*Blup*
*Blup*
*Blup*
The viscous blood pool frothed with audible bubbles. Each popped bubble hissed with curls of steam heavy in odor. In the center of the blood pool was a suspended gu master. He was unconscious as his head dropped low.
The blood-haired figure was none other than one of the ten legacy disciples, Nu Wu.
Before Nu Wu stood a placid Shu Zhe. She didn't speak or glance at the prisoner. She allowed herself to recall her past. Nostalgia wasn't very sought after in the Gu World. Even several figures with brilliant and luxurious backgrounds sometimes suffered a fate worse than a commoner. Shu Zhe was a victim of such a past, openly haunted by her grandmother since she awoke her aperture. So, nostalgia more often than not meant nightmares of the past.
But all her hurdles and choices led Shu Zhe to the throne of the Ancient Sect's Leader, at least on the mortal side. Being the leader of one of the ten Ancient Sects meant having a say in matters related to the Central Continent. Her opinions were measured and carried out with extreme prejudice. Furthermore, she had a foot into a near-endless treasury of rare gu worms, materials, and recipes. However, such a treasury did not have the answers to her most pressing troubles. Such was the joy of fate.
Her aperture was a wreck.
Her future was sealed.
And yet, the one who should be by her side worked against her.
Why?
Shu Zhe had no answer.
Despite her wisdom path gu set, Shu Zhe could not piece together the reason for her grandmother's actions. It was beyond the usual 'tough love' that a powerful parental figure deemed necessary to force one's offspring through.
"Why?"
Shu Zhe questioned. Only one person could solve such a mystery.
The Sect Leader turned sideways, staring at an older woman imploringly.
"What did I do to receive such hate, Lord Grandmother?"
Shu Ye glanced at her granddaughter before watching the cruel scene of Nu Wu being boiled alive.
"You must hate me," Shu Zhe said. "I accept that."
Internally, Shu Zhe bubbled with rage fiercer than the frothing blood pond. Her injuries were indirectly caused by Shu Ye. Despite that, the Sect Leader chose to be more pragmatic and didn't hold anything against the Supreme Elder because, first, she couldn't do a thing even if she wanted to. And second, Shu Zhe knew better than to tarnish her reputation by acting unfilial. Furthermore, she blamed the demon immortal who caused these injuries—
"There was no Demon Gu Immortal."
Shu Ye spoke as if having read her granddaughter's conflicted thoughts.
Her words caused Shu Zhe's once swift and energetic mind to freeze and crash as the carefully maintained mask of emotionlessness evaporated. Her blue eyes widened in shock.
If there was no Demon Gu Immortal whose attack upon Shu Ye indirectly cursed Shu Zhe's aperture, then…
"I was the one who caused your primeval sea to plummet to 1%."
Shu Zhe looked away, steadily recovering from the shock… and the hate she had locked away for far too long.
None of it must surface. Shu Zhe could not afford to give her grandmother more reasons to antagonize the former.
"Why?"
The Sect Leader uttered through gnashing teeth, her fists clenched, and eyes filled with ostentatious sorrow.
"Why?"
Shu Ye muttered as she leaned against the dirty prison cavern's wall.
"I uncovered a mortal blood path inheritance. Among the killer moves I discovered was an offensive method that cursed the target's blood descendants. I suppose I was curious about its effects."
Like Shu Zhe, Shu Ye spoke indifferently. However, the latter didn't need to use any gu worm. She was indifferent to Shu Zhe's woes and was unfeeling.
"I entered the Trace Spirit Sect nearly 400 years ago." Shu Ye revealed. "We're alike, Sect Leader Shu. I, too, worked tirelessly, ascending as a Wood Path Gu Immortal despite the odds. However, I had a daughter at the age of 30."
Shu Zhe blinked at the information. Shu Ye only had one daughter. But being nearly 500 years old implied Shu Zhe's mother was not far off that age!
"I shared my inheritance with your mother. The reasons I was recruited by the Spirit Affinity House were that the Trace Spirit Sect was its subordinate and that life-extension inheritance was valued by the First Supreme Elder. Following me, your mother entered the sect nearly 80 years ago."
"You reasoned I must have hated you… You are correct."
Shu Ye chuckled despite herself.
"I hate you."
The Gu Immortal smiled warmly.
"And I hated your father. That is why I slowly poisoned him and let him experience a painful death. I sent you off to a mortal village with a bandit occurrence to survive because I hated you. I wish you'd been caught and violated by the lowest scum imaginable before brutally torn by your limbs."
The more Shu Ye spoke, the wider her smile grew. Similarly, the temperature in the prison seemed to drop.
"Despite knowing that your father's life was doomed, I dangled hope in front of you for my amusement. I revealed Le Tao had a material that could solve my son-in-law's illness."
"I knew you disliked Le Tao and didn't think much of him."
Shu Ye laughed softly.
"But who knew you could look past your needs? You worked tirelessly and helped Le Tao become the Sect's Elder behind the scenes. Your perseverance, talent, and loyalty also led you to become the Sect's Leader."
The Supreme Elder did not veil her admiration.
She nodded at Shu Zhe.
"You did well, Shu Zhe."
It was the first time Shu Zhe had heard her grandmother addressing her by name.
"Unfortunately, you and your father killed my daughter."
"And now that I know you tolerated your husband, I had to tear him away from you. Now that you enjoyed the benefits of being a Sect Leader, I feel obliged to take such benefits away from you."
"You asked me why. Why do I hate you?"
"Are you curious how you became the reason for my daughter's death?"
"I gave you a clue, didn't I?"
"Say it."
Shu Zhe swallowed a tense lump before replying softly.
"That inheritance you mentioned."
"Hmm." Shu Ye nodded.
"Your mother aspired to ascend as a Gu Immortal, too. She was ambitious and clever. Furthermore, she was a brilliant gu master, constantly studying and refining her gu set."
Saying so, Shu Ye sighed before her gaze sharpened.
"My daughter would have never chosen you or your father above her goals! I was only gone for 30 years, and she sacrificed herself. And for what? You?"
She laughed, her tone turning sharp.
"For love?!"
Shu Zhe averted her gaze and grew quiet. She had pieced together enough clues to understand the broad scenario of her birth.
That mysterious life-extension method used by Shu Ye and her daughter must have had something to do with one's children, or rather, one's pregnancy. The fact that Shu Zhe's birth caused her mother's demise implied that the life-extension method had its own set of flaws, like other killer moves in this department. After all, the best life-extension method was none other than the lifespan gu worms. And Shu Ye was angry not because of her daughter's death, but the cause of the event.
Love…
That word was foreign to Shu Zhe. She had never loved anyone with passion or intimacy. This love was different than the one she held for her late father.
Le Tao and Di Qing?
They were in love.
Wang Nan and his late wife?
They were also in love.
In a world as callous as theirs, love somehow burrowed into many hardened hearts, breaking the layers of stones and seeding spring flowers.
"Was that it?" Shu Zhe's soft voice was no different from the clap of thunder in the prison.
It was Shu Ye's turn to momentarily lose her mask of indifference as Shu Zhe continued.
"We are nothing alike, Lord Grandmother. Working hard? Scheming? Ambitions for the higher ranks? What gu master doesn't already possess such traits? But for you to hate my father for my mother's decision? How utterly foolish."
Shu Zhe straightened her back.
Her future had crumpled, her reputation was now rotten, and her allies no longer wished her fortune. In such a life, Shu Zhe did not fear for her life and death. She continued calmly without looking away from the surprised Shu Ye.
"I never once blamed you for my injuries. It was irrational. I believed that there truly was a Demonic Gu Immortal who caused me such misery."
"You knew your daughter, and my father knew my mother."
Shu Zhe's eyes turned slightly misty, and her voice was choked with emotion. She recalled her father on his deathbed. He was shriveled and weak, a haunting imitation of his former, cheerful self. Unlike Shu Zhe or her other blood relatives, her father was mediocre. But she loved him because he never once thought of abandoning her. Even on his deathbed, he argued against Shu Zhe's choice of marrying Le Tao.
"No… No!" He had struggled to wheeze those raspy words out. "Don't… Zhe'er."
"I must!" The young Shu Zhe never adopted the mask of emotionlessness around her father. Her eyes were firm with resolve as she smiled to comfort him. "Don't worry, Father. Le Tao is actually kind and has a very good relationship with his younger brother. The siblings entered the Central Continent from the west and understood our hardship. Le Tao also wants to find a stable footing in the sect. Marrying me will ensure his stability.
Shu Zhe's father grew quiet. He observed his daughter for a long while before sighing.
"Be like your mother…" he whispered gently. "Let go of me and find love."
Shu Zhe only nodded but didn't obey her father's request. Instead, she eventually married Le Tao and brought over the necessary materials to heal her father, only to realize he passed away a few seconds after the ceremony.
"My mother loved him." Shu Zhe affirmed before shaking her head. "Yet, I do not know what love is. What drove my mother to sacrifice her life for me?"
"I will never understand the love shared by lovers."
"And I'm cursed to never experience familial love again."
"We are truly nothing alike, Fairy Shu Ye. You took everything from me." Shu Zhe turned to leave, her voice echoing in the bubbling prison. Her mask returned, and the hatred in her heart simmered. She exhaled sharply.
"Da Shan."
Shu Ye paused as she heard the name. Memories resurfaced like the bubbling blood pond as her granddaughter continued.
"My father's name was Da Shan, and it was his teachings of virtue that led me to become the Sect Leader. I'll ensure his legacy stays at the head of the Sect."
Shu Zhe left the prison unceremoniously.
"Why?" Shu Ye had screamed at her daughter, willfully ignorant of her fatal state. Unlike the Gu Immortal, Shu Zhe's mother wore a quiet, joyous smile while holding an infant. That was the memory of Shu Ye's greatest loss. Da Shan was unconscious and on the ground.
"I told you, Mother." Her daughter was gone, replaced by an empathetic mother.
"I love my husband and could not bear to murder our children."
"You will die!" Shu Ye hissed, panicking. "It's not worth it. There is still a method for you to steal your children's vitality. Still, it will be a long while until you fully recover."
The room fell quiet.
Shu Zhe's mother finally sighed before giggling tiredly.
"I refuse, Mother. But do you have something for the pain? I'd like to focus on… my dear Zhe'er than the loss of vitality."
Shu Ye felt hopeless as her daughter's determination radiated beyond her joyful expression.
"Why?" Shu Ye whispered, reaching out to stroke her beautiful baby's face. In her eyes, her daughter was still the same child, no matter the centuries they endured.
"I always assumed that love was weakness." Her daughter… Shu Zhe's mother answered. "However, it wasn't until meeting Da Shan that I realized that my love hadn't even been born for nearly three centuries!"
"Why are you doing this?" Shu Ye shook her head. "Be with your love. But why sacrifice your life for that bag of flesh and bones in your arms? You could live and ascend and perhaps modify the inheritance to eventually have a child properly."
Shu Zhe's mother grew quiet. Lowering her head, she observed the sleeping Shu Zhe, who was influenced by the same gu worm that had forced everyone around Shu Ye into a deep slumber.
"Wouldn't you?" She shot back with a smirk. "Even now, your great love for me stops you from going against my choices, Mother. Today, we are truly similar. Today, I have felt the same love you held for me for all these centuries."
Saying so, Shu Zhe's mother leaned back. She handed Shu Zhe off to Shu Ye.
"Thank you for helping me bear through the pain. Please look after your granddaughter."
Shu Ye slowly woke from her stupor. A lone tear rolled down from the corner of her left eye before the Gu Immortal closed her eyes and exhaled softly.
"I apologize for having you witness such a farce, Third Elder."
The bubbling blood lake calmed down in an instant as Nu Wu raised his head. However, an aged woman's words left his mouth when he conversed with Shu Ye as a peer.
"There's no reason to apologize, Fairy Shu Ye."
Nu Wu was the Third Elder in disguise!
"But why did you lie, Fairy Shu? It was the Berserk-Armed Immortal who used that cursed killer move on you, afflicting junior Shu Zhe in the process."
Shu Ye was quiet as the Third Elder consoled.
"I understand how you feel, Fairy Shu."
The shackles around Nu Wu disappeared as he calmly rested in the calm lake.
"We members of the righteous faction are riddled with responsibilities. It is natural for your relationship with your granddaughter to be strained over the years. You could not go easy on Junior Shu Zhe to polish her brilliance and had to test her loyalty to the sect several times."
All this was merely empty words. They both knew it. Shu Ye's hatred for her granddaughter was well-known in the higher ranks of the sect, and that is why Shu Ye also wanted to rightfully suppress Shu Zhe before she had a chance of becoming a Gu Immortal. Such an event would allow her competition to absorb Shu Zhe as a member of their faction against Shu Ye.
Even her conflict with the Berserk-Armed Demon Immortal was planned.
Shu Ye went to such great lengths exactly because she hated Shu Zhe. No matter the love she held for Shu Zhe's mother, it could not suppress the bitterness in her heart.
As for lying to Shu Zhe about that demonic inheritance?
It was to make Shu Zhe feel the same hatred. It was to force Shu Zhe into hopelessness. No matter the hatred a mortal possessed, they could do nothing to a Gu Immortal!
"You are correct, Third Elder." Shu Ye nodded, appearing graceful despite her ordinary features. "I wished to come here initially to ask you about your progress in modifying Bai Shou's recipe. I suppose that junior's actions clued Shu Zhe about 'Nu Wu's' treacherous intentions."
Nu Wu was dead a few seconds after he was imprisoned, his soul thoroughly investigated, and his identity as the Southern Border's Kong Ri Yi exposed.
His identity of being a blood path gu master, however, was very valuable. First, the Ancient Sect got another blood path inheritance. Second, the Third Elder was appointed to act as Nu Wu and research more about the blood path and develop its uses. Should this knowledge ever leak, Nu Wu's identity was a great defense and alibi to maintain the sect's righteous reputation.
Her knowledge about the blood path was also the reason why Shu Ye wanted the Third Elder to research the remnant recipe she obtained from Berserk-Armed Demonic Immortal's blessed land before it self-destructed and summoned the winds of assimilation.
Bai Shou's ability to modify and complete that recipe came as a surprise to most parties. All of them were studying it. Similarly, Shu Ye wanted to ensure Shu Zhe's injuries remained as they were.
"Junior Bai Shou is quite wretched." Nu Wu laughed with no heat in his words. "To think she would bypass me and directly deal with Shu Zhe… Still, her talents are undoubtedly desirable. That is why I wish for you to resolve your differences, Fairy Shu."
Nu Wu sighed.
"Healing Junior Shu Zhe is a matter of years. Decades, at worst. The Second Elder also informed me that we are to leave the mortal side of the sect untouched for a while after this conflict."
Shu Ye furrowed her brows.
"Is it because of Bai Shou and Brother Feng?"
Nu Wu pondered before shaking his head.
"Brother Feng will be the one responsible for the mortal side for the next decade. He must have paid a hefty price for such a shift. That is all I know."
Shu Ye scoffed. She was also part of the Feng Faction. However, her strained relationship with Shu Zhe led to some friction within the faction. Now, Bai Shou's and Shu Zhe's sudden alliance also tossed a pebble into the surface of the lake, which was the Feng Faction.
Things might appear calm on the surface, but Shu Ye could predict several changes within the next few years.
"As for Bai Shou's recipe? Modifying it leads to the same issue I had before. I will need some time to complete the recipe, but the modified recipe inspired me enough."
Shu Ye nodded and left the prison.
Fairy Shu Ye wasn't that worried about retaliation from Shu Zhe. It wasn't just the fact that the latter was a mortal. The revelation of Shu Zhe's injuries was necessary to embroil the mortal side of the sect in a conflict and refine their nature. It was an act sanctioned by other Supreme Elders. Most Ancient Sects would do something similar to weed out the useless members who might possess great gu set but did not have a tempered disposition. As such, of all the acts Shu Ye performed out of hatred, revealing Shu Zhe's weakness, ironically, wasn't an act of revenge.
Despite the possible deaths, the event was not considered evil. After all, nature itself boasted the virtue of the strong eating the weak. The weak nurtured the strong.
The law of the jungle was the epitome of righteousness in such a scenario. Furthermore, this conflict also served as a way for several elders with irreconcilable hatred to resolve their differences more directly without needing a lot of complicated reasons.
It allowed the resulting victorious faction to function smoothly, reducing its bloated elements.
And in Shu Ye's eyes…
Shu Zhe was one such bloated element.
***
Alternate Title: To Each With Their Stories; The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Da Shan; Shu Zhe's Mom Really Robbed The Cradle; Age Truly Was Just a Number In the Gu World; Shu Zhe's Mom: Da Shan Was Legal! I Swear!; Cause of Hatred; A Mother and a Daughter; A Mother's Decision, A Grandmother's Hatred; Shu Ye Had No Chill; The Grandmother of the Century; One of The Many Stories; Shu Zhe Really Got a Nightmare Level of Grandmother; Shu Ye Is The Kind of Grandmother to Leave Shu Zhe in Berserk's Eclipse For Her Own Good; Everyone: Build Peace With Your Granddaughter *Shu Ye: Raises Her Right Hand at an Angle With Extreme Prejudice*; The Irony of Hatred; A Product of Love and Hate; Shu Zhe: Doesn't Understand Love *Bai Shou: Also Doesn't Understand Love* Well, Gentlemen, We All Know Where This is Going; Declaration; Clearing Out the Air; The Third Elder; Kong Ri Yi's Demise; The Action of Righteousness; The Law of the Jungle; To Polish the Disciples; Everything Done by the Righteous Sect Must be Righteous; Researching Blood Path; The Last of Tampering With the Mortal Side; Obsolete Elements; Bloated Elements; Shu Zhe Might Get 'Bloated' Indeed
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A/N: I hope you liked the back story. The future volume will mainly deal with the 500 year chaotic war arc and will have many oc elements. That's why I stated before that the Ri World in this FF is Au to give me more of a breather to introduce several of these elements. Wang Nan, Sect Leader Ron, Heavenly Informant, Shu Ye, Shu Zhe, Yang Pao, Nina, and many others. All these are here to add more depth to the story. Needless to say, I'm also giving it my all to keep the story are interesting as possible while adding said elements. Maybe a few of these figures had a hand in shaping the 500 year chaotic war timeline in Fy's first timeline and now Lo Jik screwed things up.
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