Chapter 11: You Are Letting the Heart Demon Occupy Your Body? …
[Host, exactly how long have you been in this world?] 3339 suddenly realized something. It had assumed Yun Wuxiang’s cultivation was gifted by the World Consciousness so he could play the role of the Otherworldly Expert after transmigrating.
Its previous hosts included those who transmigrated directly into roles like Immortal Venerables or Demon Lords. This was standard operation for Systems and the World Consciousness; creating a shell with cultivation was just a matter of expending a little energy for the World Consciousness.
But what if it wasn’t?
If Yun Wuxiangâs cultivation was something he cultivated himself, then the time he had been here was far longer than the System had imagined.
How long has it been?
Yun Wuxiang pondered.
Because of the Heart Demon Tribulation, he had been in seclusion for over ten years, during which his little disciple grew from an innocent child into a gentle young man.
Push back another ten-plus years: a solitary soul entering a strange world, coinciding with a year of great famine and disaster.
Exactly how many years?
[I don’t remember.]
3339 asked cautiously, [Then Host, what is your Heart Demon?]
[You have been spending time with him for a long time.]
One sentence. Thinking about it in detail was terrifying. 3339âs hairs stood on end instantly.
[Host, you are letting the Heart Demon occupy your body?!]
The weak, pitiful, and helpless Host it always thought it knew… was actually the Heart Demon?!!
3339 was dumbstruck. If Systems had goosebumps, it would be covered in them right now.
Yun Wuxiangâs next sentence left 3339 completely speechless from shock: [He looks more like a human than I do.]
The Heart Demon resembled the original himâthe him who first arrived in this world: fragile, withdrawn, indecisive, and unwilling to kill.
The Heart Demon Tribulation required eliminating the knots of the past; otherwise, one would be replaced by the Heart Demon. Yun Wuxiang knew what his heart’s knot was. He wouldn’t fall into it, but he also didn’t wish to eradicate it.
A flash of crimson passed through Yun Wuxiangâs eyes.
If not for the many accidents surrounding Shen Lanqing, he would have continued to maintain this Heart Demon Tribulation, watching the Heart Demon play the role of his former self.
The Heart Demon acted much more like him than he did himself.
“Guanzhu, you traveled a thousand miles to save people, and then you just left? You aren’t going over to say a few words to them?”
Song Yilou, once again wrapped up like a caterpillar in talisman paper, hung by Yun Wuxiangâs side and spoke up.
Yun Wuxiang: “Shut up, pet.”
If Song Yilou could be easily silenced, he wouldn’t be Song Yilou. “Who keeps a pet and doesn’t let it make a sound? This is abuse, Guanzhu.”
“The Pet Contract has clauses. You aren’t allowed to intentionally mistreat the pet.”
“Guanzhu, be careful of the contract backlash.”
Yun Wuxiang sneered. “That clause doesn’t exist. I changed it.”
Song Yilou sensed the content of the Pet Contract. Forbidden from intentional mistreatment had been changed to Forbidden from intentional torture to death.
“Sigh, there are risks to being a pet. If the owner has a bad temper, one suffers. Sigh… The Guanzhu wasn’t this cold and hard before. Your eyes have turned back, so why hasn’t your personality turned back?”
Yun Wuxiang ridiculed internally: Turn back?
If it weren’t for Song Yilou’s presence on the island, he would have long since retreated into the depths of his sea of consciousness and let the Heart Demon run things on the outside.
The personality simulated by the Heart Demon was his original self. Yun Wuxiang missed that version of himself, feeling that only then was he a normal person.
But he also had to admit that his former self was too peaceful in nature and couldn’t control a guy like Song Yilou at all. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have temporarily broken out of the Heart Demon Tribulation to emerge.
If he continued to hide like before and let the Heart Demon handle external affairs, he feared this island of his would be turned upside down by Song Yilou.
The outline of the island appeared in his vision. Yun Wuxiang accelerated, flying onto the island and landing on a reef by the shore. He opened his palm, and the talismans on Song Yilouâs body flew off, gathering neatly into his hand.
“Song Yilou, I don’t have as much patience as before. If you continue to play dumb, I will assume you are actually dumb.”
Song Yilou spread his arms and stretched his muscles. “Can’t be helped. Before, the Guanzhu didn’t look willing to communicate with me. And even when looking for a collaborator, one can’t choose someone who doesn’t even dare to kill people, right? The weakness is too obvious.”
“If the Guanzhu died at my hands because of hemophobia or fear of injury, I could inherit the entire island. Ah, of course, I wouldn’t let the Guanzhu die.”
“I would turn you into a Gu and keep you by my side.” Song Yilouâs face held undisguised anticipation, looking like a childish boy who desperately wanted a toy he fancied.
But if one understood what he was anticipating, that slightly innocent smile seemed cast in a horrific shadow, appearing particularly eerie.
A talisman transformed into a flying blade, slicing across Song Yilouâs cheek. Song Yilou raised a hand to touch the healing wound, lifting his eyes to meet Yun Wuxiangâs cold gaze, which held undisguised killing intent.
One had murder in his heart; the other harbored ill intentions. The sea breeze, carrying the salty scent of the ocean, blew past, seemingly bringing with it the smoke of a battlefield.
Yun Wuxiang said coldly, “I’m not in the mood to listen to your nonsense.”
Song Yilou waved his hand like a lucky cat, instantly fanning away much of the tense atmosphere. “Fine, fine, then let’s talk about something you want to hear. For example, I won’t let anyone touch that guy named Shen anymore. How about that?”
Yun Wuxiang added, “And Prince Li.”
Song Yilou rolled his eyes. “Prince Li? You have connections with people in the Imperial Court too? Guanzhu, you clearly never leave the island, so how do you know so many people?”
Yun Wuxiang pinched a talisman between his index and middle fingers, giving him a look that said: You are very annoying. Speak more nonsense and I’ll strike.
Song Yilou naturally changed the subject. “Speaking of which, the aura on that Prince is a bit familiar. He’s been poisoned. Does the Guanzhu want to help him detoxify? For just a small reward, I can help clear the poison.”
Yun Wuxiang turned slightly, giving him a direct look. “You can cure that poison?”
In the original novel, the poison in Prince Li was something even the Poison Mist Marsh couldn’t cure.
As a key element running through the entire book, the Protagonist Gong spent the whole story looking for a cure but never found one, having to rely on the Protagonist Shou’s blood to weaken it. This made him overly paranoid about the Shou, adding a lot of angst to their relationship.
Yet now, Song Yilou said he could cure it.
Yun Wuxiang narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Real or fake?
Song Yilou nodded with absolute certainty. “Of course I can cure it. I made that poison, after all. It sold for a full three thousand taels of gold. If I had known what the buyer was going to do with it, I should have doubled the price a few times. To poison a member of the royal family… the master behind that person must be very rich.”
Yun Wuxiang: “…”
So, Prince Li was tortured for half his life because of three thousand taels of gold.
However, Song Yilou didn’t even know where the poison he sold went, let alone actively going to cure Prince Li.
Yun Wuxiang recalled the timeline of the original novel and swept a glance at Song Yilou’s smiling face. During that period, this person should have been busy eating his colleagues.
Song Yilou smiled. “Guanzhu, I am very confident in the poison I make. Those quacks and idiots outside can’t solve it. If you want to detoxify him, you can only come to me.”
Yun Wuxiang: “What do you want?”
Song Yilouâs smile gradually widened. “I want your gongli.” (Internal energy/Cultivation power)
Yun Wuxiangâs face turned frosty, a faint redness rising in his eyes. “What makes you think I would agree?”
“I am the Guanzhuâs pet now. The stronger the pet, the better it is for the owner, isn’t it?”
Song Yilou leaned his face in front of Yun Wuxiang, blinking his eyes as if acting cute.
The person before him didn’t mind degrading himself by calling himself a pet. His submissive expression looked very obedient, but he possessed none of the loyalty or obedience a pet should have.
A pet becoming stronger is a good thing and an asset to the owner; a poisonous creature becoming stronger will only seek an opportunity to devour its master.
The talisman between Yun Wuxiangâs fingers transformed into a pair of scissors. “There is a saying in my hometown: pets need to be neutered to become well-behaved.”
Song Yilou glanced at the sharp scissors, pulled his head back, and stopped babbling nonsense. He spoke up: “Is the Guanzhu from the Immortal Realm?”
He was finally willing to talk business, but Yun Wuxiang wasn’t in a rush to listen. “No. No rush. I don’t want to hear that right now. Neutering the pet is more important.”
Song Yilouâs eyes drooped, as if a pair of ears on his head had slumped down. He looked pitiful. “Guanzhu, I am a Gu. My whole body can regenerate. Even if you cut it off, it will grow back.”
Yun Wuxiang offered him a rare, gentle smile, his tone softening considerably. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll cut it off as many times as it grows back, until you forget you ever had such a thing.”
“Doesn’t the Guanzhu want to break through to a higher level? Your power has reached a ceiling. Continuing to stay in this place will only maintain the status quo until your lifespan is exhausted.” Song Yilou spoke slightly faster than before.
Yun Wuxiang held the scissors, his expression indifferent. “Continue.”
Song Yilou glanced at the weapon in his hand. “I once met two madmen who claimed to be immortals from the heavens. Because they offended immortals with greater power, their immortal bones were broken, and they were exiled here. Oh, they called our place the ‘Barren Mortal Realm’.”
“When I first entered the island, I thought I had arrived in the Immortal Realm they spoke of, since there is an immortal here.”
Yun Wuxiang ignored his last sentence of nonsense. “You are looking for the entrance to the Immortal Realm.”
Song Yilou shook his head in denial. “No, I found it long ago. Those two criminal immortals had that place etched into their bones.”
“But I can’t go up. There’s an invisible wall blocking the entrance. With my current power, I’m just a little bit short of breaking that wall. But adding the Guanzhu would be different.”
As he spoke, he puffed out his cheeks in dissatisfaction, looking like a puppy angry because it couldn’t reach the treats placed up high.
Honestly, ignoring this guy’s personality, he was quite cute based on appearance alone. Yun Wuxiang even had a slight urge to reach out and rub that head, which looked like it had smooth fur. However, remembering that this guy was toxic from head to toe, his twitching fingers lifted slightly before dropping back down.
He reviewed what Song Yilou had just said in his mind.
So that was it. This was the reason why, in the original novel, Song Yilou ate all the other Gu humans and bathed the capital in blood to refine Gu. He was trying every method to increase his power, with the goal of going to the Immortal Realm.
The original novel focused entirely on the emotional entanglements of the two protagonists and didn’t mention a word about this hidden background.
Yun Wuxiang: “So, what does this have to do with you wanting my power?”
Song Yilou opened his eyes wide, his expression exaggerated. “Of course it’s related! We are going to a completely strange place, so shouldn’t we send a scout to gather information first?”
“The Guanzhu only needs to give me a little bit of power, and I can send a Gu over to help us gather intelligence. This is a win-win deal.”
As he spoke, he extended two fingers, pinching a tiny bit of air, making a ‘just a little bit’ gesture in front of his eyes.
The plan sounded fine. If the person proposing it weren’t Song Yilou, Yun Wuxiang might actually have agreed.
“Sending your Gu over isn’t as good as sending my crane.”
Song Yilou dropped his hand. His pitch-black eyes gazed at him, the corners of his mouth hooking into a knowing smile. ” is the Guanzhu willing to part with it?”
“I heard that on the other side of the wall, there are guards with very high cultivation. Once your crane goes over, whether it lives or dies, or turns into something else… is uncertain.”
“Mhm, you’re right. Naturally, I can’t bear to part with it. A single feather from Dange is more precious than your life.”
Ignoring Song Yilouâs resentful gaze, Yun Wuxiang turned the scissors into a long sword and backhandedly held it against Song Yilou’s neck. “But I feel it is better to kill you right now.”
Today, Song Yilou could use his care for the white cranes to persuade him.
Tomorrow, Song Yilou could use that same care to scheme against him.
Song Yilou only told him these things because he hadn’t anticipated the loophole in his calculation caused by Yun Wuxiang using the Heart Demon as a facade. This guy had been plotting how to use his weaknesses against him from the very beginning of arriving on the island, and even now, he wasn’t being honest in the slightest.
Troublesome. Rather than guarding against this guy day and night, it was more reassuring to just kill him.
Author’s Note:
Song Yilou: Listen to me start my scheme, blah blah blah…
Yun Wuxiang: You’re too good at scheming. I’m so moved by your words. Since you’re so good at calculating, you’ll definitely calculate against me in the future. Better to kill you early.
3339 (shivering, dares not make a sound): Boohoo, where is my little white flower Host? How did he suddenly mutate?
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