Chapter 483: 483. Neither works
Chapter 483: 483. Neither works
Translator: 549690339
Feng Ming and Cheng Yun didn’t understand Gu Ling’s intentions until they heard Sheng Yue admit that he had obtained the magic treasure. They couldn’t help but admire Gu Ling’s caution and meticulousness, especially Cheng Yun, who had actually believed Sheng Yue’s fabricated lies.
“Where is it hidden?” Cheng Yun grabbed Sheng Yue’s chin, forcing him to open his mouth, “Wouldn’t you choke if you swallowed it? And how will you get it out?”
Gu Ling’s expression remained indifferent, “It’s not necessarily swallowed by the mouth on the face.”
Cheng Yun was an innocent child and didn’t quite understand what Gu Ling was implying. Feng Ming, who had experienced the martial arts world before coming to Xingluo Island, had an ambiguous look on his face. He glanced at a certain part of Sheng Yue’s body, then whispered something in Cheng Yun’s ear.
Cheng Yun immediately let go of Sheng Yue’s chin and looked at him as if he were some inconceivable filthy thing, without trying to hide his disgust, “That’s disgusting.”
Sheng Yue had already confessed openly, so he stopped pretending. His face became tense, and he bit out, “It’s not what you think! I ate it!”
Cheng Yun subconsciously asked, “How do you take it out then?”
Gu Ling spoke in a mysterious tone, “Cut the stomach open.”
Feng Ming whispered in Cheng Yun’s ear again, “Or maybe it is …”
Cheng Yun shivered and took two steps back, “That’s really disgusting.”
Gu Ling dragged Sheng Yue, not returning to the Garden’s Bajiao Pavilion but to the mansion where they had stayed after coming to the island.
“So, will you cut open his stomach or let him… expel it himself?” When Cheng Yun mentioned the latter option, his face became awkward.
“You decide.” Gu Ling said in two words.
Cheng Yun shook his head hurriedly, “I don’t know what to do next, you should decide.”
Sheng Yue sneered, “Gu Ling, you won’t kill me. Otherwise, you would have done it already.”
Gu Ling shot Sheng Yue a cold glance, “Then you choose.”
Sheng Yue, with a dark face, said, “Get me some laxatives!”
Feng Ming and Cheng Yun watched as Sheng Yue ate the green grass Gu Ling brought back two moments later. He chewed the muddy grass and swallowed it painfully. At the same time, Gu Ling untied the rope on Sheng Yue’s body.
Immediately afterwards, Sheng Yue clutched his stomach and ran outside. At the door, Feng Ming reminded him, “Remember to use the chamber pot.”
Then, Cheng Yun pinched his nose and joined Feng Ming to guard the toilet.
Not long after, Sheng Yue roared, “Send two buckets of clean water!”
Feng Ming had already prepared and handed the clean water in.
After waiting for another two moments, Sheng Yue came out with a dark face, sleeves rolled up, holding something in his hand, and walked straight toward Gu Ling.
Gu Ling glanced at the table in front of him, “Put it down.”
Sheng Yue loosened his hand, and a small object fell on the table, rolling for a distance before stopping.
Feng Ming and Cheng Yun both leaned over to take a look.
The jade piece was about the size of an adult thumb and shaped like a water droplet. The opaque jade looked ordinary, and there seemed to be seams of joining in the middle. There was even a small hole for a string, which was crooked and not symmetrical.
Both Gu Ling and Feng Ming thought that its quality and workmanship were so poor that it would be ignored even if it were put on sale at a street stall.
The appearance of this magic treasure was vastly different from what they had imagined. But upon further thought, they felt that perhaps a true magical artifact was indeed plain and unassuming in appearance.
Sheng Yue’s eyes were full of complex emotions as he looked at the small jade stone. “Mo Yan said he didn’t use his blood to recognize the master. He could use it as it was when he transmigrated. He took a truth-telling drug, so it’s impossible for him to lie. I brought it over, and I didn’t find anything. Even after dripping a drop of blood, it wasn’t absorbed—it just slid down. I didn’t expect it to be so difficult to leave Xingluo Island with this thing. Just like you said, Mo Yan might know about the danger when he wakes up and finds that the magic treasure is gone, but he still wouldn’t leave the forbidden area. He would pretend to have the magic treasure and continue guarding the forbidden area to confront you. He probably assumed that I’d be far away from the island by now.”
Cheng Yun furrowed his brows. “Since it’s an object rather than something Mo Yan personally carries, he wouldn’t be able to use it himself. Senior Yan was not captured and is still in the cave, but Yan Shiba is inside.”
Sheng Yue hummed softly. “That’s right. You do have people inside. Gu Ling, why don’t you give it a try? Perhaps you’re even more special than me. After all, you were born with special abilities.”
The last sentence clearly carried three parts mockery and seven parts unwillingness. Sheng Yue didn’t want to see Gu Ling recognized as the magic treasure’s master—since he couldn’t use it, he hoped that Gu Ling couldn’t either. Otherwise, his years of hope would become a bigger joke.
“Give it a try.” Cheng Yun said to Gu Ling. “You never know.”
Gu Ling nodded, took out a silver needle, pricked his finger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and dripped it onto the jade stone on the table.
All four of them stared intently as the drop of blood slid down from the jade stone and onto the table, leaving the jade stone unchanged.
“Could it be that it will only react when held in your hand?” Feng Ming suggested.
“Dirty.” Cheng Yun said, taking out a handkerchief and signaling Gu Ling to pad his hand.
Sheng Yue’s face darkened. “I already washed it clean!”
Seeing that the blood was not absorbed, Gu Ling didn’t pick up the jade stone. Instead, he looked at Cheng Yun and Feng Ming. “You both should try.”
Sheng Yue’s eyes flickered briefly before he hummed softly. “Gu Ling, if one of them succeeds, your face will be quite unsightly.”
“Coming from a shameless person like you, it’s pretty amusing.” Gu Ling retorted at Sheng Yue.
Feng Ming picked up the jade stone, washed it with water a few times, wiped it clean, and handed it to Cheng Yun. “Young Master Yun, you go ahead and try.”
Cheng Yun frowned, took the jade stone in his hand, pricked his finger with the silver needle Gu Ling gave him, and let the blood drip onto the jade stone.
But the drop of blood simply flowed into Cheng Yun’s palm, leaving a trace on the jade stone but showing no signs of being absorbed.
Cheng Yun sighed and handed the jade stone back to Feng Ming.
Soon, Feng Ming tried and, unsurprisingly, still failed.
Feng Ming suggested that Gu Ling hold the stone in his hand and try again. Gu Ling did so, but it still didn’t work.
Sheng Yue laughed coldly. “It seems that you, the so-called chosen one, aren’t that special.”
Cheng Yun lifted his foot and kicked Sheng Yue. “Shut up, you scumbag!”
Suppressing his anger, Sheng Yue gave Cheng Yun a cold glance, which was met with a fierce glare from Cheng Yun. “What are you looking at?”
Sheng Yue shook his head. “You’re becoming more and more like your mother.”
Cheng Yun frowned. “I don’t know her.”
With a slight sigh, Sheng Yue looked at Gu Ling. “We’ve obtained the magic treasure, but not only can we not use it, there are also people trapped inside. It seems that to free the people inside, we can only seek Mo Yan’s help. However, once the magic treasure is returned to his hands, everything will go back to how it was, or even worse. The events that occurred today will certainly make him lose his rationale, and he might have gone mad by now. For your master’s safety, I suggest you decide quickly on what to do.”
“We must not let Mo Yan get his hands on this object again. If he has hostages, we wouldn’t dare approach him.” Cheng Yun frowned. “But if we don’t do that, the people inside… won’t be able to come out.”
Gu Ling brought the jade stone close and stared at the obvious joint gap, shaking it near his ear as if deep in thought.
“Did you discover something?” Sheng Yue asked.
The next moment, they saw Gu Ling break off the crooked little hole on the jade stone.
Sheng Yue’s face changed drastically, “Have you gone mad?” Even though he couldn’t use it, he wasn’t completely giving up just yet.
Cheng Yun and Feng Ming thought that Gu Ling would not destroy the jade stone rashly. They moved closer and saw that after Gu Ling broke off a piece, a hole appeared on the jade stone, revealing a faint glow from within.
Feng Ming exclaimed in surprise, “There are two layers!”
Sheng Yue’s face couldn’t help but twitch as he saw Gu Ling breaking the low-quality jade stone into two halves and throwing it on the table.
In Gu Ling’s hand was an extremely perfectly-shaped, smaller green jade droplet, which looked extraordinary at first glance. This “droplet” had no flaws, and the jade quality was pure and clear, completely corresponding to their imagination of a magic treasure.
“Was Mo Yan afraid that the magic treasure would break or be touched by someone else’s blood, so he specially made a shell? But if so, wouldn’t he be able to use it without directly touching it?” asked Cheng Yun.
Feng Ming shook his head, “Even if it doesn’t need to touch the skin, it must be kept close to the body. If it could be used from a distance, this ‘droplet’ would lose its significance.”
Cheng Yun nodded, “You’re right. If Mo Yan could still control this object, we would have been caught by now.” He urged Gu Ling, “Hurry up and try it with another drop of blood, maybe this time it will succeed. The previous one was just a fake shell.”
Sheng Yue’s face looked amusing. He had used the truth-telling drug given by Gu Ling to interrogate and find out that Mo Yan had the portable space within the jade stone, and he had also noticed the stitching marks on the jade stone. However, he didn’t have the courage to destroy it like Gu Ling, fearing that something would go wrong.
Sheng Yue couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you afraid that your careless move might destroy the magic treasure and cause Yan Shiba to vanish?”
Gu Ling calmly replied, “If it can be easily destroyed, then it’s not a magic treasure.”
Sheng Yue: …
Watching Gu Ling use a silver needle to draw blood again, Sheng Yue felt like vomiting blood. It was originally his to obtain, but in the end, did he prepare everything for Gu Ling?
Cheng Yun and Feng Ming looked expectant, thinking that this time it must succeed.
Gu Ling also hoped for success so that all the troubles could be resolved easily.
Unfortunately, as Gu Ling’s blood flowed over the smooth surface of the “droplet,” it trickled into his palm, and he closed his eyes but didn’t feel any anomaly.
Gu Ling was a bit disappointed, and so were Cheng Yun and Feng Ming.
But Sheng Yue was overjoyed. He had never shown such emotional fluctuations before, but now he couldn’t help but laugh and mockingly said, “It’s such a shame. Why don’t you let me try? Just in case? I swear, if I succeed, I will release the person inside and not give you any trouble.”
Cheng Yun kicked Sheng Yue again, then squeezed out a drop of her blood and tried, but still failed.
Although they knew there was no hope, Gu Ling insisted that Feng Ming try again, with the same result.
When Gu Ling suggested letting Sheng Yue try, Sheng Yue was stunned for a moment, “You’re not just messing with me, are you?”
Gu Ling calmly replied, “I don’t think you can do it. Give it a try if you don’t believe me.”
Not expecting Gu Ling to give him the chance, Sheng Yue didn’t hesitate to reach for the “droplet” handed to him by Gu Ling, but Cheng Yun intercepted it, “You only have one hand, so it’s inconvenient. I’ll hold it first.”
Sheng Yue didn’t say anything, took the silver needle, pricked his finger, squeezed out a large drop of blood, snatched the “droplet” from Cheng Yun’s hand, and pressed it directly onto his wounded finger.
Cheng Yun and Feng Ming silently blocked Sheng Yue’s escape route, preventing him from fleeing with the treasure. But in fact, they were not worried about Sheng Yue’s success. If one of the four could become the master of the magic treasure, it had to be Gu Ling.
Because of Sheng Yue’s actions, it seemed as if the droplet had absorbed his blood, but Cheng Yun exposed the truth, “No matter how much you rub it on, it’s still only on the surface.”
Sheng Yue clearly didn’t give up, closed his eyes, and tried to feel if there was anything.
Gu Ling didn’t rush him. After a while, Sheng Yue opened his eyes, looked at the “droplet” in his hand, and appeared extremely disappointed, “Ever since I learned from my mother in my childhood that such a magic treasure exists in this world, it has been my greatest dream. I did not pursue power, but only wanted to possess it. To me, it symbolizes a new world. In the end, I got it, but my dream was shattered.”
Sheng Yue closed his eyes and opened them again, holding the “droplet” tightly in his palm and then suddenly releasing it, tossing it back to Gu Ling, “I give up, it’s yours now. Can I go?”
Gu Ling wiped the bloodstains off the “droplet” and shook his head, “No, you can’t.”
Sheng Yue didn’t insist, as if he had lost all the meaning of life in an instant. He sat dejectedly in the chair, smiling bitterly, “At this point, it doesn’t matter. Whether you want to kill me or make me do something, it’s up to you.”
The atmosphere fell silent, and Gu Ling walked to the window. Pinching the “water drop” between his fingers and stretching it out of the window, it looked even more crystal clear and exceptionally beautiful under the sunlight.
When Gu Ling turned around again, he handed the “water drop” in his hand to Cheng Yun.
Cheng Yun was confused, but Gu Ling said, “Hold this for now.”
Cheng Yun took it and asked Gu Ling, “What should we do next?”
Gu Ling picked up the Cold Moon Sword on the table and looked at Sheng Yue. “We go to the forbidden area.”
Sheng Yue slowly stood up, “You want to capture Mo Yan? Then what? Without giving him the magic treasure, no one can open it to release the hostage. If you give it to him, everything will return to the beginning.”
Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “We’ll capture him first and talk later.”
Sheng Yue snorted, “Are you sure you want me to go with you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll stab you in the back?”
Gu Ling shook his head, “The one who wants to kill you more is Mo Yan, not me.”
Sheng Yue pursed his lips, stood up straight, “Anyway, I have nothing I want to do right now. Since it’s cooperation, I’ll help you one more time.”
“You’re helping yourself get rid of the threat. Otherwise, once Mo Yan escapes, he will hunt you down until the ends of the earth,” Cheng Yun shook his head.
Sheng Yue shrugged, “Whatever you say.” He picked up the broken Jade Stone shell on the table. “I’ll go in first, act as bait, and distract Mo Yan. You seize the opportunity to save your master.”
Gu Ling instructed Feng Ming and Cheng Yun to stay here and not to approach the forbidden area.
Cheng Yun knew that Gu Ling had given him the “water drop” to eliminate the possibility of it falling into Mo Yan’s hands, but warned Gu Ling to be careful of Sheng Yue.
“My dear brother, what else could I do now after such a heavy blow? If we all leave safe and sound this time, how about we kill our father together? You should hate him more than I do,” After the heavy blow, Sheng Yue seemed to suddenly change his temperament, no longer as cold and deep as before, talking a lot and even speaking nonsense.
Cheng Yun gave Sheng Yue only a cold glance and then watched Gu Ling and Sheng Yue walk out side by side.
As they were about to enter the forbidden area, Sheng Yue suddenly laughed. “Hey! If I actually betray you in the cave and join Mo Yan in capturing you, then force Cheng Yun to hand over the treasure, it would be an easy victory for Mo Yan and me. What do you think?”
Gu Ling glanced at Sheng Yue indifferently, “Then Mo Yan would tear you apart and feed you to the dogs? It’s a good choice, I support you.”
Sheng Yue’s face stiffened, and he snorted softly, “I admit, I’m not very clear-headed and rational right now. You better be careful. Mo Yan is not weaker than you, and he holds your master’s life in his hands. It won’t be so easy to capture him.”
Soon, the two approached the entrance of the cave, which was quiet all around.
Just as Sheng Yue was about to enter, he saw Gu Ling take out a bamboo tube, light it, and throw it into the cave.
White smoke quickly filled the cave. Gu Ling shifted his position to avoid being affected by the wind.
Sheng Yue looked at him strangely, “You’ve been planning to use the poisonous smoke? Why didn’t you use it earlier?”
“I wanted the magic treasure to leave Mo Yan first, or else everything would be in vain,” Gu Ling said indifferently.
“Then why did you ask me to come? You don’t need me at all,” said Sheng Yue.
At the next moment, Gu Ling pushed Sheng Yue into the cave filled with poisonous smoke, “You go and bring my master out.”
Sheng Yue, who was immune to all poisons, looked at Gu Ling speechlessly, then slowly walked deeper into the cave amidst the poisonous smoke…