Chapter 524: I had thought he was already dead

Everyone hearing this was utterly shocked.

Xiao Er stepped forward, Xiao Ningyuan and Xiao Ningxun straightened their bodies, and Xiao Ningchen lightly rested his hand on his sword hilt.

Tuan Tuan furrowed her little brow, shrank into her father's embrace, and looked the old man over from head to toe: "Grandpa, why are you still raising worms?"

The old man seemed oblivious to all this, only smiling at Tuan Tuan: "Gu worms are also a kind of medical art; what's wrong with that?"

Tuan Tuan didn't understand: "Can worms also cure illness?"

"Of course."

"Oh, Grandpa, after Mother took your antidote, did the worms come out?"

The old man paused: "No, that didn't happen."

"But my antidote can keep the gu worm dormant; as long as it doesn't act up and you don't disturb it recklessly, the illness can be kept under control."

"Let her eat well, sleep well, and recover for a few days."

Tuan Tuan pressed: "What about the worm? It hasn't come out yet!"

The old man's face sank: "Your mother has only half a breath left; if she doesn't ease up, how can I extract it?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes lit up, she relaxed completely—Grandpa could pull the worm out!

"Mother's all right! Wonderful!"

Tuan Tuan wriggled her small body, stretched out her arms, and strained to reach the old man.

The old man startled, stepped forward a few paces, wondering what this child intended.

Tuan Tuan's little hands reached the old man's neck, she pulled him close, lightly kissed his cheek, and said sincerely: "Thank you for saving my mother, Grandpa."

The old man was greatly startled, retreated a large step, his old face flushed crimson—this little brat!

He coughed a few times: "Cough, cough, saving people is simply a doctor's duty."

Xiao Er pressed his lips together, recalling how the old man had taken the silver note and refused to return it—Old sir, saying that, aren't you ashamed?

Xiao Ningxun bowed deeply: "Junior pays respects to senior; may I ask, senior, if the gu worm is so harmful, can it truly be considered a medical art?"

The old man glared at him: "Naturally! It's still a very sophisticated medical art!"

"Do you think it's something any quack doctor would know?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled faintly, this is a medical obsessive: "Old sir, your words make sense."

"Please come to my tent for a brief sit and a cup of tea?"

The old man nodded.

The group walked to the main command tent and took their seats.

Upon entering the Main Camp, the old man was pulled by Tuan Tuan into Cheng Ru'an's tent; only then did he have a chance to examine the place carefully.

He glanced around the large tent, understood inwardly: No wonder that little brat is so wealthy—she turns out to be an official's child.

"His voice instantly turned cold: 'Little brat, no wonder you can afford the twenty-thousand-tael gold consultation fee; where is my Curled-leaf Cold Orchid?'"

"Once the gu worm is removed, I'll leave immediately."

Xiao Er felt a stir, clasped his fists: "Old sir, you've misunderstood; the twenty-thousand-tael gold the young lady gave you are her gambling winnings, not family wealth."

The old man stared, face full of disbelief: "Won from gambling? Twenty-thousand taels of gold? Are you teasing me?"

Xiao Er shook his head and recounted how Tuan Tuan had swept sixteen gambling houses to raise the silver.

The old man looked at Tuan Tuan, his expression softened: "Not bad, little brat, you actually have this trick."

He nodded: "Raising funds for your mother's medical treatment makes you a filial child."

Tuan Tuan, however, took it for granted: "Isn't that what one should do? Grandpa."

The old man's heart leapt; this child's nature is so pure, truly rare! His gaze toward her grew even softer.

Xiao Yuanhang clasped his fists and bowed: "May I ask how you wish to be addressed, old sir?"

The old man shook his head: "Just healing and saving lives; why do you need to know my name?"

Xiao Yuanhang understood: It seems this lofty person looks down on all those of high status and power, which is why he demands a price of ten thousand taels of gold from those who come seeking medical aid.

He shifted tone: "Old sir, I don't know how the gu worm is to be extracted; do we need to prepare anything beforehand?"

The old man's expression turned serious: "Now this is the real matter; to extract the gu worm, I need several corpses."

"Best if they've just died recently and are not victims of illness."

Everyone stared in shock: corpses?

Xiao Ningyuan couldn't help but ask: "What are the corpses for?"

The old man's eyes widened: "This gu worm was originally bred by me feeding on corpses; now to make it emerge, what else could we use but corpses?"

He paused: "If we had a Leading Silk Guide, we wouldn't need to go through all this trouble, but that's merely a legendary item; I've only heard of it, never seen one."

Tuan Tuan asked: "Grandpa, what is a Leading Silk Guide?"

"It's a copper bell recorded in ancient texts, its tone extraordinary, capable of drawing out the gu worm; once it appears, it can be directly pulled from the body."

"Little bell!"

Tuan Tuan recalled: "Oh, that's the little copper bell I picked up!"

"No wonder the worms on Father's body come out at the sound of the bell—so it's called a Leading Silk Guide!"

The old man's eyes widened round: "The Leading Silk Guide is in your hand? And you actually picked it up? That would save a lot of trouble—where is it now?"

Tuan Tuan's little head drooped: "In Jingcheng, in the room where Mother keeps my treasures!"

The old man looked at Xiao Yuanhang: "Have you also been afflicted with gu? Was it removed using a Leading Silk Guide?"

He glanced around the tent at everyone: "Gu worms aren't ordinary things; just who are you people?"

Xiao Yuanhang said: "Xun Er, you explain."

Xiao Ningxun nodded: "Old sir, this story is long."

Thus he recounted how Xiao Yuanhang had been unconscious for three years, then the border war, ordered to the front, Jingcheng fell, he was smeared as a rebel, and so on, detailing each event.

At last, he said bitterly, "The Gu Worm that afflicted my mother must have been set in motion when they imprisoned her in Jingcheng."

"These Ni Ze! They truly deserve death!"

The old man nodded slowly, "I see. I wonder what the Gu Worm that Prince Ning was afflicted by looks like?"

Tuan Tuan pursed his lips, "It's ugly! Long and thin, like the black thread in mother's sewing basket!"

Xiao Yuanhang stared at the old man, "Elder, did you also raise that Gu Worm?"

The old man sighed deeply, "Yes, it was my doing when I was young; I never intended it to be used on you."

Xiao Yuanhang furrowed his brow, "Elder, do you know the Nether Peak?"

"The Nether Peak? What is that?"

Xiao Ningchen pressed further, "What about the Black Medicine Sect? We once saw many of the Gu Worms that afflicted my father in a secret chamber of the Black Medicine Sect."

"Black Medicine Sect?" the old man shook his head, "Since when has such a thing appeared in the jianghu? You say many—how many?"

"There are dozens! All placed in crystal bottles, filling an entire table!"

The old man looked shocked, "He actually raised so many?"

The old man somehow recognized the one who breeds Gu Worms!

The three brothers rose together.

Xiao Ningxun solemnly bowed to the old man, "Elder, my father and mother were both harmed by Gu Worms, yet we have been searching for this person in vain."

"If you know the full story behind this, please tell us."

The old man's expression was complex, "I truly did not expect that; I thought he was already no longer among the living."