The Taoist Who Raised Gu

The Taoist Who Raised Gu

We smeared corpse saliva over our bodies to mask our scent. Once we were done,

under the moonlight, we crossed the tea grove.

Xiao Yudao was extremely nervous. "Up ahead is the Gu-Refining Forbidden Ground of our village."

Three ghastly white cow skulls sat at the cave entrance, warning people not to approach. A chilly, sinister wind blew out from within, and I could not help shuddering.

"Once we go inside, don't call each other by name," Xiao Yudao said. "I'm afraid there are wandering ghosts hiding in the cave. If they learn our names, they'll follow us."

I nodded and committed it to memory. "Then what should I call you?"

Xiao Yudao said, "I'll call you Da Xiao, and you can call me Xiao Ma."

Only after entering the forbidden ground did Xiao Yudao light the torch. We walked side by side into the cave. It was pitch-black inside, with cold winds sweeping over us, and the cave stretched deep into the mountain.

It was Xiao Yudao's first time here as well, so we both felt our way forward. Before long, we stopped. The path ahead was completely blocked. Hundreds of venomous snakes lay coiled across the ground, flicking their tongues and hissing.

Judging from the colors of their heads and bodies, they were all brilliantly patterned venomous snakes. There were also several Blue-Black Red-Spotted Sharp-Snouted Snakes, commonly known as Five-Step Snakes. Legend had it that after being bitten, one would die after taking five steps. Besides the sharp-snouted snakes, there were several King Cobras, commonly called cobras, equally lethally venomous.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and asked quietly, "I have two questions. First, is this really a Gu-refining forbidden ground, or a snake den? Second, does anyone live inside?"

Xiao Yudao said, "No one would ever live in the forbidden ground. No one in our village has that kind of nerve. As for these venomous snakes, they probably slithered in on their own."

I shook my head. "No. Five-Step Snakes and cobras are both extremely vicious venomous snakes. They would never appear in the same cave at the same time, unless someone raised them."

I had been bitten by a Tricolored Viper as a child, so I remembered everything my master had taught me about venomous snakes. One mountain could not contain two tigers; a single cave would not have more than one kind of highly venomous snake.

Xiao Yudao frowned. "What do you mean?"

I said, "Someone is using this forbidden ground to raise venomous snakes. I suspect that person is very likely inside this cave."

Xiao Yudao nearly cried out. Her black eyes widened as she stared at me in disbelief. She did not believe anyone could be so bold.

"This is where Golden Silkworm Gu is refined! Who would dare?"

I smiled and pointed at Xiao Yudao and myself. The meaning was clear: even two children like us had dared to risk coming in, so there was no ruling out someone even bolder.

"Da Xiao, I'm counting on you." Xiao Yudao was not frightened by the snakes. The Dong People and Miao People of the Shiwan Mountains were accustomed to venomous snakes and insects, so the sudden appearance of these snakes did not scare her.

The Three-Corpse Snake Gu I carried had been made from blue, white, and red venomous snakes, the deadliest snakes in the Shiwan Mountains. After becoming Snake Gu, it would not be difficult for it to open a path through the swarm.

I lightly patted the yellow jar with my right hand and whispered, "Three-Corpse Snake Gu, you have drunk the blood from my palm. Now lead us through." Faint movement came from the yellow jar, and many of the snakes ahead stirred awake. About a minute later, a path opened through them.

I reached out and took Xiao Yudao's hand. She had wanted to refuse, but I grabbed her firmly. Her hand was terribly cold. Holding our breath, we nervously passed between the Five-Step Snakes and cobras.

After we passed through the snakes, my back was completely soaked. Xiao Yudao's face had gone pale as well. She forcefully pulled her hand free and whispered, "You hurt me."

My face flushed, and I was just about to speak.

Xiao Yudao made a shushing gesture and hurriedly extinguished the torch. Deep inside the cave, there was a faint glow. It came from an oil lamp.

That meant someone lived inside. This had once been the place where the Great Gu Master refined Golden Silkworm Gu. After it became forbidden ground, no one dared enter, making it the perfect place to raise all kinds of venomous snakes. The snake keeper had to be an exceptionally clever person.

After hesitating for a moment, we decided to move closer and see who exactly was hiding in there.

We followed the winding cave for several minutes, and the light grew brighter and brighter.

The deeper we went, the stronger the stench became. The yin energy also thickened, and an evil baleful aura hung over the cave.

Xiao Yudao and I quietly crept closer.

At the very end of the cave was a huge stone chamber, but there was no one inside.

Ancient patterns covered the stone walls: dogs, all kinds of venomous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, spiders, and poisonous toads. Together, they formed the Five Poison Sacred Insects.

Xiao Yudao said, "The Five Poison Sacred Insects. This is where the Great Gu Master refined Golden Silkworm Gu!"

The entire stone chamber was gloomy and terrifying. At its center stood a stone table.

By the candlelight, a row of wooden shelves stood at the far end, holding five rows of jars.

The jars came in black and yellow.

From the colors of the jars, their seals, and the cords tied around them, it was clear that the person living here raised Gu using both the Gu arts of the Miao People and those of the Dong People.

Against another stone wall lay all sorts of shattered fragments. Among them were dried-up Black Centipedes, half a sharp-snouted snake, and several chunks of blackened rotten flesh. They were probably failed Gu jars.

There was no doubt about it. This was an extremely secret place for raising Gu. The sheer number and variety of Gu insects exceeded anything Xiao Yudao and I had imagined.

I whispered, "I guessed wrong. This person isn't a snake keeper. He gathered so many venomous snakes to protect the Gu insects in this stone chamber!"

Xiao Yudao narrowed her eyes and swept a quick glance across the jars on the shelves. Pointing at them, she said, "The top row of black jars contains Toad Gu, Iron Thread Gu, Seven-Colored Gu, Silver Snake Gu, and Dragonfly Gu. These are all sacred Gu insects of my Miao People. Who could possess such superb Gu arts? But the Great Gu Master is already dead!"

In one breath, Xiao Yudao named many Gu insects I had never heard of. And since she called them Divine Gu Insects, they had to be formidable. No wonder the yin and baleful energy grew stronger the farther in we went.

With so many Divine Gu Insects of the Miao People, the person raising Gu here should be from Camellia Village. Their Gu arts could rival the Great Gu Master Xiao Yudao spoke of.

I asked, "Could it be someone from the village?"

Xiao Yudao answered decisively, "Absolutely impossible. Our village and the Dong People have a deep blood feud. We would never raise their Gu insects."

Just as I was reeling in shock, the Three-Corpse Snake Gu on my back suddenly moved.

I alertly looked toward the entrance. Listening carefully, my heart sank. Someone was coming in.

Xiao Yudao and I were standing outside the stone chamber, peering in. Anyone entering from outside would spot us at once.

I grabbed Xiao Yudao and said, "Someone's coming. Let's hide inside first."

We ran into the stone chamber and looked around.

In a corner of the stone room stood a simple wooden clothes rack, with several yellow Taoist robes hanging from it. The robes nearly touched the ground, just enough to hide Xiao Yudao and me.

Less than half a minute after we hid, a middle-aged man in a black Taoist robe entered. Judging by his clothing, he was a Taoist priest.

In the candlelight, the black-robed Taoist's face was frighteningly pale, like that of a corpse. A faint trace of black qi hovered over his forehead.

The black-robed Taoist set the sack he carried on the ground.

The sack kept rustling. It seemed to be full of venomous insects. The black-robed Taoist walked to the shelves, pulled out a yellowed old book from the third row, and as he opened it, suddenly looked toward the clothes rack.

My heart pounded wildly. Fortunately, our scent had been concealed. The black-robed Taoist gave the rack a glance, then turned his eyes back to the book. After studying it for a while, he nodded as though he had gained some insight.

The black-robed Taoist found an empty black jar. Holding the yellowed book in one hand, he dumped the venomous insects he had caught into the jar with the other.

As he added the insects, his wide sleeve hung down, and I could not see what venomous insects he had put inside.

The black-robed Taoist set down the old book, took out a dagger, and cut his palm. Blood dripped into the jar. Then he covered it with thick oil paper and tied it with red and black cords.

Bloodletting, sealing, tying the cords—the entire process was carried out with utmost reverence.

The black-robed Taoist prayed, "Sanqing Patriarch, bless me. This time, let your disciple successfully raise a Golden Silkworm mighty enough to shake all of China, so that I may avenge my great hatred."

Raising a Golden Silkworm!

My heart jolted. If I had seen the process of him putting the insects into the jar just now, I could have gathered herbs to cure the Golden Silkworm Venom in my body.

The black-robed Taoist carried the black jar back to the shelf, then glanced toward the clothes rack again.

His eyes glimmered with an evil light. My whole body trembled involuntarily. Xiao Yudao was startled too, and the flimsy clothes rack toppled forward. Xiao Yudao and I appeared directly before the black-robed Taoist.

The black-robed Taoist raised a brow and shouted harshly, "Where did these little zombies come from? How dare you cause trouble at this Taoist master's altar!"

With a flick of his right hand, a green blur shot out.

It was an emerald Green Bamboo Snake, another venomous snake.

Shielding Xiao Yudao, I rolled aside and dodged the Green Bamboo Snake. But as soon as I rolled across the ground, the scales on my neck and chest began to ache, burrowing into my flesh. Fine beads of sweat formed on my forehead.

Xiao Yudao cried, "Da Xiao, the Golden Silkworm Venom attacks at midnight and noon. It must be midnight now, so the poison is acting up. Hurry and drink the painkilling medicinal soup I prepared for you."

As the Golden Silkworm Venom flared up, it instantly drained all my strength to escape. Xiao Yudao shielded me instead of fleeing, hurriedly searching for the bottle of medicine.

She had just found the porcelain bottle when a pebble flew over and struck her wrist. The bottle fell and shattered, splashing black medicinal soup across the ground.

In the candlelight, the black-robed Taoist's face was twisted with malice. On closer inspection, his pale face was covered in pits and scars, as if countless venomous insects had gnawed at it.

The black-robed Taoist snarled, "You two little bastards dare pretend to be zombies and cause trouble at this Taoist master's altar. You must be tired of living. Tonight, I'll use your flesh and blood to feed the Golden Silkworm lord I just made."