ryethenovel Chapter 434: Gu
Chapter 434: Gu
Kyrian remained silent for a few seconds.
The taste of the tea still lingered in his mouth, gentle, slightly sweet, with a herbal note he couldn’t identify.
The Qi contained within it continued to circulate slowly through his meridians, warming his body in a comforting manner, like a stream of warm water on a cold day.
He felt the two cores respond subtly to the tea’s energy. It wasn’t a strong reaction, but it was real. The liquid was somehow nourishing his meridians in a way that few pills could achieve.
Then, finally, he answered.
"Extraordinary."
The man sitting across from him remained still for an instant.
Then... he smiled.
It wasn’t the lazy or indifferent smile he had displayed until then, that casual smile of someone who didn’t care about anything.
It was a genuine smile. Small. Sincere.
As though he had heard exactly the answer he had been hoping for.
"Many people would call that frightening," the man said as he poured more tea into his own cup, the pale green liquid flowing from the teapot in a continuous stream, almost hypnotic.
"Many others would call it wicked."
"Some would call it demonic."
His fingers wrapped around the warmed porcelain, the white of the cup contrasting with the slightly tanned skin of his hands.
"But extraordinary..." He raised his gaze toward Kyrian.
"It has been a very long time since I heard someone use that word."
Kyrian held his own cup, warmth spreading through his fingers.
"It is frightening as well. A needle that no one can even see or feel. But it is still extraordinary."
The man let out a soft chuckle, a low sound, nearly inaudible, yet genuine.
"Honest."
Silence filled the small house for a few seconds.
The candles on the shelves flickered, casting dancing shadows upon the wooden walls. Outside, the wind blew gently, carrying the scent of herbs from the garden, mint, rosemary, and something sweeter that Kyrian couldn’t identify.
Then, Kyrian asked the question that had occupied his thoughts ever since they had left the Alchemists Association.
"What was that? The insect."
The man’s smile diminished slightly.
He placed the teacup upon the low table between them, the soft click of porcelain against wood echoing through the silence.
"A Gu."
Kyrian’s eyes narrowed.
"Gu?"
The man nodded, a slow, deliberate movement.
"In the Eastern Territory, there are cultivators who follow paths different from those seen in the central regions and the other territories."
"Some raise beasts, nourishing them with Qi, training them from birth, fusing their essences with those of the beasts."
"Others refine corpses, transforming bodies into weapons, using them as puppets, prolonging their existence beyond death."
"Some form contracts with spirits, beings born from nature, from pure Qi, from the will of the world."
"And then there are those who cultivate Gu."
Kyrian listened attentively to every word, every pause, every inflection.
"Gu are special insects. They are refined. Created."
"Fed with Qi, poisons, spiritual herbs, and even blood."
"Over time, generation after generation, selection after selection, they become extremely peculiar creatures."
The man raised a finger, the gesture instructional, almost teacher-like.
"Some Gu can kill thousands, their toxins spreading like wildfire, consuming everything in their path."
"Some control minds, turning their victims into puppets."
"Some corrode bones, dissolving the body’s structure from within while leaving the skin intact."
"Some destroy meridians, making cultivation impossible, severing the cultivator’s connection with Qi."
"Some cannot even be detected through spiritual senses."
He paused, allowing the words to settle.
"The man outside the Alchemists Association had been infected by a Poison Gu known as the Hundred Pains Gu."
Kyrian frowned.
"Infected?"
"Yes."
"The Gu had entered his body some time ago. Probably days. Perhaps weeks."
"It is difficult to know exactly. It depends on the quality of the Gu, the victim’s cultivation, and many other variables."
"When it had grown enough, and fully awakened, it began releasing toxins directly into the meridians."
"It wasn’t ordinary pain."
"It was as though thousands of needles were piercing every part of the body simultaneously."
Kyrian remembered the man’s screams. The desperation.
The wounds he had inflicted upon himself while trying to relieve that pain, deep scratches, fingernail marks, blood.
"And no one was able to notice?" Kyrian asked.
The man shook his head, a slow, thoughtful gesture.
"Because they were looking for illnesses. Or poisons. Or Qi deviations."
"They weren’t looking for a Gu."
He took another sip of tea, the pale green liquid gleaming beneath the candlelight.
"And even if they had been looking... few would have been capable of seeing it."
Kyrian became thoughtful.
’Gu.’
’Refined insects.’
’Creatures capable of things that no ordinary spiritual beast could accomplish.’
And the man before him... could see them. Could remove them. With a needle.
Then, he asked,
"And the needle?"
The man fell silent.
Not the silence of someone who didn’t know what to say, but the silence of someone choosing his words.
His eyes rested upon Kyrian. For a long moment.
"You are very interested in this."
Kyrian did not avert his gaze.
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because I want to understand."
"Understand what?"
Kyrian thought for a few seconds, organizing his thoughts, choosing his words carefully.
"The way you used it. You killed the tree. Then, you saved the tree."
"You made a man suffer, a horrible pain, seemingly without reason."
"Then you helped him break through."
"You healed someone whom no one else could help."
"It’s like..." He hesitated.
"Like they are completely opposite techniques."
The man remained silent. Internally, his thoughts grew more complex.
’Interesting.’
’Very interesting.’
He had lived for many years.
He had known geniuses, young prodigies capable of learning in months what others required decades to master.
Assassins, cold, calculating, efficient. Physicians, dedicated, careful, kind.
Talented cultivators with special physiques, ancient bloodlines, destinies already written.
But none of them had reacted in this way. Many feared him, especially after learning of his reputation.
’This is dangerous.’
’This is wrong.’
Others felt disgust.
’This is demonic.’
Some desired the power.
With this, I could dominate. With this, I could take revenge. With this, I could become feared.
But Kyrian merely wished to understand.
His gaze returned to the young man’s eyes. Those mysterious eyes. Eyes that even his own special vision could not fully perceive.
Eyes that had injured him simply for trying to look deeper.
’I don’t have much time left.’
The thought emerged naturally. Without sadness. Without regret. Merely as a fact.
His body was reaching its limit. He understood better than anyone the condition he was in.
He was old, very old. His lifespan was nearing its end. And he had failed to break through to the next realm.
’Perhaps two years. Perhaps less. Perhaps only a few months.’
It was difficult to say. And then... shortly before the end...
He had encountered someone like this.
Young. Calm. Intelligent. Possessing special eyes like his own. Eyes capable of seeing his needles, objects that no ordinary cultivator could perceive.
Capable of noticing hidden Gu, insects that escaped the spiritual senses of experts.
Capable of even injuring his own eyes when he had attempted to investigate them too deeply.
’Fate?’