Resolve

Gu Guangzhi and the demonic gu master successfully knocked everyone unconscious and loaded them on to the Green slug house Gu. It was a storage type gu that could be used as a transportable house. Once it was activated with primeval essence it would gobble up people who would stay unconscious inside the jelly like body of the slug. As they were loading villagers into the slug, the demonic gu master motioned Gu Guangzhi to stop. He detected the presence of a patrolling gu master.

Both Gu Guangzhi and the demonic gu master became alert and took their positions. The patrolling gu master visited the sentry post lazily and found that the guards were dozing off. He became angry and wanted to kick them awake. But after a moment, he felt that the guards were sleeping in a very odd position and realized that they were knocked out. He immediately activated a Rank 1 Siren bird Gu and sent it towards the Xiong village. It was a rather loud gu that was designed to alert everyone in the area but to his surprise, before it could even flap its wings a few times, it was struck by a thorny whip and its throat was shut close.

Gu Guangzhi yanked him to towards the wall with his Bamboo cable Gu. Using gu insects requires concentration to control primeval essence. This sudden movement caught the gu master off guard. The patrolling gu master lost his concentration and was unable to use his defensive gu insects in time. But he was a strength path gu master like many of the gu masters of Xiong clan so it didn't completely knock him out.

Gu Guangzhi used Bamboo cage Gu on the Xiong clan patrolling gu master but the patrolling gu master smashed the bamboos apart using his strength. He proceeded to use his Bamboo sword Gu to attack his opponent but his opponent could dodge the attacks. He used Rank 2 Bear arm Gu and transformed his arm into an oversized bear arm and started to attack Gu Guangzhi.

The demonic gu master joined the battle and started attacking the patrolling gu master with his Poison Needle Gu. This demonic gu master seemed to be an expert and controlled the poison needles extremely well. After a while, the Xiong clan gu master couldn't dodge all the needles and he was hit a few times. The demonic gu master stopped immediately. With a few needles, he could paralyze a gu master but if he used more, the gu master could die. He didn't wan't to kill a Xiong clan patrolling master and anger the Xiong clan more than necessary.

The Xiong clan's gu master's movements started to become more and more sluggish. Gu Guangzhi restricted him successfully and the gu master used a Rank 2 Soul scramble Gu. This gu was used to scramble a person's memories. This could further help them cover their tracks. After the Xiong clan's memories were scrambled, Gu Guangzhi put him in a corner and continued to load the rest of the villagers into the slug.

They set out with the now ginormous Green slug house Gu towards the Gong Run mountain. Gu Guangzhi was expecting the huge slug to move at a snail's pace but it moved relatively quickly and silently. The rest of their journey away from Qing Mao mountain went smoothly. Perhaps, no one noticed the missing Xiong clan patrolling gu master.

Gu Guangzhi and the demonic gu master tried to stay silent throughout the journey. Though they worked together, they weren't of the level to make small talk. They would be separated after the delivery anyway. After a long while, finally he asked the question that he always had on his mind.

"So how much did you get paid for this job?"

The demonic gu master stayed silent for a while and then answered, "500 primeval stones."

"500? I got ripped off. I only got 200.", Gu Guangzhi pouted.

"Considering your battle capabilities, that is really generous.", the demonic gu master remarked.

Gu Guangzhi wanted to retort but he was really an amateur compared to his partner. He did most of the work during this deal anyways. The fire path gu master could've excluded him from the deal completely and it wouldn't make a difference.

As time passed, they finally reached Gong Run mountain. The darkness of the night was fading away. The demonic gu master sent out a letter gu calling out the blood path gu master. They began unloading the villagers from Green slug house Gu. Gu Guangzhi became somber again. His mind was very conflicted. As he unloaded the little girl he knocked out in the village, gentle rays of sun were gleaming off her face. She looked very cute and beautiful. Gu Guangzhi couldn't bear the guilt of sending her to slaughter any longer.

"My life is on the line. There is no room for hesitation." He tried to tell himself but he couldn't. "My life is on the line but it has no meaning if I leave behind my humanity."

The blood path gu master arrived at the location. He was wary as he eyed his goods and started inspecting them. He soon became pleased with all the humans. Gu Guangzhi's eyes twitched as he saw the blood path gu master eyeing the little girl. He became ready to make the sacrifice. He steeled his resolve and started pouring his primeval essence into the Bamboo sword Gu. He only had one strike to kill the blood path gu master and the demonic gu master. Due to him breaking the deal, he would be killed by the phantom hands of the Seize Gu.

He activated Pronghorn beetle Gu to raise his speed. Pronghorn beetle Gu was usually used for prolonged speed but it could be used for drastic burst speed as well. He moved closer to the blood path gu master as he was inspecting the villagers and gave his all into the strike and sliced the blood path gu master in half. As he did it in a flash, he didn't feel the phantom hands forming at his heart. As Gu Guangzhi moved around to continue his strike at the demonic gu master, the demonic gu master realized what was going on and blocked his attack.

When the attack failed, he came to his senses and realized the pain in his chest. But Gu Guangzhi still poured all his primeval essence into the Bamboo sword Gu and made wild swings at the demonic path gu master. He was losing all his strength but he shouted to the villagers that were beginning to wake up, "Run away from here. I'll hold him off." He was panting like he had a heart attack.

The demonic gu master smiled at Gu Guangzhi and said, "Alright. That's enough." He then proceeded to use a gu insect on Gu Guangzhi. Gu Guangzhi fell on the floor and felt that his life was drained from his body. His body became dry and green like a dead block of wood. Gu Guangzhi felt sad that he couldn't save the villagers' lives from the demonic gu master but he felt happy that he had at least killed the blood path gu master prolonging their lives, if only for a few days.

Gu Guangzhi waited to die but it seemed like a long road to death. He slowly became numb to the pain but he didn't die. He got up from the floor and looked at himself. He didn't die! He looked at the demonic gu master who was looking at him.

The demonic gu master was in the middle of finishing off the blood path gu master. He spoke up, "That was a perfect strike but you can't expect to finish off a blood path gu master with one strike." Then he removed his mask to reveal his face to Gu Guangzhi.

"You! You are the fire path gu master from Xiong village!", shouted Gu Guangzhi in shock.

"Yes. And this was your test! Congratulations. You passed.", saying so, he used the gu he had used on Gu Guangzhi earlier. It was a Rank 2 Roaming Zombie Gu. Gu Guangzhi's body started to revert back to normal. His crushed heart had already healed but the confusion on his face remained.