The Aftereffects of Golden Silkworm Venom

The Aftereffects of Golden Silkworm Venom

Xiaodao bit her lip, wanting to say something, but held it back. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve, stood up, and walked over to the Black Village Dog. She shook it hard a few times, and tears poured from her eyes again.

I followed her and said, "Xiaodao, you have to believe me. I won't just stand by and let anything happen to you."

Xiaodao turned to look at me. The Golden Silkworm between her brows gleamed especially brightly beneath the moonlight. "Xiao Kunlun, you're the Dong People's disciple. My affairs are none of your concern. Don't tell my father about this. He still can't see, and his health hasn't recovered. Don't make him worry."

"But..."

Xiaodao said nothing more to me. She used her machete to dig a pit, picked up the Black Village Dog, and laid it inside. Before covering it with earth, Xiaodao tossed in the three black jars as well.

Inside were three dead Gu insects.

Throughout the entire process, only Xiaodao's sobs could be heard. The night was terrifyingly quiet.

I stood beside Xiaodao, not knowing how to comfort the girl. In the end, I simply sat nearby and kept her company.

After quite some time, I suddenly felt tiny insects biting at my neck. The sensation was unbearably uncomfortable.

Xiaodao finally spoke. "Xiao Kunlun, the Golden Silkworm Deity touched your neck and body. You've already been infected with venom. It will flare up every day at midnight and noon. Midnight has already passed, so it will strike again tomorrow at noon. I'll brew medicine and bring it to you tomorrow."

I gritted my teeth and nodded. "Thank you. By the way, Xiaodao is a boy's name. What is your real name?"

With her gray clothes and black headscarf, it was obvious that Uncle Ma had raised her as a boy.

"My mother gave me a name with an extra 'Yu' in it. She called me Xiao Yudao." When Xiaodao mentioned her mother, a smile appeared on her face. Then, realizing she had said too much, she picked up the lantern that had fallen to the ground and headed toward Camellia Village with a troubled expression.

I repeated the name "Xiao Yudao" to myself. That was a girl's name.

I went to the Black Village Dog's grave mound and kowtowed three times. "Village Dog, thank you for standing up for me. That Golden Silkworm Deity is no good. One day, I'll deal with him. You have to watch over me."

As dawn gradually broke, I returned to the cave and touched my neck. A large patch had already turned black, and the biting sensation grew stronger and stronger, though I could still endure it. Thinking back on everything I had seen lately, from the Grudge Spirit to the Golden Silkworm Deity today, I gradually came to understand the poison of Gu insects and the evil of Gu Spirits.

The Golden Silkworm Deity had merely grabbed my neck, yet he had transmitted venom into it. Just because I had entered Camellia Village, he wanted me dead. And because he had taken a fancy to Xiao Yudao, he wanted to possess her.

The venom of the Golden Silkworm Gu truly lived up to its reputation. Once a spirit attached itself to the Golden Silkworm Gu, it became so evil and domineering. If I wanted to deal with the Golden Silkworm Deity, the best way was to kill the Golden Silkworm Gu.

Without the hide, where could the fur attach? If the Golden Silkworm Gu died, that damned evil spirit, the Golden Silkworm Deity, would have a hard time surviving. At the very least, his strength would be greatly reduced. Having figured this out, my gaze fell upon the yellow jar.

I had to make the Three-Corpse Snake Gu truly powerful. With its strength, perhaps I could kill the Golden Silkworm Deity.

Before I knew it, daylight had fully arrived.

The biting sensation in my neck became increasingly intense. When I reached up to scratch it, I found that the skin there had hardened, as though a thick layer of scales had grown over it. There were also dark spots.

I tore off a piece with force. The scale was pitch-black, and I had no idea what kind of creature it had come from.

What was going on?

Could the venom have seeped into my skin and caused some sort of mutation? I ripped open my clothes and looked down. A large patch across my chest was covered in black scales. They resembled snake scales, yet also pangolin scales, tightly packed together and growing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

I had been afflicted by Gu.

Fine sweat beaded across my forehead. Remembering the last look the Golden Silkworm Deity had given me, I punched the stone wall and cursed through gritted teeth, "Damn it, that fat bastard was determined to kill me, and he even deceived Xiao Yudao."

Even now, I could not figure out how the Golden Silkworm Deity had planted the Gu on me. Cold sweat streamed down my body. I had secretly watched Master remove Toad Skin from someone before, but Master was not here, and I had never learned how to do it myself.

The strange scales finally stopped growing when they reached my abdomen. My belly rose and fell as though an insect were crawling inside it, and a twisting pain spread through me. I cried out in agony, but no one could hear me.

I knew that the Innate Insect, which Big Zombie had suppressed, was moving again. The strange scales and the Innate Insect remained locked in a standoff, and in the end, the scales stopped growing.

I gasped for breath. In my daze, I did not know how long had passed before I vaguely saw Xiao Yudao's figure. She entered carrying a food box. I gritted my teeth and shouted, "Don't come closer. I look hideous right now."

Xiao Yudao's face was deathly pale. She clenched her teeth and cried, "That damned evil spirit broke his word." She opened the food box, took out a medicine jar, stepped forward, pinched my mouth open, and shouted, "Drink it. This is a medicinal soup made from Money Seed. It can cure Gu venom."

The pungent smell rushed down my throat and instantly reached my stomach. Then warmth spread through my body. I coughed violently and passed out.

I entered a terrifying dream. All around me crawled countless different insects. They surged toward me and crawled over my body. I wanted to break free, but there was nowhere to escape. Among the innumerable bugs, a golden insect lunged at my chest.

"Ah!" I jolted awake from the nightmare.

A fire burned in the cave. Xiao Yudao was watching me anxiously. "Xiao Kunlun, does it still hurt?"

I looked down. My chest was still covered in ugly scales, and I had no strength left in my body. I shook my head. "I just don't have any strength. It doesn't hurt. Thank you."

Xiao Yudao said softly, "The Gu doctors in the village refused to help because you're the Dong People's disciple, and you offended the Golden Silkworm Deity. I could only help ease your pain, but I have no way to remove the scales on your body. My father is extremely weak right now, so he can't help you either."

I smiled. "Other than my master, no one in this world is willing to save me. I don't blame them..." After a pause, I asked, "Gu insects are all raised by people. Why are the people in your village so afraid of the Golden Silkworm Gu and its Gu Spirit?"

Xiao Yudao sighed. "The Golden Silkworm Gu is extremely difficult to refine. It takes ten years. Back then, the Great Gu Master who refined it exhausted all his heart and blood before finally raising a Golden Silkworm Gu. But he was so worn down that he passed away. After the Great Gu Master died, no one could suppress the Golden Silkworm. It vanished without a trace and hid somewhere in the village. Its Gu Spirit became the vicious 'Golden Silkworm Deity.' If anyone wants to raise Gu, they must offer sacrifices to the Golden Silkworm Deity. Anyone who secretly raises Gu will suffer endless torment. Everyone in Camellia Village fears the Golden Silkworm Deity."

No wonder the Golden Silkworm Deity acted without restraint. The Great Gu Master who had refined the Gu was dead, so no one could control it.

I asked again, "I know the medicinal herbs and venomous creatures of the mountains well. Do you know what poisonous insects, poisonous herbs, and procedures were used when the Golden Silkworm was refined? As long as I understand that, I can treat it myself."

Xiao Yudao shook her head. "The Golden Silkworm Secret Art is Camellia Village's secret. I'm a girl and will marry out of the village someday, so they cannot tell me such secrets. Even my father is not qualified to know the Golden Silkworm Secret Art because of his close ties with the Dong People. Besides, there are rumors in the village that after the previous Great Gu Master died, the Golden Silkworm Secret Art was lost."

I sucked in a cold breath and looked at the strange scales on my chest. Could Heaven be trying to end my life? Am I, Xiao Kunlun, going to die beside Clearwater Creek? I clenched my fists, unwilling to accept it.

After thinking for a while, I said, "The Golden Silkworm Gu is immensely venomous and devastatingly powerful. When the Great Gu Master refined it, he probably wouldn't have done so inside the Miao village. Do you know where he refined it? Take me there to have a look."

Xiao Yudao did not answer right away. She looked troubled, her black eyes full of worry. At last, after making up her mind, she said, "The place where the Great Gu Master refined Gu is Camellia Village's forbidden ground. You saved my father. I'm willing to take you there."

Warmth rose in my heart, and I looked gratefully at Xiao Yudao. Xiao Yudao hurriedly looked away.

We decided to set out after nightfall.

It was already afternoon. Xiao Yudao reheated the rice porridge in the food box. I ate half a bowl, and some of my strength returned.

Xiao Yudao sat several meters away, looking restless and uneasy. After sitting there for more than ten minutes, she got up and went home to brew medicine for Ma Huoxin and prepare dinner, telling me to wait here for her.

I wrapped up the two jars and tied them to my body.

Just after night fell, Xiao Yudao arrived. She handed me a slightly warm bottle and said, "Xiao Kunlun, there's a painkilling medicinal broth inside. If the pain becomes unbearable, drink it. It will stop the pain."

I put it away on my person.

The two of us left the cave. Xiao Yudao cut down a tree branch for me to use as a walking stick. By the faint light, we walked along a narrow mountain path. I was very weak and could not walk quickly.

Xiao Yudao did not urge me. She kept an appropriate distance from me.

The moon climbed above the eastern mountain. After walking for more than an hour and circling Camellia Village in a wide loop, we finally reached the back mountain on the other side of the village.

The night wind swept toward us, carrying a cold, mournful air. A grove of camellia trees appeared before us, their leaves rustling loudly.

Xiao Yudao took out a small porcelain bottle. "Apply this to your body. It will cover up your human scent." The moment she removed the stopper, I smelled Walking Corpse saliva.

I smiled. "So you know how to use this stuff too."

Xiao Yudao said, "My father raised me as a boy because he wanted me to inherit his craft and become a corpse herder. I can make many of the secret medicines used in corpse herding."

I smeared the foul-smelling saliva over the exposed parts of my body.

Xiao Yudao frowned. It was clear that she disliked such things from the bottom of her heart. Girls in this world all liked pleasant fragrances. Who would want to deal with these strange-smelling, corpse-stinking things?