Chapter 13: Burning
"Greetings, Sect Master's Wife!"
In a forest outside of New Rain City, Iron Cliff, the Death's Shadow of a Youth, and the twelve Sword Servants simultaneously bowed in greeting.
"Sect Master's Wife?" Gu Qingluo stared at Su Chen in shock.
"What? You didn't know?" Cloud Leopard chuckled.
"We were in a hurry on the way over, so there were lots of things I didn't manage to say," Su Chen replied.
Gu Qingluo stared intently at Su Chen. "It seems that you have been up to a lot recently."
"Yes, I have been," Su Chen replied calmly.
Two hours later.
Su Chen and Gu Qingluo sat around a campfire, deep in conversation with one another.
Gu Qingluo held a roasted lamb leg in her hand that she ate as she listened to Su Chen explain his exploits in the Iron and Blood Country. Sometimes, she trembled in fear and agitation and would lean into Su Chen’s bosom with great emotion. Other times, she was extremely excited and energetic, demonstrating her girlish side once again.
Perhaps this was a characteristic common to every woman. When their man was beside them, they were willing to allow their intelligence to decrease, enjoying the care of the person that they loved.
Listening to a good tale while eating roast meat was extremely satisfying. Oil was smeared all over Gu Qingluo’s face, so that she didn’t appear womanly at all. However, it did make her seem much more youthful and lively.
Finally, Su Chen finished telling his tale, and Gu Qingluo said, “So you arrived at Ten Thousand Swords Mountain a year ago but never came to find me until now?”
Su Chen knew that she was going to make things difficult for him, so he laughed bitterly, “The sect was just established, and there were an incredible number of things for me to do and take care of. I really had no choice but to delay until now. Besides, aren’t I with you now?”
Gu Qingluo pouted. “You always put me second. Do you know...... how much I’ve thought about you?”
As she spoke, her voice grew dim, and she lay in Su Chen’s embrace, unwilling to reemerge.
Upon seeing her like this, Su Chen felt his heart ache. He rubbed Gu Qingluo’s back as he said, “I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
Gu Qingluo said quietly, “As long as you know. Do you know how difficult it was for me here without you by my side? I didn’t have any parents or relatives with me. Even though we share the surname Gu, what do they have to do with me? I never once saw them while I was growing up, but now I must participate in their arrangements simply because my bloodline awakened. The clan registry does not contain my name, and no one even really knows which branch I am from, but they still force me into taking on their name and honoring a single Ancestor. I was quite lucky, as the Ancestor likes me somewhat. Those who he doesn’t like are tossed into a corner that no one cares enough to ask about. So what if I awakened my bloodline? I am still a prisoner who has the freedom to walk around, is all.”
Su Chen was taken aback. “I thought you all were living quite comfortably here.”
“That’s just a part of it,” Gu Qingluo replied.
The status the Gu Clan possessed in Empty Mountain was very strange.
On the one hand, they were prisoners that were constantly under surveillance, and on the other hand they were the most powerful clan amongst the entire human race. Their incredible strength was basically unrivalled.
These two conflicting statuses merged, producing the Gu Clan’s unique situation.
Here, the Gu Clan’s important disciples received extraordinary treatment. However, those viewed as unimportant were placed in an incredibly awkward situation. Actually, it wasn’t unheard of for those disciples to be picked on.
Just like the human race, the Gu Clan had many different tiers of statuses amongst their ranks. They were truly like a miniature society. What Su Chen had witnessed was just the “tip of the iceberg” of this strange society.
Luckily, even though Gu Qingluo had entered the Gu Clan with the status of a branch member, she had managed to preserve some of her status because she was a recipient of the favor of one of the three old Human Emperors that were awake.
Even so, Gu Qingluo had a hard time getting used to such a foreign environment.
Here, everyone around her was basically unfamiliar to her. Many people envied her status and her being doted on, and there were even a few people who wanted to marry her.
In some sense, this was very similar to how concubines would compete for power behind the scenes. However, what these disciples were vying for was the favor of an Ancestor instead.
Gu Qingluo didn’t know how important that was, so she had suffered some losses at the very beginning. However, she was quite smart - it was just that she hadn’t experienced that kind of scheming before. After figuring out just how wily the human heart could be, she began to grow much more cautious, and she even managed to teach some of the people bothering her a lesson, gradually solidifying her position.
It was under these circumstances that her wits continued to grow, why she was able to determine that Su Chen had come solely based on Yang Chunyan’s actions, as well as decisively take action.
Not many people would dare take such decisive action without being able to confirm that Su Chen was here, let alone make some investigations.
However, it was because she hadn’t made these investigations that Yang Chunyan was tricked by her. Otherwise, Gu Qingluo’s plan probably would have failed if Yang Chunyan had even the slightest suspicion.
Gu Qingluo had indeed changed after living in the Gu Clan for two years.
The two of them continued to tell stories of what had happened after their separation.
The night sky was already growing very dark, and everyone had already retired from the campfire some time ago. The glow from the campfire was also dimming, and only Su Chen and Gu Qingluo were left huddled around it.
Su Chen held Gu Qingluo in his arms as he said, “It’s nighttime now. We should get some rest.”
“Okay,” Gu Qingluo replied without moving, curling up in Su Chen’s embrace.
“There’s a cave over there,” su Chen said in a low voice.
Gu Qingluo curled up even more fiercely.
When he saw her like this, Su Chen smoothly picked her up in his arms and walked into the cave. Once he entered, an Origin Energy barrier suddenly sprang to life with a boom, separating the inside of the cave from the outside world.
Iron Cliff, Cloud Leopard, and the twelve Sword Servants, who were secretly observing all of this, chuckled and went back to their business.
The cave was pleasant, like a warm spring wind.
A Beast hide was spread across the ground, and a lantern hung on the wall.
Su Chen carefully placed Gu Qingluo on the Beast hide. Under the illuminating light of the lanter’s flames, Gu Qingluo’s face was flushed red.
Unlike when they had argued before parting, the feelings that Gu Qingluo had kept in check for two years to the point that her heart ached became the most natural kind of motivation. When this moment arrived, everything was incredibly natural. Even though she was a bit embarrassed, she felt anticipation even more.
Gu Qingluo gazed at her lover, her eyes filled with tenderness. Su Chen’s eyes similarly glimmered with intoxication.
At this moment, all of Su Chen’s thoughts regarding his research would need to step aside. Only being with the person in front of him was important.