In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 120 What a terrible sunset, it's so beautiful!
When Gu Shaoan and his group returned to the deck, they did not see the enemy they had imagined, but only a young woman who had been locked in the lower deck and had come out for some fresh air.

The young woman, however, was pale-faced and staring in terror at the sails standing on the deck.

Gu Shaoan and the others quickly moved to the side of the sail pole, where they saw Wu Sangou sitting against the wooden frame that secured the sail pole.

A dagger was deeply embedded in his chest, the blade almost completely sunk in, leaving only a simple wooden handle sticking out.

Fresh blood was gushing from the wound, quickly staining his filthy clothes and spreading a shocking dark red across the cold deck.

The hilt of the dagger was where Wu Sangou's own hand rested.

The dim sunlight shone on his face, which was contorted with pain yet also carried a heart-stopping calm and relief.

Seemingly sensing the gazes of Gu Shaoan and the others, Wu Sangou stiffly turned his head to look at them, then forced a smile.

Those teeth, which weren't in great condition to begin with, also had a yellowish sheen in the sunlight.

Seeing Wu Sangou's expression, the group realized that Wu Sangou had plunged the dagger into his own chest.

After a moment's hesitation, Gu Shaoan stepped forward, raised his hand and pressed a few acupoints around Wu Sangou's chest, then channeled some true energy into Wu Sangou's body to protect his heart meridian.

"Young Master Gu, there's no need to go to such lengths. This stab has already pierced his heart; he won't survive."

Gu Shaoan said softly, "I know, I just suddenly wanted to chat with Uncle Wu for a bit."

As he spoke, Gu Shaoan turned to Yang Yan and said, "When I came here before, I saw a small tavern at the dock, so I went to buy two bottles of wine."

Yang Yan didn't ask why; she simply used her lightness skill to rush towards the dock the moment Gu Shaoan finished speaking.

In less than a hundred breaths, he returned with two jugs of wine.

"Brother!"

After taking the wine jug from Yang Yan, Gu Shaoan opened one of the bottles and placed it in Wu Sangou's hands. Then, he took a jug of wine himself and sat down next to Wu Sangou.

Seeing this, Yang Yan quietly walked to the side and sat down with Zhou Zhiruo.

For some reason, Shangguan Haitang sat down after seeing the two women sit down.

The angle was perfect for seeing Gu Shaoan and Wu Sangou's profiles.

After he pulled out the rough wooden stopper from the flask, an unusually strong, pungent, and acrid smell of alcohol instantly exploded in the air.

Gu Shaoan frowned slightly, but without hesitation, he tilted his head back, tilted the spout of the teapot, and a clear liquid, like a stream of water, poured into his throat.

As he tilted his head back, the liquor flowed into his mouth through the spout of the pot.

The liquor is baijiu, which is the same distilled spirit that Gu Shaoan used in his previous life.

It is as clear as water, and has an extremely strong flavor.

The moment it enters the mouth, it's like a scorching fireball bursting on the tip of the tongue, carrying a rough and fierce intensity that rushes straight to the head.

The strong alcohol, accompanied by an indescribable, slightly sour and burnt smell, scraped across the delicate throat like a red-hot knife.

The moment you swallow, it feels like your esophagus and stomach are being rubbed raw by rough grit, leaving a burning, stinging sensation.

A surge of primal, pungent alcohol fumes rushed up from his sinuses. Gu Shaoan instinctively furrowed his brow, clenched his teeth, and took a deep, forceful inhalation of the cool, damp air carried by the river breeze. He managed to suppress the burning sensation that almost made him cough, but a persistent burning sensation lingered in his throat, as if embers had not yet been extinguished.

Wu Sangou's senses seemed to have slowed down considerably compared to usual, much like the feeling after drinking too much alcohol.

But his cloudy eyes never left Gu Shaoan's profile.

Watching him wince as the strong liquor unexpectedly burned him, watching him force his eyes shut to endure the discomfort, a smile once again appeared on his face, which had turned ashen from blood loss and was contorted with pain.

The smile was faint, its lines stained with blood and sweat, revealing a set of yellow teeth, grime-stained and grime-covered over the years, which looked rather glaring in the dim, slanting sunlight.

"Ah...cough...cough cough..."

As he laughed, he couldn't help but cough, and blood with tiny bubbles spilled from his throat, but the smile on his face didn't fade.

"Young Master Gu, cough cough, is this... your first time touching this stuff?"

His voice was low and hoarse, leaking air like a broken bellows.

Gu Shaoan looked at the clear yet wildly potent liquor in his hand, feeling the lingering heat and sting in his mouth, and the unique "fiery" kick of the cheap liquor that lingered in his chest and lungs. He softly and honestly responded:
"Ah."

The "hmm" was plain and unremarkable, yet it seemed like some kind of confirmation, making Wu Sangou's smile deepen, even carrying a hint of barely perceptible, strange self-deprecation and envy.

His murky gaze passed over Gu Shaoan's shoulder and looked at the magnificent, shimmering golden river.

After taking a sip of the liquor, the pungent and spicy taste, along with a bloody odor unlike anything he'd ever experienced before, went down his throat. The spiciness, however, made Wu Sangou's mind feel a little clearer.

After a moment, Wu Sangou spoke up: "Being so observant that you noticed the tavern next door when you were just passing by, with your intelligence, Young Master Gu must have already guessed that I am also a slave trader of the Ghost Hand Gang!"

"Ok!"

Gu Shaoan's response was still very mild and frank.

After all, it's not difficult to discover this.

Many sources have indicated that Wu Sangou was originally a member of the Ghost Hand Gang.

Otherwise, how could they know so much about the Ghost Hand Gang, and how could they secretly take so many people away and hide them right under Li Wansan's nose?
"So, I'm very curious, what could have caused such a big change in you, Uncle Wu?"

Gu Shaoan never believed in instant enlightenment.

I only believe that there is a reason behind everything.

It is impossible for a person to undergo such a significant change without experiencing certain events.

Wu Sangou didn't rush to respond, but instead took a few more swigs of wine.

Then, Wu Sangou slowly said, "Because of Old Man Bai."

"Old Man Bai?"

Gu Shaoan raised an eyebrow, and a guess immediately popped into his mind.

Noticing Gu Shaoan's expression, Wu Sangou gave a wry smile.

"It seems that Young Master Gu has already guessed it."

"Young Master Gu is right. I kidnapped Old Bai's poor, beautiful granddaughter."

"It was sold to a family who wanted to bring good luck in marriage. It sold for fifty taels of silver, but that very night, the family's son died and it was buried with them."

"After that old man Bai met me, he actually wanted to kill me to avenge himself, until I begged him for help."

He stopped and looked at Gu Shaoan.

"Doesn't it seem absurd?"

Gu Shaoan shook his head and remained silent.

But it's also understandable that Old Man Bai deeply hates these human traffickers.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to help Wu Sangou when they knew he was their enemy.

Just then, perhaps due to the fluctuations in his emotions, Wu Sangou's injuries were aggravated, causing him to cough again.

The cough was heart-wrenching, a truly tragic one.

After catching his breath, Wu Sangou leaned back heavily, his head hitting the sail pole with a dull thud.

"Back then, I was a veteran in the Ghost Hands gang, specializing in this kind of work. I could spot a kid, apply some smear of smear powder, put a sack on him, carry him away, and do it with ease and efficiency."

"Later, the higher-ups said that simply selling them as laborers or slaves was too cheap; they had to be made to be worth a high price."

Wu Sangou's voice was extremely low and hoarse, "So in those years we also did the business of harvesting and mutilating animals."

"They would turn pretty children into monsters, neither human nor ghost, just to attract onlookers to throw more coins at them, or send them to wealthy families as rare trinkets."

As he spoke, his teeth began to chatter, making a soft "clucking" sound.

It seems that he himself is also terrified of what he has done.

Yang Yan and the others, who were standing nearby, frowned involuntarily as they listened to what Wu Sangou said.

Even Gu Shaoan's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness.

Then, Wu Sangou changed the subject: "Over the years, I've made a lot of ill-gotten gains, and I've also secretly found some unfortunate women, hoping to have an heir."

"But after several years, I tried countless folk remedies and prayed to countless Buddhas, but it still didn't work."

"It wasn't until I met Old Man Bai that I realized what was going on. He used to be quite well-off, but now he was all alone on the street like a beggar, constantly muttering his granddaughter's name."

"Unless God is truly blind, then for the beastly things I've done, I deserve to be childless and die a horrible death."

Gu Shaoan said, "So you're willing to risk your life to save these people?"

Wu Sangou asked, "Having been a bad person for half your life, you should at least do something good to atone for your sins."

At this moment, Wu Sangou suddenly turned to Gu Shaoan and asked, "Young Master Gu, do you think I am a good person now?" If it were someone else, they might comfort Wu Sangou, who was about to die.

But when faced with Wu Sangou's question, Gu Shaoan only looked at the dagger stuck in Wu Sangou's chest.

"Since Uncle Wu has already come this far, he obviously already has the answer in his heart, so why ask me?"

In Gu Shaoan's eyes, Wu Sangou's selflessness this time was admirable, but only for this one time.

Wu Sangou sighed and said, "If I could be like Young Hero Gu, able to see things so clearly at the age of fifteen and distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, I probably wouldn't have lived my life like this."

After saying that, Wu Sangou turned his head to look at the river in the distance.

The setting sun is putting on its most magnificent finale of the day.

The golden-red glow of the sunset, like a warm veil, gently enveloped the entire dock, including the blood-stained old ship. The shimmering river waves were also dyed, turning into dancing, flowing fragments of gold leaf, each undulation shimmering with luxurious light.

The deck was bathed in a pitying orange-gold hue. The contours of Gu Shaoan's face, the congealed scabs on Wu Sangou's lips, the rough hilt of the knife deeply embedded in his chest... were all clearly discernible in this gentle light, yet they seemed somewhat indistinct.

In this grand and magnificent scene, where one could almost forget the bloodshed beneath their feet and the dying beside them, a strange expression suddenly flashed across Wu Sangou's face, which was contorted and slack from blood loss and excruciating pain. It was a pure, childlike bewilderment mixed with a fleeting, almost illusory tenderness, which was instantly overwhelmed by a surge of profound self-mockery and boundless exhaustion.

His eyes, which had long been dull and lifeless, as if covered by a layer of gray, seemed to have caught something incomprehensible in the burning sky. His pupils dilated slightly for a moment, reflecting the dancing glow of the sunset.

Immediately afterwards, a very faint yet extremely abrupt, almost dreamlike murmur drifted out from between his purplish-red, cracked lips, so weak that it was almost blown away by the evening breeze.

"Damn it."

It was a crude opening, full of a strong sense of vulgarity, powerlessness, and complex meaning.

Then, a longer sigh, thick with the sticky residue of blood foam carried by his breath, escaped his lips: "What a lousy sunset, yet it's this beautiful."

Despite his words, gazing at the magnificent sunset in the distance, Wu Sangou felt a greedy urge to imprint the twilight over the river into his heart, as if using this beautiful moment to break through the darkness in his soul.

"Senior sister!"

Just then, Gu Shaoan suddenly spoke.

"I'm here!"

Zhou Zhiruo's gentle voice immediately rang out from the side.

"Please trouble you, Senior Sister, to invite that old man Bai over here!"

Seemingly understanding Gu Shaoan's meaning, Wu Sangou, whose eyes had previously dimmed, suddenly brightened up and became energetic.

Seeing Wu Sangou's reaction, everyone knew that this was a final burst of energy before his death.

Although she didn't understand Gu Shaoan's meaning, Zhou Zhiruo still set off immediately.

A moment later, led by Zhou Zhiruo, the old man Bai, looking puzzled, walked onto the deck.

When the old man saw Wu Sangou with a dagger stuck in his chest, he trembled.

"San Gou, what... what are you doing?"

However, in response to Old Man Bai's reaction, Wu Sangou struggled to stand up.

To Old Man Bai's astonishment, Wu Sangou stared at him intently, then knelt down with a "plop".

His head slammed hard against the deck.

"If I ever meet you two again in my next life, I, Wu Sangou, will serve you like a slave."

A sudden gust of wind rose from the river, and the wine jug in Wu Sangou's hand rolled along the path of his loosened grip until it touched the side of the boat.

Wu Sangou remained in this posture until his death.

Looking at the motionless Wu Sangou, Old Man Bai suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky.

Immediately afterwards, Old Man Bai suddenly let out a laugh.

"Alright, revenge is done, revenge is done, I can sleep peacefully now, I can sleep peacefully now."

As he spoke, Old Man Bai stepped forward and, with some difficulty, dragged Wu Sangou's body step by step toward the cabin.

Step by step, it was extremely difficult, yet incredibly energetic.

The old man was smiling, but tears kept spilling from his cloudy eyes, dripping onto the ground and being wiped away by Wu Sangou's body as he dragged him.

Seeing the old man Bai struggling to drag Wu Sangou's corpse, Yang Yan, Zhou Zhiruo, and even Shangguan Haitang wanted to help.

But when they saw Gu Shaoan still sitting there watching the sunset, the three of them wondered why Gu Shaoan hadn't helped Old Man Bai.

However, due to their blind trust in Gu Shaoan, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan both felt that there was a reason why Gu Shaoan did not help Bai Laohan drag away Wu Sangou's body.

He immediately suppressed his impulse and stood still, watching quietly.

The two remained still, and for some reason, Shangguan Haitang glanced at Gu Shaoan and then chose to follow suit, without any help.

Old Man Bai struggled to drag Wu Sangou's body, step by step, bit by bit, into the cabin.

Gu Shaoan watched the setting sun gradually sink below the horizon.

"on fire."

"The small boat on the river is on fire."

As darkness fell further, a commotion suddenly arose from the dock.

Hearing the sound, everyone went to the side of the boat, only to find that there was a small boat less than five feet away from their large boat on the river.

Old Man Bai stood at the bow of the boat, and Wu Sangou, who had died earlier, was also placed on the boat.

The raging fire had already engulfed the entire small boat.

As the small boat was completely engulfed in flames, Yang Yan, Zhou Zhiruo, and even Shangguan Haitang's eyes flickered with surprise and confusion.

For the three women now, the complexity of this world is still somewhat difficult to comprehend.

It is also difficult to fully understand the complexity of human nature.

A moment later, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly spoke.

"Junior Brother"

Gu Shaoan responded with a soft "hmm".

"Do you think Uncle Wu is really not a good person?"

Gu Shaoan hesitated almost without any hesitation.

"He did a good job in this matter, but he didn't do it in other areas."

"Once a person dies, they can never come back. Some sins, once committed, can never be redeemed."

"Merits and demerits cannot always be offset against each other."

Yang Yan, standing nearby, murmured, "So that's why he wanted to commit suicide?"

"Because the premise of sudden repentance is that a serious mistake has already been made, and only after truly repenting will one be unable to get over that mental hurdle."

Suddenly, Shangguan Haitang asked, "Since you guessed beforehand that Uncle Wu was a member of the Ghost Hand Gang, what would you have done if Uncle Wu hadn't committed suicide?"

Gu Shaoan said, "Just like now, for the sake of this incident, I will let him die with some dignity."

Gu Shaoan's voice remained soft and gentle, as if he were stating a fact.

At other times, Shangguan Haitang might have thought Gu Shaoan was a bit cold-hearted.

But smelling the alcohol emanating from Gu Shaoan and recalling his words, Shangguan Haitang opened her mouth, but then closed it again.

I felt that this person, whom I had only met for the first time today, seemed to have a strange magic about him, always making people unconsciously believe what he said.

Beneath the light veil, her eyes remained fixed on Gu Shaoan's handsome face.

For the first time, Shangguan Haitang felt a strong curiosity about someone and wanted to get to know them better.

A few breaths later, Gu Shaoan took another swig of wine and threw the wine pot aside, smashing it to pieces.

After wiping the remaining wine from his lips, Gu Shaoan let out a breath.

He then looked at Shangguan Haitang beside him.

"Next, I'll trouble Miss Shangguan to look after these people on the boat for a while. Once I've finished dealing with things here, I'll come over as soon as possible to help settle them in."

Knowing what Gu Shaoan was going to do next, Shangguan Haitang nodded and said, "Don't worry, with me here, even if the government officials come, there won't be any problems."

"it is good!"

Gu Shaoan nodded, then called out to Yang Yan and Zhou Zhiruo before using their lightness skills to head towards the Emei Sect's headquarters in Linjiang Town.

　Just so you know, this might seem a bit long and tedious, but I (the author) feel that wuxia (martial arts) stories need more flesh and blood, so I spent over two days and a lot of effort and thought to finish this core chapter and post it immediately! It might sound a bit sentimental, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter! If you don't like it, I'll continue writing normally!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)