Green Cornbread

Green Wotou

The Yin Gong kept ringing, and the Black Snake Staff kept striking the ground. Wu Daochao was not affected in the slightest. My heart shook. It seemed Wu Daochao did not fear the Yin Gong; the one thing that could restrain him right now was useless.

"I don't believe it." Xiao Yudao gritted her teeth and shouted, striking the Yin Gong even louder. Wu Daochao jumped down from the rock and slowly walked forward, a strange smile spread across his face, his eyes looking as if they wanted to devour people.

I grabbed Xiao Yudao and said, "Not good. The Yin Gong works on other zombies, but it's no use at all against Wu Daochao. Let's back up..."

Ma Erlei waved the torch in his hand, staring nervously at Wu Daochao as he closed in. I pulled Xiao Yudao hard, but she stared straight at Wu Daochao and simply refused to retreat. After putting away the Yin Gong, she directly took out her firewood knife.

"Since you're here, there's no need to leave." Wu Daochao shouted, then leapt straight up. With that one jump, he covered a full five meters and landed right in front of us.

Ma Erlei threw the torch straight out. Wu Daochao raised the Black Snake Staff and knocked it down at once.

Bang, bang, bang! Three explosions rang out in succession, and several jars burst open. Three black shadows flew over, swift and urgent. I saw them clearly: they were Gu insects raised in the jars.

Wu Daochao was proficient in ghost arts, witchcraft, and also extremely skilled in the art of raising Gu. The Gu insects he raised were very healthy and very strong, a hundred times more formidable than Gu Xiucheng, who had been devoured in backlash by his own Gu insects.

The three black shadows flew over and landed in the middle of the road. One of them croaked strangely—it was the plump Toad Gu. The other two were Blood Mantises. I saw them clearly. These Blood Mantises were the same species as the Blood Mantis used by that mysterious man in black that day, and the method employed was extremely similar.

Could it be that the Blood Mantis Ma Huoxin had used to arrange a meeting with the man in black had come from Wu Daochao's hand?

The three Gu insects blocked our path of retreat, while Wu Daochao was only two meters away.

I shouted, "Wu Daochao, is this how you treat guests? You're our elder. If word gets out that you bullied the young with the old, I'm afraid it'll damage your reputation. If you've got the ability, let your disciple come. He's the one on equal footing with us."

Wu Daochao's eyelids twitched, and he cursed, "Don't think that just because Hei Moyun raised the Three-Corpse Snake Gu for you, I won't dare kill you. I'm already a dead man. What do I need reputation for? Once I kill you, I'll use the Gu King Insect to deal with your master."

"What a pity, what a pity." My mind spun rapidly, searching for a way to respond. "If you'd come out a month earlier, maybe you would still have had a chance to kill my master. It was only a few days ago that I found out my master had already been murdered."

Wu Daochao froze and cried, "What? Who killed Hei Moyun?"

I shook my head and said, "I don't know. Master told me to raise the Three-Corpse Snake Gu properly first, then go investigate this matter. As for who it was, I truly have no idea. But one day, I'll kill that person!"

Wu Daochao's body stiffened slightly. He said angrily, "Before I killed Hei Moyun, no one in this world was allowed to kill Hei Moyun. He actually overstepped and took what was mine!! Ya, ya, ya... little martial nephew, don't worry. After I kill you today, I'll kill that enemy for you."

Those eyes of his rolled about as he gnashed his teeth, and it did not seem like a lie. Cold sweat streamed from my palms. I glanced at Ma Erlei beside me and said, "For now, I'll call you Martial Uncle. He came into the mountains with me to gather herbs. Let him leave. Xiaodao and I will submit to whatever you decide."

Wu Daochao had lived here for a long time, and the Gu arts he displayed far surpassed mine and Xiao Yudao's, not to mention that unfathomably mysterious Gu King Insect. Xiao Yudao and I could hardly escape alive.

I only hoped he still had a bit of humanity left and would let Ma Erlei go.

"Are you joking? This kid has an excellent relationship with you. I kill you two, then let him go? Once he gets back, he'll definitely plot to avenge you! If you cut the weeds without removing the roots, they grow again when the spring wind blows. How could I leave myself a hidden danger?" Wu Daochao waved both hands, and from beneath his black robe came two soft whooshes as fine poison needles flew out.

The poison needles were almost completely silent, and the distance between him and us was extremely short. The poison needles struck Ma Erlei directly. Ma Erlei screamed, his face twisting. His body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground with the sound. A black aura instantly surged over his slightly reddened face.

Xiao Yudao and I were utterly enraged.

I lowered my shoulders and charged straight forward. Xiao Yudao gripped her firewood knife and slashed after me.

Wu Daochao waved the Black Snake Staff in his hand and sent it flying backward. It stabbed straight into that enormous vat. A hole opened in the vat, and turbid water began flowing out endlessly.

Xiao Yudao and I rushed forward. He raised both hands, and in an instant, he was right in front of me. Following the momentum, he seized my throat. Xiao Yudao was the same—he seized her by the throat too.

Xiao Yudao and I were lifted up at the same time. Without expending even the strength needed to blow off dust, he had captured us. Before absolute strength, Xiao Yudao and I were both unable to withstand a single blow.

I finally understood why Master had not let me rush to seek revenge, because the enemy I had to face might well be someone like Wu Daochao. With my current skills, taking revenge would be a moth throwing itself into the flame.

"Hei Moyun, Ma Huoxin." Wu Daochao laughed wildly. "You killed me and made it so I couldn't live. I'll make sure you have no successors. In the end, we all come to the same result." He then threw back his head and howled, full of madness.

I was raised high by Wu Daochao, my feet hanging in the air as I swung both hands. But it did not harm Wu Daochao in the slightest. I felt the air in my lungs grow less and less, and my eyes rolled back.

Wu Daochao walked to the edge of the large vat and said, "Hei Moyun thought he knew how to raise the Three-Corpse Snake Gu. Ma Huoxin lived in a stockade protected by the Golden Silkworm Gu. They thought I could do nothing to them. But I raised the Gu King Insect."

The character "Gu" that the Great Gu Master had written should have referred to the Gu King Insect.

Wu Daochao flung us hard, and Xiao Yudao and I slammed into the rocks at the same time. I had nearly suffocated to death. After landing, I had no time to care about the pain in my back and began coughing violently, gasping for breath in great mouthfuls.

Xiao Yudao's condition was not much better. After I caught my breath, I went forward and held her. Xiao Yudao's face was bluish-black, and there were two bloody marks on her neck. The wounds had begun turning black.

"He has corpse poison on him." Xiao Yudao coughed violently. "He turned himself into a zombie, and an extremely vicious kind of zombie at that. I've been poisoned by corpse poison. I'm afraid I won't survive."

I glared furiously at Wu Daochao.

"You must be curious what the Gu King Insect is." Wu Daochao was immersed in his own world. "It's taking all kinds of Gu insects, putting them in one container, then letting them slaughter each other. The one that survives in the end is the Gu King Insect. Let me tell you, in this world, aside from me, no one can raise a Gu King Insect..."

My eyes were almost glaring blood. I shouted, "To hell with you. Gu King Insect or Fart King Insect, I don't want to know at all. If you're going to make a move, hurry up. If this young lord so much as frowns, then I'm no hero."

Wu Daochao placed his right hand on the Black Snake Staff and yanked hard. The large vat split open with a crack, and a dense aura of Baleful Intent spread out. Filthy, murky water flowed forth. Throughout the entire mountain cave, the bonfires in the fire basins burned wildly, and the dirty water gleamed. Vaguely, one could see some floating insect corpses in the sewage.

The large vat broke apart, and the turbid water streamed away. In the middle of the vat, a fist-sized lump of flesh remained. This lump of flesh was emerald green, its surface wrapped in mist.

I looked at that lump of flesh and could not help bursting into loud laughter. I shouted, "This is your Gu King Insect? Haha, you're really too hilarious. Don't tell me this green wotou is the so-called Gu King Insect."

Wu Daochao froze. He slowly walked forward and stared at it for a full half minute, then picked the green wotou up in his hand and roared loudly, "Ma Xiaolou, get out here!"

The paper man sealing the Great Gu Master's soul had already run off to who knew where. Wu Daochao flew into embarrassed rage. As for the green wotou in his hand, he could neither throw it away nor keep holding it.

Wu Daochao could not raise a Gu King Insect at all. He had killed the Great Gu Master, sealed the Great Gu Master's soul onto the paper man, and forced the Great Gu Master to raise the Gu King Insect for him.

Who could have expected that the Great Gu Master had not used his full strength, and in the end, Wu Daochao had obtained a green wotou. As for why it had made people uneasy just now, it was because the vat had been filled with dense Baleful Intent.

Once the Baleful Intent dispersed, this green wotou had not the slightest murderous aura. If one said it was the Gu King Insect, it would surely make people laugh their teeth out.

Wu Daochao trembled all over with anger. The large and small bamboo tubes on his back clattered loudly. At last, he gritted his teeth and threw the green wotou straight out, smashing it heavily against a rock. The green wotou was fleshy and soft, and after landing, it did not deform. It quickly returned to its original shape.

Wu Daochao was furious to the extreme. Carrying the Black Snake Staff, he stepped forward and said, "Since the Gu King Insect can't kill you, then I'll do it myself. Martial nephew, martial niece, don't blame me."

Xiao Yudao and I leaned against each other. I glanced at Xiao Yudao and said, "Are you afraid?" Xiao Yudao shook her head and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. My dad will definitely avenge me."

I saw Wu Daochao come closer. My body sprang, and I threw myself at him with all my strength. Wu Daochao seemed to have known what I would do all along. His body flickered aside, his long hair whipped out, and it cinched around my neck. The Black Snake Staff in his hand flew straight out and pierced Xiao Yudao's chest.

Xiao Yudao's clothes were dyed red. "Da Xiao, I was too impulsive. I dragged everyone down." A crystal-clear tear rolled from the corner of her eye. Her body tilted, and she passed out cold.

"I'll kill you!" All of this happened right before my eyes. My heart felt as if it were being sliced by knives. I screamed like a madman and struggled. But Wu Daochao's hair tightened more and more around my throat. I was powerless to break free. My vision grew darker and darker, and I dropped to one knee as the aura of death enveloped me.

Wu Daochao stepped forward, bent down, and untied the Three-Corpse Snake Gu, shouting, "You're too weak. You have no right to possess the Three-Corpse Snake Gu. From now on, it belongs to me. Hei Moyun toiled away so hard, but in the end he was only making wedding clothes for me!" He suddenly paused, then muttered to himself, "Why is there an iron jar too? What's inside it?"

"These were all left to me by my master. Get your filthy hands off them." I used every bit of strength I had and shouted loudly. A surge of force welled up from my abdomen. My right hand, like a venomous snake, reached forward and clamped around Wu Daochao's neck.