Chapter 26

The Gu An Long produced was called "Emotion Lock."

This was a species Song Qingshi had never even heard of, one of An Long's hidden Gu.

"Emotion Lock" was a therapeutic Gu, resembling a miniature silkworm—white, soft, without mouthparts or sharp claws, completely harmless, and quite adorable. It sustained itself by absorbing human desires and emotions through its body, acting like a valve. The user could freely control their emotional threshold, allowing the Gu to absorb any excess and maintain stable emotional levels.

It was far more precise than medicinal control, surpassing the sedative solutions of Medicine King's Valley.

An Long swore by the Ancestral God that "Emotion Lock" was harmless. It was an inert Gu, accepting no commands other than absorbing emotions from its host. He could not control it to do anything malicious.

Song Qingshi tested it and found the claims to be true. "Emotion Lock" was indeed a Gu developed for psychological therapy. However, he found it increasingly odd, as its design was completely unlike An Long's style. An Long preferred combat Gu—the more brutal, the better—supplemented by auxiliary Gu primarily for reconnaissance, torture, or control. For healing, he relied on his body-tempering poison arts and the Ten Thousand Gu Sect's existing therapeutic Gu, along with elixirs specially supplied by Medicine King's Valley. He was resilient enough not to need to specially research such a Gu.

Yet, "Emotion Lock" was intricately designed and extremely difficult to cultivate, clearly the work of his peerless genius within the Ten Thousand Gu Sect.

Why would An Long create a therapeutic Gu that was useless to him?

Song Qingshi voiced his doubts directly.

An Long looked at him for a long moment before smiling. "To be friends with you."

The original host had endured An Long's various mischievous and destructive tendencies, willing to befriend him precisely because he had profound insights into medicine, knew many obscure poison techniques, and was a genius in the art of Gu. The original host had also cleaned up his messes countless times, treated his injuries repeatedly, and researched many compounds for cultivating Gu. So... perhaps this was a gift?

Song Qingshi's doubts instantly vanished.

He carried "Emotion Lock" to Yue Wuhuan.

Yue Wuhuan had long since regained consciousness under the sedative's effects. His face was wrapped in layers of gauze; the wound wasn't serious. Though the cut was deep, his Wood Spirit Root was exceptionally powerful in recovery. He had suffered countless injuries, yet never bore a scar—even severe wounds from the Demon Tiger's bite vanished without a trace after a few months of healing.

This was his fortune, yet also the source of his misfortune.

Otherwise, he would have long since ruined his face and body at Golden Phoenix Estate.

When Yue Wuhuan had gouged out his beauty mark, he hadn't aimed for disfigurement—a sliver of clarity remained in his mind. Thus, he quickly regained full awareness and realized he had done wrong, causing Song Qingshi great trouble. He apologized repeatedly, nervously promising to take his medicine properly and not relapse.

As he spoke, he couldn't meet Song Qingshi's eyes, and his hands trembled intermittently, as if suppressing immense pain.

His senior sister had said: A man's word is as good as his bond.

Song Qingshi adamantly refused to trust him... preferring instead to trust "Emotion Lock."

After hearing about "Emotion Lock"'s effects, Yue Wuhuan considered it. Knowing his body had no other options, he accepted the treatment. About two quarters of an hour after "Emotion Lock" entered his body, his emotions visibly improved. The slight trembling in his body disappeared, and he seemed much more at ease. He touched his chest, commanding the Gu to devour the inappropriate desires. His gaze toward Song Qingshi became natural again, and he seemed revitalized.

Song Qingshi then explained the matter of the Illusion Gu and asked about the contents of the illusion: "If you're unwilling, I will respect your wishes."

Yue Wuhuan replied without hesitation, "I wish to keep it private."

Song Qingshi then took out the Illusion Gu, sealed in its box, intending to return it to him.

Yue Wuhuan thought for a moment and pushed it back. "Revered Master should keep it. After all, I am but a mortal and will inevitably depart one day. When that time comes, Master may open this box and see what lies within." He had decided to abandon his shameful desires, wishing only that after his death, this person might know his true feelings.

"Alright," Song Qingshi had never shied away from matters of life and death, much less final wishes. He casually placed the Illusion Gu into his Mustard Seed Bag and changed the subject. "I have already rejected cooperation with the Ten Thousand Gu Sect. Thinking back now, that decision was too hasty. An Long will surely seize the chance to come looking for me. When that happens, personal and professional matters will mix, and with his nature of stirring up trouble, who knows what chaos he might cause? I plan to hand the sales channels over to Night Rain Pavilion. Though Ye Lin is rather greedy, he has extensive connections and keeps his word. We may lose a bit more profit, but it’s worth it for peace."

He had truly been exhausted by An Long's antics and feared he would pester him daily.

Though increasing production would take time and Medicine King's Valley would have to endure a period of poverty, his entire focus now was on accompanying Yue Wuhuan. He didn’t want to do anything else. Apart from his research subjects, he could halt all other research. He could sell some unused artifacts from the treasury to fund the production line. Everyone would endure hardships—perhaps another wealthy patron like the elder from Five Mountains Sect would come begging for treatment of some strange illness in the meantime?

Yue Wuhuan nodded. "I will defer to Master's judgment in all things."

Song Qingshi then went to the treasure vault and retrieved a treasured bottle of Purple Flower Dew. Purple Flower Dew was immensely beneficial to An Long's body-tempering techniques, and its raw materials had long gone extinct, making its value on par with that of "Emotion Lock." Yet both Song Qingshi and the original host treated rare medicinal collections as more precious than life itself. An Long had exhausted every method to coax it out of him but failed. Now that he had accepted "Emotion Lock," no matter how much it pained him, he had to settle the debt of gratitude.

Reluctantly, Song Qingshi handed the Purple Flower Dew to An Long.

An Long understood instantly. "You're sending me away again?"

Biting back his reluctance, Song Qingshi said seriously, "I need to focus on Wuhuan's illness. I don’t have time to play with you anymore."

An Long scrutinized him for a long while before suddenly laughing. He flourished the Purple Flower Dew in his hand. "Since you’ve even gifted me your treasure, your sincerity is clear enough. I’ll accept it."

Hao Long sensed something amiss and frantically coiled around Song Qingshi’s limbs, refusing to leave!

Seizing the chance, An Long bent down and whispered in his ear, with feigned hurt, "I’ve wasted so many days without securing a deal. Shouldn’t you compensate me a little?"

Song Qingshi was baffled. Medicine King's Valley’s buildings were still collapsed, with no funds for repairs—what compensation could he offer?

An Long abruptly dragged him into a tight embrace, locking him in place, then bit down on his neck like a beast venting its fury on prey.

His protective spiritual energy was no match for the iron fangs of a body-refining beast, instantly torn through, leaving bloody marks.

Song Qingshi bristled with pain, swiftly channeling his Inner Fire to resist.

Only when An Long felt the scorching heat against his lips did he reluctantly release him, licking the blood from his mouth with satisfaction. "Tastes just as good as I imagined."

This Alaskan Malamute deserved no mercy!

Song Qingshi promptly kicked him out the gate!

Turning back, he saw Hao Long still coiled around his waist, swaying its head triumphantly to bid its master farewell—until it noticed Song Qingshi’s disapproving stare. It hastily slunk down, attempting to hide in the grass and stay put. But Song Qingshi would show no leniency. He grabbed its tail, yanked it out, and tossed it out the gate as well, then marched off to disinfect the bite on his neck.

The gates of Medicine King's Valley clanged shut, and the misty poison array dispersed, revealing the path.

Hao Long was utterly aggrieved, rolling on the ground in refusal to leave, its eyes filled with accusations of betrayal.

"You never learn," An Long hefted it up, lecturing the foolish snake as they walked. "So what if Xiao Qingshi saved you back then? So what if he was gentle and caring, treasured you dearly? Once you recovered, you should’ve left. No amount of thrashing or protesting will change anything—he doesn’t want you anymore. How many rejections will it take for you to understand?"

Hao Long curled up miserably on its master’s shoulder and went still.

When it first met Song Qingshi, it had been a useless little snake in the secret realm, bullied to death by larger demonic beasts every day. Song Qingshi had rescued it from poisonous burns, never disdaining its ugliness, changing its bandages daily, cradling it close to his heart for warmth, even giving up precious spirit herbs he had originally sought to protect it. His eyes and heart had been full of it...

It thought itself special, dreaming of becoming Song Qingshi’s spirit beast—only to be gifted to An Long once healed. It thought itself too weak, unworthy of that person, so it trained desperately, becoming a feared demon beast. Yet even when it wagged its tail and abandoned all dignity, begging pitifully, it never earned a place by Song Qingshi’s side.

"You’re not special," An Long patted Hao Long gently, offering comfort—though it was unclear whom he sought to console. "No one is. However tender he is when healing you, that’s how cruel he becomes once you’re cured. No one has ever stayed by his side forever."

This man, who seemed so full of affection, possessed the most heartless soul in all the world.

Five hundred years ago, An Long had already learned the meaning of heart-rending despair, of darkness devoid of even a sliver of hope.

Unable to help himself, An Long burst into laughter, the sound thick with self-mockery. He glanced back at Medicine King's Valley, gradually vanishing into the poisonous mist, and murmured to himself:

"Xiao Qingshi grows more adorable by the day. What a shame..."

"I wonder what expression the beauty will wear when he discovers the truth."

"Surely it’ll be a sight to behold?"

He gave Hao Long’s head a firm pat, reverting to his usual menacing bearing:

"Little brother, don’t be sad. Let’s go do something fun instead."

"I just remembered there’s someone I need to attend to."