gu could be used for indirect killing. She wondered if there could be other uses: “Are there any other uses?”
“Indeed, there are other uses for creating the Yin Corpse Gu. It’s rumored that a successfully created Yin Corpse Gu can bring people back to life.” Qi Buyan chuckled softly, “Some people might try to create it for this reason.”
He Sui’an noted this down.
She had doubts: “Can the Yin Corpse Gu really bring people back to life?”
“No.”
He replied indifferently, “When someone dies, they are dead. Even with the Yin Corpse Gu, you can’t bring them back. You’d only deceive yourself with a puppet containing the mother Yin Corpse Gu.”
The difference between a person and a puppet made from a corpse lies in whether it still possesses its own consciousness.
Consciousness is key.
Whether it was the crazed individuals encountered in Fengling Town or the corpse puppets met in the Tomb of King Yan, they no longer possessed their own consciousness and thus could no longer be considered truly human.
There was no way to restore them to normal.
The rumor that the Yin Corpse Gu could bring people back to life was likely false.
After hearing Qi Buyan’s words, He Sui’an’s thoughts became much clearer. She added this to the list of potential motives for the person behind everything.
They would definitely encounter more obstacles from this person in the future. Understanding the opponent’s motives in advance would prevent them from being too passive, and might even turn the situation around, providing conditions for negotiation.
She looked ahead.
The path ahead led to a suspension bridge.
At the end of the suspension bridge was a large, black and red door, towering and imposing, mysterious yet solemn. The paint had faded, indicating its ancient existence, as if it were telling stories of the past.
Like the tightly closed door, the suspension bridge was also very old. Looking down, one couldn’t see what lay at the bottom, appearing like an abyss ready to swallow anyone who stared too long.
He Sui’an averted her eyes.
Qi Buyan took out a sheepskin map from his pocket. There was no mark of the suspension bridge on it.
This sheepskin map marked every chamber in the Tomb of King Yan and some other locations, but there was no mention of any traps or mechanisms. Those who entered had to rely on their own skills to navigate.
The absence of the suspension bridge on the map indicated something significant.
It could mean this was a special path.
Possibly a dead end, or perhaps a shortcut.
Was that young man really trying to kill them, or was he pretending, actually intending to lead them to the suspension bridge? Qi Buyan rolled up the sheepskin map and put it back in his pocket, unconcerned about the young man’s motives.
He Sui’an carefully stepped on the bridge’s edge, fearing it wasn’t sturdy.
As she stepped on it, it creaked.
Yet it showed no signs of breaking.
The suspension bridge was held together not by iron chains, but by vines. Could these vines still support the entire bridge after all these years?
She tugged at Qi Buyan’s sleeve, “Are we really going to cross this bridge?”
He stepped onto it, “Yes.”
He Sui’an followed him onto the suspension bridge. Because it was so long, the moment someone stepped on it, it swayed violently. The only way to stabilize oneself was by holding onto the vine railings serving as handrails.
Qi Buyan seemed accustomed to crossing suspension bridges, moving as if walking on flat ground. In a flash, he was at the other end of the bridge.
He Sui’an, still in the middle of the bridge, couldn’t help but feel envious.
Just as she was about to quicken her pace to reach the end, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, her pupils contracted in shock.
It was the corpse puppets.
They surged towards the suspension bridge with clear intent, causing the bridge to sway so much that He Sui’an could barely keep her footing. Could all the corpses in the Tomb of King Yan have been used to create the Yin Corpse Gu? As soon as she dealt with one batch, another appeared.
Turning back was not an option.
She released the railing and began to run for her life.
Running increased the risk of falling off the bridge, but it also provided a chance for survival.
If she waited for the puppets to catch up, given the narrowness of the suspension bridge, she might be knocked off immediately. They recognized their own kind and wouldn’t kill or bite each other, but they wouldn’t make way either.
He Sui’an saw several puppets already being pushed off the bridge by their own kind, falling like dumplings into a pot.
Her stamina couldn’t match that of these puppets, who had been soldiers before their deaths. Halfway across, she was already out of breath.
No, she needed to come up with a plan.
She couldn’t always rely on others.
This was why she didn’t call out to Qi Buyan for help. What if she ended up dragging him into danger? The suspension bridge was already in a precarious state. He had reached the end of the bridge; why make him risk coming back to save her?
He Sui’an wasn’t a saint. She feared death, but she also understood that it was better for one to survive than none. Since she hadn’t asked Qi Buyan for help, he stood silently at the bridge’s end, watching her like an observer.
Suddenly, an idea struck He Sui’an.
Got it!
