The Overlord of Puluo

Chapter 466.2: Why Aren’t You Crying? (2)

While Gu Rusong was torn over what to do, he became distracted and was wounded by Passing Flowers on Horseback. His chest was blasted open, and blood seeped through his clothes.

Performing Arts Cultivators did not have particularly strong defenses. Gu Rusong had taken Passing Flowers on Horseback head-on. Although the attack was not fatal, he was still badly injured.

Weird. Why are these three women helping Li Qi? Why has Tang Changfa been protecting him this whole time?

At first, Gu Rusong thought they only wanted Li Qi’s flesh and blood. Now, he realized that there seemed to be some other connection between them.

I can’t fight inside this Literary House! I am at too much of a disadvantage here!

Gu Rusong took a step toward the entrance of the Literary House, but the three women behind him kept talking.

Yanhong shouted, ”You can’t go outside, Eldest Young Master! He’s a Wanderlust Cultivator. If you go out there, you are as good as dead!”

She had a point. A Wanderlust Cultivator did seem to have the advantage outside.

Yancui shouted, ”You have to get out of here, Eldest Young Master! Once a Performing Arts Cultivator’s identity is exposed, you have to run. If you stay here, you’re just waiting to die!”

Several more girls came out from behind the folding screen and joined in. ”Eldest Young Master, just talk things out with him! This is our turf. There’s nothing we can’t talk through!

”Eldest Young Master, you have to be careful! He’s coming again!”

Folly Cultivation path was the hardest Daoist path in the world to deal with.

Even a Performing Arts Cultivator at the Cloudborne Layer had to be extremely careful when dealing with a Folly Cultivator at the Terranean Layer. Now that a whole group of Folly Cultivators were causing trouble around him at the same time, how was Gu Rusong supposed to keep fighting?

Gu Rusong decided to ignore their nonsense and head straight outside. However, he had only taken one step toward the exit when he found the Changsan Literary House’s main hall in front of him again.

He had just walked out of the main hall, yet somehow he was back inside it again. How could one doorway separate two identical main halls?

Li Banfeng had used Intent Travels a Thousand Mountains. He was still unfamiliar with the ability, so he could not move anything too complicated. Something that was right in front of him, however, was much easier.

He had directly copied the main hall of the Changsan Literary House.

Gu Rusong was a Performing Arts Cultivator at the Cloudborne Layer, so he had seen many things. He knew about Intent Travels a Thousand Mountains, but he had never expected Li Banfeng to use it like this.

One group of women talking had suddenly become two groups surrounding him from both sides. Their voices buzzed around Gu Rusong’s ears until he could no longer tell which ones were the real Folly Cultivators and which were only illusions Li Banfeng had brought over.

Should I break out of the illusion first? Or should I stay where I am and wait for the ability to wear off? Intent Travels a Thousand Mountains doesn’t last very long. If I can hold out for a little while, it will pass. But Wanderlust Cultivators attack very quickly and it won’t be easy holding out even for this short while.

While Gu Rusong was still torn over what to do, he suddenly sensed killing intent approaching from above.

Yanhong shouted, ”Look up! He’s coming!”

Yanqing shouted, ”Don’t look up! He’s behind you!”

This time, Gu Rusong was prepared. He flicked a beaded hair ornament from his sleeve, sending it flying above his head.

Performing Arts Cultivators rarely used enchanted artifacts. Once they used one, people might remember it, which would make it harder to hide their identity the next time.

This beaded hair ornament, however, was very cleverly designed. Whenever Gu Rusong disguised himself as a woman, it looked like nothing more than a delicate piece of jewelry, and no one would notice anything unusual about it.

But in a fight, the ornament was almost like having an extra arm. It could hold off an opponent for several exchanges on its own.

The beaded ornament flew into the air. When it saw the Tang Saber coming down from above, its beads trembled before it moved forward to meet the attack.

The Tang Saber was much larger and heavier, but the beaded ornament was not intimidated. It had dealt with plenty of oversized weapons before and knew more than a few ways to overcome a larger opponent.

The moment the Tang Saber came down, the beaded ornament spotted an opening and darted toward the hilt. What it did not know was that the Tang Saber had deliberately left that opening for it. The Film Projector had already focused its lens on the hilt. As soon as the beaded hair ornament entered the frame, the Film Projector flashed, and the ornament disappeared.

”All flowers in this world will eventually wither, but a flower captured on film will bloom forever. Director Qi, this is art. This is the Act of Withering! An ability I have created!”

With the beaded hair ornament gone, the Tang Saber struck down. Gu Rusong tried his best to dodge, but the saber still cut into his left shoulder.

Intent Travels a Thousand Mountains wore off, and Gu Rusong wanted to leave the Literary House as quickly as possible. However, with the Folly Cultivators surrounding him and shouting from all sides, he once again found himself torn over what to do.

”Don’t go outside! Once you are out on the street, you will have even less of a chance against him!”

”Eldest Young Master, stay here! We are still on your side, after all!”

Gu Rusong could also perform Folly Cultivator abilities, but that did not make him immune to them. In fact, even Sun Tiecheng would be affected by Folly Cultivator abilities.

More than a dozen girls kept using The Fool’s Thousand Worries on him. Under the continuous effects of this ability, Gu Rusong was badly injured. He staggered toward the entrance of the Changsan Literary House.

With one step, Gu Rusong was hit by Passing Flowers on Horseback. With the next, he was struck by Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers. Another step, and the sickle hooked him by the head. One more, and the Tang Saber pierced him through the back while the Liquor Gourd burned half his body black.

Despite all those injuries, Gu Rusong still did not die. That was just how tough a cultivator at the Cloudborne Layer could be.

Once he reached the entrance, the three women were still following behind him and talking without end. Gu Rusong quickened his pace, slipped into a deep alley, and finally left the girls behind.

It wasn’t hard to get away from them. However, it was impossible to get rid of Li Qi.

Gu Rusong slowed down once he entered the alley. He was waiting for Li Qi to come closer so he could launch a sneak attack.

The alley was very narrow. Although Li Banfeng had Path of Unhindered Steps and Severing Paths to Forge a Way, even a Wanderlust Cultivator was still somewhat restricted when fighting in such a confined space. This gave Gu Rusong a better chance of landing a sneak attack.

As long as the sneak attack succeeded, he was confident he could kill Li Qi. Of course, he would also have to pay a heavy price. That would depend on how ruthless Li Qi was.

It didn’t matter if he got badly injured. As long as he could take down Li Qi, everything else would become much easier.

Yellowclay Bridge would definitely be his. There was also hope of taking Qi Qiu City. As long as he could continue pretending to be Lu Dongliang and win over the major families of Greenwater City, dealing with the Greenwater Beggar would only be a matter of time.

If I hand all three cities over to the Inner Provinces, what kind of position will they give me? What kind of cultivation will they reward me with?

Even if it cost him more than half his life, Gu Rusong still thought it would be worth it.

He sensed Li Qi approaching and waited for him to come within range before launching his counterattack. But while there was still some distance between them, Li Qi suddenly stopped.

What does this mean?

Li Qi raised both hands. ”I don’t want to kill you. I’m not carrying a weapon.”

This was physical evidence.

”I never wanted to kill you in the Literary House. I didn’t strike to kill. The people in the Literary House can testify to that.”

This was witness testimony.

Li Qi hadn’t been trying to kill him?

This was bullshit.

Gu Rusong was a cultivator at level one of the Cloudborne Layer. It had taken a whole group of Folly Cultivators bombarding him with their abilities to put him at a disadvantage. There was no way Li Banfeng would dare hold back against someone like that. Every attack he made had been meant to kill.

Yet Gu Rusong still believed him, at least a little. He thought Li Qi might have some other motive, which meant he might still have a chance to launch a sneak attack.

Li Qi asked, ”Tell me one thing. How did you get my blood? Tell me, and I will let you go.”

Gu Rusong said, ”I can’t let anyone else hear this. Come closer and I will tell you.”

Li Qi slowly approached, and Gu Rusong prepared himself.

Suddenly, a ring of light swept past beneath his feet. Gu Rusong shuddered as the flesh all over his body split open, and he collapsed to the ground.

What happened? How did I get injured this badly? What ability did he use?

Gu Rusong looked completely baffled.

Li Qi looked down at him and asked, ”Still don’t want to tell me the truth? I will give you one more chance. Where exactly did you get my blood?”

Gu Rusong said nothing. Li Qi took a step back, and the ring of light passed through Gu Rusong’s body again. Chunks of flesh began falling from his body one after another, and Gu Rusong went completely still.

Dead? Could a cultivator at the Cloudborne Layer really be that fragile? Of course not!

Gu Rusong put a lifetime of acting skill into one final performance. He played dead and waited for Li Qi to come closer. As long as Li Qi came over to check his body, Gu Rusong was still confident he could kill him.

They were less than ten steps apart. If Li Qi came just two steps closer...

Li Qi took two steps forward, and the ring of light passed through Gu Rusong.

Then Li Banfeng took two steps back, and the ring passed through Gu Rusong again.

Li Banfeng stepped forward another two steps...

After the ring passed through Gu Rusong seven or eight times, Li Banfeng finally ran out of strength. Hermit’s Lockdown consumed too much stamina, and the ring of light disappeared.

Gu Rusong stopped moving. He was a fine actor, performing right to the very end. This time, he was really dead.

However, Li Banfeng was still unsure. He was wondering how he could verify Gu Rusong’s death when a middle-aged man came running in from the entrance of the alley and shouted, ”What are you doing?!”

Li Qi raised his brows but said nothing.

Sun Tiecheng had arrived.

***

Back at the Changsan Literary House, Gu Rusong’s corpse lay on the floor.

Sun Tiecheng’s face had darkened with anger as he questioned Li Qi, ”You damn brat! The moment you come back, you start causing trouble for me! Tell me clearly, why did you kill your Senior Brother?”

Li Qi looked completely innocent. ”How was I supposed to know he was my Senior Brother? You told me I only had one Senior Brother.”

Sun Tiecheng pointed at Gu Rusong. ”And this was that one Senior Brother! Now you have gone and killed him!”

Li Qi shook his head. ”You can’t blame me for this. You told me my Senior Brother was He Jiaqing.”

”When did I ever say it was He Jiaqing? I don’t even know who He Jiaqing is!”

Li Qi frowned. ”Now you are just taking back what you said. That’s no fun. We were right here in the Literary House when you told me you had another disciple. I asked if you meant He Jiaqing, and you admitted it. That’s what happened, isn’t it?”

”When did I admit anything?” Sun Tiecheng snapped. ”I asked you how you knew it was him!”

Li Qi blinked. ”Well... wasn’t that... sort of admitting it?”

”How is that admitting anything? That’s an ability from our Daoist path called Dismounting Along the Slope! Whatever you said, I simply went along with it!”

Li Qi squatted on the ground with his hands clasped together. ”Then you really can’t blame me. Who told you to use an ability on me? Besides, I didn’t even realize you had used an ability on me at the time. If you only tell me afterward that it was Dismounting Along the Slope, isn’t that basically tricking me?”

”Who’s tricking you? The whole point of Dismounting Along the Slope is to make everything flow naturally. If you could tell the ability was working on you, how would it work at all?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”I don’t get it. What’s so important about whether it flows naturally?”

”How can you not understand? To Dismount Along the Slope, you first need a slope. And when you make that slope, it can’t be too gentle or too steep. If it’s too gentle, things won’t follow naturally. If it’s too steep, you will give yourself away.”

Li Qi asked, ”Then how do you know when you have got it just right?”

”Well, the trick to that is...” Sun Tiecheng said as he took the cleaver from Tang Changfa’s hand. ”You little bastard! You are trying to trick me into teaching you another ability! I am chopping you up today!”

Everyone hurried over to stop him. Tang Changfa, still without his eyes, wrapped his arms around Sun Tiecheng and begged, ”City Lord, you can’t blame the boss for this. Eldest Young Master went too far. He kept rubbing salt into our sore spots!”

Seeing the miserable state Tang Changfa was in, Sun Tiecheng softened a little. ”I know Rusong had a nasty mouth, but you didn’t have to go this far!”

Li Qi spoke from the side. ”This isn’t just about him having a nasty mouth. He became the Inner Provinces’ dog. He wanted to take Yellowclay Bridge from me and hand it over to them.”

”Nonsense!” Sun Tiecheng did not believe him. ”Don’t think you can pin anything you want on him just because he’s dead.”

Li Banfeng had no evidence, but Sun Tiecheng had his own way of finding out. He patted Gu Rusong on the back and slowly repeated, ”You are alive. You are alive. You are still alive. You can move, and you can eat. If I say you are alive, then you are alive...”

After repeating it more than a dozen times, a sound finally came from Gu Rusong’s throat.

Li Qi was shocked. Did he just bring him back from the dead?

This was not resurrection. This was one of Sun Tiecheng’s abilities. Before Gu Rusong’s soul had completely left his body, Sun Tiecheng made him firmly believe that he was still alive, turning him into one of the living dead.

Gu Rusong grabbed Sun Tiecheng’s hand and said with difficulty, ”Save me, Teacher... save me...”

Sun Tiecheng’s expression darkened. ”You joined the Inner Provinces? And you were planning to hand Yellowclay Bridge over to them?”

Gu Rusong was just about to answer when Sun Tiecheng suddenly added, ”Tell me the truth.”

As he spoke, Sun Tiecheng used some unknown method to seize Gu Rusong’s soul. If his soul moved even slightly, Gu Rusong would turn to dust.

Gu Rusong didn’t dare lie. He could only tell the truth. ”I had no choice. Once my cultivation reached level ten, I was bound to go to the Inner Provinces. They wanted me to do things for them, so I had to...”

Sun Tiecheng slowly ran his palm along Gu Rusong’s soul. ”You are dead. You died. Your soul turned to ash, and your body was buried in the ground. If I say you are buried, then you are buried!”

Bang!

Gu Rusong’s soul and corpse both crumbled into dust.

Li Banfeng stared at the scattered dust in shock.

Sun Tiecheng, however, looked devastated. His eyes turned red. After choking back a couple of sobs, he finally burst into tears. ”It’s over. My eldest disciple is gone!”

After crying for a bit, Sun Tiecheng felt that something was off. He turned to Li Qi. ”Why aren’t you crying?”

Li Qi squatted down beside him, sniffled twice, then opened his mouth and wailed, ”It’s over! Eldest Senior Brother is gone!”

The two cried together, their wails rising and falling, one long and one short, both sounding thoroughly miserable.

After a while, Sun Tiecheng still felt that the atmosphere was not quite right. He turned toward everyone in the Literary House and snapped, ”Why aren’t any of you crying?”

Tang Changfa turned toward the girls and cried, ”It’s over...”

He had no eyes, so he was facing the wrong direction.

”It’s that way!” Yanhong said as she gave Tang Changfa a push.

Tang Changfa turned around and led the girls in crying together. ”It’s over! Eldest Young Master is gone!”

Author’s Note:

PS: The whole of Yuren City was filled with crying sounds! A story this good has to be told all in one go!

Many thanks to Alliance Leader Tianji Weiba Miao and Alliance Leader Xiao Feng Chao for your generous support.