Shortly after Li Sheng left, Gu Junshi appeared.
She arrived without a sound. Though this space was an independent realm, it lacked real stars and moon at night. Yet, the lush floral trees that were beautiful and vibrant by day, at night seemed like flowing phosphorescence, scattering silver light.
Within a golden cage, perhaps ten feet in size, Liu Jiangfusheng's slender fingers were clenched tight. He sat propped against the side of the cage, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Clearly, the severed leg was ice-cold and excruciatingly painful.
She knew that the Human Emperor deliberately intended to torment him, using his most sinister and venomous arts. The bone-chilling yin energy could make a person writhe in agony, let alone the incessant, damp miasma of death qi.
With a flick of her sleeve, she opened the cage's restrictions and stepped inside.
Liu Jiangfusheng's eyes were closed, his complexion pale and sickly. Cold white mist radiated from his body, and cold sweat trickled down his neck, indicating his discomfort.
He showed no reaction to her arrival, not even stirring a lid. Whether he was too unwell to perceive her presence or simply unwilling to acknowledge her, it was unclear.
Gu Junshi propped her elbow on her knee and squatted down, tilting her head to observe him for a moment. Then, she reached out a hand towards his severed leg.
His muscles instantly tensed as if in a spasm, perhaps an involuntary reflex, or perhaps his rejection of her touch.
She ignored his resistance, gradually drawing out the death qi that gnawed at his bones and seeped into every crevice, remaining silent.
This death qi was not like mere yin energy; if it lingered in his body for too long, it would cause irreversible, major problems.
Finally, Liu Jiangfusheng could no longer maintain his composure. "Are you truly going to marry someone else?"
The question lodged in his throat like a thorn. He had intended to face these matters with a detached air, presenting an image of nonchalance. But in reality, when confronted, his composure had gone to the dogs.
Gu Junshi let out a playful laugh. "Did you not want to sever ties with me? Whom I marry has nothing to do with you."
He suddenly opened his eyes, shoving her away with indignant force. His deer-like eyes, filled with a frosty thinness, said, "It has nothing to do with me. I remember my place. I am merely your former husband. What right do I have to expect you to remain faithful to me? Since you cannot stand the sight of me, then let me go."
Seeing his agitation, Gu Junshi remained unfazed. "Tell me the truth, and I will let you go."
"Fine, I will tell you the truth. Back then, although I resented you, I ultimately did not wish for you to die like that. So, when faced with two choices, I chose to save you!"
Gu Junshi froze on the spot. After a moment, she coldly fixed her gaze upon him and spoke with an outwardly calm, yet warning tone, "Liu Jiangfusheng, do not test my patience."
Seeing that she did not believe him, Liu Jiangfusheng continued, "You don't believe me? Yes, I lied to you. In fact, Lebao and Sijun were not born by me and someone else, nor are they adopted children. They are your children. It's just that because they were delivered prematurely via Cesarean section, I nurtured them for over a year before they were born. Therefore, they are not yet six years old."
He spoke with an air of having satisfied her request, but his expression was cold and sarcastic.
Gu Junshi listened quietly, offering no comment. Then, with a shift in her posture, she forcefully pressed her hand onto his shoulder, pushing him against the cage. With her other hand, she lifted his face and pinned him beneath her.
Warm breath enveloped him, and a long-forgotten shiver and tingling sensation crawled up his tailbone.
How long had it been since they were this close?
Liu Jiangfusheng was forced to look up at her. His expression didn't change much, but his eyes seemed to glow like pearls, their lustre veiled. He struggled to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her waist.
Gu Junshi gazed into his eyes, her words crystal clear: "Liu Jiangfusheng, that 'Dao of Ruthless Intent' that year fell from your bag. You resent me, hate me for using you to achieve enlightenment, but do you not know that everything is merely the cycle of cause and effect?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Jiangfusheng's pupils trembled.
She continued, "It was merely a case of striking first. But unlike you, if I were to kill my wife for enlightenment, I would have no chance of reincarnation. Yet, you would be protected by the Heavenly Dao and could be reborn. Therefore, I can accept your revenge. But if you expect me to feel guilty and ashamed because of it, then you will likely be very disappointed."
Liu Jiangfusheng recalled the events before his amnesia and naturally understood the circumstances that Gu Junshi had so pointedly revealed.
He trembled, "I won't..."
"But you will. I didn't understand before why, after losing your memory, you married a farmer's daughter of the lowest character and virtue. Was it chance, or an accident? No, it was simply because she was a Gu clan descendant."
Liu Jiangfusheng's lips tightened. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"The Heavenly Dao's first pawn for you was the Gu clan's furnace seed. The Gu clan is a very special lineage, especially the furnace seed. Besides being able to have their cultivation seized, they are not subject to the cycles of reincarnation within the Three Realms, Five Elements, and Six Paths. When you killed your wife for enlightenment, you had no need to worry about bearing any sinful karma, nor did it hinder your future ascent to immortality."
Liu Jiangfusheng's expression suddenly turned ashen. It seemed he had not expected Gu Junshi to know everything.
She touched his cold, jade-like face and, after waiting for him to calm down, asked, "What are you thinking?"
"But... but you are not a Gu clan descendant."
"Why do you say that?"
Liu Jiangfusheng stated with certainty and hope, "The Heavenly Dao's attitude towards you has always been one of rejection, even apprehension. If you were truly a Gu clan descendant, it would not choose a pawn it couldn't control."
Gu Junshi's gaze turned indifferent. "So, it doesn't know everything, nor can it accomplish everything. Does it think that all things in this world can proceed according to its script?"
"You are its enemy?"
Gu Junshi released him and stood up. "Do you think I can be its friend?" She looked down at him, a cool smile gracing her lips. "From the moment I became Gu Yi, it was destined that I would be its enemy. Do you think you know why I became Gu Yi? Why I was able to cultivate the Dao of Ruthless Intent before you? It's all because someone wanted me to become a solid stumbling block, an obstruction to the Heavenly Dao's plan."
These were matters unknown to Liu Jiangfusheng.
"Who?"
Gu Junshi shifted her gaze. "No hurry. These beings playing chess from behind the scenes will eventually reveal themselves."
Seeing her about to leave, Liu Jiangfusheng struggled to stand, only to find that his severed leg had already healed, with no abnormal cold, bone-piercing pain.
"That young man named Li Sheng... do you like him?"
When it came to romantic matters outside of their official business, Gu Junshi’s demeanor became languid. "Perhaps."
"Then will you marry him?" he asked again.
"No."
Liu Jiangfusheng's expression turned cold. "Your answer to the Human Emperor was not such a definitive refusal!"
"There's a saying, isn't there? Oh, if you want the horse to run, you must be willing to feed it grass. Marriage is a mutually beneficial affair; it must have value."
A typical merchant's mindset.
Liu Jiangfusheng, however, said, "It's not..."
"What's not?"
"Marriage is a promise of companionship between two people who love each other, a proof of their commitment, something for which they can sacrifice, regardless of gain or loss."
Gu Junshi paused to process this.
"The marriage you speak of is the value you perceive."