Gu Junshi smoothly continued, "Don't touch the ground with the Flood Dragon's blood."
Liu Jiang Fusheng nodded, half-believing.
...She felt as though what she was about to say wasn't quite this.
Hearing the female corpse's reminder, Ziying quickly gathered the little white mouse in her hands towards her chest. She carefully tiptoed, trying her best not to touch the dragon's blood raining down on the ground.
"Thank you for saving us just now, and also that..." Ziying cautiously glanced at the Human Emperor still suspended in mid-air, shivered, and lowered her voice to ask, "Why has it stopped moving?"
Because he was absorbing the death qi she had intentionally leaked. It was akin to a starving person feasting, and he could hold out for a while longer.
"The passage is right behind here. After passing through, there's a secret chamber inside..." She paused, then said calmly, "Place the inner core of the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Flood Dragon in the center of the formation, and you can activate the teleportation array to leave Laishan Ravine."
"Really?" Ziying was ecstatic.
Gu Junshi nodded. Her gaze fell upon Ziying's chest, and she politely extended her only usable hand, asking, "Can you give me the treasure-seeking mouse?"
The topic shifted abruptly, and Ziying sighed, not immediately grasping the change.
Following the other's gaze, her mind whirled. Instead of answering whether to give it or not, she asked in surprise, "This is a treasure-seeking mouse?"
As she looked up, her eyes met the other's deep, abyssal gaze.
What was within it?
A chill ran down her spine, and she hastily, clumsily averted her eyes, belatedly realizing her palms were slick with cold sweat.
At that moment, the little white mouse squeaked, leaped from Ziying's embrace, and burrowed onto Gu Junshi.
It nudged her chin affectionately, but Gu Junshi coolly pushed it away.
Gu Junshi returned the treasure-seeking mouse to Liu Jiang Fusheng and explained, "This is a treasure-seeking mouse, not a demonic beast, but a precious beast. If you don't understand what a precious beast is, go back and find out."
Liu Jiang Fusheng took it, and then suddenly said, "It seems different from before."
Gu Junshi assumed he was referring to the treasure-seeking mouse's slightly listless state. "It's been confined for a long time, becoming a bit reclusive. It only perks up when it senses spiritual treasures nearby. Take good care of it on normal days."
Is that so?
Liu Jiang Fusheng stared silently at the treasure-seeking mouse.
Only when sensing spiritual treasures?
But he remembered when he had taken it away, its gaze towards him hadn't been this unfamiliar and dull.
"Don't give it away casually."
She cautioned.
Liu Jiang Fusheng paused, then a smile bloomed on his face, rippling with deep, unfathomable waves, "How did you know I was going to give it to someone else?"
Gu Junshi replied impassively, "There might be only one like it in this world. I'm just reminding you."
"Then why do you care about me so much?" Liu Jiang Fusheng gazed at her.
Ziying, who was watching from the side, looked at Liu Jiang Fusheng as if she had seen a ghost, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Why did he seem to have such a peculiar attitude towards this female corpse? Although she had saved them, she was an evil entity, destined to be of a different kind. It was best to part ways and forget each other.
The surrounding dragon's blood evaporated. Affected by the blood qi, the Human Emperor's suppressed ferocity once again controlled his mind. The pupils of his black eyes, devoid of whites, flashed with a streak of crimson, and in an instant, he appeared behind Liu Jiang Fusheng. His bone blade bent like a spider's limb, stabbing towards him.
Gu Junshi inhaled, pulling him away, and turning, pushed.
"Go!"
Gu Junshi pushed Liu Jiang Fusheng to Ziying's side. Without the obstruction of the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Flood Dragon, they successfully reached the entrance of the relief platform.
If the Human Emperor had retained his reason, he might not have been a bloodthirsty person. However, he had been controlled by ferocity and blood qi before he could awaken, leaving only his sinister instincts.
He desired to devour living souls, but this female corpse seemed to be of the same kind as him, so he was not interested. His target naturally remained Liu Jiang Fusheng, who was like Tang Monk's flesh.
Gu Junshi activated the passage, released a light bowl formation to trap the Human Emperor within, and then waved her hand. A gust of wind swept the two of them into the air, uncontrollably pushed forward by the wind.
Liu Jiang Fusheng stabilized himself at the entrance of the passage and looked up at the female corpse, now some distance away, asking urgently, "Aren't you coming?"
The Human Emperor was still here. She couldn't abandon him.
She said, "I am a zombie left behind by the Du Sheng Taoist, born to prevent his revival. I have a mission and cannot leave."
She wasn't lying. This female corpse's duty was to guard and protect the formation.
This was also an answer to Liu Jiang Fusheng's earlier question.
Who are you.
The passage began to close. Liu Jiang Fusheng looked at her, his eyes flickering with an uncertain light. People could be similar; like this female corpse, her posture of standing ramrod straight, never yielding, her gaze that swept over everything with indifference… His voice trembled as he called out, "A'yi—"
Gu Junshi's fingertips twitched. For a long time, she maintained her posture without moving. After a while, her expression remained unchanged.
"Who are you calling?" she asked.
Liu Jiang Fusheng pulled at the corner of his mouth, his eyes rippling like water, his expression complex, his burning intensity extinguished like ash.
Through the stone door, which had closed to only the width of a fist, he asked her, "A'yi, she is my wife. I wasn't being casual. I just wanted to give this treasure-seeking mouse to her, is that alright?"
Gu Junshi fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.
But as the stone door closed, leaving only the narrowest crack, she said.
"As you wish."
*Bang—*
The passage sealed completely.
Behind the dark door, Liu Jiang Fusheng remained motionless, lost in thought.
And Ziying behind him felt as if a stone were lodged in her chest, weighing her down. She sensed a dark aura surging and overwhelming him.
In short, he... he seemed to be getting more and more abnormal.
Outside the door, the Human Emperor broke through her light bowl formation. His bony fingers seized her throat, slamming her against the wall.
As a female corpse, Gu Junshi felt no pain, only a strong impact.
The red in his eyes deepened. Gu Junshi stared at him and uttered three icy words: "Nan, Weng, Miao."
These three words, like a curse, tightened around his head. He faltered.
He was truly devoted.
Even at a moment like this, he remembered the name of the woman he deeply loved.
But this was for the best. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known what means to use to stop him.
Gu Junshi said to the Human Emperor, "Cultivating with soul will eventually backfire. Will you walk the same old path in this life?"
Gu Junshi approached him. His ghastly pale zombie face reflected in the Human Emperor's eyes. He opened his mouth and uttered his first words since waking: "...A, Miao."
Gu Junshi frowned.
The next moment, she smiled.
A very interesting, teasing smile.
In her previous life, he had saved her and made her.
In this life, she would repay what was owed.
"A'Miao..."
He looked at her foolishly, murmuring softly.
She clasped his skeletal hand, and the black death qi flowing from it enveloped him...
The next instant, Gu Junshi directly threw him into her spiritual consciousness space to keep Gu Er company while he cultivated.