His Heart May Be a Tiny Bit Black, But Not Cold to That Extent
His Heart May Be a Tiny Bit Black, But Not Cold to That Extent
Yin Mei couldn’t believe it.
Just a moment ago, she had thought she was certainly going to die.
After all, she was facing an Enlightened Noble Realm existence and an Enlightened King Realm expert, and on top of that, she was gravely injured, with her life-saving treasures almost entirely used up.
She would have chosen to endure humiliation, but now, what else could she do besides wait for death?
And she was nothing more than a chess piece in Gu Changge’s hand, to be used as he pleased.
Now that her value was exhausted, there was naturally no need for her to exist anymore.
No one would come to care for her, and even less would anyone care whether she lived or died.
But...
The instant she saw that streak of sword light descend, her entire body froze in shock. Her mind went weng with a buzz, unable to believe her own eyes.
Honestly, she truly never expected that the ever cold and ruthless Gu Changge would appear to save her.
In that moment, she felt nothing but disbelief.
Her first reaction upon seeing the scene before her was that she must be hallucinating.
But a hallucination wouldn’t feel so real.
Gu Changge’s aura—she was far too familiar with it.
So Yin Mei, overwhelmed with joy she couldn’t suppress, threw herself straight into Gu Changge’s arms.
Her eyes brimming with tears.
She was truly moved. This kind of experience—going from despair to new life, from death’s door back to the living—was something only those who had lived through it could understand.
Moreover, Gu Changge’s strength was terrifying. Even an Enlightened King Realm expert, she believed, could do nothing against him.
As long as he appeared, it meant all danger would cease to exist.
This made Yin Mei feel incomparably at ease.
“What are you thinking? How could I ever abandon you?”
Gu Changge stroked her head.
His expression carried a faint smile as he let her bury herself in his embrace.
At the same time, he raised a hand and slashed out a thick, massive Sword Qi, laced with the dreadful dark-golden Hepta-Metal Principles, its edge astonishingly sharp.
Chi!
The sword radiance was blinding, ringing out zhengzheng, as if breaking free from a scabbard.
In an instant, it tore through space and descended before the still-dazed, incredulous Enlightened King Realm being ahead.
“How is this possible...” His face abruptly turned deathly pale.
His eyes went wide with terror and horror. He tried to dodge, only to discover that space itself seemed to have frozen!
The sword light drifted toward him lightly, yet it seemed to split apart the very universe!
“This...”
At that moment, his face still wore that horrified, seen-a-ghost expression.
What the hell kind of monster is this!?
He was a dignified Enlightened King Realm expert, renowned and unmatched among the many clans in the surrounding regions!
His heart screamed madly.
Who exactly was this young man who had suddenly appeared before him?
How could he be so terrifying, casually wielding the Force of Law? Even space itself was under his control?
His whole body ran cold.
There was no time to react.
He only felt a chill at his neck, and the world before his eyes instantly went dark.
Pu!
The next moment, blood splattered everywhere—a single sword strike took his head, and along with his Primordial Spirit, he was utterly annihilated in body and soul!
Gu Changge didn’t even lift his eyes for a second glance.
After finishing off those two,
Gu Changge looked at Yin Mei, who was still softly sobbing, shook his head, and took a step forward. The void faded away as he carried her away from this area.
There were quite a few experts currently hunting Ye Ling, and the commotion here would soon draw others over.
When that happened, it would be detrimental to his plans.
Besides, he was somewhat puzzled as to why Yin Mei had thought he would abandon her, treating her as a disposable chess piece.
How could he possibly let Yin Mei die in a place like this?
As the Gifted Lady of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, Yin Mei controlled vast resources. No matter which angle one looked at it from, keeping her alive was of the greatest use to him.
Even though Gu Changge had been using her all along, coercing her with her life, he wasn’t someone cold to the extreme.
Yin Mei served him with wholehearted devotion, nearly losing her life in the process—how could he possibly not see that, how could he remain unmoved?
At the end of the day, Yin Mei had simply thought too badly of him.
I, Gu-mou, may have a heart that’s a teeny-tiny bit black, but I’m not rotten to that extent.
Gu Changge figured he should treat her a bit better from now on, so she wouldn’t act like she was about to live or die every time something like this happened.
Soon after, Gu Changge brought Yin Mei away from that mountain range. Along the way, he casually disposed of several experts of the Ancient Flying Serpent Clan who had caught the scent of blood and come chasing.
Finally, at the entrance of a rather remote and quiet underground cavern, where dense spiritual energy gathered and the dida sound of dripping water echoed,
he and Yin Mei came to a stop.
“Master...”
By now, Yin Mei had calmed down. She left Gu Changge’s embrace, her face flushed and dizzy.
She felt a little too embarrassed to raise her head and look at him.
Today’s actions, honestly speaking, had been her overstepping.
Throwing herself onto him without Gu Changge’s permission.
However, Gu Changge didn’t blame her for it.
“You’ve suffered quite a bit during this time.” Gu Changge smiled, taking the lead to walk into the cavern, intending to first find a place to settle down.
“For Master’s mission, this is nothing.”
Hearing this, Yin Mei shook her head, her nose suddenly stinging a little.
With those words, all the grievances and injuries she had suffered during this time suddenly no longer mattered.
Although at the beginning, it was because her life was held in Gu Changge’s grasp that she had been coerced by him,
later on, she gradually resigned herself to it and discovered that following him wasn’t so bad after all.
Once this feeling emerged, it was like a snowball rolling downhill, impossible to reverse.
And then she found herself sinking deeper and deeper.
Gu Changge was vicious in thought, cruel in methods, cold and heartless in temperament—he possessed every bad quality there was.
Yet it was precisely this Gu Changge who made her heart stir in ways she couldn’t describe, made her willing to work for him...
Now, hearing Gu Changge actually ask after her with concern—something as rare as the sky falling—made Yin Mei’s entire body tremble.
Although this was very likely just a casual question from Gu Changge,
perhaps just him casually making a gesture, not truly from the heart,
it still made Yin Mei very happy. The injuries she had suffered all these days were worth it.
Being cared for once, being praised once... it let her know that to Gu Changge, she was still useful now.
This little emotion of Yin Mei’s—
Gu Changge could actually perceive it. He had always been meticulous in his actions, so he naturally knew how to comfort Yin Mei at a time like this.
“Roar...”
At that moment, from deep within the cavern, a pair of savage scarlet eyes emerged, like little lanterns.
A ferocious beast shaped like a dragon-turtle roared and pounced over, preparing to devour these two uninvited guests who had barged into its territory.
Gu Changge glanced at it and casually shook his hand. The void immediately warped.
The space before them twisted strangely like a mirror, ripples spreading out in layers.
The ferocious beast, in its terror, was instantly stuck in place, and then with a peng, it was ground into a cloud of ash by the power of the void, dissipating into nothing.
Watching this scene, Yin Mei was somewhat shocked, but she didn’t think too much of it.
Because Gu Changge’s strength was indeed far beyond what she could imagine.
Probably no one besides Gu Changge himself could know just what level his power had reached.
“Rest here.” Gu Changge said, casually tidying up the cavern a bit.
Yin Mei’s injuries were indeed quite severe.
She needed to recuperate properly.
Next, he would need her to endure a bit more grievance—for the plan against Ye Ling, Yin Mei was an irreplaceable piece.
Thinking of this, Gu Changge took out quite a few divine pills and miraculous medicines.
The Violet Order of the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect was in his hands.
So he lacked nothing in the way of pills and such—he could have as many as he wanted.
He simply took out a whole bunch of them in one go.
Pill Qi swirled, rich and fragrant, lingering throughout the place.
Their effects were numerous: nourishing the Primordial Spirit, healing the body and limbs, stabilizing the Spiritual Sea...
“Don’t think about anything else. Focus on healing your injuries first.” Gu Changge said.
“Mm, I understand, Master.”
Yin Mei didn’t stand on ceremony either, picking out some of the pills that would work well for her.
During this period, her supply of spirit pills and miraculous medicines had indeed been greatly depleted—otherwise, her injuries wouldn’t have dragged on for so long.
Soon, having swallowed the pills, Yin Mei began to sit cross-legged. Her enchanting, beautiful face was very calm, her usual seductive charm put away.
She looked clean, if somewhat pale.
Weng!
Hazy runes emerged over her body, and nine fluffy, snow-white, lustrous fox tails swayed along with them.
Her injuries were indeed improving.
Gu Changge glanced over, nodded slightly, and then his figure flickered as he left the cavern.
Simple words were no longer enough. At a time like this, some real action was needed.
Meanwhile, after noticing Gu Changge’s aura disappear,
Yin Mei, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
She looked at the empty cavern, her expression a little disappointed, reluctant... and somewhat sad.
But soon, she shook her head again and cast aside that wisp of emotion.
What was she thinking?
She was nothing more than a chess piece in Gu Changge’s hand. Him appearing to save her was already more than enough.
What more was she hoping for?
Of course, although Yin Mei consoled herself this way, her heart was still a little sad.
Especially now that she was injured, she couldn’t help but wallow in a bit of self-pity.
In the blink of an eye, the sky outside darkened.
Yin Mei also withdrew from her recuperative state. The pills Gu Changge had given her went without saying—their healing effects were excellent.
She glanced at the night sky gradually darkening outside.
Her expression held a trace of regret, as if she had been expecting something, but in the end, that expectation faded away.
Gu Changge had saved her, and then left.
Thinking of this, Yin Mei lit a small campfire.
Only, she couldn’t feel much warmth from it.
Her ruby-like eyes quietly watched the campfire, loneliness seeming to dance within them.
Just then, Yin Mei’s ears twitched slightly—she suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the cavern.
She turned her head to look.
She saw Gu Changge returning with some clean fruits, and also carrying water in a green lotus leaf.
The faint firelight fell upon that familiar face of his, and Yin Mei couldn’t help but feel a surge of delighted surprise.
So Gu Changge hadn’t left after all.
“Master...”
A smile appeared on Gu Changge’s face. “How are your injuries?”
The campfire flickered.
Yin Mei was propping up her head, tilting it to watch the fire, her chin resting on her knees, the flames reflected in her beautiful eyes.
She gazed at him in astonishment, joy slowly welling up in her eyes.
Gu Changge walked over and handed her the fruits and water.
“Hungry?”
“I also took care of some trouble along the way.” Gu Changge added casually.
As if explaining to Yin Mei why he had suddenly left.
Of course, what trouble he had dealt with wasn’t important. What mattered was that he hadn’t intended to leave.
For Yin Mei, that alone was enough.
Gu Changge had gauged this perfectly, knowing what kind of comfort would work best on her now that she was injured.
Hearing this, Yin Mei accepted the fruits Gu Changge had specially washed clean for her, her heart growing even more moved.
All her earlier speculations scattered like smoke.
No matter what, when she was injured, Gu Changge hadn’t chosen to leave—he had stayed here to take care of her.
Clearly, she had overthought things before. Gu Changge wasn’t as cold and heartless as she had imagined.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Gu Changge couldn’t help but smile inwardly, though his outward expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Come to think of it, Yin Mei had helped him quite a bit.
He held Yin Mei’s life in his hands.
Yin Mei worked for him, and he let Yin Mei live—this was an equivalent exchange.
Even if Gu Changge did nothing, Yin Mei couldn’t possibly develop any disloyalty toward him.
It’s just that, that way, many things would lose their flavor.
“Master, the rift between Chi Ling and Ye Ling has already formed. If my guess is right, Chi Ling should have left this place by now.”
Then, while eating the spirit fruits, Yin Mei spoke.
Gu Changge nodded, revealing a smile, and rarely explained his purpose to her. “That’s perfect. Only, Ye Ling can’t die just yet.”
When the relationship between Ye Ling and Chi Ling broke down,
he had heard the System’s notification.
No matter what, Chi Ling, backed by the Vermilion Bird Clan, counted as one of Ye Ling’s staunchest friends.
The severing of this relationship line, while insignificant to Gu Changge, was still a decent harvest of Fortuity Points.
“I know. Master still needs Ye Ling alive to keep taking the blame for you.” Hearing this, Yin Mei nodded.
Those words weren’t false. Ye Ling was, after all, the successor of a Supreme Being, and the power hidden behind him wouldn’t be small.
An Ancient Supreme Being—that was an existence from the Celestial Ancient Times who was close to, or even surpassed, the Immortals.
He left behind no clan or lineage, instead passing all his inheritance to his successor.
Just how profound this opportunity was—even those Supreme Dao Lineages and Cults of Immortality would be tempted by it.
Yin Mei had been carefully observing Ye Ling during this time, so she had naturally noticed his abnormality.
He didn’t dare expose the inheritance he possessed, so he could only swallow his anger and stiffen his scalp to take the blame for Gu Changge.
Honestly, this scheme of Gu Changge’s could be called vicious, and yet flawless—impossible to find a crack in within a short time.
And Ye Ling himself could conceal his Source and evade pursuit. Even if cultivators all over the world cried for his blood and he became a rat crossing the street,
he could still escape unscathed and keep his life.
Honestly, up until now, there hadn’t been a single person as perfectly suited as Ye Ling to take the blame for Gu Changge.
“Ye Ling is worth more alive than dead. I’m still waiting for him to help me find the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s cave dwelling.” Gu Changge smiled nonchalantly.
His tone showed he didn’t take Ye Ling’s life or death to heart at all.
With his current strength, killing Ye Ling would actually be very easy.
But a so-called Fortuitous One—if you didn’t squeeze out every last drop of his value step by step, what fun would that be?
“Mm, Master, rest assured. As long as you still need me, Yin Mei will definitely do everything possible to help you.”
Yin Mei said earnestly, her eyes like blood-colored glazed gems fixed on Gu Changge.
“With those words from you, I can rest easy.”
Gu Changge smiled and reached out to pull her into his arms. “Though I’m afraid I’ll have to keep wronging you for a while longer.”
He had still been considering how to bring up having Yin Mei continue lurking by Ye Ling’s side for a while.
Now she had brought it up herself, saving Gu Changge the trouble of thinking up other excuses.
“Working for Master is no grievance.”
Yin Mei said earnestly. These words came from the bottom of her heart, without a trace of falsehood.
“What a person one can’t help but cherish...” Gu Changge gazed at her and sighed softly.
Hearing this, Yin Mei’s expression carried a few traces of anticipation and a bit of shyness as she looked at him.
At a moment like this, Gu Changge naturally knew what to do.
...
A sleepless night.