Chapter 82: Heart-Embracing Worm

Lord Qin stepped out, and several subordinates were already prepared, so they once again disguised themselves as a merchant caravan, leading horses and hitching carts—every cart was large and heavy, with high carriages covered on all sides by opaque thick cloth, hiding whatever "cargo" lay inside.

They left the city gate and followed the Purification Bureau.

The group of thirteen reached a deserted stretch of road, where Lord Qin casually ordered, "Ceng Si, distribute the Righteous Man Pills to everyone."

Ceng Si was the one who had been watching at the city gate; he was a Rank Dan Xiu.

The first few people swallowed the "Righteous Man Pill" without hesitation, but one Artisan Cultivator hesitated.

Lord Qin pulled open the clothes at his chest, and everyone saw a ferocious evil worm lying quietly beneath the skin over Lord Qin's heart!

Everyone recognized this worm; it was the "No Regrets Gu," also called the Heart-Embracing Worm.

One sacrifices a beloved object to feed the gu worm.

The gu worm then burrows under the skin, embraces the heart, and if the matter fails, it instantly bites through the heart to suck out the soul!

Planting this vicious gu within oneself signifies that one is willing to face nine deaths with no regrets and will never turn back regarding the task at hand!

"How important this matter is, I, Qin, need not bother everyone with further explanation."

"I, Qin, have already cut off my own retreat!"

"If we succeed, generations of wealth; if we fail, do not drag our families down with us!"

The Artisan Cultivator then swallowed the "Righteous Man Pill."

Lord Qin stepped forward, pried open his mouth, and inspected it carefully, needing to personally confirm that he had indeed swallowed it.

The caravan continued, and halfway there, the scout brother ahead rushed back: "My lord, they turned into a nearby village."

Ceng Si said, "Ahead is Miao Po Village, but... what are they doing in the village?"

Lord Qin met change with unchanging resolve: "Continue to monitor them; the other brothers stop and rest."

The scout went forward again, reached the village outskirts, dared not approach, hid behind a small earthen mound, and occasionally poked his head out to peek.

The Purification Bureau's caravan was very strange; a single carriage stopped beside the main road.

The group of over thirty mostly stayed by the main road, guarding that carriage.

Only an old man and a young one, accompanied by two Captains, entered the village, and no one knew what they went to do.

Xu Yuan did not wake Seeing Fu Jingyu; he simply asked Yan Lao to lead people to accompany him into the village.

Xu Yuan had always known this "Miao Po Village" because Er Liang was from Miao Po Village.

Er Liang had once told Xu Yuan that Miao Po Village was named so because there was originally a small temple on the slope at the village entrance.

It was said that during Er Liang's grandfather's generation, that temple still stood.

However, the temple seemed to have been dedicated to some local deity of Southern Jiaozhi, and after the Huang Ming arrived, gradually no one worshipped it anymore.

The small temple collapsed decades ago, and in recent years it has been overgrown with wild grass, so even the foundation is invisible.

The village was not large; Xu Yuan had not walked far into the village when he met an old man leading an ox and carrying a plow back. Seeing the official robes of the Purification Bureau on Yan Lao and the other two, he immediately lowered his head in fear, led the ox to the roadside, and stood there, requesting the "noble ones" to proceed first.

Xu Yuan stepped forward and clasped his hands: "Grandpa, I am looking for Wang Laoshi..."

The old man's eyes were filled with terror: "I do not know any Wang Laoshi..." Then he quickly whipped the old ox with the reins: "Beast, go quickly!"

Xu Yuan: "Eh?"

The old man waved his hands repeatedly without turning his head: "I do not know, I know nothing at all."

The man and the ox ran away quickly.

Xu Yuan frowned, and Yan Lao smiled and said, "To make the neighbors fear you like snakes and scorpions, the person you are looking for is not simple."

Neither of them would think that "Wang Laoshi" must be a villain harming the countryside just because of the old man's attitude.

Villagers have little knowledge; many cultivation methods of the Seven Great Sects appear extremely terrifying to them.

For example, if Xu Yuan practiced Bait Cultivation, he could even swallow that old man's ox in one bite.

In the old man's eyes, would that not be as terrifying as an evil spirit?

Xu Yuan changed his approach and knocked on a household's door to ask: "Auntie, we are Purification Bureau officials; may we ask which house the village head lives in?"

The old woman pointed out the location of the village head's house.

After finding it, Xu Yuan put on a tough attitude: "Old Village Head, the Purification Bureau seeks Wang Laoshi for official business; no need to ask questions, lead the way immediately!"

The village head looked to be in his forties or fifties; upon hearing the name "Wang Laoshi," his face turned bitter, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, bowing his head repeatedly: "My lord, today is the River Ban; who dares to go find Wang Laoshi?"

"The River Ban means we cannot go find... he lives by the river?!" Xu Yuan was startled; he had heard the faint sound of flowing water upon entering the village, so there must be a river behind the village.

"Yes!" The village head raised both hands over his head, shaking them to point in a direction: "She lives over there; you can see her house if you walk five li."

Xu Yuan did not force the village head to lead the way.

As soon as they came out, the village head quickly closed the door and latched the bolt, only then letting out a long sigh of relief.

Yan Lao frowned: "Daring to live by the river... the person you are looking for is truly not simple!"

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's go over and take a look first."

The four followed the direction the village head pointed, climbed an earthen ridge, and indeed saw a small river winding through a few li away.

It was not that the villagers did not want to stay away from the river channels, but because there were so many rivers in this place, it was impossible to avoid them.

There is also a river outside the Seven Grain Platform.

Because today is the River Ban, even in the daytime, a layer of hazy black mist still shrouded the river surface when viewed from afar.

The black mist twisted and struggled from time to time, like a vicious dragon about to soar into the sky.

But right by the river, a house was pitched.

The house was built with great grandeur; the walls were whitewashed, twelve feet high, thirty feet wide, and it was a large tiled house with three bays.

The black mist over the entire small river was cut into two segments right at this house.

Even the river water in this section flowed a bit more gently.

Living by the river and still able to suppress it!

Yan Lao watched and exclaimed in wonder: "This person... is very, very not simple!"

For some reason, Xu Yuan thought of the villagers in Wangxiang Village.

Yan Lao said "this person," but Xu Yuan could not agree; looking at the situation... whether it even counts as a "person" was debatable.

Xu Yuan walked down from the earthen ridge: "Let's go take a look first."

As the four gradually approached the small river, a middle-aged woman suddenly walked down from the riverbank upstream, her steps swift and her expression anxious: "You absolutely must not go over there!"

"That house eats people!"

"It has grown so tall precisely because it has eaten over a hundred people in recent years! Beneath the foundation of the house walls lie nothing but white bones!"

"The master inside the house has long since become a strange entity; just think, if that were not so, how could she dwell here!"

Yan Lao's expression tightened; in fact, when he heard that this "Wang Laoshi" lived by the river, he had already harbored some doubts.

The middle-aged woman stepped closer again, her body swaying, and she spoke rapidly: "Come quickly, I will lead you away from here."

"You have already been targeted by the evil spirit inside the house; without a local to guide you, you cannot get out!"

Requesting monthly tickets!

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(End of this chapter)