"How could you do this?" Fang Rui pointed at her, her brows furrowed in distress, "Your junior brother likes you so much, and before he went into seclusion, he still asked the sect leader to forgive your toil as a mere laborer and to dispel your worries. Yet, you treat him like this?"
Gu Junshi looked at her. "Then I won't leave."
"Wait a moment," Fang Rui interrupted urgently, taking a deep breath. She forced a hypocritical, helpless smile, "I'll give it to you, but are you really going to give him up for twenty high-grade spirit stones?"
Give him up?
Where did that come from?
Gu Junshi's mind rapidly calculated the currency exchange rates in the cultivation world—spirit stones were graded as low, medium, high, and supreme. The exchange rate between low, medium, and high was roughly 100:1. In other words, her demand for twenty high-grade spirit stones, compared to Fang Rui's stingy offer of five low-grade ones, was an increase of several thousand times.
"We have a deal, and I'll leave immediately."
Fang Rui appeared hesitant. Her family background was prominent, and she wasn't short of high-grade spirit stones. However, it was undeniable that a common cultivator possessing twenty high-grade spirit stones was considered wealthy. Was Gu Yi, such a shrewd and foxy village woman, worth that price?
She didn't want to be led by the nose by the other party, but on second thought, she became amenable.
She produced twenty-eight high-grade spirit stones. High-grade spirit stones were about the size of marbles, smooth and rounded on the surface, with the Five Elements spiritual energy flowing within. They could be used for cultivation or as general currency.
"Since you are determined to leave, I cannot dissuade you. However, you have nothing on your person, and it will be inconvenient outside. Please accept these spirit stones for now."
Her pleasant words erased the ulterior motive behind her visit, instead shifting all the blame onto Gu Junshi.
It was easy to imagine the consequences for an unarmed woman carrying a fortune, traveling alone outside.
Fang Rui told herself not to be soft-hearted; this was the consequence of her own greed.
But as Gu Junshi took the spirit stones and turned to leave, Fang Rui's heart pounded. Ultimately, she still called out to her, "You... don't flaunt your wealth casually outside."
As soon as she finished speaking, her expression turned as ugly as if she had constipation.
Gu Junshi stopped and glanced sideways. She was surprised by this sudden reminder.
It could only be said that although people were selfish, they weren't all inherently wicked from the start.
At this moment, Xiao Yuan hesitantly walked over from the bamboo grove. As she looked up, she saw Gu Junshi and a woman with her back to her. She called out, "Jun Shi..."
Fang Rui turned her head. Seeing someone approaching, she quickly retrieved the "recollection stone" from her sleeve and put it into her Qiankun bag. "I hope you'll keep your word."
Xiao Yuan, seeing that the woman was Fang Rui, was startled and hurriedly moved aside to let her pass. Her eyelashes trembled lightly, and her fingers fiddled with the sash of her belt.
Fang Rui, with a single spiritual root, was a leading figure among the inner disciples. They all longed to be her but could not.
Not long ago, Xiao Yuan had joined Nianhua Mountain and followed a master in the early Foundation Establishment stage. Now, she had endless chores to do every day.
She deeply regretted joining the inner sect and regretted not telling her Uncle-Master Danya the truth when she was promoted. Now, not only did she have no time to cultivate, but she was also ordered around by the disciples of the sect every day.
When she used to mingle with outer disciples and laborers in the lower peaks, she, with her five spiritual roots, had managed to get by reasonably well. But after entering the inner sect, she truly understood the horror of hierarchy and discrimination.
Because she had been an outer disciple, and a five-spiritual-root one at that, she was considered inferior. It was natural for everyone to order her around because she was at the very bottom of the oppressed.
After Fang Rui left, Xiao Yuan no longer hid the fact that she had overheard their conversation. She kindly advised, "Jun Shi, it's not as peaceful outside as you think. If you leave the Day Yan Sect..."
The cultivation world always believed in the survival of the fittest, with no regard for age or gender. Furthermore, demons and monsters ran rampant outside. How could a mere mortal like her survive?
The words she was about to say suddenly seemed to catch in her throat, and she bit her lip, lowering her head.
Since she had gone to the upper peaks, no matter how hard or tiring it was, and no matter how much she wanted to find someone to pour out her troubles to, she had never contacted Gu Junshi again.
Because... she felt guilty.
After the competition arena, she had taken a long time to recover. Later, she repeatedly recalled that voice and panicked, thinking it sounded somewhat similar to Gu Junshi...
Was it her?
She dared not confirm, because she could no longer turn back.
She had never intended to enter the inner sect, but once this free opportunity presented itself, she felt as if she had been possessed, unable to resist reaching out to grasp it firmly.
"Jun Shi... I'm sorry, did you save me that day at the competition arena?" she finally mustered the courage to ask.
Gu Junshi countered, "Does that still matter?"
Xiao Yuan was shocked. How foolish she was!
Staring blankly at her, tears streamed uncontrollably down Xiao Yuan's face. "I, I..."
This young girl before her still possessed the innocence, beauty, kindness, and sincerity befitting her age, along with the timidity and escapism left by her environment.
She didn't admire her, but she didn't dislike her either, just...
"Don't get too close to me, and don't mention me to anyone."
Xiao Yuan looked into Gu Junshi's indifferent eyes, like still water, and a chill suddenly swept through her heart.
She gave a light smile. "And don't ruin my plans."
—
After returning to Wumei Mountain, Fang Rui, with a smile of relief, excitedly took the recollection stone to the cave dwelling where Liu Jiang Fusheng was in seclusion.
Since he was in seclusion, she couldn't see him, but she could send the edited recollection stone through the "teleportation array" to him inside the cave dwelling. She did these things because she wanted him to see clearly what kind of person Gu Yi was. She was simply not worth his genuine affection.
"Are you really going to give him up for twenty high-grade spirit stones?"
"We have a deal."
The recollection stone clearly projected the scenes that had occurred onto the stone wall. Liu Jiang Fusheng stared blankly at Gu Junshi's indifferent profile, listening to her cold and heartless words.
His grip on the stone lost control, and the recollection stone was instantly crushed into powder.
"We, have, a, deal?"
He touched his face, and a shattered, bell-like laugh spilled from between his fingers. A vast shadow overlapped on the ground where it had collapsed, and a suffocating atmosphere filled the air.
"What a pity... you can't leave at all."
—
Gu Junshi had not expected that after her new alias had fully drawn the hatred of Jiubei, she would lose her laborer status.
Her little husband was going into a three-year death seclusion. She had originally come to guard him. Since she couldn't see him, she also planned to enter seclusion in the forbidden area for three years.
She changed out of her laborer's uniform and put on the plain cloth and hairpin skirt she had worn when she first arrived at the Day Yan Sect. No one knew she was leaving, so she quietly departed the laborer's area and walked along a secluded forest path. A figure followed her step by step.
She stopped, turned around, and saw Tan Ya smiling.
"Gu Yi."
He called her gently, just two simple words, but they lingered on his lips.
In reciprocity, Gu Junshi, with a blank expression, said, "Tan Ya."
After they each called out the other's name, there was silence.
A gust of wind blew fallen leaves past them.
The smile on Tan Ya's face almost faltered.
This reaction was not right.
His smiling, curved eyes flashed with surprise.
He realized that this woman... no, this lady before him seemed completely unfeeling.