Thirteen Years Ago

Chapter 15: Thirteen Years Ago

Excited color flushed across the black-robed Daoist's pale face, and greed gleamed from his eyes.

I cried out in pain, with no strength at all to resist.

Xiao Yudao looked at the black-robed Daoist and shouted, "This is Camellia Village's Gu-Refining Forbidden Ground. Who are you? How did you get in here?"

The black-robed Daoist's gaze swept around before finally landing on the scales around my neck. He stepped forward and shouted, "Boy, where did these scales come from?" He ignored Xiao Yudao completely.

All the strength had drained from my body, but I still glared viciously at the black-robed Daoist, biting my lip without answering him.

With a wave of his right hand, the bamboo pit viper that had fallen to the ground quickly slithered over and stopped beside me.

Xiao Yudao panicked and shielded me. "Daoist sir, he angered the Gu Spirit of the Golden Silkworm Gu and was poisoned by Golden Silkworm Venom, which is why scales grew on his body. This place was originally where the Great Gu Master refined the Golden Silkworm Gu. We came here to find a cure."

Overjoyed, the black-robed Daoist took down the black jar from the wooden shelf and set it on the stone table. Several venomous snakes slipped out from the darkness of the stone chamber and surrounded us.

I looked at Xiao Yudao. My lips moved slightly, but no words came out. I wanted to tell her that I had dragged her into this.

Xiao Yudao whispered into my ear, "Da Xiao, hang on a little longer. Each episode lasts half an hour. You'll get better after that."

The black-robed Daoist stepped forward and grabbed me.

Xiao Yudao clutched the black-robed Daoist's hand and cried, "He's still sick! If you want to cut flesh to feed your Gu insects, use mine!"

With a violent fling, the black-robed Daoist threw Xiao Yudao away. The venomous snakes closed in around her, leaving her unable to move.

The black-robed Daoist dragged me to the stone table. He took out a sharp steel knife, gestured around my neck a few times, chose a spot, and forcefully scraped off two black scales.

Black blood seeped from the wounds where the scales had been. The pain nearly made me pass out.

Gritting my teeth, I cursed, "Why not just kill me with one stroke? Why go through all this trouble?" After shouting those words, I grew even weaker.

The black-robed Daoist said, "Boy, I want to see just how poisonous these venomous scales are. Later, I'll use your body to raise Gu."

The black-robed Daoist placed the poisonous scales he had removed into the jar used for raising the Golden Silkworm Gu and waited quietly. About two minutes passed, but those two minutes felt unbearably long to me.

The black-robed Daoist suddenly coughed, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Yet the jar containing the Golden Silkworm showed no reaction at all. With a sweep of his sleeve, the jar on the table flew out.

Among the shattered pieces, the corpses of several poisonous insects could still be seen. It was clear from the fragments that every insect inside had died, without the slightest trace of life left.

The black-robed Daoist had used his own blood to raise Gu. The Gu insects had failed, and he had suffered some backlash, coughing up blood.

The black-robed Daoist's eyelids twitched. Clutching his head with both hands, he screamed like a madman, "How is this possible? How is this possible? I failed again! The Golden Silkworm I raised couldn't even withstand scales carrying Golden Silkworm Venom!"

The black-robed Daoist seized me by the collar and shouted, "Boy, what kind of monster are you? How can you withstand Golden Silkworm Venom?"

I shook my head.

Xiao Yudao cut in, "Daoist sir, it's midnight now. The Golden Silkworm Venom is acting up, so he can't speak."

The black-robed Daoist's eyes shifted. Then he used the steel knife to cut open his chest, and black blood quickly flowed out. The pain in my body eased considerably.

The black-robed Daoist held the steel knife to my throat and said, "Now you can speak!"

I raised my right hand and said, "Look at the bite mark on my hand, and you'll understand."

The black-robed Daoist frowned as he studied it for a moment. "A Tricolored Viper!"

I nodded. "That's right. I was bitten by a Tricolored Viper when I was seven and barely survived. Since then, ordinary poisons haven't been able to kill me."

I did not mention the Innate Insect.

The muscles on the black-robed Daoist's face twitched again, making his pale face even more sinister. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Good. You are a gift bestowed upon me by the Sanqing Patriarch. Even the Three-Colored Snake and Golden Silkworm Venom can't kill you. You're perfect for raising Gu."

I could not help but be startled. "Gu are raised in jars. How could anyone use a person to raise Gu?"

The black-robed Daoist laughed. "Idiot! A jar is a vessel, and a person can also be a vessel. A person's internal organs are the best vessels in the world. With the finest vessel in the world, I will certainly be able to raise a Golden Silkworm Gu."

Master had said that when poisonous insects were placed inside a vessel, they became Gu. Now it seemed that the vessel could be a dead jar or a living thing.

The black-robed Daoist seemed mad, utterly wicked. His only purpose in coming to the Gu-Refining Forbidden Ground was to raise the Golden Silkworm Gu. Having fallen into the hands of this madman, I feared escape would be impossible.

I said, "Daoist sir, this is the first time I've heard that people can be used as vessels to raise Gu. I'm not afraid of ordinary poisonous creatures, but that brat is different. I'll stay behind if you let her go."

The black-robed Daoist glanced at Xiao Yudao and gave a strange chuckle. "I never expected you to know how to cherish a pretty girl. If I let the little girl go, she'll bring people back to ruin everything. Wouldn't all my efforts be wasted? I'll use a boy's body to raise the Golden Silkworm, and a girl's body to raise the Emotionless Gu! Good, very good, excellent!"

Though the black-robed Daoist was crazed, his mind was still sharp.

Xiao Yudao stood up, looked at the snakes around her, and shouted, "You thieving Daoist! Other than the Great Gu Master, no one in this world can raise a Golden Silkworm. Even if you stay here for ten years, you still won't succeed."

The black-robed Daoist laughed loudly. "No matter how formidable the Great Gu Master was, he still died. It's a pity the Golden Silkworm he raised escaped and couldn't be caught. I am no worse than the Great Gu Master. As long as I put in the effort, I will master the Golden Silkworm Secret Art."

Xiao Yudao shuddered. "Who exactly are you? How did you come here?"

The black-robed Daoist lowered his steel knife, and I leaned against the stone table, gasping for breath.

The black-robed Daoist said, "Thirteen years ago, the person I loved most was killed by a mysterious Innate Insect. Later, a zombie named Xiao Tianxing told me that only the Miao People's foremost Divine Gu Insect, the Golden Silkworm Gu, could deal with the Innate Insect. I have lived here for six years already."

The Innate Insect? I was startled. Wasn't that the poisonous insect inside my body? Could the poisonous insect in my body have killed the black-robed Daoist's beloved? But I had only just been born thirteen years ago. How could I have carried a poisonous insect and killed someone?

Perhaps there was more than one Innate Insect in the world. There could be a second, or even a third.

What shocked me even more was the name Xiao Tianxing.

Ma Huoxin, the mysterious man in black, and this black-robed Daoist who had secretly lurked in the forbidden ground for seven years—all of them had some connection to Xiao Tianxing.

No, I had to add myself as well. I seemed to have some connection with Xiao Tianxing too. He found me familiar and recognized the Innate Insect within me. Unfortunately, he had lost his memory.

Just as I was about to speak, the black-robed Daoist gritted his teeth and said, "There is also a Dong man named Hei Moyun. He is my sworn enemy. He is a skilled Gu doctor, yet he refused to save the person I loved. I will kill him."

Hearing Master's name, I glared furiously at the black-robed Daoist and shouted, "Fuck you! Maybe my master had his reasons for refusing to save the person you loved. Does that mean he deserves to die?"

The black-robed Daoist said, "Your master? Do you think he is a good man?"

Unable to endure any longer, I shouted, "Of course he is! He saved me and raised me for six years. He also gave out medicine freely and saved many people poisoned by Gu and toxins. He is the best person in the world!"

The black-robed Daoist laughed as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Even if he is a good man, has he done few bad things? Thirteen years ago, a woman named Luo Daiqing lost her husband because of him. Pregnant and without status, she returned to her hometown. Wasn't her entire life ruined? Hahaha! You are Hei Moyun's disciple. Using your body to raise Gu truly proves that Heaven has opened its eyes."

I clenched my fists, suddenly forced myself up, and swung a fist at the black-robed Daoist. "Shut your damn mouth!"

The black-robed Daoist tilted his body and dodged my punch.

I fell to the ground.

Xiao Yudao said, "Daoist sir, for revenge, you want to harm the lives of two children. Do you think you are a good person?"

The black-robed Daoist snorted. "I have never claimed to be a good person. If I kill you today, your relatives and friends can come seek revenge on me. I will not deny it."

The black-robed Daoist raised his right hand, and the venomous snakes coiled on the ground began to gather. In the blink of an eye, they would pounce on Xiao Yudao.

"No!" I shouted.

Tears burst from my eyes. Shame consumed me as I watched Xiao Yudao about to die before my eyes, yet I could do nothing to stop it.

"Xiao Kunlun, you're too useless!" A voice rang out from deep within me. "Again and again, you can't even protect a girl. No one in this world is weaker than you."

What should I do?

My gaze fell on that row of shelves. Strength came from nowhere, and I nimbly rose to my feet. Standing beside the shelves, I shouted, "Stop right there! Otherwise, I'll smash every last one of these! I'll make all your efforts go to waste!"

I secretly rejoiced. I had finally endured the half hour, and the Golden Silkworm Venom had temporarily subsided. With bloodshot eyes fixed on the black-robed Daoist, I grabbed two black jars and hurled them out with a thud.

The jars cracked open, spilling black liquid. One contained an unfinished Toad Gu, with only half its head grown. The other contained a gleaming Silver Snake Gu whose tail had not fully developed.

The black-robed Daoist stopped the attacking snakes, turned to look at me, and said with a false smile, "As expected of Hei Moyun's disciple. The Golden Silkworm Venom subsided so quickly. Unfortunately, these jars are not that important to me."

Xiao Yudao shouted, "Da Xiao, he's lying to you! This batch of Gu insects was exposed to light too early. More than half of them will probably die. That thieving Daoist raises them with his blood. If they die, he will be injured too."

I understood immediately. The black-robed Daoist had coughed up blood earlier.