Black and White Worms

Black and White Worms

A piercing pain spread through my body, and I cried out involuntarily.

My master's expression turned grave. He studied my face, then stepped forward and took my right hand. His brows knitted together, and his face darkened. After a long while, he asked, "Kunlun, how do you feel right now?"

The pain left me unable to speak. I could only shake my head.

My master let out a long sigh. "I never imagined that the mysterious insect inside you would be so tyrannical, even several times stronger than the Three-Corpse Snake Gu!!"

I looked at my master in confusion.

My master said, "I had wanted to use the Three-Corpse Snake Gu to protect you. Once it matured, it could fight the mysterious gu insect in your body. I never expected it would harm you instead."

My master blamed himself deeply.

I gritted my teeth and forced out a smile. "Master, I don't blame you."

I knew very well that my master was wholeheartedly good to me. The Three-Corpse Snake Gu was the most powerful gu insect among the Dong People. As one of them, my master had passed his most powerful gu art on to me. That was his love for me.

He simply had not expected the mysterious gu insect hidden in my body to be so powerful.

My master helped me onto the bed as sunlight streamed through the window.

He brewed a pain-relieving medicinal soup and watched me drink it.

"Kunlun, the mysterious gu insect in your body probably won't kill you! It may be trying to kill the Three-Corpse Snake Gu." My master pondered for a long time. "But the Three-Corpse Snake Gu is linked to your bloodline. Its life is tied to yours, so it cannot die either. This is troublesome. When two top-tier gu insects fight, you are the one who suffers. The longer this drags on, the more danger your life will be in!"

After drinking the medicine, the pain in my abdomen eased somewhat, and I regained a little strength.

I knew what my master was capable of. He would surely find a way to resolve this dilemma. "Master, don't worry. You are the greatest person in the world. You'll think of something."

My master paced back and forth. "I'm going into the mountains to gather herbs. I'll find seven medicinal ingredients to treat you, and I'll return as soon as possible. If I don't return, go wait for me by Clearwater Creek."

My master cooked a pot of meat porridge and boiled a pot of sweet potatoes. After hesitating for a moment, he still placed the jar containing the Three-Corpse Snake Gu by my side.

He prepared rope, a machete, and a basket. Clearly, the herbs he needed might grow on some cliff face, and he would need to lower himself down with the rope.

As I watched my master leave, a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up inside me. For some reason, tears even slipped from the corners of my eyes.

By noon, the sun was blazing.

Knowing that gu insects feared sunlight, I sat in front of the house. I drank half a bowl of meat broth, but could not drink any more.

After three in the afternoon, a twisting pain rose in my stomach again.

I gritted my teeth and made my way back to the room. Lying on the bed, I endured the agony, each second feeling like a year. I clung to the belief that my master would definitely return before dark.

Enduring the cramps in my abdomen, I eventually passed out from the pain.

When I opened my eyes again, it was pitch-black outside. I did not know how long I had slept. My master had not returned.

Fortunately, the cramping pain in my abdomen was no longer as severe.

I drank a bowl of meat porridge and ate a sweet potato. It had been dark for a long time, and worried about my master, I decided to go meet him.

When I left the house, I took the yellow jar with me.

Two minutes past the Gu God Temple, there was a large rock. Whenever my master went out to gather herbs, I often stood atop that rock and watched the path, waiting for him to return.

Under the bright moonlight, the entire forest seemed especially ethereal. Gusts of mountain wind swept through, making the leaves rustle.

I waited for half an hour when the yellow jar suddenly stirred. My unease intensified.

I immediately became alert. After spending seven nights with the Three-Corpse Snake Gu, I knew something was bound to happen.

I quickly crouched against the rock and saw several figures emerge beside the Gu God Temple, each sneaking about furtively. Soon, I saw them pile bundles of firewood against the temple gates and pour lamp oil over them.

Before long, the Gu God Temple was ablaze, and a column of thick smoke shot into the sky.

Cold sweat covered my back. If I had been sleeping in the Gu God Temple when that fire started, I would surely have been burned to death.

I lay flat against the rock, not daring to move. These people dared to burn down a temple. If they found out I was hiding here, they certainly would not spare me.

As the firelight grew brighter, I saw the leader's face clearly. It was Luo Benjie. Just days ago, he had knelt before my master and begged him to spare his two sons. I never imagined he would dare come here to set fire to the place.

My fists clenched tightly in fury.

I wanted to rush out and fight them to the death, but I knew I was no match for them now.

The Gu God Temple was built entirely of wood, and the fire grew ever fiercer. Then, with a BOOM, a loud crash came from within. The Gu God statue on the altar must have fallen to the ground.

With a wave of Luo Benjie's hand, the people scattered around him slipped away along the mountain path and soon vanished.

The Gu God Temple had been destroyed, and my master still had not returned. Once again, I had become a homeless orphan. Loneliness surged through me, and tears flowed from my eyes. No, no, my master would definitely return.

I told myself this in my heart.

Worried that Luo Benjie had not gone far, I remained pressed against the rock without making the slightest sound. The fire at the Gu God Temple burned for most of the night, and even in the latter half, sparks still rose from it.

My clothes were soaked through by dew, yet my master's figure never appeared on that mountain path beneath the moonlight.

And from time to time, cramps twisted through my abdomen.

I fainted from the pain again.

"Xiao Kunlun, Kunlun... wake up." A voice called beside my ear. I slowly opened my eyes. The sky was full of stars, and my body had long been soaked by dew.

"Who?" I looked around, but saw no one. Yet someone had clearly called my name just now. The voice seemed to have come from the direction of the Gu God Temple.

I climbed down from the large rock and struggled back toward the Gu God Temple. Smoke still drifted from it, and everything had been burned to ashes.

Just then, two cracking explosions rang out, like jars bursting from the heat. After hesitating for a moment, I rushed into the Gu God Temple. The Gu God statue atop the altar had fallen and shattered into several pieces.

Among the fragments were two blackened, cracked jars. Faint rustling sounds came from within them. My eyes lit up. Though these jars had been blackened by smoke, they were exactly the same as the ones my master often used.

Two jars for raising gu insects had actually been hidden inside the Gu God statue.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I walked over. Bending down and squinting inside, my eyes lit up again. There were two insects in the jar. They had to be gu insects.

One was white as snow, and the other black as an eye.

The two gu insects had been scorched by the flames and were already barely alive.

I thought, Master is so skilled. He'll definitely be able to save them.

I ran to the kitchen and found the iron container used for storing salt. After cleaning it out, I wanted to move the black and white gu insects into it.

"I know you're very poisonous," I said to them. "I'm saving you now, so you can't poison me to death. Otherwise, we'll all die here."

As soon as I finished speaking, I took a deep breath and pinched them through the cracks in the jar. Their bodies felt faint and insubstantial, cold to the touch.

I placed them in the iron container, but the fingers of my right hand still went slightly numb and black. Their poison was clearly not weak.

It took quite a while before my hand fully recovered.

After sealing the iron container and taking some sweet potatoes to fill my stomach, I left the Gu God Temple and decided to find a cave nearby to hide in.

After walking along the mountain path for more than ten minutes, I squeezed into a gap between two large rocks. This was the cave where I had first encountered the Three-Colored Snake. Now that my master had captured it, this place was safe for the time being.

I leaned against the stone wall and panted heavily. Exhaustion swept over me, and I fell into a deep sleep. Fortunately, no gu insects tormented me that night, and I slept soundly.

I lived on sweet potatoes every day. After waiting three days without any sign of my master, alarm surged through me. Could Master have slipped and fallen from a cliff while gathering herbs?

My master might be dead, and I could no longer stay at the Gu God Temple. Where was I supposed to go?

Then I suddenly remembered that my master had instructed me to go to Clearwater Creek if he did not return. Perhaps I could find him there.