“Drip.”
A drop of water leaked through a crack in the cave wall and landed on the tip of Mo Xi’s nose.
“…”
Mo Xi’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
His gaze was somewhat unfocused, and he did not even know what day or time it was. One moment, the chaos of the Bat Tower was still flickering before his eyes; the next, he saw Gu Mang’s hazy figure walking away into the dusk.
His heart was beating dully beneath his flesh. Before this, it had almost been battered to the point of stopping.
Mo Xi rested for a while. Once his vision was no longer so blurry, he turned his stiff neck and looked around.
He was lying in a cave. It was not very deep, and he could see the starry night outside. A pile of firewood was burning vigorously with crackling sounds. Three people were sitting beside the fire: Gu Mang, Jiang Yexue, and Murong Chuyi. Yue Chenqing was lying not far from him, covered with Jiang Yexue’s outer cloak.
Mo Xi’s head throbbed as though it were splitting apart. He painfully closed his eyes for a moment.
The memories from before he lost consciousness flashed through his mind one by one like sparks.
Everything that had happened inside the Temporal Mirror.
Gu Mang slowly carrying Lu Zhanxing’s corpse away.
The old beggar’s mournful Lotus Falling tune ringing out—
I too once rode a fine horse in light furs, carried in a lofty carriage, commanding thousands beneath my banner to drive before me.
With one cry, we surrounded and startled the demons; the common people welcomed me like a god.
Today, my gold is all spent. Who would pity me now? Friends have scattered, and the hunting dogs are slaughtered once the prey is gone…
And finally, when they emerged from the mirror, Gu Mang standing amid the rain of blood, his face cold and clear.
Mo Xi suddenly sat upright. The movement caught the attention of the three people talking around the fire. Gu Mang noticed first. He turned his head and met Mo Xi’s eyes.
Gu Mang: “…”
Mo Xi: “…”
But Gu Mang’s first words were not directed at Mo Xi.
He stared at Mo Xi for a moment before turning to Jiang Yexue and Murong Chuyi.
“He’s awake.”
The other two immediately looked over. Jiang Yexue came to Mo Xi’s side using his wooden wheelchair.
“Lord Xihe, how are you feeling? Is anything still bothering you?”
Mo Xi did not answer. His heart was pounding as he continued staring at Gu Mang sitting beside the fire.
After coming back to his senses, he was still shocked, bewildered, and astonished by Gu Mang’s sudden recovery. He even felt as though this were a dream.
But when he closed his eyes and opened them again, it was still this cave, these people.
It was real.
The Temporal Mirror had actually stimulated Gu Mang’s mind while taking him back into the past. It had actually allowed Gu Mang to regain the mind he had possessed back then!
“You…” Mo Xi’s withered lips moved slightly, but his voice was extremely hoarse.
Gu Mang glanced at him, then casually turned his blue eyes elsewhere. His expression was almost identical to that of the young man from eight years ago inside the Temporal Mirror, as though covered by a thin layer of cold frost.
Seeing that Gu Mang did not answer, Jiang Yexue was afraid Mo Xi would feel awkward, so he said, “Gu Mang is fine. Also… while you were unconscious, he already told us everything about recovering his memories. You don’t need to worry.”
Through Jiang Yexue, Mo Xi looked at Gu Mang sitting silently beside the fire.
Gu Mang appeared completely at ease. One leg was curled up while the other was propped up, his elbow resting on his knee. Even the front of his collar had been tugged slightly open, exposing a bit of his chest.
He looked just like that military ruffian from years ago.
Since entering the Temporal Mirror, Mo Xi had endured too many shocks, one after another. And this final blow had been completely beyond his expectations.
The moment Mo Xi realized that Gu Mang had recovered his memories, he had experienced a brief, pitiful burst of joy.
That joy came from the fact that their past had finally become something they both possessed again.
But it had only lasted an instant.
Now, as he looked at Gu Mang, the violent pounding in his chest gradually grew cold.
Slowly, that feeling was crushed beneath the unknown, anxiety, helplessness, and bewilderment.
In this brief span of time, he seemed to have thought about many things. Or perhaps he had already been tormented until he was covered in wounds and completely numb.
After his mind remained muddled for a long while, his thoughts finally settled on this:
Gu Mang had recovered his memories, yet he seemed even less like the Gu-Shixiong he remembered. Instead, he had become frighteningly distant and cold.
Clearly, he had been the first to notice Mo Xi waking up, yet he had not even gotten up. He simply let Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue handle things while he turned his face away, holding a cup of hot tea and drinking it as though nothing had happened.
Mo Xi watched his profile, and the heaviness in his heart grew deeper and deeper.
Seeing that he remained silent for so long, staring absentmindedly at Gu Mang, Jiang Yexue asked worriedly, “Lord Xihe, are you all right?”
Mo Xi paused. He forced himself to withdraw his gaze from Gu Mang and calmly said, “…I’m fine.”
After a while, not wanting Jiang Yexue to notice anything else, he changed the subject.
“…Where… are we?”
“We’re still on Bat Island,” Jiang Yexue answered. “Things became too serious, so Wuyan sealed off the entire island. And we’ve suffered heavy losses, so we can’t get out for the time being.”
“Who?”
“The female Bat Queen of Bat Island. Her name is Wuyan.”
Mo Xi listlessly said, “…She’s clearly a bat. Why does she call herself a swallow?”
“Exactly. It’s such a strange name,” Jiang Yexue said. “When we entered the tower, Wuyan was in secluded cultivation at a critical juncture in the underground palace, so despite all the commotion, she never came out. Later, you destroyed her entire clan in the tower, and Chuyi…” Only after saying the name did he realize something was wrong and corrected himself. “Uncle then rescued Chenqing from her secret prison. After you fell unconscious, she happened to finish circulating her cultivation and break through her seclusion, and she chased after us. Fortunately, we still had Gu Mang.”
As Jiang Yexue spoke, he glanced at Gu Mang.
Gu Mang was still fairly polite toward the others. He even grinned at Jiang Yexue as he had before his betrayal.
Jiang Yexue did not know how to respond, so he turned his face back and continued.
“Because Gu Mang was capable of handling things on his own, we managed to escape and find this cave. But Wuyan has gone completely mad. The entire Bat Island is now covered with howling spells. If we’re not careful, she’ll find our trail. I’ve laid concealment talismans here, so we can hide for a while. You don’t need to worry yet.”
Mo Xi raised a hand and pressed it against his throbbing temple. After resting for a while, he turned toward Yue Chenqing, who was still curled up asleep beneath the cloak.
They had not seen him for more than ten days, yet Yue Chenqing had become much thinner. His formerly somewhat round, plump cheeks had sunk completely, making the lines of his face appear particularly gaunt.
Mo Xi asked, “How is he?”
Jiang Yexue was about to answer when he heard Gu Mang say, “If you have something to discuss, come over here. You can warm yourself by the fire and eat something.”
Despite the countless scars in his heart and the layers of old calluses, Mo Xi’s heart still suddenly trembled at those words carrying a trace of warmth.
He looked up at Gu Mang. He had just been about to quietly say thank you when, before the words could leave his throat, Gu Mang drawled leisurely,
“Or is Lord Xihe so delicate now that you can’t walk? Do you need me to carry you?”
That “thank you” was instantly blocked.
It lodged in his throat, choking him so badly that even breathing became difficult.
He had thought that after emerging from the Temporal Mirror, things might ease somewhat.
At the very least, he had wanted to reconcile with Gu Mang. He wanted to properly apologize to Gu Mang for the mistakes of that year. He wanted to try asking Gu Mang once more about the truth behind what had happened back then.
But Gu Mang did not think the same way.
The hostility in Gu Mang’s words was exactly the same as that of the traitorous minister who had sworn loyalty to the Liao Kingdom before.
A tone that showed absolutely no remorse.
Mo Xi said softly, “Gu Mang…”
“Hm?” Gu Mang sneered. “You really want me to carry you?”
“…”
Mo Xi’s eyes gradually darkened, like a candle that had endured suffering for far too long and was finally about to go out.
Gu Mang had extinguished the last light in his eyes.
The attitude Gu Mang displayed after recovering seemed to be sarcastically telling him:
Mo Xi, look at us. We’re already like this. What else is there to talk about?
No matter what the truth is, no matter what happened in the past, we’re enemies now.
We have no other choice.
Mo Xi gritted his teeth and stood up. Despite being severely weakened, he forced himself to walk over to the fire.
He looked deeply at Gu Mang as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he turned his face away.
He silently sat beside Murong Chuyi, at a place farther away from Gu Mang.
Gu Mang naturally noticed where he had chosen to sit. He smiled but said nothing, simply turning the roasted meat over the fire.
The silence around them was unbearable.
After remaining silent for a while, Mo Xi turned to Murong Chuyi.
“How is Yue Chenqing?”
Murong Chuyi looked terrible. His eyes lowered as he said simply, “I’ve suppressed all his injuries. His life is not in immediate danger. But he was infected with a gu worm by the Bat Queen. I can’t remove it.”
Mo Xi froze.
According to what Shanguo had said earlier, Yue Chenqing had been imprisoned in a secret chamber, his entire body wrapped in blood-sucking vines. But Shanguo had never mentioned that Yue Chenqing had also been infected with a gu worm.
“What kind of gu?”
“Never seen before. It’s a type of gu poison that has no record anywhere on the Cultivation Continent. I interrogated the two high-ranking bat demons guarding the secret chamber, but they didn’t know much either. They only said…”
Murong Chuyi suddenly stopped. He frowned as though feeling nauseated and coughed softly.
Jiang Yexue came over and handed him a cup of hot tea.
“Uncle, have some.”
Murong Chuyi’s face was ashen. He pushed him away, spilling tea all over Jiang Yexue’s sleeve.
Jiang Yexue: “…”
Murong Chuyi took a moment to steady his somewhat hurried breathing from coughing, then continued.
“They only said that this gu worm could drain all the blood from a corpse and awaken it as a living corpse. Its appearance, voice, memories, and even emotions could all be reconstructed.”
Gu Mang was bored. He had conjured the demonic stiletto in his hand and was playing with it. He then used the stiletto like a fire poker, sticking it into the flames and stirring them higher.
Hearing this, he said, “Isn’t that just killing someone, then using the corpse to create a new person?”
“Precisely.”
“What does that female demon want to do?” Gu Mang’s slender fingers skillfully spun the blade as he played with it. “She caught Yue Chenqing’s body. Who is she trying to create?”
“I don’t know.” Murong Chuyi looked listless. “Those two high-ranking bat demons were utterly loyal. After I forcefully extracted their thoughts and made them reveal this information, they self-detonated their spiritual cores and killed themselves. So I want to wait until I’ve recovered somewhat, then capture a demon who knows something from the island and question them.”
As he spoke, he coughed several more times.
“To remove the gu from Yue Chenqing, the more we know, the better.”
“…All right.” Gu Mang said straightforwardly, “Then how about this? I already have a Slave Lock around my neck, so I can’t escape anyway. None of you have recovered yet. Why don’t I go out and capture a suitable demon for you to interrogate?”
Murong Chuyi raised his eyes.
“…So kindhearted. Why?”
“I just want to live a comfortable life.” Gu Mang smiled at Murong Chuyi. “I’m helping you rescue someone now. In exchange, I’d like to ask you gentlemen to do me a favor. After we return to the city, please don’t tell anyone yet that I’ve recovered my memories.”
His request was truly unexpected, and the other three fell silent.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Gu Mang spun the stiletto around his hand one last time. With a flick of his fingers, it transformed into spiritual energy and dispersed into his palm. “Is my request really that strange?”
Jiang Yexue said, “Gu Mang, this is a crime of deceiving the sovereign.”
Gu Mang smiled.
He was only sarcastic and extremely cold toward Mo Xi. When speaking to the others, there was still some trace of human warmth between his brows.
“Sorry. I know I’m making things difficult for you. But I have no choice. If the others in Chonghua find out that I’ve recovered, I’ll probably be sent back to Luomei Villa again. People who want to cause trouble for me will come one after another. His Majesty will also use me for the Black Demon Trials and interrogate me about secrets related to the Liao Kingdom.”
Murong Chuyi’s expression was as cold as ice and snow.
“Shouldn’t you receive such punishment?”
“I never said I shouldn’t.” Gu Mang was shamelessly frank. “But I’m still allowed to be afraid, right? Who would want to spend every day either having people plotting to kill them or lying in bed waiting for someone to—”
Such vulgar words naturally made Murong Chuyi’s face turn green.
“You—!”
Seeing this, Jiang Yexue hurriedly smoothed things over.
“If you don’t want to return to Luomei Villa, the three of us can work together to protect you. But we can’t conceal this from Chonghua. Reporting the Liao Kingdom’s secrets is something you should do.”
Gu Mang said bluntly, “I can’t report them. I forgot.”
“…”
Looking at the expressions of the three noble young masters, Gu Mang said with complete sincerity, “Sorry. I really forgot.”
Across the fire, Mo Xi looked at Gu Mang’s face.
The organ in his chest had hurt so much that it gradually gave rise to a trace of resentment and anger at being ignored.
He closed his eyes for a moment, the few words between his lips and teeth nearly crushed to pieces.
“Didn’t you recover your memories?!”
“I never said I remembered everything.” Gu Mang said, “I’m missing two souls. No matter what, I can’t completely recover, can I?”
Mo Xi abruptly stared at him.
The emotion in his eyes was unmistakably both hatred and pain, yet his thin face stubbornly maintained its composure.
“…How exactly did you lose those two souls?”
The smile disappeared from Gu Mang’s face.
After a moment, he said calmly, “Oh. That’s another part I’ve forgotten.”
“…”
“Don’t look at me like that. I really don’t know how I lost my soul. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. If you don’t believe me, you can use soul-searching techniques, force-feed me Confession Water, whatever you want. If you can get the answer out of me, I’ll admit defeat.”
Mo Xi turned his face away. The fingers resting on his knee slowly clenched.
He said nothing.
Murong Chuyi remained as cold and composed as ever. Without any emotion, he considered everything Gu Mang had said before striking straight at the heart of the matter once more.
“If you’re afraid of being mistreated after returning to the city, why don’t you simply kill us now and escape?”
“Beautiful man, that’s a good question.” Gu Mang rubbed his chin and smiled. “As expected, handsome, icy men aren’t easy to deal with. Lord Xihe is like this, and so are you, Mr. Murong.”
Murong Chuyi: “…”
Mo Xi: “…”
Gu Mang smiled, his blue eyes sweeping over everyone one after another.
“In the current situation, it seems I really do have a chance to kill you and flee. Look at yourselves. Brother Jiang is disabled, and his spiritual power has been heavily depleted. Brother Murong doesn’t seem to be feeling well either, probably because he was injured while rescuing his nephew. As for Little Brother Yue, he hasn’t even woken up. Killing him would be easier than killing a sparrow.”
His gaze finally landed on Mo Xi, but only for an instant before lightly moving away.
Gu Mang folded his arms and smiled.
“My heavens. Looking at it this way, it really seems unreasonable if I don’t kill you all and escape.”
Murong Chuyi said, “So?”
Gu Mang’s fingers moved, and he once again conjured the stiletto Yongye.
His movement was sudden, but Murong Chuyi had been watching him the entire time. He too summoned, without the slightest hesitation, a golden spiritual talisman blazing with light, instantly opening a defensive barrier!
Gu Mang looked at the barrier and spread his hands.
“You see? Isn’t that the problem? If I try to kill you, you won’t just let me. Even if my demonic energy gives me the advantage, my spiritual core is shattered, so I may not necessarily be able to defeat you. And even if I did win, I’d inevitably be severely weakened. Then the commotion would attract that female bat. Am I planning to lie down and let her mold me into a clay figure?”
“…”
Murong Chuyi stared at Gu Mang for a moment. The golden radiance between his fingers slowly faded.
He turned back and looked at Yue Chenqing, who was still unconscious.
“I’ll trust you this once. If you honestly help us, I won’t reveal your condition after we leave.”
Gu Mang smiled.
“That won’t be enough if you’re the only one saying it. Can you guarantee that the mouths of these two adorable little nephews of yours will stay shut?”
After a pause, his gaze finally drifted toward Mo Xi, who had remained silent the entire time.
“And this Lord Xihe’s mouth…”
Gu Mang licked his upper teeth, still retaining some of the small habits of a wolfhound. His gaze grew dark and deep as he stared at Mo Xi’s pale-colored lips.
His voice lowered, sweet and gentle.
“His is the most stubborn. Brother Murong, why don’t you ask him for me? See if he’s willing to swallow his pride and obediently use those two pretty lips of his to keep himself quiet for me?”