Heaven Gu Grandma lifted her head and glanced in the same direction, then wordlessly withdrew her gaze.
Noticing this, the present shaman clan chiefs knew that Longtu had indeed arrived.
This arcanist’s Qi-watching technique can spot enemy movements dozens, even a hundred miles away. Other than the Dark Gu and Heaven Gu, there was no other method in the Southern Marches capable of countering Qi-watching technique… The beautiful woman with red snake earrings shifted her almond eyes slightly.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, everyone beneath the sky well1 could feel the ground trembling. The frequency of the tremors remained the same, but the vibrations grew ever stronger.
Even if the Strength Gu tribe is known for their unnatural strength, a dignified tribe leader shouldn’t be unable to control his own strength… Ge Wenxuan’s pupils shrank, a bold guess forming in his mind.
Twenty years ago, Longtu had already reached the peak of the third rank. With so many years gone by, even if his rank hadn’t increased, his foundation should have grown even more solid.
Perhaps he was in a state of accumulating power, about to break through, the tremors with each stride were a sign that he had vaguely touched upon the second rank, an uncontrollable manifestation.
The shaking intensified, until something blocked out the light at the courtyard gate.
Everyone turned their heads to see a giant, nine feet tall, bending low and hunching his back as he entered.
In the courtyard below, he straightened up, his head nearly touching the eaves.
Upon seeing this robust, vigorously vital body, Luanyu, draped in a sheer veil and alluring in figure, stuck out her pink tongue and licked her lips.
She did not hide the hunger in her eyes.
To members of the Desire Gu clan, the Strength Gu and Central Plains martial artists were both the choicest of all “furnaces”, but while the martial artists of the Central Plains were far away, members of the Strength Gu were right at hand.
Yet both being shaman clans, the Desire Gu could not touch the Strength Gu, and the Strength Gu had a clan rule aimed directly at the Desire Gu:
Anyone who has relations with a Desire Gu member shall be immediately executed.
“Grandma!”
Longtu greeted her respectfully.
He ignored the other chiefs.
Heaven Gu Grandma responded with a gentle “Mmm.”
“The reason I called you all here today was not detailed in the letter, but I suppose you’ve all heard of the situation with the Central Plains.”
Her voice was kind and gentle, imbued with the calm of one who had seen much of life.
Longtu and the others nodded slightly.
Heaven Gu Grandma continued,
“This child’s master was acquainted with my late husband. He came to me with a letter from his master, hoping I would take the lead in summoning you all for a council.”
With that, she looked at the white-clad arcanist.
Ge Wenxuan, in turn, looked at Longtu and introduced himself,
“This one is Ge Wenxuan, from Yunzhou.”
He had said this before to the other chiefs, but now he addressed Longtu directly.
Longtu glanced at him impassively, while his other hand surreptitiously reached for the wooden basin in front of Heaven Gu Grandma, grabbing a handful of meat silkworm larvae.
Smack!
Heaven Gu Grandma slapped his hand away.
Longtu grinned, scratching his head.
Heaven Gu Grandma shook her head in resignation and pushed the basin over.
Longtu’s eyes lit up. He happily grabbed the basin, scooped up a handful of wriggling larvae, stuffed them in his mouth and chewed, closing his eyes with a look of utter enjoyment.
Ge Wenxuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he desperately resisted the urge to gag. Taking a deep breath, he forced a smile:
“My teacher entrusted me to persuade you all to send troops to attack the Great Feng.”
The various clan chiefs looked calm, neither surprised nor moved. The walking corpse shrouded in the cloak let out a hoarse, indifferent voice from beneath the hood:
“What benefits do we get?”
Ge Wenxuan smiled:
“The benefits of victory in war are beyond imagination.
“Twenty years ago at the battle of Shanhai Pass, the Buddhist sect and the Great Feng were victors. The former was like oil poured onto a raging fire, growing ever more powerful, talents emerging in droves.
“Though the Great Feng lost half its fortune, my teacher and I have calculated, including Wei Yuan, who died in battle, and Emperor Zhende, who met an early demise, the Great Feng have possessed a total of eight beyond-mortal experts.
“If it weren’t for my teacher and the Heaven Gu elder secretly stealing half of the Great Feng’s fortune, today there would be no one in the Central Plains capable of standing as an equal to the Buddhist sect, except for the Great Feng.”
The pretty woman holding a scorpion, with small snakes for earrings, whined,
“Grandma, what is he saying? Yan’er can’t understand.”
Heaven Gu Grandma sighed:
“Twenty years ago, to steal the Great Feng’s fortune and mend the Confucian Sage’s statue, that old man and the Jianzheng’s first disciple worked together to bring about the battle of Shanhai Pass.”
She then explained the events of those years in detail to the chiefs.
Below the sky well, there was dead silence.
In that battle, the shaman clans had lost many experts, including not a few beyond-rank ones.
The striking woman fiddled with her earrings and narrowed her large almond eyes:
“Sealing the Gu God has been the goal of the shaman clans for thousands of years. We can understand, and even overlook, the actions of the Heaven Gu elder. But, where is the fortune now?”
Ge Wenxuan shook his head and sighed:
“The fortune is still in the Great Feng, and yet not in the Great Feng. Right now, it resides in Xu Qi’an.”
Longtu’s brow twitched violently.
“Who is Xu Qi’an?” asked Luanyu.
The shaman chiefs all frowned; they had never heard of this name.
Longtu was silent for a moment, then said,
“He is now the number one martial artist of the Great Feng.”
Number one martial artist of the Great Feng… Luanyu’s eyes brightened, as if a young girl had seen her favourite toy.
Ge Wenxuan continued,
“He is my teacher’s legitimate eldest son, originally raised as a vessel to host the fortune. Once the fortune was extracted, the vessel would die, he existed only as a disposable pawn.
“But while his mother was pregnant, she suddenly regretted her actions, fleeing Yunzhou in secret, and bore him in the capital. For this reason, he came under the Jianzheng’s gaze. My teacher was forced to bide his time and endure, not daring to interfere for twenty years.”
Ge Wenxuan did not elaborate further, so long as the shaman chiefs knew of the feud between Xu Qi’an and his teacher, the details were unimportant.
The chiefs pondered this.
Ge Wenxuan continued,
“All of you have likely heard some of the Great Feng’s predicament, refugee disasters, empty coffers, unable to provide relief. To the south, my Yunzhou army is launching a northern campaign. To the west, armies of the Western Regions are massing.
“If the shaman clans join us, the Great Feng will be doomed. When the Central Plains is ours, everything will belong to us.”
Luanyu was taken aback: “The Buddhist sect is involved as well?”
The chiefs exchanged glances.
The corpse in the cloak gave a cold laugh:
“Spare us your empty promises, let’s have some real talk.”
On hearing this, instead of being displeased at the unfriendly tone, Ge Wenxuan actually smiled.
His earlier words had mainly been to analyse the enemy’s situation for the shaman clans and let them see victory was possible.
To pull the shaman clans in, the priority wasn’t enticing them with benefits, but assuring them the whole thing was doable.
If the opponents were the Buddhist sect, even the greatest of benefits would not tempt the shaman clans.
And now, having heard the Buddhist sect on their side and that the Great Feng was so vulnerable, several of the chiefs were indeed tempted, especially the Corpse Gu leader. His earlier “complaint” was actually a tacit agreement.
“Don’t rush, let me explain everything for everyone.”
Ge Wenxuan smiled calmly and spoke in a steady tone,
“My teacher offers the following reward: once the deed is done, Yuuzhou and half of Qingzhou will be ceded to the shaman clans, and he will help the shaman clans found a nation in the Southern Marches, to consolidate their fortune.
“You must all know, for an arcanist, gathering fortune is no great challenge. In this way, ruling over half the Southern Marches and part of the Central Plains territory, you will have enough fortune to repair the Confucian Sage’s statue and suppress the Gu God.”
Luanyu and the other chiefs exchanged silent glances, each seeing temptation in the others’ eyes.
Ge Wenxuan continued,
“Yunzhou and Qingzhou are lands of rich soil, and the people are skilled in farming. Once you establish your nation, the Strength Gu will never have to worry about food again.
“Chief Longtu, for the sake of your clan’s future and propagation, surely you will not refuse?”
Longtu looked to Heaven Gu Grandma,
“Grandma, what do you think?”
Facing everyone’s gaze, Heaven Gu Grandma replied calmly,
“The future holds countless possibilities, like rivers spreading and forking across the land. Yet we cannot deny, this is one such possibility.”
The Heaven Gu clan could glimpse a small part of the future.
“Our Corpse Gu clan agrees.” the cloaked man said hoarsely. “My father died in the Battle of Shanhai Pass, killed in Wei Yuan’s ‘Seven-Day Killing Formation’. This blood debt must be repaid.”
Luanyu sighed, “In the Battle of Shanhai Pass, our Desire Gu clan likewise suffered heavy loss. To our people, the Great Feng and the Buddhist sect are mortal enemies.”
The implication was clear: she agreed.
The middle-aged man in robes of animal skin, still chewing on toxic creatures, swallowed and said coolly,
“The Central Plains are fertile, but lack poisonous creatures and plants, not much of a temptation to our Poison Gu. Yet the chance to seal the Gu God is something hard to refuse.”
The Heart Gu clan chief, with large alluring almond eyes, touched the little snake at her ear and frowned,
“We cannot just take General Ge’s word for this. If you want us to deploy, now is not the time. We must first send our clansmen to scout out and investigate.
“If the report proves true, it won’t be too late to send forces then.”
The corpse puppet in the cloak said in a deep voice,
“Shadow, what say you?”
“Either way is fine!”
A low voice echoed in the courtyard, but no one appeared.
This was the chief of the Dark Gu clan.
He had been present all along, simply so well hidden that no one noticed him.
The shaman clans were used to this: whether day or night, the Dark Gu clan was like a dead city. Its people were skilled at hiding themselves.
Yet they were everywhere. Sometimes, if you lifted a stone and looked under it, you might find a Dark Gu person in the shadows. Or if you stumbled into a deep pit, you might hear a Dark Gu clansman greet you, “What a coincidence, you fell in too!”
Luanyu said with a smile,
“Longtu, what of your Strength Gu clan?”
The corpse puppet said flatly,
“As if he could refuse, Strength Gu people would do anything for a bite to eat.”
Everyone looked at Longtu.
The giant’s rugged face was expressionless. He glanced at his fellows, then at Ge Wenxuan, and said coolly,
“Whether sealing the Gu God or a steady supply of rations for the Strength Gu, both are irresistible terms.”
A barely contained smile spread across Ge Wenxuan’s face.
“But, I refuse!”
Longtu said calmly.
Ge Wenxuan’s face froze at once, and he looked up at Longtu in disbelief.
…
The Abyss, at the heart of the Southern Marches, was a vast rift stretching over a hundred li, its depths unfathomable.
Around this fissure sprawled endless primeval forest, home to countless venomous insects and fierce beasts.
They were naturally born Gu, grouped by ability into seven types, corresponding to the Gu God’s seven powers.
At the forest’s edge, out on the steppe, the elders of the Strength Gu tribe had led their registered disciple Xu Lingyin to The Abyss.
“This area is suffused with the power of the Strength Gu, the deeper you go, the greater the force. It’s not suitable for beginners. Here is far enough.”
The Grand Elder fondly patted his beloved disciple’s head, his expression kindly, “Do you remember the secret art I just taught you?”
Xu Lingyin shook her head, “I’ve forgot all of it.”
“Good!”
The Grand Elder praised enthusiastically, “Such a childlike, pure heart, free of stain, truly a genius born to cultivate the Strength Gu.”
The other five burly, white-haired elders also beamed in satisfaction.
…Mu Nanzhi and Xu Qi’an off to the side were both filled with complaints.
Even Baiji felt these Southern Marches people were not right in the head, but being young and inexperienced, she couldn’t make a proper assessment.
Earlier, the elders and chief of the Strength Gu tribe, and even the “so white she’s ugly” Lina, had nearly come to blows over Xu Lingyin.
The elders had rolled up their sleeves and thrown down their canes, ready to fight the chief to the death.
The tribesmen cheered from the sidelines, waiting to see the chief beat the elders, or vice versa.
Xu Qi’an then came up with a cunning plan: let Chief Longtu take Xu Lingyin as his disciple, while the six elders accepted her as a registered disciple, and Lina, on behalf of her father, would teach her the secret arts.
Xu Qi’an’s cleverness won the approval of all the Strength Gu, and he was dubbed as talented as “Miss Azi.”
“If you’ve forgotten, don’t worry. As your master, I’ll guide you in absorbing the power of the Strength Gu.”
The Grand Elder was gentle and cheerful, the more he gazed upon the silly little face, the more he saw her as a child of the Strength Gu clan.
Just then, Xu Qi’an felt a tingling at the back of his neck, as the dormant Sevenfold Gu in his body suddenly awakened, expressing a powerful yearning for the strength in this place.
The courtyard in a courtyard house, where the roof opens to the sky. In north China, where the climate is colder and drier, courtyards would be large to let in light. In the south, where the weather is often humid, overcast, and rainy, courtyard sky wells would be quite small and high up, letting in air but funnelling rain and preventing the sun from directly shining in. ↩
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