Feng Yun’ai was struck with alarm. She didn’t know what madness had gripped the woman now. While it was true she was heading to Cloud City, she had no intention of participating in the Hero Recruitment Meet.
If she stepped onto that stage, she would inevitably expose everything. The instructions Feng Rong had left behind would be rendered meaningless.
Feng Yun’ai frowned. “If you want to draw Wen Lanxin out, you can take the stage yourself. Why force me to show my face?”
“In that case, I’ll simply take Solitary Gall and leave.” Sang Chencao gripped a corner of the white sleeve, her hold tight. Her crescent-shaped eyes were so close they nearly brushed against Feng Yun’ai’s cheek.
At such proximity, the mole beneath her eye was impossible to miss.
Feng Yun’ai leaned back but couldn’t distance herself. Only now did she see it clearly—the woman’s mole wasn’t black. It was a blue so deep it verged on black, looking eerie and bizarre.
Blue? It looks like she’s been deeply poisoned.
Yet Sang Chencao was an expert in medicine and toxins. How could she allow herself to be poisoned? Unless…
Wen Lanxin had done it to her.
The thought flashed through Feng Yun’ai’s mind. It seemed highly likely; otherwise, why would Sang Chencao harbor such resentment toward Wen Lanxin?
“Well?” Sang Chencao’s expression cooled for less than a breath before her smile returned. “You have no choice. With the gu inside you, you can only listen to me and trust me.”
“It’s not as if I’m trying to hurt you. How could the gu control me?” Feng Yun’ai scoffed coldly. She realized only after the words left her mouth that, at some point, she had begun to mirror the other woman’s temperament.
She pursed her lips and fell silent, forcefully prying the woman’s hand from her sleeve.
Sang Chencao spoke leisurely, “Fine. If you’re unwilling, so be it. To me, it’s just one less bit of fun.”
Having put some distance between them, the two wove through Zhuyu Town. Using the jagged layout of the houses, they successfully shook off the shadows trailing them.
However, even then, they had to hide their tracks carefully.
Sang Chencao didn’t dare laugh out loud. Instead, she leaned in and whispered into Feng Yun’ai’s ear, “The connection between two gu is difficult to explain quickly. I’ll just tell you this: the rule that a subordinate gu cannot harm the mother gu is actually the most basic, inferior level of control.”
Feng Yun’ai’s pupils constricted. In that blink of an eye, something within her extraordinary meridians seemed to surge under constraint.
Was that the gu I’ve been searching for so desperately without finding a trace?
“You—” Feng Yun’ai’s face turned deathly pale. It seemed the indigo-clothed woman’s methods were far more formidable than she had imagined.
The indigo-clothed woman shushed her softly, sounding delighted. “Listen to me and obey me. I won’t make you walk through fire or over mountains of blades.”
Feng Yun’ai wanted to draw her sword immediately.
Sang Chencao reached out. “Give me the bug whistle again.”
“For what?” Feng Yun’ai was highly resistant, wanting no further contact with this woman.
Sang Chencao crooked a finger and grabbed the white-clothed woman’s sleeve again, leaping onto a temple roof. She leaned in and asked, “Will you give it or not?”
Ever since the woman suggested she enter the Hero Recruitment Meet, Feng Yun’ai felt that any scheme this person hatched was likely to her detriment.
Being dragged by her sleeve, she was forced to stand atop the temple roof. The sudden, thick scent of incense smoke made her even more uncomfortable.
She couldn’t bring herself to show such blatant disrespect to a place of worship and wanted to leave the roof immediately.
However, Sang Chencao held her tight. Unless she tore her own sleeve, she couldn’t move an inch.
Sang Chencao looked utterly composed, her grip only tightening. “Hand it over, or don’t think about escaping.”
Feng Yun’ai gripped Solitary Gall, still undecided, when her left arm suddenly felt as if it were wrapped in a silk thread. It was hoisted up against her will.
For a moment, it felt as if ants were crawling inside her left arm. She tried to pull back, but a more powerful force blocked her.
The tendons in her hand pulled taut, heavy and rigid like a stone grindstone. Her limb no longer obeyed her commands.
Feng Yun’ai’s eyes went wide with shock. “What is this?”
“This is the true way to use a gu.” Sang Chencao beckoned unhurriedly. “Look closely, Little Ai. You’re quite lucky to witness this.”
Feng Yun’ai used her right arm to forcefully pin down her left hand, but to her horror, her sword-wielding hand also lost control. It began to move outward, inch by inch.
Sang Chencao deftly pulled down Feng Yun’ai’s eye veil, enjoying the terror in the other’s eyes.
The way those grey eyes looked slightly dazed was so fragile and endearing. They were truly beautiful.
“Give it to me,” Sang Chencao said airily.
Feng Yun’ai lost all resistance. She watched helplessly as her own hand removed the bug whistle from the scabbard. With stiff, wooden movements, she placed it into the other woman’s palm.
Once Sang Chencao had the whistle, she blew a low note.
Previously, the whistles the indigo-clothed woman blew had been piercingly sharp. They had never been this muffled.
Feng Yun’ai had assumed the whistle could only produce shrieks, which was why she had been so resistant.
The enemies were currently tracking them by sound. If a sharp shriek rang out, they would expose their location.
To her surprise, the whistle was so low it sounded like a clay jar vibrating slightly—a muffled sound that felt as if it echoed in one’s bones.
As soon as the note sounded, rustling noises erupted from all directions. Insects and snakes crawled over the ground, birds took flight, and even the chickens and dogs that were already barking began to howl and squawk like they had gone mad.
The air was filled with chaotic sounds. Most of the townspeople were jolted awake. Many stepped out of their houses to investigate.
With the din of animals and the growing clamor of people, the movements of the two women were easily swallowed by the noise.
Feng Yun’ai was stunned once more. So, this whistle couldn’t just influence crawling insects; it could provoke all birds and beasts. Her heart tightened as she asked coldly, “What else are you hiding?”
Sang Chencao didn’t return the whistle. Instead, she tucked it into her belt and reached out to pull Feng Yun’ai’s eye veil back into place. “Not much,” she said slowly. “You know almost everything now.”
