Chapter 169
Chapter 169
After Ren Fengjue left the cave, Ge Chuan was shouldering a heavy responsibility, so naturally, he did not dare let his guard down for even a moment.
First, he looked around and examined the terrain.
The cave was not particularly deep, nor was it completely sealed off. A thin sliver of light even filtered in from above.
But there was only one way in or out.
That meant if danger came through the entrance, they would have no path of retreat.
The moment that thought occurred to him, Ge Chuan’s heart grew uneasy, and he could not help glancing toward the mouth of the cave.
Just then, a rustling like rain striking a dense forest came from all directions.
He and Li Cheng exchanged a look. Without a word, they immediately took the insect-repelling pouches in hand.
If they had not just heard this sound outside the cave, they might not have reacted right away.
But now, their first reaction was a prickling numbness across their scalps.
“Move closer.”
As Ge Chuan spoke, he shifted toward Xia Ximo.
Li Cheng, however, was caught in a dilemma.
Those Corpse Worms were certainly terrifying, but were the rotting corpses on the ground not terrifying too?
Besides, that half-human, half-ghost Zeng Qiao still had a grudge against him. Who knew if she might suddenly lash out and attack him?
Yet after only a brief moment of hesitation, the overwhelming swarm of Corpse Worms had already closed in on them at high speed.
Ge Chuan had no choice but to reach out, yank Li Cheng toward him, and curse, “What time do you think this is? Stay alert!”
Li Cheng was trembling all over. “Sir, there are so many bugs. Are these two little pouches in our hands really enough?”
Of course they were not.
Though the Corpse Worms feared the pouches in their hands, they were still approaching at an unhurried pace.
Looking at that eerie expanse of blue-green light, Ge Chuan felt his skin crawl too.
“How about this…” He tried to calm himself first, then said, “We’ll pour out the realgar powder from the pouches and scatter it in a circle around us. That should be enough.”
As he spoke, he untied a pouch and began sprinkling powder on the ground.
Li Cheng hesitated, clutching the pouch in his hand as if it were his last lifeline, unwilling to let go.
Seeing that he was not moving, Ge Chuan snatched it straight from his hand and said harshly, “If you keep standing there like an idiot, none of us will survive. Give it here!”
Once the powder from both pouches had been scattered, it was just enough to form a circle around everyone.
Cinnabar and realgar were both substances of pure yang. Mixed together, their odor was sharp and pungent, and sure enough, the Corpse Worms no longer dared to keep approaching.
Ge Chuan felt a surge of relief. “Looks like it works after all.”
Li Cheng, however, was full of complaints. “It works for now, but they’re not backing off either. What are we supposed to do?”
“When Lord Ren returns, he should have a solution…”
“…”
Seeing the county magistrate trust him so blindly, Li Cheng cursed under his breath.
With nothing else to say, he could only brace himself, turn back to Zeng Qiao, and say, “Aren’t you able to control these bugs? Hurry up and make them leave.”
Zeng Qiao swept him a cold glance. Her half-rotted face was so horrifying that no one dared let their eyes linger on it.
“They are not under my control right now…”
Li Cheng hurriedly asked, “Then who is controlling them?”
“Didn’t you say only the Mother Gu could control these bugs?”
Zeng Qiao did not answer. Instead, she looked toward the cave entrance, where a figure had appeared.
Ge Chuan and Li Cheng felt a chill run down their backs. They turned to look and saw a figure walking into the cave.
But both of them were certain this person was rather short and definitely not Ren Fengjue.
Li Cheng instinctively backed away and nearly stepped on the rotting corpse beside him. Fortunately, he pulled his foot back in time.
As the figure drew closer and closer, the Corpse Worms gathered outside the circle voluntarily parted to either side. In the blink of an eye, the figure had arrived before them.
Ge Chuan narrowed his eyes and recognized him.
“It really is you?”
That day, outside Tu Family Village, this man had pretended to be a wandering Daoist priest passing by. He had said there was something strange about the corpses and that they should be burned at once.
Back then, Ge Chuan had thought he was a good man…
The Daoist walked up to them and smiled faintly. “Lord Ge, we meet again.”
Ge Chuan snapped, “You fiendish Daoist-what exactly are you plotting?”
“Nothing much.”
The Daoist could not hide the smugness in his voice. “I was simply bored and thought I’d refine a Corpse Gu for amusement. Who would have thought I would end up refining a Twin Gu instead?”
“Twin Gu?”
Ge Chuan did not know what that was, but a vague, ominous feeling rose in his heart.
It definitely was not anything good.
The Daoist did not answer. He merely looked toward Zeng Qiao.
“For this, I really must thank Miss Qiao.”
Zeng Qiao’s half-rotted face no longer showed any clear expression, but her eyes were filled with unmistakable resentment.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but suddenly clutched her stomach and groaned in pain.
Seeing this, “Zeng Xiao” hurriedly held her up. “Ah Qiao, what’s wrong?”
Zeng Qiao could feel the Mother Gu in her belly. For some unknown reason, it had begun to stir restlessly.
Cold sweat broke out all over her from the pain. She bit down hard on her lower lip, then suddenly grabbed “Zeng Xiao’s” hand and forced out a question.
“Sister, after all the wrong I’ve done… will you blame me?”
No one had expected her to ask that.
“Zeng Xiao” froze for a moment, then quickly shook her head, her tone firm. “Ah Qiao, no matter what you’ve done, your sister will never blame you…”
“That’s good…”
Relief appeared in Zeng Qiao’s eyes, and she murmured a few words as if in a daze.
The next second, however, she abruptly pulled a gleaming sharp knife from beneath the rotting corpse beside her.
Before anyone could react, she lunged toward the Daoist.
Ge Chuan and Li Cheng were both shocked. “What are you doing?”
Zeng Qiao seemed to have resolved to drag him down with her. Reckless of everything, she thrust the knife at the Daoist.
But the strike was like an egg smashing against a rock. The Daoist did not even bother to dodge. He kicked her in the wrist.
The knife clattered to the ground. Before Zeng Qiao could react, the Daoist moved like a ghost and circled behind her.
With one hand, he seized her by the neck. His five fingers tightened together, and with a crack, he twisted her head cleanly around.
The sight made Ge Chuan and Li Cheng’s hearts leap in terror.
“Zeng Xiao” also let out a shrill cry. “Ah Qiao!”
With her neck broken, Zeng Qiao crashed heavily to the ground. Her eyes were still filled with hatred, but all life had already left her.
The Corpse Worms instantly swarmed over her. In the blink of an eye, they had completely submerged her body.
The Daoist calmly dusted off his hands, then suddenly bent down and placed a small square black wooden box on the ground.
A moment later, a gu insect twice the size of the other Corpse Worms crawled out of Zeng Qiao’s corpse and went straight into the box.
Looking inside the box, they saw another gu insect lying there, identical to it.
At this point, everyone more or less understood what “Twin Gu” meant.
Since they were twins, there had to be a pair.
So the thing raised inside Zeng Xiao’s belly that day had not been one gu insect, but two.
Zeng Qiao had swallowed one, while the other had fallen into the Daoist’s hands.
And now, with both gu insects in the same box, for some unknown reason, they began to tear each other apart…