Three Traveling Together

Three Traveling Together

The same black scales had appeared, and I had no choice but to suspect this was connected to the Golden Silkworm Gu.

"It was the Golden Silkworm Gu doing evil. Six years ago, a Golden Silkworm bit me. I was lucky enough to survive, but my upper body grew covered in scales, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get them off," Ma Erlei said calmly. "Because of these strange black scales, they all call me a Gu Human, someone as wicked and vicious as a Gu. But aside from these black scales, I'm the same as any normal person."

The title "Gu Human" was an ugly word, the same as "bastard" or "spawn of an evil spirit." Luo Chui had cursed me with it before, and hearing this, I could almost feel exactly what he felt.

That day, Luo Chui had insulted me with his words. I never imagined the same sort of thing happened in Camellia Village too.

"This is outrageous! They're going too far. Next time anyone curses you, I'll tear his mouth apart," I cursed aloud.

"Let the mouths of the crowd say what they want," Ma Erlei said. "But if the Golden Silkworm evil ghost isn't removed, Camellia Village will never have peaceful days. I turned into this because of that damned, fat evil ghost Gu Spirit! One day, I'm going to kill it."

The "Golden Silkworm evil ghost" he spoke of should have been the "Golden Silkworm Deity." I was a little curious. I hadn't known him for long, so why was he telling me this?

Words like these should have been hidden deep in his heart. The Golden Silkworm Deity came and went like a ghost and was lurking somewhere near Camellia Village. If it heard this, Ma Erlei would have no good fruit to eat.

Thinking of this, I shot Ma Erlei an urgent look and said, "Erlei, be careful—it might be nearby!"

"I've died once already. I'm not afraid of it!" Ma Erlei remained unmoved. Instead, he asked, "Big Brother Kunlun, you must be curious why I'm telling you the secret in my heart."

I really was extremely curious, so I nodded and looked at him.

"The Golden Silkworm evil ghost I want to kill is very powerful. I might have to suffer a lot before I have any chance of succeeding," Ma Erlei said. "You want to avenge your master, and you'll have to suffer a lot too. I just wanted to tell you that on the road of revenge, you're not alone. I'm with you too."

Sunlight fell over Ma Erlei, outlining him in a faint golden edge. In his black eyes flickered a staunch and determined light.

A vigorous, thriving energy surged from this hemp-clothed youth. I, too, was infected by that energy, and my whole body filled with strength.

My heart trembled. Ma Erlei had said so much for the purpose of rousing my fighting spirit; he had even spoken the secret in his heart.

I gritted my teeth and stood up. "Erlei, listening to you speak fills me with fighting spirit. Good. I'll eat properly and sleep soundly. When the time comes, we'll kill our enemies together."

As if a heavy burden had been lifted from him, Ma Erlei hurriedly took the rice out of the bamboo basket and poured the meat soup over it. I swept it all clean, and not long after I finished eating, drowsiness came over me.

"Erlei, I'm finally a little sleepy. I won't keep talking with you," I said.

"Big Brother Kunlun, rest well. Tomorrow, when you go into the mountains to gather herbs, I'll go with you," Ma Erlei said. He packed up his things, slung the bamboo basket over his back, and left.

I fell into a deep sleep. Partway through, I felt a pair of hands gently stroking me, very soft and very reluctant to part. In this sleep, I had no nightmares. When I woke, it was already the next morning.

I thought back to the scene while I slept last night. It must have been Master circling around me. He wanted me to live on well.

"Xiao Kunlun, work hard and keep going!" I clenched my fist and shouted to myself in my heart.

In the days to come, even if I was the only one left, I still had to live brilliantly.

I cooked a pot of rice. After eating some, I wrapped the rest in tree leaves to use as rice balls for lunch. Today, I was going into the mountains to gather herbs and dissolve the remaining Golden Silkworm poison in my body as quickly as possible.

I had originally wanted to leave the yellow jar in the cave, but I was worried I might meet danger while gathering herbs in the mountains, so I simply carried it on my back.

I hid the five medicinal ingredients Master had brought in the cave, carried his black cloth bag, and walked out.

When I reached the path leading into the mountains, Xiao Yudao and Ma Erlei were standing there waiting for me, each holding a firewood knife and carrying a bamboo basket on their back.

"Big Brother Kunlun, how did you sleep last night?" Ma Erlei asked.

"Erlei, how old are you this year? You keep calling me big brother, but what if you're older than me?" I asked.

Ma Erlei said honestly, "Uncle Huo Xin said you're older than me and told me to call you brother. Calling you big brother definitely can't be wrong. Xiaodao and I were born in the same year, but he's three months younger than me. He's the little brother."

I nodded and said, "You're both one year younger than me."

Xiao Yudao rolled her eyes at Ma Erlei and said, "Erlei, you really talk too much."

After she finished speaking, she quickly walked ahead by herself.

I found it funny in my heart. It seemed Ma Erlei hadn't noticed Xiao Yudao was a girl and had always treated her as a boy.

We walked up along the mountain path, passing through a dense stretch of wild camellia trees where birds flew back and forth among the branches.

"Big Brother Kunlun, when the camellia trees bloom at the end of November, this place will be beautiful. The fragrance of the flowers will drift very far," Ma Erlei said excitedly.

I said, "When the time comes, I'll be sure to admire it properly."

Along the way, Ma Erlei told many rumors about Camellia Village, as well as all sorts of strange tales. Xiao Yudao, on the other hand, was icy cold, though she occasionally cut in with a sentence or two to correct Ma Erlei's mistakes.

Following the prescription Xiao Yudao had written, we gathered a total of twelve kinds of herbs in the corners of the forest and along the cliffside. Only the final ingredient, Black Flower Herb, remained. The three of us wandered through the forest for more than two hours, but we still didn't see a trace of Black Flower Herb.

Xiao Yudao said, "Black Flower Herb is a spiritual kind of medicinal grass. It grows in very remote places and isn't easy to catch. And once it's startled, it will run away."

That there was actually such a medicinal herb in the world—I naturally didn't believe it.

But Ma Erlei also nodded and said, "Black Flower Herb is very timid, but it runs very fast. Once frightened, it hides very, very deep. That's why we don't gather Black Flower Herb, we 'catch' Black Flower Herb."

Only then did I believe it somewhat.

The three of us searched in the dense mountain forest for a long time again, but still couldn't find Black Flower Herb. We found a rock to rest on, and the three of us shared the food we had brought.

The sun gradually slanted westward. Many parts of the forest began to dance, and strange cries of wild beasts kept coming from the mountain woods. The three of us were all somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Big Brother Kunlun, Xiaodao, I know a place that definitely has Black Flower Herb," Ma Erlei suddenly said. "But that place is somewhere the living cannot approach."

Xiao Yudao and I exchanged a look. The Gu-refining forbidden ground from the past two days had also been a place the living could hardly approach, but hadn't we still barged through it once?

"It can't be a mass grave, right? There's nothing to be afraid of in a place like that," Xiaodao deliberately joked.

"It's that place. Xiaodao should know it," Ma Erlei lowered his voice, and the atmosphere turned solemn all at once.

"Stop keeping me in suspense. Hurry up and tell me," I said.

Xiao Yudao glanced at Ma Erlei, then finally said, "He should be talking about Chiyou Valley."

I had heard my master say that the ancestor of the Miao people was Great Emperor Chiyou. Back then, he had led eighty-one brothers, driving out ferocious beasts and venomous insects, and had once waged a great war against Yan and Huang. Even now, the Miao people still worshiped Great Emperor Chiyou.

I hurriedly asked, "Are there ghosts in that place?"

Xiao Yudao shook her head and said, "It isn't ghosts. The great gu master of Camellia Village died in Chiyou Valley. After the great gu master refined the Golden Silkworm, he was mentally and physically exhausted. He entered Chiyou Valley to gather herbs, and mysteriously died inside. After that, seven gu masters from the Miao villages joined forces and went into Chiyou Valley to investigate the secret. In the end, all of them died inside."

My heart gave a heavy thump. I had heard many times of the great gu master of Camellia Village's mighty reputation, but I never imagined he had died in Chiyou Valley.

I asked again, "Besides Chiyou Valley, could there be Black Flower Herb anywhere else nearby?"

Xiao Yudao shook her head again. "Starting from here, another ten li north is Chiyou Valley. The other places are all fifty li away or more. On the road, it would take at least two or three days to get there. And the Golden Silkworm Gu in your body can't hold out that long."

I thought for a while, then said, "Chiyou Valley is so dangerous. Don't go in. I'll enter the valley alone, and after I find the Black Flower Herb, I'll come right out."

Ma Erlei shouted, "The three of us are traveling together—how can we let you risk danger alone? I've wanted to go into this Chiyou Valley and take a look for a long time, to find out exactly why the great gu master died inside. Now that there's a chance today, how could I miss it?"

Xiao Yudao pondered for a moment, then also made the decision to go to Chiyou Valley. We adjusted our direction and set off north.

The sky gradually darkened. By the time we reached the outskirts of Chiyou Valley, the entire mountain forest was shrouded in darkness.