Chapter 16

Qin Songdai's expression was indifferent, but his voice carried a deep-seated disgust: "Xie Qilan, if you hadn't seduced me back then, how could I have had that fleeting affair with you..." His gaze never left the old but upright figure beside the strange house, not even sparing a glance for the young man beside her.

The last three words were uttered forcefully: "He is the bastard!"

Xi Xiao snapped back to reality. Her body stiffened, and even her breath stopped. She mechanically turned her eyes to look at Madam Lan, who was the focus of everyone's attention.

At that moment, Madam Lan, who had stood as firm as a rock, swayed violently. The abnormal red light on her face suddenly went out, replaced by a deathly gray. She seemed to have exhausted all her life force and could no longer hold on. She fell straight backward like a puppet with its strings cut!

"Mother--!!!"

"Husband...Mother!!"

Two piercing cries, like a final lament, drained all color from Xi Xiao's face. She rushed forward desperately, trying to catch the falling figure.

at the same time!

Xie Qilan's unrestrained, frenzied laughter, filled with a destructive joy, was like a dirge from hell, instantly drowning out the mournful cries in the air.

"Hahahaha... Did you see that? Did you see her fate? To protect her child, her husband was murdered, and to avenge her, she didn't hesitate to use forbidden witchcraft to kill those stupid elders. And what was the result..." Xie Qilan's laughter was filled with a twisted lust for revenge. "The elders died... but they became monsters more disgusting than Gu worms, and she herself... became this monster that is neither human nor ghost! Hahaha... In the end... didn't I still manage to pick up this huge bargain! I used her flesh and blood, her status... to nourish my things! Hahahaha—!"

This shocking secret was like a spark thrown into boiling oil. The faces of everyone around turned pale instantly. Their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at the strange house. When they turned to look at Madam Lan, who had fallen to the ground, and Xi Xiao beside her, they were filled with horror and disbelief!

Xie Qilan, however, paid no heed. Her eyes burned with a frenzied flame, a resolute determination to destroy everything in their path. She pointed sharply into the depths of the strange house, her voice distorted with extreme excitement: "Look, that monster... it's about to come out! How long can she... control it?!"

Xie Qilan surveyed the terrified and desperate faces around her, and uttered her final curse: "May all of you die with me!"

Xi Xiao ignored him, only holding that withered body tightly in her arms.

Yin Huaisi, standing to the side, was deathly pale, frozen in place, her lips trembling violently but unable to utter a sound. Only her empty eyes were fixed on Madam Lan's snow-white face.

“Mother…” Xi Xiao’s voice was low and broken, filled with endless confusion and fear, and hot tears fell onto Madam Lan’s cold forehead, “How can I save you…”

Madam Lan, nestled in his arms, seemed to twitch her lips very faintly. With difficulty, she opened her heavy eyelids, her eyes, now clouded with gray, gazing at Xi Xiao's young yet sorrowful face with longing and reluctance. However, that reluctance lasted only a moment before being replaced by a resolute determination.

"These past few days..." Madam Lan's voice was weak and feeble, "Have you memorized everything I taught you?"

Xi Xiao trembled violently, instantly understanding Madam Lan's intention. She shook her head desperately, tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling with sobs: "No, I don't want to, I don't want to use you..." The rest of her words were choked by immense grief, turning into a desperate sob.

"You must...do it!" Madam Lan's withered fingers suddenly unleashed astonishing power, a force carrying a ruthless, burning life force that nearly crushed her bones! "The Secret Technique of Feeding Gu..." she gasped, each word like a knife's edge, "Using my flesh and blood as a catalyst, summon the myriad Gu of the Southern Frontier..."

Her gaze fell upon the strange house, which was emanating an increasingly strong, foul stench. "I've temporarily...locked it down with witchcraft..." Her breathing grew more rapid, and a strange flush rose to her face, as if she were experiencing a final burst of energy. "When all the evil spirits... come together, I will...I will surely...perish together with it!"

With her last ounce of strength, she locked her gaze tightly over Xi Xiaoying's tear-filled eyes: "You are the last royal descendant of the Southern Frontier... you are my... daughter!" The word "daughter" carried immense weight and a heavy entrustment. "You must... do it!!" As soon as she finished speaking, her tightly clenched hands suddenly loosened, her eyes slowly closed, leaving only the barely perceptible rise and fall of her chest.

"No—!!" Xi Xiao let out a shrill cry, shaking her head frantically, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam.

"ah--!"

On the other side, Xie Qilan, who was tightly holding Qin Songdai, suddenly burst into a heart-wrenching cry!

In her arms, Qin Songdai's head drooped limply, his breath gone. Even more terrifying, his injured right hand and left foot were now visibly turning black and swollen, emitting a strong, foul stench of black blood. A thick, nauseating aura of death quickly spread out.

This horrifying scene was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Madam Su, who had been hiding behind the crowd and was already terrified, completely broke down at this moment. She rushed into the scene like a madwoman, pointing directly at Madam Lan, who was being tightly embraced by Xi Xiao on the ground. Her voice was distorted and shrill with extreme fear: "It's her! It's all because of this witch who created this monster to kill us all!!"

Her gaze immediately shifted to Xi Xiao, filled with frantic hope. "That's her daughter! She has the blood of the Yin royal family flowing through her veins! She can open the stone gate sealed by the late king's blood curse! She can lead us out!" She screamed hysterically at the terrified crowd around her, "Quick! Grab her! Take her to the stone gate! Use her blood to open the palace gate! That's the only way out!"

These seductive words were like venom injected into a panicked and frenzied crowd!

The instinct for survival instantly overwhelmed all reason and fear. Several strong servants, who had long been terrified by the shadow of death, suddenly had a crazy green light flash in their eyes. They looked at each other, and their brief hesitation was completely crushed by their desire to survive!

"Grab her!"

"Move it to Shimen!"

Several rough roars rang out!

The servants pounced on their prey like hungry wolves, pushing through the crowd without regard for anything else, and stretched out their thick, dirty arms to viciously grab at Xi Xiao, who was clinging tightly to Madam Lan on the ground!

The air seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, instantly freezing in place.

"Whoosh—whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Dozens of sharp, piercing sounds suddenly tore through the silence. Dozens of experts dressed in tight-fitting clothes leaped into the air from hidden places such as eaves, tree shadows, and artificial hills. Their movements were as fast as ghosts, and they captured the servants who rushed towards Xi Xiao with unparalleled precision!

"roar--!!!"

Deep within the strange house, as if enraged by the sudden surge of murderous intent, a deafening and terrifying roar erupted.

The cries of the crowd and Madam Su's terrified screams were instantly drowned out by this roar. The atmosphere in the entire southern forbidden area was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.

Madam Lan, who had been waiting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them. "Xi Xiao—!" Her voice was hoarse and strained, as she shouted, "What are you waiting for?!" Her gaze was fixed on Xi Xiao's tear-filled face. "If that monster breaks free, everyone here will die..."

Xi Xiao was so shocked by the harsh shout that she trembled with grief and despair that she blurted out, "Then let them all die!"

"Smack—!"

A crisp, loud slap suddenly rang out!

Madam Lan suddenly unleashed a last, terrifying burst of strength. Her withered body broke free from Xi Xiao's embrace, and she sat up straight. Her icy, bone-chilling hand slapped Xi Xiao hard across the cheek!

Xi Xiao's head snapped to the side after being hit, her cheek instantly swelling and turning red. The burning pain, mixed with boundless shock, left her staring blankly at Madam Lan.

With her last ounce of strength, Madam Lan gripped Xi Xiao's clothes tightly, her voice like a dying beast's low growl: "I want you to get out of here alive!"

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Lan abruptly released her grip, no longer glancing at Xi Xiao. Her withered lips moved rapidly, and a series of ancient, obscure syllables, filled with eerie rhythms, like the sounds of hell, gushed from her throat.

As the incantation was chanted—

The chilling hissing and rustling sounds surged from all directions like a tide, and countless bizarre and colorful Gu worms appeared out of thin air on the ground, in the corners of the walls, in the cracks of the stones, and even in the air!

Under the bright daylight, the dense, surging swarm of insects exuded a suffocating chill and an aura of death, causing all who witnessed it to feel their hair stand on end and their livers and gallbladders tremble with fear!

Xi Xiao watched helplessly as the terrifying swarm of insects surged in. As the incantation deepened, Madam Lan's already pale face became transparent and ashen at a visible speed. Her body trembled violently amidst the swarm of insects, as if she were enduring excruciating pain as if thousands of ants were gnawing at her heart.

Tears streamed down Xi Xiao's face.

She abruptly closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, all she saw was a deathly, icy silence. Trembling, she continued the curse that was about to end, which was being uttered by Madam Lan.

As she chanted, the previously restless and terrifying swarm of insects turned towards Xi Xiao, paused briefly, and then emitted an even more frenzied hiss.

The cries of the crowd vanished eerily at that moment. Everyone was frozen in place, their faces a mixture of utter shock and a faint glimmer of hope, staring intently at the girl surrounded by thousands of Gu worms chanting ancient incantations, and at the withered body in her arms being rapidly covered and devoured by the swarm of insects!

As the last ancient and obscure note dissipated into the air filled with the stench of blood and the chirping of insects, Madam Lan's body was completely covered by surging Gu worms.

Xi Xiao's tears froze in the cold air, hanging there, not falling. Her gaze was fixed on the strange house, from which came the sound of scales scraping against the stone walls, and even more thirsty panting.

Without the slightest hesitation!

Xi Xiao took a deep breath, suppressing the metallic taste in her throat and the sharp pain in her heart. Her trembling lips opened and closed again, clearly reciting the secret incantation that would ultimately unleash the ferocity of the Gu worms, word by word.

"Buzz—!"

As if an invisible horn sounded deep within the souls of the insect swarm, the Gu worms that had just devoured Lady Lan's flesh and blood were instantly enveloped in an eerie crimson light, and their hissing suddenly rose in pitch, becoming incredibly excited and violent.

The next second!

These tens of thousands of bloodthirsty Gu worms, their ferocity ignited, emitted piercing shrieks, carrying a resolute determination to perish together with their enemies, and like a raging tide of revenge, fearlessly and frantically surging towards the depths of the strange house.