The mussel was particular with its neat appearance. It liked to wear little robes, exposing its cute, tiny limbs. Anyone would definitely want to hug it as soon as they saw it. At the moment, only its face was still intact. The rest of its body was all injured.

Also, the mussel used to be quite chubby. Now, its body was reduced to nothing but a skeleton. Its face was no longer big and chubby. Instead, it looked skinny and oval, like all of the water content in its body had been evaporated.

The mussel was clearly in great agony, so much so that it wanted to twist about in pain. It looked at Gu Xijiu with innocent eyes. Tears started to roll in its eyes, but it tried hard to hold them back.

"If you are in pain, cry it out." Quickly, Gu Xijiu applied some medicine on its body. "I will not laugh at you," she comforted.

The mussel thus burst into loud sobs.

In the past three days of suffering, death came across as its final wish so many times. However, it wanted to live long enough to see its master again. It did not want to bear the grudge by becoming a scapegoat. If it died, there would be no witness. Such a blind spot would put its master into trouble. Therefore, it tried its best to stay alive. Nonetheless, it was very concerned about its safety, for it was worried that the four men would kill it anytime.

Now, it finally got to see its master again. Utterly relieved, knowing that it was safe, it started to cry like a baby.

Lu Wu felt much sympathy for the mussel. It wanted to caress it with its tail. However, the mussel could still feel stinging pain on its skin when in contact with Lu Wu"s soft, fluffy tail.

Gu Xijiu had been busy taking care of the mussel ever since its release. She did not even bother to look at the four Great Guardians.

For the first time, their presence had been completely ignored. If the same situation happened in a different scenario, they would have already risen in revolt. This time, they only stood gazing at Gu Xijiu, who was still busy caring for the mussel. They did not even raise their voice.

Tie Liu was very angry for the loss of his favorite magical item, but Gu Xijiu"s aura was too intimidating. The bleak aura conveyed a strong sense of desolation in the air.

The four Great Guardians started to feel suffocated. They gave each other a look and started to communicate via directed audio. "My third brother, why did you torture the mussel to such a brutal extent?" Tie Zheng could not help but ask Tie Liu about the torment. The mussel"s wounds came as a gruesome sight even for someone as cold-blooded as him.

Tie Liu looked a little worried, but he still thought that he did the right thing. "It is only a mussel. Moreover, it had committed such a deadly crime. It deserves to be punished, even if that means cooking it alive in a soup."

The more he defended his action, the more he felt confident about it. Determined, he decided to take the first step. He spoke up, "You have allowed your majestic being to commit physical a.s.sault on innocent beings. It is an unforgivable crime. Also, you have destroyed my magical item, thus violating the heaven"s commandment. You should behave yourself and follow us now to the Hall of Supreme Harmony."

Gu Xijiu continued to ignore him. She was busy applying the last drop of the medicine on the mussel"s wound. "Drink this," she demanded while pa.s.sing it a bottle of elixir.

The mussel was thirsty, so it quickly finished up the elixir. The drink was not only thirst quenching, but also significantly reviving.

The medicine that Gu Xijiu applied on the mussel could cure many different poisons and wounds. Also, she made it especially for the mussel to fit its situation. The medicine was able to heal the wounds quickly while acting as an a.n.a.lgesic. The mussel was no longer in pain!

It rose and gave the four Great Guardians a harsh, angry look. There was a fire in its eyes. "Master, they kept accusing me as the prime criminal of some ma.s.sacre."