I'm an Orphan Again

I Became an Orphan Again

"Wait a moment!" I braced both hands against the stone wall and slowly stood up, stretching my limbs. I felt much better than when I had returned that morning, and the black scales on my chest were not tormenting me either.

My once-disheveled hair had also become much neater. I slung the two jars onto my back and walked out of the cave.

A sturdy youth in hemp clothes was standing at the cave entrance, his forehead covered in sweat. When he saw me come out, he said happily, "Uncle Huoxin wants you to come over at once. If you can't walk, he told me to carry you there." After he finished speaking, he hurried over to me, turned around, and bent down, ready to carry me.

I wrapped my clothes tighter around myself, not letting him see the poisonous scales on my chest, and said with a smile, "I can walk by myself. Lead the way. I'll follow you."

The hemp-clothed youth gave a simple, honest laugh, scratched his head with his hand, and walked straight out, keeping a pace that was neither fast nor slow. I followed behind him, waded across Clearwater Creek, and soon reached the entrance of Camellia Village. I thought to myself that since I had already offended the Golden Silkworm Deity anyway, there was nothing to be afraid of in entering the village with the Three-Corpse Snake Gu on my back.

Lights dotted the whole village. The cries of roosters and the barking of dogs drifted over, the fragrance of food floated in the air, and several children flew back home, where their fathers were standing at the door to greet them.

After walking for a while, we arrived at Ma Huoxin's courtyard. Even from outside the courtyard, I could smell the rich scent of medicinal herbs.

The hemp-clothed youth said, "Big Brother Xiao Kunlun, go in by yourself. Uncle Huoxin seems very anxious. I'll wait outside the courtyard. If you need someone to run errands, just call out to me. My name is Ma Erlei!"

"All right!" I patted Ma Erlei's shoulder gratefully and strode inside.

Beside the door stood a walking corpse, dressed all in black, with an incomplete yellow talisman pasted to its forehead. Its feet were caked with mud. From the look of it, it had traveled a very long way to get here.

Inside the house, candlelight shone brightly. Ma Huoxin sat in the middle of the main room, his eyes wrapped in gauze that had not yet been removed.

Ma Huoxin's face was grave, his expression somewhat sorrowful. He sighed and said in a low voice, "Kunlun, the moment I smelled your scent, I knew you had arrived. Come sit beside me. There is something important I need to tell you."

The cave I had been staying in had originally been the place where Ma Huoxin stored walking corpses. After living there for several days, it was only natural that I carried the strange smell of walking corpses on me.

Ma Huoxin's words left me at a loss. I hurried forward and asked anxiously, "Uncle Ma, why do you look so serious? Did something happen to Xiaodao, or... or did something happen to my master?"

I could not stay seated and stood straight up.

The muscles on Ma Huoxin's face twitched. He said, "Kunlun, you are a strong child. Do you still recognize this bag?" From one side, Ma Huoxin took out a bag.

I quickly took the bag, and tears instantly surged out. The bag was simply made, sewn from waterproof black cloth. In one corner of the black cloth, there was a cloud outlined in red thread.

"This is my master Hei Moyun's bag. When he went out to gather herbs and found precious medicinal materials, he would put them inside this bag." My tears fell. "How did this bag end up in your hands?"

Ma Huoxin was silent for a moment. He raised his hand and pointed at the walking corpse by the door. His mouth opened with difficulty as he said, "He brought it back."

I turned back and glanced at the black-clothed walking corpse. My eyes lit up as I said, "He... isn't he one of the eight... walking corpses we left within Guizhou? How did he come back with my master's bag?"

At that time, Ma Huoxin had been afflicted by the Blood Mantis Gu and was badly injured. Unable to drive the corpses, he had hidden the eight walking corpses in a cave. But today, one of those walking corpses had actually hopped back on its own. This was far too unbelievable.

Ma Huoxin said, "Look and see what is inside the bag."

I opened the bag. Inside were five carefully wrapped medicinal herbs, along with a faint scent of earth.

My tears would not stop, and I began to wail loudly. Master had needed to gather seven precious medicinal herbs to treat my injuries, and now he had already gathered five. But Master himself had not returned; instead, he had sent back the five medicinal herbs he had gathered. Over these past days, the final bit of fantasy in my heart had gradually shattered.

I ran to the walking corpse, grabbed its arm, and shouted, "Tell me, did you see my master? How is he? Why did he give you the black bag? How did you come back?"

From the territory of Guizhou to Clearwater Creek and Camellia Village, there were dozens of great mountains to cross, and several small towns to pass through. How could a walking corpse have accurately returned to Camellia Village?

The walking corpse did not move at all, nor did its eyeballs open. I tore off the Chenzhou Talisman on its forehead and screamed hysterically, "Tell me! How did you get here? What happened to my master?"

After the Chenzhou Talisman was torn off, corpse qi poured out from the walking corpse's body. Its eyeballs opened, still without the slightest emotion. It merely opened its mouth and let out two strange cries.

Ma Huoxin stood up, reached out, and held me as he said, "Kunlun, you have always been a strong child. You are also a clever child. You should understand: your master will never reach Clearwater Creek. He will never come to Camellia Village again."

"No... no..." I screamed like a madman. "Uncle Ma, you're lying to me. My master could kill the most poisonous snakes in the world, and he could deal with the wickedest men in the world. Nothing could have happened to him. You big baldhead, don't lie to me."

Ma Huoxin raised his hand and slapped me across the face, shouting sternly, "Your master is already dead! A wisp of his soul clung to the walking corpse and sent over the herbs to cure you. Do you think a walking corpse with no consciousness could come back by itself?"

Pain flared across my face, and my whole body felt as if struck by a thunderbolt from a clear sky. I had not dared think in that direction, but Ma Huoxin had shouted it aloud. I collapsed to the floor, tears rolling down in torrents.

That was right. How could an unconscious dead body cross a thousand li of mountains and arrive here? It was because a wisp of Master's wandering soul had accompanied it that the walking corpse had appeared in Camellia Village.

Master was truly dead. He had become a wisp of wandering soul. I, Xiao Kunlun, had become an orphan again. In this world, there would never again be anyone who cared for me or loved me.

As I cried, I suddenly burst into loud laughter, laughing at fate for toying with me. As I laughed, I began to cry again, weeping bitterly over Master's departure and over my own suffering fate.

Ma Huoxin let out a long sigh and called out, "Senior Brother, ah, it's all well and good that you left, but you handed such a pitiful child over to me, a blind man."

From the crack of the side door came Xiao Yudao's sobs.

The candlelight in the room swayed, and the wicks were trimmed twice.

My voice had gone hoarse from crying.

Only then did Ma Huoxin say, "Kunlun, a wisp of your master's wandering soul came to Camellia Village with the walking corpse. He must have gone to see you. He hoped that you would live on properly, live on bravely, break through your hardships, and welcome your brand-new life. If you keep crying like this, are you worthy of your master?"

My whole body froze completely. At last, I understood why the Golden Silkworm poison had not flared up today. So Master's wandering soul had appeared in the cave. It must have been he who soothed me.

For six years of raising me, I had no way to repay him. Even after Master turned into a soul, he had still used his final strength to take care of me. At that moment, guilt surged into my heart, and I clenched both hands into fists.

The night was deep. A cold wind blew in. Autumn had already passed, and the bitter winter was about to arrive.

I braced both hands on the ground, gritted my teeth, and slowly stood up. I walked to Ma Huoxin, dropped to my knees with a thud, and said, "Uncle Ma, my master's abilities were extraordinary. Please tell me the truth. How exactly did he die? Don't hide it from me."

Ma Huoxin waved his hand and grabbed me, saying, "Get up!"

I said, "No. If you don't tell me, I won't get up. He must have been harmed by some treacherous villain."

Ma Huoxin said, "All I can tell you is that Senior Brother unexpectedly found the cave where we hid the walking corpses and also discovered that those walking corpses were raised by me. In his dazed state, he handed the black bag to one of the walking corpses, and his wandering soul drove the corpse here. He and I were fellow disciples, so of course he also understood corpse-driving arts."

This was Ma Huoxin's guess. From the way things looked now, it was very close to the truth.

I said, "My master must have been seriously injured before he reached that cave. Can you tell me what Gu insect, what evil person, could have injured my master?"

Ma Huoxin fell silent and did not speak for a long, long time. Tears slid down from the edge of the gauze as he said, "Kunlun, if my eyes weren't blind, I would set out right now to investigate. Unfortunately..."

I gritted my teeth and stood. "My eyes aren't blind, and I know that cave too. I'll set out for that corpse-hiding cave right now."

Ma Huoxin shouted, "Looks to me like your eyes are blind too! You didn't even notice a single one of the blood-written words on the black cloth bag. Read them first, then decide!"

At that, Ma Huoxin stood up, turned, and walked out through the side door.

My heart jolted. I walked over beneath the lamplight, and only then did I make out the words written in blood: Kunlun, my corpse will be stolen. The day the Three-Corpse Snake Gu reaches full maturity will be the day of revenge.

The bloodstains on the black cloth bag were not obvious. Without careful scrutiny, they were very hard to see. It could be inferred that when they were written, the blood had been black, which meant Master had been poisoned with a deadly toxin. Master was telling me that his corpse would be stolen, and that if I returned to the corpse-hiding cave, I would come back empty-handed. If I wanted revenge, I had to wait until the Three-Corpse Snake Gu reached full maturity.

I knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily nine times in the direction of Guizhou. "Master, Kunlun understands your intentions. Right now, my Gu arts are shallow, and I still don't have the ability to avenge you. Don't worry. I'll refine the Three-Corpse Snake Gu properly."

The skin on my forehead split from the kowtows, and fresh blood flowed down.

I wiped away the tears at the corners of my eyes and told myself that I had shed enough tears tonight. From today on, I, Xiao Kunlun, would not cry again, even if I bled.

Xiao Yudao came in carrying a steaming bowl of thin porridge. There were tear tracks at the corners of her eyes too. She said, "Drink some porridge. Only then will you have the strength to live on. Your master loved you. With someone who loves you, no matter how bitter the road of life is, it can never be that bitter."

Warmth spread through my heart. I drank a mouthful of thin porridge and asked Xiao Yudao, "When the Three-Corpse Snake Gu reaches full maturity—when will it count as full maturity?"

Xiao Yudao froze, thought for a while, then blinked and said, "As I understand it, the Three-Corpse Snake Gu is a divine Gu insect of the Dong People. When it can fight the Golden Silkworm Gu to a draw, that will be the day the Gu refinement succeeds."