UCS Chapter 91

“Love gu?”

 

Liao Zitu thought for a moment and said, “Indeed, such a thing happened.”

 

“I once went there to search for medicinal herbs. Unexpectedly, a gu insect lost control and escaped. When I found it, it was already a day later.”

 

“I didn’t expect there to be horsetail grass there, which happened to conflict with my love gu’s medicinal properties and stimulated it.”

 

Gao Shi asked in a deep voice, “You usually search for herbs by purchasing them anonymously or finding them in the suburban mountains and forests around City B. Why did you go so far this time?”

 

Liao Zitu said indifferently, “I merely saw a photo of that place one day and felt the dense forest looked quite similar to my hometown.”

 

After Liao Zitu finished speaking, she said no more. She closed her eyes, seeming extremely exhausted.

 

Gao Shi looked at her. This once beautiful and elegant woman was still captivating, but her face bore an indelible weariness and fatigue. She was like a flower that had burned through all its vitality to bloom, with only withering awaiting her.

 

Looking at her, Gao Shi suddenly asked, “You still can’t forget Wen Shidai? Even after how he treated you?”

 

That day, after the love gu died, Wen Shidai’s temperament changed drastically. He regarded Liao Zitu like a fierce tiger, avoiding her at all costs and calling her a “venomous woman.”

 

Every action expressed his rejection and disgust toward her.

 

Everyone knew that Wen Shidai now had no trace of love for her.

 

Liao Zitu knew it too.

 

Gao Shi said, “These past few days, the police thoroughly investigated the Wen family and discovered you had harmed many ordinary people, even killing one person. This person had no grudge against you—the only connection was that his company was once a competitor of the Wen family.”

 

“When he died, his stomach was swollen like a pregnant woman about to give birth, his face twisted in agony. His family hastily buried him. This was your handiwork.”

 

“You killed him for Wen Shidai, didn’t you?”

 

Liao Zitu remained silent.

 

Gao Shi continued, “Actually, Wen Shidai’s brother isn’t as dissolute as he appears. Initially, his talent wasn’t inferior to Wen Shidai’s, but later he gradually became only pleasure-seeking. Outsiders who saw this all sighed ‘what a waste of talent,’ but actually he just sensed something amiss and feared dying mysteriously himself, right?”

 

Gao Shi seemed to be talking to himself, not waiting for Liao Zitu’s reaction as he continued, “The Wen family’s problems are serious—they’ve committed basically every crime a business can commit. After this incident is handled, they’ll probably decline. But Wen Shidai’s brother is still running around everywhere, and the talent he’s shown has surprised many people. They say if the Wen family were in his hands, it would be much stronger than under Wen Shidai.”

 

“Among you three, Wen Shidai has the worst talent and character. Though you only controlled Wen Shidai’s feelings toward you and never interfered with Wen family affairs, as the next clan leader, your methods shouldn’t be weaker than Wen Shidai’s. The Wen family would be much better in your hands than in this man’s.”

 

Liao Zitu’s eyes suddenly opened, and she said coldly, “What do you know?”

 

Her gaze was cold and sharp like wind from snowy mountains, but listening carefully, her voice was clearly trembling.

 

“You were originally the next clan leader of your tribe, but despite your father’s opposition, you followed Wen Shidai and escaped from the deep mountains, taking the clan’s medicinal formulas with you. Wen Shidai was false and hypocritical—after deceiving the formulas from you, he began mass production. But he didn’t treasure these formulas. Instead, to reduce costs, he replaced the original herbs with cheap, low-quality substitutes.”

 

Gao Shi met her gaze, “I wonder if, in your midnight dreams, you’ve ever dreamed of your clan’s ancestral spirits.”

 

Liao Zitu gritted her teeth, “What did you do?”

 

Gao Shi looked at her, “Do you know? After you left, your mother cried herself blind, and your father, after passing down the clan leader position, took your mother out of the mountains to search for you. But you lived in luxury, dwelling in seclusion—how could they find you?”

 

“You’ve been gone twenty years, and they’ve searched for you for twenty years.”

 

“Because you stole the clan’s secret medicines, they felt guilty and left most of their possessions to the clan, taking only a small portion for travel expenses. They worked while searching for you. With their abilities, they could have easily taken shortcuts to get rich overnight, but they didn’t.”

 

“To sell the secret medicines, the Wen family advertised extensively, from general health enhancement to targeted treatments. If they had bought the medicine even once, they would have known you were with the Wen family.”

 

“But the Wen family’s medicines were priced too expensively—they couldn’t afford them, so they never found you.”

 

The previously calm Liao Zitu finally broke down, trembling all over, “Where… where are they?”

 

Gao Shi thought of that white-haired couple and ultimately felt compassion.

 

“That day, someone at the Wu family captured your silhouette on camera. Your father has a part-time job cleaning at an internet cafe. When someone was watching the video, he saw you and recognized you.”

 

“They rushed to the Wen Group building and were discovered by our people.”

 

Gao Shi looked at Liao Zitu, as if losing interest in this conversation. He leaned back and closed his eyes, “Wen Shidai’s brother has expressed his willingness to donate half of the Wen family’s assets to them after the property liquidation.”

 

“According to underworld law, we need to inform your guardians about what happened to you. If they’re willing to see you after hearing this, they can file an application.”

 

For one final meeting.

 

What Liao Zitu had done was enough to warrant the death penalty—she was beyond redemption.

 

After Gao Shi finished speaking, he walked toward the exit but was stopped by Liao Zitu calling, “Wait.”

 

Gao Shi turned back to look at her.

 

Liao Zitu said, “The murders I committed were on Wen Shidai’s orders.”

 

“Not just one.”

 

Liao Zitu seemed to have made up her mind and finally revealed everything she had done over the years.

 

“The first murder—he said he wanted to teach that person a lesson.”

 

“What I had prepared was originally just a gu insect that would cause mouth ulcers for a month. But the night before applying the gu, A Dai tricked me into drinking fruit juice containing horseradish. After I fed the gu my blood, it became stimulated and went berserk, torturing that person to death.”

 

“Then he threatened me with video of me applying gu, forcing me to continue killing.”

 

At that time, Liao Zitu was full of guilt, never expecting her supposedly gentle lover to bare his fangs, as if finding her weakness and exposing his ugly side completely.

 

She didn’t understand why the once most intimate lover had become like this.

 

Or perhaps, this was his true nature all along.

 

“I never hid anything from him. He knew all my weaknesses and the methods to break gu as well.”

 

“Unfortunately, he made one wrong move and ultimately fell victim to my love gu. Love gu has no antidote.”

 

Liao Zitu glanced at Gao Shi, “…Until meeting you, it had always been incurable.”

 

She laughed once, “In the Wen family, there’s a basement, very hidden. Inside are quite a few of his collectibles, and a computer embedded with a huge pink diamond.”

 

“But that computer isn’t just a collectible—the truly useful things are all in the computer.”

 

This evidence would be enough to sentence Wen Shidai to death.

 

Her beloved—they had been entangled for life, destined to continue entangling even after death.

 

She was full of evil, so he would have to accompany her to hell.

 

“…Also.” Liao Zitu called out to Gao Shi again, “About that lost love gu you asked me about—after it returned, it died not long after.”

 

“The cause of death was strange. It seemed to have tried to parasitize but was driven out. But the real cause of death was being overwhelmed by excessive yin energy.”

 

“It must have encountered a great ghost.”

 

“I didn’t lie about why I went there to search for medicinal herbs. I indeed happened to see a picture of that place and was reminded of my hometown.”

 

“But normally, I don’t like looking at electronic devices. Only that day did I turn on the computer, and that picture happened to pop up. Looking back now, it was as if guided by ghosts and spirits.”

 

Gao Shi nodded. Seeing Liao Zitu close her eyes, it seemed she truly had nothing more to say.

 

Before leaving, Gao Shi turned back for one last look. Liao Zitu was covering her eyes tightly with both hands, tears streaming down her face.

 

From their youthful meeting, to their resolute elopement, to passionate love, to baring fangs, to loving the new and abandoning the old, to self-deception—finally, all returned to dust.

 

The most beautiful maiden in all the Miao borderlands—to find her, they went blind, their skin carved by years. The spirited clan leader—to search for her, he bent his spine, his edges worn smooth by wind and frost.

 

She didn’t know if she was sad or regretful.

 

…

 

The collapse of the Wen family colossus caused many to sigh with emotion.

 

Correspondingly, Wen Liang’s reputation at school was completely ruined.

 

Interestingly, due to the special nature of Wen Liang and Wen Yan, they were sent to the research institute. Some little genius had the idea to lock them up together.

 

This made things lively. Wen Liang and Wen Yan were already bitter enemies—Wen Liang was angry that his brother had planned to monopolize Gao Gusheng behind his back, while Wen Yan sneered that his dear brother had no intention of letting him touch Gao Gusheng, just using him as a tool.

 

Since Wen Yan was physically weak and the two shared life and death, Wen Liang didn’t dare use lethal force. The two tried every method to make each other suffer more, and in their spare time, they would be unwilling to accept defeat.

 

According to records, the general content was:

 

A Sheng | Xiao Sheng should rightfully be mine!

 

I’ll get him sooner or later!

 

Let me see him!

 

To this, researchers replied: See my ass! Look at your predecessors, the Evil God and Li Mochen—forget about it for this lifetime.

 

Researchers expressed great approval for Gao Gusheng’s behavior of sending research subjects to the institute, presenting him with a banner and a couplet.

 

The banner read:

Using oneself as wolf bait

Bravely fighting rogues

 

The couplet read:

Sacrificing for others, gifting gu, gods, and subjects

Courageous in body, fighting wits, courage, and rogues

Horizontal inscription: Keep up the good work

 

Not only did the “rogues” have something to say about this, but Captain Gao was also very angry, chasing the institute director two blocks with his axe, causing the man to lose his toupee.

 

Additionally, due to Gao Shi’s outstanding performance in this mission, the Spirit Management Office sent people to give him a full physical examination. They originally thought his manipulation of the axe to cut gu insects was like spirit police finding their own method of controlling spiritual energy, but unexpectedly, Gao Shi remained as before—still just an ordinary person with higher than normal spiritual energy.

 

In other words, Gao Shi was still an anomaly police officer.

 

They also conducted detailed research on Gao Shi’s axe, finding that besides Gao Shi, no one else could use it. In others’ hands, it was just like an ordinary axe.

 

Helplessly, Gao Shi ended up on assignment, participating in research for a full month.

 

Due to the axe’s extremely high hardness, they couldn’t grind off powder to study its existence duration, only roughly estimating it existed for no less than five hundred years.

 

The axe didn’t seem like something current refinement techniques could create—it was more like mystical sect weapon-forging methods.

 

But even the mystical sects couldn’t determine the axe’s origins or grade.

 

In the end, they couldn’t research anything conclusive, so the axe remained with Gao Shi.

 

However, the axe’s existence reminded many people that similar weapons might still exist in this world, and if any spirit police could use them, it would greatly enhance their combat effectiveness.

 

Moreover, according to Gao Shi, when he used it, the axe emitted dragon roars, and in the distance, there seemed to be echoes.

 

This made people wonder whether there was more than one weapon like this axe, or if it was originally a pair of axes.

 

At this thought, Gao Shi imagined himself wielding double axes and felt he looked just like Cheng Yaojin.

 

…Damn, could I be the reincarnation of Cheng Yaojin?

 

Then which son would Lele be?

 

After comparing Lele’s physique with Cheng Yaojin’s sons from film and TV works, Gao Shi silently covered his face.

 

If that were really the case, Lele’s yearning for muscular men would be understandable.

 

After Gao Shi finished cooperating with the research and returned home, Gao Gusheng, who had been on vacation playing games while munching on chips, suddenly turned his head and joyfully pounced over.

 

“Dad, you’re finally back!”

 

November was already quite cold. Though the house was warm with air conditioning, it would be a few more days before heating started. Gao Gusheng wore a fuzzy monkey onesie pajama set, and when placed next to his monkey stuffed animal, they looked like brothers.

 

Gao Shi ruffled Gao Gusheng’s head and saw Ying Bujie, pausing and almost laughing out loud.

 

He didn’t know how Gao Gusheng and Kongmiao had convinced Ying Bujie, but Ying Bujie was also wearing a fuzzy onesie—a polar bear one upon closer inspection, all white and fluffy.

 

Because the clothes were so thick, he looked like he was sprawled on the sofa, expressionlessly watching TV while eating chips, showing great potential as a slacker bear.

 

But Gao Shi knew Ying Bujie was probably just spacing out, because Kongmiao’s gaming skills were so terrible when playing online with Gao Gusheng that even Ying Bujie, with his incomplete heavenly soul, could carry Kongmiao. You could imagine how bad Kongmiao’s skills were.

 

Gao Shi didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he always felt that when Ying Bujie turned to look at him, his eyes brightened and his expression was tinged with joy.

 

Gao Shi pressed down on Gao Gusheng’s fuzzy head, looked up and smiled, “I’m back.”

 

…

 

This month was peaceful and uneventful. No blind scumbags laid hands on Gao Gusheng, and no major cases occurred. As the spirit police grew stronger due to spiritual energy revival and dealt heavy blows to certain ill-intentioned beings, even the anomaly police were called out less frequently.

 

“Have you two made any progress during this time?”

 

Gao Shi asked Kongmiao and Ying Bujie.

 

During this period, Kongmiao had been taking Ying Bujie around trying to calculate where Ying Bujie’s missing heavenly soul pieces were.

 

Kongmiao shook his head and sighed, “Perhaps the time hasn’t come yet. It only shows he still has a connection with your Gao family, but the specifics can’t be calculated clearly.”

 

Since that was the case, there was no point in forcing it.

 

Gao Shi was about to comfort the apparently dejected Kongmiao when he heard “Victory” coming from his phone.

 

Gao Shi: …It seems this old Daoist doesn’t need comfort.

 

After returning, Gao Shi looked through the materials from this period. After handling work matters, he took a deep breath and opened the section about Gao Gusheng.

 

This contained information about the remaining unresolved scumbags.

 

Xiao Yusheng was filming in the mountains. The behind-the-scenes footage released online was quite good and attracted many fans.

 

Master Zhang made no moves.

 

As for Gui Yan, he had made quite a commotion.

 

All of Gui Yan’s friends knew he liked Bai Mingyue. Since Bai Mingyue returned to China, Gui Yan probably realized after one failed attempt that hesitation leads to defeat—real men should attack boldly—so he launched an aggressive pursuit of Bai Mingyue.

 

This included but wasn’t limited to sending 999 roses, placing the bouquet in his supercar’s back seat, and scattering rose petals all along the road.

 

Star: Littering affects city appearance! Affects following cars’ vision! [Star angry]

 

Father Gao: …Opening a convertible supercar in deep winter, isn’t it cold?

 

Gao Shi: …After reaching the destination, were there any petals left on the rose stems?

 

At an auction, he spent 13.14 million to buy a diamond-studded steering wheel and gave it to Bai Mingyue.

 

Star: Exceeded market price by 3.1 million, enough for Star to buy many, many skins. [Star dazed]

 

Father Gao: Doesn’t seem very aesthetic, has no collection value, but if modified for daily use, wouldn’t the diamonds be too sharp to handle?

 

Gao Shi: …Spendthrift.

 

He went mountain road racing with Bai Mingyue, and after reaching the endpoint, they watched stars on the mountaintop.

 

Star: Because the weather was bad that day, one got a fever and one caught a cold after returning. Don’t they check weather forecasts before going out? [Star confused]

 

Father Gao: Young people’s romance, don’t really understand. It’s getting cold, your mom and I plan to travel to Hainan, we’ll be back before New Year.

 

Gao Shi: With Bai Mingyue’s eyes like that, it’s fortunate they didn’t have an accident racing… Alright, alright, I get it =_=.

 

This month’s developments differed greatly from the dream where Bai Mingyue never accepted Gui Yan’s pursuit until after getting a kidney and cornea transplant.

 

However, Gui Yan’s pursuit methods were far inferior to those in the dream. Whether it was due to incomplete dream recollection or other reasons, in the dream, the romance between Bai Mingyue and Gui Yan could be called beautiful if you ignored Gao Gusheng.

 

The only similar date was the mountain road racing, but the results created a pair of star-crossed lovers—one with high fever, one with a severe cold, both hospitalized.

 

In the dream, after racing to the mountaintop, they watched the sunrise together. How did it become racing up the mountain in the middle of the night to watch stars in reality?

 

Wasn’t it cold?

 

After much thought, Gao Shi felt it was probably due to timing.

 

In reality, Gui Yan didn’t have concerns about Gao Gusheng’s existence. His longing for Bai Mingyue was at its most intense and passionate moment. Plus, he was much younger than in the dream, making him more impulsive and immature, so he was also more enthusiastic toward Bai Mingyue.

 

Probably because Gui Yan’s pursuit was so fervent, Bai Mingyue seemed to show signs of accepting him.

 

These two were getting hot and heavy. Gao Shi felt relieved after reading this—as long as these two didn’t make moves on his son, it was fine.

 

Respect, bless, and lock it down.

 

However, reading the next file made Gao Shi frown again.

 

Gao Shi had always found it strange why Gui Yan didn’t go abroad to see Bai Mingyue—it was just a plane flight away.

 

Previously, he thought it was related to the “plot,” but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

 

After Bai Mingyue left, Gui Yan had been confined at home by his family.

 

For what reason?

 

Because of his racing identity, Gui Yan was practically a living advertisement, bringing tremendous assistance to his family’s business. Unless it was for something very serious, he shouldn’t have been confined.

 

Because the Gui family’s confinement wasn’t just house arrest preventing outings—it also meant being locked in a dark little room to reflect on oneself, which was really an unpleasant punishment.

 

Gao Shi felt there was something wrong here and had people continue investigating.

 

After handling these matters, Gao Shi stretched his body. Seeing it was late at night, he prepared to sleep.

 

Perhaps because he thought about it during the day and dreamed about it at night, having looked at Gui Yan’s files during the day, he dreamed of Gui Yan in his sleep.

 

In the dream, Gui Yan walked through an unclear void. However long he walked, Gao Shi watched for that long, until a point of light appeared ahead.

 

Gui Yan rushed toward the light, and the environment around Gao Shi shook. He saw Gui Yan lying on a bed.

 

Then the dream shattered.

 

Gao Shi remained conscious in the dream. He felt this dream was pointless and somewhat inexplicable—not like a prophetic dream, probably just an ordinary dream.

 

While Gao Shi was puzzled in the dream, the surrounding world changed again.

 

Wild winds howled, sun and moon lost their light, stars fell, heaven collapsed and earth split.

 

The sky became a chaotic gray mass, with smoke and dust floating around. The once magnificent jade palaces were torn apart and swallowed by void fissures, becoming ruins.

 

This place looked familiar.

 

It was like the first time he dreamed of Ying Bujie, when he flew upward and looked down—how similar this was to that place.

 

Countless beings wailed and fled. Gao Shi felt sadness and anger—probably emotions from within the dream.

 

His body was extremely weak. Using his last breath, he ran against the fierce wind. The wind made his cheeks sting, leaving a scar on his face.

 

Finally, he came to a familiar great hall and saw a familiar person.

 

Ying Bujie.

 

The Ying Bujie in the dream wore black robes embroidered with golden cloud patterns. His usually neatly groomed long hair flew in the wild wind. In the void was a black vortex with no visible end. Countless beings threw themselves into it, and spiritual energy from Ying Bujie’s body continuously flowed toward that black vortex.

 

Seeing Gao Shi, he showed a relieved smile, “You came.”

 

Gao Shi dragged his exhausted body but still tried his best to appear no different from usual.

 

He smiled, “I’m faster than you. I won this time.”

 

Ying Bujie also smiled, “Good, you won.”

 

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and Gao Shi followed by spitting out a mouthful too. Both were in sorry states yet still smiling.

 

Gao Shi walked toward him step by step when suddenly heaven and earth shook again. Ying Bujie couldn’t hold on, and that black vortex suddenly collapsed into millions of fragments.

 

Void fissures opened like a giant mouth, terrifying suction coming from both sides. Both their pupils contracted sharply. They stepped forward wanting to grasp each other’s hands but missed.

 

Gao Shi watched helplessly as Ying Bujie grew farther and farther from him. He roared as if wanting to burn all his blood, but it was futile.

 

The Ying Bujie in the dream shed his usual calm for the first time. He locked onto Gao Shi with his gaze, promising word by word:

 

“Wait for me.”

 

***

 

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