Arc 3: Luodong Village
Chapter 34: Caught Eavesdropping
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Luo Shu, who was standing nearby, hadn’t wanted to meddle at first. But seeing Fan Lin’s eyes already red and unnatural, her interest was suddenly piqued.
A swift, violent streak flashed before her eyes. The girl moved so fast that the human eye could hardly follow, delivering a harsh elbow strike to the soft spot at his waist.
“Ugh!”
Fan Lin yelped in pain and suddenly let go of Zhao Huaqiong. The woman quickly backed to a safe distance, gasping for air. The tall young man’s strength was too great for Luo Shu to control in a single move. Taking advantage of the gap, he pushed her hard backward, then his whole body headed straight toward the fire.
“He’s trying to kill himself!”
His full-speed momentum was unstoppable. Fan Lin was desperate for death, and his fierce forward charge was so violent that even Hua Qingjiu, rushing over, couldn’t pull him back.
Not far away, the singing and dancing crowd hadn’t noticed this dramatic scene. They were still immersed in their own joy, laughing and chatting. Meanwhile, Fan Lin’s previously pale face was soaked and stained red with blood as he barreled toward the bonfire, ignoring all obstacles.
Whoosh—
The blazing flames were semi-transparent. The smell of burning clothes mixed with the stench and the aroma of cooking meat drifted through the air, finally snapping the oblivious people out of their daze. Fan Lin rolled in the fire, screaming in pain, intermittently calling out the name of his deceased girlfriend.
“Wanwan… I was wrong, Wanwan… save me…”
People scattered around. Their gazes shifted from fear to understanding, yet no one dared to help.
A deep sense of helplessness spread through everyone. Qin Dongwan bit her lower lip and froze, unable to act.
His body was turning to ash inch by inch. It was bizarre. Even now, using water or sand could barely save him.
“A love gu, it’s a love gu! It’s acting up!”
In the dazzling firelight, an old man standing nearby suddenly noticed and spoke, astonishment bursting from his old, murky yellow eyes.
“Love Gu?”
Luo Shu frowned, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
“In some regions, old tales tell of strange arts. Many poisonous insects are put in one container to devour each other, and the last one left is called Gu.
Gu poisons are strange and varied. It is said Love Gu is made by mixing heart blood with Gu poison. If a woman loves a man deeply, she can place the Gu on him. Once under Love Gu, he cannot betray her, and if he does, he pays with his life. The woman will also not survive alone.”[1]
Qin Dongwan spoke in a voice only those nearby could hear.
The smell of burning flesh was scattered by the wind. The NPC crowd watching showed regret or shock, but no one pitied Fan Lin. In their impression, placing Love Gu was extremely common. Here, the girls used their lives to demand unwavering love, requiring the partner to be loyal unto death.
Bai Wanwan died. Most likely, Bai Wanwan placed Love Gu on Fan Lin. But now, both were dead and there was no proof, so the reason for the poisoning couldn’t be found.
“Didn’t Fan Lin say before that his girlfriend happily chatted with the tour guide for some time?”
Hua Qingjiu, who had calmly watched the whole event, stepped closer. His voice was low and controlled, his refined face showing no emotion:
“I suspect this Gu poison is related to the tour guide. Earlier, it was clear that Fan Lin and his girlfriend had conflicts, and the tour guide played a part in it. Even if the Gu wasn’t placed by him, he might have taught the girlfriend how to use it.”
“Teaching someone to poison… could this tour guide be a sorcerer?”
Qin Dongwan habitually poked her face with her nails while thinking. Seeing Luo Shu looking thoughtful as well, she felt a bit relieved.
Fan Lin and Bai Wanwan were strangers to her. In the dungeon, they had faced death several times, and every life could literally be said to hang by a thread. Facing the life and death of strangers, even kind-hearted Qin Dongwan didn’t have any particularly strong reaction.
The priority was to unravel the truth from recent details.
“This possibility can’t be ruled out.”
Luo Shu, rarely taking the time to think deeply, spoke while looking at the charred, ruined corpse. She knew her own strength, and the force Fan Lin had just unleashed far exceeded that of a normal adult male, even comparable to her own superhuman strength.
Fan Lin clearly wasn’t a martial artist, which made it even stranger.
The onlookers shook their heads and sighed for a moment, then went back to their celebrations as if nothing had happened, as though the earlier events were a strange, cruel dream. People in luxurious clothes danced joyfully around the charred body, hand in hand, their singing piercing through the forest and moonlight, echoing to the skies.
Even in a group situation, Luo Shu didn’t usually share clues with everyone. In truth, the only person she could really trust now was Qin Dongwan.
As Hua Qingjiu walked away, the girl tugged at Qin Dongwan’s collar, pulling her down until the taller one bent slightly to meet her level. She asked, satisfied:
“The Gu poison you mentioned, is it varied, even able to increase strength?”
She clearly cared a lot about this matter. Beyond it possibly being a clue, there was also a faint unwillingness at being challenged in a field she prided herself on.
“Gu poisons are very strange. I haven’t studied them and just know a little. Maybe they could have that kind of strange effect.”
They were very close as they talked. The most uncomfortable part for Qin Dongwan was being forced to bend down while being grabbed by the collar, but it felt much better with Luo Shu’s filter over her.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
The girl’s pale, jade-like little hand gripped her collar tightly. Qin Dongwan hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently brushed it away, carefully avoiding the soft skin with her slightly long nails.
“I just feel something’s off about that Pingping. I’ll go check.”
While speaking to Luo Shu, Qin Dongwan saw the tall young man carrying Pingping quietly leave the crowd. She lost all desire to stay here. The girl’s long black hair was thick and flowing, looking very much like the female ghost sitting by the well last night.
“…I’ll go too.”
Luo Shu pondered for a few seconds, then lifted her head with a determined look. “I just feel something’s wrong with that man, not just the one called Pingping.”
Yesterday, everyone had seen the erotic drawings. In this situation, there was no shame. The young man beside Pingping was extremely strong, his body unusually fit, looking similar to the man in yesterday’s picture.
Qin Dongwan’s suspicion that Pingping was a female ghost, coupled with the sudden appearance of the sorcery Gu technique, made them naturally wary.
After informing Tang Zihang and the others, the two girls removed the jingling decorations from their bodies and hurried after them.
Near the village center was a small forest. In daylight, it looked normal, but now the wind rustled through the trees like ghostly wails.
Whether it was an illusion or not, as soon as Qin Dongwan stepped into the woods, she felt as if one foot had left the human world and entered a graveyard. A cold, desolate feeling rose in her chest, the sudden drop in temperature making her want to retreat.
No turning back, no turning back.
She murmured a few words in her mind and instinctively held Luo Shu’s little hand.
The girl seemed used to such sudden touches. Noticing the slight tremor, she didn’t pull away.
Soft panting mixed with the gusts of cold wind was caught by the ever-tense Qin Dongwan. She could vaguely make out Pingping’s light laughter. Embroidered shoes stepped on the soft earth, the sound so faint it was almost inaudible. The two walked a little further and soon saw the pair leaning against a tree, quietly intimate.
The young man was tall, probably around 1.9 meters. Pingping looked extremely petite in front of him, shrinking into his embrace like a little bird. The wind whistled brokenly through the trees, and fragmented words could barely be discerned.
“When are you sending someone… to transform, almost done… don’t you want to see…”
The speech was accompanied by hand movements. Pingping hesitated, half resisting, half pulling, and somehow tore off the young man’s shirt. Beneath it, the back revealed a fierce tattoo, confirming for Qin Dongwan that this young man was indeed the male in the erotic painting.
So Pingping and the young man were the originals?
Qin Dongwan found it hard to believe.
Next to her, Luo Shu showed no interest in their intimacy. Frowning, she signaled Qin Dongwan to leave. Even if the couple’s passion deepened, there was nothing meaningful to watch. After Luo Shu’s repeated glances to move on, Qin Dongwan nodded, and the two quietly began retreating behind the trees.
“That Lin… Lin something… quite handsome, suits you…”
Suddenly hearing a familiar name, Qin Dongwan paused, wanting to eavesdrop further. The girl’s voice carried a hint of self-satisfaction:
“They don’t know, they don’t know. When the time comes, I’ll first give it to you and then find Binzi… those two women, you can’t keep them after… you are my—”
The voice abruptly stopped.
It seemed like a few seconds passed, yet it felt like years. The wind died down, and all the world’s sound turned into silence in her ears. The only thing present was the approaching, frantic rustle of footsteps. She pressed against the rough tree bark, even hearing heavy breaths.
Everything cleared again, accompanied by fear gradually expanding, instantly swallowing her mind.
The cold moonlight cast an extremely long shadow of the already tall young man, beginning to warp slightly. The chill creeping from the soles of her feet almost froze her in place, leaving no chance to escape.
“Eavesdropping?”
The hoarse voice coming from the shattered sounds was no longer the soft whispers from before. The moment it spoke, it carried the stench of death.
Truth and death approached hand in hand. A single step apart, she had one foot in heaven, the next second, she plunged straight into hell.
Author's Note:
[1] Referenced the Love Gu encyclopedia. Here, the way Love Gu takes effect has been modified to advance the plot.
There should be a second update in the afternoon or evening~ romance progress: up (a little).
