Ordinary Gu Worms

A perfectly ordinary Gu insect.

I gritted my teeth hard and roared. Ma Bianlang was utterly astonished.

"You're about to die, yet you're still so arrogant," Ma Bianlang mocked. "One in ten thousand? Once you're in my Qingya Village, I'll turn you into a puddle of filthy blood!"

Ever since I had been bitten by the three-colored venomous snake, ordinary poisons could do nothing to me. On top of that came the successive torment of the Innate Insect and the Golden Silkworm poison. My resistance to poison and pain had both increased greatly. Ma Bianlang thought I would not last even a minute because he had underestimated me.

The Gu poison of the Nine-Colored Snake Gu spread through my entire body from my right hand, and even the color of my left hand changed. Though I could not see what I looked like, I was certain I must have been a riot of colors right then.

A surge of anger rose in my heart, and my head cleared considerably. I shouted at the Eight-Handed Monster again, "I don't know who turned you into this—neither human nor spider, with toad skin on your face too. If I were you, I'd hide in some withered cave deep in the mountains and never come out to face anyone!"

The Eight-Handed Monster sprang up, leaped down from Ma Bianlang's body, and pounced straight at me. Ever since the Innate Insect inside me had awakened, I had been able to see Gu insects and all kinds of spirit bodies with my naked eyes.

When the Eight-Handed Monster lunged over, I saw it clearly. I suddenly exerted myself, flashed to the side, stretched out my deformed left hand, grabbed one of the Eight-Handed Monster's hands, then flung hard and threw it straight out.

After the Eight-Handed Monster flew out, its body slammed into a pillar. Using the pillar, it rebounded and came back again. I was caught off guard, and the Eight-Handed Monster landed on my shoulder.

I felt my shoulder sink. Even more hateful was that two of its hands were tightly strangling my neck, and the force was growing stronger and stronger. Before long, I would not be poisoned to death by the Nine-Colored Divine Gu, but instead be killed by the Eight-Handed Monster.

"Gu Spirits can attack too? You really are despicable and shameless!" I gritted my teeth and cursed, fresh blood trickling from the corner of my mouth again.

"We agreed earlier that this was inviting the divine! A Gu duel! If you don't have a Gu Spirit, you can't blame me." The smile at the corner of Ma Bianlang's mouth grew even more smug.

My right hand could not move, so I bent my left hand back to grab the Eight-Handed Monster. The Eight-Handed Monster opened its mouth and bit down savagely on my palm. A bone-piercing, yin-cold aura spread through my body.

No matter how hard I struggled, the Eight-Handed Monster clamped me down tightly and had no intention of separating from me.

"Xiao Kunlun, admit defeat! Ma Bianlang's Gu Spirit is biting you because it wants to eat your soul. The Nine-Colored Divine Gu wants to seize your body!" Guo Ni shouted anxiously, unable to stop herself from running a few steps forward.

"Miss Guo, don't go up there just to die." Ma Shi was very quick, seizing Guo Ni in one grab.

Tears rolled down Guo Ni's face.

Corpse qi overflowed from the black jar, and I felt as if my whole body was being wrapped tightly by that aura. The scenery around me grew darker and darker. Ma Bianlang also disappeared before my eyes.

Everything around me also became silent.

Is this the sound before death? I thought. No, I can't let this happen.

"Go die, all of you!" I shouted with all my strength. The Innate Insect in my abdomen moved a few times, and immediately my right hand lifted. A heavy punch smashed the black jar apart, and with a forceful swing of my left hand, I threw the Eight-Handed Monster out.

With a bang, the black jar shattered.

The corpse qi scattered in the wind.

I still stood towering and unmoving. I did not fall. Fragments of the black jar flew everywhere, and the filthy water inside spilled all over the ground. From within the filthy water, the shadow of an insect leaped up and flew toward me.

"I heard you killed a life, so you won't stay obedient!" I shouted. "Come on then. Today, this young master will deal with you properly."

The insect shadow flew toward me, but when it reached me, it suddenly changed direction and charged straight at Ma Bianlang. Ma Bianlang's pupils dilated, and he retreated again and again in shock, crying out, "Divine Gu Insect, why aren't you obeying my command!"

The insect shadow landed on Ma Bianlang and burrowed rapidly. Soon, it vanished from sight. Ma Bianlang's face turned from white to blue, then from blue to black. His whole body dropped onto the ground, and when he opened his mouth to cough, he spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"Dad, save me..." Ma Bianlang covered his mouth with his hand, but black blood kept gushing out like running water.

With such a sudden change, Ma Shi's expression altered drastically. He hurriedly crawled forward, pressed his right hand against Ma Bianlang's back, and cried, "Nine-Colored Divine Gu, my son was reckless. He should not have invited you out and disturbed your peace. I beg you to spare my son's life. I will prepare the finest poisonous insects to feed your venerable self. Please, for the sake of the ancestors of Qingya Village, forgive us!"

Only after Ma Shi admitted fault and made his grand vow did Ma Bianlang stop vomiting blood. But his eyes were dull, and he no longer had the strength to speak. He could not even stand.

I supported myself against the table and said, "Ma Bianlang, that one-in-ten-thousand Gu insect of yours lost to me too, didn't it? According to the venomous oath you swore, whether we leave or stay is up to us."

I gradually came back to myself, feeling tremendously lucky.

At that critical moment just now, if not for the Innate Insect suddenly making a move, the person vomiting blood and heavily injured now would have been me.

In a way, the victory had been somewhat unfair.

But on second thought, Ma Bianlang had sent out the vicious Eight-Handed Gu Spirit, even intending to use the process of the Gu duel to eat my soul. He had attacked together with the Nine-Colored Snake Gu and the Eight-Handed Gu Spirit, which was bullying the few with the many to begin with.

Ma Bianlang made muffled whimpering sounds, looking extremely unreconciled, as if he felt he had lost very unjustly.

"Xiao Kunlun, I knew a miracle would definitely happen. This is great. I don't have to guard your grave for you anymore." Guo Ni's eyes were hazy with tears, and she wept with joy.

Cold sweat poured from my palms. I still was not sure whether the Nine-Colored Divine Gu had been injured or not.

However, the Nine-Colored Divine Gu had probably sensed the Innate Insect inside me and had somewhat decided to retreat in the face of difficulty.

I could not speak too absolutely, so I said, "Clan Chief Ma, the Nine-Colored Divine Gu of Qingya Village truly is formidable! Now that Ma Bianlang is injured and the Nine-Colored Divine Gu is still inside him, he urgently needs treatment! What happened between us began as a misunderstanding. There's no need to fight until the fish die and the net tears. Please, for the sake of my uncle, Ma Huoxin, let us go. As for Miss Guo Ni, a melon twisted by force is never sweet. Let her go as well."

Ma Shi's face was gloomy. Two subordinates brought over a plank and carried Ma Bianlang away. Ma Shi said, "That was a venomous oath between you and my son. He can abide by his oath. But as for my pass, you have not crossed it yet!"

With a clang, a gong sounded. Immediately after came a heavy boom, and the great doors of Qingya Village's ancestral hall swung open with a crash.

"Ma Shi, what mighty face you have. Do you want to try me instead?" Ma Huoxin stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall, with Ma Erlei carrying Xiao Yudao on his back. Ma Huoxin held the Black Snake Staff in his hand, and beside him was the walking corpse that had returned after delivering the message.

A small black jar hung at Ma Huoxin's waist.

Inwardly, I let out a breath of relief. Uncle Ma had finally found this place. Tracking with the Qingfu Insect was still very reliable.

Ma Huoxin's eyes were still covered with white cloth. Driving the walking corpse, he strode in, gripping the Black Snake Staff in his hand and striking the ground with it fiercely.

The Black Snake Staff had originally belonged to Wu Daochao. After Wu Daochao fled, I had carried it with me, and now it was in Ma Huoxin's hands.

Ma Huoxin walked up to me and asked, "Kunlun, how are you... not dead yet, are you?"

I smiled and said, "The Nine-Colored Divine Gu was fairly polite to me and didn't take my life. There are some misunderstandings in all this. I ask Uncle Ma to explain them to Clan Chief Ma. Don't damage the friendship between the two villages."

Ma Shi gave a cold snort and spoke first. "Ma Huoxin, you've already become blind, yet you still want to show off. I'd like to see just how you plan to leave my Qingya Village today. How many zombies did you drive over?" Ma Shi's gaze was resolute. With a wave of his right hand, someone ran out through the main doors.

A moment later, torches swayed at the ancestral hall's main doors, lighting the place up as bright as day, and beneath the firelight, blades flashed as well. A dozen or so people surged in first.

Ma Huoxin turned his head and looked in Ma Shi's direction. "Ma Shi, I only brought one walking corpse." He paused, then said, "And one perfectly ordinary Gu insect from Camellia Village."

Ma Huoxin spoke as if it were nothing at all. Having weathered great winds and huge waves, not the slightest panic showed on his face. He had even used the words "perfectly ordinary." He was humility itself.

Chen Junfeng's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Could it be the number one Divine Gu Insect of the Miao Borderlands, the Golden Silkworm Gu? This gentleman is truly modest. How could the Golden Silkworm be described as perfectly ordinary?"

Ma Shi's face changed abruptly. He raised his right hand, and the people who had rushed in instantly stopped in their tracks. In all of Qingya Village, there was not a single person who had never heard of the Golden Silkworm Gu. Nor was there anyone who did not know its fearsome reputation.

Ma Shi understood even more clearly how formidable the Golden Silkworm Gu was.

The moment I heard "Golden Silkworm Gu," my heart gave a heavy thump. The Gu insect in Ma Huoxin's jar definitely was not the Golden Silkworm Gu. The whereabouts of the true Golden Silkworm Gu were unknown. With this move, Ma Huoxin was borrowing the Golden Silkworm Gu's fearsome name to intimidate Ma Shi and make him retreat in the face of difficulty.

Ma Shi asked, "Ma Huoxin, you can take everyone else away, but this Han child, Xiao Kunlun, has ruined the rules of my Qingya Village and violated my taboo. I must keep him here."

Ma Erlei said angrily, "Chief Ma, you planted a Gu insect in me. A Miao person casting Gu on another Miao person—you broke the rules too. How do you have the face to say that?"

Ma Shi paid Ma Erlei no attention and waited for Ma Huoxin's answer.

Ma Huoxin gave a cold laugh. "Ma Shi, Xiao Kunlun is my martial nephew. I don't want to make things difficult for you, but you had better not make things difficult for me either. Whether it's your Seven-Colored Gu or your Nine-Colored Divine Gu, do you still have any Gu insects you can bring out now? Once the Golden Silkworm Gu moves, Qingya Village risks having the whole village wiped out. Can you bear that responsibility?"

Cold sweat broke out on Ma Shi's forehead, and he cried, "Ma Huoxin, you dare threaten me!"

Ma Huoxin immediately replied, "I am threatening you!"

His imposing aura abruptly surged, carrying the stance of someone ready to start fighting if the other side refused to submit.

Ma Shi's teeth ground together with a clack-clack sound, and his eyes bulged until they looked bloodshot. Only after a full ten-odd seconds did he say, "Ma Huoxin, listen well. From this day on, Qingya Village and Camellia Village are as incompatible as water and fire. Three years from now, I will personally visit Camellia Village. When the time comes, I will properly experience the power of the Golden Silkworm Gu!"

He then turned to look at me and said, "Xiao Kunlun, you had better live well for another three years. Whatever you do, don't die early. Otherwise, I will dig open your grave and scatter your bones to the ashes."