Invitation

Yao Nu stared at Huan Nu for a long time, his expression confused and lost, as if he no longer recognized him, or as if he were looking right through him. His gaze just happened to pass over him, and suddenly his face flushed. He reached out and tightly grabbed Huan Nu's arm:

"What's wrong with me? It's you! You can save me, right?"

"I can save you." Gu Shenwei stiffly pulled his arm free. "Give me the White Silk first."

"White Silk, White Silk..."

Yao Nu muttered to himself, as if he had never heard these words before. The flush on his face gradually receded, his chest heaving violently. His arms thrashed wildly, hitting the earthen kang beneath him with a clatter, and then he burst into hoarse laughter again.

Gu Shenwei quickly pressed his hand onto Yao Nu's Tianchi Acupoint again, channeling his internal energy with Yin Jin. However, his internal energy was too weak to suppress the Yang Jin raging like a flood within Yao Nu's body. He was utterly exhausted, and Yao Nu remained restless for even a moment.

Only a master like Xue Niang could forcefully subdue runaway internal energy.

Gu Shenwei gave up on trying to heal him, doing his best to avoid the flailing arms. He then searched Yao Nu's body thoroughly, even checking his most private areas, but found nothing. Yao Nu must have hidden the White Silk somewhere else.

After half an hour of struggle, Yao Nu finally calmed down as his strength waned. His arms still twitched occasionally, and he made incoherent guttural sounds, like a drowning person's final struggles.

"White Silk! White Silk!"

Gu Shenwei shook Yao Nu's body vigorously, trying to squeeze out his last bit of life.

Yao Nu fell into a state of delirium. The flush on his face came and went, receded and returned. Sometimes he would gather a little strength, all of which was spent on rambling.

He didn't recognize Huan Nu, nor did he seem aware of anyone else around him. He spoke only nonsense, boasting one moment, cursing the next, then begging. He was like a solo actor, playing multiple roles.

Gu Shenwei was completely disappointed. The plan had only been half completed by Shenyi, and Yao Nu was about to die. Yet, the White Silk, which contained the method for rapid cultivation, was still missing.

Yao Nu's condition fluctuated, and he thrashed from morning until sunset. No doctor came to treat him, nor did Xue Niang. In everyone's eyes, this was a minor incident, not worth their attention.

Gu Shenwei sat on the ground, his head resting on the edge of the kang, listening idly to Yao Nu's intermittent breaths and sudden bursts of words. It was impossible to glean any clues about the White Silk from them. Yao Nu had completely forgotten about the White Silk, and even Golden Peng Fortress was out of his mind. The people and things he mentioned all came from his past experiences.

Yao Nu's former masters must have been incredibly vile, which filled him with resentment towards the world. This was Gu Shenwei's conclusion from the scattered words.

Strangely, sitting beside a dying man, Gu Shenwei felt no fear. His entire mind was focused on his future plans. Compared to Yao Nu, who was slowly walking towards death, his own life was not much more secure. In another day or two, he might follow in Yao Nu's footsteps.

How would he explain himself to Yao Nu when they met in hell?

"Hey, I caused you to go berserk, but you hiding the White Silk also killed me. We're even."

What would Yao Nu's reaction be? Perhaps he would have found new backing in hell and wouldn't care about becoming a ghost. But if he still harbored any selfish desires, Gu Shenwei was determined to kill him again, even in hell.

"Huan Nu."

Yao Nu suddenly called his name, his voice calm, as if nothing had happened. Gu Shenwei, who hadn't been very scared until now, felt his heart skip a beat. He turned to look at the dying youth on the kang.

Yao Nu's eyes were frighteningly bright. The sunlight outside was fading, but his pupils seemed to be burning, emitting the peculiar light of a dying person's last moments.

"You can't escape. I'll be waiting for you in hell."

These were Yao Nu's last words. He seemed to have gained the ability to read minds, having discerned Huan Nu's thoughts. He spoke this sentence, which sounded like both a threat and an anticipation, then let out a long sigh, his head slumping to the side.

Gu Shenwei's heart skipped another beat. He reached out to check Yao Nu's breath, knowing he was dead.

Without calling for help, Gu Shenwei carried the body out of the west gate alone and threw it off the end of Ghost Cry Cliff. His body felt lighter, but his heart was still heavy, as if a large stone were pressing down on it, something he couldn't shake off, perhaps never would.

Returning to the dormitory, the other youths in the room cautiously avoided him. He climbed onto the kang, and even the person closest to him maintained a distance of three feet, as if afraid of catching the evil energy that had come from the dead Yao Nu.

Gu Shenwei couldn't be bothered with all that. He was too tired. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, too exhausted even to think about how to deal with Han Shiqi's imminent return.

Things did not go as he hoped. The next morning, Han Jinu, holding a red wooden stick, knocked on the edge of the kang, waking the youths. He announced loudly that they did not need to pay their respects at the Eighth Young Master's courtyard because the Eighth Young Madam suspected that this group of youths was tainted with evil energy. They would spend the entire day cleaning Kindling Courtyard because "Third Brother" had returned and would be staying the night.

Gu Shenwei's heart leaped. He had no way to deal with this danger yet. It seemed he would have to find another opportunity to fight.

As it turned out, Han Jinu temporarily solved the problem for him. His gaze was filled with disgust, but it was directed at someone else. "Is that kid dead yet?"

Gu Shenwei nodded.

"Thrown away?"

Gu Shenwei nodded again.

"Take off your clothes and let them burn them. You're not allowed out of this door for three days."

Gu Shenwei felt a little more at ease. He didn't care about being possessed by evil energy. On the contrary, this way Han Shiqi probably wouldn't bother him for the time being.

He had escaped a disaster, but someone else would have to suffer in his place. Han Jinu pointed at Qi Nu and Xie Nu. "Come with me."

The other youths quickly left as well, none of them willing to share a room with Huan Nu.

Gu Shenwei took off his clothes and threw them outside. Soon, someone collected the clothes and threw in a new set.

Dressed, Gu Shenwei searched the entire room again, leaving no corner unchecked. He pried open any loose stone bricks he could find, looking inside.

There was no White Silk. The dead Yao Nu had hidden it too well. Gu Shenwei suspected that the White Silk might have been destroyed. Yao Nu only needed to memorize the text and images within it; there was no need to keep it.

The other youths in the room dared not return to the dormitory. It was only near noon that the brothers Qi Nu and Xie Nu returned. They had also been exempted from labor and were to wait for Han Shiqi's "favor."

The three of them shared the room in silence, the atmosphere extremely awkward.

They could have become friends, but due to a misunderstanding that Gu Shenwei could not explain, they ignored each other.

Strangely, the brothers, who were always ashamed of being "favored," appeared quite calm this time. Even the younger Xie Nu wasn't crying as usual.

After a while, Qi Nu walked over proactively and said, "You killed Yao Nu."

Qi Nu's Central Plains Mandarin was not very good, but his tone was undoubtedly affirmative. Gu Shenwei didn't understand his intention and looked into his eyes without answering.

"And there's another person you have to kill."

Qi Nu's tone was still certain, but Gu Shenwei understood he was asking for his help.

"Who?"

"That person."

Gu Shenwei knew who it was. Among the youths, only he knew the name "Han Shiqi." Jinu always called him "Third Brother," and Gu Shenwei wasn't sure if "Han Shiqi" was the assassin's real name.

Gu Shenwei didn't doubt the brothers' resolve to kill Han Shiqi, but he cautiously didn't answer immediately, as they weren't true friends.

"We want to wash away our shame. You don't want to suffer this shame either. Do you want to join us?"

Because of his difficulty speaking, Qi Nu's tone sounded stiff, but the eyes beneath his thick brows revealed sincerity and determination, which was very rare among the servants of Golden Peng Fortress.

"I'll join."

Gu Shenwei said. There was no reason to refuse help, nor was there any reason to play tricks on Qi Nu.

Xie Nu also stepped forward. The three clasped each other's arms, signifying their mutual trust. They had observed each other for a long time and could now be open and honest.

Qi Nu was tall, nearly half a head taller than Gu Shenwei. He exuded both roughness and arrogance, like a cub of a wild beast that had accidentally wandered into the bustling human world, feeling out of place everywhere and looking down on everything.

His younger brother, Xie Nu, was like a small beast still in its childhood, always following his brother. He spoke little and had not adapted to the status and life of a servant. He seemed more like the son of a wealthy family than Gu Shenwei.

The brothers' personalities naturally didn't win them anyone's favor. Han Shiqi treated them as playthings, Han Jinu viewed them as gifts and rivals, and Xue Niang thought they were unruly. In short, they received more punishment than the other youths, with Qi Nu bearing the brunt of it.

Several months of slave life had left clear marks on Qi Nu. The last trace of youthful innocence had vanished from his face. His eyes always remained guarded, his lips tightly closed. This made him even less likable.

Only Gu Shenwei was an exception. In the brothers, he saw the same anger, hatred, and fear as he felt. The Snow Mountain Killer who had tracked them from afar also proved that these two, like him, had tragic experiences.

None of them mentioned their past. Those deepest pains were useless to speak of; they wouldn't lessen or be vented through confession. Instead, they would only highlight the helplessness and weakness of the survivors.

Now, they faced the same predicament, the same danger and enemy. They decided to seek revenge, to fight violence with violence. However, the difficulty was not small. Han Shiqi was not a Yao Nu who knew nothing of martial arts. He was an assassin from Golden Peng Fortress. Even if he wasn't a top figure, he was far more formidable than the three of them combined.

"I have a plan."

Qi Nu said. He had waited a long time for this day. To kill the scoundrel who had humiliated him and his brother, he was willing to take any risk.