A Night in the Small Tower, Listening to Spring Rain

Xiaolou Listened to the Spring Rain All Night

With those words spoken, there was no longer any room to maneuver. Ma Shi swept his hand and had already made a gesture to see the guests out. I drew in a deep breath, and my heart eased slightly. "Clan Chief Ma, I'll make sure I live well and wait for you to come find me."

Ma Huoxin laughed twice. "Ma Shi, then I'll wait for you for three years. Let's go." I sealed the Three-Corpse Snake Gu again, with no time to check whether it was injured now, then slung the black bag back over my shoulder.

Ma Huoxin cocked his ear to listen, then tossed the Black Snake Staff to me.

Leaning on the Black Snake Staff, I followed Ma Huoxin toward the outside of the ancestral hall. The people of Qingya Village retreated to the two sides of the road, hands pressed to their Miao blades, watching me with extremely unfriendly eyes.

We withdrew from Qingya Village's ancestral hall.

I said, "Uncle Ma, wait for me a moment. I still have a private matter to handle, just briefly."

Guo Ni retreated out alone.

I asked, "Miss Guo Ni, what do you plan to do? After breaking with Chen Junfeng, where are you going?"

Guo Ni's eyes were somewhat lost. She shook her head and said, "I don't know either. I'll leave Qingya Village first, then think about it. If this stepfather of mine can't get the Seven-Colored Gu, he'll definitely fly into shame and rage. From now on, I'm basically an orphan."

Chen Junfeng ran out, his expression sincere as he said, "Guo Ni, I was tricked too. I never imagined Ma Bianlang would be so old, and so strange-looking besides. Dad shouldn't have struck you to teach you a lesson. I was anxious too."

Guo Ni glanced at Chen Junfeng and said, "Stepdad, how do you have the nerve to excuse yourself like that? Don't you blush?"

Chen Junfeng pondered for a moment, then said, "Guo Ni, your mother isn't in good health. Do you really have the heart to run away from home? We won't form a marriage tie with Qingya Village anymore. In the future, whoever you want to marry will be your own decision."

Guo Ni's expression was pained. Then she let out a long sigh and said, "Stepdad, for my mother's sake, I won't pursue the matter of you hitting me anymore."

Chen Junfeng could not help being delighted, and then said to me, "Brother Xiao, Ma Shi has already seen his guests out, so we must leave too. The mountain road is difficult to walk. Please allow us to leave this place together with you."

I thought for a moment, looked at Guo Ni, then nodded and said, "For Guo Ni's sake, I'll allow you to follow us." Leaning on the Black Snake Staff, I walked to Ma Huoxin's side and briefly explained. Ma Huoxin nodded and agreed.

Moonlight fell from the sky as Ma Huoxin drove the walking corpses to lead the way. Ma Erlei carried Xiao Yudao on his back. I limped along the road down the mountain, and after we had gone over a hundred meters, Guo Ni ran forward and supported me.

Chen Junfeng caught up with Ma Huoxin and said politely, "Mr. Ma Huoxin, this martial nephew of yours truly has ability. He actually managed to deal with Qingya Village's Nine-Colored Divine Gu. Mr. Ma must also be an extraordinary man!"

Ma Huoxin chuckled. "The Nine-Colored Divine Gu is wild and untamable. Ma Bianlang simply couldn't control it. The Nine-Colored Divine Gu only brought out one-third of its strength. If it had been controlled by its master, the Great Gu Master of Qingya Village, this martial nephew of mine would definitely have been lying flat on the ground."

I did not refute those words. I thought back on the process of tangling with the Nine-Colored Divine Gu. The Nine-Colored Divine Gu had been slow to reveal its tyrannical and savage side; even by the end of the Gu duel, I had not clearly seen what the Nine-Colored Divine Gu looked like at all, and had no way to appreciate its true strength.

The thought made cold sweat break out all over my back.

"The Great Gu Master of Qingya Village?" I asked with a frown. "Qingya Village has a Great Gu Master too?"

Ma Huoxin nodded and said, "Of course. The most outstanding Gu raiser in every stockade is called a Great Gu Master. Camellia Village's Great Gu Master is Ma Xiaolou. Qingya Village's Great Gu Master is Ma Chunyu."

Ma Erlei said, "Uncle Huoxin, the Great Gu Master of Camellia Village, Ma Xiaolou, must be stronger. I'm not wrong, am I?"

This time, however, Ma Huoxin shook his head and said, "You're wrong. Someone, going by their names, found a line from an ancient Han poem: Xiaolou listens to the spring rain all night. Just by understanding the literal meaning, you can tell who is stronger. Xiaolou has to listen to Chunyu."

My heart jolted. Xiaolou had to listen to Chunyu; the weak obeyed the strong. In other words, Qingya Village's Great Gu Master, Ma Chunyu, was stronger than Camellia Village's Great Gu Master, Ma Xiaolou.

A thought flashed through my mind, and I asked, "How is Ma Chunyu now? Has he already left this world?"

Ma Huoxin said, "That's right. More than ten years ago, he and Ma Xiaolou disappeared into Chiyou Valley together. They vanished almost overnight, and there has been no trace of him anywhere in the Miao Borderlands since. He must have died long ago. If Ma Chunyu were alive, he definitely would not allow Ma Shi and the others to run wild."

Hearing Ma Huoxin say this, the thought in my heart grew even stronger. Camellia Village's Great Gu Master, Ma Xiaolou, knew about the Earth Egg, so Qingya Village's Great Gu Master, Ma Chunyu, must also have known about the Earth Egg. The reason they entered Chiyou Valley should have been for the Earth Egg.

Before Ma Chunyu entered Chiyou Valley, he must have told Ma Shi the news, and Ma Shi also knew of the Earth Egg's existence. That was why, when he saw the Earth Egg, the desire to seize it arose in him.

And the Seven-Colored Gu I had seen in Chiyou Valley should have come from the hands of Qingya Village's Great Gu Master, Ma Chunyu. Aside from Qingya Village's Great Gu Master, no one could raise a Seven-Colored Gu. Taking the reasoning one step further, Ma Chunyu's physical body might already have been destroyed, but his soul still existed in the mortal world and had fallen into Wu Daochao's hands, possibly inside those bamboo tubes on Wu Daochao's person.

When we were in Chiyou Valley, the Seven-Colored Gu and Silver Snake Gu had entered my body, then ultimately lost to the Innate Insect. Today, in the Gu duel at Qingya Village, could the Nine-Colored Divine Gu have sensed that traces of the Seven-Colored Gu had once existed inside my body?

Could it have detected the traces of its old master, Ma Chunyu?

Was it because of this that the Nine-Colored Divine Gu had raised its noble hand and let me off?

The more I thought downward along that line, the more I felt that my being able to survive the Nine-Colored Divine Gu's poison this time was inseparably connected to that trip to Chiyou Valley.

"Uncle Huoxin, we met Wu Daochao in Chiyou Valley, and also saw the soul of Camellia Village's Great Gu Master, Ma Xiaolou, sealed by Wu Daochao onto a Paper Doll! Ma Chunyu might be inside too," I said. After pausing for a while, I asked, "With Wu Daochao's ability alone, could he deal with two Great Gu Masters?"

Ma Huoxin pondered for a moment before saying, "This senior brother of mine is very skilled in shamanic arts, ghost arts, and Daoist arts, but his Gu arts are very weak. Besides Ma Xiaolou, after Ma Chunyu disappeared, several other Great Gu Masters disappeared as well. Relying on Wu Daochao alone, he might not necessarily have been able to take care of them."

The meaning beneath Ma Huoxin's words was very clear. Besides Wu Daochao, there might be other people. I thought to myself that it was a pity Camellia Village's Great Gu Master Ma Xiaolou's soul was nowhere to be seen; otherwise, I could have pried more secrets out of his mouth.

What sort of person could Wu Daochao's helper be? And what were Wu Daochao's purposes in raising the Gu King Insect and guarding the Earth Egg until it matured?

I sighed. "Looks like only when Riyou sees Ma Xiaolou's soul will we be able to figure out all the secrets inside Chiyou Valley."

As we talked, we reached the side of Corpse-Raising Cave.

Ma Huoxin suddenly stopped, turning his head toward Corpse-Raising Cave. "This Corpse-Raising Cave is truly strange. There seems to be the scent of corpse qi inside that I'm familiar with."

Fortunately, Ma Huoxin could not see. Otherwise, with his temperament, he would definitely have gone in to take a look. Ma Huoxin was a corpse driver, and his sensitivity to corpse qi far surpassed everyone else's. If there was a familiar scent, needless to say, it had to be Xiao Tianxing's scent.

I hurriedly said, "Martial Uncle, this is Corpse-Raising Cave. Maybe some zombies or walking corpses you caught before stayed inside. That's why there's a familiar scent. This is Qingya Village's Corpse-Raising Cave, and it's piled full of poisonous scorpions inside. We should hurry and leave this place."

Ma Huoxin hesitated for a moment, then said, "No rush. There's a familiar zombie hiding inside to recuperate. I haven't fully recovered either. Once I'm better, I'll come catch it."

Only then did I let out a breath of relief, and our group walked down from Qingya Village. Only a small amount of moonlight shone down through the woods. We lit torches and followed the mountain road in the direction of Camellia Village.

After walking for more than half an hour, Ma Huoxin untied the black jar at his waist and tossed it to the side, where it landed on the withered leaves.

Chen Junfeng hurried forward, picked up the black jar, and said, "Mr. Ma, this is the Golden Silkworm Gu! How can you just throw it away like that?"

Ma Huoxin said calmly, "It's nothing more than an empty jar. The situation was critical just now, so I could only trick Ma Shi a little. Otherwise, relying on my one walking corpse alone, how could I fight over a hundred able-bodied men from Qingya Village?"

Chen Junfeng furrowed his brows, and only after a long while did he say, "So it was an empty-city stratagem. No, to be accurate, it should be an empty-jar stratagem. Mr. Ma truly is bold because of his superb skill. In that case, Camellia Village doesn't have the Golden Silkworm Gu, and you merely borrowed the Golden Silkworm Gu's fierce reputation to intimidate Ma Shi?"

Chen Junfeng stared fixedly at Ma Huoxin.

"The Golden Silkworm is in Camellia Village. My, Ma's, household skill is the secret art of corpse-driving, not the secret art of the Golden Silkworm. I have no way to control the Golden Silkworm, so I did not keep it on me," Ma Huoxin said. "Unfortunately, Ma Shi was frightened by the Golden Silkworm's fearsome reputation. For a moment, he failed to think through the stakes involved."

"Uncle Huoxin, heavens above, you're trying to scare me to death," Ma Erlei cried. "I really thought you'd brought the Golden Silkworm Gu with you. I shouted pretty loudly just now. If I'd known there was no Golden Silkworm Gu, I definitely wouldn't have dared yell that loud."

Ma Huoxin burst out laughing and said, "That method is something Kunlun can use, but you, Erlei, can't. In the future, follow your brother Kunlun and learn properly from him. Don't be so single-minded all day long."

I glanced at Guo Ni. There was not much surprise in her eyes. With her ability to sense gu insects, from the moment Ma Huoxin walked into Qingya Village, she should have known he had come carrying an empty jar.

"Uncle Ma, using an empty jar to frighten people—there's no way I could do that," I hurriedly waved my hands and said. "Uncle, that calm, unruffled manner of yours, I simply can't manage it. Ma Shi would see through me at a glance."

We walked under the moonlight for more than two hours, putting Qingya Village far behind us. A cold wind blew over, frost began to form on the ground, and the temperature in the mountains dropped below zero. Xiao Yudao began to cough.

Ma Huoxin said, "At our current pace, we'll need a full day of mountain roads. The temperature is dropping badly, and once it's below freezing, people can easily get frostbite. Erlei, hurry and find a place to rest. We'll continue on tomorrow morning."

Ma Erlei had come to this area before to gather herbs, and under his lead, we found a natural cave, lit a bonfire, then split branches and set them at the cave entrance to block the wind. The temperature inside the cave slowly rose. Ma Huoxin assigned the walking corpses to keep night watch and told everyone to sleep at ease.

Not long after I rested, I looked down and discovered that the skin of my left hand had turned red. Beside my ear, the sound of "chirp, chirp, chirp" rang out even louder.