Chapter 536: I'm Determined

Teng Qingxing startled, "Master?"

Lu Wu stared intently at his eyes, muttering some incantation.

In the next instant, Teng Qingxing's whole body jolted violently.

He struggled hard, but Master's hand clamped him like iron tongs, and he could not break free.

"Mas—ster!"

His gaze gradually faded, his voice became a babble, and finally he fell softly to the ground.

He had already fallen into everything Lu Wu had just experienced—the battlefield, raging fire, darkness—repeating endlessly.

Lu Wu braced himself against the ground, rose slowly, and looked at the convulsing Teng Qingxing on the floor: "Take this for your master; this is what you ought to do."

Masked Man stood nearby, "Is the mage all right?"

Lu Wu's face turned pale, "Someone is protecting that child!"

She has no magic; she could not have caused the forbidden technique to rebound on me.

This person never studied the art, yet managed to interrupt my casting during the Gu Worm's gap, causing the backlash; her skill is certainly not inferior to mine.

Masked Man's voice suddenly changed, "Gu Worm? What Gu Worm?"

Lu Wu replied, "It's raised by that child—a chubby white Gu Worm that looks odd, unlike any Gu Worm I've ever seen."

If that Gu Worm hadn't suddenly… I wouldn't be like this!

What did it do, interrupt the mage's casting?

Lu Wu froze, unable to tell others, I was sprayed with a Gu Worm's saliva!

Otherwise, wouldn't I become a laughingstock among all yin‑yang masters?

It… suddenly tried to jump out of its box, startling me and causing me to lose focus.

"I see," Masked Man said, looking at him, "The mage even knows about Gu Worms?"

Lu Wu dared not brag this time, "I've studied for decades; I've achieved modest results."

"Rare," Masked Man nodded, "I happen to have something to ask you."

"Lord, please speak."

If a Gu‑keeper becomes the host of a Mother Gu, how can it be removed?

Lu Wu's gaze hardened, "Mother Gu? Why would a Mother Gu need a host? Moreover, the one who raised it?"

How is that person now?

Often suffers headaches.

Mornings or nights?

Masked Man paused, "Both."

Lu Wu looked at him, "But the person close to you?"

Masked Man gave no answer, "Does the mage have a method?"

Lu Wu thought for a moment, pulled a small teal porcelain bottle from his chest, hesitated, and said, "This is my secret remedy, able to cure all kinds of pain instantly."

Masked Man's eyes flickered.

Lu Wu's mind stirred—could the person he mentioned be himself?

Masked Man reached out to him, "If the mage seeks anything, feel free to speak."

Lu Wu deliberately seemed more hesitant, "It's not that I refuse to help; I just need to state something first."

Masked Man said, "Mage, please speak."

Lu Wu glanced at the bottle, "When yin‑yang masters practice their arts, they inevitably risk going mad, suffering various pains, so I concocted this medicine."

"One pill a day is enough."

"Though highly effective, this medicine cannot be taken long-term, or one becomes addicted as if to life itself."

"And the more you use it, the more you'll need; over time it causes great damage."

Masked Man's hand paused briefly, then continued reaching forward, "Thank you for the warning, mage."

Lu Wu placed the bottle in his hand, "Lord, please remember, never be careless."

Masked Man clenched the bottle in his palm, "Thank you, mage. You've labored for days; do you need a few days of rest?"

Lu Wu shook his head, "Lord, in that Main Camp, are any of your people there?"

Masked Man shook his head, "None."

"I mean, the dead."

Masked Man's gaze hardened, "The dead?"

He paused, "There are three; is that enough?"

Lu Wu nodded, "Enough. Do you have objects these three used while alive?"

"I can fetch them for you, may I ask what you need them for?"

"Spirit communication, to ask the dead."

Lu Wu couldn't hide a hint of pride, "This is a technique only the highest‑rank yin‑yang masters can perform."

Masked Man asked, "Ask the dead? What can a ghost tell the mage?"

Lu Wu smiled faintly, "Ghosts can't hear voices nor speak, but I can see through their eyes."

"See?"

"Yes, I can see what they saw in their final moments in the mortal world, and what they see within forty‑nine days after death."

Masked Man nodded, "The mage truly lives up to the name."

"I will order someone to bring those three's former belongings here."

Lu Wu thought, "Lord, I also need candles, cinnabar, white cloth, and a spirit altar."

All right, your things will be sent over shortly; please rest first, I must take my leave.

Please, do as you wish.

The Masked Man walked outside and handed the porcelain bottle to a servant: "Go, deliver it to Sect Leader Liu so she can have a look first."

Yes.

Soon after, Liu Guiyan received it.

She opened the porcelain bottle, poured out one pill into her hand, brought it to her nose and sniffed: "What a strange smell!"

Find someone to feed a Gu Worm, and bring it over when the headache attack occurs.

Yes.

Ah—! My head!' Cheng Jing's anguished cry faintly came through.

Liu Guiyan looked at the reddish-brown pill in her hand: "Cheng, wait a bit longer; no matter what, I will definitely save you."

Just like every time before, I'll snatch you back from the Gates of Hell!

That night, in the homes of the three people who had gone to Xibei Daying to deliver the imperial order, they, in obedience to the decree, handed over all the belongings they had used in life.

Soon, these items were brought before Lu Wu.

Lu Wu rummaged through the three bundles of relics and took out a jade pendant, a writing brush, and an embroidered handkerchief.

That night, a three-foot wooden spirit platform was set up in the room, with three white candles flickering with a dim yellow light on it.

White cloth was hung all around, hanging long down to the floor.

The white cloth was covered in cinnabar-drawn runes, and the whole room was arranged like a memorial hall.

Lu Wu sat cross-legged on a futon, closed his eyes, and regulated his breath.

Gradually, the surroundings grew icy cold, and his exhaled breath condensed into white mist.

Lu Wu opened his eyes, took out a mirror polished from human bone from his bosom, and arranged the three relics in a triangular formation around the bone mirror.

He raised his right hand, joined his index and middle fingers, and touched them to his brow.

After a moment, a thread of blood seeped from his brow.

He smeared the blood on his forehead and murmured an incantation.

After a while, he softly shouted: "Open!"

The dab of blood on his forehead glowed with a faint light, like an eye opening.

Lu Wu picked up the bone mirror before him and lightly smeared the remaining blood on his finger across the mirror's surface.

Though the blood was little, it instantly spread evenly over the entire mirror surface as a thin layer, like coating the mirror with a film of blood.

Deep within the mirror's surface, ripples began to stir, as if something inside was about to emerge.

The flames of the three candles jumped simultaneously.

The next moment, eerie images began to appear on the mirror's surface.

Xiao Ningchen walked over.

A hand rose, a blade fell.

The mirror's surface instantly went black.

Lu Wu changed his hand seal.

The mirror's surface began to stir again; a bright sunny sky shifted inch by inch, and after a spell of dizziness, countless specks of earth rained down.

Oh, this is being dragged away and buried after death.

Lu Wu frowned. "Is that all?" What a waste of my magical power!

But after a moment, light appeared again on the mirror's surface.

What's going on? Wasn't it buried?

After a chaotic noise, a Gu Worm appeared—black, slender, with segmented body.

A Gu Worm?

Lu Wu thought for a moment and suddenly understood: this was made into blood food after death—truly making full use of everything.

That worm eats a little each day, gradually consuming less and less, and seems about to die.

Suddenly, a drop of blood fell.

The Gu Worm went mad, gulping it down in big mouthfuls.

Soon, a drop of blood fell each day, sometimes two, but obviously not from the same person; the worm only consumed one of those drops.

As the powder quickly diminished, the worm's body kept swelling.

Finally, the outer shell cracked open, and a plump white worm crawled out.

Lu Wu's breath stopped.

It turned out that the chubby white worm that kept spitting foam on his face came to be this way!

The child who constantly held the box containing that worm—could those few drops of blood be the child's?

Lu Wu flipped his hand and covered the bone mirror over it.

The three candles went out at once.

His heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

He slowly lifted his head, and a fervor unlike any before welled up in his eyes.

"That child," he muttered, "just a few drops of blood can transform the Gu Worm to this extent?"

Supreme Venerable, no wonder you want to uncover the secret of this child's identity—she is truly a priceless treasure!

"This trip to Zhongyuan wasn't in vain; such a treasure can only be mine—I claim it!"