How Miss Gu Youwei Grew Up

No one even had time to grasp the meaning behind the Young Heavenly Emperor's words.

Before they saw Gu Changqing raise the firewood cleaver.

With utter indifference, he sliced a bloody, mangled strip of flesh from his own arm.

That detached posture made it seem as though it was not his own body at all.

Yet the face that turned deathly pale in an instant, along with his violently trembling body, undoubtedly spoke of one fact: he was enduring excruciating pain.

At that moment.

Not only were the cultivators outside the mirror stunned, even the Giant Leopard's eyes filled with visible shock.

Was this kid even fucking human?!

Outside the mirror, every expert sucked in a sharp breath.

"Who would have thought that the Heavenly Emperor was already so ruthless in his youth—and ruthless toward himself, at that..."

"How could a five-year-old child endure such pain? How could he possess such courage...?"

Countless cultivators were rendered speechless.

Even Ye Chen had his mouth slightly open, surprise written across his face. Clearly, this scene had exceeded all his expectations.

Gu Youwei stood frozen in place, as though struck by lightning.

Unknowingly, moisture welled up in her cold eyes.

"Why were you so good to me back then, yet later became so ruthless?"

This question echoed through her heart, like a fishbone lodged in her throat, stabbing deep into her soul.

The entire venue fell silent.

Everyone was moved. For a brief moment, everyone forgot that this youth was the great demon who had washed heaven and earth in blood.

"To go this far for a younger sister of the opposite sex—the Heavenly Emperor back then was truly a real man."

"Sadly, he changed afterward..."

At some point, countless people sighed.

"Trade for milk."

Holding that strip of flesh, Gu Changqing looked toward the Giant Leopard.

Perhaps it had been frightened by this human's ruthlessness. Or perhaps, as a mother beast, it was somewhat moved by the sight of Gu Changqing cutting flesh from himself for his sister.

In the end, this ferocious beast was touched.

She opened her great jaws, took the flesh from Gu Changqing's hand in her mouth, then passed it to her cub.

After that, she lay down at the cave entrance, exposing her belly before Gu Changqing.

"He actually persuaded this ferocious beast."

The cultivators outside the mirror were somewhat moved. "This ferocious beast possesses intelligence. Perhaps it, too, was moved by the Young Heavenly Emperor's actions."

"Compared to this ferocious beast, the people at the foot of the mountain seem far more terrifying. No wonder the Heavenly Emperor fled into the mountains."

Perhaps wary of Gu Changqing's ruthlessness.

For some time afterward, whenever Gu Youwei cried, Gu Changqing was always able to trade this Mother Leopard for milk.

At first, he traded human flesh for milk.

Gradually, it became beast meat.

The Young Heavenly Emperor truly had a knack for hunting.

Though he was not as agile as ferocious beasts, the Sword Qi in his hand was immensely powerful.

So long as he could spot a wild beast, whenever Sword Qi burst forth, he almost never returned empty-handed.

And throughout this process, his Sword Qi grew increasingly refined.

The Young Heavenly Emperor, hailed by the experts outside the mirror as a peerless sword-dao genius, was actually using such talent to hunt.

The crowd did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Trading for milk.

Trading for milk.

Trading for milk...

The scenes gradually repeated themselves, showing that Gu Changqing's days had likewise fallen into such repetition.

No one knew how much time passed.

That tiny infant gradually learned to walk, stumbling unsteadily along.

"So Miss Gu Youwei was able to make it through her nursing years entirely because the Heavenly Emperor hunted again and again, risking danger time after time..."

"At a time like this, the Heavenly Emperor truly left nothing to be desired in how he treated Miss Youwei."

When they saw the soot-covered, scarred youth in the scene repeatedly bringing prey and tossing it before the mother beast, many people sighed softly.

Over these past days, everyone had witnessed Gu Changqing's actions.

Those so-called prejudices were gradually changing as well.

Let alone blood siblings—even a biological father and daughter might not necessarily protect each other with such desperate devotion.

Much less an adopted younger sister with a different surname?

Gu Changqing and that Mother Leopard grew increasingly familiar with one another.

They had even built a certain degree of trust between them.

The two lived as neighbors.

Even after Gu Youwei no longer needed beast milk, whenever Mother Leopard failed to catch prey, Gu Changqing would share the prey he had hunted with them.

Such days lasted until Gu Youwei turned two.

When Gu Youwei was two years old, so that she could live better, Gu Changqing set aside his prejudice against human nature and took her to move into a mortal village.

Influenced by her surroundings, the two-year-old gradually learned to speak.

"You're so little, so your name will be Youwei. I'm your older brother."

"Daddy..."

"It's older brother."

"Daddy..."

The two children both seemed stubborn, neither willing to change what they called the other.

"Bwother."

She had finally learned to call him older brother.

But she also had more and more questions.

Riding on Gu Changqing's shoulders, she would always ask, "Why does everyone else have a father and mother, but I only have Bwother?"

At first, Gu Changqing did not answer. Later, when she pestered him beyond endurance, he would say, "Father's dead. Mother's dead. You aren't my real little sister."

Provided by the great author Shenyan Huozhong: Villain: The Cleansed Life, the Empresses Have Turned Against Me—fastest updates

After Mei Gongzi neutralized Cao Yuwei's attack this time, she did not hurry to counterattack. She merely stood still where she was.

Cao Yuwei frowned slightly. Was this little girl's perception really so keen? After he had formed armor from flames, he still had other methods at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had followed up with an attack, he was confident he could use that method to restrain her. But Mei Gongzi had not stepped forward, forcing the ability he had been holding in readiness to be interrupted.

The war blade slashed out again, its surging blade intent several degrees stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with his blade, man and weapon becoming one as he charged straight at Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand once again formed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle, and with an instantaneous shift, she switched positions. While neutralizing her opponent's attack, she also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already somewhere else. A golden-red gleam flashed over Cao Yuwei's body; had she not dodged so quickly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! She seemed intent on competing with Cao Yuwei in endurance.

Yet no one doubted the origin of this ability. After all, the Peacock Demon Race's greatest innate talent was Stellar Transposition. Her technique bore a striking resemblance to Stellar Transposition.

After Mei Gongzi neutralized Cao Yuwei's attack this time, she did not hurry to counterattack. She merely stood still where she was.

Cao Yuwei frowned slightly. Was this little girl's perception really so keen? After he had formed armor from flames, he still had other methods at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had followed up with an attack, he was confident he could use that method to restrain her. But Mei Gongzi had not stepped forward, forcing the ability he had been holding in readiness to be interrupted.

The war blade slashed out again, its surging blade intent several degrees stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with his blade, man and weapon becoming one as he charged straight at Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand once again formed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle, and with an instantaneous shift, she switched positions. While neutralizing her opponent's attack, she also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already somewhere else. A golden-red gleam flashed over Cao Yuwei's body; had she not dodged so quickly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! She seemed intent on competing with Cao Yuwei in endurance.