Chapter 12
Shoutout to ethanldf for the commission!
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Ying Kai was right. If Gong Wei had truly perished under the No Way Out Sword sixteen years ago, then he would have completely vanished from this world, and there would be no possibility of him returning to life after sixteen years.
Inside the room, there was a suffocating silence, as if even the sound of breathing was suppressed. After a long time, Gong Wei heard Xu Shuangce’s deep voice coming from the other end of the bamboo tube, through the gap in the door: “Anything could happen with Gong Wei. I understand him better than you do.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Or should I say, he’s not entirely human.”
Even after I’ve been dead for sixteen years, the boss is still so serious!
Gong Wei sighed and shook his head. He could also hear Ying Kai’s obvious frustration: “Gong Wei was born with a complete set of spiritual roots and meridians, and he’s already deceased. How could he not be… Well, this argument is meaningless. We’ve debated this many times before, and there’s no point in continuing.”
Ying Kai sighed deeply, “Sometimes I can’t help but think of Gong Wei when he was a child. You two got along so well, and ‘Zhiyu’ was the name you gave him. If I could have foreseen this outcome back then, and didn’t let Gong Wei help you break through the Illusory World and the Killing Barrier in the Thousand Mirror Realm, would things be different now?”
When he suddenly mentioned the name “Zhiyu,” Gong Wei was slightly surprised.
Indeed, it was Xu Shuangce who named him.
It was when Gong Wei was just brought back to the Immortal Alliance by Ying Kai from Cangyang Sect, and he hadn’t learned how to speak yet. One day, Sect Master Xu came to the Immortal Alliance to handle some matters and brought a small suona as a gift for him. Gong Wei cherished it as if it were a treasure, playing it all day long, to the annoyance of everyone on Mount Dai. Until one night, Ying Kai couldn’t take it anymore, got out of bed, kicked open the door, and forcibly took away the suona, throwing it away. The next day, he specifically sent a transmission charm to Cangyang Mountain, bitterly scolding Xu Shuangce for half an hour.
After listening to Gong Wei’s performance through the transmission charm, Xu Shuangce remained silent for a long time before saying, “This child will have to take the name ‘Zhiyu’ in the future. It’s most suitable.”
Ying Kai, still filled with anger, asked, “Why?”
“Among the five notes, only three are present.”
Ying Kai snorted in disdain, but Gong Wei, upon hearing this, once again felt as if he had obtained a treasure. He immediately began using the name everywhere — on letter paper, compositions, and even on music scores, which were filled with “Gong Zhiyu” as if written in ghostly symbols. By the time Ying Kai discovered what was going on, it was too late for him to give his disciple a proper name. Everyone in the world already knew him as Gong Wei Zhiyu.
There was a moment of silence at the other end of the bamboo tube, then Xu Shuangce said, “This is fate, and it won’t change. There’s no need to say more.”
Ying Kai responded, “Although that’s true, I’ve been troubled by this for so long… What happened in the Illusory World of the Thousand Mirror Realm twenty years ago? Gong Wei only told me that you were enchanted by a woman in the mirror, and he feared that if the Killing Barrier was broken, you would develop emotional attachments, so he had to intervene and kill the woman in the mirror. But in the end, you hated him for it. Shuangce, although Gong Wei’s methods of solving problems are usually straightforward, that’s just his nature. Moreover, the woman in the mirror was just an illusion, not a real person. After Gong Wei’s death, I advised you several times, but you refused to confide in me. Now that the Bai Tai Shou has reappeared, shouldn’t you tell me some of the truth?”
Ying Kai’s preaching style was evident in his lengthy speech, but Xu Shuangce’s response was calm. He said, “Didn’t Yuchi Rui write about it in Yearning Pampered Slave?”
Ying Kai: “How did you know it was —”
He almost blurted out the second half of the sentence, but fortunately, the quick-witted Ying Kai swallowed his words back and said awkwardly, “So… Changsheng wrote it? How could he act so recklessly? I’ll definitely send a letter to reprimand him! But Shuangce, you may not know that Gong Wei didn’t tell Changsheng much about the truth. Therefore, that book, ‘Yearning Pampered Slave,’ has many fabrications and distortions. Over the years, I’ve ordered its prohibition several times and never took it seriously…”
Xu Shuangce said coldly, “Let him distort it. Ignore it. You might as well take it seriously.”
Ying Kai suddenly fell silent in a strange manner, and after a while, he cautiously said, “Um… Shuangce, have you read Yearning Pampered Slave?”
“No. Why?”
Gong Wei upstairs: “?”
Unable to resist, Gong Wei leaned his ear forward again, and after a long while, he finally heard Ying Kai’s difficult voice from the other end of the bamboo tube:
“I’m not very willing to believe… After you lost your wife, you were so heartbroken… that you… castrated yourself.”
The air suddenly became deathly still.
Xu Shuangce on the other end of the bamboo tube: “…………”
Gong Wei on this end of the bamboo tube: “…………”
Ying Kai awkwardly said, “Shuangce, are you… alright? I’ve already dealt with Changsheng. How about… you sit down and have some tea first? I’ll rush to Linjiang Capital to meet you?”
“I will naturally investigate the matter in Linjiang Capital.” After a long silence, Xu Shuangce finally spoke word by word, “Regardless of whether the Bai Tai Shou is real or fake, I will bring it to Dai Mountain. You go and instruct Yuchi Changsheng to guard the gate plaque of Yejin Gate.”
Ying Kai hurriedly tried to calm him down, “Stay calm, Shuangce. You should wait for me to rush over from Dai Mountain personally. I’m afraid you might—”
Suddenly, there was a loud noise downstairs, accompanied by Yuchi Xiao’s exclamation, “Shoot!!”
A loud crash followed, as if the mercury mirrors were shattering one after another. Xu Shuangce only left a sentence of “We’ll talk later” and heard Ying Kai’s futile voice, “Shuangce, wait for me—”
Gong Wei’s first reaction was that this ghost cultivator had quite the audacity to appear within the formation set up by Sect Master Xu and create such a commotion. His second reaction was: opportunity!
With a swift movement, he retracted the bamboo pole, rushed out, and headed straight for the second floor, barging into the closed door. As expected, Xu Shuangce had already left the room when the mirror formation in the hall shattered and was not present at the moment.
However, the transmission formation had not completely disappeared yet. Within it, there was the phantom of a tall and slender man dressed in deep blue clothing and a white robe, who was none other than Ying Kai!
Just as Ying Kai was about to step out of the formation, he was surprised to see a handsome young man he didn’t recognize burst into the room. Gong Wei didn’t have time to explain and excitedly rushed forward to grab his leg, “Sen—”
Before the crucial word “ter” could come out, Gong Wei’s internal alarm bells rang loudly, and he abruptly changed his direction in mid-air.
A swirling gray mist appeared in mid-air, then transformed into a hood, crimson dots of light, and the sword wrapped in a film of blood. It was actually the ghost cultivator!
It actually rushed here so urgently to kill him!
Amidst his surprise, Gong Wei instinctively felt a sense of suspicion, as if he sensitively detected that something was amiss. But there was no time to think further at this moment. He rolled on the ground and retreated into the corner of the wall. The ghost shadow hesitated for a moment before transforming into dense gray smoke in place, then suddenly reappeared in front of him, its clawed fingers thrusting towards Gong Wei’s right eye.
“?” Ying Kai couldn’t see the ghost cultivator and exclaimed in confusion, “Is there something in the room?”
With a crisp sound, Gong Wei slapped the ghost shadow all over the face, crying out in tears, “Help! It’s me, Senior—”
Before he could say “Brother,” a strong wind descended from above, it was the No Way Out Sword!
Gong Wei was so angry that he almost turned into a fierce ghost on the spot. Xu Shuangce had already arrived in mid-air, raised his hand to extinguish the formation, and Ying Kai’s figure immediately dissipated in a faint golden light.
At the same time, the ghost shadow was forced to release Gong Wei, hesitated for a few moments in place, then retreated several feet away, silently disappearing into the void in place.
“It’s trying to escape!” Gong Wei, who was extremely adaptable, decisively changed the object of his leg-grabbing to Xu Shuangce. “Master, be careful, it’s over there!”
Yuchi Xiao, who had just rushed up, almost slipped and fell upon hearing this. He pulled Gong Wei behind him and whispered, “You’ll die! How dare an outer disciple climb up and call him Master?”
Gong Wei said firmly, “You don’t understand. In my heart, the Sect Master is incomparable to anyone else, not even ‘Master but like Master’!”
Sect Master Xu turned his head to glance at him, his eyes covered by his eyelashes showing no emotion, then turned around and made a gesture. The hundreds of mercury mirrors under their feet simultaneously exploded, turning into a giant dragon that surged up, enveloping the invisible ghost shadow that hadn’t completely disappeared yet.
Countless small mirrors formed a miniature mirror palace, surrounding it from all directions, and in an instant, countless silver lights flashed. The ghostly figure struggled fiercely, but couldn’t break free, trapped tightly!
With each struggle, the suspended mirror cage twisted and collided, countless glass shards squeezing and rubbing against each other, producing sharp and deafening noises.
“You can’t escape.” Xu Shuangce remained unchanged in expression, folded his hands, and said, “Ordinary people cannot see you because you do not exist in the human world or in the ghost realm. You can only wander between the two realms. You are neither human nor ghost, but something in between.”
Everyone had a look of realization, and Yuchi Xiao asked in astonishment, “Then, what is it?”
“Mirrors connect yin and yang, so they can not only be used as a medium for illusions but also the most effective way to trap you.” Xu Shuangce didn’t answer the younger disciples’ questions and looked at the invisible ghost shadow trapped in the mirror cage, finally asking, “Who are you?”
“—-The Twelve Mansions of the Guiyuan told me that Law Flower Immortal has already perished, yet sixteen years later, you are wielding the Bai Tai Shou and killing people everywhere. Who exactly are you?”
Gong Wei felt exhausted again and rubbed his forehead. He didn’t expect that after sixteen years of absence, Sect Master Xu would become so suspicious. He had just assumed that this ghost cultivator was the resurrected Law Flower Immortal, which nearly angered the usually kind Ying Kai. Now, he was interrogating the ghost cultivator again, “Who are you?”
Regardless of who it was, they had to die. Just kill them directly, and quickly snatch back the Bai Tai Shou!
The ghost shadow couldn’t answer Xu Shuangce’s question. The place where its face should be flashed with crimson lights in confusion, then suddenly turned towards Gong Wei, clearly revealing intense killing intent in its actions.
Gong Wei suddenly realized that it might not be able to speak because it didn’t have seven apertures. With a flash of insight, he popped his head out from behind Yuchi Xiao and shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth, “Master! It’s not trying to harm people everywhere. It’s been looking for me all along!!”
“…”
Xu Shuangce clearly didn’t want to deal with the term “master”, and Gong Wei didn’t care either. With determination, he shouted, “Before I came to Linjiang City, it was using mirror techniques to target people with heavy yin destinies everywhere. However, on the night I arrived in Linjiang City, even though I hadn’t been affected by the mirror technique, it immediately appeared! It couldn’t wait to kill me with its own hands! The next day, when I luckily survived, it suddenly appeared on the streets outside the Linjiang Palace, randomly harming people in broad daylight, no longer selective about its victims—what does that indicate?”
“There’s no need to search any further! It has already found its true target, which is me, Master!”
At this moment, Meng Yunfei also began to realize, “Young Master Xiang does indeed have an extremely rare full yin destiny. The books say it’s suitable for… suitable for being a cauldron, and also suitable for…”
Yuchi Xiao picked up, bewildered, “Resurrection through borrowing a corpse.”
Xu Shuangce’s eyebrows jumped slightly.
Yuchi Xiao hesitated, “Sect Master Xu, because of the matter with being Dao companions, I’ve looked at Xiang Xiaoyuan’s Four Pillars of Destiny. He happened to be born… He was born on the same day… sixteen years ago… as when Law Flower Immortal ascended to the heavens…”
Dying on the same day as being born, the timing and location in the Four Pillars of Destiny were indeed the most suitable for resurrection through borrowing a corpse!
If Xu Shuangce’s skepticism lingered even a bit, wondering whether this ghost cultivator was truly Law Flower Immortal, it should be mostly dispelled by now.
Gong Wei breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly and shrunk further behind Yuchi Xiao. He was calculating how to persuade Sect Master Xu to kill this ghost cultivator on the spot, so there would be no evidence, and he would be completely safe—when Xu Shuangce slowly said:
“Is that so.”
There was a hint of strangeness in his tone, but unfamiliar ears wouldn’t pick it up.
“With incomplete senses and insufficient apertures, what sustains you to wander between the realms of the living and the dead?” He turned towards the mirror cage in the air not far away, didn’t draw out the No Way Out Sword, but slowly raised a hand, “Let me take a look.”
The ghost shadow seemed to realize something and struggled violently. At this moment, Xu Shuangce disappeared from his original position and appeared in front of it. At the same moment, the countless mirror pieces burst open together. Ignoring everything, the ghost shadow rushed out of the cage and headed straight for Gong Wei!
A clear sound pierced through the clouds, Meng Yunfei’s five strings vibrated together, and sound waves splashed into transparent ripples on the ghost shadow’s body. Seizing the opportunity, Yuchi Xiao slashed horizontally with his sword, forcing the ghost shadow to transform again into smoke. In an instant, it appeared above Gong Wei’s head, and the black mist swiftly condensed into sharp clawed fingers, aiming straight for his crown.
With a loud bang, Yuchi Xiao kicked Gong Wei away, narrowly avoiding the clawed fingers scraping his face!
Gong Wei could have dodged it himself, but he was kicked away in an instant before he could even speak, feeling indescribably desolate. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a blood sword coming towards him. Just as the critical moment arrived, there was a clang! The sound of metal clashing, as the No Way Out Sword clashed with the blood sword, forcibly stopping the ghost shadow.
Xu Shuangce stood in front of Gong Wei, one hand holding the sword to block the ghost shadow, while the other hand formed a seal. In the distance, the mirror cage instantly turned into a surging torrent, twisting into several streams like lightning, binding the ghost shadow tightly!
Everything happened so quickly and smoothly that Gong Wei, lying flat on the ground, almost applauded him. The ghost shadow was firmly locked by countless chains made of mirror pieces. Before it could struggle desperately, Xu Shuangce had already reached into its ethereal body with one hand and grabbed its heart from its chest—
The ghost shadow froze as if struck by lightning, its entire body stiff, and all the crimson lights under its hood stopped moving.
“…” Xu Shuangce squinted slightly, “Is this it?”
He was about to extract the “heart,” but the ghost shadow suddenly turned towards him. Although it had no facial features or apertures, a low, hoarse voice emanated from its head, echoing faintly as if coming from a very distant and blurred place:
“Xu Bai.”
Xu Shuangce’s movement halted.
No one saw Gong Wei’s expression freeze for a moment, then he couldn’t conceal a hint of astonishment.
Those two words were so familiar, clearly the tone and voice of his past life.
Want to show your support? Come donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Thank You for the chapter ❤٩(•౪•٩)