WJ Chapter 52

Shuli (4)

As soon as Wen Feng’s roar rang out, Guan Wujue gradually began to smile.

——Except his eyes held not a trace of mirth; instead, they suddenly gained several threads of bone-chilling coldness.

“He’s not?”

The Red-Robed Protector relaxed his grip and released Wen Feng.

He unhurriedly retreated a step, his thin shoulders leaning against a pine tree, and said with a lazy smile, “Then tell me, who is Ah Ku?”

He raised his index finger to his lips, his voice seeming to drift over from the horizon on a wisp of breeze, so light and insubstantial.

“Don’t say it here, Attendant Wen. If you dare, say it before the Sect Leader.”

Wen Feng’s complexion turned deathly pale, as if struck in the heart by some tremendous pain.

His lips trembled, opening and closing several times, yet he couldn’t utter a single word.

——Clearly all the truth was piled up in his throat, had even climbed onto his tongue, frantically agitated and jumping, yet he couldn’t speak it, couldn’t speak it!

A sinister voice whispered in his ear: Once you let the Sect Leader know the truth, things can never be undone……

Your surname is Wen, you are the Sect Leader’s attendant, you must put the Sect Leader’s safety above all else!

Guan Wujue’s smile gradually faded. He turned to help Ah Ku up, saying mockingly, “Don’t dare speak now? If you don’t dare speak, why were you acting so fierce toward him?”

“Protector Daren, please calm your anger……”

Ah Ku helplessly tried to mediate, but Guan Wujue pushed him forward without allowing any argument, bringing him before the white-robed attendant.

Under Wen Feng’s dejected and bewildered gaze, Guan Wujue suddenly grasped the thin and pitiful right wrist beneath the former medicine man’s blue sleeve, and spoke indifferently, “I’ll tell you, Wen Feng.”

“You want to know why he’s called ‘Ah Ku’? I’ll tell you.”

Guan Wujue said coldly and flatly:

“His right hand—I crippled it.”

“What……”

Wen Feng raised his head abruptly in disbelief, his expression full of shock!

“Nearly ninety percent of the fresh wounds on his body from the past year were inflicted by me.”

Wen Feng was completely stunned.

With an entirely unfamiliar gaze, he looked over the young man in the blue robe from head to toe, then from toe to head again.

The attendant’s voice was so labored it seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth with all his strength. “Why……”

Ah Ku lowered his head somewhat uncomfortably, his little finger twitching slightly.

“I……” his voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz, “I was willing……”

“Why?”

Guan Wujue laughed coldly, pointing at Wen Feng’s nose and scolding, “You still have the face to ask why! Have you forgotten what kind of frenzy the Sect Leader was in when searching for Ah Ku last year? Have you forgotten that you useless lot guarding the Sect Leader’s side were completely useless! If I hadn’t brought such a person back, the Sect Leader would have discovered the truth long ago!”

When the Four Directions Protector truly became angry, he was audaciously bold—with one word “useless,” he cursed everyone from the old Sect Leader down to Attendant Wen standing before him.

But Guan Wujue didn’t care. Sharp severity surged between his brows as he stepped forward, closing in on Wen Feng, and said in an agitated, panting whisper:

“Do you think if the Sect Leader discovered the truth, he would still let me take blood? Would there still be a cure for Fengchun Sheng? If Fengchun Sheng isn’t cured, tell me—can the Sect Leader survive another half year!?”

Guan Wujue’s entire body trembled slightly, his voice also shaking nonstop. “I only want to save one person, only want to save one person……”

“With great difficulty…… we finally managed to find such an ‘Ah Ku’ and bring him back. Whether the Sect Leader truly likes him or not doesn’t matter. With a living ‘Ah Ku,’ the Sect Leader won’t go searching for the dead ‘Ah Ku’ anymore!”

“As long as he can continue to stay by the Sect Leader’s side, as long as we get through this period, everything will be fine…… Wen Feng, if you dare touch him, I’ll fight you to the death!”

Wen Feng’s mind was buzzing. He couldn’t help but retreat two steps, his face ashen as he murmured, “So, you bringing back such an Ah Ku was actually just to provide yourself with cover?”

His eyes reddened as he shouted hoarsely at the top of his lungs. “You…… just to buy this little bit of time, you erased all the remaining traces of your past!?”

Guan Wujue shouted sternly, “The past? What past do I have? Once you enter the Ghost Gate, you sever all ties with the past. I’ve long forgotten everything from before!”

After bellowing this, the Protector’s face suddenly paled. He quickly covered his lips and began coughing.

He gripped his left chest tightly with one hand, frowning as he endured a sudden bout of tearing pain in his heart meridian.

“Protector Daren!” Ah Ku rushed forward in panic to support Guan Wujue. “You mustn’t get too agitated……”

“This Ah Ku—you haven’t been giving him medicine to nourish his blood.”

Wen Feng stared blankly at this scene, his voice numb, his eyes unfocused, looking as if he might break down at any moment. “What you said beneath Wolong Platform was truly a lie to deceive me.”

Guan Wujue closed his eyes then opened them again. He finally recovered from this spell and silently wiped away a trace of blood from the corner of his lips.

He hadn’t spoken of it initially because he wanted to spare Wen Feng some pain, but by now it was becoming impossible to keep hidden.

The Protector sighed softly, staring carelessly at the crystalline snow on the pine needles overhead. “He needs to accompany the Sect Leader for a long, long time. The medicine for nurturing medicine people is too potent; he can’t withstand it. However, once his body is properly nourished in the future, he can serve as a reserve medicine for the Sect Leader……”

Wen Feng laughed hoarsely.

The white-robed attendant laughed and laughed, and in the blink of an eye, tears suddenly streamed down his face. “So he fundamentally cannot help you save the Sect Leader——you still have to go to your death, don’t you……?”

Wind blew past the corridor, rustling the branches and leaves, making their robes flutter.

The sky had long since brightened, and in the distance magpies seemed to be chattering.

Guan Wujue lowered his lashes.

The fierce ruthlessness and icy killing intent surrounding him suddenly dissipated like thin mist and smoke under the morning sun.

The Protector sighed helplessly yet gently.

“My Attendant Wen, what are you thinking?”

“——In this world, no one but me can save the Sect Leader.”

As he spoke these words, Guan Wujue couldn’t help but curve his lips in a faint smile again.

Between his handsome brows shone an unrestrained, soaring light. His eyes were startlingly bright, as if burning with incomparably blazing starfire.

“The old Sect Leader cannot, Guan Muyan cannot, you Wen Feng even less so…… Of course, this little medicine person cannot either.”

Guan Wujue tapped his own heart, smiling as he emphasized each word heavily, “Only me.”

“Only I can do it.”

“Only I…… am the Sect Leader’s medicine.”

Wen Feng’s eyes were filled with sorrow.

Ah Ku stared at Guan Wujue in a daze. He actually felt that at this moment, the Four Directions Protector was so spirited and confident, so proud and resolute.

——As if for Guan Wujue, merely being a single medicine for Yun Changliu could make him brimming with ambition.

As if this alone could surpass the freedom of galloping on horseback across the jianghu, surpass the exhilaration of wielding twin swords over life and death, surpass all the joys of romance and beauty in the mortal world.

Ah Ku silently lowered his head.

The Protector Guan, who only wished to be a single medicine, at this very moment possessed a magnificent bearing that already shook his soul and filled him with shame.

Suddenly, a muffled thud rang out!

Wen Feng’s knees buckled and he collapsed to his knees in the snow.

He raised both hands to cover his face, shaking his head in despair, his voice choked with tears. “Guan Wujue, spare me. I can’t hold on much longer.”

“When will you finally die?”

“If you don’t die soon, I’ll go mad.”

Ah Ku was utterly at a loss. Guan Wujue walked over and patted Wen Feng, sighing somewhat helplessly. “None of us have it easy. Endure a bit longer, Attendant Wen. Don’t sulk anymore. Calm down, quickly go into the hall to bandage your wound, and think of a good excuse that won’t arouse suspicion before the Sect Leader returns.”

Wen Feng sobbed continuously. After all, they had known each other since childhood. Watching him, the Protector’s heart softened again. Supporting his shoulder consolingly, he said, “All right, all right, Attendant Wen. I was agitated just now and said some things that went too far. You mustn’t hold it against me.”

As he spoke, Guan Wujue sighed again, somewhat dejected. “To be honest, I’ve really been muddled these past days. I…… when I returned to the sect this time, I originally wanted to distance myself from the Sect Leader, but I just couldn’t harden my heart. Before I knew it……”

“I really don’t know how things ended up like this with the Sect Leader. Perhaps I was too greedy……”

His fingers brushed over his own lips, thoughtfully. “However, it probably won’t cause any great harm.”

“I’m probably a cursed fate, but the Sect Leader is different after all. The Sect Leader is brilliantly talented, with a resilient and tranquil disposition. He has a loving father, younger siblings, you and others by his side…… As long as Fengchun Sheng is cured, he can live well no matter what.”

Wen Feng gradually stopped his sobbing and looked with reddened eyes at Guan Wujue muttering to himself there. The latter came to his senses, smiled at him, reached out a hand to pull him up forcefully, and said:

“Living is always much harder than dying. I chose the easier path first—I’m sorry. In the future, accompany the Sect Leader well. In the next life, I’ll treat you to a drink.”

With these words, Wen Feng nearly couldn’t restrain the urge to cry again. The white-robed attendant hurriedly wiped his eyes vigorously, only to see that Ah Ku had at some point quietly turned to leave.

“Wait!”

Perhaps because his mind was still in complete turmoil, possessed by some impulse, Wen Feng called out to that blue-robed figure. “You——what’s your name? Before you became Ah Ku, who were you?”

“……”

“Ah Ku” slowly turned around, his face showing hesitation. He wanted to speak but stopped, and finally pressed his lips together and looked toward the Four Directions Protector.

“Forget it,” Guan Wujue shook his head, folding his arms and looking away indifferently. “Tell him. This won’t happen again.”

“Ah Ku” carefully walked back, his expression respectful and compliant, just as when Guan Wujue had first brought him back to Xifeng City and he met Wen Feng for the first time beneath Wolong Platform.

He lowered his refined features and spoke softly:

“Ye Ru. I was once called Ye Ru.”

The medicine person Ye Ru, who had now become “Ah Ku,” bowed again to both the Sect Leader’s personal attendant Wen Feng and the Four Directions Protector Guan Wujue, then continued to explain:

“Ye Ru was one of the first batch of medicine people experimented on by the Hundred Medicines Elder back then.”

“At that time, fifteen orphans in total were sent into the Medicine Gate to have their hearts pierced and blood extracted…… Only he was fortunate enough to receive the grace of Young Master Yun Changliu, and thus survived.”

Another gust of wind passed, drowning out Ye Ru’s whisper.

When the wind ceased, all was silent.