Volume One: Soul-Calling Gourd, Soul-Burning Lamp, Chapter Eighty-Six: The Bow and the Love Rival

Shaken by what he had just heard, Gu Mo was left in utter disbelief.

With a grave expression, the Daoist who looked every bit the immortal said to him, "Brother Gu, I now greatly suspect that your father was the legendary master of yin and yang from back then.

"And Elder Chu was that second-ranked fist expert who could pierce through anything.

"As for the remaining three, they founded the Seven-Four-Nine Subsistence Company many years ago."

The world seemed to crack apart around him. Gu Mo was completely thrown into turmoil.

After a long silence, he raised two fingers. Seeing this, Li Hetang promptly stuffed a cigarette between them.

Gu Mo lit it with detached elegance and took a long drag.

Then, with the smoke slowly leaving his lips, he glared at Xiao Yulou and cursed him out in a fit of rage.

"You're full of it, you filthy Taoist! Eighty years ago my grandfather was already a powerhouse. By that reckoning, wouldn't the old man be over a hundred by now? He only passed away not long ago, and his body is still cold. How dare you make a joke out of him?"

After venting his fury, Gu Mo took another deep drag, pointed at Li Hetang, and said, "By your logic, nine powerhouses later founded the Seven-Four-Nine Subsistence Company. Then what about Codename Seven? He looks to be only in his forties. Don't tell me Codename Seven also attained immortality?"

As soon as he said that, even Xiao Yulou found it strange to the extreme, almost beyond belief.

Yet apart from that, no other explanation made sense.

Xiao Yulou regarded Gu Mo calmly and said softly, "Brother Gu, do not be too agitated. If your father were not one of the powerhouses, why would he have possessed those three underworld divine artifacts alone?"

That single, casual question left Gu Mo's mind utterly blank.

Yes.

If his grandfather had not been one of the powerhouses of that era, why would he have had three underworld divine artifacts?

Why was he sent away from home when he was only eight?

Why did he possess that extreme yin fate?

Why was he able to make a day trip to the netherworld?

Why had the White Lotus Sect set its sights on him?

Why could he cultivate ghost energy and obtain ghost fire?

Why had even the King of Hell, Jiang Jingxue, become his wife?

Why did those immortal clans seek him out to help them weather tribulations and ward off calamity?

Why had his bargain-bin older brother, Gu Mo, been refined into a walking corpse?

Why had the White Lotus Sect's Xia Wuqi suddenly come knocking?

Why did even the Seven-Four-Nine Subsistence Company have information on him?

Why...

Why was everything like this?

The more Gu Mo thought about it, the more his mind turned to paste. These many mysteries were, for him, truly too much, too soon.

Xiao Yulou, with his ethereal bearing, let out a slow sigh. At such a moment, it was better to let Gu Mo calm down first.

Crunch, crunch.

Lying in Gu Mo's arms, the greedy little furball monster was noisily devouring a bag of chips.

That hesitant, on-the-verge-of-speaking motion it made did not escape Li Hetang's eyes.

This little soot-black creature seemed to know some unspeakable secret as well.

...

After a brief moment of thought, Gu Mo ground out the cigarette in his hand and looked up at the two of them.

"If something can't be figured out, then don't think about it for now. Finishing the mission is what matters."

Hearing this, Li Hetang's eyes lit up. So this was the spirit of perseverance in Mr. Gu, and what a clear and simple thing it was!

With a rip, Li Hetang unzipped his tactical backpack.

Seeing this, the little greedy furball in Gu Mo's arms thought it was about to get compressed biscuits again and hurriedly let out a series of gurgles. A delightfully dazed little foodie, forever making its presence known.

The next second, Li Hetang drew a black compound bow from the tactical pack.

At the sight of it, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou were both filled with confusion.

Had this fool gone mad? He had a gun and refused to use it, and now he was playing with a bow?

On closer inspection, the metal bow in Li Hetang's hands was far from ordinary.

It was a strangely shaped compound bow, all in jet black, without the slightest gleam. The taut bowstring was clearly made of some special material.

The entire bow radiated an overwhelming sense of advanced technology.

Just one look at it gave Gu Mo a strange feeling of familiarity.

At once, the words "Crysis" surfaced in his mind.

"Damn, is this the one from Crysis?"

Li Hetang only smiled with feigned profundity and then handed it over.

Gu Mo accepted it with both hands, practically beaming.

The instant his fingertips touched the compound bow, he felt a light, floating sensation, along with a cool touch.

Still astonished, Gu Mo weighed the unusual bow in his hands and once again let out a burst of profanity.

"Damn, why is this thing so light?"

Li Hetang merely smiled and said nothing.

With a breath, Gu Mo set his hand to the string and tried to pull. Yet no matter how desperately he strained, he could not move even a fraction of it.

At once, he lowered his stance and focused the ghost energy within him into both hands.

With a thunderous boom, fierce green ghost fire erupted over his hands.

The next moment, Gu Mo held his breath and drew again.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

After several laborious attempts, he finally managed to open the bowstring by a small amount.

Seeing this, Gu Mo withdrew his ghost energy, clicked his tongue, and handed the compound bow back to Li Hetang.

Before handing it over, he even shot Li Hetang a look and mocked him, saying, "This thing isn't even something an ordinary person can draw. How are you supposed to kill enemies with it?"

At that, Li Hetang burst out laughing and casually passed the compound bow to Xiao Yulou.

The latter simply shook his head with unruffled ease.

"No need for me to try. What if I damage it? I could not afford to compensate you."

At those words, Gu Mo and Li Hetang both felt that Xiao Yulou was once again putting on a smug show in the most shameless of ways.

This thing, which Gu Mo had only barely managed to move with ghost energy, and this Taoist still had cards left to play?

The answer was obviously yes. No matter what, Xiao Yulou was a master from Jade Void Peak's Five-Residence Temple. If he had no trump card, he would never have dared face a flood dragon head-on.

Then Li Hetang smiled faintly and began his explanation.

"This compound bow is called Demon Hunter. It's my rival in love's exclusive weapon. If I weren't on a secret mission, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of stealing it."

"Rival in love?"

Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou immediately narrowed their eyes and looked at Li Hetang with undisguised gossip in their expressions.

Li Hetang, well aware that loose talk could easily bring trouble, could only give an awkward laugh and brush it off. After all, danger still lurked all around them. He had no time to satisfy these two fools' curiosity.

But how could Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou be so easily dismissed?

Under their strange, probing gazes, Li Hetang could only take a deep breath and say, "You guessed right. I do have feelings for Codename O, but it's the kind of relationship like paper over a window. No one's pierced through it yet."

Hearing this, Gu Mo immediately curved his lips into a grin and teased him, "Brother Hetang, if you haven't made it clear yet, then hurry up and say it! One day, if you're not careful, that rival of yours might seize the opening."

Li Hetang snorted with utter disdain, as if he had not the slightest regard for this so-called rival.

"Tch. Even if Codename O has terrible taste, she still wouldn't fall for that mangy fool."

At this, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou were instantly stirred by curiosity. Their interest rose like a surging river, impossible to hold back.

Since time was short, Li Hetang had no choice but to keep it brief.

"The one competing with me for Codename O is the son of a senior executive in the company. Codename K. His real name is Yu Kongcheng."

At that, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou, these two avid spectators, urged him on with eager anticipation. Meanwhile, the greedy little furball in Gu Mo's arms actually produced a fresh, juicy watermelon from its mouth.

Frowning, Li Hetang took out a dagger and drove it into a nearby aloe plant to clean the blade.

Then the three of them ate watermelon and chatted about Li Hetang's rival in love.

"That Yu Kongcheng is only twenty-two. What would he know about love? So I never took him seriously from the very beginning..."

Crunching into a large bite of watermelon, Li Hetang went on, "Besides, what I hate most is those pampered sons of officials and grandees. They can soar to the top just by leaning on their background. How can that compare to my own hard-won rise through real blood and steel?"

By then, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou had developed a strong interest in this youth named Yu Kongcheng. Anyone who could be constantly mentioned by Li Hetang, this battle-hardened king of soldiers, had to be no ordinary man.

Sweetness slid down their throats as the three of them ate watermelon and gossiped. Their earlier doubts and unhappiness were all blown away like smoke.

After a moment, Gu Mo frowned and teased Li Hetang. "Hey, you stole someone's weapon and now you're bad-mouthing him too. Isn't that a bit dishonorable?"

Li Hetang shot him a hard glare and quickly finished the watermelon in his hand.

"Mr. Gu, worry about yourself first. You're the ultimate sucker, getting toyed with by Li Hongyan and led around by the nose!"

With that, Gu Mo felt as though a steel blade had been driven straight into his heart.

Hearing this, he only kept his head down and ate watermelon. Xiao Yulou, meanwhile, sat there covering his mouth and snickering.

...

A short while later, Li Hetang took out disinfectant wipes, and the three of them wiped the watermelon juice from their hands. He then began fitting the accessories onto the compound bow one by one.

Click, click, click.

After a few sounds, the bow known as Demon Hunter had been outfitted with lenses, attachments, and sights.

By now, it looked increasingly like the great killing machine from Crysis.

Seeing this, Gu Mo spoke again.

"Brother Hetang, are you sure this isn't just game merchandise?"

Li Hetang smiled faintly and met Gu Mo's eyes.

"Mr. Gu, how does a military-grade piece of equipment end up being called game merchandise by you?"

As soon as he said that, Li Hetang pulled a black combat suit, made up of countless tiny hexagons, from the tactical backpack.

In the blink of an eye, he stripped off all the clothes on his body. Naturally, the checkered briefs had to stay.

At the sight of this, Gu Mo and Xiao Yulou immediately leaned back, their resentful expressions clearly saying that Li Hetang was nothing but a perverted weirdo.

As for Li Hetang, who was now nearly naked, he paid them no mind at all. In only a few motions, he slipped into the one-piece combat suit.

In moments, Li Hetang stood up in his black combat gear. The suit outlined every inch of his powerful, well-built body to perfection.

Most noteworthy of all was that prominent backside of his; even a wealthy lady would probably be thrilled to see it.

At that point, Gu Mo, still seated, asked, "Li Hetang, aren't you going to use camouflage?"

Li Hetang only smiled in an enigmatic way and said nothing more.

By then, the Daoist Xiao Yulou gave his robe sleeve a flick, stood up, and said, "In my view, the area of this micro-world has already been assigned special rules by a geomancer. All who come here will be reduced to the size we now are."

Hearing this, Gu Mo and Li Hetang both nodded in agreement.

"So, in my opinion," Xiao Yulou continued, "it is not the strength of those ant-like insects that has increased. Rather, it is simply that the strength of those within this region has been weakened."

Then, the three of them, standing atop the aloe tower, gazed into the darkness before them in the breeze.

Suddenly, Gu Mo felt a faint tremor run through the aloe tower beneath his feet.

Just as he turned to look at Xiao Yulou, the eyes of the three men met at once.

"Damn, what's going on?"

At that, Xiao Yulou, clad in his black Daoist robe, bent down at once and pressed his palm against the aloe beneath his feet.

In an instant, his expression darkened, and he looked up at Gu Mo and Li Hetang, saying, "You two, be ready. This thing is about to collapse."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the aloe beneath their feet began to shake even more violently. It felt as though heaven and earth themselves were falling apart.

Without daring to think further, Li Hetang tossed his discarded clothes and shoes to Xiao Yulou, who promptly stuffed them back into the robe's inner space.

In the blink of an eye, a sharp crack rang out.

The three men, their faces deathly pale, felt the towering aloe beneath them suddenly lose balance and crash heavily to one side.