Chapter 111 Relics

"Only one Gu worm serves as the lock?"

If the opponent uses a human wave tactic to test the waters, the relics will still be taken away. In this era where human life is as worthless as grass, the cost of training elite troops is not as great as sacrificing human lives. Compared to the lives of his subordinates, the relics are of course more important than the lives of the Southern Border Gu Woman.

Jiang Xi smiled slightly, the mole on her cheek appearing redder than usual. Unlocking the lock required stimulating the aura of the Mother Gu worm within her body; the aura needed to be strong enough for the Gu worm on the lock to sense it, consuming more of her vital energy.

"If it fails, the relics in the box will spontaneously combust as the Gu worms explode."

They would rather perish together than let unrelated people take away their belongings.

The more curious she became about what was inside the package, the more excited she became, even though she was a little tired. She pointed at the package and said, "Quick, open it and see what's inside!"

Don't be fooled by the old and harmless cloth covering the wound. Gu poison is something that can seep in everywhere and is impossible to defend against without a professional present. You might not even realize you've been poisoned.

She had the courage to look, but not the courage to open the package herself.

The cloth was not contaminated with the poison. Shang Yuji sat by the bed and watched him unwrap the package, revealing the contents little by little.

The number of relics inside was surprisingly small...

Several unrecognizable fragments, an old and worn book, and a pure white butterfly with beautiful wings.

The white butterfly, which had remained motionless for a long time, sensed light shining into its long-sealed, dark place. It moved its antennae slightly as if at a loss, then remained alert and motionless again.

What beautiful white butterflies!

Although Shang Yuji was trying to accept the strange-looking Gu worms, this one was different; it was extremely beautiful!

Its body is as translucent as white jade, its wings are covered with magnificent and colorful patterns, and even its eyes and antennae are perfect.

It's like a craftsman painstakingly carving out his life's work from a piece of fine white jade.

She was beautiful and ethereal, like a fairy.

She felt no aversion to it; instead, she felt it was as beautiful as a masterpiece of art, making her want to treasure it.

Jiang Xi extended a long finger, equally white as jade, and the white butterfly fluttered its wings, then became still.

He turned his palm over, revealing the wound he had made while unlocking the device to feed the worms.

A faint scent of blood wafted over, and a white butterfly took flight, landing gently in his palm. Its antennae swayed with the movement, as it drank the blood flowing beneath his skin.

Whether it's admiring a beautiful woman under the lamplight, or the magnificent white butterfly fluttering in her palm, it's all pleasing to the eye.

Shang Yuji realized that she was still somewhat attracted to good-looking people, and Jiang Xi happened to have a beautiful face that pleased her. Thinking about it this way, she felt that they were destined to be together.

He grew up like this all for her!

A slight itch came from her palm, and Jiang Xi lowered her eyes, her expression inevitably turning cold.

Such a poisonous Gu...

The fragments left in the relics were actually the corpses of other Gu worms in the package. The food that was meant to be fed to them had long been eaten by the Gu worms inside. No one fed them anymore. In the end, driven by instinct, hundreds of Gu worms bit and gnawed at each other in order to survive. In the end, only the most poisonous and vicious Gu King was left.

Ordinary Gu worms cannot transform into a Gu King after fighting against hundreds of other insects, but the Gu worms in this package are different.

They are all Gu worms belonging to that Gu woman from the Southern Frontier, Wuming.

Those who can accompany her out of the Southern Frontier must be her most skilled and powerful Gu worms.

The poisonous Gu left behind by the previous generation of Gu masters are all extremely poisonous.

Even if only one item remains among the relics, it should not be underestimated.

Gu King...

It was still a Gu King that hadn't eaten for a long time and was starving.

Jiang Xi looked up and saw that Aji was very interested in it, but fortunately she only observed it from a distance and did not try to touch it. However, he was also worried about the white butterfly staying in the room like that. What if it got close to Aji...

The melancholy in his eyes deepened. No, he had to tame her before he could appear before Aji.

Based on her belief that the more beautiful things in nature are, the more vicious they are, Shang Yuji, though fond of white butterflies, truly cherishes her life.

They only dared to observe from afar and not to touch or play with it, maintaining an attitude of respect and distance.

Moreover, given Jiang Xi's skill in Gu techniques, Bai Die, who made him take her seriously, was no pushover.

Judging from this, A Yue, who can raise white butterflies, is also terrifyingly powerful. None of the Gu women and Gu children that Wu Ming recognizes are easy to deal with.

She remained silent, afraid of disturbing Jiangxi.

The white butterfly ate quietly. Jiang Xi didn't dare to approach the bedside. From a distance, she explained, "This should be one of the Gu worms that Mother cultivated before she passed away. But after staying in the relics for a long time, the Gu worms will fight each other because of the lack of food. In the end, only one victor will remain. If I'm not mistaken, it should have the strength of a Gu King."

Gu King!

Shang Yuji was glad she valued her life; indeed, anything related to Gu worms was dangerous.

"Will it drink human blood after that?"

The flickering flames danced in his eyes. Jiang Xi replied, "It needs blood, preferably my blood. Once it's stabilized, we can feed it normally."

"It was incredibly dangerous to get this relic without you here. Even if we had gotten through the initial hurdle and obtained it, if we had opened the package while relaxed, there would have been a hungry Gu King waiting to feast inside."

There's always someone who can solve the witchcraft puzzles set up by Ah Yue.

While it is extremely difficult to raise a Mother Gu, the possibility is not zero. With a little effort, it is still possible to feed the Lock Box Gu with blood tainted with the Mother Gu's aura.

After overcoming countless difficulties and dangers, just as the dawn was breaking, an unexpected Gu King appeared, capable of killing face-to-face.

If there isn't a Gu master strong enough to suppress the Gu King, then what they release isn't the secret treasure left by A Yue, but the Gu King's bloody slaughter and punishment.

One wrong step could cost you your life.

Jiang Xi agreed to her words, then hesitated and added, "It's very dangerous right now, Changtian. You can play with it only after I tame it."

"?" Was the affection and anticipation on her face that obvious?

However, considering it was his intention, she accepted: "I'm not in a hurry, and you shouldn't force yourself to tame him in a rush, or you'll only hurt yourself."

"Okay, I'll be careful."

These days, Shang Yuji doesn't dare to provoke Bai Die, but there's still a book in the package. She pointed to it and said, "What's written in the book? Be careful when you flip through it, it's too old and easy to tear."

The white butterflies, having eaten and drunk their fill, flew back into the fabric. Jiang Xi ignored them for the time being, picked up the old book, and gently turned a page.

Shang Yuji propped herself up to look, and found it filled with dense characters and drawings of insects and grass. The characters were not from Da'an, but Jiang Xi could read them, so she figured it must be the script of the Southern Frontier.

As for the above content, it's somewhat similar to... the method of cultivating Gu worms?

He read a few lines aloud, which turned out to be A-Yue's summary and insights into the characteristics of Gu worms and the types of poisonous plants when she was young.

Considering it was A-Yue's keepsake, and perhaps it contained clues about the current court disputes, Shang Yuji made him read it aloud word for word.

There was no other way; she couldn't read the script used in southern Xinjiang, so she had to trouble him.

Having returned from his thievery two days ago, after a long and tiring day, his body was sore and exhausted. Even though Jiang Xiqu's voice was as clear and melodious as a mountain stream, it couldn't stop him from reciting highly academic content—the habits of different Gu worms, how to use those habits to train Gu worms with unique characteristics, the distribution of poisonous plants and flowers, their planting conditions and methods, and so on.

I talked about a small part of it. It was said to be like a secret manual of Gu magic in southern Xinjiang, but it was actually more like Ah Yue's study notes. Occasionally, a few interesting diary entries would be interspersed, recording feelings of joy or sorrow.

An overly academic atmosphere can easily breed drowsiness, especially with a witchcraft-based parenting method that she couldn't understand. Shang Yuji went from sitting to leaning to lying down, and finally couldn't resist the rising drowsiness. She closed her eyes, half-covered herself with the blankets, and fell into a deep sleep.

The breathing by the bed became steady and slow, and Jiang Xi knew that A Ji had fallen asleep.

Just now, Ah Ji was moving around to wake herself up, which messed up her pillow and bedding. She fell asleep too suddenly and didn't change to a normal sleeping position. Now she was lying on the edge of the bed, with one arm with its long sleeve rolled up and hanging down on the bed. Half of her long hair covered her cheek and swayed slightly with her breath.

He usually sleeps on the outside. When he falls asleep, he always tries to squeeze onto Aji. If Aji tries to back away, he will continue to follow, squeezing her space from behind. Because they were both worried that if she slept on the outside, he might try to squeeze out and cause them both to fall off the bed, they decided that he would sleep on the outside. So if Aji got into bed first, she would move in to make room for him.

Ah Ji was so tired that she fell asleep without adjusting her position or sleeping posture...

Jiang Xi made a mark on the book page, closed the book, and put it in an old piece of cloth. All the new cloth she bought at home was useful, but she didn't have any new cloth to put the book in for the time being, so she had to wait until she went out tomorrow to buy some.

He put the white butterfly into his Gu box... As for separating it from the native insects in the box?

As Aji once said, "Survival of the fittest, the victor reigns supreme." If they can overcome their fear of the Gu King and the deadly poison it releases, they can advance even further.

Oh, right, we need to move the small box containing the Breath-Concealing Gu further away; it's very important and can't be eaten by the white butterflies.

After tinkering with the Gu box outside, he washed his exposed skin, making sure it didn't come into contact with Aji while still covered in the scales from the white butterfly. After washing for a long time, he finally felt safe enough to go inside.

Only after tidying himself up did he dare to tidy up the bed, and then gently carried Aji inside.

Fortunately, Ah Ji was fast asleep and was not woken up by him. He carefully brushed away the hair that was haphazardly covering her cheek. The candle was still burning diligently. His scrutinizing gaze fell on the red mole on her cheek, and he stopped the urge to touch it. He got out of bed, blew out the candle, and tiptoed onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist, leaned against her shoulder, and slowly closed his eyes.

He didn't resent the woman in the Jiang family. If the price of meeting Aji was more than ten years of not having enough to eat or wear, then he was willing.

But he hates her. She can say whatever she wants to him, but she can't make Aji sad. Anyone who makes Aji unhappy is a bad guy.

...

He was actually a little scared, afraid that Ah Ji would hear her words and think of him as a wicked ghost, a cursed star, and then abandon him.

Fortunately, Aji didn't hate him. Instead, she thought it was that woman's fault. He wasn't abandoned. Aji still chose him, always stood by his side, and always walked with him.

Ah Ji is the best person in the world!

Rather than making Ah Ji feel sorry for his past, he wanted to make her happy. While she was arguing with that woman, his heart felt both sweet and sour, like it had been crumpled and crumpled – the bittersweet feeling of love, as the book described!

How wonderful! He could still hold Ah Ji as he fell asleep, Ah Ji right in front of him, within sight; right beside him, within reach.

They will always be there for each other.

Heart-to-Heart Gu, Heart-to-Heart Gu... May our hearts be forever united...

It was a sweet dream, yet tears silently slipped from the corners of my closed eyes.