THE FEATHERED TRIBE of Mount Jiuhua?! Everyone stood in shock at these words.
Members of the feathered tribe were born with half-immortal bodies, and pure immortal blood ran in their veins. No matter how diluted by the currents of time, the feathered tribe was still the most mysterious race, and the one closest to the gods.
"The feathered tribe is reclusive and unpredictable; they reside in the immortal realm of Peach Blossom Springs and may go hundreds of years without setting foot in the mortal world." Murong Chuyi's eyes scanned Rongrong. "But you don't seem to conform to any of that."
Rongrong immediately flushed. "I-I was…very y-young when I was…was…brought here… I-I didn't grow up in the feathered tribe. That's why…I'm, I'm n-not really the same as other tribe members…"
"Who brought you here?" Jiang Yexue asked. "Was it Wuyan?"
At the name of Bat Island's ruler, Rongrong shuddered, swaying on her feet. At first, she shook her head in fright, but after a few moments, she remembered she was safe and hastily nodded.
Jiang Yexue turned to Gu Mang. "She seems to be terribly afraid."
Gu Mang patted Rongrong's head soothingly. "Why don't you go sit by the fire and rest a little? I'll talk to them."
Rongrong obediently went.
It couldn't be helped; some men had a natural charm when it came to the opposite sex. Gu Mang's comforting words were satin-soft, but if Mo Xi were to say the same, the girl would probably think he was threatening her, and that she'd be buried on the spot if she didn't comply.
Jiang Yexue watched Rongrong pick her way over to the firepit and asked Gu Mang, "Should we get her some tea and snacks?"
But Rongrong promptly sat next to the fire and stuck her hand in up to the wrist. She grabbed a handful of flames as if she were scooping out a watermelon, then lowered her head to take dainty bites.
Jiang Yexue stared in silence.
After a pause, Mo Xi turned to Gu Mang. "It's barely been two shichen and you've not only found such a useful individual, you've also won her trust."
Gu Mang smiled smugly and cocked his head. "Aren't I amazing?"
"How did you manage it?"
Gu Mang stroked his chin. "Maybe I look too deceptively kind and sweet? Xihe-jun, weren't you docile for me too? Aiya, men who smile easily make the best liars. People like you, Xihe-jun, you can't get away with it. You're a great beauty to be sure, but every day you're giving orders to beat or kill people—you exude viciousness. Forget two shichen, even if you had two days and nights you couldn't find anyone willing to come back with you."
Those gentle blue eyes blinked up at Mo Xi. They were the mild color of a clear sky after rain, but they shone with a provocative glint. "Shouldn't you do something about this? C'mon, you're already thirty, yet you still don't have a wife?"
This was clearly meant to get on Mo Xi's nerves. Gu Mang expected that Mo Xi would definitely fly into a rage, and indeed his eyes swiftly clouded over in anger. Gu Mang smiled insincerely and waited for him to blow up.
But Mo Xi only glared at him. As this tall man glared, he seemed almost wronged, the rims of his eyes growing red. Mo Xi silently turned away, biting his lip, holding himself back from speaking another word.
Neither Jiang Yexue nor Murong Chuyi caught the emotion in Mo Xi's eyes, but the awkwardness and hostility between Mo Xi and Gu Mang was something even a fool would see. Into this uncomfortable atmosphere, Jiang Yexue gently said, "Gu-xiong, why must you say that about Xihe-jun? Deep and abiding passion is a rare thing—it's not like you don't know why he hasn't yet wed."
"Hm?" Gu Mang blanched slightly, but his smile remained fixed. "Jiang-xiong, what…do you mean by this? What do I know about?"
Jiang Yexue didn't notice the cold sharpness beneath his sweet exterior. He replied frankly, "Princess Mengze has been sick for a long time, and even after so many years of convalescence, she still isn't suited for marriage. Xihe-jun has been waiting all these years because of deep passion, and not because of what you said—" He paused and sighed. "Exuding viciousness, and no one liking him."
The icy light in Gu Mang's eyes slowly softened; he gradually relaxed. He smiled, glancing meaningfully at Mo Xi. "Oh, so that's how it is."
Gu Mang began to examine Mo Xi with a new and clinical look in his eyes, as if they had never touched, as if he was distantly curious. He looked Mo Xi up and down several times, assessing this man's tall physique, his chiseled and straight nose, his strong and slender fingers, and his long, straight legs.
He was taking it too far. Gu Mang obviously understood Mo Xi best —understood the way his throat bobbed in the thick of passion; understood how his brows knitted when he could no longer restrain himself, eyes flashing with light; understood how strong his hips were, how unbridled his motions when he let go his restraint; understood what positions he liked, and how long he could torment someone in bed.
Still Gu Mang smiled as if he had never felt Mo Xi's skin on his. "With Xihe-jun's physique, he really could take Princess Mengze's life."
Mo Xi's face was ashen. He stood silent for a moment. Finally, he could no longer endure it and turned to walk away.
Jiang Yexue eyed Mo Xi's silhouette standing at the mouth of the cave and frowned with a sigh. "Gu Mang, why are you constantly poking his sore spots ever since you recovered, making things unpleasant for him…"
Gu Mang hugged his knees and barked out a perfunctory laugh. "It's just a habit. I used to like teasing him. Back then he could handle it, but it seems he's lost the skill; what a shame. It's his own fault that his mind only grows narrower—Jiang-xiong, do you think it's because he only gets prettier as he ages, so he's become arrogant because of his looks?"
Jiang Yexue helplessly shook his head. As he made to respond, Murong Chuyi impatiently said, "Can't you two focus on the task at hand? Talk about this later."
"I want to, but it's not that easy." Gu Mang sighed. "Rongrong needs to recover some strength first—she'll have to assess his pulse before we can find out how to cure him."
As he spoke, he turned to look at the maiden from the feathered tribe still crouched by the firepit eating flames, then very fairly made a judgment: "Miss Rongrong is still weak. She can't do much, so we should let her rest properly."
Although Mo Xi had walked to the periphery of the cave, the space was small enough that he overheard Gu Mang. This was why he used to be a favorite among girls—he always sincerely, instinctively, deftly, and elegantly helped a maiden in distress. Even if the maiden in question was just a…
Mo Xi shot a glance at Rongrong and thought: Just an ugly female bird demon whose feathers haven't even grown in.
Murong Chuyi observed that Rongrong was truly in poor condition. He gave up insisting and turned to ask, "That Wu…whoever, why did she kidnap one of the feathered tribe?"
"You mean Wuyan?" asked Gu Mang. "Wuyan took her so she could cultivate into immortality."
"Cultivate into immortality…"
"Mn. Do you guys remember what the shangao said before it summoned the Time Mirror? It wasn't much, but it hid many strange facts. It said the Dream Butterfly Islands were abundant with spiritual energy, so the demons here had gradually started to cultivate by fasting. The Bat Queen wholeheartedly wants to ascend, so she's rarely killed in recent years and hasn't needed to catch humans for food."
"What was wrong with any of that?" Jiang Yexue asked.
"Too much," Gu Mang said. "Chonghua doesn't practice any kind of demonic cultivation, so its cultivators have little understanding of demons or evil spirits. But when I was in the Liao Kingdom…"
He paused. Probably out of consideration for Jiang Yexue, he lowered his voice when he mentioned the Liao Kingdom and didn't linger on it. "When I was there, I read many scrolls. Spiritual energy is split into two types, yin and yang. We cultivators take in yang energy and walk the path of gods and immortals, while demons take in yin energy and walk the path of devils," Gu Mang explained. "Which is to say, as a demon, Wuyan's body is undoubtedly more compatible with yin energy. Killing less often may decrease her yin energy, but it can't provide her with the pure yang essence needed to attain immortality."
Jiang Yexue thought this over. "So in other words, a demon cultivating into immortality would go against the natural order?"
"That's pretty much what it means," Gu Mang said. "A demon attaining immortality is like a mortal entering demonhood. Both are paths that defy the law of nature."
At these words, Mo Xi couldn't help but turn to glance silently at the sliver of Gu Mang's profile visible in the firelight. He considered that Gu Mang could be regarded as a mortal who had entered demonhood—even with his spiritual core shattered, he could still use demonic energy to summon demonic weapons. However, the price he'd paid was the loss of two souls and the repeated tempering of his body…
But Gu Mang cared for none of this and continued his explanation. "In any case, Wuyan is the queen of the bat tribe, and this tribe is descended from the offspring of the feathered tribe and demonic beasts. Although some adulterated immortal energy still flows within their bodies, they possess mostly demonic beast energy. If her cultivation technique is unsuited to her demonic nature, it would consume a great deal of spiritual energy before she becomes an immortal and accelerate her aging in the process." He then asked, "So here's a question for you—if you were Wuyan, what would you do at this point?"
"Find a way to slow down the consumption?" Jiang Yexue replied.
"Correct." As Gu Mang spoke, he glanced at Rongrong beside the bonfire. "The best way for Wuyan to slow down the rate of spiritual energy consumption is to increase the amount of immortal energy from the feathered tribe in her own body. That's why she took the risk of going to the feathered tribe's realm and kidnapping one."
Rongrong was still carefully eating flames out of her cupped palms. From time to time, she reached out a little claw to stir the fire, and then scooped up another handful of red-gold light and nibbled at it. Some color had already returned to her breathtaking face, but she was still visibly nervous and frail.
Murong Chuyi was a grandmaster artificer who never missed a detail. After looking her over from head to toe, his sharp brows furrowed. "What's that on her neck?"
Gu Mang sighed. "Those are bloodletting scars."
"Bloodletting?" Jiang Yexue's eyes widened.
Gu Mang nodded. "Correct. Since Wuyan is basically a leaking jug, she's been maintaining her own vital energies by taking regular pills made of Miss Rongrong's blood. I found her in Wuyan's pill-refining room."
Jiang Yexue frowned. "She's such an important resource, and Wuyan's pill-refining room must be strictly forbidden. No one would've pointed it out to you, so how did you think to look for it?"
Gu Mang smiled. "Who said no one pointed it out? The one who pointed me toward the Bat Queen's pill room is right here."
"Who?" Jiang Yexue exclaimed.
"Murong-xiansheng."
A beat of silence. Murong Chuyi stared coldly up at Gu Mang. "What do you mean?" Flames danced in those subtly imposing phoenix eyes. "Are you accusing me of working with these damn birds?"
"No no no—you're so beautiful, how could I?" Gu Mang waved his hands. "I meant…" He shot an apprehensive glance at Jiang Yexue, then turned to look at Mo Xi. He scratched his nose, embarrassed. "It all started that day at Peach Blossom Lake." Gu Mang cleared his throat. "Didn't I catch you bathing…?"