“You’re a Lot of Fun; You Should Stay Here from Now On.”
Gu Shi walked over to the edge of the lotus pond, reached out to grab the lotus stem closest to him, and glanced sideways at Feng Yingbai. Seeing that Feng Yingbai was also looking right back at him without a single trace of abnormality on his face, he finally made up his mind. With a firm pull, a crisp crack echoed in the air.
The lotus stem snapped cleanly, and Gu Shi remained safe and sound right where he was standing. He rolled his eyes up, down, left, and right, making sure his body didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable, before letting out a long sigh of relief.
He placed the broken lotus leaf to the side. “Thank you, Senior. I’m going outside to hunt now.”
Feng Yingbai asked him, “Will you still come back?”
Gu Shi replied, “Of course I will.”
Feng Yingbai smiled slightly. “Mhm, come back early.”
Hearing those words warmed Gu Shi’s heart in a rather strange way. He smiled and acknowledged the instruction. “This junior will return as soon as I hunt some food.”
Upon stepping out of the cave dwelling, Gu Shi could still feel Feng Yingbai’s gaze resting squarely on his back, carrying a rather scorching intensity. He exhaled a breath and walked a bit faster, until he finally reached the tunnel entrance and flew upward on his sword, at which point that scorching gaze finally vanished.
Gu Shi flew high into mid-air, looking down from above at the West Continent Secret Realm, a place that countless cultivators both loved and feared, racking their brains yet unable to attain it. Right now, it lay quietly sprawled beneath his feet. Within the boundless, serene expanse that stretched further than the eye could see, dense forests stood deep and dark, harboring countless rare treasures and natural wonders.
Being strong felt truly wonderful. Just by standing there alone, a surge of arrogance that looked down upon the entire world naturally welled up inside him.
The wind fluttered his robes and tossed his hair as he soared through the sky on his flying sword. The gloom in his heart was completely swept away, and he secretly swore that one day he would stand at the absolute pinnacle of this world.
After flying around for a large circle, his grand feelings subsided, and Gu Shi began to think about dinner. He descended to the ground, thinking to himself that since he had already picked a lotus leaf, it would be best to hunt a chicken so as not to waste the senior’s materials.
He walked all the way without encountering any living creatures. Left with no choice, Gu Shi could only pick a few spiritual fruits to stash away. Just as he was thinking that this place probably lacked living beings and was preparing to head back, an unusual gust of wind suddenly swept in from behind him. Gu Shi’s heart sank, and he whipped around to face a massive black butterfly. Its wings blotted out the sky, covered in eerie, grayish-white eyes packed densely together, enough to make anyone’s scalp tingle with dread.
Though Gu Shi felt his scalp go numb, his heart was overwhelmed by an irrepressible surge of joy, making the hand holding his sword tremble slightly. This was the first time he had encountered a true opponent since beginning his cultivation; he finally had a chance to test his own capabilities.
The black butterfly’s body remained completely still, merely beating its wings as fine black powder cascaded down from them, drifting toward Gu Shi on the wind. Perhaps due to its massive size, its movements appeared somewhat sluggish. Seizing the opportunity, Gu Shi immediately urged his sword to retreat rapidly. Seeing him attempt to escape, the black butterfly flapped its wings and gave chase.
Gu Shi flew upward on his sword, soaring even higher than the black butterfly. At the same time, he formed an incantation seal, laying down a layer of barrier around himself, and then raised his sword to thrust toward the butterfly’s wings.
Based on his understanding of lepidopterans, Gu Shi knew their wings were extremely fragile. Yet the moment he closed in, the butterfly suddenly began beating its wings frantically, spraying a massive wave of black powder like a torrential flood. Gu Shi’s barrier was already thin to begin with and stood no chance against such an impact. The powder struck him squarely in the face, instantly sending a stabbing pain through his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he relied on memory alone to thrust his sword toward the butterfly’s wing.
With a dull thud, the long sword plunged right in. Gu Shi immediately poured every ounce of his spiritual power into the blade, causing the sword body to erupt with a dazzling brilliance that extended outward along both edges, successfully severing one of the black butterfly’s wings. Losing its balance, the black butterfly tumbled heavily from mid-air, crashing onto the ground with a dull thud.
Gu Shi fought through the discomfort to open his eyes, but his vision was a sea of crimson red, allowing him to make out only blurry outlines of objects. Seeing the black butterfly lying prone on the ground with its severed wing resting nearby, staring fixedly at him without blinking, Gu Shi didn’t hesitate for a second. Gripping his long sword tightly with both hands, he lunged toward the butterfly’s other wing. Unexpectedly, the butterfly suddenly spewed a stream of foul-smelling, sticky fluid from its abdomen. Gu Shi was descending too fast to dodge in time, and he was sprayed head-to-toe with the viscous liquid, the stench nearly making him vomit on the spot.
Using the same method, Gu Shi sliced off the black butterfly’s other wing. Deprived of its wings, the creature emitted a bizarre, sizzling hiss while continuously expelling sticky fluid, though it could now only writhe helplessly on the ground. Gu Shi flew his sword up into mid-air to avoid the attacks, but the skin splashed by the liquid began to itch fiercely, feeling as though countless red-hot ants were gnawing at him.
It was poisonous. Gu Shi cursed inwardly, tossing a mystic thunder talisman down at the black butterfly before hurriedly searching for a place to wash up.
The itching on his body grew increasingly intense, and the bloody mist before his eyes grew thicker until he could barely see anything at all. Flustered and exasperated, this being his first actual combat experience, he found himself in such a wretched state that he felt utterly mortified. Realizing he was about to lose his sight entirely, he had no choice but to shout into the air, “Senior, save me.”
The moment his voice faded, a familiar force seized hold of him. The sound of whistling wind rushed past his ears, and the next instant, Gu Shi caught a familiar scent. Though he couldn’t see, he knew he had returned to the senior’s cave dwelling.
“Thank you, Senior.” Before he could finish his sentence, his body suddenly lifted into the air. The whistling wind returned to his ears, and then he crashed heavily onto the ground. Simultaneously, Feng Yingbai’s voice rang out, sounding somewhat distant yet clear enough, carrying a heavy dose of disgust: “You stink.”
Gu Shi naturally knew he stank, but since he was currently blind, he could only plead for help. “Senior, I can’t see anymore and can’t find water to wash. Please help me.”
As the words fell, a torrent of crisp, clear water poured down over his head. Gu Shi scrambled to his feet, tilting his head back to let the water flush his face clean. The water stung his eyes with a bloated pressure, but still, he could see nothing at all. Panic crept into his heart, as he hadn’t brought any spiritual medicines on this trip out, so what was he supposed to do?
After rinsing for a good half-hour, the stench on his body was finally washed away entirely, and Gu Shi also noticed that his eyes could perceive a faint trace of light once more. It seemed the black butterfly wasn’t a truly lethal foe after all; its toxicity wasn’t very strong.
With the water still flowing, Gu Shi sat down and rinsed off a bit longer. Seeing that evening was rapidly approaching, he sniffed himself all over from top to bottom, making sure there wasn’t a trace of strange odor left. Only then did he call out toward the inner tunnel, “Senior, I’m not stinky anymore. Can I come inside now?”
Just as he finished speaking, a tiny streak of red light flew out from the cave dwelling, circling around him twice as if confirming his status. Since Gu Shi’s vision was still impaired, he failed to notice it. Once the red light flew back into the cave dwelling, the stream of water cascading over his head finally stopped.
Knowing the senior had given his consent, Gu Shi formed an incantation seal to dry the water off his body, then felt his way forward into the tunnel. Having already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his spiritual awareness was still quite robust and allowed him to perceive his surroundings, making the walk manageable. Even so, lacking sight made him unaccustomed to it, and his pace was much slower than usual.
Returning to the cave dwelling, Gu Shi sensed Feng Yingbai sitting three meters away and called out with a trace of shame, “Senior, I’m back.”
Pinching his nose, Feng Yingbai looked at his bloodshot eyes. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Gu Shi answered honestly, “I ran into a black butterfly on the way, and its wings sprayed black powder into my eyes.”
Pinching his nose, Feng Yingbai walked toward him. When he reached Gu Shi, he slightly relaxed the pressure of his fingers; catching no foul odor, he finally let go of his nose. He leaned in close, sniffing at Gu Shi’s shoulder. His steady breathing was clearly audible, sending a tingling, itchy sensation straight to one’s heart. Gu Shi’s neck tensed up, but fortunately Feng Yingbai didn’t linger on the scent. Satisfied that there was no strange odor, he straightened up, peered closely into Gu Shi’s eyes with curiosity, and leaned in to observe: “Your eyes won’t move.”
He was standing extremely close, and Gu Shi could clearly feel the unique warmth radiating from his body. The cool pendant brushed lightly across his cheek like a lover’s fingertip, and being unable to see only made the imagination run wilder. Gu Shi’s face burned hot, though his tone remained relatively calm: “Ah, I’m temporarily blind, but it should get better soon.”
Feng Yingbai was intensely curious. “What does it feel like not being able to see?”
Hearing his words, Gu Shi felt a sudden urge to laugh, but he managed to hold it in. “It feels just like closing your eyes.”
Feng Yingbai closed his eyes for a moment to experience it. “Mhm, no fun.” With that, he reached out and covered Gu Shi’s eyes. Gu Shi instantly felt a wave of heat wash over his eyes, as though swept by a blazing fire, and that swelling pain vanished in an instant. Through the gaps between Feng Yingbai’s fingers, he caught a glimpse of those brilliant, dazzling eyes.
Gu Shi blinked his eyes, his long eyelashes brushing across Feng Yingbai’s palm. Feng Yingbai chuckled softly and withdrew his hand. “You’re a lot of fun; you should stay here from now on and keep me company.”
Meeting those smiling pupils, Gu Shi hesitated for only a fraction of a second before refusing him. “No, Senior, I still have very important matters to attend to.”
Feng Yingbai raised an eyebrow. “I know, to kill Xuanyou, right? Actually, I want to say something.”
“No.” For the first time, Gu Shi interrupted him. He knew Feng Yingbai was going to say he could help, but killing Xuanyou had to take a backseat for now. “I need to save someone.”
Feng Yingbai frowned slightly. “Why is it that one moment you want to kill someone, and the next you want to save someone?”
Gu Shi replied, “It’s my junior brother. He was captured by villains, and I must rescue him.”
Feng Yingbai asked, “What’s his name?”
Gu Shi answered, “Shen Yunsheng.”
Feng Yingbai muttered something under his breath, then asked again, “So you’re not killing Xuanyou anymore?”
Gu Shi replied, “Naturally I still want to kill him. I want to live.”
Feng Yingbai pouted. “You don’t even know Xuanyou, so how do you know you won’t survive if you don’t kill him?”
Faced with this question, Gu Shi could only resort to fabricating a lie. “To be honest with Senior, I accidentally caught a glimpse of heavenly fate and learned that Xuanyou will destroy the world in the future. Therefore, I must kill him to save the world.”
Feng Yingbai blinked his eyes, looking thoroughly taken in by the tall tale. “Then did heavenly fate tell you that you would run into me?”
Though Gu Shi didn’t understand why he would ask such a thing, he honestly shook his head. “No.”
Feng Yingbai remarked, “Well, your heavenly fate doesn’t know everything after all. Why do you believe in it so much?”
As a transmigration traveler, Gu Shi naturally held unwavering faith in the original plot’s ending. “Better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn’t.”
Feng Yingbai pouted again. “Have it your way then.”
Seeing that the other’s mood was turning sour, Gu Shi quickly chimed in to soothe him. “Senior, don’t worry. Once this junior finishes handling these two matters, I will definitely stay behind to serve Senior.”
Feng Yingbai asked him, “What does to serve mean?”
Gu Shi replied, “It means staying by Senior’s side forever. Unless Senior tells me to leave, I will never take half a step away from Senior.”
“Earlier you said you’d stay after killing Xuanyou, but after taking a trip outside you suddenly have to save someone and kill someone. Who knows how many things you’ll come up with later.” As he spoke, Feng Yingbai stretched out both hands, holding up all ten thumbs.
Not daring to make any reckless promises, Gu Shi awkwardly shifted the topic. “Senior, I picked a lot of wild fruits. Would you like to try one?”
Hearing that food was involved, Feng Yingbai’s attention was instantly captured, and he reached out a hand toward him. Gu Shi retrieved the reddest and largest fruit from his storage bag and handed it to him.
The fruit looked somewhat like an apple, yet it emitted a rich pineapple fragrance. Feng Yingbai took it, bit into it, chewed a couple of times, and the lively expression on his face instantly vanished, leaving behind a blank, expressionless stare as if his soul had been sucked out of him.
That clearly spelled trouble, but Gu Shi still asked, “Is it good?”
Feng Yingbai replied, “My mouth feels very uncomfortable.”
Not quite understanding this description, Gu Shi took out a similar fruit and bit into it. He spat it out instantly, making a sound of disgust because it was both bitter and astringent, practically comparable to chewing on a live leech. Just as he was about to speak, he felt his throat tighten instantly, followed by a wave of suffocation that turned the world upside down. His face flushed red, his neck bulged, and clutching his throat, he collapsed backward onto the ground.
Damn it, did I stumble straight into a poison den today?