The place remains the same, but the people have changed.
1800 Words
Next to the school, there was a Gu Chamber. It wasn't large, only sixty square meters.
For a gu master's cultivation, gu worms were the key to strength.
As soon as the class ended, excited teenagers swarmed toward the Gu Chamber.
"Line up and come in one by one." A stern shout rang out; naturally, there were guards at the door of the Gu Chamber.
The teenagers went in one after another and then came out.
It was Fang Yuan's turn to enter the Gu Chamber.
Inside the room, there was much to admire. The four walls were built with recessed niches, these embedded square compartments packed closely together. The niches varied in size: the largest was no bigger than a clay pot, the smallest no smaller than a fist.
In the dense array of niches sat all sorts of vessels—some gray stone basins, some verdant jade plates, some delicate straw cages, and some earthen braziers.
These vessels housed a great variety of gu worms.
Some gu worms lay silent, while others chattered away, making squeaks, clucks, rustles, and all manner of sounds, blending into a symphony of life.
"Gu worms are divided into nine ranks, corresponding to the nine realms of gu masters. All these are First-Rank gu worms," Fang Yuan glanced around and instantly grasped this.
Ordinarily, a First-Realm gu master could only wield First-Rank gu worms. Urging a higher-rank gu worm beyond one's realm would often cost the gu master dearly.
What's more, gu worms required feeding, and the expense of raising high-rank gu worms was usually beyond the means of low-rank gu masters.
For new gu masters, barring special circumstances, they would all choose a First-Rank gu worm for their first refinement.
The first gu worm a gu master refined held great significance—it was called the Life Gu, intertwined with their very life. If it perished, the gu master would surely suffer severe harm.
"Sigh, I'd hoped to find the Wine Gu from the Wine-Walking Adept and refine it as my Life Gu. But now, there's still no trace of the Wine-Walking Adept's remains. I don't know when I'll find them, or if someone else will get there first. To be safe, I'd better pick a Moonlight Gu," Fang Yuan sighed inwardly and headed straight for the left wall.
On a slightly upper tier of niches in that wall stood a row of silver trays. Each tray held a gu worm.
This gu worm was translucent, curved like a moon, like a piece of blue crystal. Against the silver tray, it exuded a tranquil aura.
Its name was Moonlight Gu, the clan-protecting gu worm of the Gu Yue clan. Most clansmen chose it as their Life Gu. It was no natural gu worm but cultivated through the Gu Yue clan's secret arts, found nowhere else—truly a symbol of the Gu Yue stronghold.
All were First-Rank Moonlight Gu, with barely perceptible differences. Fang Yuan picked one at random and held it in his hand.
The Moonlight Gu was extremely light, as weightless as a sheet of paper. It occupied just a small space in his palm, about the size of an ordinary jade pendant. When Fang Yuan held it, he could see his palm lines through it, faintly obscured.
After one last check to ensure it was unblemished, Fang Yuan slipped it into his pocket and left the Gu Chamber.
A long line still stretched outside. The next teenager, seeing Fang Yuan emerge, hurried in eagerly.
Most would rush home to refine their gu worm at once, but Fang Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He was still fixated on that Wine Gu.
The Wine Gu was far more precious. Though the Moonlight Gu was a specialty of the Gu Yue stronghold, it couldn't match the Wine Gu's benefits to a gu master.
Leaving the Gu Chamber, Fang Yuan went straight to the tavern.
"Shopkeeper, two jars of aged wine," Fang Yuan fished in his pocket and laid down the last fragments of Yuan Stones on the counter.
These days, he'd come here daily to buy wine, then wander the outskirts of the stronghold, hoping to lure the Wine Gu out.
The shopkeeper was a short, middle-aged fat man with a greasy face. Having seen Fang Yuan these past days, he recognized him.
"Customer, you're here," he greeted, extending his short, thick fat hand to sweep Fang Yuan's Yuan Stone fragments away deftly.
He weighed them in his palm, satisfied with their heft, and his smile grew warmer.
Yuan Stones were the currency of this world, used to measure the value of all goods. They were also condensations of heaven and earth's essence, usable by gu masters to aid their cultivation.
With both monetary and practical value, they were much like gold on Earth. Earth once had a gold standard; this world ran on a Yuan Stone standard.
Like gold, Yuan Stones held considerable purchasing power.
Yet even a fortune in Yuan Stones couldn't sustain Fang Yuan's daily spending.
"Two jars a day for seven days straight. My savings of Yuan Stones are all but gone," Fang Yuan frowned slightly as he carried the two jars out of the tavern.
Once one became a gu master, they could draw pure yuan energy directly from Yuan Stones to replenish the yuan sea in their aperture.
Thus, for gu masters, Yuan Stones were not just money but cultivation aids.
Ample Yuan Stones could speed up cultivation, somewhat compensating for mediocre talent.
"Tomorrow, I'll have no Yuan Stones left for wine, and the Wine Gu still hasn't shown. Am I really forced to refine the Moonlight Gu as my Life Gu?" Fang Yuan felt a twinge of reluctance.
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Just then, a voice called from behind: "Brother, you really are here drinking again! Come with me, uncle and aunt want to see you." It was Gu Yue Fangzheng.
Fang Yuan stopped and turned.
He noticed his younger brother no longer spoke with his head bowed as before.
Their eyes met.
A gust of wind howled, lifting the elder brother's unkempt black hair and the younger brother's robes.
In just a month, so much had changed.
The Aperture-Opening Ceremony a week prior had transformed both brothers.
The elder brother, Fang Yuan, had fallen from his pedestal, his genius halo cruelly stripped away. The younger brother, however, had begun to shine, rising like a new star.
For Gu Yue Fangzheng, this change was nothing short of earth-shattering.
He finally knew what his brother had once felt—being the focus of hope, stared at with admiration or envy.
It was as if he'd stepped from a dark corner into a sunlit paradise.
Every morning he woke, it felt like a wonderful dream. The stark reversal in treatment still left him stunned, and uneasy.
Uneasy.
From obscurity to being watched and whispered about everywhere.
Sometimes, when Fangzheng walked down the road and heard passers-by discussing or praising him, his face would burn, he'd fumble awkwardly, his eyes darting, nearly forgetting how to walk!
In the first ten days or so, Gu Yue Fangzheng had lost weight for no reason, yet his spirit grew ever brighter.
From the depths of his heart, something called "confidence" had begun to take root.
"So this is what it felt like for brother—wonderful yet painful!" Inevitably, he thought of his elder brother, Gu Yue Fangyuan. How had he borne such talk and stares?
He tried to mimic Fang Yuan, putting on a blank expression, but soon found he couldn't pull it off.
Sometimes in school, a girl's call would make him flush crimson. On the road, teasing from old women would send him fleeing in embarrassment.
He was like a toddler learning to walk, stumbling his way into this new life.
In this process, he'd heard the rumors about his brother—sunk in despair, drinking heavily, staying out all night, sleeping through class.
At first, he was shocked. His brother, once so powerful, so gifted—how could he become like this?!
But gradually, he began to understand. Brother was only human, after all. Such a blow would crush anyone.
And with that understanding came a faint, guilty thrill.
An emotion he hated to admit, yet it lingered.
His brother, once lauded as a genius, once overshadowing him like a cloud, now so wretched. It only proved how much he himself had grown, didn't it?
He was the talented one—that was the truth!
So when he saw Fang Yuan with his wine jars, hair messy, clothes unkempt, Gu Yue Fangzheng let out a silent breath, his chest feeling inexplicably lighter.
But he said, "Brother, you can't keep drinking like this. You can't go on like this. Don't you know how worried the people who care about you are? You have to pull yourself together!"
Fang Yuan's face was expressionless. He said nothing.
The two brothers locked eyes.
The younger brother, Gu Yue Fangzheng, had bright, sharp eyes. The elder brother, Fang Yuan, had eyes as dark and deep as an ancient pool.
Those eyes filled Fangzheng with an*** oppression. After a moment, he looked away, unconsciously, to the side.
But when he realized what he'd done, a surge of anger rose in him.
Anger at himself.
What was wrong with him? Could he not even meet his brother's gaze?
I've changed. I've changed completely!
With that thought, his eyes sharpened again as he looked back.
But Fang Yuan was no longer looking. He walked past, a jar in each hand, and said flatly, "What are you waiting for? Let's go."
Fangzheng's breath hitched. The tension he'd built up had nowhere to go, leaving him with a vague, stifling frustration.
Watching his brother walk ahead, he hurried to catch up.
But this time, he didn't lower his head. He held it high, facing the setting sun.
His gaze, though, was fixed on his feet—as they stepped, one after another, on Fang Yuan's shadow.
！！！
- Writer
