Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Most Overbearing Gu
After stepping out of the minivan, I handed all the money I had taken from Shi Youfu over to Er Gou.
I then carried the myriad jars and bottles from the Gu Master, along with the man himself, back to my shop.
"Xiaofeng, give me a hand."
Although Xiaofeng was curious about where I had managed to drag back a living, breathing person, she was always obedient and never asked unnecessary questions.
With her help, I brought the Gu Master inside. I wrapped him in a bedsheet and closed the shop doors before heading upstairs with him.
"Xiaofeng, don't touch the pottery jars inside the black robe!" I reminded her. Once I locked the door, it was just the Gu Master and me left in the room.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" The Gu Master clutched the bedsheet tightly. Without his poisonous Gu insects, he seemed uneasy.
Back at the Peaceful Inn, Xiaofeng had struck a similar pose, but while hers had a delicate charm, the Gu Master wrapped in a floral sheet was just an eyesore.
"You're probably wondering why your Gu worms are ineffective against me," I said, pulling the curtains shut. This topic might touch on the Hell Show, and I didn't want anyone overhearing.
"Hmph, I fell into your hands today because of my lack of skill. Do what you will—kill me, torture me—I won't flinch. A Gu Master experiences the utmost suffering in life; your methods mean nothing to me."
His words sounded brave, but the ridiculous red floral bedsheet draped around him completely ruined the mood, making him look rather comical.
"Are all Gu Masters this melodramatic?" I sighed and pulled out some paper and a pen. On the paper, I wrote the words "Plum Blossom Gu."
"I'm only keeping you here to ask you one question. If you answer well, I'll release you immediately."
"Do you mean that?"
"A gentleman's word is his bond. But you must answer honestly—no tricks." The question I had for him concerned the Plum Blossom Gu, the only clue left behind after Xia Chi's disappearance. To me, it was crucial.
The Gu Master furrowed his brows, bit his finger until it bled, and smeared a drop of blood on his forehead. "I swear on my life Gu: if I lie, may the Yin Insect devour me. You can ask now."
For Gu Masters, who disdain gods or spirits, their life Gu is their only sacred vow. Such an oath carries real weight.
"Your Gu poison doesn't work on me, not because I've practiced Gu arts, but possibly because of a Gu poison I was previously afflicted with."
"Impossible. If you were already infected with one Gu poison, additional poisons would only accelerate the hatching of insect eggs in your body. Your body would become a vessel for live Gu, essentially turning you into a living Gu jar." His explanation meant that different Gu poisons would stimulate each other, becoming even deadlier and spawning stronger Gu insects.
"Are you sure? Could it be that a certain Gu poison is so dominant that, once inside a host, it tolerates no other poison?"
The Gu Master seemed to recall something but then shook his head. "Such poisons do exist, but the insects used to create them are long extinct."
I sensed a lead and immediately followed up. "Have you ever heard of something called the Plum Blossom Gu?"
"Plum Blossom Gu!" The Gu Master's eyes widened in disbelief. "Even among Gu tribes, that's a forbidden taboo. How do you, an outsider, know of it?"
"So it does exist! If I can unravel the Plum Blossom Gu, won't I escape the Hell Show's control?" Suppressing my excitement, I lowered my voice. "To be honest, the Gu poison afflicting me is the Plum Blossom Gu."
Rolling up my sleeve, I revealed my wrist. The Gu Master, still wrapped in his bedsheet, jumped to his feet. "Plum Blossom Imprint? A congenital Gu worm still exists in the world!"
He stared at me for a long time before sitting down again, his expression shifting between disbelief and awe. "Kid, I'll be honest: I don't know much about the Plum Blossom Gu. It's only mentioned sporadically in ancient texts. Despite its name, it has no resemblance to plum blossoms. It's called so because those afflicted bear a plum blossom-shaped scar that never heals."
"The wound never heals?"
"Correct. Not until the host dies."
"What a tyrannical Gu worm."
"Tyrannical? It defies all reason. 'Blossoming before all flowers, ushering spring to the world.' The Plum Blossom Gu is the pinnacle of all Gu poisons, unmatched even by the deadliest Five Calamities and Three Plagues. Its method of creation has been lost for centuries."
He glanced at my wrist again. "Neutralizing a Gu requires targeted methods—poison countering poison. I understand what you're asking, but there's no cure for this one."
His answer was so firm and resolute that it caught me off guard. "No way at all?"
"Let me put it this way: among the most potent existing Gu poisons is the Blood Gu of the Miao's Green Witch. It's crafted by selecting 99 of the strongest blood leeches from a thousand, feeding them fresh fish blood for nine days, then letting them fight until only nine survive. These nine are then fed the blood of five livestock for another nine days until just one remains. That survivor is fed human blood and toxic substances for 49 days, creating a bloodthirsty monster. But in the past, even this Blood Gu was merely food for another type—the Golden Silkworm Gu. And according to ancient texts, the Plum Blossom Gu's favorite snack was none other than the Golden Silkworm Gu."
After his explanation, I finally grasped the terror of the Plum Blossom Gu.
"So there's truly no solution?"
"If I'm lying, may lightning strike me down."
With no alternative, I unlocked the door. "You're free to go. But stay away from Jiang Jin Real Estate. Those people might sell you out while you're still counting their money."
Despite his profound Gu skills, the Gu Master was a little dim-witted. Or, to put it kindly, he was naïve.
Just as I opened the door, a delicious aroma wafted in. From downstairs, Xiaofeng called out, "I made you both some noodles. You've been drinking; eat something before you go!"
Fate is strange. Moments ago, we were enemies, yet now we sat at the same table, awkwardly eating noodles together.
"You've got some nerve sticking around for noodles."
"Hmph!" The Gu Master's tone was cold, but he wolfed down the food without reservation.
After the meal, it was past 1 or 2 a.m., and there wasn't a taxi in sight. Looking at the Gu Master still draped in the floral sheet, I rubbed my temples. "If I let you out now, someone will call the cops on sight. Fine, just stay here for the night."
We set up makeshift beds on the floor. I left all the jars and bottles outside and locked the shop door before finally relaxing. "Don't try anything funny, or you'll regret it."
The Gu Master scoffed and fell asleep immediately. Once I was sure he wasn't up to anything, I also drifted off.
The room was silent. Around 3 a.m., the Gu Master suddenly opened his eyes.
"You're too green to outwit me!"
Smirking, he muttered an incantation. Outside, one of the pottery jars began to tremble. Moments later, a human-faced moth emerged, navigating the ventilation duct into the room.
"For the sake of those noodles, I'll spare your life. But you dared humiliate a Gu Master; you must pay the price."
He commanded the moth to scatter its phosphorus dust, grinning as he envisioned its effects: "The human-faced moth thrives on Yin energy. Your business will only grow colder from now on; I'll sever your livelihood!"
Just as he was reveling in his petty revenge, Bai Qi, who had downed half a bottle of Royal Salute, suddenly stirred.
This dog had an uncanny sensitivity. Though the moth's powder wasn't lethal, Bai Qi leaped up and smacked it to the ground.
"What's going on? Could the dog also be infected by the Plum Blossom Gu?"
While the Gu Master pondered this, Bai Qi noticed the moth fluttering about and, in its post-drunken excitement, pounced on it, tearing off two of its wings and breaking a few legs.
"Blegh!" The Gu Master spat blood—literally. The injury to his life Gu caused him to lose vital energy.
When the moth finally crawled away, it was barely alive.
"I've roamed the Miao lands for over a decade, and I've never been humiliated like this! This isn't over!"
Steeling himself, he chanted again. This time, a thousand-legged centipede crawled in. To avoid Bai Qi, he directed it along the ceiling towards the inner room.
But another unexpected twist occurred. The centipede stopped outside Xiaofeng's bedroom and refused to move.
"What's going on?" The Gu Master turned pale. "The Thousand-Foot Gu is drawn to extreme Yin energy and stops only before someone born under extreme Yin. Could the girl inside be the Heaven's Joy Saintess I've been searching for all this time?"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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