Stealing Gu

Stealing Gu

I controlled the heat, and before long steam began pouring straight up. A strange smell spread, choking people into coughing. I hurried off to the side and found Ma Erlei sitting there, yawning nonstop.

"Erlei, this herbal medicine can cure Golden Silkworm poison. Do you want to drink a bowl too? Maybe the poisonous scales in your body will fall off." I kicked Ma Erlei.

"Brother Kunlun, I'll pass. These black scales have been embedded in me for years. One bowl of medicinal soup won't do anything. Don't worry about me. I'm dead tired, so don't make me drink medicine." Ma Erlei spoke through a yawn.

I cursed a couple of times and said, "There are a few rooms in the stilt house. Find one and go sleep. After I drink the medicine, I'll feed Xiaodao hers. You don't need to worry about it. Get lost and go to bed."

Ma Erlei grinned. "Brother Kunlun, you're too good to me. Then I'll leave everything to you." After saying that, he covered his mouth and walked inside, yawning all the way.

The sky had gone completely dark. Qingya Village was silent, with only the occasional crowing of chickens and barking of dogs.

The two clay medicine pots bubbled and steamed. I pulled some firewood out to make the flames smaller, waiting for the herbs to slowly decoct. The choking medicinal smell from earlier weakened a little.

I figured the time was about right and poured the medicinal soup from the two clay pots into porcelain bowls separately. Steam rose in hot billows.

I sniffed the bowl of soup I was supposed to drink and only felt my mouth turn bitter. Thirteen kinds of herbs had gone into it, so there was no need to say the taste could not be good. I took a deep breath, made up my mind to free myself from the torment of Golden Silkworm poison as soon as possible, and once the temperature was right, drank it all down in one breath.

A choking, bitter, strange flavor instantly spread through me. I forced down the discomfort in my stomach and did not vomit, then gulped down two mouthfuls of cold water before my stomach felt a little better. A full minute or so passed before my whole body felt somewhat relieved. I had just been about to carry the medicinal soup over to feed Xiao Yudao.

Then I felt my stomach gurgle, and my intestines churned violently. I sprinted to the latrine. The moment I squatted down, I felt something come pouring out, and a foul stench spread, nearly knocking me out entirely.

After coming out of the latrine, I felt as if my whole body had been hollowed out. But I was no longer so exhausted. I touched the black scales on my upper body and pried at them with force; they had already loosened quite a bit.

I was overjoyed. Truly, the prescription Xiao Yudao had written was quite effective. Before the night was over, the Golden Silkworm poison in my body would be cured.

Carrying the lukewarm medicinal soup, I went to Xiao Yudao's room. Her face was pale tinged with black, and her complexion was very poor. The seven poisons on the Black Snake Staff, wrapped together, had harmed her body greatly. Fortunately, the Jade Corpse Zhu Xian'er had acted in time and made Xiao Yudao vomit a mouthful of black blood.

I helped Xiao Yudao sit up, pinched open her mouth, and slowly fed her medicine with a spoon. Half of it flowed out from the corners of her mouth. Only a small portion went down.

"Xiaodao, try to drink a little more. You have to be strong. I believe you'll wake up very soon." Looking at the injured, poisoned Xiao Yudao, tears almost fell from my eyes again. "If you wake up, call my name. I'll be waiting outside."

I tucked Xiao Yudao in, quietly walked out, lit the little stove again, washed rice in a clean rice jar, then set it on the stove, preparing to cook a pot of porridge. When Xiao Yudao woke up, she would need to drink some rice porridge to fill her stomach.

The pure white moon climbed into the sky, seeming close enough to pluck down with an outstretched hand. The whole of Qingya Village was shrouded in moonlight, extraordinarily beautiful. The night wind blew over, carrying a bit of chill.

The porridge in the pot began to bubble and gurgle, steam rising straight up.

I added some water, removed the open flame, and left it warming on the stove. I kept paying attention to the sounds inside the room, praying in my heart that Xiao Yudao could wake soon.

Time passed minute by minute, second by second. The moonlight grew even brighter and clearer, but Xiao Yudao still had not woken. Before I knew it, dew had formed, and the ground had become somewhat damp. I moved the stove indoors and kept the porridge warming.

In the gaps while I waited, I took out the iron jar. The Black and White Twin Insects had forced Wu Daochao back and suffered heavy injuries. I was worried they had already died. The pure white moonlight passed through the window lattice and shone on the Black and White Twin Insects.

The originally stiff Black and White Twin Insects suddenly moved, then turned their bodies under the moonlight. My eyes lit up. I strode into the courtyard and let the moonlight fill the entire iron jar.

A miraculous thing happened.

The Black and White Twin Insects crawled even faster, the moonlight wrapping around their bodies like cotton.

"Heavens, people need to bask in the sun. The Black and White Twin Insects need to bask in the moon. When moonlight shines on them, they seem to come alive." I was overjoyed. This accidental discovery had saved the Black and White Twin Insects' lives.

Under the moonlight, the white insect's blackened body slowly recovered, and the black insect also became lively. Since the great fire at the Gu God Temple, this was the first time I had seen the Black and White Twin Insects so active.

It seemed that as long as the right method was found, injured gu insects could be treated. The twin insects had been left behind by Grandmaster and could deal with Wu Daochao. As long as they could recover, then the next time I saw Wu Daochao, I would not have to fear him.

I also took out the Three-Corpse Snake Gu and placed it under the moonlight.

I also took out Green Nest-Head, which was in the bamboo tube. This failed Gu King Insect had become like this, which was truly hard to understand.

According to Wu Daochao, the method for refining the "Gu King Insect" had been provided by Great Gu Master Ma Xiaolou, and I could have asked the Great Gu Master about it. But after leaving Chiyou Valley, the Great Gu Master's soul had vanished without a trace.

Faintly, I felt that this Green Nest-Head could not possibly be this useless. The great jar that had held it had possessed such powerful Sha Qi that I had never seen anything like it. A worm that could survive in such strong Sha Qi absolutely could not be trash.

"Are you really Green Nest-Head, or are you the Gu King Insect?" I said, feeling rather moved.

The iron jar, Yellow Jar, and bamboo tube were arranged in a row, moonlight spilling over them.

At last, I took out that Earth Egg and washed its surface clean with water. The surface of the Earth Egg was hard. Holding it under the moonlight, I could not see clearly what exactly was inside.

Jade Corpse Zhu Xian'er could not have lied to me, could she? Was there really a spiritual insect bred by nature inside this earthen egg? If there really was a worm, then what method could hatch the earthen egg? If it hatched, could it really deal with the Innate Insect? What a headache. That Jade Corpse Zhu Xian'er had left far too hastily, slipping away before explaining things clearly.

Right, what kind of zombie was a Jade Corpse? Why, after sleeping for hundreds of years, did she still have the appearance of a living person? And why did she have to guard the Earth Egg in my hands?

All sorts of unsolved mysteries lingered in my mind, and I had no desire to sleep at all. Later, the medicinal properties of the Black Flower Herb gradually spread.

Sleepiness came over me. Holding the Earth Egg in my arms, I found a bedsheet, draped it over myself, and lay beside the table, keeping watch over Xiao Yudao as I fell asleep. I slept very deeply. I sensed cracking sounds coming one after another, but I did not pay them any attention at all.

Early the next morning, I felt numbness spreading through me. I had slept on my stomach all night, and half my body had gone numb from the pressure, waking me up. An itchy numbness came from my chest. I reached out and touched it, only to find that all the black scales growing on my chest had fallen off, some of them broken into fragments.

I quickly rinsed myself with clean water, then checked my body again. Apart from some bruised marks, the poisonous scales had vanished like smoke and clouds. I was wildly overjoyed. The Golden Silkworm poison was finally cured. The sharp sword hanging above my head had finally been taken down.

The east gradually brightened. The sun drilled out from the clouds, and rosy dawn lit up half the sky. Three birds flew over Qingya Village. I put away the iron jar, Yellow Jar, and bamboo tube.

When I put Green Nest-Head away, I discovered a puddle of seven-colored water stains beside it, and Green Nest-Head's body had also shrunk quite a bit. It seemed last night's moon-basking had gone pretty well, I thought.

"Water... I want water..." Xiao Yudao's voice came over. My heart leaped with joy, and I ran quickly into the room. Xiao Yudao's lips were cracked terribly, but the blackness on her face had faded a lot.

I hurriedly poured warm water and went forward to help Xiao Yudao sit up.

Her figure was haggard, and her eye sockets were deeply sunken. After drinking some clean water, Xiao Yudao said weakly, "Where is this? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

I smiled and said, "Xiao Ma, this is Qingya Village. We escaped from Wu Daochao's hands, and we're fine now. You must be hungry. I'll ladle some porridge for you."

When I opened the lid, the porridge in the pot had long since boiled dry, and a scorched smell spread out. I said awkwardly, "I kept the porridge warm last night, and after the whole night passed, it's burned. I'll cook some more."

Holding the pot, I ran outside and, along the way, called Ma Erlei awake. Ma Erlei was still bleary with sleep, but when he heard the news that Xiao Yudao had woken up, he immediately perked up.

I washed the pot and rinsed the rice, lit the fire again, and cooked porridge. Sunlight shone into the kitchen, and the temperature began to rise. Sweat started beading on my forehead too. Before long, the fragrance of rice drifted out, and once the piping-hot rice porridge was ready, I brought it to Xiao Yudao.

Xiao Yudao drank less than half a bowl and had no appetite anymore. I did not force her. When she got hungry, I would feed her again. As long as she had woken up, her life would no longer be in danger. After eating the thin porridge, Xiao Yudao fell asleep again.

"Brother Kunlun, Xiaodao's injury still needs a few days of quiet recovery before she can walk," Ma Erlei said. "I'm afraid Uncle Huoxin will be worried at home. How about I go back to Camellia Village first in a while and send word, tell Uncle Huoxin not to worry, then come back to pick you up?"

Ma Huoxin was blind in both eyes and had trouble moving around. With his daughter gone for several days without returning, he would definitely be worried.

Ma Erlei going back ahead of time to deliver the message was a pretty good decision.

"Can you manage the mountain road in your current state?" I asked. "How long does it take to get from Qingya Village to Camellia Village? I see the morning clouds spread thick across the sky. It might drizzle today."

Ma Erlei said, "I slept, so I've more or less recovered. A light rain won't affect me on the road. If I make good time and set out now, I can arrive before dark. Then I'll rest in Camellia Village for a day and be back by tomorrow night."

"You're not going anywhere." The door was shoved open with heavy force, and Ma Shi appeared in the doorway, his face dark with storm clouds. Behind him, three burly men wielding Miao sabers surged in.

Ma Erlei hurriedly asked, "Uncle Ma, what happened? Why are you stopping me? I only want to go back and tell Uncle Huoxin that he doesn't need to worry about Xiaodao's safety."

Ma Shi swept his eagle-like gaze over us and said, "You arrived at Qingya Village last night, and this morning the Seven-Colored Gu disappeared. I suspect you stole the Seven-Colored Gu!"