TFSRSO Chapter 153 (Gu Girl 3)

Sensing the strange man's intentions, Lin Dan, who was struggling fiercely, calmed down, allowing herself to sink underwater. The more others wanted to see her in distress or despair, the less likely she would comply with their wishes.

The man raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat surprised.

Lin Dan calmly stared at him, not showing any vulnerability even though she was about to suffocate.

The man's eyebrows raised higher and higher, and he finally spoke: "Do you want me to save you?"

His voice directly entered Lin Dan's mind, and Lin Dan replied in her mind: "What do you want?" She always understood the truth that there's no such thing as a free lunch in the world. The man's body was translucent, and he could move freely in the water, so he was most likely a ghost. Would ghosts save people? Perhaps. But more often than not, they approach humans with ulterior motives.

Lin Dan wouldn't trust a human being, let alone a ghost.

The man chuckled lightly, and his gaze became focused. He didn't expect that this little girl would be so calm even when facing death. Suddenly, his handsome face came close, and the tip of his nose almost touched Lin Dan's. In a voice as hoarse and low as a chant, he said, "What I want is quite simple. Can I borrow your body for a while?"

His handsome face came closer to her. His crimson thin lips slightly curved upward, and his smile was very charming. If it were someone else, they would have been stunned by him by now and would have agreed without hesitation. But Lin Dan looked at him coldly, her eyes devoid of emotion, but instead, a deeper sense of caution.

"Absolutely not," she firmly refused in her mind.

The man was momentarily taken aback, his dark eyes scanning Lin Dan's face back and forth, finding no trace of despair. He stepped back a bit and said bluntly: "You're about to die. Only I can save you here."

Lin said coldly: "Between losing myself and losing my life, I choose to die."

The man chuckled again, his gaze at Lin Dan intense. He shook his head and said, "Interesting, truly interesting. You are the most special human I have ever seen. I can promise you that I will only borrow your body occasionally; I will not cause any trouble to you. When I'm done using it, I'll return it to you intact. I can also help you fulfill your wish. As long as it's something you want, I can help you get it."

Lin Dan refused again: "No, thank you." Whatever desires she had, she would achieve them with her own abilities, and if she couldn't, she would let them go. There was no need to force herself to fulfill them. The reason people suffer is because they have too many desires. She understood this truth better than anyone else.

The man looked at her with a smile, but his words were very cold: "Then die here."

Lin Dan locked eyes with him; even though her cheeks were red from suffocation, her expression remained calm. At that moment, the black bead she tied around her neck floated up with the current, gently swaying in front of her eyes. She immediately remembered the words left by the original host's mother, and her pitch-black eyes lit up.

The man was also very surprised to see the black bead and blurted out: "Holy Gu?"

Lin Dan did not miss his words, but she didn't have time to think deeply. She just twisted his body towards the bead, attempting to put it in her mouth.

The shock on the man's face had completely subsided, and he chuckled: "It is better to lend me your body than to use it to save yourself. Believe me, between the two, you made the worst choice. Gu Masters cultivate Gu in two ways - using vessels or using bodies. The Gu cultivated in vessels come in various types but aren't very powerful, while the Gu cultivated by the body are the opposite. Furthermore, Gu cultivated by the body are divided into two methods - using others' bodies or using one's own body. There are two methods, one is to use other people's bodies, and the other is to use your own. The blood of a Gu master is the favorite food of Gu. If you want to cultivate the most powerful Gu, you can only sacrifice your body. And the Gu egg you're wearing right now is the Holy Gu cultivated by the blood and bodies of countless generations of Gu masters in the Miao region. It has been passed down for thousands of years and has devoured countless lives, yet it has never hatched." The man gently stroked Lin Da's pale face and asked, "Do you know the price you need to pay to hatch it?"

Lin Dan just looked at him silently and didn't respond.

The man held Lin Dan's cheek, whispering like a lover: "Hatch it, and you will become the most powerful Gu master in the world. However, during the incubation process, you must provide it with a constant source of energy. No one knows what exactly it needs - perhaps raw meat, maybe poison. If you can't satisfy its appetite, your blood will become the best offering. It will suck you dry, leaving you as nothing more than a vessel for it to control. Your ancestors were very powerful. They had power you could never imagine; they could turn the clouds with their hands. They were capable of changing the world. However, they all failed, and none escaped the fate of becoming a sacrifice."

With his thumb, he caressed Lin Dan's delicate yet fragile eyelids, and he asked, word by word, "Are you sure you want to choose it and give up on me? Lend your body to me, and perhaps you could walk away unscathed. Swallow the Holy Gu, and you won't have any chance."

Lin Dan closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, her gaze was resolute. She didn't want to die, so she had to make a choice. One was a ghost, and the other was an unknown Gu egg. She naturally chose the Gu egg. The ghost could control her thoughts and devour her soul, but the parasite couldn't. If a ghost occupied her body, "Lin Dan" would cease to exist, but if the parasite took over, even if she had to endure a thousand tortures and endless pain, she would still be herself. This was the fundamental difference between the two.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, it wasn't a big deal to lend their body temporarily, with benefits to gain and no suffering to endure. But Lin Dan would never believe in free lunches falling from the sky. She had two paths before her, one smooth and bright but laid on the clouds, falling to the ground instantly, and the other rugged and dark but built on solid ground, where she could find footing. Choosing between the two was a no-brainer.

Lin Dan broke free from the man's grasp and lunged forward, taking the black pearl into her mouth and biting through its shell. A lump of coldness slid down her throat, causing intense pain. Her pores began to bleed, and her teeth, nails, and hair all fell out. Her skin peeled off layer by layer as it was washed away by the water.

The water she was in was instantly shrouded in a mist of blood. This change happened so quickly that even the mysterious man was caught off guard. He stepped back and looked at Lin Dan struggling within the blood mist with an inscrutable expression, chuckling.

Knowing the consequences of swallowing the Holy Gu, this little girl acted without hesitation. Should he call her foolish or clever? He hadn't seen such an interesting human in a long time. He really wanted to see with his own eyes what her final outcome would be.

The moment the Gu master swallows the Holy Gu, they suffer the pain of being reborn. If they couldn't withstand it, they would die on the spot. One mustn't underestimate this pain. As far as the man knew, about three-quarters of Gu masters died during this process, and the rest wouldn't survive for more than five years.

What would happen to this young girl before him? The man raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

The blood mist turned from black to bright red and gradually faded before finally dissipating entirely. A slender body floated in the water, with exquisite features, snow-white skin, and crimson lips. She looked like a water demon born in a secluded pool, breathtakingly beautiful. Her jet-black hair floated up and down with the current, some entwined with water plants, some gently brushing past the man, passing through his ethereal body. He picked up a strand of her hair and kissed it. His expression seemed obsessed, but his eyes were filled with ice.

The girl's eyes were tightly shut, her breathing ceased, and she appeared lifeless. A seventeen-year-old girl dared to try to manipulate the Holy Gu; her death wasn't undeserved. Thinking of this, the man sighed softly, but there was no mercy on his face. However, in the next second, Lin Dan suddenly opened her eyes, forcefully breaking the ropes with her hands, regaining her freedom. She then arched her body, snapping the ropes on her legs, and swam towards the water's surface like a fish, without casting the man a single glance.

She emerged from the water, waded through the mud, and walked slowly to the shore. Heavy raindrops washed over her naked body. Purple lightning illuminated the dim forest, making her beautiful face appear and disappear. Her skin was frighteningly white, but her lips were as red as blood. Her pitch-black eyes were like deep cold pools, enchanting the soul.

She raised her arms and looked at her hands, which no longer had any calluses, with a dazed expression.

The man also surfaced, admiring her perfectly proportioned body with great interest. She was beautiful, so beautiful! This Gu master transformed by the Holy Gu was more beautiful than the fox demons who were best at seduction. He had met and fought two generations of Gu masters, yet none could have shaken his mind with just a glance like the little girl before him.

He approached her and whispered hoarsely: "From now on, you'll have to find a way to feed the Gu in your body. I wish you luck, little girl."

Only then did Lin Dan come back to her senses, but she still didn't look at the man, like he didn't exist. She was fortunate that there were no passersby on the road, that she lived in the most remote corner where no one was likely to see her. She hid in the tall grass, making her way back slowly. Her feet were on hard, sharp rocks, but she felt no pain. Her skin looked smooth and delicate as if it would break at a gentle touch, but it was harder than steel. Each muscle was filled with boundless strength.

She had a faint feeling that she had become incredibly powerful, like a ferocious beast that could tear a person apart effortlessly.

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