Chapter 26

Li Miao used his light-body technique to pursue the person in the night-traveling clothes.

Having heard the descriptions from the helpers at the tavern during the day, he already knew what was going on.

There are no ghosts or gods in this world.

If dying miserably or with hatred could turn one into a ghost, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's imperial prison would have long since become the underworld.

Having served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for so many years, he had only seen jailers gradually grow fat and those who conducted interrogations rise in rank; he had never seen anyone die at the hands of a ghost.

In this world, the only thing capable of doing this is the Gu-insects of the Miao border.

The art of witchcraft and Gu has a long history, recorded as early as the Warring States period, and later appeared frequently in power struggles, being regarded by successive emperors as a grave threat.

After all, elite soldiers and strong generals can block swords and spears, but they cannot defend against curses and potent poisons.

This thing has been purged many times by successive dynasties. The "Continued Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" records: In the second year of the Qiande era of Emperor Taizu of Song, "Three hundred and twenty-six households in the various counties of Yongzhou that kept Gu were relocated to remote areas of the county and were not allowed to be counted among the villagers again." It rarely appears in the Central Plains now, with its inheritance remaining only in a few remote villages of the Miao border.

If this thing were to appear in the territory of the Great Shuo, as long as it was reported, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be at the door within half a month.

He did not expect to encounter one here in the Qilu region.

People who raise Gu-insects generally know they cannot be exposed to the light, so they secretly buy livestock and feed them with the flesh and blood of animals.

Humans are the spirits of all things; using humans to live-sacrifice to Gu-insects is naturally more effective. But human life is at stake; if someone reports it to the authorities and it is reported up the chain of command, it would inevitably invite a death sentence.

This is also the reason why Li Miao said to Wang Hai, "Who knows who raised it here, only for them to die unexpectedly outside before they could retrieve it."

Within a few days, the old gatekeeper, the coroner, and the master—three human lives, plus a pile of livestock—caused such a stir that the entire Pingshan Garrison knew about it. It was simply unscrupulous.

Moreover, continuously feeding on flesh and blood would indeed make the Gu-insect grow rapidly, but it would also stimulate its ferocity, making it difficult for the Gu-raiser to control.

If a Gu-insect with an owner were to do such a thing, it could only mean that the person was tired of living. Either they wanted to be devoured alive by the ferocious Gu-insect, or they were craving the torture instruments in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's imperial prison.

He had seen a Gu-raiser once before; according to the Miao border's terminology, that person was also a "Great Witch."

Li Xiaosi was the one he had rescued from that person's hands.

At that time, he had killed the Great Witch and the Gu-insects on his body with a single palm strike. He had intended to finish the job, but while scanning the room, he discovered a hidden secret chamber.

He entered the secret chamber and saw more than a dozen large vats placed side by side. Each vat had a lid, and there was a hole in each lid. From those holes, more than a dozen children's heads were poking out.

Some children were already dead, their bodies withered, their eye sockets sunken, their heads lolling on the lids, with various insects crawling out of their seven orifices.

Some children were still alive, but their eyes were dull, saliva flowing from their mouths and noses; they had been tortured to the point of losing their sanity, becoming breathing corpses.

Only one little girl, seeing the light, barely opened her parched lips and called out.

"Save... save... me..."

This little girl was Li Xiaosi.

Later, Li Miao consulted the notes seized from the Great Witch's residence and learned that he was using children to refine "Human Gu."

There are many methods for refining Gu, the most common being to keep poisonous insects in a sealed container without food, letting them kill each other, and the one that survives is the Gu-insect.

And in the concepts of those who practice witchcraft, humans are the spirits of all things, and Gu are the true essence of heaven and earth. Using humans to refine Gu-insects is most effective, so the Great Witch took a different path: if one were to refine a human into a Gu, wouldn't that be the most powerful Gu-insect in the world?

It can only be said that although the Great Witch had no humanity, he was indeed a figure capable of founding a sect in the way of witchcraft and Gu.

His crazy idea succeeded.

Li Xiaosi was the only "Human Gu" he had successfully refined.

It's just that he didn't get to see it before he was killed by Li Miao's palm strike. Dying so quickly was actually letting him off easy.

This is Li Xiaosi's background, and also the reason Li Miao brought her out of the capital.

For one, although Li Xiaosi does not know Wu Gong, she is enough to protect herself against an ordinary Jianghu expert. If she happens to run into someone ignorant, even a top-tier expert might fall into her hands.

For another, Li Xiaosi was only a step away from becoming a true "Human Gu" when Li Miao rescued her. The Gu poison in her body is not stable and requires Li Miao to use his internal energy to guide it every half month to keep her alive.

No matter how good one's Wu Gong is, one cannot draw a circle on the ground to protect someone. Moreover, open spears are easy to block, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Li Miao would not be so arrogant as to bring a girl who couldn't even truss a chicken to walk the Jianghu.

Returning to the present, after Li Miao checked the small courtyard, he was already convinced that it was witchcraft and Gu causing trouble. Wang Hai's Wu Gong is just right for dealing with Gu-insects, and with Li Xiaosi there, there is no need to fear any accidents.

Li Miao did not bother with the Gu-insect matter but stayed on the highest roof of the Wu Fu, waiting for the person pretending to be a ghost to appear.

Once he figured out the person's location, he acted to cut off the mechanism controlling the "ghost."

After checking the mechanism and satisfying his curiosity, he began to chase the person.

Although he is not known for his light-body technique, his realm is high enough. At this moment, using his light-body technique, he was like an arrow released from a bow, leaving a blurred figure on the rooftops.

He was constantly narrowing the distance between himself and the fleeing person.

The person's light-body technique ahead was quite brilliant, not like an ordinary thief. It took Li Miao a while to catch up even with his speed.

It was just that the more he watched the person's light-body technique and movement, the more familiar he felt, as if he had seen someone use it before.

Li Miao frowned: "Such a coincidence? Another one?"

"I let him go back then; how many disciples did he teach before he died?"

Seeing that the distance between the two was enough for him to act, Li Miao casually picked up a piece of broken tile from the roof, crushed it in his hand, and threw it with force, scattering it toward the person's entire body.

He thought that with the person's light-body technique, their Wu Gong must not be bad, and these broken tiles wouldn't hurt them.

But as long as they moved to block, their movement would pause, and Li Miao would be able to reach them.

"Ah!!"

Instead, the broken tiles hit the person squarely. They screamed and fell onto the roof of a residential house.

When they got up to escape again, Li Miao was already standing in front of them.

Li Miao looked the person up and down and said strangely: "How did you practice your Wu Gong?"

"Only internal energy and light-body technique. There isn't even a shred of force in your arms. You didn't even know when the hidden weapon reached you. You don't learn fighting techniques, nor do you learn listening skills."

"No wonder you can only pretend to be a ghost to scare people. If you ran into a good dog, you'd be done for."

Seeing Li Miao suddenly standing in front of them, the person didn't hesitate at all and fell to their knees with a thud.

They took the silver stolen from the Wu Fu out of their pouch and held it respectfully above their head.

"Senior! Spare my dog's life!"

Li Miao was taken aback by their overly sensible behavior.

He had seen spineless people, but someone as spineless as this, melting the moment they were confronted, was a first.

He stepped forward, took the silver, tucked it into his chest, and walked around the person twice.

The person knelt on the ground, their face covered in cold sweat.

They were indeed only good at light-body technique, but they were gifted. Their light-body technique had reached the realm of perfection, and since they had mastered it, they had never encountered a situation where they couldn't escape.

Now, they could only pray that Li Miao was kind-hearted and would let them go for the sake of their sensibility.

Just as they were drumming in their heart, they heard Li Miao speak.

"Spare your life... it's not impossible."

"But you must tell me, where did you learn this light-body technique?"

"The person who taught you, did they call themselves the Plum Blossom Thief?"

(End of chapter)