Chapter 132: Heart-to-Heart Talk

Gu Yi had honestly never expected to see a member of the Mo clan shed tears.

"Ahem, ahem..." A sharp pain in his chest made him cough twice, but instead of subsiding, the fit grew more violent. A trace of blood even stained his lips, leaving him looking thoroughly frail and exhausted.

Shu Yu could not bear to watch any longer. She wiped her eyes, turned back, and chided him, "You've just taken your medicine, what are you doing out of bed? Hurry back and lie down."

Gu Yi sighed softly. "There simply aren't that many entertaining things in this world to begin with. You have no idea how agonizing it is for someone like me to be cut off from Wi-Fi, and on top of that, they've locked me up in this place."

"Saying all this to me won't do you any good." Shu Yu extended her palm, channeling a soft, warm spiritual energy that gently lifted Gu Yi's body and settled him back onto the bed. "If you're truly that bored, I suppose we can just talk."

His injuries were evidently quite severe. The battle with Qingfeng had depleted his very last reserves of spiritual energy, making him more susceptible to deeper damage, primarily because his defensive capabilities had been critically low at the time—much like how professional athletes, fatigued from a grueling succession of matches, always tend to get hurt.

Fortunately, Gu Yi had a sturdy constitution, so his life was not in any immediate danger.

"Then let's talk about why you were crying," Gu Yi said, his voice perpetually lacking in vigor. "Normally, I'm the one who talks a lot and you're the quiet one, but in my current state, I really don't have the breath for it. I'd rather just listen to you."

Shu Yu sat upright on the edge of the bed, her gaze lowered. She was probably not particularly adept at handling such conversations, but she did not harbor any strong aversion to talking with Gu Yi. In fact, she had just recently explained her reasons to Gu Baiqi as well.

"Actually... getting to know you this time around has been quite a stroke of luck for me."

"A rare and lovely compliment."

Both of them smiled faintly.

"The Palace Master feels the same way. We both believe you are someone who can truly understand the sufferings of the Mo clan. Though... you're not exactly a paragon of gentlemanly virtue, that kind of understanding is exceptionally rare."

"It is indeed rare," Gu Yi said, feeling slightly flattered and adopting a modest tone. "Though true understanding is exceptionally difficult to achieve. I'm merely able to step into your perspective and parse the logic behind the actions of you and the Palace Master. But until the blade actually cuts into your own flesh, you never truly know how much it hurts."

"At times, I've even felt that you and the Palace Master were being overly sentimental. But thinking back on it now, it's just that I've lived a life of too much ease, never having witnessed the plight of those Mo clan girls once they are subdued... ahem, ahem..."

Gu Yi wiped his mouth and continued, "That day I went to visit the Gu family village, and only then did I truly understand the intentions of the Palace Master and you. The things you want are not many; they are simply different from what everyone else desires. All you want is a peaceful and tranquil life—even if it means being poor. If you can escape the ugliness of human nature, then what is there to be afraid of?"

Shu Yu's lips trembled slightly. With her innermost thoughts so accurately pierced, she found herself momentarily at a loss for words.

"The reason I was crying just now was because I was reminded once again of the fate brought upon me simply by being born into the Mo clan... Never mind. You always see things so clearly anyway. It is your own benevolence that allows you to understand us. However, as the Palace Master said, you don't actually like the Mo clan; you prefer Shule much more, not to mention that girl named Wi-Fi you mentioned earlier."

"What? A girl named Wi-Fi?" Hearing this, Gu Yi burst out laughing, only to trigger another fit of painful coughing.

Shu Yu looked slightly embarrassed and asked, "Stop laughing. Was I wrong? You're the one who said yourself how agonizing it is to be without Wi-Fi."

This only made Gu Yi laugh harder, until he coughed so hard his face turned red. The strain pulled at his wounds, and he had to forcefully check himself.

A girl named Wi-Fi...

She really knew how to carry a conversation.

"Then who is she? You've never mentioned her before. Is she someone particularly important?" Shu Yu asked straight out.

Gu Yi shook his head with a wry smile, looking rather comical. "She is indeed exceptionally important—I've grown so accustomed to her absence for a very long time. However, she's not a girl at all; she's more like some kind of playful magic trick."

"A magic trick? How does one play with it?"

"How it works is a bit complicated to explain. Once I can speak smoothly again, I'll tell you."

"Oh..."

Truth be told, Shu Yu rarely spoke with anyone in this manner. Once the topic reached its end, she simply did not know what else to say, causing Gu Yi to shake his head with a helpless smile.

Goddesses were probably all like this—never knowing how to initiate a topic of conversation on their own.

After a moment's thought, he asked, "Was it something the Palace Master said to you earlier that made you feel so helpless about your Mo clan identity once more, stirring up sorrow in your heart and making you cry?"

"Mm. In that regard, I actually envy Shule a little more."

Gu Yi teased, "Shule actually envies you, you know."

"She envies me?"

"She certainly does. She is the senior-most discipline figure of the Luyang Academy, and she always has to maintain a certain composure, upholding the proper demeanor expected of her status. But at the end of the day, she's still a young woman. Seeing how your skin is like congealed lard and your waist is as slender as a silk ribbon, of course she envies you."

Shu Yu was aware of these things, but she did not share that view. "The ultimate goal of cultivating immortality is to seek the acknowledgment of the heavens and to blend into this world. Outer appearance and physical charm are of no great use; they are merely the desires of our mundane, mortal world, which only serve to disturb one's inner peace."

"I don't think so. Is cultivating immortality supposed to mean eradicating all seven emotions and six desires? To remain as tranquil as still water upon seeing something beautiful, and completely indifferent upon tasting something delicious—feeling neither sorrow nor joy? That would make you a stone. If that is what an immortal is, then I'd rather not be one. Besides, I don't believe that is what true immortality is."

"Then what is an immortal?"

"You're asking me, and I'm even weaker in cultivation than you are." This was spoken in jest, but Gu Yi actually had thoughts of his own on the matter. "In my imagination, I have never felt that immortals are sacred and untouchable. Hundreds of years ago, there were poetry immortals and wine immortals. Surely the wine immortal must have loved fine wine, right? That is nothing less than the desire of the palate. Therefore, immortals shouldn't be all that sacred; that state of being is perhaps still human—just human pushed to the ultimate extreme."

Shu Yu pondered this for a moment, then asked, "Then what about wicked people? Someone like Mochi—how did he ever attain enlightenment?"

"The universe does not distinguish between good and evil. Take spiritual energy, for instance: it is so miraculous, yet it's hard to call it either good or evil. The reason I feel the Mo clan is not quite right..."

"It's fine, go ahead and speak. The Palace Master cannot hear us."

"Alright." Gu Yi wanted to sit up, as lying down was truly uncomfortable. After taking a sip of warm tea, he slowly continued, "Saints walk the earth, while demons and monsters roam the night. Every living creature wants to attain immortality, yet heaven and earth make no distinction between good and evil. Goodness has its own laws, and comprehending them leads to becoming an immortal; evil has its own rules, and comprehending them leads to becoming a demon. To heaven and earth, immortals and demons are entirely the same. Immortals do not bring profit to the heavens, nor do demons cause damage to the heavens.

"For since ancient times, there have been many immortals, and just as many demons, while the heavens have remained unchangingly there. Living beings seek the Dao for their own sake. With goodness in their hearts, they become immortals; with malice in their thoughts, they become demons. Yet in essence, immortals and demons are indistinguishable. Everything stems from within my own heart, but...

"...Most Mo clan people have experienced far too much of the world's sorrow and suffering, and have witnessed far too much of the ugliness and ruthlessness of human nature. Therefore, when I say the Mo clan is not good, it is because I feel that with such a state of mind, the more powerful your cultivation becomes, the closer your ultimate outcome will drift toward that of a demon.

"Of course, I am no morally flawless gentleman, and your circumstances are helpless. It's just that from my perspective, I simply prefer to associate with people who are a bit kinder."

Gu Yi was not saying these things to flirt or to stir up the young woman's feelings.

He was genuinely racking his brains for a way to get himself released.

The message he wanted to convey was: *I understand you very well, but I don't care to get entangled with you. We are friends, and it's best we part ways on good terms.*

"Heaven and earth make no distinction between good and evil, and they simply exist as they are..." Shu Yu murmured thoughtfully. "You truly are a genius at cultivation. No wonder the Palace Master wants to keep you here."

"This..."

Feeling utterly powerless, Gu Yi flopped back down onto the bed. "Is there seriously no way to make her let me go? What if I promise her I'll come back after a while?"

Hearing this, Shu Yu had no idea whether he was joking or just being foolish.

"Over the years, the very few people the Palace Master has ever let out can be counted on one hand. Even the Eighteenth Lord—he is likely no match for the Palace Master, yet he still cannot leave the Great Rain Palace."

Hearing this sparked Gu Yi's curiosity. "Since he can win..."

"Are you talking about forcing the issue?" Shu Yu interrupted, shaking her head. "You cannot force it. The Eighteenth Lord would never strike against the Palace Master."

"Why is that?"

"Out of guilt, perhaps." Seeing his curiosity, Shu Yu generously explained, "These are all things the people in the village told me. Now that you know, you mustn't bring it up in front of the Palace Master."

Gu Yi agreed, "Alright."

There was no need for grand oaths. When they first met, Shu Yu hadn't trusted him much, but now a simple word of agreement was enough.

"It happened a very long time ago. Back then, the Palace Master was actually not in the State of Li, but in the State of Xu. She and the people of the Gu family village were all citizens of Xu. Just like any ordinary Mo clan woman, the Palace Master's appearance began to change once she started practicing cultivation. But if no one tells us that this is the 'mark of the Mo clan,' we ourselves have no way of knowing."

Gu Yi nodded. "The earliest days must have been happy ones, being able to grow more beautiful."

"Mm. The Palace Master was also somewhat fortunate; the master she privately apprenticed herself to was a very good person. During those years of learning her craft, that master never told her about the sufferings of the Mo clan, but instead taught her wholeheartedly, making her wear a veil every single day. The Palace Master didn't understand why at first, until her elderly master fell ill and reached the final moments of her life. On her deathbed, she told the Palace Master everything.

"Thinking back on it now, the old woman meant well, but until the day she died, the Palace Master had no concept of what the Mo clan had to endure, nor did she realize the danger she was in. So she never thought of hiding; she simply packed her belongings and returned to the Gu family village, and everything began to change from that moment onward...

"...At first, it was just rumors. The villagers all said the Palace Master had become as beautiful as a celestial maiden, and the ignorant, simple folks around the village truly treated her as one. But as the rumors spread further, people who knew what the Mo clan was began to arrive, and the intentions of these newcomers were far from pure. At first, evildoers who didn't know the Palace Master's capabilities were mostly rebuffed and driven away, but malicious and insidious villains are truly hard to guard against. The Palace Master was injured and had to flee for her life.

"Ever since then, the Palace Master knew she could no longer stay in the Gu family village. Doing so would not only spell disaster for herself, but would also harm the villagers. Yet with her master dead and the Gu family village barred to her, she found herself homeless. After wandering through the world for a long time, she finally crossed paths with someone on the outskirts of Luyang City—the Eighteenth Lord.

"At that time, the Eighteenth Lord possessed no particular talent; he was merely a young boy yearning for the Luyang Academy. Yet the boy's innocent and persistent demeanor touched the Palace Master, and she went to Luyang to seek out the Luyang Academy."

Gu Yi also recalled how, over a month ago, Madam Ye had once mentioned seeing the Great Rain Palace Master in Luyang when she was a child. *"She must have become the talk of the entire city not long after arriving in Luyang. She must have encountered something terrible there... which is why she ended up slaughtering so many princes of the State of Xu."*

Shu Yu closed her eyes. "It was done by the current Emperor of Xu, who was the crown prince at that time."

"The Emperor of Xu?"

"The Emperor of Xu may be your emperor, but he is a thoroughly despicable villain—hypocritical, shameless, vile, and obsessed with lust. Having heard tales of the Mo clan since childhood, he had kept the thought buried in his heart. Upon hearing that the Palace Master had entered the city, he immediately assumed the false identity of a young master surnamed Yang to approach her. Just imagine: if the crown prince had set his sights on her, who else in Luyang City would dare even cast a glance?"

Gu Yi nodded; that made logical sense.

"So during the earliest days in Luyang, the Palace Master was extremely happy, believing she had found a sanctuary among mortals. She said that apart from that young master surnamed Yang constantly annoying her, everything was fine. The Emperor of Xu probably knew that Mo clan women have rather fierce personalities, so he exercised considerable patience—a patience that lasted for two whole years."

"Two years, and she still didn't fall for him?"

Shu Yu let out a tone of contempt. "How could she have? The Palace Master's state of mind back then was mostly like that of any ordinary girl; of course she had thought of finding someone outstanding in both talent and character. The Emperor of Xu could fake character, but he couldn't fake talent. He didn't have an ounce of comprehension for cultivating immortality, and the Palace Master simply looked down on him. The excuse she used was precisely that: she told him he lacked the aptitude for cultivation."

"And that former crown prince always remembered those words. Later on, when the Eighteenth Lord attained enlightenment on a snowy night, the old emperor bestowed upon him the title of Lord right at the beginning of his enrollment, and everyone in Luyang City knew of it."

Gu Yi guessed, "Could it be that he grew anxious upon seeing someone with genuine, supreme talent for cultivation appear?"

"Mm. The Emperor of Xu prepared to use force. What was even more vicious was that, at a time when he could barely catch a glimpse of the Palace Master anymore, he used his authority as crown prince to trick the Palace Master into coming through the Eighteenth Lord."

The conversation had reached a sensitive juncture.

"So... did it happen or not?"

Shu Yu had been speaking without pause, but at this point, she fell silent and refused to continue.

Gu Yi adamantly refused to consider himself a scoundrel; he was simply listening to a story.

"Am I not allowed to ask this question?"

"You are allowed," Shu Yu said, blinking her eyes. "So... you were lying when you said you didn't like the Mo clan, weren't you? Otherwise, why would you care so much?"

Gu Yi protested, "I am speaking up for justice! In my heart, I was merely worried that some shameless scoundrel had harmed the Palace Master!"

"That is your emperor."

"To hell with the emperor! I have no loyalty to him, I'll go back and replace him!"

"You really are lawless, reckless, and your thoughts are utterly bizarre."

"Let's just get back to the story."

Shu Yu sank back into her memories. "That must have been on a snowy night as well. The Palace Master never dreamed that the person who tricked her was the Eighteenth Lord, nor did she imagine that the so-called Young Master Yang harbored such intentions. The princes of Great Xu are truly no better than beasts. The methods he used even included drugging her... The Palace Master said she would never forget the madness of the Emperor of Xu at that exact moment.

"Don't look at me with that worried expression. The Eighteenth Lord rushed in and rescued the Palace Master, but her heart had already turned cold to the core, and she left the State of Xu soon after. As for the Eighteenth Lord, because he had offended the crown prince, during his three years at the Luyang Academy, he scarcely spent any time there at all. The State of Xu kept giving him the most perilous assignments—sending him to the State of Dali to assassinate supreme generals, and to the State of Li to kill their foremost martial artists. Back then, he didn't possess the formidable abilities of a Saint.

"So, rather than saying the Palace Master trapped the Eighteenth Lord, it's more accurate to say he trapped himself. He felt it was he who had persuaded the Palace Master to enter Luyang, and it was he who had placed her in such grave danger."

Gu Yi fell silent. Hearing the story told this way, it sounded like the tale of a Mo clan member who, entirely unaware of her own identity, step by step witnessed the ugliest depths of human nature.

"Do you feel that the Palace Master was wrong to exact that kind of revenge on the Emperor of Xu? But I think she did the right thing. Once the harm has already become a reality, what does it matter how many important figures of Xu are killed, or even if the entire State of Xu is wiped out?"

To be honest, Gu Yi had indeed been thinking along those lines just moments before.

Yet upon hearing Shu Yu's words, while he felt a brief flicker of shock, he ultimately found himself agreeing. "It was the Emperor of Xu who wronged her."

"And what about you?"

Shu Yu was momentarily startled. "Me?"

"Yes," Gu Yi asked. "What kind of hardships have you suffered?"

The young woman sprang up to her feet in a flash. "We've said quite enough for today. I'll come back to talk with you another time."

*What?*

What kind of person was this? She spilled everyone else's secrets with such abandon, but the moment the spotlight turned to her, she ran away?

That was simply too much!

"Hey, don't leave! Or at least send someone else over, otherwise I'll be bored to death lying here all by myself!"

Shu Yu turned her profile toward him. "Come to think of it, didn't that long-legged cat vow to kill enemies for you? And Yan Lang makes a fuss every day wanting to play with you. How come neither of them has come to check on you?"

Gu Yi scratched his head.

"The Great Rain Palace doesn't have many particularly good people. Over the years, they've gone through quite a few companions, and you're merely a passing traveler to them. Don't trust them too much."

Gu Yi figured she might be harboring some bias, and defended them, "The Eighteenth Lord said that harming me brings them no benefits."

Shu Yu replied indifferently, "Treating you well brings them no benefits either."

"Actually, I think none of them are truly bad. I don't demand that everyone I meet pour their heart and soul out to me—just like Shule, who has to live for the Luyang Academy, or those two, who live purely for amusement. None of them are obligated to live for me. As long as they don't try to harm me, they're all very good people, because I don't intend to live for them either."

"You are remarkably forgiving toward others."

"It's merely about considering things from other people's perspectives a little more. Just like you, Shu Yu—you harbor no intent to harm me, so I also consider you a very good person," Gu Yi said softly. "However, I'm sure you have things that are far more important to you. I can't expect you to hand me your entire heart, and feel you aren't worth knowing just because you didn't—that would be a ridiculous notion. To truly win someone's genuine heart... how immensely difficult is that?"

These words made Shu Yu look at him in an entirely new light. As an onlooker, she had harbored some lingering resentment toward the long-legged cat and Yan Lang on Gu Yi's behalf, but now she felt herself persuaded once again.

"Then... is that something you would want?"

Gu Yi's hand twitched slightly. "What?"