It was talking endlessly with her, but it actually fast asleep and was drooling the next minute. It was sleeping so soundly that she could not wake it up even though she kicked it. This made her wonder how it survived among the beasts at the fifth peak without being eaten by its predators while it was sleeping.
About an hour after the mussel slept, it suddenly woke up. It opened its shell to look around and inquired with a muddled expression, "Where am I?"
Gu Xijiu kicked it to wake it up, "Are you suffering from a sleep disorder?"
The mussel was finally awake, "Master… I had a dream just now."
Was it not normal to dream? Why would it make so much fuss?
Gu Xijiu took a glance at it, "What did you dream of?"
"I dreamt of… I dreamt that I went back into the Dark Forest…" The mussel was still in a state of shock, "And dreamt of being attacked by the two poisonous corpses!" It actually re-experienced the entire scene where the poisonous corpses attacked them!
Gu Xijiu pacified it by patting its shell. No wonder it was shivering when it was sleeping and even rolled once. All because it was having a nightmare.
It seemed that the attack of the two poisonous corpses had psychologically affected the mussel.
"Only that? Anything else?" Gu Xijiu inquired.
"And… And I dreamt of…" The mussel was recalling while opening its shell.
It remembered that it dreamt of something else, but it could no longer recall it regardless!
But it had another impressive dream, "Master, and I dreamt I ate a scarlet fruit that was really sweet!"
It was chewing as if it still recalled the delectable taste of the fruit.
Gu Xijiu, "…" She could not help to laugh and scolded, "What a diva!" She kicked it into the corner.
Nonetheless, both of them were wide awake after the incident.
The mussel could not help but teach her the knowledge it had about the best time to pluck a scarlet fruit. When it was talking, the voice of messenger Jiang was heard from outside, "Miss Gu, we’re arriving at Tianju Hall."
So fast?
Gu Xijiu lifted up the curtain and looked downwards.
The sky outside had turned light green, and through the first ray of the rising sun, she could vaguely see a dark and dense mass of houses surrounded by the mountain range below.
The area the houses occupied was very large. So large that one could not see the entire area from the ground level. Above the houses, there was a faint light surrounding them, and a rainbow was seen cutting across the sky. Looking at the sky, it looked like the Jade Pool of Asgard.
Gu Xijiu knew that it was the most mysterious Tianju Hall!
A place which gathered geniuses and prodigies from all over the world. A place where the five heavenly gift disciples used to study at and the recent sixth disciple, Yun Qingluo, had just entered a few days ago…
...
Meanwhile, at the Fucang Palace, Celestial Master Zuo, or Di Fuyi, was also wide awake throughout the night. On his table, there was some information which his followers had just sent.
Both Rong Yan and Gu Tianqing were indeed being decapitated, but as expected, their bodies were not found in the coffins.
Their bodies were stolen on the same night they were beheaded. They were stolen without anyone’s noticing that even the guards and their families knew nothing too.
The people of Fucang Palace managed to find out that the two bodies were moved to an abandoned house before they completely disappeared.
Even Mu Yun who was good at tracking and had thoroughly searched the house could only identify the faint smell of the Rong Yan and Gu Tianqing bodies, which were definitely in the house. Nothing else.
Di Fuyi tapped his fingers on the table while pondering about the revelation. It seemed that the man he was looking for was the best of the best as was not only good at puppet techniques but could also conceal his scent and breath.
From the memory of the mussel, he saw the true faces of the two poisonous corpses and their abilities. It seemed that somebody purposely made the corpse puppets. In fact, he/she made them extremely poisonous corpse puppets! The characteristics were very similar, but if he was not attentive and careful enough, he might have linked this directly to a puppet master.
If a puppet master were maneuvering the corpse puppets from afar, their bodies would not have so much resentment. However, the two corpse puppets Gu Xijiu encountered were filled with rage. If Di Fuyi was right, the souls of Rong Yan and Gu Tianqing were not reincarnated but were trapped. As their bodies were made into poisonous corpses, their souls were also sealed in their respective corpses. Their souls must have been cast with a type of prohibition curse just before they were decapitated. Therefore, they were still filled with intense resentment and wanted to vent their anger at Gu Xijiu.
And the reason why they could find Gu Xijiu was that they were non-living things and thus, the Wizardry Barrier he set at the Dark Forest himself, could not block them.
The primary question now is who possesses such a strong animosity against Gu Xijiu and wanted her dead?
Though Gu Xijiu offended many, none of them should be this capable. Or it was a plot to impute someone? Did somebody intend to harm Gu Xijiu because they wanted to impute another?
If that were true, the person behind the scenes apparently wanted to impute to Yun Qingluo because she was fluent with the puppet technique. Furthermore, she was hostile towards Gu Xijiu. Di Fuyi also suspected Yun Qingluo when he heard about the poisonous corpses!
If he did not look clearly through the mussel’s memory, he would have wronged Yun Qingluo. But was the person behind the scenes really after at Yun Qingluo?
Di Fuyi squinted his eyes and somehow felt that somebody had set up a net around him, wanting him to jump into it himself. Perhaps the primary target was him!
Very Good! He was, after all, complaining that life was rather dull and it would be good to have an enemy!
The vintage mirror was lighted again, and Mu Feng reported, "Lord, we have sent Miss Gu to Tianju Hall, and as expected, those old-fogeys don’t want to accept her. I have got no choice but to force them by showing them your decree but…"
"But what?"
"Gu Canmo is very stubborn. He isn’t willing to even though I showed him your decree by saying that he would never accept any unofficial student to prevent tarnishing the name of the Tianju Hall. He also said that Miss Gu is obviously not up to his requirement and thus, even if he accepts her according to the Lord’s decree, she can only be an observer and not an official student.
Later, he said he would give her an observation period of six months, and if she still could not reach the standard required, he will drive her out. It’ll be useless even if you intercede on her behalf unless you take away his position as the president of Tianju Hall…" Mu Feng seemed to be rather angry. He was embarrassed by Gu Canmo and was probably enraged too.
Di Fuyi laughed instead, "Gu Canmo has always been like this. If you give him students like Yun Qingluo, he would probably invite you for a meal."
Mu Feng shuddered, "Oh no, I don't think I can eat while facing an old-fogey like Gu Canmo. But I can't deny that he’s delighted with Yun Qingluo as he said that she is not only good at understanding, she has good foundations and high prospects. She has already come into prominence within a few days of entering the Tianju Hall…"