Chapter 67

One couldn't urinate, and the other's urine wasn't that of a child. With no other option, I, under the neighbor's perverted gaze, snatched his son's chamber pot used for urination.

After returning, I hastily splashed the chamber pot's contents onto the old woman's head on the ground.

The filth in the chamber pot poured out completely, evenly, all over the old woman's head.

"Ah..." the old woman let out a sharp, miserable scream, glaring at me ferociously, and angrily said: "My master will not let you off."

Afterwards, in full view of everyone, it turned into a pool of blood, mixed with several clumps. I took a closer look and saw they were several crimson little scorpions.

The host was killed, and these few little scorpions were tumbling in the blood, panicking.

Yang Qiye let out an angry shout, and before they could escape, he stomped hard on the ground, causing the blood water to splatter and feces and urine to spread everywhere.

This process was extremely obscene and violent. As a bystander, I felt goosebumps all over, my stomach churned, and I almost vomited.

What impressed me most was that Pangzi was completely unaffected, holding an egg, peeling it, and preparing to stuff it into his mouth.

"Hey, Pangzi, I told you not to eat it, yet you still do—aren't you afraid of being poisoned?" I retched twice, then said angrily to Pangzi.

Pangzi looked at the egg in his hand, then at the blood on the ground, and said to himself: "People are dead, so this egg should be safe food, right? Such a nourishing thing—if it's edible, don't waste it."

Before I could speak, Yang Qiye snorted: "Nourishing? Boil it in hot water—it'll be even more nourishing."

"Shut up," I glared at Pangzi, then turned and asked Yang Qiye doubtfully: "Master Yang, do you mean this is gu?"

Master Yang slowly nodded.

When Pangzi and I heard that the eggs contained gu, we instinctively grabbed the egg basket and ran to the backyard.

After reaching the backyard, Pangzi and I—I placed firewood in the stove and added a large pot of water. Once everything was ready, I lit the stove with a match.

Pangzi gently nudged me, leaned close, and whispered: "Is what Master Yang said true? Are there really gu in these eggs?" Before he finished speaking, he had already split one open, from egg white to yolk, yet saw no sign of any worm.

Although I couldn't be certain, I still said: better to believe it exists than to doubt it.

Once the water began to boil, I took the whole basket of eggs from Pangzi, dumped them all into the pot, covered it, and stood silently by the stove waiting.

Not long after, the pot emitted a series of popping sounds, as if something inside were exploding. Immediately after, the whole pot crackled loudly, frightening Pangzi and me into each gripping one side of the lid tightly.

After about twenty minutes, the rattling lid finally steadied, and nothing inside struggled anymore. Pangzi and I glanced at each other, and almost simultaneously we lifted the lid.

"Damn… truly disgusting," Pangzi glanced at the inside of the lid, covered his eyes, and turned away.

I peered inside, and my stomach also churned with nausea. All I saw were bones floating on the churning water—gaunt, dark, each bearing spike-like ridges. Judging by their shape, they were clearly snake bones.

"What now?" Pangzi tossed the split egg into the pot and asked me: "Hai Sheng, when did our Chan Yi Hall provoke a Gu Master, who came to lay gu on us?"

I gave a wry smile, shook my head, and replied: "I'm afraid it's not a Gu Master but an Insect Master."

Earlier, when I recognized that old woman as a Live Foster Master, Master Yang insisted she was an Insect Foster Master. The two must be related. After all, the Insect Master profession blends the Plowshare Witch Sect and the Miao Jiang insect-rearing, together with the Southern Method's talisman arts. The knowledge is eclectic, also knowing how to release gu and use talismans. In Pangzi's and my memory, the only Insect Master we've crossed hands with was Ou Yaofeng, except that he had already been killed by his own master.

No, he's dead, but his master…

Instantly, a bad thought crossed my mind, and Pangzi, stroking his chin, pondered for a long time before blurting: "Could it be the master of Ou Yaofeng?"

"Let's go, we'll head back and ask Seventh Lord." By now we can't think of any plan. After all, the profession of Insect Master is too bizarre; we can only consult the elders first before deciding.

However, when Pangzi and I returned to the main hall of Chan Yi Hall, we were so shocked by what was happening inside that our eyes almost popped out.

In the hall, Seventh Lord Yang was swinging his fists and fighting someone, and that opponent…… turned out to be Pangzi's father, QingSongShu.

"Holy shit, how did my dad come back?" Pangzi shouted in terror and rushed over to separate them.

"Hai Sheng, what are you standing there for? Come help!" Pangzi yelled at me.

I came to my senses and quickly ran up, verbally urging them to stop while Pangzi and I separated them. Still, I was puzzled. Their combined age is over a hundred, yet they're so impulsive. Moreover, QingSongShu is usually very mild‑tempered; even if you run up for no reason and shout at him, he at most smiles and turns away, ignoring you, and would never strike back.

Now even the habitually calm QingSongShu has acted out of character, disregarding his image and openly getting physical with Seventh Lord Yang in the hall.

"You rotten bark, is this how you treat guests? You're less polite than your son!"

"Get out…… Chan Yi Hall doesn't welcome your shifty‑eyed, hook‑nosed self; wherever you came from, get lost back there."

"Who are you calling shifty‑eyed? I'm old enough to be your senior brother."

"Senior brother my ass—I don't even remember you being my senior brother."

Although they're supposed to be senior brothers, to me they feel more like enemies with a deep grudge; even after Pangzi and I pulled them apart, they still glared, beard bristling, trading insults without backing down.

Pangzi gave me a pleading look, clearly asking me to find a way to get these two elders to calm down.

I'm annoyed—one is my elder, the other is highly skilled in martial arts, a match for my master; whichever I offend by trying to mediate, it's a dead end.

"We've provoked an Insect Master." Helpless, I could only force a bitter smile and blurt that out.

I never expected that those two blurted‑out words in the heat of the moment would silence the noisy hall—like a thunderclap, the two elders stopped arguing.

QingSongShu stroked his beard, thinking he'd misheard, and asked me doubtfully: "What did you just say? Insect Master—you've provoked an Insect Master."

Before I could answer, Seventh Lord Yang snorted, rolled his eyes at QingSongShu, and said: "Naturally it's an Insect Master—otherwise where do you think that pool of blood on the floor came from? It's because I killed an Insect Breeder." Having said that, he pointed at the ground and stopped looking at QingSongShu.

QingSongShu sat down, his expression solemn, and told Pangzi and me: "You two, explain—what exactly is going on?"

"Um… you two elders must be tired too; Pangzi and I will go make you some tea." After saying that, I gave Pangzi a look and hurried toward the rear hall.

After we reached the rear hall, I put my arm around Pangzi's shoulder and whispered: "Didn't you say QingSongShu and Seventh Lord are brothers? Why do they seem more like enemies to me?"

Pangzi looked around to make sure no one was near, then whispered in my ear: "I'll quietly tell you, but don't tell anyone else."

I nodded, swearing secrecy. Pangzi then said: "It's because of a woman—their junior sister."

I couldn't help curling my lip: "Beauty brings disaster—women really aren't anything good."

"Their junior sister is my mom," Pangzi snarled, glaring at me like he wanted to kill me. Startled, I gave a little yelp and quickly changed my tune: "Since ancient times, lovely women have attracted countless heroes brandishing sabers."

Pangzi nodded approvingly, and I hastily wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. Now I finally understand why Seventh Lord Yang is so affectionate toward Pangzi—he likes Pangzi's mother.

But… why would such an ordinary woman cause two Daoist Sect masters to turn against each other? I've seen Pangzi's mother's photo before; in Tang Dynasty terms she'd certainly be a beauty, but by modern standards she's rather overweight. Pangzi's physique is exactly inherited from her.

I couldn't curb my curiosity and wanted to ask Pangzi more, but just then my questioning gaze met his killer stare, giving me a jolt that forced me to swallow the words I wanted to say.

Perhaps Pangzi's mother really possesses a charm beyond my imagination..