His surroundings fell silent in an instant. Countless eyes turned toward him.
“This grows more interesting by the moment.” Fang Yuan smiled inwardly. Under everyone’s watchful gaze, he waded across the river and stepped onto the opposite bank.
Immediately, he felt a pressure bearing down upon him. It emanated from the spirit spring deep within the flower field; the primeval qi it produced was so concentrated that it generated this tangible weight. But soon, a cluster of lights rose from the flowers beside his feet. They drifted around him, enveloping his entire body before every last one entered his skin.
“These are Hope Gu,” Fang Yuan murmured inwardly. The elder in charge had not explained, but Fang Yuan knew perfectly well.
• • •
Every point of light was an individual Gu.
Their name was Hope.
One of the oldest legends told of them. When this world had just formed, it was a wilderness where wild beasts roamed unchecked. The first human came into being, and his name was Ren Zu. He lived a primitive existence, eating raw flesh and drinking blood. Life was exceedingly difficult. In particular, there was a group of wild beasts called Predicaments. They found Ren Zu’s scent especially enticing and sought to devour him. Ren Zu possessed neither a body as tough as mountain rock nor the sharp teeth and claws of wild beasts. How could he contend with such a pack? His food supply was unreliable, and he spent his days fleeing from place to place. At the bottom of nature’s food chain, he was on the verge of extinction.
At this time, three Gu sought out Ren Zu of their own accord. “As long as you sustain us with your life, we will help you overcome your difficulties,” they said. With nowhere else to turn, Ren Zu had no choice but to agree. First, he sustained the largest of the three with his youth. That Gu gave him Strength. With Strength, Ren Zu’s life improved. He gained a reliable source of food and the power to protect himself. He took eagerly to fighting, defeating many Predicaments. But he soon suffered for it. Eventually, he discovered that Strength was not all-powerful: it required rest and recovery and could not be squandered at will.
Moreover, his strength alone was far too little against all the Predicament beasts together. Once his suffering had eased, Ren Zu reflected on what he had endured. He decided to sustain the most beautiful of the three Gu with his middle years, when he was in the prime of his life. Then the second Gu gave him Wisdom. With Wisdom, Ren Zu learned to think and reflect, beginning to accumulate experience. He discovered that Wisdom was often more effective than Strength. With both, he was able, for a time, to overcome much that had previously been beyond him. He ate their flesh and drank their blood, tenaciously surviving. But the good times did not last. Ren Zu grew old, older and older. This was because he had offered his youth and middle years to Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu.
Once a person grows old, their muscles waste away and their mind slows.
“Human, what can you still give us? You have nothing left to offer.” Once Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu realised this, they abandoned him without compassion.
Ren Zu had lost Strength and Wisdom. The Predicaments found him again and surrounded him. He was old and could no longer run. All his teeth had fallen out; he could not even chew wild fruit or edible greens. He collapsed helplessly to the ground, Predicaments crowding all around. His heart filled with despair. Just then, the third Gu spoke. “Human, sustain me, and I can free you from these Predicaments.”
Ren Zu said through his tears, “Gu, what could I possibly have left? Look, Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu have both abandoned me. All I have is my old age. Compared with youth and middle age, it may be worth little, but if I offer even that to you, my life will end immediately. Though the Predicaments surround me, I will not die just yet. I want to live a little longer, even if only for a single second. So go. I can no longer sustain you.”
But the Gu said, “Of the three of us, I ask for the least. Human, all you need to do is give me your heart.”
“Then I’ll give you my heart,” Ren Zu said. “But, Gu, what can you give me? In this desperate situation, even if Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu returned to my side, they could not change anything.”
Beside Strength Gu, this Gu had the frailest form: nothing more than a tiny point of light. Beside Wisdom Gu, it was the dimmest, giving off only a faint white glow, devoid of splendour or brilliance. But when the human gave his heart to the Gu, it suddenly blazed with boundless light. Amidst that radiance, the Predicaments cried out in terror: “It’s Hope Gu! Retreat! We fear hope most of all!” The beasts immediately fled in panic.
Ren Zu stared, eyes wide and mouth agape. From that moment on, he understood: when facing predicaments, give your heart to hope.
• • •
At that moment, the stream of Hope Gu gathered and entered Fang Yuan’s body. Under the external pressure, they clustered of their own accord roughly ten centimetres below his navel. Fang Yuan immediately felt the pressure ease slightly. He stepped forward. With every step, more Hope Gu rose from the flower field, entered his body, and joined the mass of light.
The mass grew larger and brighter. But across the river, the elder in charge's brow furrowed.
“There seem to be rather few Hope Gu.” At the sight, the hearts of the many elders who had been discreetly watching Fang Yuan sank.
The Clan Leader's brow furrowed as well. These were certainly not the signs one would expect from Grade A aptitude.
Fang Yuan continued forward against the pressure.
“Fewer than ten steps means no aptitude. Ten to twenty is Grade D; twenty to thirty, Grade C; thirty to forty, Grade B; forty to fifty, Grade A. So far, I have taken twenty-three steps. Twenty-four… twenty-five… twenty-six… twenty-seven.”
At his twenty-seventh step, he seemed to hear a boom. The mass of light in his abdomen, between his kidneys, had reached its limit and suddenly burst.
The burst occurred entirely within Fang Yuan’s body; no one else could detect it. Only he experienced its mysterious, earth-shaking wonder. In an instant, the fine hairs all over his body stood on end and his pores closed tightly. His mind drew taut like a bowstring pulled back to its limit. Immediately afterward, his mind went blank and his whole body relaxed, as though he had fallen into the clouds. The tension eased, his body hair settled, and every pore opened. All at once, a light sheen of perspiration covered his skin.
Though it takes time to describe, the process was exceedingly brief. It came swiftly and ended just as abruptly. Fang Yuan was dazed for only an instant before collecting himself. He quietly concentrated and examined within. An aperture had appeared out of nowhere in his abdomen, below his navel and between his kidneys.
His aperture had opened successfully.
This was the hope of immortality.