The Gu Child

Great Sui, Qi Prefecture, Yunze Prefecture.

In Baofeng County, a hundred miles outside the county seat, lay a vast mountain range known as Min Mountain.

It was late autumn, and the mountain forests were painted in layers of vibrant hues.

Tucked away in this scenic landscape was a valley named "Insect Valley."

Nearby hunters often brought large quantities of game here to trade for rare medicinal cures; otherwise, ordinary people would never dare approach Insect Valley.

Rumor had it that a Gu Master resided in the valley, and no other rogue cultivators in Min Mountain dared to stir up trouble.

For anyone who offended the Gu Master of this valley met a miserable end, either fed to the Gu or refined alive into a puppet-like Medicine Person.

On this day, six hunters, each driving a cart laden with game, arrived outside the valley. Their palms, gripping the reins, were already slick with cold sweat.

"Grandpa, is that a Gu Child..."

The young hunter huddled behind the Old Hunter as the poisonous miasma at the valley entrance parted, and twenty-four Gu Children emerged.

The Gu Children were all young, some teenagers, others mere children, yet every one of them possessed a terrifying appearance.

Some had sallow, bruised faces; some had horns sprouting from their heads; others were covered in fleshy tumors or had bloated limbs, while some carried sacs of flesh on their shoulders—all were deformed by the implantation of Gu.

As the distance closed and the faces of the Gu Children became clearer, the six hunters could not help but reveal complex expressions in their eyes.

They knew that batches of Gu Children died in Insect Valley one after another, yet new children were always brought in to fill the gaps.

As for the identities of these children, they were all refugees left destitute by the ravages of war. Either their parents were dead, or they had been separated from their families and sold to this place.

Those who knew the horrors of Insect Valley would avoid it even if they were beggars; it was impossible for anyone to become a Gu Child of their own volition.

Among the twenty-four Gu Children, the leader was a boy with a swollen face. He stepped forward and tossed the package in his hand to the Old Hunter.

"This is the medicine you require. Take it and leave at once."

"Yes, yes."

The hunters took the package, unloaded their goods onto the ground, and drove off, not daring to check if the medicine inside was genuine or fake.

"Come over and move the cargo to the Medicine Pit."

Under the command of the lead Gu Child, twenty-three Gu Children began to work.

Among them was a youth with relatively delicate features. His lips were black, and his fingernails were also black, indicating he was heavily poisoned; it was hard to say how much longer he could endure.

Like the other Gu Children, he hoisted a Mountain Deer and began to walk.

Compared to the struggling appearance of the other children, his steps were light, and his strength was clearly a cut above the average Gu Child.

Of course, this came at a price: he had to be "implanted" with more Gu and more venomous Gu than the others.

In the sunlight, the "Gu-Implanting Orifice" on his right arm was particularly striking; the exposed flesh was a bruised black, and dozens of Gu insects could be seen faintly wriggling at the opening.

Seeming unable to stand the sight of this youth moving with such ease, the lead Gu Child spoke up.

"Liu Feng, you are to carry that stag. Put the Mountain Deer on your shoulder back."

This lead Gu Child was named Ma Kun. Because Liu Feng had talked back to him when he first arrived at Insect Valley, Ma Kun had held a grudge, never missing an opportunity to sabotage him.

"The team leader told you to go move the largest one, didn't you hear him? Get moving," a Gu Child named Qiao Fei chimed in, seizing the opportunity.

A calm expression remained on Liu Feng's delicate face. Without a word, he turned back as instructed.

Given his physique, it was difficult for him to shoulder the stag, and he soon fell behind the other Gu Children.

In contrast, the Gu Child Qiao Fei only carried a fawn on his shoulder.

"He will have plenty of suffering to endure in the days to come."

Ma Kun lowered his voice and said, "I don't have the patience to wait for the future. He cannot be allowed to turn the tables. Keep an eye on him for me; kill him if you get the chance."

As he spoke, Ma Kun seemingly inadvertently kicked a loose stone, which struck Liu Feng squarely in the knee.

Liu Feng's body tilted, and he fell to one knee, the hundreds-of-pounds stag nearly crushing him into the ground.

Ma Kun sneered as he walked away with the other Gu Children, leaving Liu Feng pinned to the earth.

I must become a Gu Master and break free from the control of Insect Valley so that I can go find my father, mother, and younger brother. Blood seeped from the corner of Liu Feng's mouth as he forcibly swallowed his rage.

Ma Kun was looking for a chance to eliminate him, and he was likewise waiting for an opportunity; it was just that the other party held the position of team leader, giving him far more chances to strike.

Gritting his teeth, Liu Feng channeled the poisonous Qi he had only cultivated for a month, gathered his strength, and stood up once more.

He quickened his pace and entered Insect Valley through the poisonous miasma.

At this hour, besides the Gu Children moving cargo, others in the valley were busy with their own tasks.

Some were planting herbs, some were gathering them, some were raising Gu, and others were handling chores; they did not greet one another when they crossed paths.

Insect Valley contained Gu Masters, Gu Servants, and Gu Children. The Gu Children held the lowest status and were the most numerous; it was common for them to die miserably and be replaced by newcomers, and Liu Feng had long since grown accustomed to the indifference of the others.

Apart from the busy Gu Children, the mysterious Valley Master and his three Gu Master disciples were nowhere to be seen.

Currently, the ones ordering the Gu Children about were several Gu Servants responsible for management.

The status of Gu Servants was higher than that of Gu Children. They were "semi-finished products" who had been implanted with Exotic Gu eggs but failed to become Gu Masters without dying; their strength was significantly higher than that of the Gu Children.

By the time Liu Feng reached the vicinity of the Medicine Pit, the Gu Children moving the cargo were all standing by the edge of the pit, and Ma Kun was saying something to them.

"Look closely, the medicinal mud in that corner needs to be cleared out."

"Isn't clearing the medicine pit the job of the Gu Servants? The poisonous mist at the bottom is too thick; the Gu Children cannot go down there."

"It's far too strange. Even the Gu insects dare not approach it; there might be something highly toxic there."

Hearing footsteps, Ma Kun turned his head abruptly, his smile sinister as he looked at Liu Feng.

"You've come at just the right time; come over and take a look."

A cold glint flashed in the depths of Liu Feng's eyes, knowing full well that the other man likely had no good intentions.

He arrived at the edge of the medicine pit, tossed the deer head he had been carrying on his shoulder into the pit, and then looked down at the bottom.

The medicine pit was ten zhang in circumference and four zhang deep. Through the yellow-green poisonous mist, one could vaguely see the black medicinal mud at the bottom, upon which a large quantity of herbs were growing.

Between the highly toxic herbs lay piles of skeletons, many of which were clearly human—mostly Gu Children who had met their end there.

Looking closer, one could barely discern large patches of living things moving within the black medicinal mud; they were all Gu insects, packed densely together.

The Gu Children dared not go down because their cultivation was insufficient to withstand the poisonous mist at the bottom of the pit. The longer one stayed below, the greater the risk of being poisoned to death.

Ma Kun pointed to a corner of the medicine pit and said, "The herbs in that spot are all dead, and the Gu insects avoid it as if their lives depended on it. The medicinal mud replaced there recently must not have been prepared correctly; it needs to be cleared out."

"Take the baskets and the medicinal shovels. These three will go down with you."

The three unlucky Gu Children chosen from the side—two boys and one girl—were all thin and small.

Under the intense, coercive stares of Ma Kun and Qiao Fei, the three shrank back and accepted the baskets and shovels.

Liu Feng, however, stood where he was, staring blankly and expressionlessly at Ma Kun.

He could tolerate minor matters, but this was a request to descend into the medicine pit.

Moreover, the spot Ma Kun pointed to was highly suspicious. Highly toxic herbs were extremely hardy, yet now they had all died, and even the venomous Gu insects dared not approach that area.

"What are you standing there for? Just be quick about it; it won't cost you your lives." Qiao Fei played his part right on cue.

Liu Feng remained unmoved, causing Ma Kun to lose face. With a darkened expression, he reached into his robe and pulled out a medicine box.

"How about this? Once you come back up, each of you will receive a three-day supply of Qi-Nurturing Pills. These were only recently gifted to me by Steward Liu. How can you expect to get anywhere if you can't even handle a small task like this?"

"Liu Feng, I know you are anxious to cultivate. Qi-Nurturing Pills are excellent things."

Sure enough, at the mention of cultivation, the grim look on Liu Feng's face softened slightly.

He was worried about his parents and younger brother. In these chaotic times, with monsters and evil spirits rising everywhere, he wanted to find them as soon as possible.

"Give me the Qi-Nurturing Pills first."

"I trust you. Catch."

Seeing Liu Feng compromise, Ma Kun put on a smile and handed over an oil-paper parcel with apparent generosity.

After confirming everything was in order, Liu Feng stowed away the Qi-Nurturing Pills, tossed his shovel into the basket, slung the basket over his back, and walked to the edge of the pit where the rope ladder was kept.

"Do you three need me to give you a push? Get down there already!"

A roar came from Ma Kun behind them; he had no patience for these three weaklings.

The other Gu Children gathered at the edge of the pit fixed their gazes on Liu Feng, their eyes filled with a mix of jealousy and disdain.

"He really values cultivation over his own life, daring to go down there!"

"His parents were likely swallowed whole by mountain spirits and wild demons long ago."

Descending the rope ladder, Liu Feng could feel the Gu insects within his own body becoming restless, and he felt more and more that something was wrong.

Just as he was pondering what could be wrong with that patch of medicinal mud, the rope ladder above him swayed. He looked up and saw two thin figures falling past him.

The two Gu Children who hit the bottom were instantly covered by a swarm of Gu insects; the outcome was easy to imagine!

"Two pieces of trash, fainting from the poison halfway down. I should have gone down myself," Qiao Fei's mocking voice rang out from above.

On the rope ladder, besides Liu Feng, was a Pockmarked Gu Child of about twelve or thirteen—still just a half-grown boy.

He said in terror, "Let's speed up. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on."

Liu Feng nodded. After gauging the distance to the bottom, he let go with both hands and leaped down, followed by the Pockmarked Gu Child.

The moment they landed, they both forced their internal Gu insects out to resist the swarm at the bottom of the pit. With a few light steps across the medicinal mud, they stood in the corner where all the herbs had died.

Above, the other Gu Children stood in a row, watching the two blurred figures at the bottom of the pit.

"Quick, look! Do those two show any signs of being poisoned?"

"I can't see clearly either. Don't worry, Team Leader Ma, there's plenty of mud in that patch; it's enough for them to dig."

Ma Kun and Qiao Fei exchanged words; this was a rare opportunity for them to send Liu Feng to his death.

At this moment, Liu Feng and the Pockmarked Gu Child in the corner of the pit both wore expressions of confusion.

The patch of medicinal mud they stood on was only five feet wide. It looked no different from the mud elsewhere, yet for some reason, no herbs would grow there.

Above them, the floating poisonous mist could not descend any further, unable to encroach upon this five-foot-square space. The two were able to stand slightly hunched over, temporarily spared the worry of being poisoned.

"How strange." The Pockmarked Gu Child looked at his own skin; the Gu insects inside him were crawling out on their own.

The Gu insects within Liu Feng were also somewhat out of control, though fortunately, his internal toxic Qi was stronger than that of the Pockmarked Gu Child, otherwise, he would have found it difficult to suppress them.

"Forget the Gu insects; clear away the medicinal mud and get up there as fast as you can."

"Fine, we'll each dig one side."

On Liu Feng's side, the carcass of a Mountain Deer still lay atop the medicinal mud, having been tossed into the Medicine Pit days ago, yet it showed no signs of decay.

He exerted his strength to heave the Mountain Deer five feet away, drawing the Gu insects within the Medicine Pit to swarm it in a frenzy.

"The Mountain Deer meat has been sitting here for several days, yet it seems perfectly fine."

Liu Feng muttered to himself and took up his medicinal shovel to dig, but he had barely cleared a few scoops when a sharp "clink" rang out from the shovel head.

As he leaned in to take a closer look, he couldn't help but let out a soft sound of surprise, prompting the Pockmarked Gu Child to ask, "Is everything alright?"

"It's nothing, just a pebble."

Liu Feng spoke as he pried a small, seven-colored pebble from beneath the shovel head, ready to flick it into his basket.

However, his hand froze halfway through the motion, his expression shifting into one of utter astonishment...