Gu Yuye stood up and called Gu Youren and Gu Yuandao into the room.
He turned to Gu Youren and asked in a deep voice,
"When we set up the Reversal Wave Array in the bedchamber of the Xiefang Courtyard, the medium used at the time... I remember it was a Merfolk Tear, wasn't it?"
Gu Youren froze for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes."
"And where is that Merfolk Tear now?"
"The Merfolk Tear couldn't withstand the power of the Reversal Wave Array and shattered into powder. By now, the servants should have already cleaned it up..."
Gu Youren called in her chief maid, Jing'er.
Jing'er saluted respectfully and reported cautiously,
"The powder from that Merfolk Tear was mixed with dust and bloodstains, so this servant ordered it gathered and slowly sifted apart. The pearl powder can serve as an auxiliary material for alchemy and was to be sent to Worshipper Li."
The Merfolk Tear was a top-grade pearl from the Sea Kingdom. In Gu Fangchen's bedchamber, it was merely used to string curtains. Once broken, it was nothing more than worthless debris.
But for the servants of the Prince's household, such things were gold that leaked from their masters' fingers.
Especially with a master like Gu Fangchen, a notorious wastrel whose extravagance knew no bounds, serving in his courtyard carried risks, but the rewards were generous.
The servants had long become accustomed to scavenging from what their masters discarded.
That Merfolk Tear was no exception.
Fortunately, because it had shattered too completely, it took time to separate the remains for use, so it had been kept aside temporarily.
Otherwise, if the furious Prince discovered it, punishment would have been unavoidable.
Gu Yuye had no interest in the petty dealings of his household servants and simply ordered,
"Bring it all here."
"Yes."
Jing'er left and soon returned, presenting a small box containing the Merfolk Tear powder.
Gu Yuandao frowned as he looked inside the box and immediately noticed something amiss.
"This Merfolk Tear's quality is too poor. It couldn't possibly support the Reversal Wave Array on its own. The fact that it exploded into powder means the array's formation was extremely unstable, even if it succeeded, it would collapse within a single breath."
"If one were to use this Merfolk Tear as the array's core, it would have required other materials to stabilize it."
Gu Youren's mastery of formations was limited, she only had superficial understanding, but Gu Yuandao possessed the cultivation of a Sixth-Rank Array Master.
He saw the problem at once.
Gu Youren's expression shifted as she realized her earlier misjudgment.
At that time, she had assumed someone had pre-engraved the formation onto the Merfolk Tear, allowing Gu Fangchen to use it to escape.
But since the pearl itself couldn't sustain a formation, that explanation was impossible.
Her face turned grave as she murmured,
"But when we searched the room, we found nothing else that could have been used as a formation medium."
Gu Yuandao paced a few steps, deep in thought, until suddenly inspiration struck.
He turned sharply toward the box of pearl powder.
"There is something!"
"Blood! It's the blood!"
Gu Yuandao spoke with conviction.
"The poison in Gu Fangchen's body makes his blood an ideal medium for drawing formations. That means someone used his blood to inscribe the Reversal Wave Array on this pearl."
Gu Youren's pupils constricted.
She had been blinded by her own assumptions!
Because Gu Fangchen had smashed things in the room, cutting his own hand in the process, she had simply assumed that the blood on the pearl came from his carelessness.
But if the blood itself was the medium, then the formation must have been drawn by Gu Fangchen himself!
Gu Youren immediately shook her head.
"Impossible! To pull off something like this, one would have to be a grandmaster of formations. Gu Fangchen has never even studied the art, how could he possibly set up the Reversal Wave Array?"
"Indeed, impossible..."
Gu Yuye sneered.
"So, whoever he is, he is definitely not Gu Fangchen."
The Gu siblings exchanged glances, both feeling a faint sense of relief.
As expected, their father could never have wronged their mother.
Gu Yuye narrowed his eyes.
Even if the man's manipulation of causality was flawless and the lines of karma couldn't expose him, it didn't matter, if he could disprove the identity of "Gu Fangchen" itself, the rest would collapse.
If Gu Fangchen wasn't Gu Fangchen, what did it matter whether he was his own son or not?
Gu Yuye looked down at the box of pearl powder and said coldly,
"Didn't Gu Fangchen seek out Princess Prajna to cure his poison? Go summon Master Juehui. Back then, during 'Flower-Grasping,' to suppress the Heart-Poison Mark, Garan Temple took a drop of his heart's blood and a strand of his divine soul."
"If they don't match, then someone has been impersonating him."
....
Creak,
Gu Fangchen pushed open the door to the eastern wing of Ning Caiyong's courtyard.
Since the Xiefang Courtyard had been nearly destroyed, it was uninhabitable, so for now he would have to stay here temporarily.
The eastern wing had been his childhood room, still preserved intact. It was only natural for him to use it again.
Old Ding had been sent off to the guest quarters.
Now only Qing Jian remained, never leaving his side.
Gu Fangchen entered the room, shut the door, and his whole body seemed to deflate. He stretched his limbs, feeling sore and strained all over from staying on high alert too long.
This fragile body was far too delicate... He couldn't help muttering before letting out a long exhale.
Hah...
At last, he could rest for a while.
He sighed softly and looked up at the "Angler" profession window.
But only for a while... Even if Gu Yuye didn't cause trouble, this "Angler" profession would only last seven days.
In the game, players could stack multiple professions, but in this strange "Random Profession System," it clearly allowed only one at a time.
While a profession's passive skills remained active, many skill effects disappeared if not formally occupied.
The dead could not be resurrected, but would the karmic lines restore themselves afterward? He wasn't sure.
If they did, he might not have another chance to convert again.
That meant he had to secure enough cards up his sleeve as quickly as possible.
And his own strength was, of course, one of the most important.
Gu Fangchen rolled his shoulders and glanced at the unmoving Qing Jian, deliberately putting on a stern face.
"What's wrong? Have you forgotten how to serve someone? Do you need me to remind you?"
Qing Jian raised her head. Her golden lotus-shaped pupils held no emotion.
She hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, placing her hand on his shoulder, then began to reach for his buttons.
Gu Fangchen caught her wrist and said helplessly,
"I meant help me massage my shoulders and legs. What are you thinking?"
Qing Jian instantly withdrew her hand, lowered her head stiffly, and began awkwardly kneading his shoulders.
Gu Fangchen picked up a stack of papers, closed his eyes, and began writing down the materials needed to refine himself.
Qing Jian stole a glance at him, seeing that he seemed unbothered by the earlier misunderstanding, and quietly exhaled in relief.
After finishing his notes, Gu Fangchen organized the papers and suddenly pulled out one sheet, handing it to the Xiyin Attendant.
"Here. The formula for the Jade Refinement Pill."
Qing Jian froze, took it silently, and after a long pause asked,
"No cost?"
Gu Fangchen shook the papers to dry the ink and said leisurely,
"Of course there's a cost. For the next few days, you might have to stay close to me, eat with me, live with me... and sleep with me."
He was going to use a "Demon Refinement Method" to turn his own body into a puppet.
And obviously, the one who invented this method never bothered to consider the puppet's physical or mental health.
Some players who had taken the demonic path had tried this method before, one part tested physical endurance, the other tested willpower.
Gu Fangchen had neither, so he had to take a shortcut.
He would use an external, oversized human blood pack.
During the entire process, it would keep replenishing his blood continuously.