Chapter 499: Take Action to Eliminate the Pests

Pan Yun thought correctly; the Mu family ultimately decided to take the risk.

Mu Ang had long given up on his son; he had tried several times to have him leave peacefully, but Mu Lin could not accept it.

Mu Lin was sent to Jingcheng as a child; all his memories of his father came from early childhood and letters.

After so many years, seeing his father again, he naturally could not accept his father simply leaving.

Worse still, they were to do it themselves.

So he persisted in treatment, even if it left Mu Xi unconscious and in pain, he refused to give up.

Mu Ang saw him kneeling motionless in the ancestral hall and sighed, stepping forward to pat his head: "Since you've decided, don't regret it."

Mu Lin choked out: "I'm not regretting—I'm just afraid."

Mu Ang rubbed his head gently: "I know. You agreed to take this risk because you trust Pan Yun's ability, but you must prepare yourself for failure."

If you fail, don't blame heaven or others."

He whispered: "Heaven's will is this. The Mu family's destiny is to guard the southwest and protect Great Ming. Your father died serving his country—he died with his wish fulfilled."

Mu Lin lowered his head; tears fell one by one onto the ground. After a long while, he choked out: "Yes."

As soon as Mu Ang and his grandson agreed, Pan Yun dragged two people into the small courtyard.

Mu Lin had cried alone all night and knew nothing of what happened outside; he stared blankly at the two men thrown on the ground.

Mu Ang had also not slept all night, but he knew everything; he glanced once at the two men on the ground, then looked up and smiled at Pan Yun: "Thank you, Master Pan."

Pan Yun nodded: "No trouble at all."

Mu Lin stared dumbly: "Who are these two?"

Pan Yun: "They're the blood catalysts."

Mu Lin opened his mouth and hurriedly said: "Past monks, Taoists, and shamans also used blood as catalysts—but they took blood from people within the household, just a little from each. If you need blood, I'll find people right away—you're… you're…"

Pan Yun: "Don't worry—they're not good people."

Mu Lin: "Even if they're not good, you can't use them as catalysts—they should be handed over to the authorities."

Pan Yun patted his shoulder: "You're a law-abiding citizen, and I thought the same. But they volunteered to be blood catalysts."

Pan Yun said: "They said they admired Second Master Mu's loyalty to the state and were willing to give their lives in return. I couldn't refuse their earnest request, so I agreed."

Mu Lin looked at the two men, bound and gagged: "Then this…"

"Oh, last night they came to the door, afraid they'd change their minds, so they asked me to tie them up and gag them so they wouldn't betray their own loyalty. I couldn't refuse, so I did as they asked."

The two men on the ground groaned and shook their heads, their eyes pleadingly fixed on Mu Lin, hoping he would save them.

Mu Lin had a conscience, but not much—or else he wouldn't have covered for Pan Yun and the others in the Mountain God Temple.

He looked at the two men, then at Pan Yun, then finally at Mu Ang.

Mu Ang knew far more than his grandson; he gave him a slight nod.

Mu Lin stepped aside, signaling for them to take the two men inside.

As Wang Cong passed by him, Mu Lin grabbed him and whispered low: "Who are these two?"

Wang Cong whispered back: "They followed us all the way from Jingcheng. They threatened my junior master, saying if he didn't obey them, they'd kill Lord Pan."

Mu Lin's face darkened: "What did they make her do? Something against my father?"

Wang Cong sighed at him and shook his head, saying nothing.

Mu Lin's mind raced with thoughts.

The Mu household may seem powerful and firmly established in Yunnan, but in the imperial court, they've always walked on thin ice.

The Mu family's ancestral creed is filial piety to the Zhu clan and loyalty to Great Ming.

The imperial house has always appeared to trust the Mu family, but in truth, with every dynastic change and every emperor's reign, the Mu family trembled in fear.

During the reign of the founding emperor, the Mu family could return home to worship their ancestors—home here meaning Nanjing.

They could also freely enter or leave Yunnan.

But since Emperor Zitai, the Mu family has needed to report any entry or exit from Yunnan; the imperial house has grown suspicious. In between, emperors have sent imperial princes to Yunnan, aiming to completely replace the Mu family's position there.

But the princes sent were incompetent and couldn't outmaneuver my second grandfather and my grandfather.

When my second grandfather was alive, he was falsely accused of rebellion, but Emperor Zitai saw through the plot, trusted him, and merely reprimanded him without stripping his fief or military power.

But my eldest uncle was sent to Jingcheng, supposedly to study with the Crown Prince under imperial tutelage, so he could one day inherit the title.

Over the years, my eldest uncle has returned to Yunnan only a handful of times.

After my grandfather took charge of Yunnan affairs, I too was sent to Jingcheng.

Supposedly, the palace offered better education, and studying with imperial princes would foster bonds.

But everyone knew this was only a small part—the real reason was that I was a hostage.

My eldest uncle was a hostage. I am a hostage.

Thus, the Mu household's relationship with the imperial house and court has always been close yet delicate.

There are countless officials in the court who wish to strip the Mu household of its military power and fief.

Even more among the imperial clan wish to replace the Mu family.

Mu Lin assumed these two men were targeting the Mu household; his gaze toward them instantly turned cold.

If so, they certainly couldn't be handed over to the authorities—nothing would come of it.

The best outcome would be to punish a few minor players, vent some anger—but the enmity would deepen, and without uncovering the masterminds, it would be meaningless.

Pan Yun thought the same.

She threw the two men down before the bed, gestured, and Tao Yan Bai and Miao He immediately stepped forward with their medicine chests, opened them, and pulled out countless bottles and jars, spread out a bundle of needles, and a bundle of knives.

When the knife bundle was opened, it revealed various medical blades—three types of scissors alone, not to mention scalpels, forceps, and other tools; a single glance showed at least twenty different instruments.

Cold steel gleamed, making observers shiver.

Pan Yun idly picked up a small knife and slid it back and forth before the young man's face, smiling: "Don't worry—I won't let you die easily. Since you won't even tell me your names, I'll give you pseudonyms. He's Blood Bag A. You're Blood Bag B."

The young man shook his head repeatedly: "Wu wu wu..."

"I don't understand." Pan Yun stood up and said to Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen: "Get ready. Strip Mu Xi bare and begin."

Zhang Ziming stood quietly to one side, eager to help: "What can we do?"

Pan Yun smiled brightly: "You, Brother Zhang, and Brother Li have plenty to do—for example, guarding the ritual. When I draw out the worms, if any escape, you two must catch them; if the corpse worms inside him go berserk, lend me your strength..."

Li Wenying interrupted her: "What if the King Worm resists?"

Pan Yun's gaze grew cold: "Suppress it if you can. If you can't, then it is Heaven's will."

Li Wenying: "Do you people of Mount Sanqing treat illnesses so crudely?"

Pan Yun: "From Jingcheng to Yunnan, I've spent every moment thinking of solutions. I've exhausted every method I could devise. Delaying further will only make things worse."

She said: "His hope has been worn away by waiting."

If the Mu family had listened to his second senior brother and immediately sent for his eldest senior brother, he might already be strong and lively again.

Pan Yun spread her hands: "I only know how to suppress the King Worm."

Li Wenying frowned, still hesitating, but Zhang Ziming spoke quickly: "I'll help you!"

He whispered to Li Wenying: 【Let him die if he must—the Mu family won't blame us. If Pan Yun can revive someone eaten by corpse worms, it proves her merit restores human organs. Do you know what that means?】

Li Wenying knew perfectly well—it meant Liu Zhen could be saved too. But... 【Are you using Mu Xi as a test subject?】

!. Read

Zhang Ziming: 【Do our interests conflict with Mu Xi's? He was going to be treated anyway.】

Li Wenying fell silent.

Pan Yun looked back and forth between the two silent men, her head nearly spinning.

Zhang Ziming snapped out of his thoughts and met her gaze—startled: "Why are you looking at me?"

Pan Yun: "I feel you two were whispering—and talking behind my back."

"You're mistaken. I was persuading Wenying," Zhang Ziming urged her: "Hurry up. While the yang energy is strong at noon, the corpse worms are suppressed. Delay any longer and it'll hurt us."

Pan Yun rolled up her sleeves and called everyone to strip Mu Xi bare.

This time, no help from Read Mu Lin was needed, and they weren't afraid of disturbing the worms. She grabbed him, Seeing Miao Zhen pulled, and Mu Xi's inner robe was torn off and tossed aside.

In just a few breaths, Mu Xi was down to only his underpants.

Whether Mu Ang:...

Watching the three girls bustling about, Whether Mu Ang swallowed down all his words.

Tao Yanbai climbed onto the bed with his needles, each taking one side with Seeing Miao Zhen.

With determined eyes, he looked at Pan Yun: "Little Auntie, we're ready. As soon as the worms in his five organs stir, we'll immediately seal his heart meridian to protect his heart."

Pan Yun nodded: "Good. Let's begin."

Seeing Miao Zhen sat by Mu Xi's head, Pan Yun sat by his hand, Wang Cong and Seeing Miao Zhen stood nearby with small knives, ready to stab any escaping corpse worms.

Of course, they wouldn't kill them all—they had prepared a basin for catching the worms.

The basin was painted with a talisman array, which should confuse the worms and prevent them from crawling out.

But corpse worms are poorly understood, so precautions were still necessary.

Pan Yun gestured, and Wang Cong dragged the Blood Packet Jia to her side. She sealed his acupoints, leaned him against the bed, then slashed his wrist in one swift motion and placed it over a basin of water.

Blood Packet Jia's eyes widened—he wanted to move, but couldn't stir.

He watched helplessly as his wrist dripped blood—drip, drip—into the basin, his face turning deathly pale.

The blood spread through the water, and the stench of blood rose.

The previously silent corpse worms began to writhe. Pan Yun, Tao Yanbai, and Seeing Miao Zhen all stared intently.

But their wriggling was slow.

Pan Yun picked up a small knife, carefully observed Mu Xi's vessels and meridians, then made a light cut across his wrist and positioned it directly above the increasingly bloody basin.

Blood seeped from his wrist; the corpse worms inside wriggled—but showed no sign of emerging.

Read Mu Lin stepped forward, his face pale: "They won't come out. This method has been tried by every physician who came before."

Pan Yun nodded slightly, looking at Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen: "Begin."

Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen drew their needles and pierced Mu Xi's body.

Precisely spaced, perfectly timed—the worms writhing in his chest and abdomen gradually calmed, while those elsewhere began wriggling faster, crawling toward his limbs.

Even when they crowded near the wrist wound, they still refused to emerge.

Instead, they writhed in agitation.

In his sleep, Mu Xi frowned, his face twisting in pain.

Read Mu Lin, as if feeling it himself, paced anxiously: "Needling to force worms out—other physicians have used this too. But they still won't come out. They say only a knife can force them to surface, then you must pick them out one by one. But there are too many. Unlike gu worms, which might be one or two, these are countless. To pick them all out would be like a thousand cuts—and even then, you might miss most of them..."

Pan Yun said gravely: "It's because the King Worm commands them, so they suppress their hunger for blood. But..."

Pan Yun raised her hand. A strand of golden sand-like light curled around her fingertip. The corpse worms forced into his limbs writhed even more violently.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly: "Let's see—whether merit attracts them more strongly, or whether the King Worm controls them more firmly."

Pan Yun trusted her own merit—and more, she trusted all things' relentless pursuit of merit.

The golden, sand-like light fell into the blood basin. The stench of blood instantly faded, replaced by a faint, sweet fragrance.

Everyone present—including Whether Mu Ang—could not name the scent. It was faint, nearly imperceptible, yet once smelled, one could not help but step forward, drawn to follow it.

Even Zhang Ziming and Li Wenying's eyes glazed over for an instant—but having prepared themselves and recalling past lessons, they quickly lowered their gaze, silently reciting the Heart Sutra to resist the temptation.

Red Beauty knew her limits best, so she didn't come today. Instead, she lay as a fox in the guest courtyard, basking in the sun, beside her a golden hairpin.

Pan Yun turned her wrist. When the merit fully merged with the blood, she gently beckoned—a thin stream of blood shot from the basin like a water thread toward Mu Xi's wrist.

The thread halted above his wrist. A strand of golden light within it flickered. The corpse worms beneath the skin stirred wildly, as if sensing something.

Pūchī—one thin worm poked its head out, wary, glancing left and right. Everyone held their breath. But before it could see clearly, the worms behind it shoved it forward—and with a pūchī, its whole body burst free.

It seemed to know it had lost its outer protection, and by instinct reared up its body, bravely lunging at the blood line, but failed to keep its footing and tumbled with a gurgle into the blood basin.

With essence blood and merit, the blood basin was simply heaven for it; the corpse worm poked out its head and let out a shriek.

The people in the room could only hear a low, faint chirring of insects, but Pan Yun could understand its summons.

The corner of Pan Yun's mouth curled up — sure enough, at that cry of the worm, other worms began scrambling to burrow out.

Tao Yanbai cried out in alarm: "Little Xiao Shishu, the worm in his other hand is about to burst out of his body." (End of chapter)