Chapter Thirty-Six: Reciprocity

"Uncle Liao, can I be involved in what happens next?"

"You?!" Liao Zhong frowned and asked, "What kind of mischief are you up to? Don't tell me it's because this girl is pretty, so..."

"Oh, stop it! I'm not as sleazy as you, Uncle Liao."

The two exchanged some banter, but Liao Zhong showed no sign of yielding. Seeing that Liao Zhong would not agree, Meng Fan shifted the topic. With a deep, enigmatic gaze, he asked, "Uncle Liao, do you want her to become a 'person'?"

"She is a person!"

"Is she?" Meng Fan said with profound meaning. "But she is destined not to live long, and she will live in pain. Is such a life truly meaningful for her?"

Just then, a cool breeze brushed against their clothes. Liao Zhong lowered the brim of his hat and looked at Meng Fan solemnly. "Xiaofan, I know you're smart, but you must understand one thing: since this girl was born a human, she has the right to live as one."

In truth, the Liao Zhong from the original story had always worked hard to help Chen Duo live like a normal person, treating her almost like his own daughter. Unfortunately, Liao Zhong was too blunt to understand Chen Duo's true inner thoughts. Everything he did might have been for her own good, but he never considered her opinion, taking charge in an overbearing, almost patriarchal way.

Meng Fan did not argue with Liao Zhong's words but agreed, "You are quite right. But with your current resources, it seems you cannot fulfill that, can you?"

"What do you mean?"

Meng Fan pointed at the Gu child and asked, "Can you really solve the problems with her body?"

Liao Zhong was silent for a long time before shaking his head. "Perhaps not now, but in the future..."

Meng Fan interrupted him. "The future? How far can the future go, and can she even hold on until then? Uncle Liao, you know the answer in your heart. Don't deceive yourself."

Liao Zhong felt as if his throat were stuffed with a rag; he couldn't utter another word. After his lips trembled for a moment, he finally asked, "Did... did Old Meng tell you all this?"

Meng Fan shook his head. With a swirling cluster of *Qi* dancing in his palm, he said rather proudly, "Do I need my dad to tell me something like this?"

"Through our brief contact just now, I have already grasped the general condition of her body."

"What? How is that possible?"

Meng Fan chuckled. "Why not? The younger generation surpasses the older. In the field of Beast Masters, I have blazed my own trail and found a different path. It’s just that my dad focuses on the microscopic, while I focus on the macroscopic!"

Meng Fan held back some details; in truth, he had long since reached the level where he could control bacteria just as his father did. After all, while tardigrades were significantly larger than bacteria, they were still on the micron scale, and genes were even smaller.

Meng Fan continued, "I've only heard my father mention the Medicine Immortal Society, but I must say, those people are truly insane! Their ideas are incredibly bold: 'Using humans as Gu, turning Gu into immortals!' They use the internal organs as a nest to cultivate, then use the resulting primitive Gu toxins as raw material to convert into various other toxins through sorcery. They can control Gu like a Gu Master, but in reality, they themselves are a Gu."

"Humans are the spirit of all things. Through natural selection, the fact that humans have risen to the top of this world is itself a result of struggling against all other things. Gu insects are essentially poisonous creatures cultivated artificially. The simplest method is to place various highly toxic insects in a sealed container—a Gu jar—let them fight, and with the aid of innate *Qi*, the survivor is called 'Gu.' And humans, themselves, are the Gu cultivated by heaven and earth. If humans rule this world, why isn't it also the Gu ruling this world?"

"Selecting people, raising them, choosing the best of the best, and then planting Gu within them—when you combine the 'Gu' created by nature over millions of years with human-selected Gu, and subject them to survival of the fittest, the resulting Gu is the immortal, holy product among all Gu! This is the 'Saint Child of the Gu Body.'"

As Meng Fan explained his understanding of the Saint Child of the Gu Body, Liao Zhong fell into deep thought. He looked at Meng Fan intently and said, "Tell me your idea."

Meng Fan smiled, knowing Liao Zhong's resolve had wavered. "The Gu child is like a newborn baby. To speed up her journey toward becoming a qualified person, she needs to be influenced and helped by her own kind. And this 'kind' should ideally have the means to counter-act the dangers the Gu child brings."

Liao Zhong frowned. "Xiaofan, are you saying you can suppress the Gu child?"

Meng Fan smiled. "Let me introduce you to my friend!"

"Zengshou!"

At the call, a small, jade-red toad leaped out from the hood of Meng Fan's hoodie and sat motionless on his shoulder. Liao Zhong was startled by the toad's sudden appearance.

"This is your supposed way to suppress the Gu child?" Liao Zhong said with a hint of disdain.

Meng Fan introduced it: "Don't let his size fool you; this pet is incredibly venomous. It has been eating thousands of types of poison since it was young. The Gu creatures inside the Saint Child of the Gu Body would serve as perfect bait for it. Besides, Uncle Liao, don't forget: survival and reproduction are the instincts of all living things. They will constantly grow stronger, and the Gu creatures are no different."

"The Saint Child of the Gu Body needs to expel the Gu creatures from her body within a certain timeframe. Otherwise, if an excess accumulates, they will feed on her internal organs and slowly hollow her out into a mere shell. The Gu within the Saint Child is extremely toxic, and since you find it hard to dispose of, why not let me handle it?"

Liao Zhong felt tempted. He looked at Meng Fan and hesitated. "I don't have a problem with it, but what about your dad...?"

Meng Fan patted his chest. "Don't worry, I'll convince him. But Uncle Liao, I need a favor from you, too!"

Liao Zhong laughed, "I knew you wouldn't work for free. Tell me, I'll do my best!"

Meng Fan replied, "Get me a special admission spot at a university—the best one for biology. You should be able to manage that, right?"

"University? I remember you're only in high..." Liao Zhong was momentarily dazed, suddenly recalling that although Meng Fan was only ten, he was already about to take his college entrance exams!

Liao Zhong scratched his head. "The best biology department would be at Peking University. By rights, with your grades, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"But I don't want to be at school most of the time, and besides, things are easier to get done when you're around!" Meng Fan grinned at Liao Zhong, causing the man's face to darken.