Decision

Decision

The moment Guo Ni said this, the ancestral hall fell into a deathly, stagnant silence again. I was completely dumbfounded. It had indeed been me who had raised my hand and let go of the black jar just now, allowing Guo Ni to obtain the Seven-Colored Gu, so when she said, "Xiao Kunlun gave me the Seven-Colored Gu," it wasn't something she had made up out of thin air.

What I never could have expected even more was what she said afterward. She wasn't going to marry Ma Bianlang—she was going to marry me. Those words were, without a doubt, pushing me straight onto the furnace.

Sure enough, Ma Bianlang's tiny eyes shot out a venomous light as he stared fixedly at me. His body trembled slightly, his hands hidden inside his sleeves, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

"Nonsense!" Chen Junfeng shouted. "Even if you obtained the Seven-Colored Gu, do you know how to control it? If someone is struck by the Seven-Colored Gu, do you know how to undo the gu and detoxify them? I am your father. I won't allow you to act recklessly."

Chen Junfeng's meaning was obvious. Obtaining the Seven-Colored Gu was only the first step. After that, one still had to master control over it, learn to drive the Seven-Colored Gu, and dispel the Seven-Colored Gu's poison. This involved a whole series of witch-gu arts.

If Guo Ni did not marry into Qingya Village, then even if she obtained the Seven-Colored Gu, she would have no way to use it properly.

Chen Junfeng knew this clearly.

Ma Shi understood this as well, so his expression did not change much. A smile even piled onto his face as he praised, "Miss Guo truly is a person with character. If you are not used to Qingya Village, then in the future, I will have Bianlang accompany you back home for a few months every year."

Guo Ni shook her head firmly and said, "The Seven-Colored Gu is the betrothal gift. Whoever gives me the Seven-Colored Gu is the one I will marry. This is my principle. Don't worry, I won't live in Qingya Village. I'll live together with Xiao Kunlun."

Ma Shi glanced at Chen Junfeng.

Chen Junfeng's face turned ashen. He stood up at once and said, "How can you fail to distinguish black from white, green from red! This Seven-Colored Gu belonged to Qingya Village to begin with. Refining gu, using gu, undoing gu—all of them are Qingya Village secret arts. Will Xiao Kunlun teach you?"

Chen Junfeng's imposing manner pressed down on people. Guo Ni's face flushed bright red as she said, "Stepfather, you told me Ma Bianlang was eighteen years old, the same age as me, and that he had handsome features. But you lied to me. You used me to exchange for the Seven-Colored Gu. That is the act of selling your daughter. If my father were still alive, he would never do such a thing."

Chen Junfeng slapped her. Finger marks appeared on Guo Ni's face, and her body staggered back several steps. Her hands hugged the black jar tightly, her eyes filled with grievance and despair.

Cold sweat poured from my forehead. I wiped the sweat away and also said, "Guo Ni, if you want to reject Ma Bianlang, then just reject Ma Bianlang. You can simply throw down the carrying pole and quit. Why must you push me onto the furnace to roast?"

Guo Ni's eyes suddenly widened. She looked at me and said, "Xiao Kunlun, the Seven-Colored Gu burrowed into the Corpse-Raising Cave where no one dared enter. If you hadn't barged in and gotten it out, the Seven-Colored Gu would not be here now. Then my lifelong happiness would not be buried here. Everything was caused by you. If you don't take responsibility for me, then I curse you to be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life, with no one willing to marry you."

For a moment, I was actually rendered speechless. The Seven-Colored Gu had been lost and recovered; Guo Ni was going to marry Ma Bianlang—this was related to me, but I was not the deciding factor. Everything had been caused by Chen Junfeng.

What was even more infuriating was that she had actually laid such a curse on me, cursing me to be lonely and miserable for the rest of my life.

I had never wanted to wade into these muddy waters in the first place, so I said, "Miss Guo Ni, please reject Clan Chief Ma and Ma Bianlang directly. Reject your stepfather. No one in this world can change your will. Please don't let that poisonous curse fall on my head. Please reject them directly." I said it again.

Guo Ni bit her lip, her expression extremely pained. That brilliant red wedding dress looked especially beautiful and desolate in the candlelight.

The atmosphere inside the ancestral hall turned murderous and bleak.

Ma Bianlang's nostrils twitched, and a piece of snot sprang out from his nose hair. His eyes narrowed, and he pounced straight at me. I kicked the long bench hard with my right foot. Ma Bianlang slammed into the bench, his body swaying as he tilted to the side. After steadying himself, he pounced over again like an eagle.

Ma Bianlang was very strong. I was no match for him at all, so I pulled my legs up and ran around inside the ancestral hall. Ma Bianlang bared his teeth and howled wildly as he chased behind me.

At the same time, Chen Junfeng also made his move. His whole body lunged forward, both hands grabbing toward the black jar containing the Seven-Colored Gu.

Guo Ni was agile. She dodged to the side, then rushed straight toward the fire basin in the middle of the ancestral hall and shouted, "Stepfather, if you come any closer, I'll throw the Seven-Colored Gu into the fire basin and burn it to death."

Chen Junfeng stopped moving.

Ma Bianlang, who had been chasing me, also changed direction and ran to Guo Ni's side. "Miss Guo, I, Ma Bianlang, may be a little ugly. I promise I will definitely treat you well in the future. Why must you cruelly reject me?"

Guo Ni stood beside the fire basin, sweat beading on her forehead. "Ma Bianlang, you can't fool me. The smell on you tells me you are a devil-like person."

Ma Bianlang's expression twisted to an extreme degree. He turned his head and glanced at Ma Shi, who was seated by the table, then said, "Dad, this woman, I may as well not want her. Let her get lost. I want a girl from our Miao families."

The moment his words fell, the Vine Snake in his sleeve leaped out and pounced straight at Guo Ni. Guo Ni panicked and instinctively dodged to the side. Ma Bianlang's body flashed like a ghost as he charged in front of Guo Ni and struck her in the chest with his palm.

Guo Ni had not expected Ma Bianlang to attack her. Her entire body flew out. Ma Bianlang ignored Guo Ni and took advantage of the momentum to grab the black jar into his hands.

The Seven-Colored Gu returned to Ma Bianlang's hands. The aura around his whole body changed drastically, becoming filled with evil energy.

Guo Ni fell to the ground, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, followed by several coughs.

"You damned dog thing, you haven't even married her yet and you're already hitting her. Ptui!" Shocked that Ma Bianlang had struck Guo Ni, I cursed angrily.

Only then did Ma Shi stand up. He walked in front of Chen Junfeng, cupped his fists with both hands, and said, "Mr. Chen, it seems our fate has not yet arrived. I'm afraid this marriage between your esteemed daughter and my unworthy son cannot be discussed further. However, since you have come from afar as guests, I will certainly entertain you well."

Chen Junfeng's face darkened. He walked up to Guo Ni and said, "Apologize to Bianlang. Say you were muddleheaded for a moment. Say you like him very much in your heart, and that in this life, you will marry no one but him."

Guo Ni wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Tears fell in streams as she raised her head and looked defiantly at Chen Junfeng.

Chen Junfeng's eyelids twitched several times. He stretched out his right hand and grabbed Guo Ni by the neck, lifting her up in one motion, then cursed furiously, "I raised you for eight years. Now that your wings have hardened, you dare go against me. Are you apologizing or not?"

With a smack, a slap landed on Guo Ni's face, extremely loud. Bruises appeared on Guo Ni's face, and her neatly tied hair also became disheveled.

"Chen Junfeng, for the sake of a single Seven-Colored Gu, this is how you treat me." Guo Ni did not submit.

Chen Junfeng threw another punch, striking Guo Ni directly in the abdomen.

I even heard the sound of ribs breaking. I could not endure it. How could there be such a stepfather in this world? Guo Ni hurt so badly she could not even cry out. If Chen Junfeng had not been holding her up, she would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

"Clan Chief Ma, lock her up for a few months, half a year, starve her for a few days, and I guarantee she'll obediently listen," Chen Junfeng said shamelessly. "This marriage alliance of ours must be formed."

Chen Junfeng spoke words like those of a beast.

My fists clenched. I suddenly sped up and ran toward Chen Junfeng, shouting, "Chen Junfeng, I'll kick you to death!"

I leaped up and kicked Chen Junfeng in the back. Chen Junfeng went sprawling like a dog eating mud and rolled several meters away. Guo Ni's body swayed, and she fell to the ground. I hurriedly supported her and found that her face was pale, and she had no strength to speak.

"I'll make you rot into meat paste!" Chen Junfeng rolled on the ground and immediately climbed back up. His right hand slapped the black bag on his body, and the Five-Colored Demon Moth fluttered out.

It charged over like lightning.

I threw the bamboo tube onto the ground and shouted, "Nest-Head, eat this demon moth for me. If you don't eat it, then don't follow me anymore." The bamboo tube rolled across the ground. Green Nest-Head sprang out, flashing into a green shadow.

It leaped into the air out of nowhere. Its round body instantly opened up, turning into a green net, then rapidly contracted. The Five-Colored Demon Moth, which had been as fast as lightning, disappeared with it.

After Green Nest-Head landed, there was still some powder on its plump, round body. It rolled along the ground and stopped beside me. The entire process was practically completed in an instant.

Its speed was so fast that it left people tongue-tied, going beyond everyone's expectations.

Only now did I believe that Green Nest-Head truly had the ability to eat the Seven-Colored Gu.

Chen Junfeng was dumbfounded and shouted, "How is that possible? My Five-Colored Demon Moth is gone just like that. A lump of flesh can deal with my Five-Colored Demon Moth?"