Always Trying to Get Something for Nothing, Jiang Chuchu's Thoughts
Always Trying to Get Something for Nothing, Jiang Chuchu’s Thoughts
Outside the crack, Gu Changge’s figure appeared. Around him, there seemed to be floating light flickering, and with a single step, he appeared beside Jiang Chuchu.
“Are you alright?”
Jiang Chuchu’s figure flashed as she stepped forward, asking the question, her gaze falling upon him as she looked Gu Changge up and down.
Finding that his aura was calm and steady, not looking like he was injured at all, she let out a sigh of relief.
She still remembered the shocking injuries Gu Changge had suffered last time when he was corroded by the Eternal Overcast Fog.
“I’m fine.”
Gu Changge waved his hand, smiling with a natural expression. “I never expected that a Saintess like you would actually care about a demon like me.”
“I’m truly flattered.”
“You’re overthinking it. It’s just that this whole matter started because of me. If something happened to you, I would feel bad about it.”
Hearing this, the concern on Jiang Chuchu’s face froze. Then she glanced at Gu Changge, a coldness emerging in her expression as she explained.
“Alright.”
“I know you care about me.”
Gu Changge smiled and reached out to wrap his arm around her slender waist.
Jiang Chuchu was just about to deny it when her body suddenly stiffened, her expression freezing as well.
Her whole person stood there like a clay sculpture, rooted to the spot, very unaccustomed to Gu Changge’s intimate gesture.
Tiny goosebumps seemed to rise across her snow-white, delicate skin.
She didn’t even know what she was feeling right now.
She clearly found Gu Changge utterly detestable, yet she simply couldn’t bring herself to refuse him.
Moreover, Gu Changge had bullied her time and time again. The very first time they met, he had forcefully suppressed her and imprisoned her within his inner world.
That period had been the darkest, most helpless time of her life.
After that, she had personally witnessed the entire process of Gu Changge scheming against the Reincarnation of the Mortal One and killing him.
It had dealt an indescribable shock to the state of mind Jiang Chuchu had cultivated for over twenty years.
Yet this terrifying, dreadful Gu Changge simply refused to kill her, even though she knew so many of his secrets.
He had even taken the initiative to save her, resolving several Eternal Overcast calamities for her.
“Chuchu?”
At this moment, Gu Changge suddenly called out softly, causing the emotionally turbulent Jiang Chuchu to snap back to her senses. Her cool, beautiful eyes looked at him in confusion.
“Hm?” Jiang Chuchu gestured for him to continue.
“Don’t you have anything to show for it?” Gu Changge smiled.
Jiang Chuchu was stunned for a moment, then said softly, “Thank you.”
“That’s it?” Gu Changge raised an eyebrow, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with her answer.
“Then what else do you want from me?” Jiang Chuchu looked at him. Ever since tasting the sweetness of defiance last time, she had grown bolder and bolder about going against Gu Changge.
“So it seems you want to get something for nothing?” Gu Changge asked with great interest.
Hearing this, Jiang Chuchu actually thought about it seriously.
It seemed she really was trying to get something for nothing, having done nothing at all.
As a result, Gu Changge had traveled all this way, spending so many days, just to resolve this trouble.
And she had merely said a single “thank you.”
Come to think of it, that really was a bit inconsiderate.
However, toward a hateful fellow like Gu Changge, she felt no guilt whatsoever.
Jiang Chuchu pondered her words, feeling she should still show some sincerity—who knew, she might need to trouble Gu Changge again next time.
So she spoke indifferently,
“I don’t care about any of that. This matter is inextricably linked to you. If you hadn’t killed the Mortal One, there wouldn’t be so much trouble...”
“Still, thank you very much... mmm...”
But she couldn’t finish the rest of her words, because her mouth was sealed.
Jiang Chuchu’s beautiful eyes widened, her jade fists pounding against Gu Changge’s body, sending out terrifying fluctuations like mountains and seas.
If it were an ordinary Cultivator in this situation, they might well have exploded, body and soul annihilated.
Her strength was not to be underestimated. Caught off guard, her instinctive burst of power was still quite terrifying.
However, no matter how Jiang Chuchu struggled, she couldn’t break free.
In the end, she let out a hum through her nose and couldn’t be bothered to struggle anymore.
Anyway, this wasn’t the first or second time Gu Changge had bullied her like this.
Jiang Chuchu was already used to it.
“Chuchu?”
Gu Changge smiled, calling out.
“Hm?”
Jiang Chuchu’s beautiful eyes fixed on him, appearing quite calm and composed at this moment.
She didn’t even mind Gu Changge’s current intimate way of addressing her, feeling it was perfectly normal.
Gu Changge had always been very picky when it came to women, so those who could catch his interest were naturally even fewer.
Not only was Jiang Chuchu useful to him—able to help him obtain the Source of the Eternal Overcast—but she also stirred genuine affection in his heart.
At a time like this, Gu Changge naturally wouldn’t be stingy with a bit of tenderness.
“Chuchu, could it be that you want me to do something to you?”
But in the next moment, Gu Changge smiled, and with a flash of his figure, he had already appeared in another direction.
Jiang Chuchu had long since closed her eyes, her lashes trembling slightly.
She hadn’t expected Gu Changge to suddenly say such a thing. Her whole person froze there. She opened her eyes and processed what had just happened.
Then two blushes of crimson abruptly bloomed across her face, delicate as flawless immortal jade.
She became indignant and furious, her gaze instantly turning ice-cold.
“Gu Changge... you’re a complete bastard!” Jiang Chuchu said with resentment, her voice icy.
“What? Chuchu, are you disappointed?”
Gu Changge smiled, standing in the distant void, his white robes fluttering, transcendent and otherworldly, with immortal grace and divine bearing, like a banished immortal about to depart along the path of the Flying Immortals.
The smile on his face, in Jiang Chuchu’s current eyes, was exactly that of a bastard—detestable to the extreme.
“Why do you always like bullying me?” Myriad grievances welled up in Jiang Chuchu’s heart, though her face remained cold.
She had already yielded to this extent, yet Gu Changge was still teasing and bullying her.
It made even her—whose temperament had never been one for quarrels—want to grit her teeth and curse Gu Changge out.
But she forcibly endured it.
“How have I bullied you?”
Gu Changge said with perfect composure, “I can’t even dote on you enough.”
Jiang Chuchu was thoroughly angered by his shameless words.
What man doted on his woman the way he did?
“However, this can count as the payment I’m asking for. In the future, stop dreaming about getting something for nothing. If you want my help, you have to pay a price. Understand?”
Then, Gu Changge spoke again.
With that said,
He waved his sleeve, space blurred, a passage appeared, and in the blink of an eye he had already left this place, vanishing without a trace.
Although to the outside world he claimed to be in closed-door recuperation,
In fact, aside from Jiang Chuchu, no one knew Gu Changge had come here.
But just to be safe, he still had to return first.
“I...”
Jiang Chuchu was left standing there dumbfounded by Gu Changge’s words, boundless vexation rising in her heart.
What did he mean by “stop dreaming about getting something for nothing”?
She already belonged to Gu Changge—did he still plan to squeeze benefits out of her?
Didn’t that mean that from now on, she would be bullied by Gu Changge under the pretext of helping her, just like today?
“The Eternal Overcast calamity was clearly resolved by him, yet at this moment all the credit has been dumped onto me.”
“He wants nothing at all.”
Then, Jiang Chuchu thought of another matter, her eyes fixed on the direction Gu Changge had departed.
Ripples arose in her heart, unable to calm for a long time.
Before this, she had never considered letting Gu Changge replace the Mortal One.
Even when Gu Changge brought it up himself, she had refused outright, without the slightest hesitation or wavering.
But now, once this thought appeared, it was like a raging fire, impossible to extinguish.
After all, she was the Successor of the Mortal One.
With Gu Changge’s current prestige, when the time came she would only need to make an announcement—who would know whether it was true or false?
...
“How are Young Master Changge’s injuries now?”
“I’ve noticed that during this period, Young Master Changge’s complexion looks much better than before.”
“One can only say, as expected of Young Master Changge. Even after suffering such heavy injuries, he recovered within a matter of days. Such powerful vitality surpasses even some ancient races.”
“Indeed. If it were any of us, we’d probably have died from these injuries long ago.”
In the Black Tortoise Empire, within a magnificent palace, it was very lively, with many people having arrived.
Numerous prodigies had gathered, including Yin Mei, Ying Yu, Gu Xianer, Qing Feng, and others.
Several Elders of the True Immortal Academy had also received the news and rushed over.
The ones speaking at this moment were several prodigies, all carrying sighs of admiration and reverence.
In the center of the palace, Gu Changge wore a smile, his face still slightly pale, greeting everyone.
This counted as his first appearance before outsiders in quite some time.
Before him was set a chessboard, the black and white pieces clearly divided.
When everyone came to visit him, he had been playing chess with Ji Qingxuan, passing the time.
After returning here, Gu Changge had begun preparing his next plan. How could the clash between the two Fortuitous Ones, Qin Wuya and Chu Hao, proceed without his secret fanning of the flames?
What Gu Changge intended to do first was to make an example of Heavenly Monarch Ziyang.
Of course, only he himself knew about such matters.
At this moment, in everyone’s eyes, judging by Gu Changge’s cultivation and aura, he was somewhat better than during the previous period.
But he still hadn’t reached the point of fully recovering from his injuries.
These injuries were no small trouble for him either.
“Young Master Changge has injured his Source, so recovery will indeed take a bit longer...”
The Elder who spoke shook his head slightly, withdrawing the hand with which he had been probing Gu Changge’s injuries.
With Gu Changge’s status, he naturally lacked no divine materials or sacred medicines, yet it was still like this—one could see how dreadful the injury was.
Hearing this, everyone’s hearts were filled with various emotions.
“Many thanks for the concern of all the Elders.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly. “This injury will heal in half a month at most. It’s nothing serious.”
“Rather, during this period, I wonder if any of the Elders have news about Qing Xiaoyi?”
“Or rather... news of Heavenly Monarch Ziyang?”
Then, Gu Changge took the initiative to speak, directly bringing up another matter and asking.
Hearing these words, the atmosphere in the palace abruptly changed. Even the few Elders who had been smiling moments ago froze in expression, suddenly unable to speak.
The faces of the many prodigies also revealed complicated, apprehensive expressions.
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang!
During this period, if the Successor of Demonic Arts was the one whose infamy ran highest, then Heavenly Monarch Ziyang was definitely the second most notorious figure.
In the eyes of many, Heavenly Monarch Ziyang might very well repeat the fate of Prince Ying.
Not only had he abducted Qing Xiaoyi of the Celestial Demonic Physique, he also seemed to be connected to the Successor of Demonic Arts!
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang had claimed he was going to hunt down the Successor of Demonic Arts, yet in the end he had secretly abducted Qing Xiaoyi. If one said he had no connection to the Successor of Demonic Arts, many people would never believe it even if beaten to death.
Moreover, during this period, all kinds of rumors and speculations spread wildly, causing a sensation everywhere.
Yet Heavenly Monarch Ziyang still had not shown himself.
All of this, in everyone’s eyes, was a display of silent evasion.