Chapter 141

Chapter 141: She Actually Asked for the Firefly Gu Worm for Lu Shi Qing?

The Old Shaman frowned and looked the two over: “You are her Senior Brothers?” The men before him were disciples of Master Ling Xiao, yet he remembered Shen Sang Ruo clearly saying at the start that she was a disciple of the Ninghua Sect. She handled people and matters far better than Feng He Yun did, not like they had the same Master at all. Also, the “Third Senior Brother” she mentioned had the symptoms of eyes blind and heart blind, which had nothing to do with Lu Shi Qing’s condition. But Feng He Yun could say her name, knew where she was, and spoke so surely that they were her Senior Brothers. The Old Shaman’s ties with Master Ling Xiao went back hundreds of years; he knew nothing about what had happened lately on Thunder-Scale Peak. [Strange. Truly strange.]

“This is not right…” the Old Shaman started to say, but Feng He Yun, noisy as ever, cut him off and blurted with shining eyes: “So it was her, right?!”

He was happy not only because Lu Shi Qing could be saved, but also because Shen Sang Ruo still cared about them. He said with sudden ease: “Thank you, Senior, then do not worry about the Firefly Gu Worm anymore. Shen Sang Ruo will give it to us later. She took it for our Third Junior Brother.”

The Old Shaman grew more certain that the “Third Senior Brother” Shen Sang Ruo spoke of was not Lu Shi Qing. He did not know what had happened between them, but he could guess: Shen Sang Ruo had likely moved to another sect, and Feng He Yun and the others were still spinning in place. He did not remind them; he disliked Feng He Yun. [If there is a joke to watch, why not watch it?]

Feng He Yun missed the scorn in his eyes and even said with a hint of pride: “Shen Sang Ruo really is something. She came to ask for medicine for our Third Junior Brother and did not even tell us, almost making me think he could not be saved.” Then he asked, cheerful again: “Senior, do you know where she is now?”

“She left Wuqing Stockade a few days ago,” the Old Shaman said lightly.

Feng He Yun nodded at once: “Then she must be hurrying back to the Flying Cloud Sect to meet us and hand over the Firefly Gu Worm.”

He cupped his hands and spoke more politely than before: “Please, Senior, treat our Third Junior Brother first with the Gu insects you have now. We will pick up the missing Firefly Gu Worm after we return to the Flying Cloud Sect and finish the treatment then.”

“That will do,” the Old Shaman said, eager to send them off. “After you get the Firefly Gu Worm, simply place that Gu insect on him.”

Whether they could get it was their problem, not his.

Next, the Old Shaman placed the Gu insects into Lu Shi Qing one after another. He worked fast, leaving no time to adjust. Inside Lu Shi Qing, the different Gu insects began to fight. The host’s body naturally suffered for it. Even in a coma, the veins in his forehead bulged. His jaw clenched. Sweat beaded and slid down. His palms almost bled from his own grip.

The Old Shaman acted like he did not see it. After all, Feng He Yun had only asked him to keep Lu Shi Qing alive, not to keep him comfortable.

After about half a day, Lu Shi Qing’s face shifted from that eerie purple to a bloodless pale.

“All right,” the Old Shaman said. “The other Gu insects in his body have been removed, and I also cleared the fungal toxin.”

Feng He Yun’s face twitched and he coughed: “Ahem, many thanks for your help, Senior Old Shaman.”

“You may leave the Floating Cloud Tower,” the Old Shaman said, clearly seeing them out.

Because Lu Shi Qing needed time to recover before traveling, Feng He Yun decided they would stay in Wuqing Stockade for now.

Several days later, Lu Shi Qing slowly woke.

Feng He Yun told him the situation at once, speaking with relief: “The Old Shaman let us in after all, and with his treatment, you are only a little short of being fully healed.”

Lu Shi Qing’s face hardly changed. He seemed not to care and did not pick up the conversation.

Feng He Yun had expected this coldness, but he had been holding it in for too long, so he kept talking anyway, lowering his voice like he had a secret: “Guess who took the missing Firefly Gu Worm?”

Lu Shi Qing had no interest. He turned his face away and kept rubbing the Seven Emotions Gu in his hand, lost in thought.

Not expecting him to play along, Feng He Yun answered himself with a grin: “Shen Sang Ruo took it. That is the surprise I told you about.”

At that name, Lu Shi Qing snapped his head around. He stared at Feng He Yun with a hard, stubborn look that was almost crazed.

The look startled Feng He Yun. It was so fierce he thought Lu Shi Qing must be angry at Shen Sang Ruo. He waved a hand and scolded lightly: “Why are you looking at me like that? Even if you do not like Shen Sang Ruo, this is going too far.”

He had no idea that their feelings were the exact opposite of what he imagined. Now, Shen Sang Ruo loathed Lu Shi Qing, and Lu Shi Qing cared about Shen Sang Ruo almost to the point of madness.

Feng He Yun went on, trying to persuade him: “She went to the Old Shaman on purpose to say she wanted to save her Third Senior Brother, then she begged for the Firefly Gu Worm. Even though she left Thunder-Scale Peak and the Flying Cloud Sect, our bond still matters. She must still care about us. Even if you do not like her, you should not throw away her good will.”

[Shen Sang Ruo: haha, you are overthinking.] In truth, her visit to the Old Shaman had nothing to do with them.

Lu Shi Qing’s eyes trembled, and his fingers tightened. [Third Senior Brother? Does she still call me that? But did she not ignore the Seven Emotions Gu? If she felt nothing, how could she care about me like Feng He Yun says?]

He seized Feng He Yun’s sleeve like a drowning man clutching a straw and asked hoarsely: “Is that true?”

Feng He Yun answered at once: “How could it be false? The Old Shaman said it himself. If you do not believe me, come back to the Flying Cloud Sect with me. Maybe Shen Sang Ruo is already there with the Firefly Gu Worm. When you see her, do not snap at her again. Listen to me, this is her giving us a way to make peace. She has been stubborn these days and might feel awkward, so she is using this Firefly Gu Worm to reconcile and return to Thunder-Scale Peak, to us.”

But Lu Shi Qing heard almost none of it. His head was full of one thought: Shen Sang Ruo wanted to save him and had gone to ask for the Firefly Gu Worm. [Did she not say she had no feelings for us? Then why do this?] Anger and joy tangled in his eyes, and there was a fragile softness, like armor cracking.

He moved his lips and breathed out two soft words: “Liar.”