Chapter 662 - 281: Obtained
Chapter 662: Chapter 281: Obtained
Hearing Fang Shuwen’s words, Shui Tianxin and Hong Yingqing—who had been carried all the way here—both experienced a slight quickening of their breath.
Luo Shuqing, on the other hand, remained completely calm.
There was simply no need for excitement; even if they found the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror, it would belong to Fang Shuwen. It was still unknown how he would handle the item, making it far too early to get worked up.
"Should we... place the items on it?" Hong Yingqing finally couldn’t help but ask.
Although she knew she had no real right to speak here, Fang Shuwen had treated her as nothing more than cannon fodder to trigger traps throughout this journey. Whenever there was even a slight uncertainty, he would send her in first. Fortunately, her Martial Arts skills were decent enough to let her survive until now. But at this crucial moment, seeing Fang Shuwen standing completely still, she couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.
Fang Shuwen glanced at her. Just as he was about to reply, Shui Tianxin suddenly interjected, "Wait."
Retracting his gaze, Fang Shuwen turned his attention to her. "Does Palace Master Shui have any further advice?"
Shui Tianxin took a deep breath, retrieved two small boxes from her sleeve, and handed one to him.
"What is this?" Fang Shuwen looked at the box in his hand with some surprise. There was a living creature inside.
Shui Tianxin spoke softly, "Inside is a Child-Mother Life Sharing Gu. You hold the Mother Gu, and I hold... the Child Gu.
"If we each swallow one of these Gu insects, from this point forward, my life will rest entirely upon your every whim.
"I only hope that Young Master Fang can grant me a little bit of... trust."
While Fang Shuwen remained unfazed by her words, Luo Shuqing and Hong Yingqing couldn’t help but gasp.
"A Child-Mother Life Sharing Gu?" Luo Shuqing looked at Shui Tianxin in disbelief. "You actually brought this out?"
Fang Shuwen asked, "You know of it? Is it that formidable?"
"Of course it is..." Luo Shuqing frowned. "Although the name implies their lives are shared, in reality, if the host of the Child Gu dies, the host of the Mother Gu remains completely unharmed.
"Conversely, if the Mother Gu’s host dies, the Child Gu will immediately claim the life of its host at the exact same moment."
As she spoke, she looked at Shui Tianxin. Even though Luo Shuqing had been privy to the transaction between Fang Shuwen and the older woman the entire time, she had never expected the Palace Master to make such a drastic decision. This wasn’t mere talk; she was literally handing her life over to Fang Shuwen.
Fang Shuwen was also slightly surprised. "Palace Master Shui... you really have given me a difficult problem."
At these words, Shui Tianxin’s heart skipped a beat.
"Preventing him from killing me is a difficult problem?" she thought. "This kid really does plan to beat me to death the moment he finds the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror, doesn’t he?"
In truth, this was assuming the worst of Fang Shuwen. After all, he did have some history with the siblings, Shui Qianliu and Shui Qianrou; for their sake alone, he couldn’t just beat their mother to death for no reason. Now that this Child-Mother Life Sharing Gu had been presented, whether to use it—or how to use it—had become a genuine conundrum.
However, one thing was certain: by bringing this out, Shui Tianxin had earned a certain degree of his trust.
After a moment of thought, he pocketed the box containing the Mother Gu. "There is no rush for this. I have made note of Palace Master Shui’s sincerity.
"Once matters in the East Sea have concluded, I will visit the Celestial Water Palace to find Palace Master Shui, and we can discuss this then."
Shui Tianxin breathed a sigh of relief. With that promise, she at least wouldn’t die today. She immediately nodded. "Then it’s settled."
Watching from the sidelines, Hong Yingqing’s face was ashen.
The Eight Forbidden Areas of the East Sea were inextricably connected. While one couldn’t exactly say they shared every honor and disgrace, their relationships were deeply interwoven. To her, Shui Tianxin’s act of surrendering to the enemy and submitting to another’s command was an absolute betrayal. Yet, at this moment, she dared not lash out and could only stand by and watch quietly.
Fang Shuwen had already taken out the five items he had acquired, aligning them perfectly with the indentations. Soon, all five items were set in place.
The next moment, the grinding noise of turning gears echoed from beneath the stone platform. The mechanism was clearly triggered by the weight. However, the noise grew increasingly loud, as if it were vibrating through the entirety of the Xuanji Grotto Heaven.
"Such a massive commotion?" Fang Shuwen muttered to himself. "The booklet never mentioned this."
The ground suddenly shook violently. Caught off guard, Hong Yingqing failed to keep her balance and cried out as she fell flat on the floor.
Fang Shuwen and the other two, however, remained steadily on their feet.
The tremor did not last long; after a few breaths, everything returned to normal. A gust of wind blew dust from the crevices in the mountain walls, which Fang Shuwen quickly dispersed with a wave of his hand.
Over in the direction of the Central Palace Taiji Position, a door had emerged. It appeared right next to Hong Yingqing.
Her eyes lit up. Disregarding everything else, she scrambled to her feet and shoved against it.
Yet, despite using every ounce of her strength—pushing her Inner Breath to the limit until faint wisps of steam rose from her head—the door stubbornly refused to budge.
"This... how can this be?" Hong Yingqing’s face turned pale.
"How can this be? Because your Martial Arts are too weak, of course..." Luo Shuqing, carrying the Sword Box of Heavy Wood on her back, walked over to her side. "Even if someone told you where the treasure was, you wouldn’t even be able to open the door."
Hong Yingqing was already secretly panicking over her failure to push the door open, terrified that Fang Shuwen might beat her to death for acting out of turn. Her original intention had been to rush in first and seize the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror. As for what she would do after taking it, she hadn’t thought that far ahead yet; she just knew she had to get her hands on it first.