Chapter 786: The Silkworm

"Ridiculous!"

Sha Lifei chuckled, slowly crouching and using the tip of his blade to lift Zhou Captain’s chin. "You’re quite the master of turning the tables—colluding with demons to kill people, yet you call us hounds? Have you forgotten your own station?"

"You’re from the Commandant’s Office, yet you call us hounds…"

He was deeply displeased.

Being called the court’s hounds was an insult to those of the Jianghu.

Li Yan stepped forward and asked sternly: "Speak! How did Tian Battalion Commander die? And when did your village begin worshipping the Silkworm Robe Sect?"

"Hmph!"

Zhou Dayong let out a cold snort and shut his eyes.

Li Yan had no patience for such men; he glanced at Long Yan’er. The Gu woman immediately flicked her sleeves, sending out several tiny sesame Gu .

These tiny creatures wouldn’t kill, but they could burrow into the nerves, amplifying pain and itching to their utmost limit.

"Ahh—!"

Zhou Dayong let out a piercing scream and slammed his head toward the ground.

Though not an Anjin expert, he was a peak Mingjin martial artist.

This blow alone could shatter his skull.

But before he hit the ground, Sha Lifei stepped forward and caught him with a deft force, neutralizing the impact.

Even so, Zhou Dayong refused to confess, only staring fixedly ahead.

Li Yan frowned slightly, following his gaze.

There, Zhou Dayong’s wife stood at a distance, holding two children. Strangely, despite witnessing their husband and father’s suffering, all three wore cold, expressionless faces.

"Stop!"

Li Yan ordered Long Yan’er to cease, then crouched and whispered: "Are you afraid that if you speak, your wife and children will be killed?"

"Don’t worry—we have a way to save them…"

"Hahahaha~"

Before he could finish, Zhou Dayong interrupted with a bitter laugh, his face filled with despair: "Save them? They’ve been stricken with grave illness—only the Lady’s secret arts have kept them alive. Do what you will. I’ve had enough of this world!"

Li Yan fell into thought, murmuring to himself.

At that moment, Kuai Dayou and the other two returned.

"Hurry up!"

They had captured the lame old man and were forcing him forward.

The old man was white-haired and aged, yet showed no trace of kindness—only cunning and fear in his eyes. He stumbled as he walked, glancing furtively around.

Like Zhou Dayong, he had not been cursed.

"Great heroes!"

Upon reaching the group, he fell to his knees, banging his head against the ground like a pestle, wiping snot and tears: "I’m innocent! I’m just a lowly peasant—I know nothing! Please spare my life!"

"Stop pretending!"

Sha Lifei kicked him over, coldly saying: "We saw what you did. Speak! What’s really going on in this village?"

The lame old man had still been trying to lie, but after Long Yan’er released one sesame Gu , he screamed in agony, gasping for breath, and began to confess:

"After the sea opening, the government raised the silk tax. The people cried out in grievance. Then came the plague—no one could afford medicine or doctors…"

"The elderly, weak, and women were the first to collapse. Over a dozen died. Then someone told me a method: worship the Silkworm Goddess. Others brought talismans—burn them to ash, mix with water, and it cured illness. Many were truly healed…"

"Since then, everyone began secretly worshipping…"

"The government cracked down hard, so we barred outsiders. Eventually, a few Immortals came and taught us how to raise the Divine Silkworms. Each catty of their silk cocoons sold for ten taels of silver—everyone started raising them…"

"All who raised silkworms fell ill, but the Immortals said this was the Silkworm Goddess’s protection. Soon after, no one fell sick anymore—some even stopped coughing up blood from their lung consumption..."

As they listened, everyone frowned deeply.

Long Yan’er shook her head slightly and said coldly: "Those afflicted by the 'Silkworm Stiffening Curse' have all five viscera and six bowels corrupted—not free of illness, but unable to feel it."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes: "Why aren’t you affected?"

The lame old man hurriedly replied: "I must travel often—to buy grain with silver, and to contact those Immortals. I have no time to raise silkworms. And Zhou Dala, too—he’s been stationed in Jinling for years, so he’s unaffected."

"My legs are crippled—I once wanted the Silkworm Goddess’s blessing, but seeing how strange these people had become, I gave up the idea."

Li Yan pressed on: "Where are these 'Immortals'?"

"This…"

The lame old man broke into a cold sweat: "I don’t know. When they want to see me, magpies come to deliver the message. They all cover their faces—I don’t know what they look like."

Li Yan and the others naturally didn’t believe him, but after repeated questioning, they realized he was merely a greedy, lazy scoundrel who only cared about money and dared not ask questions.

"Did those Immortals kill Tian Battalion Commander?"

Li Yan turned again to Zhou Dayong and said coldly: "These villagers are fools, but you came from the Commandant’s Office—you should know the tricks of these demons. Why aid them? Didn’t Tian Battalion Commander trust and promote you?"

"Demons? Hahahaha~"

Zhou Dayong’s face twisted with grief: "I risked my life for the court out there—but my wife and children were driven to the brink. My parents died of illness."

"Those lords and wealthy gentry are insatiable—compared to demons, they are the true monsters!"

"Let this court, this world, perish!"

Boom!

A thunderclap split the gloomy sky—the autumn rain grew heavier.

Li Yan and the others exchanged glances, unsure what to say.

"Wu Liang Shou Fu~"

Wang Daoxuan flicked his dust whisk, performed a Daoist bow, and said solemnly: "You are mistaken. The greed of the powerful and the cruelty of the demons are both great evils—how can one be higher than the other? Moreover…"

He turned to look at the woman holding the two children, his expression softened with pity: "They don’t speak because they cannot—not because they feel no pain. All things in this world come at a cost. Any demonic art that prolongs life only binds one to suffering."

"I ask you: do they sleep peacefully at night?"

"How do you know?!"

Zhou Dayong’s eyes turned bloodshot as he shouted.

His wife and children had survived the plague thanks to the "Silkworm Stiffening Curse," but their expressions were now cold as corpses. At night, they screamed endlessly, as if insane.

The longer it lasted, the stronger the symptoms became.

Zhou Dayong knew his wife and children would eventually become puppets, fully controlled by silkworm silk—just like those villagers before. But he chose to pretend ignorance.

Now, exposed by Wang Daoxuan, his fury reached its peak.

Suddenly, his body stiffened, ceasing all struggle.

Long Yan’er had quietly approached the mother and children. She sighed, releasing several leech Gu from her sleeve.

As the leech Gu twisted, strands of white silk were drawn out.

Pata!

The leech Gu swelled into transparency, then fell to the ground, motionless.

The mother and children were too deeply cursed—even the leech Gu could not cure them.

But as the silk was extracted, their complexions improved. Their faces no longer looked hollow—they stared at Zhou Dayong, tears streaming down.

"Lord, let us go… we’re too tired…"

"Father, I hurt. Every night, I hurt…"

They tried to speak, but their voices grew weaker.

"Ahh—!"

Zhou Dayong’s face streaked with tears as he let out a heart-wrenching, desperate scream.

After several deep breaths, he struggled to his feet, stumbling forward, clutching his wife and children tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, his body trembling.

Then, blankly, he turned to Long Yan’er: "Is there a way… to let them pass peacefully?"

Long Yan’er’s expression darkened slightly as she pulled a porcelain bottle from her robe:

"Tianxiang Powder. It erases pain, allowing a peaceful departure."

Zhou Dayong took the bottle mechanically, then carried his wife and children back into the house.

Wang Daoxuan sighed, took out a bell, and began to ring it while chanting:

"By the Supreme Command, I liberate these lonely souls. All ghosts and demons, all four births, receive grace. Those with heads, ascend; those without, rise… Wealth or poverty, you summoned yourselves. I command these souls—hasten to rebirth! I command these souls—hasten to rebirth!"

Amid the autumn rain, the Rebirth Chant echoed with the bell’s chime.