Chapter Forty-Five: Heartless

(Page 1 of 3)

(I’ve been contemplating the plot these past few days and have come up with some ideas. Take a look at the style of this chapter—it serves as a prelude to a new direction.)

“By the way, Brother Guan, while you were away, I looked around and found this. It seems rather strange, and I wonder if it has anything to do with Wenbin’s condition?”

Seeing that Guan Yuan was at a loss, Cui Xiu drew a jade pendant from his breast.

He had found the pendant at the foot of the bed where Li Luo used to sit. Had it been an ordinary piece of jade, Cui Xiu would not have thought to show it to Guan Yuan. What caught his attention was the faint flow of energy he absorbed from it—by his estimation, there was a considerable amount within.

Besides, the pendant was peculiar just to look at. The jade was of fine quality, translucent and lustrous, yet within it there seemed to be faint crimson currents swirling, and strange patterns etched across its surface. Staring at it for long made one uneasy.

Cui Xiu suspected that this pendant might be connected to Li Luo’s transformation, so he wanted Guan Yuan to see if he could discern anything.

“A jade pendant?”

Guan Yuan turned to look as he spoke, and at first glance noticed nothing unusual, until he took the pendant in his hands.

“Hm?”

Soon, a frown creased Guan Yuan’s brow.

Then his expression changed.

“This jade pendant… It seems this is not the work of demons or monsters after all. I fear your friend may have been harmed by someone.”

Suddenly Guan Yuan spoke, giving his verdict.

These words took Cui Xiu by surprise. Perhaps because he had encountered demons in this world and, influenced by the information he had learned, he had not considered this possibility.

Now that Guan Yuan put forth this theory, Cui Xiu recalled that in this world, not only demons existed, but also cultivators like Guan Yuan.

What demons could do, surely cultivators could as well.

But who would harm Li Luo? How could a mere scholar have offended a cultivator?

In the original host’s memories, Li Luo was cheerful, intelligent, and upright in character.

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When Cui Xiu returned home, Li Luo had gifted him a horse—a gesture that spoke volumes about his manner toward others.

Although the two were schoolmates, there were many others at the academy besides them. Li Luo had plenty of friends, and their relationship was, at best, cordial compared to his other friendships.

Given Li Luo’s deep understanding of how to get along with people, how could he have possibly offended a cultivator?

So when Cui Xiu heard that Li Luo might have been harmed by a person rather than a demon, he was momentarily at a loss.

Of course, he didn’t consider it impossible—his experience from his previous life made him more prone than most in this world to see the shadow of conspiracy in any event.

“What makes you say so?”

Guan Yuan explained, “Naturally, it is because of this jade pendant. The reason it appears so strange is that it has been enchanted with a dark art. Look at these patterns—they are actually runes. As for the red mist within, it is the blood-qi from internal organs.”

“These runes originate from a sinister technique known as the Heart-Exchange Method. As the name suggests, it is a forbidden art to swap hearts—to seize another’s heart and soul. Your friend, I fear, had his heart taken.”

“I once saw this Heart-Exchange Method in the secret archives of the Sun Division. It is rumored to have been created by a certain spirit named Lu, who called himself Judge Lu. He specialized in grotesque arts such as switching heads and faces, taking and replacing hearts. Even some elders of the Sun Division were wary of him.”

“So you mean to say, Brother Wenbin fell victim to this Judge Lu?”

Cui Xiu felt heavy-hearted at this. If true, then faced with someone even the experts of the Sun Division feared, there was little hope of resolution.

This was not the outcome Cui Xiu wished for. Li Luo had treated him well, and the bond between the Chen family and Li Luo’s mother and son reminded Cui Xiu of his own days of hardship with his grandmother in his previous life, engendering a sense of compassion.

But if this was the truth, there was nothing he could do even if he wished to act.

Guan Yuan shook his head. “If it truly were Judge Lu, with his power, there would be no trace. Even if he replaced someone’s heart, you’d never notice any change. This must have been the work of some lesser practitioner dabbling in the Heart-Exchange Method.”

“In my judgment, this villain’s power was insufficient. After taking your friend’s heart, he failed to provide a replacement. Otherwise, your friend might have become dull-witted, but not as he is now.”

“I know a bit about this Heart-Exchange Method, and with this pendant as evidence, I can piece it together. The villain likely inscribed the method onto the jade and placed it in your friend’s chest in lieu of a heart. That is why he was compelled to seek out fresh organs to devour and sustain his life with blood-qi. In time, he would harm others. Once he had consumed enough organs, including those of his closest kin, the vessel—this jade—would transform into a new heart. Then, the heartless one would be whole again, his life preserved. However, after such a metamorphosis, he would fall under the control of the spellcaster. Crude as it is, this method does have a certain ingenuity.”

“Come to think of it, no wonder your friend could run so fast. With such abundant blood-qi, that’s to be expected.”

“But I find it odd—if the jade was meant to serve as the substitute heart in the Heart-Exchange Method, how did it end up here for you to find?”

At this, Guan Yuan suddenly paused and looked at Cui Xiu.

(Page 3 of 3)

Cui Xiu, too, realized something, and his expression shifted.

“What a pity. Your friend was truly remarkable. I suspect he removed this jade himself,” Guan Yuan said with a faint sigh.

“I think his mother may have played a part as well,” Cui Xiu added, his heart heavy and conflicted as he pictured the likely scene.

Li Luo, regaining his senses by chance, discarding the animal organs in his hands, crouching in fear at the foot of the bed, recalling all he had done…

Then, fearful of harming his mother, he resolutely dug out the jade pendant that had served as his heart…

At these words, Guan Yuan thought of the Chen family, of the mother and son living together as Cui Xiu had described, and could only shake his head.

Suddenly, as if struck by a new thought, he glanced at the jade in his hand and said, “Now that the jade is here, unless something unexpected occurred, without it your friend…”

Cui Xiu understood.

Without the jade to serve as his heart, Li Luo most likely had not survived.

He shook his head, at a loss for words. After a moment’s thought, he said, “This matter… must be told to his mother. As for Brother Wenbin, I’ll have to trouble you, Brother Guan, to help me bring him home.”

“What are you saying, Brother Cui? Your friend—Li Wenbin, was it?—was a man worthy of admiration. Had I seen this jade earlier, I might have brought him home already. This is but a duty left unfulfilled.”

“Besides, with the matter ending here and no trail to follow, I fear I can give you no satisfactory answer. If anything, I am the one who owes you an apology.”

Guan Yuan sighed.

Cui Xiu paused, meaning to say something polite, but the thought of Li Luo’s fate left him silent. All he could do was shake his head.