魏元忠
For the next few years, Guo was moved between several positions—first as the prefect of Jin Prefecture (晉州, roughly modern Linfen, Shanxi), then the deputy head of the archival bureau (by this time known as "Lintai Jian" (), then acting prefect of Shan Prefecture (陝州, roughly modern Sanmenxia, Henan). He was serving as the prefect of Shan Prefecture as of 689, when Xu Jingzhen (), the brother of Xu Jingye the Duke of Ying, who had led an unsuccessful rebellion against Empress Dowager Wu in 684, was captured after spending several years in hiding. During the interrogation of Xu Jingzhen and Zhang Siming (), a county magistrate who had assisted Xu Jingzhen in his years of hiding, Xu and Zhang implicated a large number of officials—hoping that by doing so, they would be spared. Among those who were implicated were Guo, along with other key officials Zhang Guangfu, Zhang Chujin (), Yuan Wanqing (), and Wei Yuanzhong. Zhang Guangfu was executed, but Guo, Zhang Chujin, Yuan, and Wei were spared and exiled to the Lingnan region. Guo, however, died while on the way to exile or in exile, and his assets were confiscated.