ITOTIABSAM | The Immortal on Liuyun Mountain | 138
If he wasn't a plant right now, Gu Cong felt he would definitely give himself away. The villain's smile was too beautiful, causing him to involuntarily lose focus for a moment.
Compared to Xie Ye, the idolized celebrities Gu Cong had seen in TV shows and movies, regardless of gender, seemed like dim stars in the sky compared to the bright moon.
"Let's go," Xie Ye carefully avoided touching the fragile Starlight Grass again, reaching out to lift the delicate flower pot. "After having your fill, it's time for you to do something for me."
Gu Cong: What do you want me to do?
He hoped it wasn't something like alchemy.
Perhaps because he was too close to the antagonist, or maybe it was just that 0028 in his mind was too lazy to speak, the door automatically opened and closed as Gu Cong "collapsed" into the antagonist's arms, stepping into the night.
Darkness breeds fear, and after the sun sets, Liuyun Mountain is the true embodiment of this phrase. With limited visibility, Gu Cong could only see a small patch of land illuminated by himself—steps, corners, cobblestone paths dotted with grass—all looked normal, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was subtly watching him.
The reality was just as described.
In the places where Gu Cong couldn't observe, behind Xie Ye, countless shadowy eyes were fixed firmly on the new arrival in the arms of the white-clad youth.
Tonight, there was no moon, a rare sight on Liuyun Mountain. Darkness became the best camouflage. Skinny, massive, bloated, maimed, grotesque figures crowded together, obscuring the sky. Yet, upon closer inspection, they seemed to lose their shape, as if they were merely illusions conjured by fear.
They trailed behind Xie Ye, almost brushing against the youth's spine. However, as Xie Ye casually glanced back, the monsters suddenly settled down, obediently dispersing.
1101, who hadn't watched a horror movie in a long time, wanted to scream but feared the repercussions. Yet, it's curiosity couldn't be suppressed: "Who are they?"
Xie Ye replied nonchalantly, "They are my family."
Having been born with the most basic knowledge of the world, Xie Ye's first moments of consciousness were on Liuyun Mountain. And since then, these monsters had been his constant companions.
At that time, Xie Ye, who had not yet fully awakened, had a vague understanding of more complex and abstract concepts. He stubbornly and naturally believed that those who accompanied him were his family. However, some of them were a bit mischievous and occasionally needed a good scolding.
But as Xie Ye grew older, he no longer needed to personally intervene. When he noticed the star-shaped grass, which had gained consciousness, stretching its leaves backward, he lightly flicked his finger and manipulated the puppet strings to pull it back.
It was a rare new offspring on Liuyun Mountain. What if it got scared and went insane?
Unaware of the strangeness of his situation, Gu Cong, trapped in the small flower pot, had nothing to do but observe the smooth lines of the villain's jaw and study the cloud patterns on his sleeve cuffs.
The place Xie Ye was heading to was a cave. During the daytime, sunlight would stream in through the cracks, but at night, when there was no moon, Xie Ye, who was once unaccustomed to using fire, would hold a star-shaped grass for illumination.
Those who have never practiced cultivation ultimately remain mortal. Earlier, the grass Gu Cong inhabited had reached its limit of life, so when Xie Ye arrived today, his body was in a state of pushing the door open, intending to pick a new night light in the mountains.
Having consumed too much spiritual energy in one go, Gu Cong's leaves became soft and limp, but the light emitted was still quite sufficient, softly illuminating most of the cave.
Looking around, the dark shadows looming in the distance made him alert.
It looked like a person lying flat on a board.
As the young man continued walking inside, Gu Cong sat on the edge of the bed and focused his attention. Only then did he realize that the motionless "corpse" was actually a puppet.
—The Villain's half body.
No need for the system to remind him; with his exceptional memory, Gu Cong found the answer from the original text.
At this moment, the powerful puppet capable of exchanging blows with the protagonist group had obviously not yet fully formed. Various carving stones and exquisitely realistic limb joints were neatly arranged around, giving a rather eerie impression at first glance.
【Don’t you like Shen Qingshu?】 Knowing the host's body data like the back of your hand, the curious 1101 finally asked, "Why did you carve yourself?"
Xie Ye raised an eyebrow. "Who said I like Shen Qingshu?"
1101 fell silent. "The original story?"
【I wanted to make friends, inviting new friends home to play, does that mean you like them?】Casually placing the pot containing the Starlight Grass down, Xie Ye bluntly replied, "Shen Qingshu was the only one who can look at me soberly and directly."
Once, he naively thought they were the same kind of people.
But it brought disaster upon himself.
Unable to leave the mountain, the entertainment activities in this world for "Xie Ye" were extremely limited. Everything used in life was carved by his own hands.
"The Strange Immortal", an ordinary story without any twists, did not trigger his awakening, nor was it his origin. Xie Ye also didn't know why the Quick Transmigration Bureau had chosen to send him back to this world again.
He had experienced too much in his life, both good and bad, successes and failures. In the end, even the act of counterattacking and breaking free from constraints had become routine, boring him to disgust.
But returning to the past with his memories seemed to have brought about some changes. Worried that the lively and energetic Starweed might get bored, Xie Ye took up a knife, picked up a useless scrap, and with a few deft strokes, carved out a lifelike butterfly. With a gentle blow on his palm, the butterfly came to life, fluttering lightly and gracefully around Gu Cong's flowerpot.
Though jade was supposed to be heavy, the butterfly seemed to be woven from light, stunningly beautiful and somewhat dreamlike. Gu Cong, after all, wasn't a real plant, and it didn't take long for him to notice the incredibly regular movement pattern of the butterfly.
Whoosh...
As if an invisible mist had dispersed, in that instant, refracted by the light, Gu Cong saw countless invisible threads, like spider webs, entangling the butterfly's wings, only to disappear in a flash.
He should have been afraid.
After all, from a god's-eye view, there wasn't much difference between himself and this butterfly at the moment.
But in the end, Gu Cong still wobbled and raised his leaf blades, pretending to be very interested, following the butterfly as it fluttered without wind.
The lethargic 0028 opened his eyes, "You've got some nerve."
Not being scared stupid, knowing how to act in front of the antagonist.
[There's no acting, I think this fear makes no sense,] seriously analyzing his own emotions, Gu Cong softly said, "He's just trying to play with me, why should I be afraid of him?"
Almost echoing the youth's words, as Gu Cong raised the leaf blade to its highest point, the butterfly, which could have continued flying away, folded its wings and settled on the tip of the leaf.
Juggling multiple tasks at once, while entertaining the grass, Xie Ye's hand wielding the knife didn't stop either. He had done the same thing before, but who would have thought that when he came to his senses, the newly carved joint couldn't fit with the others at all.
Because it was Gu Cong's wrist bone.
He had observed it with his own eyes and measured it with his own hands.
Yet the rightful owner, so close at hand, didn't recognize it.
Well, he was only eighteen at the moment.
Seeing the young man staring at the fake bone in a daze for a long time, Gu Cong struggled to manipulate the spiritual power within him, which was slightly blocked, dimming his own radiance a bit.
He had never been in love, but he had a gut feeling that the other person was missing someone.
Was it Shen Qingshu?
To be honest, even though he possessed all the memories of the original owner, Song He, he found it difficult to empathize with Song He's feelings of affection, and he lacked the determination to go through fire and water to ensure the other's safety.
"Are all the tasks like this?" Gu Cong cut straight to the chase. "All about love?"
0028 replied, "You can change departments after formal employment."
"But there's no choice for rookie tasks," Gu Cong retorted.
As soon as he finished speaking, the butterfly on Gu Cong's body trembled slightly, and the pungent sweet smell of rust filled the air. He watched as the young man calmly cut his fingertip, using blood to soak the "component" carved in his palm.
0028, unfazed, remarked, "Your destined artifact needs nurturing, even if this method is a bit crude."
It thought Gu Cong was scared. After all, he was only eighteen years old, still in the age of innocence, loved by parents, admired by teachers, friendly with classmates, and grew up under the sun of a lawful society. Suddenly encountering a villain who cuts himself with a knife, it was natural to feel intimidated.
But before it could inform him about the existence of the mosaic harmony function, Gu Cong flicked the butterfly on the tip of his leaf, causing the young man to look up.
He had no mouth.
Yet the young man seemed to understand his thoughts and said calmly, "It doesn't hurt."
At first, Gu Cong thought the other person could communicate with plants, which startled him. He restrained his thoughts, but after a few days, he realized that the young man simply enjoyed talking to himself, whether it was to him or to the fish in the pond.
The days passed peacefully in the Liuyun Mountain.
However, the outside world had already been turned upside down due to the disappearance of "Song He."
Being the supporting male lead, Song He's family background naturally couldn't be chosen. The stronger the cultivator, the harder it was to have offspring. Song He was the only child of the main lineage and had not returned for a long time. If not for the fact that his soul lamp was still lit, the situation would have been even more chaotic.
Coincidentally, the venerable Xuan Qing, who was skilled in divination, was traveling outside and happened to pass by the Song family. Invited to perform divination, the signs pointed directly to Liuyun Mountain.
For a moment, the reputation of "The Strange Immortal" Xie Ye once again made all the sects uneasy.
This was also the development anticipated by Shen Qingshu and Qin Ji:
The Strange Immortal was too powerful, and with their strength alone, it was impossible to attack Liuyun Mountain.
For many years, Liuyun Mountain and the cultivation world had maintained a peaceful coexistence, with no interference between them. Words alone were not enough to make other sects truly feel the threat brought by Xie Ye and to realize his intention to intervene in the cultivation world. It was essential to show them concrete evidence of his ambitions.
Most importantly, due to their encounter in childhood, Shen Qingshu knew that Xie Ye wanted to become a true puppet.
It was rumored that the strange Immortal couldn't leave the mountain.
But what about the puppet?
When the grotesque monsters, who bowed down to Xie Ye like servants, emerged, what would the cultivation world become?
With at least thousands of cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage, it would surely throw the world into chaos.
However, no matter how noble the reasons sounded, Shen Qingshu couldn't deceive his own heart.
When he closed his eyes to meditate, his mind was in chaos, with eerie whispers echoing in his ears:
[You're afraid of him.]
[Shen Qingshu, you're terrified.]
[You simply want him dead.]
[Let me think, is it because he killed your spirit bird with his own hands and then stitched it back together?]
Whoosh.
Thousands of miles away, Gu Cong opened his eyes.
His low perspective suddenly elevated, and he instinctively moved his leaf blade, causing two pristine feathers to fall off, one of them plummeting from the tree.
Author's Note:
Gu Cong: ??
Gu Cong: Did I time-transmigrate again?
0 Comments
Post a Comment