Chapter 26: Another One

Li Miao used light-body technique to chase behind the person in night clothes.

He already knew what was going on in his heart from the description of the hired hands in the restaurant during the day.

There are no ghosts or gods in this world.

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

He had been in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for so many years and had only seen jailers gradually get fat and people who were tortured rise step by step, but had never seen anyone die at the hands of a ghost.

In this world, the only thing that can do this is the Gu insects of Miao territory.

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

After all, elite soldiers and strong generals can block swords and blades, but cannot guard against curses and fierce poisons.

This thing has been cleared by successive dynasties many times; the "Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" records: in the second year of the Qiande era of Emperor Taizu of Song, "moved three hundred and twenty-six households of people who kept poison-insect sorcery in various counties of Yongzhou to the remote parts of the county, not allowed to be counted among the villagers again." It rarely appears in the Central Plains now, and only has inheritance in a few villages in Miao territory.

If this thing appears in the Great Shuo territory, as long as it is reported, there will be an Embroidered Uniform Guard at the door within half a month.

I didn't expect to meet one in the Qi and Lu region.

People who keep Gu insects also know that they cannot be seen in the light, so they all secretly buy some livestock and feed the Gu insects with the blood and flesh of animals.

Humans are the spirits of all things, and using humans to sacrifice Gu insects is naturally more effective. But after all, human life is at stake, and if someone reports it to the officials and it is reported layer by layer, it is difficult to avoid bringing about a disaster of death.

This is also the reason why Li Miao said to Wang Hai, "Who knows who raised it here, but ended up dying outside and didn't have time to take it away."

Within a few days, three lives—the old guard, the coroner, and the master—plus a pile of livestock, made the whole Pingshan Guard know, which was simply unscrupulous.

And such continuous intake of blood and flesh will indeed make Gu insects grow rapidly, but it will also stimulate their ferocity, making it difficult for the Gu keeper to control.

If a Gu insect with an owner does such a thing, it can only mean that the person is tired of living. Either they want to be swallowed alive by the ferocious Gu insect, or they are craving the torture tools in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's prison.

He had seen a Gu keeper once before; according to the Miao territory saying, that person was also a "Great Witch."

It was Li Miao who saved Li Xiaosi from that person's hands.

At that time, he used one palm to shake that Great Witch and the Gu insects on his body to death, originally intending to finish the job, but unintentionally swept across the room and discovered a hidden secret room.

He entered the secret room and saw more than a dozen large vats placed side by side, each vat covered with a lid, with a hole left on the lid, and more than a dozen children's heads poking out from the hole.

Some children had already died, their bodies withered, eye sockets sunken, their heads tilted on the lids, and 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, having been tortured to lose their sanity, becoming a corpse that could breathe.

Only one little girl, seeing the light, barely opened her dry lips and shouted.

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

This little girl was Li Xiaosi.

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

There are many ways to refine Gu; the most common one is to keep poisonous insects in a sealed container, not giving them food, letting them kill each other, and the one that survives in the end is the Gu insect.

And in the concept of people who practice witchcraft, humans are the spirits of all things, and Gu is the true essence of heaven and earth, so using humans to sacrifice Gu insects is the most effective, so that Great Witch took a different path: if humans could be refined into Gu, wouldn't that be the most powerful Gu insect in the world?

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

His crazy idea succeeded.

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

It's just that he didn't get to see it before he was shaken to death by Li Miao; dying so painlessly was actually letting him off easy.

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

First, although Li Xiaosi didn't know Wu Gong, she was enough to protect herself if she really encountered an ordinary Ordinary Jianghu expert. If she bumped into someone ignorant, it was possible that even a top expert would fall into her hands.

Second, Li Xiaosi was one step away from becoming a true "Human Gu" when she was saved by Li Miao, and the Gu poison in her body was unstable, requiring Li Miao to use true energy to guide it every half month to survive.

No matter how good the Wu Gong, one cannot draw a circle on the ground to protect people. Moreover, open guns 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 had no power to truss a chicken to walk the Ordinary Jianghu.

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

Li Miao didn't care about the Gu insect matter, but had been waiting on the highest roof of the Wu mansion for the person who pretended to be a ghost to scare people to appear.

After figuring out the person's position, he took action to cut off the mechanism controlling the "ghost."

After checking the mechanism and satisfying his curiosity, he started chasing that person.

Although he was not good at light-body technique, his realm was high enough, and at this time, using light-body technique was like an arrow off the string, drawing a blurred figure on the roof.

Constantly narrowing the distance between himself and the person fleeing.

The light-body technique of the person in front was quite brilliant, not like an ordinary flying thief; it took Li Miao a while to catch up even with his speed.

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

Li Miao frowned: "So coincidental? Another one?"

"How many disciples did he teach before he died after letting him go back then?"

Seeing that the distance between the two was enough for him to take action, Li Miao casually picked a broken tile from the roof, crushed it in his hand, and used his strength to throw it, splashing toward the person's whole body.

He thought that with the light-body technique of the person in front, his Wu Gong must not be bad, and these broken tiles wouldn't hurt him.

But as long as he took action to block, his figure would pause, and Li Miao could arrive in front of him.

"Ah!!"

But those broken tiles hit that person solidly; he screamed and fell to the roof of a civilian house.

When he got up and wanted to flee, Li Miao was already standing in front of him.

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

"Only internal energy and light-body technique. There is not even a bit of strength in your arms; you didn't even know when the hidden weapon reached you, neither learning fighting methods nor ear technique."

"No wonder you can only pretend to be a ghost to scare people; you're a disaster even if you bump into a good dog."

Seeing Li Miao suddenly standing in front of him, that person didn't hesitate at all and knelt on the ground with a *plop*.

He took the silver stolen from the Wu mansion from his bag and held it respectfully above his head.

"Senior! Spare my dog life!"

Li Miao was stunned by his overly sensible behavior.

He had seen spineless people, but one as soft as this person, melting in the mouth, was truly the first time.

He stepped forward to take the silver and put it in his bosom, walking around that person twice.

That person knelt on the ground, his face full of cold sweat.

He only knew light-body technique, but he was gifted, and his light-body technique realm had reached perfection; since he learned it, he had never encountered a situation where he couldn't run away.

Now he could only pray that Li Miao was soft-hearted and could let him off for the sake of his sensibility.

Just when he was drumming in his heart, he heard Li Miao speak.

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

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

"Was the person who taught you light-body technique calling himself the Plum Blossom Thief?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 27 =====