Xiao Wen held Qiaoqiaoâs hand, and the two of them quietly left the Gu Familyâs courtyard.
When they stood on the street, it felt somewhat dreamlike. People passed by with varied expressions, but no one could see the two of them.
However, it was quite eerie; although invisible, no one stumbled directly into them.
On the contrary, as people approached Gu Qiaoqiao and Xiao Wen, they instinctively turned a corner. Even Gu Qiaoqiao couldnât explain why; perhaps it was another effect of the invisibility.
Xiao Wen observed the passing vehicles, then led Gu Qiaoqiao onto a bus. After a few stops, they got off at the entrance of a very quiet alley and started walking towards it.
The alley twisted and turned; Gu Qiaoqiao didnât know where they were heading, and the two stopped in front of a wall full of Roses.
There was no door, and the wall was very high. Gu Qiaoqiao looked up, "Sister Xiao Wen, are we going to jump over?"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Wen threw two Spirit Talismans at the wall of Roses, just as she had done at Erdao Mountain in Jinling City.
The Roses wall suddenly disappeared, revealing two tightly closed wooden doors.
Then Gu Qiaoqiao drew a Silencing Talisman and stuck it on the door. They pushed the door open, and even if it made a sound, others couldnât hear it.
Upon entering the courtyard, they found it was an entirely different world.
Before them stood a three-story building.
The walls were covered with white tiles, reflecting a cold, shimmering light in the night, as if the building was covered in countless mirrors, reflecting an indescribable glow.
Gu Qiaoqiao didnât quite understand the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, so Xiao Wen patiently explained it to her. Gu Qiaoqiao then realized this was an ancient natural Array that had existed for a long time.
In other words, people outside couldnât see this place at all.
However, people here could come and go freely.
At this time, a light was on in a room on the second floor, and someone was pacing back and forth, clearly busy with something.
Gu Qiaoqiao asked in a low voice, "Sister Xiao Wen, shall we go upstairs?"
Xiao Wen shook her head, "No, weâre going to the basement."
Xiao Wen then led Gu Qiaoqiao with a strange step pattern, instructing her not to break the step, and the two of them carefully crossed a corridor, passed through a Moon Gate, and arrived at a courtyard.
It was still very concealed here, and they opened the door hidden by a bamboo grove using the same method.
This was a basement.
The stairs were very old, reminiscent of wartime air-raid shelters.
Gu Qiaoqiao saw some inscriptions on the walls, seemingly records of that era, with nothing specialâjust pleadings for heavenâs help and such.
Perhaps it was carved by civilians who had once hidden in the air-raid shelter.
Gu Qiaoqiao glanced over and then walked on. The two of them arrived outside a room made of transparent glass.
Gu Qiaoqiao stood before the massive glass and looked inside in surprise.
There was only a single bed, an operating-table-like stainless steel bed surrounded by various instruments.
A thin figure lay quietly face-up on the bed. Although Gu Qiaoqiao couldnât clearly see his features from her angle, she immediately recognized him as Dongfang Yu.
Gu Qiaoqiao looked again and found that Dongfang Yuâs eyes were half-open half-closed...
The light in his eyes seemed to have vanished, looking blank as if something about him was indescribably off, like someone who had dumbfounded yet seemed to be hiding something.
His limbs were shackled to the stainless steel operating table, and his body was connected to several tubes. His face was pale without a trace of blood.
In the past, his handsome face always carried a look of disdain for everything, but now it had lost its brilliance.
Gu Qiaoqiao instantly realized, as she had suspected, they were indeed researching the secret of Dongfang Yuâs immortality.
She didnât know whether they had succeeded, but it seemed not yet; otherwise, they wouldnât keep Dongfang Yu confined here.
Gu Qiaoqiaoâs hand, hanging by her side, clenched.
Her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
She didnât sympathize with Dongfang Yu in this predicament; it was all the result of his actions. If he hadnât coveted everything of the Gu Family and committed those heinous acts, he would still be a carefree Immortal in this world, wandering with his Xiao Bai.
Living above all beings, enjoying his leisurely life.
But he was too greedy, wanting everything.
Moreover, he destroyed othersâ lives without their consent, just like he did to her, so such a person didnât deserve sympathy. However, seeing Dongfang Yu like this made Gu Qiaoqiao uncomfortable.
She had been reborn, possessing Special Abilities.
So far, she was the sole Successor of the Gu Family Ancestor.
She didnât know if she had an immortal body.
But she knew the Ancestor of the Gu Family did.
If this Nie Luan encountered the Gu Family Ancestor, would he treat him the same way as Dongfang Yu?
Gu Qiaoqiao thought of the White Jade Stone trapped in the Mysterious Dragon Box, containing an energy she couldnât explain.
What exactly was that energy?
Gu Qiaoqiao still knew nothing about it.
She looked again at Dongfang Yu lying immobile on the stainless steel table in the glass room. Evidently, whatever bound him also involved a Formation, so he couldnât escape; he was now like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
At that moment, Gu Qiaoqiao suddenly grabbed Xiao Wenâs hand because she heard someone at the door.
The two of them quietly retreated behind another shelf.
Then, they saw two people entering from the basement entrance. The two entered a room, changed into white lab coats, put on masks and hats.
They also wore gloves and then entered the room where Dongfang Yu was confined.
One of them held a syringe, and the other carried a tray, seemingly intending to collect Dongfang Yuâs blood sample.
Dongfang Yu, who was initially motionless, suddenly sensed someone had arrived. His half-open half-closed eyes finally opened, with a flash of a complex light, then closed again, seemingly unwilling to resist.
The two were evidently accustomed to Dongfang Yuâs demeanor. One inserted the syringe into his arm, drew out a half-syringe of blood, then placed it in a glass container.
Afterward, the two busied themselves near his bed for a while, checking the instruments and recording some data, then left the room with the tray.