Chapter 198: Love Gu

“Human Sovereign Jiang, it’s a blessing we could reach you—please, save Qin Luan!” Song Ying also pleaded with Jiang Li. “Qin Luan is about to get married.”

Jiang Li looked over to see a stunning girl from the Southern Borders with bronze-toned skin leaning sweetly against Qin Luan.

Yuan Wuxing was at a loss as to what to do with the situation.
But seeing Qin Luan like this actually gave Yuan Wuxing confidence in himself.
This kid’s love life is way too active—it’s bound to disrupt his cultivation. Meanwhile, I can seize this chance to cultivate diligently, and he’ll never catch up.
Go ahead and enjoy your romantic entanglements, my disciple. Let your master bear the burden of becoming Human Sovereign.

“…You two are marrying the same woman?”
Jiang Li was familiar with the bold customs of the Southern Borders—Zhang Konghu was a living example of their brashness: hearty appetites, great fighters, and little regard for details.
Turns out the Gu Clan, though reclusive, were no exception to the region’s rugged traditions.

“Brother Jiang, this is Qin Luan’s fiancée, the daughter of the High Priest of the Gu Clan,” Commander Mu explained. He really felt like he’d dug his own grave on this one.
“And yours?”
“My fiancée is the clan leader’s daughter, previous High Priest’s child. I haven’t even met her yet.”

“Human Sovereign.” A middle-aged man with features uncharacteristic of the Central Province saluted Jiang Li, a fresh bruise still visible on his face. “I am the High Priest of the Gu Clan, Abulo. I’ve met your Commander Zhang Konghu.”

“So it’s High Priest Abulo—I’ve heard much about you.”
“You’ve heard of me?” Abulo was pleasantly surprised. He was just a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator—how had the Human Sovereign heard of him?
“I was just being polite.”
“…Oh.”

“Please, High Priest Abulo, tell me what happened.”
“It went like this. I was performing our usual rites to honor the Gu Immortal and seek blessings, when a few strangers entered the secret realm with my daughter. I thought she had been kidnapped and they were trying to seize the Gu Immortal’s inheritance, so I attacked in anger.”
“Thankfully, Fellow Daoist Yuan Wuxing is a reasonable man. After a peaceful discussion, the misunderstanding was cleared up.”

Jiang Li thought to himself, Your right cheek is puffed up twice as much as your left, your front tooth’s missing, and you’re whistling when you talk—this was a peaceful discussion?

“My daughter, bored with secluded life, snuck out of the Gu Clan, only to be tricked and fall into danger. Luckily, Qin rescued her.”
“However, since it was her first time outside, she forgot the way home. She had no choice but to ask Qin and his companions to help her find me in the Gu Immortal’s secret realm.”
“As a token of gratitude for saving her and bringing her back, I allowed them to participate in the trial of the Gu Immortal’s secret realm. The treasures they obtained were my thanks.”
“Who would’ve guessed two of them were too strong—Qin and your Commander, of course. At the time, I didn’t realize he was your Commander Mu. Both made it to the final challenge and won the top prize—being implanted with the Love Gu and becoming sons-in-law of the Gu Clan.”

There was one more thing Abulo didn’t say: if he’d known Commander Mu was a Fusion Stage cultivator, he would’ve never let him take the trial.

“This… counts as a reward?” Jiang Li was shocked.
Abulo awkwardly explained, “Ten thousand years ago, when the Stairway to Immortality still existed, the Gu Clan was a great clan. The Gu Immortal believed marrying into the Gu Clan was the greatest reward for a trial-taker. Who knew the clan would decline like this…”

In recent years, the Gu Clan had weakened—the strongest among them was only at the Nascent Soul Stage. Worse, the Mind-Control Gu had once been stolen by Daoist Nun Xuan’ai.
“The secret realm’s rewards were set by the Gu Immortal. We have no authority to change them.”

Commander Mu was near tears. As a Fusion Stage cultivator, he thought nothing in the Nine Provinces could trouble him—yet this Love Gu was set by an immortal. Even after ten thousand years, it was still beyond him.

“Does the Love Gu have a time limit for the marriage?”
“Yes, the wedding and consummation must happen within ten days. If not, the victim will explode and die. Even after becoming husband and wife, if the man develops feelings for another woman, he will still explode. We’re currently on our way back to the Gu Clan.”

“Alright. Let me think of something.” Jiang Li agreed, already contemplating replacing his Commander.

…

Now that he knew they had ten days, Jiang Li wasn’t in a rush. Worst-case scenario, Commander Mu gets married, and Jiang just shows up with a wedding gift, invites the whole Human Sovereign Hall to party at the Gu Clan—what’s the big deal?
Jiang believed plenty of people in the Hall would love to celebrate Commander Mu’s wedding.

“Commander Liu, do you know how much I usually give for a wedding… no wait, wrong question. Do you know about the Gu Clan’s Love Gu?” Jiang had just had a bit of a falling out with Immortal Elder Changcun, so casually asking him felt too cold-blooded.
So instead, Jiang decided to ask the second-oldest man in the Nine Provinces—Commander Liu.

“Love Gu? I’ve heard of it.” Commander Liu recalled. The Gu Clan had been secluded for ages, so it took some thought. “I believe Gu maidens developed it to bind their lovers’ hearts, afraid they’d be betrayed.”
“Know how to remove it?”

Commander Liu looked Jiang up and down. “Did… you get hit by it?”
“No, a friend of mine did.” Jiang wanted to save some face for Commander Mu—no need to embarrass him.
“I see.” Commander Liu smiled knowingly.
“The Love Gu, like other Gu techniques, can be undone by the person who cast it.”

But the Gu Immortal was in the Celestial Realm—so that was out.

“However, for you, there’s another method: Heart Sword. But you can’t just destroy one—it has to be both. If only one is destroyed, both the man and woman will explode due to the lingering Gu magic.”
“…That Gu spell is brutal.”
“But the explosion shouldn’t affect you.”
“I told you, it’s not me—it’s my friend,” Jiang Li retorted.
“I see,” Commander Liu still nodded like he understood.

Jiang cut the communication. Looks like this wasn’t going to be too difficult.
A pity—he was hoping the Heart Sword wouldn’t work on Gu, so he could pretend to be powerless and attend his subordinate’s wedding guilt-free.

…

Ten thousand years ago, there was another empire in the Nine Provinces called the Wu Nation, ruled by the Wu Clan, spanning all of the Southern Borders.
Unfortunately, civil strife broke out. The Wu Clan split the nation in two—Great Wu and Lesser Wu. Without unity, they lost the right to be called an imperial dynasty, now just two major kingdoms.
Still, the imperial heritage remained. Among all major nations, Great Wu and Lesser Wu ranked among the strongest and most prestigious.
The Gu Clan’s hidden lands were located within the Great Wu territory.

“The Southern Borders are still the same—riddled with miasma, swarming with insects, thick with humidity. Not a place for the weak-bodied.”
Jiang Li had traveled the Southern Borders during his Nascent Soul stage days. He knew the local customs well—what stuck most in his mind was their roast goose, roast duck, and white-cut chicken.

He didn’t need to ask the High Priest where the Gu Clan was hiding. His divine sense would tell him.

“This should be the place.”

Jiang quickly located a massive illusion array cloaking several mountain ranges. The formation posed no threat to him—he walked effortlessly through its clouds and illusions, seeing the Gu Clan thriving within.