Ren Zu possessed Hope Gu, and with this luminous treasure residing in his chest, he finally managed to escape the suffocating shadows of the Predicaments. The monsters that had once feasted on his fear now recoiled from his brilliance.
However, the Great Dao is fair. While Hope had the power to banish the terror of the night, it possessed no authority over the cruelty of the day. Hope could sustain the spirit, but it could not stop the ruthless flow of the River of Time.
Time was a blade that sharpened itself on the flesh of mortals.
Days bled into months, and months stacked into heavy years. Without the crimson fire of Strength Gu to forge his body into iron, and without the cool crystal of Wisdom Gu to guide his choices with efficiency, Ren Zu was left defenseless against the elements.
He grew old with terrifying speed.
The disintegration of the first human was a tragedy witnessed by the wind and the earth. His teeth, once strong enough to tear through the hide of a bear, loosened and fell out one by one, leaving him gums that bled and a mouth that could no longer chew even the softest wild fruits. He was forced to swallow water and mush, his body starving even as he ate.
His eyes, which had once looked upon the creation of the sun, grew dim and cloudy. The vibrant world of greens and blues faded into a wash of gray shadows. He could no longer see the horizon; he could only see the few steps in front of his feet.
His back, which had once stood straight as a spear challenging the heavens, bent under the invisible weight of the sky. He walked with his face toward the dirt, as if the earth was calling him to return to it. He could feel Death approaching. It did not come as a monster or a beast; it came as a cold, inevitable silence that seeped into his marrow.
Finally, the day came when Ren Zu could walk no further.
He collapsed in a desolate field of dry grass. He lay on the cold ground, his chest heaving with shallow, rattling breaths. He was panting not from exertion, but from the sheer effort of existing. He closed his eyes, waiting for the final darkness to swallow him.
At this critical moment, a burst of blinding white light erupted from his chest.
Hope Gu, sensing the imminent destruction of its vessel, jumped out from Ren Zu's failing heart. It hovered before his face, vibrating with intense anxiety.
"Human! Human, wake up!" Hope Gu cried out, its voice ringing with desperation. "You must not die! You are my house. You are my shell. If you die, your heart will stop beating, and the warmth will fade. If that happens, I will have no place to live! I will vanish into nothingness!"
Ren Zu opened his cloudy eyes. He looked at the little Gu worm that shone like a star. He smiled, but it was a bitter, toothless smile, raspy and dry like dead autumn leaves dragging across stone.
"Oh, Gu," Ren Zu whispered, his voice barely audible. "Who in this world truly wishes to die? I have walked the earth and seen its wonders. I want to live. I yearn to breathe. But the Heaven and Earth want me dead. My body is a rotting log. I have no choice but to obey the cycle."
Hope Gu flickered violently, its light pulsing against the encroaching grayness. "No! There is no absolute dead end in this world! There is always hope in everything! As long as you catch Lifespan Gu, you can reverse this rot. You can regain your youth and increase your days. You can live again!"
Ren Zu shook his head slowly, a gesture of profound defeat.
"I have heard the legends of Lifespan Gu," Ren Zu rasped, coughing as he spoke. "It is the most elusive spirit in creation. When it stays still, it becomes one with the earth, and no eye can detect it. When it flies, it moves faster than the lightning of the nine heavens. It slips through fingers like water; it fades like a dream."
He looked at his trembling, withered hands.
"Even when I possessed the mountain-moving power of Strength and the star-calculating mind of Wisdom, I could not catch it. I tried, and I failed. Now... look at me. I am old. I am weak. I cannot even catch a falling leaf. How can I possibly succeed in catching Time itself?"
The light of Hope dimmed for a moment, then flared up brighter than before, fueled by necessity.
"Do not give up!" Hope Gu urged, flying closer to Ren Zu's ear. "Since you still have me, I will tell you a secret that the no one knows. In the northwest corner of this savage world, there stands a mountain that pierces the clouds. Inside a hidden cave on that mountain live a pair of mystical Gu worms."
Ren Zu's breathing paused. "A pair?"
"Yes," Hope Gu continued. "One is perfectly Round, and the other is perfectly Square. They are the masters of order in this chaotic world. They are powerful . As long as you subdue them and gain their help, there is no Gu in this world you cannot catch!"
Ren Zu's dim eyes suddenly lit up. The fire of ambition, which he thought had turned to ash, sparked once more.
"mountain cave...a pair of gu... order..." he murmured, tasting the words. "If there is such a way... if there is even a sliver of a chance to defeat Death... then I must try."