He Sui’an’s inner Gu sensed the presence of the mother Gu and began to move restlessly. She could almost feel its path, crawling to her fingertips.
Her fingertips felt a slight pain.
The child Gu emerged.
She watched as the insect broke through her fingertip from the inside, the Yin Corpse Gu’s child Gu emerging.
The child Gu wanted to return to the mother Gu, but Yan Luoxu bent down, grabbed it, and crushed it without hesitation, not wanting it to affect the mother Gu.
He Sui’an hadn’t yet recovered from the joy of the child Gu emerging when she looked up to see Yan Wuheng, who had previously had his eyes closed, slowly open them and step out of the ironwood coffin.
Unlike other corpses with the Yin Corpse Gu, he could speak.
“Royal Sister.”
The young man’s voice was low, slightly magnetic, and as good as his appearance.
Yan Luoxu’s eyes reddened.
“Seventh brother.”
She then seemed to remember to answer Qi Buyan’s earlier question. “My Yin Corpse Gu has succeeded. Naturally, my seventh brother is alive.”
Qi Buyan remained silent, smiling.
Though Yan Wuheng could speak, likely due to the Yin Corpse Gu mother within him, his tone was devoid of emotion, and his face expressionless, just like other corpse puppets.
He Sui’an didn’t want to shatter Yan Luoxu’s beautiful illusion, but she had to speak the truth. “No, he hasn’t come back to life.”
“He’s just a puppet, like the others.”
Yan Luoxu, however, remained in denial.
“You lie! Can puppets speak? No, they can’t. My seventh brother can. Didn’t you hear him? He called me Royal Sister. He is alive, he is alive.”
He Sui’an sighed. “He has no consciousness of his own. He’s not alive; he’s a puppet.”
Yan Luoxu covered her ears, refusing to listen.
No, it wasn’t true.
She had spent over a hundred years creating the Yin Corpse Gu, indirectly causing the deaths of many. For them to tell her that her seventh brother couldn’t be revived was something she would never believe.
Moreover, Yan Wuheng was indeed different from other puppets. He called her Royal Sister, just like before… He opened his mouth and called her Royal Sister.
Yan Luoxu suddenly turned to Qi Buyan.
Her gaze was nearly insane.
“My Yin Corpse Gu senses that you have the Silkworm Gu within you. If I get it now, with both the Yin Corpse Gu and the Silkworm Gu, my seventh brother will surely regain his consciousness.”
He Sui’an was startled by Yan Luoxu’s sudden change of expression and instinctively stood in front of Qi Buyan. “The dead cannot come back to life. No matter what you do, he will never truly come back.”
Yan Luoxu ignored her.
She knocked three times on the ironwood coffin.
A stone door opened on the right side of the main chamber, and a man in flowing white robes, with gentle features and long, ink-black hair, walked out.
He approached Yan Luoxu and respectfully bowed, “Master.”
She suddenly slapped him.
“You still remember I am your master? Look at what you’ve done. Don’t think I don’t know you set them up to fall into the ice chamber and then led them to the suspension bridge to come here!”
Yan Luoxu raised her eyebrows slightly and continued calmly, “The reason I didn’t stop you is that I want the Silkworm Gu inside that person. No matter what, your actions are a betrayal.”
He Sui’an covered her mouth in shock.
Qi Buyan remained indifferent.
Bai Yixiao’s face was turned by Yan Luoxu’s slap, a bright red handprint marring his skin, indicating the force she used. He quickly turned back and knelt, bowing his head.
“I just…”
Yan Luoxu interrupted, “Remember your place.”
He Sui’an watched the ethereal-looking Bai Yixiao remain silent for a few moments before he changed his address and said, “I only don’t want you to continue making mistakes.”
“Continue making mistakes?” Yan Luoxu lost her composure, bending down to grab Bai Yixiao’s collar. “You say my saving my seventh brother is a mistake?”
Bai Yixiao looked up at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Master, you have committed too many atrocities. I don’t want you to continue like this. You said the Yin Corpse Gu could bring people back to life, so I helped you. But now, you know it’s a lie. Why won’t you stop?”
Yan Luoxu fixated on Qi Buyan, as if he was her last hope, her last straw to grasp. “It’s not a lie.”
Bai Yixiao showed a hint of disappointment.
“Master…”
Yan Luoxu gently caressed Bai Yixiao’s face and softly said, “Kill them for me. Once that young man dies, the Silkworm Gu will naturally come out of his body.”
He Sui’an felt her heart tighten.
Bai Yixiao remained silent.
Qi Buyan laughed, his thin shoulders shaking slightly, the silver ornaments in his hair clinking. He looked at them and said, “Do you really think that obtaining the Silkworm Gu will bring him back to life?”
He seemed easygoing. “Alright, if you want to try, go ahead. Unfortunately, I don’t want to die by your hands, so you’re destined not to get it, and you won’t even have the chance to try.”
Bai Yixiao hesitated.
Yan Luoxu stepped away from him.
“If you can’t kill them today, then I won’t consider you my servant anymore. We will have no ties. From now on, you will walk your own path, and I will walk mine.”
She only said these few words.
Bai Yixiao stood up from his kneeling position, closed his eyes deeply, and made his final choice. “Alright, I will kill them.”
He walked towards them. “I’m sorry.”
He Sui’an’s mind raced. She stepped in front of Qi Buyan, trying to protect him, even though she knew their situation was dire.
Qi Buyan stepped forward, his demeanor calm. “Bai Yixiao, you don’t have to do this. There’s no need for more bloodshed.”
Bai Yixiao stopped, looking conflicted, but then his face hardened. “I have no choice.”
Yan Luoxu watched with cold determination, ready to see her orders carried out.
As Bai Yixiao approached, Qi Buyan’s smile remained, but his eyes sharpened. “Then let’s see if you can.”
The tension in the air was palpable, as the confrontation was about to begin.
He Sui’an pulled Qi Buyan back.
Bai Yixiao approached them, sword in hand. “She is my master and saved my life. She deserves all my devotion.”
“Even if she commands you to kill innocents?” He Sui’an was cornered.
“Yes,” he replied.
Bai Yixiao bowed to them, his white robes flowing, and then struck with his sword, fast as lightning and cold as a sharp wind, each move a killing blow.
Qi Buyan grabbed He Sui’an’s waist, pulling her back, then lifted her light body by the waist. Her embroidered shoes grazed Bai Yixiao’s sword tip, kicking it away with precision.
Despite being kicked away, Bai Yixiao quickly steadied his sword, readying for another strike.
Yan Luoxu watched as if she were an outsider.
Yan Wuheng’s eyes were empty.
Though slightly different from other corpse puppets, he still didn’t react to anything or anyone, essentially remaining a puppet.
Yan Luoxu looked at Yan Wuheng and smiled. “Seventh brother, you suffered too much before. Royal Sister will make things better for you. Soon, you can reunite with your wife, He Hua.”
Yan Wuheng remained unresponsive.
His eyes didn’t even focus.
Not far away, Qi Buyan half-embraced He Sui’an from behind, using her as a blade to counter Bai Yixiao’s moves. Each time the sword nearly pierced her, they managed to turn the tables.
He Sui’an’s breathing was rapid, her body moving with Qi Buyan’s, amid the flashes of blades and swords. His breath fell hot and moist on the back of her neck.
Suddenly, Bai Yixiao seized an opportunity to thrust at them from the front.
Qi Buyan whispered in her ear.
“Bend down.”
He Sui’an quickly bent down, and a dagger flew from behind her, piercing Bai Yixiao’s heart. Blood bloomed on his white clothes, and he halted, the sword he aimed at them stopping.
Yan Luoxu’s eyelashes trembled, and her lips moved. “Bai Yixiao…”
The sword in Bai Yixiao’s hand fell to the ground.
He turned to look at her.
“Master, I’m sorry. I couldn’t complete the task you gave me. What I owe you, I will repay in the next life.” These were his last words as his eyes slowly closed, and he breathed his last.
Yan Luoxu went mad, lunging at the nearest person, He Sui’an. “Die!”
“None of you will leave here alive!”
One of Yan Luoxu’s hands was equipped with iron claws, capable of tearing flesh and causing severe injury. The last time she sensed the Silkworm Gu in Qi Buyan, she tried to capture it by grabbing his ankle in the well, injuring him in the process.
He Sui’an quickly dodged.
Yan Luoxu’s eyes were bloodshot with rage, her beautiful face contorted into a mask of fury. Just as she was about to use her iron claw to kill, she felt a sharp pain as a sword pierced through her abdomen from behind.
She turned around in shock.
What she saw was the familiar face of her seventh brother, Yan Wuheng.
He had picked up Bai Yixiao’s sword and mercilessly stabbed it into her body.
The blade went in clean and came out red.
Yan Luoxu felt a rush of metallic taste in her throat and spat out a mouthful of blood, her expression blank and her face pale. “Seventh brother…”
Qi Buyan, who had controlled Yan Wuheng to kill Yan Luoxu, smiled innocently. “Didn’t you say he was alive and not a corpse puppet? Why then could I control him to kill you?”
As a Gu master, Qi Buyan could control corpse puppets with the Yin Corpse Gu inside them, but only in very small numbers.
Yan Luoxu was speechless.
The boy’s smile was like that of a merciful Buddha statue, yet also carried the innate wickedness of a demon.
He was a person devoid of emotions.
He didn’t understand familial love, friendship, or romantic love.
Yan Luoxu, who had lived for centuries, realized this through Qi Buyan’s eyes. She felt a pang of envy; those unburdened by emotions were indeed fortunate. Yet, her long life had ultimately been ensnared by familial ties.
