Gu Chengxing carried Shen Ruochu in his arms and pushed Azure Cloud Shadow Step to its limit as he hurried forward.
Four hours later.
In a wild forest within the mountains, Gu Chengxing found a relatively clean patch of ground. He spread a soft mat over it and carefully laid Shen Ruochu down.
“Hu…”
“Keeping her by my side will probably bring a mountain of trouble.”
“But there’s no other choice… I’ll solve what I can. Consider it repaying the original body’s debt.”
He looked at Shen Ruochu, who was still unconscious.
The little girl seemed to be dreaming of something unpleasant. Her delicate brows were tightly furrowed, making her look both adorable and pitiful.
As he watched, Gu Chengxing frowned.
“She hasn’t eaten, and she’s still running a low fever.”
Thinking of this, he looked around, searching for something that could fill a child’s stomach.
In a wild mountain forest, the most common food was game.
After searching around, Gu Chengxing finally skewered two rabbits and gathered a few edible wild vegetables.
He collected dry branches and grass nearby to form a small pile, then covered it with the Thunder Sword Intent rewarded by the system. A sharp smell of smoke rose as bright flames burst forth.
With a swing of the Azure Spirit Sword, the Great Mastery Wind Sword Intent surged forth, cleanly stripping the rabbits’ skins. He skewered them onto the blade and held them upright over the burning fire.
The Azure Spirit Sword had been given to him by his master Chen Wuxin when he was nine years old, as a gift upon accepting him as a disciple.
It was only a top-grade spiritual weapon. Not extraordinarily rare, but to Gu Chengxing, it held deep meaning.
In the original novel, he had cherished this sword greatly.
But now…
It could serve as a fire poker. It wouldn’t burn anyway.
While Gu Chengxing was roasting the meat, a faint rustling sound came from beside him.
There was no need to guess. It was Shen Ruochu waking up.
He did not look at her. Instead, he kept his eyes on the roasting meat and spoke casually, “Awake?”
There was a trace of teasing in his voice, though it sounded more like mockery.
Silence followed.
“Hungry?”
“…”
As expected, the little girl ignored him.
Just then, the rabbit in his hand began to sizzle with oil, its fragrance spreading through the air.
With a slight motion of his hand, spiritual Qi conjured a cool breeze that rapidly lowered the temperature of the meat. Gu Chengxing then pushed it directly toward her mouth.
“Eat.”
Shen Ruochu did not move. She did not respond. She sat like a wooden doll without emotion.
“Not eating? Then I’ll eat it.”
As he spoke, Gu Chengxing pulled the meat back and took a large bite.
Honestly, it tasted bad.
Aside from being cleaned properly, the meat had almost no redeeming qualities.
Gurgle—
The sound of a stomach growling rang out at the wrong moment.
As a cultivator, Gu Chengxing’s hearing was extremely sharp. Naturally, he looked toward Shen Ruochu.
Her face showed no embarrassment. Only bone-deep coldness, as if it were not her stomach that had betrayed her.
“I won’t kill you,” Gu Chengxing suddenly said.
“I’ll wait for you to kill me.”
“After all, your parents and your entire family died by my hand.”
Hearing this, Shen Ruochu lifted her head and stood up, clenching her fists tightly.
“But before that, you have to stay alive.”
“I will take you into the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. In the future, I might even accept you as my disciple.”
“Impossible,” Shen Ruochu finally spoke. Her voice was childish yet cold.
Gu Chengxing shook his head lightly. “Nothing is impossible in this world. And…”
He snorted coldly, his tone turning colder.
“You don’t get to choose.”
“You can try to kill me anytime, anywhere, until I die.”
“But if you fail to kill me, then everything about you will obey me.”
“Right now, you need to eat.”
“So eat, my future disciple, Shen Ruochu of the Shen family.”
Seeing that the young Shen Ruochu still said nothing and made no move, Gu Chengxing sighed inwardly. Yet the words he spoke grew even colder.
“If you want to die now, I won’t stop you. After all, your father and mother are waiting for you below. It wouldn’t be right for me to block your reunion with your family. Only…”
“Only, as your enemy, I will still roam the world freely. When you meet them, how will you explain that?”
Creak.
A cold, childish, yet resolute voice came from the small figure.
“I will definitely kill you.”
Shen Ruochu’s tiny fists clenched even tighter, faint cracking sounds audible.
The small figure suddenly grabbed the rabbit skewered on the blade. Holding it with both hands, she forced back the tears welling in her eyes and stuffed the meat into her mouth recklessly.
Huff… huff…
A faint sob was trapped in her small throat.
It was heartbreaking.
She was crying, yet she was enduring.
For a child not even seven years old, this was unimaginably difficult.
Gu Chengxing watched everything in silence. His mood was heavy, but there was nothing he could do.
Eat. At least eat first.
Only when you’re full will you have the strength to grieve, the ability to cultivate, and the chance to kill me…
“Cough… cough…”
The little girl seemed to choke. Gu Chengxing used a broad leaf and spiritual Qi to gather a handful of dew. He sterilized it with Thunder Sword Intent and warmed it slightly before holding it out to her.
“…”
He was about to say something to persuade her to drink.
But Shen Ruochu did not even look at him. She threw the roasted rabbit aside, took the leaf-wrapped water, and gulped it down.
Glug, glug—
Gu Chengxing quietly watched her finish the water.
“It seems you’ve made your decision.”
“Good. In that case, follow me honestly. We’re returning to Azure Cloud!”
…
The capital of the Great Zhou.
The weather was clear. The streets were bustling and full of life.
The capital remained lively, even though a shocking massacre had occurred just yesterday.
Most people neither cared nor needed to care.
Inside a secret chamber on the top floor of Ascension Pavilion.
“Granny Tianxiang, A’qi failed the mission. He did not bring back Shen Ruochu, the sole survivor of the Shen family.”
“Our original plan seems to have failed.”
A seductive woman stood before an extremely aged old granny and bowed respectfully.
Granny Tianxiang sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, her eyes closed in meditation. Mysterious black curse patterns surrounded her body. Her aura was dark, and spiritual Qi surged around her.
She seemed to be operating some extremely taxing technique.
The seductive woman stood quietly, waiting.
After a long while, the black curse patterns gradually withdrew into Granny Tianxiang’s body. Her deeply wrinkled eyes slowly opened.
“The trajectory remains unchanged. Destiny is hard to defy. Even if there are minor fluctuations, they are like stones sinking into the sea, leaving no trace.”
The seductive woman pondered before cautiously speaking, “Granny means… we won’t trouble Gu Chengxing for now?”
“There is no need. According to the original trajectory, they were not meant to cross paths at this time. However, the divination shows that their current contact will greatly accelerate Shen Ruochu’s progress. For us, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.”
“In that case, we need not interfere.”
“However, increase surveillance at all times. And… the hidden piece within the Azure Cloud Sword Sect may be ready to activate.”
The seductive woman’s eyes flickered. She bowed once more.
“As you command, Granny.”
“In that case, this servant will take her leave first.”