“General, your words terrify me. We’re old friends—why must we be so hostile?” Wu Yin squinted his eyes and smiled lightly, seemingly oblivious to the killing intent in Li Shuang’s words.
“I’ve never considered you a friend.”
Li Shuang’s words were clear, but Wu Yin remained unfazed. “Whether you consider me a friend or not matters little.” He continued, “General Li, you worry too much. The person you’re looking for is now a treasure of my Five Spirits Gate. I would never let anything happen to him. There’s no question of whether he’s here or not. I came to discuss something about him with you today.”
“I’m not here to discuss anything.” Li Shuang’s finger traced the rim of her teacup, her tone calm but words heavy with pressure. “Either release him, or I’ll burn this mountain to the ground. There is no third…”
“General.” Wu Yin interrupted, his perpetually smiling eyes finally showing a hint of seriousness. “The current situation isn’t as simple as me wanting to hand the Jade Silkworm to you. Even if I were to release him, you might not be able to control him. When that happens, I cannot guarantee which of your fifty thousand troops will die first when one side ignites the flames. You’ve seen the Jade Silkworm’s abilities in the Northern Border.”
Li Shuang had indeed witnessed it. He could kill enemy commanders with lightning speed, penetrating straight through enemy lines. His speed and strength were unmatched not only in this military camp but perhaps in the entire world—few could stand against him in battle.
“What did you do to him after taking him to Five Spirits Gate?” Li Shuang’s eyes bore into Wu Yin with an icy gaze.
Wu Yin slightly pursed his lips. “Don’t look at me like that—I’m wrongly accused. I captured him only to remove the Jade Silkworm Gu from his body. After all, my ideal Gu vessel should be pure and unclaimed. Who knew his will would be so terrifyingly strong?”
Wu Yin lifted his alluring eyes to meet Li Shuang’s gaze. “General Li, his attachment to you is excessive.”
Excessive attachment…
“But then again, you traveled thousands of li from the Northern Border, bringing fifty thousand troops to burn my Southern Long Mountain, all for one person. Isn’t your attachment to him equally excessive?”
Wu Yin’s half-teasing words left Li Shuang silent.
She had never seriously considered what her feelings were for that mysterious person. She only knew she wanted to see him again, to see her reflection in those clear eyes once more, to rescue him—this thought overwhelmed everything else.
“I don’t want to hear this nonsense.” Li Shuang forcefully brought the topic back. “Just tell me his condition and how I can take him away.”
Wu Yin crossed his arms. “Very well. Simply put, I need you to return to Five Spirits Gate with me—alone.”
Li Shuang silently assessed Wu Yin.
Meeting her scrutinizing gaze, Wu Yin explained, “I’ll be frank with you. Since I brought the Jade Silkworm Gu vessel back to Five Spirits Gate, he hasn’t had a single peaceful day. It’s normal for there to be rejection symptoms when separated from the master. I wasn’t concerned and continued using conventional Gu-drawing methods to extract the Jade Silkworm from him. But unexpectedly, the longer he was separated from you, the more violent his temperament became, eventually reaching an uncontrollable state.”
Wu Yin sighed, rubbing his brow. “I had him bound with steel chains on his four limbs and neck. His daily struggles have nearly depleted a whole box of chains, and he’s destroyed three dungeons, cracking the walls. Just preventing his escape gives me headaches. General Li should know that I had recently considered having someone invite you here. As luck would have it, before I could send for you, you came seeking us yourself.”
“You want me to return to Five Spirits Gate with you to pacify him?”
“That was my plan, but I’m unsure if you can still pacify him now.” Wu Yin said, “His mind is unclear—no different from the demons and monsters spoken of in the mortal world.”
Li Shuang pondered briefly. “If I follow you back to Five Spirits Gate and can calm him down, you’ll let him leave with me?”
Wu Yin waved his hand. “I’ll hand him over to you completely.” His expression and gesture suggested he was glad to be rid of a plague god.
Li Shuang narrowed her eyes. “How can I trust you?”
“General, Five Spirits Gate has only four dungeons total. If this one is destroyed, I’ll have nowhere left to contain him.” Seeing Li Shuang still silent, Wu Yin pulled out a jade pendant from his robes and tossed it to her. Li Shuang caught it mid-air—it was smooth to the touch, an excellent piece of white jade.
“What is this?”
“This is the Sect Master’s token of Five Spirits Gate, roughly equivalent in importance to your imperial court’s jade seal. I promise you, if you can stabilize the Jade Silkworm Gu vessel, I’ll allow you to take him from Five Spirits Gate. Until either of you dies, I won’t reclaim the Jade Silkworm, granting you peace for this lifetime.”
Having spoken, Wu Yin stood to leave. “Since the Jade Silkworm Gu vessel cannot be controlled when separated from you, keeping him serves no purpose for me. I truly just want someone to control him now. Don’t let him completely descend into demonic cultivation and cause a catastrophe. I’ve said all I needed to say—I’ll return first. General, if you wish to come, bring the token to Southern Long Mountain. If not, just have someone return the token. Please consider it carefully.”
He lifted the tent flap and left. The soldiers outside all watched him tensely, but without Li Shuang’s orders, none dared to move, merely watching as Wu Yin departed.
Li Shuang didn’t sit long holding the smooth jade token before standing up. She lifted the tent flap and emerged. Fu Changqing, who had been guarding outside, received a glance from her as she ordered, “From today, counting forward three days, if I send no message from the mountain, choose a day to burn it.”
Her clear voice easily reached Wu Yin’s ears, who hadn’t gone far.
Wu Yin paused his steps and turned back to look at Li Shuang, with an expected smile playing on his lips.
Li Shuang gripped the token tightly and stepped forward. Fu Changqing stared blankly at her side: “General…” He meant to stop her, but seeing Li Shuang’s unwavering steps, he held his tongue.
He had known Li Shuang long enough to understand how this tiger daughter of a military family would persist in her decisions with unwavering determination.
He could only bow with clasped hands: “This subordinate accepts the order.”
Li Shuang followed Wu Yin toward Southern Long Mountain. Along the way, Wu Yin chatted to pass the time: “The Jade Silkworm was originally our Five Spirits Gate’s sect treasure.”
Li Shuang glanced at him. “Your sect’s treasure appeared in the Northern Border?” Her words carried thorns, making Wu Yin laugh. “When I first heard this news, I was also confused. It’s quite a long story.”
“Twenty years ago, a major event occurred at our Five Spirits Gate. I was still young then—my father had died early, and I had just taken the position of Sect Master but hadn’t settled in yet. My Guardian Spirit Woman suddenly harbored other intentions, wanting to seize the position of Sect Master for herself. My mother, who was still alive then, naturally disagreed. After a battle with the Spirit Woman, her faction fled Southern Long Mountain, taking the Jade Silkworm with them. My mother sent people to search everywhere but couldn’t find them. Looking at it now, they fled to the Northern Border—quite a journey they made.”
Li Shuang’s mind immediately flashed to the forest outside Deer City in the Northern Border, the underground stone chamber filled with corpses, and that old woman who had “come back from the dead.” She remembered the old woman’s exceptionally elaborate clothing.
“Did that underground chamber in the forest have any connection to your Spirit Woman?” Li Shuang inquired. It was there that Wu Yin had trapped Li Shuang, the crown prince, and that mysterious person. And yes, Jin’an too.
That child of equally mysterious origins hadn’t appeared since the mysterious person’s disappearance…
“They had been hiding in that place, moving between Deer City and the Western Rong for twenty years, concealing themselves extremely well. In the border regions, it’s too easy for people to disappear, making it very convenient for them to find people to feed the Gu. The old Spirit Woman was clever in choosing locations.”
Li Shuang frowned. “Your Gu cultivation must use human lives?”
“Not necessarily. It depends on the type of Gu. The Jade Silkworm Gu requires human blood nourishment for one hundred days before it can fully merge with a person to become a Jade Silkworm Gu vessel, thereafter only obeying the Gu master’s commands. But very few can endure continuous blood feeding for one hundred days. Even this time’s Jade Silkworm Gu vessel isn’t quite complete, which is why he recognized you as master. He has some defects, perhaps because the Gu was forcibly merged before the time was right.”
“What defects?”
Before Li Shuang could finish speaking, a figure flashed through the mountain path—a woman in lotus-colored clothes who bowed to Wu Yin: “Sect Master, the Jade Silkworm is becoming violent again.”
Wu Yin looked up to see the sky already turning to dusk, sunset clouds filling the heavens. He sighed deeply, looking back at Li Shuang: “Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of bringing him back. Ah, this must be heaven’s punishment for separating mandarin ducks.”
The words “separating mandarin ducks” startled Li Shuang. Wu Yin said, “Time is pressing, General, please forgive my rudeness.” He grabbed Li Shuang’s arm with one hand and her waist with the other, then activated his lightness skill. Li Shuang only felt the scenery rushing past.
Li Shuang had known this man’s martial prowess when she saw him fight with that mysterious person in the Northern Border. He wasn’t much weaker than that mysterious person, but Li Shuang hadn’t expected his lightness skill to be so fast. No wonder he had appeared alone in Deer City back then—with such lightness skill, few could catch up to him.
In the blink of an eye, they ascended Southern Long Mountain. Li Shuang barely glimpsed Five Spirits Gate’s entrance before Wu Yin brought her inside. She couldn’t even observe the internal layout. When they finally stopped, Li Shuang faced only a dark mountain cave with arm-thick iron bars at its entrance.
The cold, damp wind blew out from inside, carrying faint, animal-like growls.
Hearing these sounds, Li Shuang’s heart suddenly trembled, followed by uncontrollable palpitations.
He was inside.
Wu Yin activated the mechanism outside the cave, and the arm-thick iron prison door made a “ka” sound as it rose from the ground.
“Please.” Wu Yin led Li Shuang into the cave. The cave was dark, and sunless, with occasional water drops falling from the ceiling onto Li Shuang’s shoulders. Torches lined the stone walls every few zhang, and as they went deeper, the air grew more humid, while the howling carried by the wind became increasingly heart-shaking.
Li Shuang’s attention was almost completely drawn forward. After walking for an unknown time and passing numerous checkpoints, they finally stopped before an iron door. Wu Yin pushed it open, and in that instant, there was a loud “dong!”
As soon as the door opened, an iron chain whipped toward them.
Li Shuang heard the wind and moved, slightly bending down. The iron chain whistled past above her head, violently striking the stone wall beside them with such force that it embedded more than three cun deep into the wall.
“Oh my, this is bad.” Wu Yin muttered beside her.
Li Shuang’s gaze followed the iron chain inward, where she saw the person she hadn’t seen for three months. Like before, his upper body was bare, but unlike before, the flame pattern on his chest now covered his entire body, as if wrapping him in raging flames. The flames burned across his whole face, leaving his eyes without whites—just a dark red color like magma.
This was truly the appearance of demons and monsters.
“He did destroy the prison.” Wu Yin’s face showed distress.
Li Shuang could only stare dazedly at him, seeing how he had completely lost his sanity. His feet and neck were still bound by iron chains fixed to the stone wall behind him, restraining his movements, but both hands had broken free of their restraints.
He hadn’t broken the chains—he had pulled them out of the stone wall by their roots. The chain that had just whipped toward them was the one that had been on his wrist. This demonstrated his terrifying strength.
People lay fallen throughout the prison cell, some unconscious, others whimpering for help on the ground.
The sound of the iron door opening had startled him. He turned his head, dark red pupils shifting over, with the torchlight reflecting in their depths like flowing fresh blood.
He saw their two figures but remained unmoved. His facial muscles twitched slightly as his throat emitted warning growls, making him appear like a dangerous beast.
“It seems he doesn’t recognize you anymore, General Li.”
Wu Yin was merely stating a fact, but these words, reaching Li Shuang’s ears, chilled her blood.