The rhythmic clatter of hooves echoed along the official road as the Dark Spirit Horse-drawn carriage sped forward. The rushing wind howled in their ears, lifting the hood of Qingjian's cloak.
Her face was expressionless, but her mood was far from calm.
Three days, she had said it would take three days, but that had been calculated under the best possible conditions.
If Gu Fangchen reached Qiu'an Circuit and immediately set off toward the Sword Pavilion, running at the peak limit of a Seventh-Grade Martial Path cultivator, it would take him at least three full days to rendezvous with them midway.
But clearly, Gu Fangchen still had things to do in Qiu'an Circuit.
At the moment, Qingjian couldn't imagine how Gu Fangchen could avoid being discovered, that he hadn't actually left the city with them for the Sword Pavilion at all.
In truth, if Gu Yuye sent people in pursuit, they would catch up even faster.
Since Gu Fangchen was still the Heir Apparent of the Northern Garrison Prince's household, Gu Yuye himself would certainly be summoned by Emperor Yong'an for questioning and could not leave personally.
The one most likely to be sent out was Gu Lianqian.
A peak Sixth-Grade Martial Courage Realm cultivator, half a step into the Grandmaster Realm, a peerless prodigy.
If she came in pursuit, her speed would far surpass Gu Fangchen's by an overwhelming margin.
Qingjian made a quick calculation. If Gu Lianqian went all out, she would catch up within eighteen hours, no more than a day and a half.
Even with Ding Xingfeng traveling alongside them and capable of blocking Gu Lianqian, the mere fact that Gu Fangchen did not show himself would already speak volumes.
Besides, this Martial Saint had no shortage of old enemies. The moment he appeared, even more trouble would come swarming in.
Qingjian's hands tightened on the reins as she stared at the road ahead, unease flickering in her heart.
What made her more anxious still, after the princess's secret talk with Gu Yuye, there had been no message, as though she was hesitating over something.
Qingjian touched the pill formula hidden on her person and bit her lip, her expression shifting between determination and doubt.
Forget it.
If the time truly comes and they cannot make it in time, then she would simply buy him some.
...
Inside the carriage.
Ning Caiyong lowered the curtain and watched Xuexiang, who was leaning halfway out the window, craning her neck to look curiously at the scenery. Ning Caiyong sighed softly.
This time, aside from the few of them, she had brought almost nothing with her.
No, to be exact, what she called "her belongings" were mostly trinkets gifted by Gu Yuye: rouge and powder, jade hairpins and gold ornaments, several rare musical scores, and a zither named "Longing."
What truly belonged to her, there was only one thing,
The small wooden sword she had grasped during her first birthday's "item choosing" ceremony, which she had always worn around her neck as a charm for safety.
If there was anything else that truly belonged to her, it would be her son, Gu Fangchen, whom she had raised by hand, pouring all her love and devotion into him.
Other than that, she could give up everything.
Whether Gu Yuye had betrayed her, she did not know. But now that he had used her as a piece in his scheme, that fact was already beyond dispute.
Why had Gu Yuandao recognized Gu Yuye as his father the moment he became the top scholar?
Gu Yuandao had cultivated alone for years, yet upon recognition, called them "Father" and "Mother" so naturally.
She had once thought Gu Yuye was simply stern and emotionally reserved, that he couldn't express affection toward his son.
But now, it seemed he did have tenderness. It was just that from the very beginning, he had regarded Fangchen as a chess piece.
Then the care she had lavished upon Fangchen, had that, too, been part of Gu Yuye's calculations?
Ning Caiyong had lived in the inner court for decades, but she was no fool.
She had to think carefully about where she stood within Gu Yuye's grand design.
Only by understanding that clearly could she know what Gu Yuye truly meant to her.
As for Gu Yuandao...
Ning Caiyong lowered her gaze, the long lashes veiling eyes that to outsiders always seemed gentle and soft.
That child was her own flesh and blood, yet he had not grown up by her side. If the Demon Sect's swapping of infants had truly harmed him, then of course her heart would ache.
Now that he was a Saint's disciple and had achieved greatness, that was good.
When all was settled in the future, she, as a mother, might not be able to give him the same love, but she would still offer him some care.
But if everything had been part of Gu Yuye's plan, then as the one at the center of it all, was this child aware of it, or was he innocent?
Ning Caiyong raised her hand to her chest and gently rubbed the little wooden sword beneath her robes.
...
Once the Toothsmith began forging an item, he would not move from his spot.
Only then could Gu Fangchen safely head for the northern border battlefield.
But he did not have much time left, every second counted. Once time ran out, if the counterfeit "Lotus Concealed in the Womb" did not become genuine, he would have to find another way.
Forging such a counterfeit would take two full days.
Which meant that was all the time he had left.
Still, even if the fake could not become real, Gu Fangchen had other ways to make it useful.
After all, anything forged by the Toothsmith, though lacking the true power of the original, was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Even cultivators of the Second Grade would not be able to tell the difference by sight, aura, or causality, only upon using it would the illusion shatter.
Many players had once been tricked by the "Emotion" path, using incomplete blueprints to commission the Toothsmith's work. They received nothing but counterfeits.
They still sang his praises, calling him a mysterious NPC whose wares were fast and flawless, urging others to try him out.
Only when they used the items did they realize they were worthless. A whole crowd of players had been scammed. Eventually, the veterans began tricking the newcomers in turn.
By then, of course, the Toothsmith was long gone.
That was when players finally realized, this guy was a swindler!
He had never claimed his items were real. Why was he so mysterious and always on the run?
Not because of some lofty reclusive nature, but because if he ever showed his face, the victims would come to kill him!
Otherwise, how could he be the founder of the Demon Sect's "Craft" Path...
Of course, that bit of lore was only uncovered much later in the game.
Had people known earlier, who would have fallen for it?
The wind howled in Gu Fangchen's ears as he narrowed his eyes.
The spiritual power supplied by the Demon-Suppressing Nails surged within him like a roaring river. Relying on the stamina of his Seventh-Grade Blood Surge Realm body, he sprinted across the wasteland at full speed.
His heart thudded heavily in his chest, his mind thrumming with exhilaration.
Neither of the two Gu Fangchens, of past life or present, had ever experienced their body operating at such peak performance.
The original host had been even weaker than him, a frail invalid whose poison would spread through the heart veins at the slightest exertion.
Now, with the Demon-Suppressing Nails suppressing the toxins, the two lesser venoms had been refined away. With the Flower-Grasping technique sealing the Heart-Poison Mark temporarily, he was finally free to run.
Soon, he reached the edge of the Half the Rivers and Mountains barrier.
Here, the landscape changed entirely, charred and blood-red earth, pitted with countless craters, broken weapons jutting out of the ground.
The air reeked of smoke and blood. Gu Fangchen slowed, coming upon a simple mound of stones, a soldier's grave.
A tattered banner flapped above it, bearing the emblem of nine white dragons encircling a sun, symbol of the fallen White Dragon Army, once led by Princess Xiao Yinghao.
This battlefield near Qiu'an Circuit was where her army had fought and held the line.
"I recall, the White Dragon Army should be fighting the Ahe Tribe of the Qingman right now."
Gu Fangchen squinted at the distant horizon, recalling a certain hidden piece of history.
"In Year 170 of Great Wei, due to an internal intelligence leak, Xiao Yinghao fell into the Qingman's Blood River Repentance Formation, besieged for seven days. The White Dragon Army lost a hundred thousand troops, crippling its power."
"Afterward, every person involved in leaking the intelligence committed suicide. The truth behind it was never uncovered, becoming an unsolved case."
This had all taken place before the game's main storyline began.
Given the timing, it was almost obvious who had orchestrated it.
Why had Gu Yuye dared to openly recognize Gu Yuandao before Emperor Yong'an?
After all, doing so erased his one greatest weakness, the fact that the Northern Garrison Prince's heir was a useless wastrel.
Not only erased, but reversed, turning into a genius of geniuses, drawing the Confucians to his side.
Even if Emperor Yong'an trusted him, such an act made his ambition clear.
Was Gu Yuye not afraid the Emperor would immediately crush him?
The answer, he was not.
After the White Dragon Army's defeat, Qiu'an Circuit had nearly fallen, forcing Gu Yuye to deploy the Xuanhuang Army for reinforcement.
Under those circumstances, the Emperor could not possibly suppress him.
Not only could he not suppress him, he had to soothe and reward him instead.
And thus came the opening narration known to every player:
"In the 175th year of Great Wei, the vast empire rotted from within, a glorious shell masking decay. Emperor Yong'an's lifespan neared its end; the Northern Garrison Prince's power overshadowed the court. Under a sky of conspiracies, sects fell one after another, the wheel of chaos began its grinding over all living beings..."
At this moment, Gu Yuye was but one step short of "covering the heavens with his hand."
And that single step, Gu Fangchen had now blocked.
No wonder Gu Yuye had flown into a rage.
"So the forums were right, Gu Yuye had already allied with the Demon Sect, colluding with the enemy, selling White Dragon Army intelligence to the Qingman."
"This bastard, call him a villain and it's still too kind. He's rot through and through."
"Not a shred of integrity in him. No wonder later in the story, when he fled for his life, he betrayed allies without hesitation."
Truly, no surprise that he was the most hated antagonist among players.
Gu Fangchen smirked bitterly, suppressing the disgust roiling in his chest. He rummaged among the corpses and changed into a dead man's uniform.
His original clothing would make him a target here, spotted once, he'd be surrounded and killed instantly.
The pit contained not only fallen White Dragon soldiers, but also cultivators from various sects who had come to assist.
The one whose clothes he took belonged to a minor sect called Jade Void Path, a sect so nondescript it was perfect for disguise.
His main goal was to find a tooth equal in value to "Regulation" to reset his attributes, but before heading to the battlefield, he had to ensure his previous setup wouldn't be exposed.
Using the grave mound that would still exist five years later as a landmark, Gu Fangchen quickly pinpointed one of the Heaven's Eye Bureau's "eye planting points."
The Heaven's Eye Bureau was the greatest intelligence organization in the game, neither righteous nor evil, purely merchants of information.
Their intelligence network and transmission methods were unmatched in speed.
Their greatest method was their unique divine art: "Eye of Heaven."
They could detach their own eyes and bury them in place, recording and transmitting everything that happened there.
Commonly called, "planting an eye."
Gu Fangchen had once used this fact to threaten Old Ding.
Even a Martial Saint had to tread carefully around them, proof enough of the Heaven's Eye Bureau's power.
"Hmm... Gu Yuye will likely send Gu Lianqian after Mother. Gu Youren is distant from her, Gu Yuandao a stranger, and Mother protects me now."
"So it must be Gu Lianqian."
Gu Fangchen finished dressing, rolled in the corpses to add dirt and blood for effect, picked up a greatsword from the ground, and ran toward the marked "eye planting point."
After searching a moment, he swung his sword into the earth.
Three strikes later, he unearthed an eyeball.
Gu Fangchen picked it up and smiled pleasantly.
"I've long heard your Bureau has eyes and ears everywhere. Care to make a deal?"
...
After bidding her father farewell, Gu Lianqian immediately took up her beloved sword and, following the direction of the Sword Pavilion, set out with two hidden guards from the Prince's estate.
Though she considered the guards unnecessary, she could not disobey her father's orders.
The Dark Spirit Horse, bred for endurance and speed, could easily outrun martial artists below the Eighth Grade, but still fell short of a Sixth-Grade cultivator's body.
So Gu Lianqian chose to travel on her own.
For as long as she could remember, she had dreamed of roaming the world as a wandering heroine, like those in the tales.
Yet Gu Yuye had never permitted her to leave, claiming her cultivation was insufficient.
Who would have thought that because of Gu Fangchen's foolishness, she'd finally get the chance!
"Hmph! Gu Fangchen, this time you've fallen into my hands!"
Gu Lianqian leapt to the mountaintop, gazing toward the distant horizon. Her chin lifted proudly.
"If I go all out, within a day I'll overtake the Dark Spirit Horse carriage and prove you never left the city with Mother."
"Then even the Martial Saint will see how wrong he was to take you as disciple!"
When Gu Fangchen, a supposed good-for-nothing, had been accepted by the Martial Saint, Gu Lianqian had shut herself in her room for an entire day, utterly unable to understand why.
How could such a waste be a Martial Saint's disciple, while she, a prodigy, was not his equal?
Now, she would prove how foolish that decision had been.
With a flourish of her sword, she smiled coldly. Revenge and vindication were close at hand.
With a soft whoosh, her figure vanished, reappearing far down the mountain trail.
...
The eye in Gu Fangchen's hand was silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"What kind of deal does the gentleman propose? The Heaven's Eye Bureau's information does not come cheap."
Gu Fangchen smiled.
"I'm not here to buy information. I'm here to sell it."
"Oh? What information?"
Gu Fangchen's grin widened.
"Gu Yuye's daughter, Gu Lianqian. She carries on her person the holy relic of the Tara Sect: 'Lotus Concealed in the Womb.'"