When Lin Yu admitted to knowing some magic, a hint of understanding flashed in the white-haired old man's cloudy eyes, but he didn't press further. He simply asked slowly, "Young man, did you come to Southern Border to learn Gu Arts?"
Lin Yu quickly waved his hand and explained, "Senior, you misunderstand. I'm just out here to gain experience, broaden my horizons, and temper my mind. I'm only curious about Gu Arts and have no intention of becoming an apprentice."
He spoke sincerely, afraid that the other party might think he coveted the secret teachings of the Southern Border.
After all, Gu Arts is probably just as important to the people of Southern Border as Maoshan Arts.
He was curious about Gu Arts, but he couldn't actually learn it by stealing it; he just wanted to see it for himself.
The old man stared at Lin Yu for a moment, and seeing that his eyes were open and honest, without the slightest hint of pretense, he slowly nodded. "Since this is a training exercise, if you don't mind, you can stay in the village for a few days."
"There's only one rule: don't wander into the Gu huts behind the village, and don't provoke the Gu worms in the clan, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."
"Thank you so much, sir!" Lin Yu quickly clasped his hands in thanks, finally feeling relieved.
Being able to stay temporarily in the village is a good opportunity to learn about Gu Arts properly, which is much better than wandering aimlessly in the mountains.
Over the next few days, Lin Yu gradually became acquainted with the villagers of Flower Bamboo Village.
In his spare time, he would help his clansmen chop wood and carry water. Coupled with Lin Yu's handsome appearance, the clansmen gradually lowered their guard against him.
She would occasionally bring up things about Southern Border with him.
It was from the villagers of Flower Bamboo Village that Lin Yu learned about the distribution of Gu Masters in Southern Border.
In these Hundred Thousand Mountains, there is a village every few dozen miles, and all the villages are under the jurisdiction of the Nine Palaces.
These Nine Palaces divide the mountains into nine regions, each governed by a palace. Most of the elders in the villages are Gu Masters who came from the Nine Palaces, and the young people in the clans are all proud to enter the Nine Palaces and become true Gu Masters.
"Sister Ayi is the most amazing one in our village!" the little girl with the double braids had secretly told Lin Yu.
"She could tame poisonous spiders at the age of ten, and she'll be able to participate in the Nine Palaces assessment next year. She'll definitely be selected!"
Lin Yu then realized that the woman who led the group that day Ayi, was actually a genius from Flower Bamboo Village.
This little girl with pigtails A Lan, or Xi Lan for short.
Perhaps it was because the little girl was curious about Lin Yu, or perhaps it was because the two were not much different in age, but A Lan and Lin Yu got along the best.
The little girl kept running towards Lin Yu.
Through the young girl's connection, Lin Yu was also able to go outside the village with them to watch how they handled poisonous insects.
That day, Ayi led the little girl and Lin Yu to a damp forest, where she casually picked up a shiny black poisonous spider from its web.
The venomous spider tried to struggle, but after being gently stroked in Ayi's palm a couple of times, it obediently lay in her hand, even retracting its fangs.
"The first step in Gu Arts is to tame poisonous insects." Ayi lightly tapped the back of the poisonous spider with her fingertip, earnestly instructing A Lan.
"You need to make it recognize you as its master, then feed it with a special secret medicine for forty-nine days to transform it into a Gu worm before you can continue cultivating it."
After she finished speaking, she put the poisonous spider back into its web and turned to look at Lin Yu and A Lan.
"You guys should try it too. There are centipedes under the tree roots over there; they're not hard to tame."
A Lan was clearly a first-timer and didn't dare to make a move. Looking at the huge, fiery red centipede, she hesitated to take the first step.
Lin Yu followed instructions and walked to the tree root first. Sure enough, he saw a centipede about half a foot long lying on the damp soil.
He tried to imitate Ayi, reaching out to grasp the centipede in his palm and gently closing his fingers. But the centipede wouldn't cooperate, its two pairs of venomous mandibles biting down hard on his palm, as if trying to inject all its venom into it.
But Lin Yu's physical body is now far beyond that of ordinary people. The centipede's venomous jaws cannot even bite through his skin, and can only hang futilely in his palm.
No matter how much he shook his palm down, it wouldn't let go.
Lin Yu helplessly opened his hand, looking at the centipede that wouldn't let go no matter what, and turned to Ayi: "This... seems a little different from what you said?"
When Ayi and A Lan saw this, they couldn't help but burst out laughing, especially A Lan almost laughed until tears streamed down her face.
Ayi walked forward with a laugh, reaching out to stop Lin Yu from pulling the centipede off. "Don't move. The harder you try, the more it will resist."
As she spoke, Ayi stretched out her finger and gently touched the centipede's head.
Strangely, the centipede, which had been so fierce just moments before, instantly wilted the moment it touched Ayi's fingertips. It obediently released its venomous jaws, crawled off Lin Yu's palm, and hurriedly burrowed into the soil.
Ayi took a small porcelain bottle from the bamboo basket at her waist and handed it to Lin Yu: "This is an antidote for centipede venom. Apply it to the wound..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Lin Yu's outstretched palm; the skin was smooth, without even a bite mark, showing no sign of injury whatsoever.
Ayi reached out and grabbed Lin Yu's wrist in surprise, repeatedly examining his palm.
He squeezed it hard to make sure it wasn't a hallucination before staring at it with wide eyes and asking, "What are your hands made of? Centipede mandibles can even bite through tree bark, how come they can't bite you?"
Seeing Ayi's surprised expression, Lin Yu smiled and shook his head, "I've practiced some body-strengthening methods, so my skin is just a bit tougher."
"Why do these poisonous insects behave obediently when you get close, but fight back fiercely when I reach out my hand?"
Lin Yu simply offered a casual explanation: the strength of his physical body was the result of his cultivation of the Pure Yang Body. As Lin Yu gradually transformed, he would only become stronger, so this was something that couldn't be explained in a short time.
But Lin Yu was very interested in taming poisonous insects.
Why do these poisonous insects bite so fiercely when they try to bite me, but not Ayi?
Upon hearing this, Ayi first pointed to the bamboo basket at her waist before slowly explaining, "The first reason is my Gu worms."
As she spoke, she gently opened the gap in the bamboo basket, Lin Yu instantly sensed a familiar, feminine aura.
A bright green insect, resembling a silkworm pupa, poked its head out of the bamboo basket. Its two pairs of tiny compound eyes scanned the surroundings, and the insect that had been burrowing in the soil just moments before instantly fell silent.
"This is my Luring Gu, which emits an aura that makes other poisonous insects wary." Ayi gently touched the Luring Gu with her fingertip, Luring Gu obediently retracted into the bamboo basket.
"With it around, ordinary poisonous insects don't dare to attack me easily, and they're easier to tame."
Lin Yu suddenly realized why the centipede had wilted as soon as it touched Ayi; it had been intimidated by the aura of the Luring Gu.
"There's a second reason." Ayi took out a palm-sized earthenware jar from her cloth bag, opened the jar, and a fragrant aroma of herbs wafted out.
"Those of us who aspire to become Gu Masters must begin applying this secret Gu-taming medicine from the age of five."
"This secret medicine is made by boiling more than a dozen kinds of herbs from deep mountains. Apply it to your hands and face every day, and over time, the medicinal scent will seep into your skin and blend with your own body's natural aroma."
As she spoke, she held out her hand for Lin Yu to examine closely. "Smell it, doesn't it have a faint herbal scent?"
"This scent neither frightens nor threatens poisonous insects; on the contrary, it lowers their guard and makes them easier to tame."
Lin Yu moved closer to Ayi's hand and indeed smelled a delicate herbal fragrance, very similar to the scent he had smelled in the village before, only stronger.