What an Unlucky Fellow — Everything Is Ready, All That's Missing Is the East Wind
What an Unlucky Fellow — Everything Is Ready, All That’s Missing Is the East Wind
Yin Mei’s expression turned a little strange as she glanced behind her.
She confirmed that Gu Changge was indeed looking at the little servant boy trailing at the very back.
Speaking of which, on an occasion like this, her entourage should have been waiting outside the hall — they had no qualification to enter this place.
But the congratulatory gifts Yin Mei had brought were quite valuable, so to show her sincerity, she had her attendants carry them in together into the hall.
This servant boy, who usually seemed quite clever in her eyes, had taken the initiative to ask if he could come along, saying he wanted to see the wider world.
Yin Mei felt there was nothing wrong with that, and Gu Changge surely wouldn’t mind either, so she agreed.
Only now did she begin to feel puzzled... why was Gu Changge staring at him like that? Could there be something strange about this servant boy?
Yin Mei considered herself to understand Gu Changge well — he was not someone who would easily show interest in anything.
“Shixiong, what’s wrong?”
Then, Yin Mei called out softly, as if asking Gu Changge.
“Nothing much. On an occasion like this, Shimei actually brought along a little servant boy — it seems he’s somewhat special to you.”
“Still, Shimei traveled billions of li to get here, and that truly moves this shixiong of yours.”
At that moment, Gu Changge’s expression quickly returned to normal.
His gaze moved away from the fair-skinned youth.
Then he smiled and greeted Yin Mei.
His words carried a hint of curiosity about the relationship between Yin Mei and that fair-skinned servant boy, along with a touch of teasing.
In everyone’s eyes, this seemed to explain why Gu Changge’s expression had looked a bit strange just now — after all, on such an occasion, Yin Mei bringing a group of attendants and servant boys in was, more or less, somewhat inappropriate.
Yin Mei knew Gu Changge was deliberately teasing her. Her loyalty to Gu Changge could be witnessed by heaven and earth.
At this moment, Yin Mei couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Gu Changge lightly and say, “Shixiong jests. He’s just a servant boy who feeds my horses.”
“Had I known it would draw Shixiong’s attention, I wouldn’t have brought him in to see the wider world.”
Saying it this way also explained the reason from another angle.
Seeing this scene, many people suddenly understood.
On the other side, the group of big shots who had been conversing also withdrew their gazes and paid no more attention. In their eyes, even if the younger generation started competing and sparring right now, it would be nothing more than child’s play, not worth their attention.
What caught their attention was Gu Changge’s attitude just now, which surprised them somewhat.
Hearing Yin Mei say this, Gu Changge laughed nonchalantly, “What is Shimei saying? This shixiong was merely curious.”
Yin Mei smiled and said, “It’s rare for Shixiong to care about me so much. It truly touches my heart.”
It sounded perfectly normal.
But hidden within was a thick sense of resentment.
She only dared to speak to Gu Changge like this in front of everyone.
When it was just the two of them, she wouldn’t dare use such a casual, even slightly complaining tone.
Yue Mingkong heard it, and a chill instantly surged in her phoenix eyes.
Then she took the initiative to lean closer to Gu Changge’s side, as if declaring her sovereignty.
Gu Changge could hear that resentment as well. He smiled faintly, not minding it in the slightest.
He wouldn’t say much about this. Yin Mei’s cleverness lay in knowing her limits — she considered his feelings in everything she did and never overstepped by half a step.
He was quite satisfied with Yin Mei’s ability to handle matters.
A little bit of resentment — he naturally let her have it.
“Oh? It seems he’s quite an ambitious fellow.”
Soon, Gu Changge, wearing a smile, glanced at that servant boy once more and praised him thus.
“That servant boy sure is lucky, to actually receive a word of praise from Young Master Changge.”
Hearing this, many young prodigies couldn’t help but feel envious of that fair-skinned youth.
How difficult was it to receive a single word of praise from Gu Changge? At any rate, for them, such praise was no different from Gu Changge’s approval — it carried a different kind of significance.
“Gu Shixiong praised you. Why aren’t you hurrying to thank Gu Shixiong...”
Yin Mei now looked at the servant boy whose expression had been somewhat unnatural since just now. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she spoke with a hint of displeasure.
He was usually so clever and quick at handling things — why had he been so slow-witted these past few days?
Suddenly, connecting it to Gu Changge’s actions just now, Yin Mei’s brows furrowed even deeper, and her gaze instantly changed.
She was no fool. At this moment, she too detected something abnormal about the servant boy.
However, with so many powerful Cultivators in the great hall, she didn’t say anything more.
“For Young Master Changge to praise me so, this lowly one is truly overwhelmed with trepidation.”
Hearing this, the servant boy named Chu Fan’s expression shifted slightly. He hurriedly spoke, his legs going soft as he dropped straight to his knees.
At the same time, cold sweat instantly covered his back, nearly soaking through his clothes.
His heart was filled with shock and unwillingness — after all, he was the blood child of Sky Emperor Ying.
Before this, he had stood high above all, overlooking everything, truly above billions upon billions.
He wielded terrifying power, commanding the awe of the Ten Thousand Ancient Clans.
Even in his current circumstances, he hadn’t taken Yin Mei seriously at all, believing that as long as he seized a single opportunity, he could reclaim his original identity.
And restore his former status!
That was why he had asked Yin Mei to bring him into the great hall, using the excuse of seeing the world, intending to seek out a powerhouse of the Ten Thousand Ancient Clans whom he could trust.
However, he had only just stepped into the hall and hadn’t even caught sight of a powerhouse of that level.
The next moment, Gu Changge noticed him.
In that instant just now, his entire body went cold, his very soul trembling, with the feeling of being seen through inside and out.
Although he had yet to emerge into the world, he had learned some of the rumors about Gu Changge.
He knew this was a formidable opponent not to be underestimated. Many of his methods left him amazed and wary, and he felt this man might become one of his greatest rivals in this life.
Coming to the Longevity Gu Family today had actually been within his expectations.
However, the moment he saw Gu Changge, he couldn’t help but feel the same kind of vast, terrifying pressure he had once felt facing his imperial father.
That feeling was all too familiar!
It was like facing a young, supreme deity.
And this was merely because Gu Changge was sizing him up.
That seemingly casual, natural gaze actually carried a hair-raising condescension and indifference.
This man was terrifying — even more terrifying than the rumors!
At this moment, Chu Fan’s heart rose with ten thousand measures of vigilance and wariness.
Fortunately, his control over his expression was excellent — his trepidation appeared perfectly natural and genuine.
With this expression of his before everyone’s eyes, not a single flaw could be found.
In the eyes of the many young prodigies...
If it were many others being praised face-to-face by Gu Changge like this, they would probably perform even worse.
This fair-skinned servant boy’s performance was already quite good.
“A false alarm!”
“Who would’ve thought it would be like this...”
The group of Nine-Tailed Fox Clan powerhouses now wore varied expressions.
They had thought Yin Mei’s actions just now had displeased Gu Changge, and many of them broke out in cold sweat on their backs.
But seeing Gu Changge’s casual, natural attitude, it seemed they had overthought it.
Honestly, Gu Changge’s current might made even them palpitate with fear — they dared not not fear him.
Yin Mei had been saved by Gu Changge, and in terms of status, she was even Gu Changge’s shimei.
If she could grow a little closer to Gu Changge...
For the entire Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, that would be a wonderful thing to delight everyone — every single one of them hoped to see such an outcome!
Although Yue Mingkong was Gu Changge’s fiancée, backed by the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty, they didn’t care — after all, opportunity came accompanied by danger.
Being targeted by Yue Mingkong was hardly some great catastrophe.
Compared to clinging tightly to Gu Changge’s thigh, it was even more insignificant.
After all, in this world, how many men didn’t have three wives and four concubines? Although Yin Mei had once been the fiancée of the White Tiger Clan’s Young Master...
In this world, broken engagements were very common — let alone one that the White Tiger Clan had taken the initiative to cancel.
Gu Changge’s strength and power destined him to easily possess many things that ordinary people couldn’t obtain even if they looked up their entire lives.
This truth had been passed down since ancient times, forever unchanging.
“That servant boy really has no eyes. He shouldn’t have been let in just now. Yin Mei’s soft-hearted personality really needs to change.”
“Right now is a great opportunity to grow closer to Young Master Changge. She absolutely must not ruin herself by taking even half a wrong step.”
Many of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s powerhouses and older-generation Cultivators looked at Yin Mei.
Thinking this in their hearts, their minds quite active.
As for that fair-skinned servant boy, they had already decided — after leaving the Longevity Gu Family, they would dispose of him.
Otherwise... if Gu Changge developed misgivings and a grudge against Yin Mei, or it even affected the entire Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, that would be bad.
No matter how small that possibility was, it had to be nipped in the bud.
“Rise. I don’t like people kneeling when they speak to me — it makes me seem too overbearing.”
At this moment, Gu Changge spoke again, paying no mind to the thoughts of everyone in the hall, his face carrying a faint smile.
Gentle and refined, without a single flaw to be found.
“Xiaojie, is there something wrong with that servant boy?” On the other side, Xiu Er asked curiously.
He was just a servant boy — why was he worth a word of praise from Gu Changge?
Wang Zijin was also puzzled.
An ordinary servant boy who couldn’t be more ordinary — why would Gu Changge say such things? At any rate, she couldn’t figure it out.
She couldn’t see anything either.
“I don’t know. There probably isn’t a problem.”
Wang Zijin shook her head. As a Transmigrator, she wasn’t omniscient and omnipotent either — she could only vaguely guess at some things by combining them with what she knew from her past life.
“But...”
“This Gifted Lady of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan seems to have feelings for Gu Changge.” Her gaze carried a strange look.
Though, connecting it to the matter of Gu Changge rescuing Yin Mei from the hands of the Successor of Demonic Arts, this wasn’t surprising after all.
Since ancient times, tried-and-true routines won hearts. Although this hero-saves-the-beauty drama was cliché, its effect was absolutely first-rate.
There were actually quite a few Cultivators who shared her thinking.
“Many thanks, Young Master Changge.”
Hearing Gu Changge’s words, Chu Fan rose, his voice trembling slightly.
He did his utmost to conceal it, not daring to reveal the slightest flaw.
Before Gu Changge, he felt as though he had no secrets whatsoever.
“How could there be such a terrifying young man in this world...” Chu Fan trembled inwardly. Even if he recovered his original identity, he would not dare to casually provoke Gu Changge.
Soon enough, this little interlude passed.
The many young prodigies paid it no further mind. Instead, they all spoke up one after another, sincerely seeking guidance from Gu Changge, asking him questions about cultivation.
Gu Changge wore a faint smile as he resolved their doubts, looking every bit the paragon of the righteous younger generation.
Yin Mei, meanwhile, sat down beside Gu Changge with poised grace.
She paid no heed whatsoever to Yue Mingkong’s expression, which looked as though she wanted to slap her dead with a single palm.
It was a clear provocation of her authority as the rightful one.
As for this covert rivalry between the two women, Gu Changge actually paid it no mind.
Both of them knew their limits; neither would do anything that would genuinely anger him.
Yue Mingkong was proud and haughty, unable to tolerate even a grain of sand in her eye—especially unable to tolerate any woman other than herself appearing at Gu Changge’s side.
Even though she knew this woman could never win Gu Changge’s heart before her.
And Yin Mei knew full well that she was currently very valuable to Gu Changge.
If Yue Mingkong truly dared to make a move against her, Gu Changge would certainly intervene to stop it.
When that happened, it might even incur Gu Changge’s displeasure.
As long as Yue Mingkong was not a fool, she would not dare to act against her rashly.
And if she did dare, that would play right into Yin Mei’s hands. Once Yue Mingkong fell out of Gu Changge’s favor, her own chances would only grow greater.
It had to be said, this was a war without smoke or fire, and many of the young prodigies noticed it, their hearts filled with envy and jealousy.
Whether it was Yue Mingkong or Yin Mei, both were divine maidens of peerless beauty in the Beyond, with countless admirers.
Yue Mingkong, in particular, was known as the number one beauty of the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty.
“Tsk, this guy really is unlucky.”
Gu Changge raised his cup, a wine cup made of white jade, bringing it to his lips.
With a somewhat amused expression, his gaze swept over the clean-looking little servant boy standing with his head lowered in the corner.
He had already figured out the whole story, cause and effect.
The moment this clean-looking little servant boy entered the great hall, Gu Changge had noticed the Fortuity value on him.
Honestly speaking, being able to become Yin Mei’s horse-feeding servant was no simple feat either.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was, after all, a lineage of the Primeval Royal Clans.
Yet this little servant’s Fortuity points were clearly far, far lower than those of the attendants nearby—so low they were nearly in the single digits.
Just how unlucky was that?
Gu Changge could only think of one possibility: this little servant had, through some twist of fate, offended a certain Fortuitous One.
Judging by the System’s prompt just now, the mortal-possessing-an-expert style was, to put it plainly, a seamless swap of souls—one that even the mightiest beings would find difficult to detect.
And that meant there existed another party who had been swapped out.
In the Body Possession tropes Gu Changge was familiar with, was it not always the story of a mighty expert suddenly having his body taken over by the soul of some weakling, who then used that expert’s body and identity to endlessly show off and slap faces?
In such tropes, the most obvious flaw was usually that after the soul swap, the possessor lacked the memories of the body’s former owner.
In Gu Changge’s view, perhaps that was the price of Body Possession.
The most clichéd version of all was possessing some big shot.
In the past, Gu Changge never cared where that big shot’s soul went. Whether it silently dissipated or was devoured, it did not matter.
But now, in his view, that soul had naturally ended up in the body of the original weakling.
“So right now, inside this little servant’s body, there actually hides the soul of the person who was possessed? Interesting.”
“And this little servant has taken over his identity...”
Gu Changge quickly figured it all out.
········Seeking flowers·······
The newly appeared Fortuitous One was clearly this little servant—no, rather, this little servant’s enemy.
Perhaps... he himself was utterly bewildered, not knowing why his identity had suddenly been stripped away, reducing him to a horse-feeding servant.
Of course, Gu Changge felt not the slightest sympathy. On the contrary, he intended to extract the information he wanted from this little servant.
Soon after, today’s birthday banquet finally came to an end.
However, none of the guests from the various factions took their leave. Many forces chose to stay at the Longevity Gu Family for a few days.
The journey was long, and having finally made the trip to the Longevity Gu Family, they naturally wanted to have a good look around and witness its depth and heritage.
Gu Changge also left the great hall, but not before secretly instructing Yin Mei to keep a close watch on the movements and whereabouts of the servant boy Chu Fan.
“Understood, Master.”
Yin Mei nodded, not asking for the reason.
Moreover, she too had noticed something off about Chu Fan. After all, some things would show flaws no matter how hard one tried to hide them.
Especially now, under Yin Mei’s deliberate scrutiny, it was all the more obvious.
Chu Fan followed the members of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan to the residence the Longevity Gu Family had arranged for them.
He was completely unaware that Yin Mei was quietly watching him at this very moment. He was breathing a sigh of relief at having left Gu Changge’s field of vision, even feeling as though he had escaped with his life.
Who knew what kind of psychological ordeal he had just been through?
A young figure like Gu Changge was simply a monster; his every word and action gave him an overwhelming sense of dread.
Especially since Chu Fan felt that Gu Changge seemed to have noticed him... He hoped that was just his imagination.
Right now, he only wished for time to pass quickly, to leave the Longevity Gu Family as soon as possible, and then find a way to shed his identity as Yin Mei’s horse-feeding servant and seek another path.
Today, he had indeed seen many experts of the Primeval Ten Thousand Clans. Before his former identity, all of these people would have treated him with the utmost reverence.
But now, Chu Fan had no qualification to even approach them, let alone speak up and explain everything to them.
And even if he did explain, who would believe such an absurd tale?
How could someone’s identity be stripped away out of nowhere, just like that?
They would think he had lost his mind and was spouting nonsense.
“If only my sister Ying Yu were here, that would be wonderful. She would definitely recognize me.” Chu Fan said to himself in his heart.
He was so certain of this because he knew that the little thief who had taken over his identity completely lacked the many memories he now possessed.
．．．．．．．．．．0
Many things about that era were known only to him and his sister.
That little thief could absolutely not know them.
And this was his best chance to prove his identity!
......
Meanwhile, back at his palace, Gu Changge began working on refining the disguised puppet of the Successor of Demonic Arts.
From the Portable Supreme Cave left behind by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being, he took out these Sacred Lord Realm puppets.
In appearance, they were not much different from ordinary human Cultivators; even their material closely resembled the skin and bones of Cultivators, except that inside there were many tiny black-and-white patterns.
Puppets refined to this degree were already no different from true living beings, and this touched upon the even more profound applications of the Principles of Reincarnation.
Gu Changge did not dwell on it.
His gaze fell upon the puppet’s control core.
It shimmered with a hazy radiance, with chains of rules and order hanging down like waterfalls, an utterly astonishing sight.
Gu Changge closed his eyes, and in an instant, an indescribable, strange deity surfaced in his mind, its appearance beyond words.
Thick grey mist coiled around and enveloped it, infinitely mysterious.
Its form exhausted the imagination of living beings; a single glance would plunge a creature into bewilderment, even into endless madness.
This was the Art of Visualisation within his Demonic Arts.
The deity visualized came from an existence born of Gu Changge’s utmost imagination.
Different people cultivating this Art of Visualisation would naturally visualize different divine existences.
Gu Changge was, after all, a Transmigrator, so he naturally understood that so-called imagination could never be exhausted—and that represented the unknown.
“The indescribable, in a fantasy world, means the unspeakable...”
In Gu Changge’s eyes, his expression was fathomless, with black and white colors emerging.
At this moment, the Demonization faintly manifested behind him, and his aura kept rising, reaching the level of the Sacred Realm.
The void began to crack, faint fissures appearing.
A raised palm could shatter stars; an outstretched hand could seize the sun and moon.
Chi!!
The next moment, the black and white colors abruptly transformed into a peerless immortal sword that rang with a metallic hum, piercing straight toward the puppet’s core.
With a puchi sound!
A crack split open across the Sacred Lord Realm body.
The Array Patterns interweaved as if awakening, beginning to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The entire palace began to surge like a tidal flood.
Fortunately, the surroundings were all quiet—this was Gu Changge’s cultivation residence, and moreover it was concealed by his Heaven-Deceiving Array Seal, so not a trace of aura would leak out.
Weng!!
Within the void, terrifying auras interweaved. Runes resembling Grand Flasks rapidly fell toward the crack in the puppet’s body.
Finally, the many black runes sank into concealment.
The originally pure mana aura now seemed like light mixed with dense blackness, exuding a heart-palpitating demonic intent.
“Now is an excellent opportunity, right when all the great orthodoxies are gathered together.”
“Everything is ready; all that’s lacking is the east wind.”
Gu Changge’s eyes narrowed.
Then he nodded, sweeping his gaze over the puppet before him, and could not help but show satisfaction.
The Sacred Lord Realm puppet before him had already been steeped in the aura of his Immortal-Devouring Demonic Art.
When the time came, any Cultivator would be able to sense its Source aura, which was absolutely inseparable from the Successor of Demonic Arts.
Gu Changge never intended to use this puppet to fool everyone. He only wanted to use it in coordination to temporarily divert the eyes of the world toward his target.
Afterward, Gu Changge repeated the process, once again steeping another puppet in the Source of his Demonic Arts, keeping it in reserve for unforeseen needs.
“But whose body should I start with?”
In Gu Changge’s mind, figure after figure flashed past. In his scheming and design, the Successor of Demonic Arts emerging this time would not be just one person.
Someone like Ye Ling, who had appeared before, was merely a chess piece—and the kind that could be discarded at any time.
Soon, Gu Changge fixed his target on his fellow Transmigrator, Wang Zijin.
To the outside world, Wang Zijin was utterly mysterious, and her strength was more than sufficient.
She could just barely hold her own against the Sacred Lord Realm Successor of Demonic Arts appearing this time, lasting until Gu Changge arrived to “rescue” her.
“Moreover, Wang Zijin’s hidden identity is that of the Successor of Mortal Palace. For the Successor of Demonic Arts to make a move against her is an explanation that makes perfect sense.”
“As for how her identity became known, that actually doesn’t matter.”
“What I need to do now is merely pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.”
Gu Changge already had a foolproof plan in his heart.