Chapter 529: A truly formidable one has arrived

Xiao Yuanhang and his son were already sitting upright beside the couch, waiting.

Xiao Ningxun and Xiao Ningchen rolled up their sleeves, the veins on their arms slightly bulging, ready to help at any moment.

Xue Tong took a look, his brows furrowing: "What are you doing? Why such a big show?"

He took Tuan Tuan's hand and walked inside, then stood boldly before the couch: "Sit down properly! No meddling."

"With my disciple here, the two of us master and disciple are enough!"

Xiao Ningyuan's mouth twitched, Xiao Ningxun and Xiao Ningchen exchanged a glance, then silently lowered their sleeves.

"Father! Brother!" Tuan Tuan hurried to the couch: "Mother!"

Cheng Ru'an slowly turned her head to look at her, her complexion much rosier, yet still showing a hint of fatigue.

"Tuan Tuan." She reached out and gently touched her daughter's face, "Mother's fine, don't be afraid."

Tuan Tuan buried her little face in her palm, rubbing it hard.

Xue Tong walked to the couch and placed the small jar on the bedside table.

The jar was pitch-black all over, only palm-sized, its mouth tightly sealed with a lid.

Xue Tong opened the jar; inside was still sealed with a layer of wax.

He drew a small knife from his pocket and lightly scored the rim.

With a soft "pop," the wax seal broke.

An indescribable smell drifted out.

It wasn't fragrant nor foul, but a strange sweet‑sickly odor, like rotten meat mixed with honey.

Xiao Ningyuan raised a hand to cover his nose, Xiao Ningxun frowned tightly, holding back from retreating.

Xiao Ningchen's complexion also changed.

Xiao Yuanhang remained motionless; this must be what Xue Tong extracted from a corpse.

Tuan Tuan pouted: "It smells awful, Master—what is this?"

Xue Tong, however, seemed accustomed to it, his expression unchanged: "You're not used to this smell, but to Gu Worms it's the most delicious food in the world."

He looked at Cheng Ru'an: "Princess Consort, I'm about to begin."

Cheng Ru'an gave a slight nod.

Xue Tong took out a needle case from his pocket, opened it, revealing a row of Silver Needles and a tiny pair of tweezers.

He picked one, passed it over the candle flame: "I'll first put you to sleep, then rouse the Gu Worm."

"It's been hungry these days; once it smells the jar's contents, it will crawl out on its own."

He aimed the needle tip at Cheng Ru'an's forehead: "Forgive me, Princess Consort Ning."

He spoke, then raised his hand and dropped the needle, piercing Cheng Ru'an's forehead.

Xue Tong slowly turned the Silver Needle; Tuan Tuan looked at her mother: "Mother, go to sleep; when you wake, you'll be well!"

Cheng Ru'an smiled at her daughter, her eyelids twitched, slowly closed, and moments later she fell into a deep sleep.

The tent fell silent; everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on Cheng Ru'an's forehead.

Xue Tong picked up another Silver Needle, passed it over the fire, and inserted it.

Beneath Cheng Ru'an's skin, something seemed to be moving faintly.

A fine ridge slowly emerged from her forehead, like an extremely thin thread wriggling beneath the skin.

Xue Tong whispered: "Look, it's coming out."

The thread grew clearer, extending bit by bit downward toward the brow.

Xiao Ningyuan's eyes widened, Xiao Ningxun's breath stopped, and Xiao Ningchen clenched his fists.

Xiao Yuanhang stared motionlessly at his wife, like a stone statue.

Finally, it crawled to the center of her forehead.

The skin bulged into a small bump; a dark mass could be seen rolling and struggling, as if trying to burst through.

Xue Tong moved swiftly, taking several more Silver Needles and lightly pricking around the bump, confining the worm within a small space.

"All right." Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead: "It ought to come out now."

He picked up the small black jar and placed it beside Cheng Ru'an's pillow.

The jar's odor streamed straight toward the swollen bump.

The dark mass beneath the skin began to writhe violently.

The bump grew higher and higher, the skin stretched until it was nearly translucent.

Xue Tong looked satisfied, picked up the final needle, and gave the bump a light prick.

"Pfft."

The skin split open a tiny mouth.

A stream of black blood surged out, trickling down along the brow.

Tuan Tuan quickly raised her hand and kept wiping her mother with her sleeve.

In the continuously flowing black blood, a segment of the worm's body became visible.

Jet-black and glossy, as thick as a fingernail, segmented like a legless centipede, utterly bizarre.

Xue Tong furrowed his brows: "This isn't like the one I originally raised."

The worm was strange: the exposed part scrambled desperately toward the jar, while the part still under the skin surged wildly inward, refusing to come out.

Xue Tong suddenly realized and cried out in alarm: "A double‑headed Gu!"

Xiao Yuanhang shot to his feet: "What?"

Xue Tong quickly replied: "I had already confined it with needles, thinking it would flow out with the blood."

"But this Gu Worm has two heads, one outside, one inside, they're pulling against each other and got stuck here."

Xiao Ningxun's face turned pale: "What should we do?"

Xue Tong's forehead was dripping cold sweat: "This isn't an ordinary double-headed Gu worm! Its body is full of joints; it absolutely must not be cut!"

"If cut, it will become two! Afterwards, it will even become four..."

Xiao Ningchen sprang up, but Xiao Yuanhang pressed him down with one hand.

"Don't move." Xiao Yuanhang's voice hoarse: "Listen to Xue Laoyezi, don't startle it."

The worm seemed to sense something.

The head inside suddenly strained, and the whole worm's body instantly shrank back half an inch!

Xue Tong ordered: "Disciple, quickly fetch the tweezers from the needle box for me!"

"Okay!" Tuan Tuan quickly handed the tweezers to him.

Xue Tong used the tweezers to clamp the worm's body and gently pulled outward.

The worm's body wrapped around the tweezers; the exposed part crawled up the tweezers, while the part under the skin struggled harder and shrank back another half inch.

Xue Tong dared not use force, fearing to break it, yet also dared not let go.

Tuan Tuan looked at the writhing struggling worm, truly hateful!

Looking so ugly, yet wanting to go back into mother's head?

No way! I must get you out!

She stretched out her little finger, lightly scratching her mother's forehead, just like she usually scratches her mother's itch.

"Come out quickly, there's delicious food waiting for you outside!"

The worm suddenly stopped struggling.

The next moment, the head inside the skin reversed direction, as if suddenly forgetting why it wanted to burrow inward, and with a swoosh followed the outer head out.

Xue Tong raised his hand, "Pa!" threw the worm into the jar, then snatched the lid from nearby and covered it.

Xiao Ningyuan stared wide-eyed, Xiao Ningxun slowly exhaled, only then realizing she had been holding her breath.

Xiao Ningchen's clenched fists slowly relaxed, his palms full of sweat.

Xiao Yuanhang stared at the jar for a moment, then swept his daughter into his arms: "Tuan Tuan, Daddy's little Tuan Tuan."

Tuan Tuan obediently lay on his shoulder, stretched out her little hand and patted her father: "Daddy, the worm is out, Mommy is fine."

Xue Tong plopped onto the stool, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Tuan Tuan, his eyes complex as if looking at some monster: "How did you manage that?"

"This Gu worm only listens to its mother and the person who raises it; nobody else's words will it obey!"

Tuan Tuan poked her little head out from her father's embrace, giggled: "It was stuck, so I just helped loosen it."

Xue Tong opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

He stared at Tuan Tuan, after a moment: "As your master, I am truly impressed by you."

Tuan Tuan tilted her little head: "Why, Master?"

Xue Tong laughed heartily: "Impressed, that's all; fortunately you became my disciple, otherwise, even if you were already Old Mo's apprentice, I'd still snatch you away!"

The three brothers glanced at each other, all laughed, Xiao Ningyuan murmured: "Another one!"

That night, the Guoshi Residence in Jingcheng.

Chu Yuan sat alone in the quiet chamber, three turtle shells spread before him.

He closed his eyes, focused, formed hand seals, and murmured incantations.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and threw the turtle shells onto the table.

"Pa."

The turtle shells settled.

Chu Yuan lowered his gaze, his pupils suddenly constricted: "Great misfortune?"

He picked up the turtle shells and threw them again.

"Pa."

Still great misfortune.

Chu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head, gazing at the dark night sky outside the window.

"This is, a truly formidable one has come!"