Rules and Regulations

The story mentioned that Ren Zu was able to escape his predicament because of hope. But eventually he grew old and without Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu, he could no longer continue to hunt. Even his teeth fell off, making him unable to chew many wild fruits and vegetables.

Ren Zu felt death slowly approaching.

At this time, the Hope Gu said to him, "Human, you must not die. If you die, your heart will be lost and I will lose my only place of residence."

Ren Zu was helpless. "Who wishes to die? But if the heavens and earth want me dead, I have no choice."

The Hope Gu said, "There's always hope in everything. As long as you can catch a Longevity Gu, you will be able to increase your lifespan."

Ren Zu had heard of the existence of the Longevity Gu long ago but he waved his hand helplessly. "When the Longevity Gu stays still, nobody can detect it and when it flies, it is faster than light. How can I possibly catch it? It's too hard!"

The Hope Gu then told Ren Zu a secret, "Human, don't give up hope no matter what. Let me tell you, on the northwest corner of this continent, there is a huge mountain. On the mountain, there is a cave and in that cave, there is a pair of round and square Gu Worms. As long as you can subdue them, there is no Gu in this world that you cannot catch, including the Longevity Gu!"

Ren Zu had no choice, this was his last remaining hope.

He braved all difficulties and finally found the mountain. He then risked his life and ventured through countless dangers to ascend the mountain. On the mountain top, near the cave entrance, he used his last remaining strength to slowly make his way in.

The inside of the cave was completely dark and one would not be able to even see their own fingers. Ren Zu walked in the darkness. Sometimes, he would bump into things not knowing what they were. This caused himself to get injured and wounded all over. At times, he felt that this dark cave was huge beyond words as if this was a world of its own. He felt as if he was the only person in the area.

He spent a lot of time but he could not walk out of the darkness. Not to mention subduing the two Gu Worms.

Just when he was at a loss about what to do, two voices spoke to him from the darkness . One voice said, "Human, you're here to catch us? Go back, for even if you had the Strength Gu, it would be impossible."

The other said, "Human, go back, we will not take your life. Even if you had the Wisdom Gu to help you, you may not be able to find us."

Ren Zu laid exhausted on the ground, panting. "The Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu had left me long ago and I do not have much lifespan left so I'm at my wits end. But as long as there's hope in my heart, I will not give up!"

Hearing Ren Zu's words, the two voices went silent.

After a while, one of the Gu said, "I understand, human, you have already given your heart to the Hope Gu. You will not give up no matter what." The other continued, "In that case, we shall give you a chance. As long as you can say our name, we will allow you to use us."

Ren Zu was stunned. To find their names among all the words in the world, it was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Furthermore, he did not even know how many words were in their names.

Ren Zu quickly asked the Hope Gu, but it did not know either.

Ren Zu had no alternatives and had no choice but to randomly guess their names. He said many many names and wasted a lot of time but the darkness did not respond to him so evidently he was wrong.

Eventually, Ren Zu's breath got weaker as he turned from an old man into a dying man. It was like the scene of the evening's setting sun. The sun that was slowly descending had already been lowered halfway across the horizon, becoming a sunset.

The food he had brought was gradually reduced, his brain becoming slower and he barely had any energy to speak anymore.

The voice in the darkness urged, "Human, you are almost dead, so we will let you go. Using your remaining time, you can climb out of the cave and take a final look at the world. But you have offended us, and as punishment, the Hope Gu shall stay here as our companion."

Ren Zu clenched his heart and rejected, "Even if I die, I will not give up hope!"

The Hope Gu was very touched and answered Ren Zu's call enthusiastically, emitting a bright light. At Ren Zu's chest area, a light began to shine. But this light was too weak, it could not illuminate the darkness. In fact, it could not even cover Ren Zu's entire body, but only engulfed his chest area.

Yet Ren Zu could feel a renewed surge of energy gushing into his body from the Hope Gu.

As time continued to flow, Ren Zu's lifespan was almost over.

Finally, when he was on his final day, he said out the word 'Regulation .'

A sigh came from the darkness as a voice spoke, "Human, I admire your perseverance. You have said my name, so from today onwards, I will obey your commands. But only with my brother can I aid you in capturing all the Gu in the world. Otherwise, with my ability alone, it is impossible. Thus, you should give up. You're almost dead, you might as well use this chance to take a final look at the world."

Ren Zu was determined and shook his head, he made use of all his time to continue saying out names as he tried to guess the other Gu worm's name.

Seconds and minutes went by and soon he only had one hour left.

But at this time, he unknowingly said the word 'Rule .' Immediately, the darkness dissipated.

The two Gu's appeared before him. As the Hope Gu had said, one was cubic, called 'Regulations'. The other was spherical, called 'Rules'.

Together, they made up 'Rules and Regulations .'

The two Gu said together, "No matter who it is, as long as they know our names, we will listen to them. Human, since you know our names already, we will be at your service. But you must remember, it is important to not let others know of our names. The more people that know our names, the more people we have to obey them. Now that you are the first to subdue us, tell us your request.

Ren Zu was overjoyed. "Then I order you both, go and catch me a Longevity Gu."

The Rules Gu and Regulations Gu worked together and captured an eighty-year Longevity Gu.

Ren Zu was already a hundred years old but after consuming this Gu, the wrinkles on his face vanished and his frail limbs became muscular again. A vibrant aura of youth oozed from him.

With a belly flop, he jumped up onto his feet.

He ecstatically looked at his body, knowing that he had regained the body of a twenty year old.