The Manor on a Rainy Night

Rain pattered against the carriage, and the downpour swept across the world.

By nightfall, the storm showed no sign of letting up.

This was no age of peace, nor was it a dynasty when the righteous path flourished. Strange and evil things were hardly rare.

Ordinary folk mostly avoided traveling after dark, especially on a rainy night like this.

On an ordinary day, the grandfather and grandson driving the carriage would never have dared do this. But with those four inside, they felt considerably more at ease.

"Second Master, we're about to leave Yunze Prefecture," Old Huang called from outside the fur curtain.

Inside the carriage were three people and a Medicine Slave.

"Mm." Shen Yushu idly toyed with a rattan seed in his hand and answered offhandedly.

The Medicine Slave, Li Si, needed no mention; he sat cross-legged in a corner, nearly sleepwalking.

Third Senior Brother Zhu Li gazed out the window, lost in thought as he watched the rain.

Only Fourth Junior Brother Liu Feng remained undistracted, sitting cross-legged on a fur mat and quietly cultivating.

Of course, if Third Senior Brother Zhu Li weren't also in the carriage, Liu Feng wouldn't dare cultivate like this. He was worried Shen Yushu might make a move against him.

The Fire Eater will hatch in another two or three days. That Insect Crystal Lu Yao gave me will be just the thing to help stabilize my newly hatched second Exotic Gu. Liu Feng couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Unable to work out why, Liu Feng turned his attention inward to inspect his bone body.

On the lowest bone of his spine, the "root" had grown considerably under his continued practice of the guiding art. It could now just barely let him channel a little Buddhist power.

After cultivating for these past few days, he had also gained some insight into the Buddhist path of the bone body.

This path cultivated the bone body, and its explosive power was no weaker than that of a martial artist.

With Buddhist teachings added to the mix, it was anyone's guess who would win if he faced a martial artist head-on.

Flesh and skin are only temporary. As long as Buddhist power protects them, all I need to do is keep people from beating them to pieces.

This path concerns itself with the bone body alone. As I advance, I may well end up like the White Bone Buddha, abandoning my outward form entirely...

At this thought, Liu Feng guided Buddhist power through his bone body and into the five fingers of his right hand.

Crack, crack... The piece of hardwood hidden in his sleeve crumbled to dust in his grip.

That single squeeze had far more force than he could usually muster. It was already at the level of a novice martial artist.

"What are you squeezing in your sleeve for?" Shen Yushu's voice rang out without warning.

Liu Feng opened his eyes and ignored Shen Yushu. He reached out the carriage window and shook the wood dust from his hand.

"Are you cultivating that beast Yuan Wu's Diamond Demon-Subduing Sutra?" Shen Yushu continued.

The Yuan Wu he meant was, naturally, the Ape Spirit he had planted with Gu and brought into the valley. He knew Yuan Wu's background and cultivation method inside out.

Hearing the insult in Shen Yushu's words, Liu Feng didn't take offense. He nodded. "That's right."

He knew there was no point hiding it from Shen Yushu, so he admitted it outright. He didn't mind cultivating the sutra in front of him, either.

Shen Yushu smiled. "You're certainly greedy, Junior Brother. You want the Gu Masters' methods and those baldies' Buddhist tricks, too."

"But do you know how long it takes for the Buddhist path to show any results? It's far slower than the Gu Masters' way."

Liu Feng understood what Shen Yushu meant. The Gu Master's path was like raising Gu: the Gu devoured one another, and it didn't take long to raise a powerful Gu Master.

Take Liu Feng himself. A Gu Master who survived when four out of five died was formidable enough!

But that still wasn't enough. As soon as he became a Gu Master, he refined three more Gu of the same kind, along with a length of Blood Vine.

Over these eight days, the medicinal power of the Exotic Gu and Blood Vine had spread through him, further advancing both his physique and his Gu arts.

"Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother. I know what I'm doing." Liu Feng closed his eyes and didn't respond again.

He didn't know how quickly other Buddhist cultivators advanced, but he understood his own situation very well. Perhaps his Buddhist cultivation wouldn't be much slower than refining Gu!

"Whoa..." The carriage began to slow down.

The three senior and junior brothers inside all felt the carriage change direction.

Then Little Fuzi's voice came from outside the fur curtain. "Second Master, there's a manor up ahead. Could we go inside and take shelter from the rain?"

"Why not? Go on in," Shen Yushu replied.

"The manor looks abandoned and rather dilapidated, but there's smoke coming from it. Maybe... some refugees and beggars are staying there."

Little Fuzi called them refugees and beggars, but in truth he was a little scared.

After all, in this world, mountain spirits, monsters, demons, and evil spirits weren't the only dangers. Bandits could take a person's life, too.

No one in the carriage replied. Little Fuzi and Old Huang exchanged a glance, then drove into the manor.

They found it was quite large, but it didn't even have a gate.

"There's smoke coming from the main house, the kitchen, and several side rooms—and it all smells like meat!" As a hunter, Old Huang could easily pick up the scent of meat, even in the rain.

Little Fuzi shook the rainwater from his straw rain cape and asked, "Should we just find an empty room, or go greet the others staying here?"

Though an abandoned manor was open to anyone, Little Fuzi's old habits made him reluctant to offend people without cause.

Before they could deliberate much longer, the kitchen's broken door opened, and two men appeared, one elderly and one middle-aged.

Both men had ruddy faces and moved with agility.

"Oh? You've come in to shelter from the rain, have you?"

"From the way you're dressed, you're hunters? We're hunters, too." The two men beamed as soon as they saw Old Huang and his grandson.

"Much obliged, gentlemen. We're just passing through and will stay one night." Old Huang cupped his hands toward the elderly hunter.

Little Fuzi stole a few glances at the two men. Judging by their gait and clothes, they did indeed look like hunters.

Still, perhaps it was just his imagination, but the hunters' limbs seemed a little stiff.

"There's a stable over there. Go get your horses settled. The game in the kitchen came from the nearby mountains. Make yourselves at home—roast a young deer if you like."

"Sorry for the trouble, old brother. Please, you must take this small token."

While Old Huang chatted with the two men, Little Fuzi lifted the fur curtain.

The men on the other side watched four people climb out of the carriage: three young men and a middle-aged hunchback who looked like a lunatic.

"Old brother, are there other travelers staying in the side rooms?" Old Huang asked, apparently in passing.

"Just some poor souls from ordinary households, cast adrift. They keep to themselves and don't like being disturbed, so there's no need to pay them any mind."

"You four are welcome to come inside and sit, too."

Shen Yushu walked at the front, followed by Liu Feng and Zhu Li, with the Medicine Slave Li Si trailing behind.

They didn't stand on ceremony. They had Little Fuzi see to the carriage and horses, then followed the two hunters.

But none of those present—neither Old Huang and his grandson, nor the two overly friendly hunters—knew that more than a thousand Gu insects had already crawled out around them!

The Gu insects were jet black, nearly blending into the night as they silently crept into the side rooms.

Before they reached the kitchen, Shen Yushu sighed in a voice only the three of them could hear. "These ordinary people are being chewed up by Gu insects and don't even make a sound!"

The Gu insects he had released carried Gu poison that caused intense pain. Anyone of sound mind would make at least some noise.

"Then we..." Zhu Li's gaze turned cold.

"No need to rush. They're hosting us, so let's eat our fill first." Shen Yushu strode into the kitchen.

As for worrying about being poisoned? That wasn't something they needed to fret over.

Poisoning a Gu Master whose whole body was venomous would be a joke! There were hardly any experts who could poison a Gu Master to death.