Sudden Change

A Sudden Change

When Ma Bianlang heard the words "Seven-Colored Gu," his eyes lit up, but when the words "ugly freak" jumped out of Guo Ni's mouth, his whole face darkened again. His brows shot upright, and he was on the verge of exploding, but the moment his eyes landed on Guo Ni, his fury instantly died down. He asked politely, "You're from out of town, aren't you?"

Chen Junfeng stroked his handlebar mustache, piled a smile onto his face, and said, "You must be Bianlang. I'm Chen Junfeng. Your father, Ma Shi, and I made an agreement for a marriage alliance with your Qingya Village. The journey went smoothly, so we reached Qingya Village two days early."

Ma Bianlang hurried forward, smiling like a trumpet flower, waving both hands. The crowd surrounding Chen Junfeng all shifted over to my side.

"Uncle Chen, blame me for my poor manners. I wasn't able to go down the mountain to welcome you. Miss Chen must be exhausted after such a long journey," Ma Bianlang said with perfect courtesy, his brows and eyes filled with fawning.

"My surname isn't Chen. My name is Guo Ni." Guo Ni instinctively took two steps back. "There's no Miss Chen here."

Ma Bianlang was no fool. He smiled and said, "Miss Guo, please come to Qingya Village as a guest with your esteemed father."

Chen Junfeng said, "Bianlang, this brat is a thorn. I was planning to deal with him myself, but since we've reached your territory, I'll leave him to you." Chen Junfeng pointed at me.

Ma Bianlang nodded and shouted sternly, "Xiao Kunlun, move. Go reunite with your Ma Erlei. He's been making trouble nonstop, saying we dragged you off to feed the Gu insects."

I nodded as if enlightened and said, "He really is my good brother. He still knows to worry about my safety."

Ma Bianlang led the way in front, while Chen Junfeng and Guo Ni walked behind. The burly men with knives watched me as our group headed toward Qingya Village. The clouds pressed very low, and the farther upward we went, the more mist coiled around us. All of Qingya Village was shrouded in clouds and fog, like a fairyland.

"Uncle Chen, Miss Guo, Qingya Village has superb scenery. Living here, one can live to a hundred," Ma Bianlang introduced as we walked. Chen Junfeng echoed him a couple of times.

When we reached the village entrance, two ox horns were blown.

Ma Shi had changed into clean clothes and strode forward to greet us, saying, "Brother Chen, I knew you'd arrive within these two days. Was the road all right?"

Chen Junfeng said, "There was nothing dangerous on the road. It was just when we were about to reach Qingya Village that we ran into a thorn, who used the Seven-Colored Gu to bluff me and said he'd throw the Seven-Colored Gu off the cliff, making me return empty-handed."

Ma Shi nodded with a smile and shifted his steps. His gaze landed on me. He was just about to speak, his mouth opening, yet no words came out. Only after a good while did he say in shock, "Xiao Kunlun, the... Five-Colored Gu in your body? How is there not a single trace left? I don't believe you could force out the Five-Colored Gu."

Chen Junfeng was also startled.

I chuckled and said, "Ma Shi, trash-tier Gu insects like the Five-Colored Gu are as easy as turning over a hand if I want to kill them. Your Seven-Colored Gu knew you wanted to give it away, so it fled into a cave. I braved the rain to help you bring it back. How do you plan to thank me?"

I took out the black jar and shook it a few times in the air.

Ma Shi's expression turned somewhat ugly. With a smile that reached his skin but not his flesh, he said, "Throw it over. For all I know, the Seven-Colored Gu is already dead. Han people are the most cunning. What if you use a dead bug to trick me?"

"It's alive. Let it recuperate for seven or eight days, then feed it some poisonous insects, and it will recover to its peak condition," Guo Ni cut in, saying a fair word.

With the Seven-Colored Gu lost and recovered, all the previous plans of Ma Shi and Ma Bianlang would fall through, and on top of that, Guo Ni had confirmed the Seven-Colored Gu was still alive.

At this moment, the Ma father and son could not find any reason to make things difficult for me.

Barging into a Miao village as a Han person did not count as a serious crime.

"Brother Xiao, please return it to its rightful owner intact and give the Seven-Colored Gu back to me." Ma Shi's attitude also changed. "There were some misunderstandings before. Now that everything has been cleared up, we're still friends!"

I shrugged and said, "Chief Ma, so we're still friends after all. You old man really do have a silver tongue! I'm hungry. Send food to the stilted house, and bring Ma Erlei over. Tonight, in the Qingya Village ancestral hall, I'll formally return the Seven-Colored Gu to you."

Ma Bianlang shouted, "Xiao Kunlun, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Hand it over obediently. If you bare your teeth again, I'll twist your head off and feed it to the bugs."

"Bianlang, Brother Xiao helped us recover the Seven-Colored Gu. How can you speak to him like that? Pass down the order. Prepare a banquet in the ancestral hall tonight. You take Mr. Chen and Miss Guo to rest first." Ma Shi was much more polite and rebuked Ma Bianlang.

I walked straight toward the stilted house where I had rested before, and no one stopped me. Ma Shi had not made things difficult for Xiao Yudao. The medicinal soup for detoxification had not been tampered with either, and there were people taking care of her food and drink. By now, after drinking the medicine, she had fallen into a deep sleep again.

Ma Erlei had also regained his freedom. Seeing me reappear, he said with reddened eyes, "Brother Kunlun, I thought they'd harmed you." The black qi at the corners of Ma Erlei's eyes had grown thicker and thicker, and the Five-Colored Gu poison had sunk deeper and deeper.

I leaned close to his ear and said, "Erlei, I've already found the Seven-Colored Gu. Tonight, I'll return the Seven-Colored Gu to him. I want Ma Shi to apologize to us and send us out of Qingya Village with courtesy. Eat more and build up your strength so you can carry Xiaodao away. If Ma Shi won't help you remove the Five-Colored Gu, I'll think of a way for you."

Ma Erlei said, "When you return the Seven-Colored Gu, make him swear a venomous oath in the name of Great Emperor Chiyou that he absolutely can't go back on his word. Otherwise, ten thousand Gu will bore through his heart, and he'll never be reincarnated for all eternity!"

I nodded and remembered it.

There were still a few hours until night. I ate some rice, stayed by Xiao Yudao's side, and sank heavily into sleep. As soon as the sky turned dark, someone came to invite me to Qingya Village for the banquet.

A bonfire had been lit in front of the Qingya Village ancestral hall. Cold wind blew in gusts, and the flames swayed with a whoosh.

Inside the ancestral hall, a dining table had been set up, and several small dishes steaming with heat were served.

Just as I entered, the pattering sound of raindrops came again from the roof of the ancestral hall. It had started raining again.

Ma Shi changed his tune and said, "Brother Xiao, you helped me recover the Seven-Colored Gu and fulfilled the marriage bond between Bianlang and Miss Guo. You are a great benefactor of my Qingya Village. Please sit down and have a cup of wine."

I walked over openly and sat on the long bench.

Ma Shi then invited Chen Junfeng and Guo Ni to sit at the table as well.

Chen Junfeng said, "Guo Ni, don't speak nonsense while eating."

Guo Ni bit her lip and lowered her head, then quietly lifted it again and glanced at me, a trace of cunning in her gaze.

Ma Bianlang did not take a seat at the table. Instead, he stood behind Ma Shi, his eyes landing on Guo Ni without the slightest restraint.

Ma Shi poured half a bowl of rice wine and said, "Brother Xiao, how did you catch up to the Seven-Colored Gu? Could you tell this old man about it? I toast this cup to you." As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed the bowl in front of me.

My heart was like a bright mirror. This half bowl of rice wine had absolutely been tampered with. This time, it was not the Five-Colored Gu; it had probably been swapped for some other Gu insect.

I laughed, laid my chopsticks crossed over each other, held the wine bowl, and shook my head. "Chief Ma, why waste another Gu insect? Once this Gu insect enters my stomach, it won't cause me any harm at all."

With a gulp, I drank the half bowl of rice wine straight down. The fragrance of the wine spread out, and immediately after, a faint stabbing pain spread as well. But all of this was bearable.

Ma Shi's expression did not change as he said, "I don't understand what Brother Xiao is saying. This wine is my wholehearted toast to you. How could I have put Gu insects in it?"

Chen Junfeng also said, "I also want to know how you found the Seven-Colored Gu."

I glanced at Chen Junfeng and said, "The Seven-Colored Gu was unwilling to leave Qingya Village. It knew that the unfilial descendants of Qingya Village wanted to send it away, so it hid in Scorpion Cave. I followed its scent and chased after it. When I caught it, it took some effort. Fortunately, it didn't dare bite me, and let me obediently catch it in the jar."

I had wanted to say Corpse-Raising Cave, but on second thought, saying Corpse-Raising Cave might expose Xiao Tianxing's whereabouts, so I changed it to Scorpion Cave. After all, the cave was packed with Golden-Tailed Scorpions, so calling it Scorpion Cave was perfectly normal.

I made it up off the top of my head, and Ma Shi and Chen Junfeng looked at each other. Judging from their expressions, both of them were baffled too.

Ma Shi asked, "That cave isn't called Scorpion Cave. It's called Corpse-Raising Cave. A huge amount of corpse qi gathers inside, and the poisonous scorpions are all golden-tailed, venomous beyond measure. Even I wouldn't dare barge in recklessly. Over the course of a year, there are only two days when the corpse qi thins out, and we can send some jars inside. How could a little child like you have that kind of ability?"

Chen Junfeng said, "Even a Gu Human raised from childhood in a poison jar wouldn't be able to force his way into a cave thick with corpse qi. Dense corpse qi, if it touches the skin, will rot the flesh and even burn into the bones! You're not pulling our legs, are you?"

Ma Bianlang cut in, "Nonsense! I tried many times, and there was no way I could get inside."

"You can't do it. That doesn't mean I, Xiao Kunlun, can't!" I let out a long breath, stood up, planted one foot on the bench, took out the black jar containing the Seven-Colored Gu, and slammed it heavily onto the table. The bowls and chopsticks on the table jumped with it, clattering loudly. "Clan Chief Ma, the Seven-Colored Gu is returned to its rightful owner. Please swear in the name of Great Emperor Chiyou, admit your mistake, and send us out of Qingya Village with courtesy. You are not to harbor any greedy thoughts toward our people or the things we carry."

I pressed one hand down on the black jar and stared fixedly at Ma Shi.

Guo Ni suddenly raised her head. Her eyes were slightly red, as if tears were shimmering in them. I knew very well that once the Seven-Colored Gu returned to Ma Shi's hands, it would be delivered into Chen Junfeng's hands. And she, Guo Ni, would become Ma Bianlang's wife and remain forever in Qingya Village.

But I had no other way. Ensuring Ma Erlei and Xiao Yudao's safety, and getting the three of us safely out of Qingya Village, was the most urgent task before me.

Guo Ni and I had met by chance, like duckweed drifting together on the water. I had neither the ability nor the responsibility to rescue her from her sea of suffering. I was no great hero of the mortal world, only an ordinary person using every last ounce of strength just to survive.

A trace of guilt appeared in my eyes.

Ma Shi's expression was not very pleasant. Being forced by a junior to swear in the name of Great Emperor Chiyou was not exactly glorious, and besides, the temptation of the Earth Egg was far too great.

The ancestral hall fell silent all at once. Aside from the crackling of the burning firewood, not a single person spoke. Ma Bianlang stared eagerly at Ma Shi, his eyes filled with expectation.

Guo Ni's eyes shifted, growing redder and redder.

A full minute passed before Ma Shi's Adam's apple bobbed. He poured himself half a bowl of rice wine, gulped it down, set the bowl on the table, and said, "Fine. I can swear in the name of Great Emperor Chiyou..."

Guo Ni, who had originally been sitting beside Chen Junfeng, suddenly sprang up. She circled around behind Chen Junfeng, went straight to my side, and reached out with both hands to grab the black jar.

I was pressing down hard on the black jar. There was no way she could take it.

At that moment, tears slid from the corners of her eyes. My heart softened, and I lifted my hand slightly, letting go of the black jar.

"The Seven-Colored Gu was given to me by Xiao Kunlun. It was not gifted by Qingya Village. Even if I am to marry, I won't marry Ma Bianlang. I will marry Xiao Kunlun," Guo Ni said, her voice ringing clear.