Chapter 121: Weapons Unlocked 2
Translated by: iris.knight
Gu Qingyu held out her hand and took a deep breath. Qi Wan's advice popped into her mind. She can't use such a basic method to summon her weapons anymore. She gritted her teeth, lowered her hands, and then closed her eyes gently.
Nothing has changed. It was still dark behind her eyes, although she could vaguely see the light from the Devouring Lotus. Her fingers moved as she tried to form a mental image of her weapons in her mind. She focused as she tried to get every detail as accurate as possible.
They should still be with Mo Bai. I wonder how he is coping?
Suddenly, she was holding something in her hands, it was hot against her skin. She looked down, it was the Soul Chain and the Soul Nails. But unlike before, the Soul Chain was warm in her hands. It used to be so cold that it sent chills to her core. And the Soul Nails were glowing with an unearthly blue light. And then, with a blinding light, someone gradually appeared before her. His long, platinum white hair tumbled over his shoulders, his robe was complete black and void of any patterns. The pure black of his robes stood out against his white hair. He had amber-coloured eyes, and he had a blank expression on his face. He seemed a little stiff and rigid.
"Who are you?" Gu Qingyu was confused to see him.
"Me? I'm the Soul Nails." The boy replied impatiently. "Are you my new owner?"
"Uh, I guess..." Gu Qingyu was a little speechless, the boy seemed a little grumpy. She was not wrong.
Upon hearing this, the teenager frowned, "I thought you'll be someone powerful. Instead, I'm stuck with a little girl."
...Big brother, why do you look younger than me?
"Huh, you're the incarnation of the White Tiger. But you're still too weak." The teenager gestured as he continued. "So, since one of you has released me, I'll serve you for the time being. You can call me Yuan."
"One of you? Seal?" Gu Qingyu had no idea what Yuan was referring to.
"Huh? Was that dude in white clothes not your friend or something?" Yuan returned her question. "If it weren't for his blood, I might still be asleep. That blood was quite tasty." He licked his lips hungrily.
"Blood?" Gu Qingyu shrieked. "Explain."
"Huh? Don't you know?" Yuan seemed to take delight in her horror. He continued after a long pause. "That person was in so much pain. And he nailed the Soul Nails straight into his body to suppress something. That alone is crazy, but I delivered and controlled his urges. His blood coated the nails and broke the seal that was placed on me. Which by the way, breaking that seal required a lot of blood with powerful magic in them. It was fresh, rich, with an aftertaste of insanity. It was delicious."
"Mo Bai..." Gu Qingyu was a little stunned, but she quickly responded, "So, you're the Soul Nails?"
"Did you not catch me the first time?" Yuan frowned again.
"What about the Soul Chain?" Gu Qingyu looked around, there was no one else aside from them.
"Soul Chain?" Yuan asked curiously.
Gu Qingyu nodded. "Yeah, that girl with blonde hair and violet eyes."
"Ah, she's taking a nap. Maybe she doesn't like the taste of blood." Yuan narrowed his eyes and deduced.
"Oh, you guys are really strange..." Gu Qingyu nodded, "One of you likes blood, the other doesn't. And personality-wise, you're polar opposite even though you two are bonded together..."
"Who wants to be bonded with her?" Yuan cut her off impatiently. "That was just her wishful thinking, and wayward blessings from some people in the past. I had nothing to do with it."
"Wow, ok...talk about capricious." Gu Qingyu was losing words.
"Did you just call me capricious?" Yuan seemed to be laughing, "Funny, she calls me that, a lot."
"Yeah, pretty much everyone would say that." Gu Qingyu stopped beating around the bushes and cut straight to the point. "Since you, the Soul Nails, are back, can you tell me a little more about yourself? Introduce yourself."
Yuan was a little stunned. "What did you just say?" Introduce himself? Why does this feel like an interview?
"Didn't you say that I'm your owner? You should know yourself, right? Then introduce yourself, like usage instructions, production date, shelf life, that sort of thing." Gu Qingyu explained nonchalantly.
Yuan realised that he was up against someone phenomenal. He frowned and reluctantly introduced himself. "Yuan, I'm the Soul Nails. Humans see me and the Soul Chain as a symbiotic pair of weapons, but we are two separate weapons. When my powers are fully awakened, I can freeze and subdue souls. It's very powerful, and if you can't control it, I could eat you instead."
"Wow." Gu Qingyu was blown away. "Then why would I use you at all? I do not want to be eaten."
Yuan scowled and snapped back, "Suit yourself!"
Gu Qingyu retorted, "Fine, then I'll never use you!" She waved her hand and turned to walk away. "I couldn't care less!"
Yuan didn't expect her to be so decisive and immediately blocked her path. "Wait!"
"What are you doing?" Gu Qingyu glared at him with narrowed eyes. "My time is precious!"
"You..."
"What? If you have something to say, make it quick!" Gu Qingyu was even more cocky than him.
Yuan has never met anyone like her. He knew he was losing, so he answered disgruntledly, "From now on, you can call me whenever, master."
Huh, that's more like it! Gu Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Yuan."
"By the way, the man named Mo Bai seems to have tied something to the Soul Chain." Yuan held his chin and said, "You better go check it out soon, or it's going to melt."
"What?" Gu Qingyu opened her eyes and snapped back to reality.
Her night vision activated automatically. She was staring at the ceiling and in her hand was the burning Soul Chain. Gu Qingyu sat up, and just as expected, something was tied to it. She untied it from the Soul Chain. It was a letter and a small pouch, inside the pouch was something stiff and hard. Gu Qingyu opened the letter and read it under the bright moonlight---
Yu'er, I'm sorry. I broke your heart and I've locked you up for so long. I know this is not what you wanted, and I'm sorry. My actions even almost cost you your life. Please, give me some time, I will become the person that you wanted me to be. And if you are willing to see me, when we meet again, I would be the same Mo Bai you met at the beginning of everything.
Mo Bai
The sight of those soft strokes of ink made her eyes sting a little. She looked up and was about to rub her eyes, but she stopped. There was a red robe floating in the air. She opened her mouth to scream, a hand clasped over her mouth and she swallowed her scream.
"Stupid apprentice, this would scare you?" A familiar voice came from behind her.
This long-awaited voice made Gu Qingyan burst into tears. Master! It turned out that the Lifeblood Jewel of Destiny was in that pouch!
Yan Zun's eyes softened at the sight of her tears. His hand shifted away from her mouth and moved to wipe away the tears at the corner of her eyes. "Stupid apprentice, did I scare you?"
Gu Qingyu shook her head. She stared at him blankly, without a single word.
"What's wrong?" Yan Zun caressed her cheek. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I..." Gu Qingyu choked a little. "Sorry, Master..."
I promised you that I would be stronger, that I would learn to stand on my own two feet, and that I would be fine on my own. But I couldn't do any of that.
"Why are you apologising? You did a very good job." Yan Zun's hand brushed against her hair. "I'm proud of you, stupid apprentice."
"I know..." Gu Qingyu lowered her head and wiped the corners of her eyes with her hands.
Yan Zun sighed, his feet lightly touched the ground as he sat down next to her. He held her in his arms and patted her back gently. "Well, good. Don't cry."
"Um..." Gu Qingyu raised her hand and wiped her tears, but her tears would not stop.
Yan Zun looked at her in his arms and smiled. "Why, it was just a few days, did you miss your teacher so much?"
Gu Qingyu pouted. "No..."
"Haha, okay, it's fine." Yan Zun laughed, "Just cry it all out, don't hold back."
Gu Qingyu became embarrassed after he said that. She wiped her tears away with a sniffle and looked up. "Master, the Soul Nail seems to have awakened."
Yan Zun let go of her and waved his sleeves. "Let's talk somewhere else."
The world before her spun, then faded to black. When she opened her eyes again, the fiery red spirit world appeared before her. That grey wasteland was no more. The spirit world can only be called a spirit world with him there.
"Focus, stop zoning out!" Yan Zun looked at Gu Qingyu, "So, you said that the Soul Nails have awakened. How was it?"
"Ah, he looked like a boy, and he calls himself Yuan. And he has white hair with black robes..." It was easy to describe him, because Yuan's appearance was so unforgettable.
Yan Zun was lying on a big chaise lounge and propped up his head with one arm. "Oh, it's him."
"Eh? You two know each other?" That piqued her curiosity.
"You can say so." Yan Zun didn't continue the topic, and turned away instead. "Okay, go get some sleep. I need some rest too, I lost too much power when I was sealed. Oh, the Spirit Gem is also in that pouch."
"Okay!" She nodded, closed her eyes and left the spirit world. Mo Bai sent the Spirit Gem to her?