Whether Gu Junshi and Gu Sijun ignored him or deliberately chose perilous places to travel, the footsteps that followed closely behind could keep pace with them, whether fast or slow.
His pale face was etched with the weariness of illness, his eyes fixated on her stern and quiet back, as if in the throes of first love, or like parched earth finally receiving rain.
Gu Junshi could not have failed to notice the burning, clingy gaze, like that of a devoted dog.
But her heart was a barren, indifferent well, and she showed no reaction.
Until... she suddenly noticed something and turned around.
Her gaze landed precisely on the spot of his severed arm—a bizarre and miraculous sight, that arm, severed at the shoulder, had grown nearly half its length during the short time he had followed.
It was still self-repairing; from her angle, the bloody stump showed incredibly complex and dense tissue growth, bone, blood vessels, muscle, skin, from the inside out, from top to bottom…
She studied it with deep interest for a moment. Gu Sijun followed her gaze and looked back, but he couldn't maintain his mother's impassive demeanor.
"Mother, his arm… it's growing back by itself?"
He was dumbfounded.
While the cultivation world could accomplish many things mortals couldn't even imagine, everything had its limits. Reanimating the dead or regrowing flesh and bone was no easy feat.
For someone like him, to regrow an arm and simultaneously restore meridians and spiritual veins would require at least a Profound tier elixir; ordinary elixirs of ranks one to nine were insufficient.
So, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, how had he managed to make his severed arm regrow on its own?!
Gu Junshi lightly patted his dazed little head, not answering Gu Sijun's question.
This youth… was rather interesting.
First, there was that "Flower Spirit" sword, and now this particularly research-worthy body… Compared to her previous indifference towards him, he had now shown some special value.
In Gu Junshi's eyes, those who demonstrated their worth were the least likely to be discarded.
The youth, seeing the girl holding a child turn around, was startled and stopped.
He dared to think, a little presumptuously.
Why had she stopped?
Was she… waiting for him?
At first, the youth feared he was being overly optimistic and hesitated, not daring to step forward.
Did she look at him like that because she didn't mind his trailing, or was she about to tell him to leave?
Under her gaze, which seemed to penetrate to the very depths of one's heart, his heart trembled and tightened, leaving him flustered.
Until, he saw her offer him a smile of ambiguous meaning.
That sweet, yet slightly cloying smile revealed on her beautiful, lotus-like face made the youth's pupils dilate, his heart rate becoming erratic.
"Do you know Abbess Huiming?"
Gu Junshi didn't directly ask about his arm. His body's condition was likely a secret, but this didn't bring the youth any relief; instead, it brought a sense of loss.
Upon hearing the name "Abbess Huiming," he thought for a moment and replied honestly, "Not really…"
Indeed, he didn't know her well, having only met her briefly during the rescue.
"You don't know her, yet you risked your life to save them?" she raised an eyebrow.
But the youth had his own way of dealing with things, and he asked, puzzled, "When one encounters trouble, isn't it right to help?"
Is it right?
It depends on the person.
Some people don't think it's right, like selfish villains.
Others consider it a matter of course, like people with strong moral principles.
She and he seemed to be two entirely different people.
Gu Junshi had a clear understanding of her own positioning and wouldn't arbitrarily criticize others' thoughts. On the contrary, people like her sometimes admired the pure, childlike heart of youths like him, because… they were easily deceived.
"Since you saved her, I imagine she would agree to a harmless request from you," she said meaningfully.
The youth watched her with his clear, bright eyes, not quite understanding her words.
"My name is Hua Mi. What's yours?"
When asked his name, the youth remembered he had forgotten to introduce himself to his benefactor. His face flushed, and he quickly replied, "I, I am Li Sheng. Li from dawn, Sheng from song."
"Then, Li Sheng, would you be willing to take me to Abbess Huiming and have her do me a small favor?"
This time, Li Sheng understood her intention.
She wanted him to speak up and ask Abbess Huiming for repayment of the life-saving favor.
He believed in repaying kindness, and asking someone to actively seek repayment was something he would never have done before. But… she called him "Li Sheng," and in such a pleasant, cool voice, Li Sheng found he couldn't refuse.
"I'll take… I'll take you."
He lowered his head, his ears turning an intense red. He couldn't break his habit of stuttering when nervous.
Meanwhile, Gu Sijun, seeing the youth whose entire body seemed on the verge of smoking after a few words, felt a surge of danger.
He glared at him with his beautiful black eyes, clearly displeased.
Why did this person blush so easily? It wasn't like they were courting, so who was he putting on such a shy act for?
At this moment, the youth seemed to sense his gaze and looked up, meeting his eyes.
Faced with the child's unfriendly, hostile gaze, he paused for a moment, then smiled at him, with a strange sense of closeness and indulgent affection.
But Gu Sijun felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
This person was sick, why was he looking at him with such a sickening expression?
Did he really intend to be his "stepfather"?
Suddenly, Gu Sijun's vision blurred, and the next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his eyes.
"Urgh…"
He couldn't control his instinctive reaction, covering his eyes with both hands, his shoulders twitching in pain.
"Sijun, what's wrong?"
Gu Junshi immediately noticed his distress. His small body was curled up, as if in great pain.
"It hurts…"
He pressed on his eyes, crying out piteously to her.
Judging by his actions, Gu Junshi said, "Where does it hurt? Your eyes? Take your hands away, let me see."
Yes, his eyes.
As for why they hurt, Gu Sijun knew.
This was someone using the power of the "True Dragon Eyes." He shared vision with that person; if one used it, the other could sense it, but there was a side effect: one person's use meant the other had to endure some pain.
In the past, Gu Sijun occasionally lost control and inadvertently used the "True Dragon Eyes" ability, and he knew the consequences. So, he avoided using it whenever possible, only resorting to it to escape critical situations.
But that person had never used it, yet this time he had.
Gu Sijun knew that the person must have been forced to use the "True Dragon Eyes" out of desperation.
Suddenly, a scene appeared before him, a fragment of time tracing back to a recent moment.
Gu Sijun's originally greenish eyes suddenly filled with bloodshot veins.
Startled by the scene he witnessed, he could no longer conceal it. He quickly lowered his hands, his eyes blood-red, and earnestly pleaded with Gu Junshi, "Mother, save him, save him—"
His sudden change in demeanor made Gu Junshi frown. She wanted him to calm down first.
"Sijun, what are you talking about? Who do you want to save?"
But Gu Sijun truly couldn't calm down. His panic made his speech jumbled, "He, he's next to a very, very large stone statue, he's being attacked by those monsters, they're jumping up, trying to bite him, grab him, if he falls, he'll die, he's calling for help—"
People often said twins had a connection, no matter how far apart. Gu Sijun used to dismiss such nonsense because he felt he and that sickly boy were an exception.
Their joys, anger, sorrows, and pleasures often didn't resonate.
But at this moment, he seemed to feel the other's panic, fear, helplessness, and longing. He was thinking of that person, and also of himself.
Tears streamed down his face, and he sobbed, his nose turning red from pain.
That's right, he had always disliked him because he was always pretending to be sick or pitiful, and he was jealous of him because he had been smarter and more likable since childhood. But no matter how much he disliked him, Gu Sijun had never imagined that sickly boy would die…
From his imprecise and scattered words, Gu Junshi had a general idea. Gu Sijun must have used his eye ability again and seen something. Recalling his earlier desire to stay behind alone…
It seemed someone very important to him in Compassion City was in danger. Previously, he hadn't wanted to trouble her, preferring to find a way to save the person himself. But what he "saw" just now might have been dire, causing him to panic and reveal everything.
"Don't worry, and don't be scared. If you want me to save him, I will."
She comforted him softly, and seeing him crying uncontrollably, she patted his back repeatedly to calm him.
Meanwhile, Li Sheng had approached them at some point. When he saw her patient comfort and concern for the child, a dark, stinging envy rose in his heart.
This was jealousy…
He was jealous even of a child, Li Sheng felt he might be beyond saving.
Seeing Gu Sijun calm down slightly, Gu Junshi raised her eyebrows, her gaze changing instantly. She picked him up and instantly ascended to the highest point.
The red vortexes that filled the sky above Compassion City were extremely dangerous. When they sensed someone within attack range, they would transform into countless soft, red thorns that would twine around them, trying to drag them into the red vortex.
Once dragged into the vortex, there was no hope of survival.
No wonder the city was filled with so many stiff corpses, yet no one chose to flee by air. It turned out the sky was an even more dangerous place.
But Gu Junshi had no such reservations. As soon as she floated into the air, black mist-like radiance shot out from behind her, tearing apart all the red thorns that dared to approach. It tore apart as many as came, its ferocious nature more domineering and powerful than the red vortex.
As the saying goes, the strong fear the unruly. The red vortex had encountered a brute and gradually began to subside.
"Hua Mi—"
Gu Junshi looked down and saw the anxious, wronged-looking youth below. After a moment's thought, she had "Wuxiang" transform into a rope again and pull him up.
At this moment, the youth didn't complain about being treated like this, but instead smiled faintly at her.
It had… a strangely seductive quality?
But in an instant, he reverted to a pure and innocent little white rabbit.
He said, "I've seen that statue before, I know where it is, I can take you there."
Satisfied that he could be useful at critical moments, Gu Junshi nodded and, taking him with her, flashed away.
Suddenly, the city seemed to exert its power, intending to trap them there and annihilate them completely. Thus, everything within it would be destroyed.
In the center, a child had climbed onto the statue, clinging tightly to a stone.
Gu Junshi saw that the child was clever, knowing to find a hidden spot to climb, and at such a young age, understood how to use whatever was available to create obstacles, preventing the stiff corpses from getting close.
But that was all. His eyes were red with effort, but he hadn't cried yet, showing his resilience.
As he tightly grasped the statue, he slightly turned his face, and Gu Junshi's gaze narrowed.
"Who is he?"
Seeing Gu Junshi's expression, Gu Sijun's face dimmed slightly.
Except for his eyes, he didn't resemble his mother in other ways, but Le Bao looked very much like that person. Would she recognize him?
"My brother."
"Brother? Aren't you an orphan?"
"I'm sorry…"
Gu Junshi said, "You stay here."
"Mother, I'm sorry, don't leave me."
He lacked a sense of security, and any of her actions could send him into a panic.
Gu Junshi cupped his little face, kissed him, and looked at him gently, "Little Sijun, I'm only going to save your brother. Weren't you very worried about him?"
"Really? You're not angry?"
"I will never truly be angry with you."
She glanced at Li Sheng, who quickly stepped forward to embrace Sijun, "I, I will take care of him for you."
Gu Junshi ultimately left "Wuxiang" to watch over the two of them.
As soon as Gu Junshi left, Sijun struggled fiercely, but could not break free from Li Sheng, despite having only one arm to use, and appearing so frail.
"Be good, or I might have to take some measures to quiet you down." His voice was calm.
"You—"
Li Sheng lowered his eyes, meeting his angry gaze, "You've done very well."
"What are you talking about?" Gu Sijun said unhappily.
He looked back in Gu Junshi's direction, "Do you like her a lot?"
"What's it to you."
"But by yourself, you might not be able to keep her."
Gu Sijun was probably ill: "…"
"Don't covet my mother; she has a lover, and… they will soon be married."
Whether that man was his mother's lover or not, and whether his mother had accepted his proposal, Gu Sijun didn't care. He would drive away the bad influences around his mother.
The usually innocent youth suddenly transformed into something terrifying.