Xiao Yuan started wondering whether he acknowledged his brother too hastily. But he also knew that this was undoubtedly the most correct choice for Xiao Du. If he didn’t not do something in his own interests, the heavens and the earth would be destroyed. Being able to trade the remnant soul of an insignificant person for his brother’s remnant soul and the chance to get Qingyan – it would be surprising if Xiao Du didn’t do so.
Xiao Yuan held back from cursing and asked, “If the soul-attracting lamp can’t control Gu Louyin’s remnant soul, how did you do it?”
Xiao Du whispered: “If I couldn’t even deal with a mere remnant soul, how would I be able to protect you? The best way now is to let Gu Louyin pretend to be defeated and escape, leaving the remnant soul to get married with Lu Yueyao. After we get Qingyan, it won’t be too late for him to return it to his body.”
Xiao Yuan didn’t even have to think about it and said, “I’m afraid Gu Louyin won’t agree.”
Xiao Du argued, “It’s hopelessly stupid not to take shortcuts if they are available.”
Xiao Yuan said in a perfunctorily way, “You’re the smart one, you’re not stupid.” Seeing more and more remnant souls rushing to the centre of the city like a tide, Xiao Yuan knew that it was useless to be anxious. He had to calm down and think about countermeasures. “Since these souls are controlled by the soul-attracting lamps, is it possible to restore them to normal by destroying all the soul-attracting lamps?”
Xiao Du said, “Instead of destroying them, it’s better to use them.”
Xiao Yuan understood what Xiao Du meant but he didn’t agree. “Most of the souls in the city are taken from major sects and ordinary people. We can’t risk their souls for us… right?”
Xiao Du looked at Xiao Yuan with a complicated expression, “Ah Yu is right.”
Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows and said, “Do you really think I am right?”
“No,” Xiao Du said with a subtle smile, “I just said it to please you. In fact, I think Ah Yu is being stupid.”
“Oh, I know.” Xiao Yuan not wanting to take advantage of other people’s souls wasn’t him being kind. Xiao Du was arrogant and prideful, disdained the company of people outside Xingtian Sect and wanted to slaughter Yunjian Pavilion with his own strength. He was different. He had been thinking about separating Xuanle Sect and Baihua Palace from Yunjian Pavilion and it would be best to pull them into his camp. But for various reasons, he didn’t want to act ruthlessly. Now that Yunjian Pavilion had taken away the souls of so many people with none of the significant sects spared; even the young master of Xuanle Sect can’t escape their clutches. Once this matter was known to the world, who would regard Yunjian Pavilion as the number one sect in the world? If they snatched Qingyan away while Yunjian Pavilion was at a critical juncture and at the butt of public criticisms, they would get twice the result with half the effort. In order to achieve its goal, not only does Xingtian Sect not have to do nasty things like Yunjian Pavilion, but they also could return the souls to the people of other sects.
Yet just as Xiao Du had agreed with him against his better judgment, Xiao Yuan was not prepared to tell Xiao Du what was in his mind. Anyway, even if he said that, Xiao Du likely would say “Ah Yu is so smart” on the surface but be dismissive in his heart. Their brotherhood had just been established and was relatively fragile. It was better to maintain superficial peace first.
Xiao Du said: “I have been wandering in the city for a long time and I have not found Qingyan. Lu Yueyao and Gu Louyin’s happy day is the only chance to see Qingyan. If it is messed up, it will take a lot of effort to find Qingyan again.”
Xiao Yuan thought for a while and asked, “What kind of person do you think Lu Yueyao is?”
Xiao Du said coldly: “Impatient, irritable, foolish, as dumb as a pig.”
On this matter he and Xiao Yuan had reached a consensus. “Lu Yueyao is stupid, but Gu Hang is not stupid. Why would he choose her as the city lord?”
Xiao Du said: “First, this kind of fool is very easy to control, so there is no need to worry about her dissent; second, Lu Yueyao has three spiritual souls and six physical souls intact but her body, like everyone else’s in the city, is forged from resentment, not flesh and blood. When Lu Yueyao was poisoned with withered bones and brought back to Yunjian Pavilion, Lin Wulian only gave her blood for three days and after that she was left to fend for herself. Before she died, Gu Hang claimed that there was an opportunity for her to “live” and asked her if she would like to try. Lu Yueyao couldn’t be happier. As a result, Gu Hang copied Lu Yueyao with the ancient mirror, and after her death used forbidden techniques to forcibly pour her souls into the duplicated body, so Lu Yueyao was able to “resurrect”.”
Xiao Yuan sighed: “Is that even possible?! If Gu Hang has this kind of skill, won’t he be able to live forever?”
Xiao Du sneered and said, “If you cheat life and death, you will be condemned by heaven and earth. After that, Lu Yueyao would definitely not be able to preserve even a trace of her soul and would not be able to reincarnate. She can’t live out die. She should know how stupid she is.”
“It’s a pity that the wrath of heaven has not yet arrived, so we must take care of it ourselves first. I do think that to deal with a simple-minded person like Lu Yueyao, making her happy is one way, for example, letting her marry her shixiong whom she has unrequited love for years.” Xiao Yuan emphasized the words “unrequited love”. “But making her angry may achieve the same effect.”
Xiao Du raised his eyes, “Ah Yu has a good strategy, and this venerable is all ears.”
Xiao Yuan thought about it again and said, “Let Meng Chi solve the matter of the soul-attracting lamps. At the same time, we…”
In the center of Soul City, at the end of the long street there was a high mansion. All the soul-attracting lamps in the city were on, but the lanterns here were dark. Thousands of souls surrounded the house, standing motionless at the doors, waiting for the owner to give orders.
On the first night of getting married, the bride had to stay up half the night to dress up. Lu Yueyao was wearing a scarlet wedding dress embroidered with auspicious clouds, dragons and phoenixes and a phoenix crown on her head. There was a touch of acacia red dotted on her forehead but her delicate make-up could not hide her anger. She looked at the silver-haired sword cultivator in the courtyard and her face twisted: “How did you find this place?!”
Gu Louyin said the name: “Lin Wulian.”
“Lin Shixiong?!” Lu Yueyao lowered her head and bit her lip, “Why would he tell you… he knew I was going to marry you? He wants to stop us from being together…”
Gu Louyin frowned: “No one wants to marry you.”
Lu Yueyao raised her head abruptly as if she had been stimulated by something. The sword cultivator in front of her was standing in the middle of the night, holding a long sword, with silver hair and white clothes, as bright as the moon, not stained with the dust of the mortal world. Anyone standing next to him would feel inferior and ashamed of himself. Since she joined Yunjian Pavilion when she was young and saw him for the first time, she couldn’t bear to look at other men. It was not that she wasn’t self-aware. She knew she was not worthy of Gu Louyin, so she never had any thoughts. But when the one who was worthy of him came along, she couldn’t sit still.
“Can’t I just have a ray of your soul!” Lu Yueyao said hysterically, “You have three spiritual souls and six physical souls, what’s wrong with me taking one! I like you so much and admire you so much, I never thought of having all of you…”
Gu Louyin looked indifferent: “Where is the earth soul?”
Lu Yueyao showed a cold smile: “My shixiong’s earth soul is lying on our wedding bed, waiting to share the wedding festivities with me.”
Gu Louyin glanced at the house covered in red silk behind Lu Yueyao and walked forward.
“Stop!” Lu Yueyao said sharply, “If you take another step forward, the two soul-attracting lamps at the door will be lit. Shixiong, no matter how powerful you are, you can’t fight ten thousand enemies alone. I advise you…”
Gu Louyin slowly raised his sword, “I’ll give it a try.”
A flash of panic distorted Lu Yueyao’s face; she managed to calm down with some effort and said, “Do you know whose souls are there? Yunjian Pavilion, Baihua Palace, Xuanle Sect… many of them are old acquaintances of yours. They have no grievances with you but you will destroy their souls. Are you not afraid that they will come to you to settle accounts in the future?!”
Saying that, Lu Yueyao secretly looked forward to Gu Louyin’s reaction. She knew that a gentleman like Gu Louyin would not kill innocent people indiscriminately. The souls in this city were not only her pawns, but also her hostages.
Gu Louyin closed his eyes and said nothing. Lu Yueyao got elated: “I knew it…” Before she finished speaking, her eyes widened suddenly.
The chill rose all of a sudden, wind and frost bitter and stern, and the earth was quickly covered with a layer of frost.The souls closest to the door could not bear the biting cold and froze into ice sculptures and then their bodies shattered into ice crystals, merging with the ground.
Lu Yueyao was shocked, “How could… how could you dare!”
Was it still her shixiong?! Was it still Gu Louyin of jade and orchids, bright as the moon?
Gu Louyin said, “I want to get my soul back as soon as possible. I can’t let him wait for me.”
“Him? Who are you talking about!”
Gu Louyin said calmly: “For him, what is destroying a city of souls?”
Lu Yueyao shook her head in disbelief, “You are crazy… you are really bewitched! Yes, it’s Xiao Yuan – he made you like this!”
“No,” Gu Louyin said, “it was you guys.”
“Good, good,” Lu Yueyao was already a bit crazy, “I’d like to see if you’d really slaughter the city for him – soul-attracting lamps, burn!”
Gu Louyin didn’t move. He was ready and just wanted a quick battle.
At this critical moment, there was a mocking voice: “I seemed to hear someone call my name?”
Gu Louyin suddenly raised his eyes, only to see two figures, one in crimson and the other in frost white, standing on the roof. One was handsome and romantic, and the other was brilliant. The two standing together had a few subtle similarities in their demeanour, worthy of being called brothers.
“Xiao – Yu – An,” Lu Yueyao’s eyes seemed to exude poison, “It really is you! Xiao Du, why are you with him? Do you still want to see Qingyan?!”
Xiao Du said casually: “I want to.”
“Then you should know that unless you guarantee that Gu Louyin and I marry, you will never see Qingyan in your life.”
“I want Qingyan, it’s true,” Xiao Du smiled and looked at the man beside him, “but I can’t bear to make my baby unhappy.”
Xiao Yuan frowned, hesitating whether to roll his eyes in protest.
Hearing these words, Gu Louyin paused; Xiao Du did not seem as pleasing to his eyes as he had been a moment ago.
No matter how stupid Lu Yueyao was, she understood what was going on and trembled with anger: “You are in cahoots… you, you all have to die! Especially you, Xiao Yuan, you drove him insane and his character changed so much. Even now, you are still pestering him-”
“What’s wrong with me pestering him, he is happy to be pestered by me.” Xiao Yuan looked at Gu Louyin with a smile, “Are you happy?”
Gu Louyin said, “En.”
Lu Yueyao was already extremely angry: “B*tch!”
As soon as Lu Yueyao said that, two murderous auras attacked her at the same time. Xiao Du and Gu Louyin didn’t move, but she didn’t have time to dodge and was thrown away violently.