Chapter 495

The servant bowed his head and murmured an acknowledgment.

You treated him like a guest and showed him respect—why didn't you say so earlier? He's already offended everyone.

Didn't you previously refuse to welcome them?

As soon as Mu Ang left, Pan Yun and the others immediately turned to look at the bed; Tao Yanbai and Miao He had stopped.

Both frowned and told Pan Yun: "There are too many worms inside him, too much noise—his pulse is unreliable, but his five organs and six viscera have surely been gnawed by the worms; we can only confirm for certain that his heart is beating on its own."

Tao Yanbai frowned and added: "Also, his liver and kidneys still retain some function."

Miao He: "The only thing we can be certain of is that his neck and above have been sealed with golden needles and yuan force—these worms cannot reach his brain, or he would have long since become an empty shell."

Pan Yun's eyes flickered with interest: "Who used the golden needles to seal his head? Could we invite them here to discuss this together?"

Miao He: "My third senior brother and I carefully examined it—the golden needles themselves are unremarkable, but the yuan force on them resembles that of our Second Master."

Upon hearing this, Pan Yun immediately turned to look at Mu Lin.

Mu Lin nodded vigorously: "I heard from my grandfather that when Master Yin saved my father, he sealed several major acupoints with golden needles, saying it would prevent my father from fully becoming a worm's vessel, allowing him to choose his own death."

"So that's how it is…" Pan Yun walked to the bedside and bent down to examine his body.

Zhang Ziming and Li Wenying pushed past Wang Cong and stood one on each side of Pan Yun, leaning in to look.

Zhang Ziming asked: "Your Mount Sanqing medical texts are numerous—surely there's some record of corpse worms?"

Pan Yun had only read a few Mount Sanqing medical books—she couldn't answer.

Tao Yanbai and Miao He had already recalled every book they'd ever read during their journey here: "Yes—when a person is infected with corpse worms but before they've drained all blood and laid eggs, one can use twelve golden needles combined with yuan force and a stronger blood supply as a lure to draw the worms out, saving the patient;

Even after the first egg-laying, if the patient's blood and qi have not yet been exhausted, the worms can still be drawn out, then killed by decocting betel nut, kuliangenpi, qianzi, and plum fruit to destroy the eggs."

Everyone in the room listened intently; when he stopped, they urged him: "What else?"

Tao Yanbai said: "Success rate is only thirty percent, so the medical texts only record methods up to the first egg-laying; after that, they state that if the corpse worms have begun a second—or even third—egg-laying, death is certain; to eliminate all risk, the best solution is to burn the person and worms together."

Pan Yun's eyes darted: "What about someone with deep internal strength or high cultivation? Can't they hold out until the second or third egg-laying?"

Tao Yanbai said: "Corpse worms feed on human blood, qi, internal strength, and yuan force—the higher one's cultivation, the richer their blood, the plumper and whiter the worms grow, and the greater the damage they inflict on the body."

He paused, then added: "Still, those with high cultivation do endure longer."

Pan Yun turned to Mu Lin: "Do you have his medical records?"

Mu Lin, stunned, snapped back to himself and nodded immediately: "Yes!"

Mu Xi's medical records were simply a stack of papers tied together.

Records began the moment he was rescued by Yin Song.

The first sheet was written by Yin Song himself.

Mu Lin called in the longtime servant who had tended to Mu Xi, Mu Bai.

Mu Bai handed them each record sheet and explained: "When Master Yin returned, he said the corpse worms had spread throughout the body—he could do nothing, and told us to go to Mount Sanqing to fetch his senior brother; perhaps there was a glimmer of hope."

Pan Yun and Wang Cong and the others all whipped their heads toward him at once.

Mu Bai now regretted deeply, voice choked: "But at the time, the Left Commander was still on the front lines, the household was in chaos, and no one was in charge—we thought Mount Sanqing too far, so we first sought nearby physicians and shamans to come treat him…"

When Mu Xi was brought back, his head was already sealed with golden needles—he was conscious.

Though he suffered terribly and his face was deathly pale, his body showed no visible wounds; they assumed it was just ordinary gu worms.

In matters of gu worms, Yunnan could claim second place, and no one would dare claim first.

Because of imperial court restrictions, the Prince of Kunming's household could not keep gu masters, but they knew perfectly well where the capable ones lived inside and outside Kunming—they could summon them.

They spent considerable time summoning physicians and gu masters.

Mu Bai handed Pan Yun over a dozen sheets: "These are the pulse records and their treatments from that time."

Pan Yun reached out, took them, flipped through, and asked: "Did Master Yin just return to the capital like that?"

"No—many soldiers infected like Second Master were killing each other in the camp; once a man died, the worms burst from his body seeking new hosts."

"A single worm burrowing inside is invisible in daily life; by the time the patient or those around him notice something wrong, the brain may already be eaten away—deeply hidden.

When the worms burst forth, they may emerge by the hundreds—meaning one person infected with corpse worms could infect a hundred others."

Pan Yun shuddered first: "Too terrifying—was this in the army?"

"Yes, so Master Yin went to the camp to handle it."

Mu Bai said: "Master Yin, with officials from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and physicians, saved everyone who could be saved; those beyond saving were counted as fallen in battle—before their brains were fully consumed, they went to the fire pit and killed themselves by slashing their throats, dropping straight into the flames, burning both body and worms clean."

All smiles had vanished from their faces; they listened solemnly. "Master Yin finished handling the army's affairs only after the Left Commander and General Wang returned victorious—this is his record from that time."

Pan Yun took it, looked down—the page held only one line: "No cure remains. Burn him immediately."

Pan Yun flipped further—the later pulse records grew increasingly perfunctory.

"So when my second senior brother found him, the corpse worms had already completed their first egg-laying and matured, and were beginning their second—his five organs and six viscera had been gnawed, but damage was still not severe."

My senior brother's cultivation far exceeds mine, and his medical skill is extraordinary; Pan Yun sighed: "If we'd taken him to my senior brother then, perhaps he could have saved him… what a pity…"

Mu Lin asked quickly: "Is it still possible to seek him now?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard must have gone to Mount Sanqing looking for him—who knows where he's vanished to?

Pan Yun waved her hand: "He's been eaten this badly… never mind. You can send someone to try—if you can bring him, at least we can attempt something."

Mu Lin pressed: "What about you? Do you have a method?"

Pan Yun shushed him: "Don't rush—let me look."

Pan Yun pulled out the talismans she'd drawn on the journey, and told Mu Lin to bring a bowl of yellow wine.

!. Read

She pinched the yellow talisman between her fingers and flicked it—it ignited spontaneously, releasing a peculiar fragrance.

Zhang Ziming and Li Wenying turned curiously to look, and saw Pan Yun sprinkle the ash into the yellow wine, then handed it back to Mu Lin: "Stir it with chopsticks, mix well, then feed it to your father."

Mu Lin held the talisman-infused wine and asked: "What is this for?"

"To slow the worms' reactions inside him—I'm going to touch him soon."

Pan Yun's virtue is so evident that it excites the insects too easily, so we must first give them a sip of sleeping wine.

Mu Lin heard this and immediately summoned two strong servants; the three of them worked together to force every last drop of the yellow talisman wine into Mu Xi's mouth.

Pan Yun and the others squatted by the bedside, waiting for the yellow talisman wine to take effect.

Of course, they didn't just sit idle.

Zhang Ziming said: "My medical skill is mediocre, but I know the principle of treating corpse insects: expel the pests, preserve life.

As Tao Yanbai just said, ordinary insects respond to Qi and blood as bait—but the corpse insects inside Mu Xi are no longer ordinary. They seem…"

Zhang Ziming frowned, unable to find the right words.

Pan Yun interjected: "There's a King Insect."

"King Insect?" Li Wenying frowned: "I've only heard of Mother Insects, but the corpse insect's Mother Insect is dead. Cultivators who raise gu prevent offspring from birthing new Mother Insects by implanting subconscious suggestions into the eggs: insects not sharing the same host as the Mother Insect cannot become a Mother Insect."

"So this is merely a King Insect—highly orderly," Pan Yun said. "The medical records show that later summoned shamans, renowned monks, and Dao masters repeatedly tried to draw the insects out—but all failed.

The body's blood and Qi have already reached their limit; if the insects remain inside, they can obtain only enough nourishment to survive. Yet they endure the lure of external Qi and blood without surging outward en masse. This means one insect is controlling them—this King Insect has intelligence."

Zhang Ziming shuddered.

Li Wenying's face grew grim. "Isn't this exactly what the heretical cultivator wanted?"

"A King Insect that's intelligent, understands human speech, and commands millions of insects," Li Wenying said solemnly. "Once it leaves the body, it transfers the Qi, essence, and blood it has absorbed to the Mother Insect, which then feeds them back to the one who raises the Mother Insect. The Qi-sucking insects originated from corpse insects."

Zhang Ziming turned to look at Pan Yun: "A King Insect with a brain—how do you lure it out?"

Pan Yun said: "Luring insects is easy for me. The hard part is preserving his life once the insects emerge."

"You plan to use virtue as bait?" Zhang Ziming's eyes flickered, then he nodded. "That's indeed a good method. Virtue is far more enticing than Qi or other things."

Zhang Ziming leaned closer to her. "If virtue's so enticing, can't it revive the dead or regrow flesh and bone?"

Pan Yun pushed his head away. "It has no such power."

Zhang Ziming persisted: "Could it have that power, but you just don't know how? You're a disciple of the Mountain God—can't you commune with Him through your soul? Why not ask Him? Maybe it does have that power. Virtue—something even gods and Buddhas fight over."

Pan Yun fell into thought.

As for virtue, she had always been feeling her way forward. Zhang Ziming's words held merit.

Should she return later and offer prayers?

She hadn't paid homage to her master in a long time.

Miao He whispered softly: "Little Master Shu, the insects seem to have gone still."

Pan Yun snapped back to attention and placed her hand on his wrist. The insects beneath his skin lay utterly motionless.

Only after a long while did the insects in his meridians stir slightly.

Pan Yun smiled, rolled up her sleeves, knelt on one knee beside the bed, and pressed her two fingers along his neck, slowly tracing downward. The insects stirred awake—wherever her fingers passed, they twitched faintly. (End of Chapter)