Chapter 7 Shadows And Thoughts

"What the hell? Why does my head hurt?".

Xuanyuan opened his eyes, wincing as he felt a sharp pain sprout at his temples. The light in the room seemed bright, too bright to be either his room or any room within Elder Luo's residence. The faint echoes of footsteps could be heard in the distance, alongside the chatters and voices of men and women.

Just glancing around his room, Xuanyuan, unconsciously sat up, nothing in the room being familiar at all to him.

'The last thing I remember was being in Senior Sister Long's classroom. I was thinking about the Shadow Path and its limits and then... nothing. I can't remember anything at all after that'.

A flash of red came to Xuanyuan's mind, but other than that he couldn't remember anything. Seeing as though he wasn't chained up or tied to anything, it was safe to say that he wasn't kidnapped or abducted.

Leaning back down in the bed, Xuanyuan cradled his temples, rubbing the sides of his head, while trying to remember exactly what happened.

'I was... thinking about the Shadow Path. I had questions. I had so many questions. Questions I couldn't even comprehend, let alone answer. The shadow of Dao Marks? The shadow of the soul? What the hell was I going on about? And why would that cause me to pass out?'.

Xuanyuan gazed down at his hands for a moment, the colour of red flashing through his mind for a moment, before nothing but shadowy nothingness rose up to devour the flash of crimson.

Another wave of pain washed over Xuanyuan's mind, and he stopped trying to remember what happened to him, and just focused on his own shadow, watching as it perfectly mimicked the finger movements that he executed.

The otherworldly demon adjusted the position of his neck slightly, noticing for a moment that his own shadow didn't move. His eyes widened for a moment before a familiar voice cut through silent room.

"Little Yuan? Are you awake?", the familiar figure of Senior Sister Long entered the room, causing Xuanyuan's train of thought to halt as he forced himself to sit up from his horizontal position.

"Ah, Senior Sister Long. Apologies for the unsightly display earlier. I'll get out of your hair in a minute...".

Long Xi immediately walked over to him and pushed him back down into the bed, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You're not going anywhere Little Yuan. Do you really think I'd let you go back to Elder Luo without making sure that your 100% fine first? I'd be lucky if I didn't receive a punishment for harming Earth Soul Hall's little genius".

The older woman looked down at her Junior Brother, noting that he didn't dare to look her in the eye.

Xuanyuan just shrugged, looking to the side, earning an eye roll from his Senior Sister.

The Rank 2 Shadow Path Gu Master just shook her head and sat down in the chair beside the bed, gazing at her nails and Xuanyuan's shadow for a moment before moving her gaze back towards him.

"I won't ask what Gu Elder Luo gave you, but it must be at least Rank 3 considering even I couldn't pull it out of your shadow. Something like that is extremely dangerous, Little Yuan. Gu Masters don't have the primeval essence to control Gu of a higher Rank. Even if it is to defend yourself, if you can't control it, then you're better off not having it in the first place".

Xuanyuan opened his mouth to speak, but but paused to glance down at his shadow. The reincarnated young man just nodded slowly, bowing his head a little bit.

"I... understand Senior Sister. I will discuss this with Elder Luo... Out of curiosity, did you see the Gu?".

Long Xi just sighed, running a hand through her hair before shaking her head.

"No. I just saw your shadow shrink into your body, as if it was never there in the first place. Even though I tried to use my own Gu to pull it back out, it remained firmly in place".

Xuanyuan nodded again, bowing his head towards Long Xi.

"I see. Again, I apologize for the disruption Senior Sister Long. I can understand if you would want me removed from the class".

Long Xi suppressed a chuckle before swatting Xuanyuan on the shoulder. The earlier tension mostly gone in just a single moment.

"Don't even think about it Little Yuan. You, and Little Gong, are both geniuses of the Shadow Path. Little Gong is similar to myself, and can understand concepts easily and without the need for repetition. You on the other hand, are a path strider, someone who walks a Path and blazes their own trail for others to follow".

Long Xi showed a wistful expression before shaking her head. Glancing towards the door, she flicked her hand at Xuanyuan, summoning a Gu and checking the time. Her expression perked up a fraction, and she stood up, sending her Junior Brother a quick glance.

"I've got to meet up with someone Little Yuan. When you feel better, just head back to Elder Luo's residence. Make sure you do something about that Gu, otherwise...", the girl cracked her knuckles slightly, and Xuanyuan held his hands up, trying to appear innocent.

"I will obey Senior Sister", he said.

Satisfied with that answer, Long Xi smiled, before swiftly exiting the room. She didn't even so much as glance back at Xuanyuan as her Junior Brother's attention was firmly placed on his shadow, extending towards one of the walls of her room.

Xuanyuan narrowed his eyes for a moment and readied his Shadow Eyes Gu, which could detect the shadows of all living beings within a certain radius.

With 30 feet, Xuanyuan could see the movement of all shadows, even through walls, provided they weren't thick, or reinforced with certain materials.

However...

"Where are you little shadow?".

Xuanyuan's eyes turned black as his Shadow Eyes Gu activated.

Xuanyuan's eyes gazed over every section of his shadow, and nothing out of the ordinary could be seen. There was that strange movement just a moment ago, and if Long Xi were to be believed, his shadow managed to shrink back into himself, as if scared or worried about something.

The otherworldly demon frowned as he examined his shadow from top to bottom. He assumed that Long Xi wouldn't be able to detect something in his own shadow, but that he might with his own Gu.

'Long Xi is a Rank 2 Gu Master. Most of her Gu are probably Rank 1 or Rank 2. If her Rank 2 Gu couldn't do anything, then the Gu in question is more than likely Rank 4 or Rank 5'

'Had someone left a Gu within my shadow in order to track me? If this unknown Gu Master was malicious, it might explain why I passed out. Although why use such an half-hearted method of assassination. Surely there are better ways for Rank 4 Gu Masters to kill a single Rank 1 Gu Master...'

Xuanyuan let out a sigh as he deactivated his Shadow Eyes Gu. He couldn't see any anomalies within his shadow, and even if he could, he could always ask Elder Luo about it. Xuanyuan laid back down in his bed, letting out a sigh as he stared at the ceiling.

'This is just one thing after the... other. What the hell is that?'.

Xuanyuan blinked as he saw his shadow extend up the wall and onto the ceiling. The shadow in question was currently waving at him making silly expressions with it's hands and face, albeit without much success.

Gazing up at his shadow, Xuanyuan couldn't help but go wide eyed at the movements his shadow was making.

'Holy shit. This Gu can actually move my shadow independently of my own physical body. It's not a type of possession Gu, and it doesn't seem the offensive type or the controlling type. Is it... a cultivation type maybe?'.

Xuanyuan's hopes soared for a moment before he watched his own shadow shake its head in response.

His mouth dropped.

'There's no way... you... can understand me?'.

His shadow nodded in response.

The otherworldly demon could barely suppress the laughter than came out of his mouth. His shadow, seemed strangely happy and replicated Xuanyuan's actions.

The existence of this Shadow Path Gu was beyond fortunate in Xuanyuan's eyes. He had just decided to walk the Shadow Path, and here he was, making friends with a Gu that dwelled within his shadow.

It was almost as though something like this was... fated to happen.

Xuanyuan paused, his laughter coming to a complete and utter standstill.

'... Little shadow, did you feel compelled to come here?'.

Xuanyuan watched as his shadow paused its laughter, watching as it placed a hand on its chin before shaking its head from side to side.

It then pointed at Xuanyuan, making a swooning action as it embraced itself. The kissing actions it made were noted, but disregarded by Xuanyuan.

'You... like me? You like my shadow!'.

Xuanyuan's shadow paused for a moment before raising its hand flat, giving a half-cold, half-hot answer.

The Gu that dwelled within Xuanyuan's shadow seemed to be attracted to something within him. It wasn't necessarily his shadow, but something else. Something that made him unique.

His thoughts were drawn to the last thing Xuanyuan remembered before passing out.

'The shadow of my Soul... the shadow of my Otherworldly Dao Marks?'.

Xuanyuan watched as his shadow beamed, raising his arms above its head in a large "O" shape, indicating that his answer was correct.

The young man laying down in the bed just let out a sigh, gazing up at his shadow dancing on the ceiling.

'A Gu that likes Dao Marks. A Shadow Path Gu which likes Otherworldly Dao Marks. Perhaps it is also a Human Path Gu, considering it is one of the few Gu which can oppose Heaven Path...'.

Glancing at his shadow, Xuanyuan could see it make no effort to affirm or deny his suspicions.

The existence of this Gu made Xuanyuan suspicious that we was just a puppet of Fate Gu for a moment, but as an Otherworldly Demon, his Fate wasn't truly bound by Fate Gu.

'And this Shadow Path Gu is attracted to my Otherworldly Dao Marks which cannot be controlled by Fate. If it likes them, then perhaps my Otherworldly Dao Marks are in fact Shadow Otherworldly Dao Marks. If I'm not mistaken, Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable was in possession of Space Otherworldly Dao Marks...'.

Xuanyuan glanced back at his shadow.

He watched it pause for a moment, before resolutely nodding its head. In fact, it made a cutting gesture, roughly around its neck area.

'... Are you only a Shadow Path Gu? Some Gu belong to two Paths, do you belong to either the Heaven Path or the Human Path?'.

This time, Xuanyuan watched as his shadow shook his head in denial.

'I see. Does either of those Paths make you feel... uneasy, unsafe even?'.

This time, Xuanyuan received a nod.

Xuanyuan couldn't help but ask.

'Why is that little shadow?'.

His shadow paused again before Xuanyuan felt pain sprout from his temples. Once again, a stinging sensation that occurred within Long Xi's classroom, happened again once more.

'What am I doing here? What am I doing with this Gu? Why am I having these thoughts? Is it manipulating me? Wasn't I going to ask about why it doesn't like Heavens Will? How can a Gu even have such thoughts? Thoughts? Why am I having such thoughts? Are all thoughts so temporary? Am I just temporary? Why can I not stop all of these thoughts?'.

Xuanyuan felt something drip out of his nose.

'Stop! Stop with all the questions! I cannot handle this many thoughts at once!'.

Immediately, Xuanyuan felt the strain on his mind vanish, and the pain emanating from his temples slowly recede.

His heart rate had unconsciously quickened from the pain, and his breathing had become uneven, a sign of his mental distress.

Xuanyuan could see that his shadow had moved from the ceiling, instead appeared directly beside him.

It was making gestures with his hands, checking to see if Xuanyuan was feeling okay.

The young man gave his shadow a smile and a small nod.

"It's okay. I think I kind of understand what you are".

His shadow perked up, and pointed towards itself, gesturing for Xuanyuan to continue.

The otherworldly demon smiled, enjoying the feeling of his pillow wrap around his head.

"You can create thoughts right? But not regular thoughts".

His shadow nodded.

"The thoughts you create are... numerous in nature. Constantly changing. Expanding and contracting, connecting and dividing. They are temporary, but still exist in a sense...".

"Thoughts and Shadows... I thought you might have been a Human Path Gu, but instead you are a Wisdom Path and a Shadow Path Gu".

The shadow nodded at Xuanyuan's words.

"You can create... Shadow Thoughts? Thoughts are used in hypothesizing and deductions in order to discern truths from unknowns. But... Shadow Thoughts must be different somehow if Fate does not like them".

Xuanyuan paused for a moment raising an eyebrow.

"Shadows Thoughts... are still shadows. They cannot be read by other Thoughts, still illusory and transient. Meaning, that they can... conceal themselves? Hide themselves from other Thoughts?".

Xuanyuan watched as the shadow nodded once more.

"Hide themselves... not from Fate but... Perhaps from Heavens Will?".

Xuanyuan glanced at his shadow who held up his hand, giving another half-hot, half-cold answer.

Xuanyuan rubbed his chin.

"Thoughts... Shadows... Concealment... Wait just a second".

The otherworldly demon blinked for a second, a wave of realization washing over him.

"You don't just produce Shadow Thoughts! You're not Shadow Thoughts Gu! You're Shadows As Thoughts Gu! You can turn Shadows into Thoughts!".