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CHAPTER 25: The Pink Skeleton
The night wind carried a bone-chilling frost.
On a desolate mountain outside Mandarin Duck City, a slope choked with withered trees stood silent. A dozen women, dressed in various styles but sharing the same vacant, expressionless faces, stepped through the heavy dew. They moved as if guided by an invisible thread, deeper into the heart of the wilderness.
Chao Jinsui trailed at the very back of the procession. Her steps were feather-light and her expression perfectly controlled, making her indistinguishable from the other women whose eerie demeanor was fueled by the parasitic Gu worms within them.
There were roughly forty-five women in total. A few were cultivators at the Golden Core stage, but the majority appeared to be courtesans from the city's entertainment districts. It made sense, if Madam Zi intended to use Love Gu to control these women and harvest yang energy, the pleasure houses were her best hunting grounds.
Recalling the coffins she had seen carried out of the city gates, Jinsui realized those men must have been seeking fleeting pleasures, only to have their life essence drained dry. Dying in a brothel was a shameful end, so most families kept quiet, allowing the disappearance of so many male cultivators to go unnoticed. If Jinsui hadn’t come, or if she had truly been compromised, Madam Zi would have achieved her goal in total secrecy.
Suddenly, light flickered ahead.
The disciples and maidservants of the Su Family stood like wooden stakes, holding torches and waiting in silence.
"Madam, all forty-five are here," Su Baishan announced.
A group of disciples brought forward a coffin. Through the dim light, the silhouette of a man resembling Su Liuyun could be seen lying inside, motionless as if deceased.
Su Baishan sighed with regret. "The vessel I found for Liuyun isn't perfect, but we were in a rush. I couldn't find anything better."
A gentle, feminine voice laughed softly. "It matters not. Once my son returns to the living, if he dislikes this body, we can simply find another."
"True," Su Baishan agreed, glancing at the sky. "Madam, the auspicious hour has arrived."
It was midnight, and the sky was a void without a single star. Madam Zi set down her teacup and turned toward the women in the woods, a satisfied smile curling her lips.
Seeing the coffin, Jinsui pieced together the plan. Draining yang energy to facilitate a soul’s return to a corpse was this the forbidden art of the Hehuan Sect? These women were vessels brimming with stolen vitality. Madam Zi likely intended to extract that energy to call back Su Liuyun's soul.
Jinsui’s brow furrowed. The Hehuan Sect truly deserved its reputation as a blight upon the cultivation world. How many lives had to be snuffed out just to bring one person back?
One by one, the controlled women stepped forward. Each arrived with a radiant, healthy glow, but as they departed, their essence seemed to vanish. Their color drained, and they appeared to age a decade in an instant before collapsing into a deep, death-like slumber.
Chao Jinsui remained still, observing the surroundings with cold detachment. Suddenly, her ears twitched.
In the crowd, a round-faced girl had woken up.
Unlike the others, she wore simple green robes and carried a sword at her waist clearly a fellow sword cultivator. The girl was deathly pale, fighting the urge to scream. She tried to remain calm, but waking up in such a macabre ritual was enough to break anyone. The harder she tried to steady herself, the more she shook like a leaf in the wind.
If she continued, she would be spotted in seconds.
Just as the girl’s trembling was about to draw attention, Jinsui stepped forward subtly, using her own body to shield her. This move, however, pushed Jinsui into the very front row.
Madam Zi’s gaze, sharp and poisonous, was searching for something. Finally, her eyes locked onto Jinsui.
She let out a sudden, chilling laugh. "Ah, it's Jinsui."
The eerie, melodic voice echoed through the night, causing the Su disciples to shiver. "Look," she smiled. "Our main course has arrived."
Madam Zi rose and glided over with swaying grace. She leaned in close, her long purple nails trailing across Jinsui’s cheek, leaving a faint trail of shudders in their wake. "What a coincidence. I thought you might be late."
Jinsui’s pupils were vacant, her face a mask of nothingness. Madam Zi scrutinized her for a long time but found no flaw. She turned away, and Jinsui, following the feigned guidance of the Gu, trailed behind her.
Behind them, the round-faced girl went perfectly still. With all eyes on Jinsui, no one noticed that one of their "vessels" was awake.
Jinsui was led to a coffin and instructed to lie down. Madam Zi stared down at her, her eyes filled with a venomous resentment.
"Jinsui, was I not good to you? You had no mother since childhood, so I was willing to be your godmother. Every time you visited Mandarin Duck City, did I ever mistreat you?"
Madam Zi’s voice rose in a shrill reprimand. "Liuyun was devoted to you! How did he ever fail you? I even intended for you to be his wife! Why would you do something so heart-wrenching to me? Speak!"
Jinsui felt the Gu worm inside her react to the command, forcing her mouth to open. She realized then that Madam Zi genuinely believed her own delusions, she truly thought she had been kind, and that Su Liuyun’s obsession was true love. Because Jinsui had resisted and harmed her son, the woman felt genuinely betrayed, as if Jinsui were an ungrateful ingrate.
But Jinsui remembered the first time she had entered their home. Madam Zi’s eyes had flickered between her and Chao Xiaotu like a merchant appraising goods before finally selecting her. To Madam Zi, Jinsui was never a person; she was merely a high-quality object.
No one dared tell the Madam the truth: that Su Liuyun, a mere Golden Core cultivator, was laughably beneath a genius sword cultivator of the Nascent Soul stage. Yet, in Madam Zi’s eyes, her son was perfect, and Jinsui’s rejection was nothing short of madness.
Since the Madam wanted the truth, Jinsui gave it to her.
"Not close," she said simply.
"Too weak."
Those four words made Madam Zi’s eyes widen. Jinsui wasn't usually one for cruelty, but the woman had asked.
She added, "Ordinary looks. Corrupt morals."
Behind them, the Great Demon seemed to let out a muffled chuckle.
Jinsui’s honesty shattered Madam Zi’s composure. "Shut up!" she shrieked.
Jinsui lay back down calmly. She knew this would happen. How could a woman like that accept that her precious son was worthless in the eyes of others?
Su Baishan sighed. "Madam, she is ungrateful. We should use her blood to sacrifice for our son and welcome him back."
"No!" Madam Zi’s eyes burned with malice. "I’ve changed my mind. Baishan, didn't you say the body you found for Liuyun was mediocre? This girl possesses a Natural Sword Bone. We shall pluck it from her and give it to Liuyun. It is a fitting end for her!"
Madam Zi took a dagger from Su Baishan, its blade wreathed in dark, swirling energy. With a contorted face, she lunged downward!
In the next heartbeat, the Kunlun Sword erupted with a resonant hum. It flew from its sheath like a streak of lightning, parrying the dagger. A burst of golden light exploded from the blade, the force of the impact sending Madam Zi reeling back several steps.
Jinsui opened her eyes and sat up in the coffin.
"You! You weren't controlled?" Madam Zi was shocked, but she quickly tried to sense the Gu. It was still there! Her eyes darkened as she prepared to trigger the parasite.
However, Yan Xueyi moved faster. With a flick of his hand, a terrifying palm strike whistled through the air. Madam Zi grabbed Su Baishan and used him as a human shield before retreating. Su Baishan was sent flying, coughing up a mouthful of blood as his internal organs screamed in pain.
"You want to know why she looks down on Su Liuyun?"
A handsome demon stepped out from the shadows, his eyes full of mockery. "Because you and your son are exactly the same."
His voice was laced with biting scorn. "Ugly faces, beautiful dreams."
Madam Zi’s expression twisted. "Who are you?"
The Su disciples drew their swords, but the demon only tilted his head lazily. "Do you want to know how your son died?"
Jinsui leaned against the edge of the coffin. "I killed the body."
The demon smirked. "I burned the soul. He is gone, utterly and completely."
"What did you say?!" Madam Zi froze. Even Su Baishan was stunned.
"You killed my son? Just because of that Love Gu?" Madam Zi shrieked in fury. "It was a mere worm! He did it because he loved you so deeply!"
Jinsui remained silent, her expression deadpan.
"Kill them! All of you, attack!"
Su Baishan, hearing of his son's true end, ignored his injuries. As Madam Zi and Yan Xueyi became locked in combat, he scrambled to his feet and lunged at Jinsui with his sword. "Give me back my son's life!"
Jinsui had just touched upon the "Follow the Heart" realm of the Kunlun Sword Technique. Facing the injured Su Baishan was the perfect test. Her sword moved like a gale, leaving afterimages in the air as it clashed with his.
She remained seated in the coffin, eyes closed. She allowed her connection with the Kunlun Sword to reach a peak of synchronicity, entering a profound state of focus. As if in response, the sword vibrated with sheer excitement.
The round-faced girl, hiding in the crowd, stared in awe. She was a sword cultivator too, but she had never seen anything like this. Fighting with her eyes closed?
Jinsui had mastered the "Gale" realm while training under her ancestor. In those sessions, she could parry every strike with flawless precision. Now, combining the speed of the Gale with the intuition of the Heart, she wove a net of steel that Su Baishan could not penetrate.
Frustrated and pained by the demon’s previous strike, Su Baishan saw Jinsui sitting motionless and assumed she was vulnerable. He transformed into a cloud of black mist, bypassing the sword to strike at her directly.
"Watch out!" the round-faced girl cried.
Suddenly, a massive serpent tail whipped through the air, swatting Su Baishan away like a fly. With a single thought from Jinsui, the Kunlun Sword pivoted, turning into a golden meteor. It pierced through Su Baishan with a sickening thud just as he was falling.
He landed directly into the wide-open mouth of Little Eyes.
Gulp.
Little Eyes made a gagging sound. Yue—
"Don't you dare spit him out!" Jinsui commanded.
Su Baishan was no more.
On the other side of the clearing, Madam Zi had been talking a big game about avenging her son, but she was already looking for an exit. From the moment Yan Xueyi appeared, she knew he wasn't human. He was a demon, and not a half-breed like the Su family, but a pure, terrifyingly powerful one. She didn't recognize the Demon Lord, but she knew a monster when she saw one.
The Demon Lord blocked her path with a bone-chilling smile. Madam Zi gritted her teeth. Mandarin Duck City was her home turf, and she had chosen this mountain for its hidden defenses.
A massive array beneath her feet suddenly erupted with purple light. Countless Yin Corpses crawled out from the earth, reaching for Yan Xueyi’s ankles. Using the distraction, she tried to flee into the night.
But the corpses were instantly blasted away by a surge of overwhelming demonic energy. Madam Zi was snatched out of the air like a broken-winged bird. When she turned, she saw a terrifying mass of black fog shaped like a blood-red skull looming over her.
Between the field of corpses and the giant red skull, it was hard to tell who the "villain" was. With a scream, Madam Zi’s form was crushed into a cloud of vapor.
The demon landed, frowning. He hadn't crushed her true body. Even the Gu King wasn't on her. Madam Zi was as slippery as a fox with three burrows.
Yan Xueyi realized he had sensed the Gu King's evil aura on her, yet there was no trace of it when she dissipated. How could she control the Love Gu from a distance? There was only one possibility: she had fused herself with the Gu King.
He looked at his hand and felt a sudden, intense urge to wash it.
The mountain was now crawling with Yin Corpses. These were the remains of the men who had been drained of their yang energy, refined into monsters by the mountain's array.
The Kunlun Sword sang with excitement, its golden light mowed down the first row of approaching ghouls. The women who had regained consciousness were screaming in terror.
Jinsui opened her eyes and stood atop Little Eyes' massive head. She scanned the battlefield and quickly found the eye of the array. The Kunlun Sword flew like a bolt of lightning, shattering a tombstone in the distance.
The black array flickered and died. The relentless tide of corpses slowed.
Suddenly, a thick, oppressive cloud of black energy appeared, manifesting into a tall, imposing demon. Behind him, the phantom of the blood-red skull flickered ominously. The survivors huddled together in despair. Another monster? This one looked even more terrifying than the corpses!
Just as hope was fading, a calm voice rang out.
"Yan Xueyi."
The Great Demon was momentarily dazed, lost in his own cool entrance, and instinctively moved to help Jinsui down from the snake. As his gaze met the cold, elegant sword cultivator, the terrifying, blood-red skull...
...turned bright pink.
And then it vanished instantly.
Little Eyes: "..."
The survivors: "..."
As the trio prepared to leave, the round-faced girl ran up and pressed a jade pendant into Jinsui’s hand. "Thank you for saving my life, Senior! I am from the Jade Sword Alliance. If you ever need anything, please bring this to us!"
Jinsui nodded. She recognized the mark of the Alliance. It explained why the girl had woken up so quickly; her sect’s mental cultivation was top-tier. Jinsui accepted the token, building good karma was a habit from her days as the Young Sect Leader.
Back at their lodgings, they investigated the "pills" that had caused all this. It turned out that for over a decade, the city’s pharmacies had been selling "Qi Nourishing Pills" to weary women and "Beauty Pills" to courtesans. Most of the women in the city had taken them at some point.
"We have to destroy that Gu King," Jinsui said firmly.
"Madam Zi won't show her face for a while," Yan Xueyi replied. "She's badly wounded. She'll be hiding behind the Su Family's protective arrays to recover."
For the next two days, Mandarin Duck City was eerily quiet. The streets were empty, and the brothels were shuttered. Rumors were flying, and panic had replaced the city's usual hedonism. The Su Family kept their gates barred until the next morning, when they posted a notice.
The wedding to "bring luck" to the eldest son, Su Liuyun, would proceed as scheduled.
Jinsui looked at the notice and laughed. "Madam Zi is bolder than I thought."
"No," Yan Xueyi sneered. "She's desperate. She needs a way to heal, and she's willing to take a risk."
"We can sneak in," Jinsui suggested. "Breaking through the Su Family's grand array would be too destructive for the city. This is easier."
Outside, Hong Niang and the monk Guang Ping were playing chess when the atmosphere inside the room suddenly shifted. The Demon Lord’s voice rose in an uncharacteristic pitch.
"What?! You're going to be the 'Luck-Bringing Bride'?"
Become Su Liuyun's bride? Over his dead body! His eyes narrowed. "No. I'll just go and level the entire array."
"We don't know what else is inside," Jinsui countered calmly. "That Gu has been refined for a thousand years. Why waste energy smashing the front door when we can just walk in and kill the worm?"
They stared each other down in a stalemate.
Jinsui looked at the fuming demon and sighed. "Yan Xueyi, if I don't go as the bride, are you going to do it?"
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