She rubbed her nearly empty stomach, got out of bed, and strolled to the kitchen. There was food warming up in the kitchen. After filling her stomach, Shen Miao walked around the house but didn't see Qing Chen or Zai Zai. She guessed that Qing Chen had gone to the training ground.

The kids have probably gone out to play.

Thinking this, Shen Miao went to the backyard to check on the family's night horses. The pigsty in the backyard had never been used to raise pigs since it was built, and was now being used to keep the night horses.

Shen Miao approached and found a night horse lying on the ground. She made various sounds to tease it, but the night horse did not respond. Shen Miao opened the door, went in, and reached out to touch it; it was already ice-cold.

She was heartbroken. She had intended to use these horses as breeding stock, and there were both males and females. However, one of the mare died just one day after she brought them home.

This horse has been through so much with them and is incredibly resilient. How could it be like this after just one day back?

Shen Miao thought of the little devils at home. Just as she was about to go out to look for them, the little devils came back on their own, covered in sweat from playing somewhere.

"Where did you come from? Come here." Shen Miao called several people over.

When the children saw Shen Miao, a guilty look flashed across their faces, and they shuffled over. As soon as Shen Miao saw their expressions, she knew that they had done something bad again, but she remained calm until she found out what had happened.

"What is it, Mother?" the children asked.

Shen Miao pointed at the dead night horse: "What happened to that horse? I remember handing it over to you yesterday and asking you to take good care of it. Is this how you took care of it?"

Upon hearing this, the children became even more guilty, stammering and unable to give a coherent explanation.

Shen Miao looked at this one, then at that one, and sneered, "Who did this? Tell me, or I'll teach all four of you a lesson. Tell me now."

"It was Erbao who did it!" the children exclaimed in unison, all pointing their fingers at Erbao.

Shen Miao slowly turned her head and looked at Erbao.

Erbao protested, "No, no, it wasn't me! You're talking nonsense! You all killed Yema together! Why are you lying to Mother? You're so annoying!"

Sanbao angrily said, "Dabao, it was you who did it. Why don't you admit it? You made us go to the purple grass because you didn't believe it was poisonous. Then you fed it to the night horse, and the night horse ate it."

"I didn't!" Erbao stubbornly resisted.

As Shen Miao watched them bicker, her face grew increasingly gloomy, but the children didn't notice. It wasn't until Shen Miao picked up a broom and gave each of them a broom that they obediently shut up.

She glanced furtively at Shen Miao, looking utterly pitiful.

However, Shen Miao did not intend to let them off easily. She ordered them to clean the pigsty for seven days, remove the horse manure, and then cut grass in the fields to feed the horses.

Since they don't know how to cherish life, let them experience it for themselves.

The children looked aggrieved and secretly complained to Qingchen. Qingchen only said, "Your mother's punishment was too lenient. If it were me, I would make you sweep for a year."

The children were so frightened that they scattered like birds and beasts, and dared not say a word.

A few days later, Shen Miao went to Lin Shousheng's house to see Jiu Ying. Jiu Ying had almost recovered and looked much better than when she first came back, with color returning to her face.

Shen Miao then sent him home, while she stayed behind to consult with Lin Shousheng about the Gu worms.

"I only know a little about Gu worms. You won't learn much from me, but if you really want to learn, you can go to my friend," Lin Shousheng said truthfully.

Shen Miao also wanted to learn from a Gu Master, but she was struggling to find a good excuse.

The Gu Master didn't seem to like taking on disciples, and she wasn't lacking in beast crystals. She really didn't know what to offer to impress the Gu Master.

“Last time I invited him to live in the Beast Realm, he didn’t agree,” Shen Miao sighed.

Lin Shousheng said knowingly, "He probably won't come because he doesn't like crowds. If you really want to learn, then I can say a few words to you."

Shen Miao was pleasantly surprised: "Really? That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Uncle Lin."

"Don't be too happy yet. Whether it works out or not depends on him. If he doesn't agree, I can't force him to agree," Lin Shousheng said, glancing at her.

Shen Miao nodded: "Of course, you've already talked to him and he still won't agree, so I'm destined to have no affinity with Gu worms, and I won't learn it."

As it turned out, Lin Shousheng had a lot of influence with the Gu Master. As soon as he mentioned it, the Gu Master readily agreed and told Shen Miao to come to him to learn whenever she wanted.

Upon hearing the news, Shen Miao was overjoyed. She immediately packed her things and left gracefully.

She arrived at the Gu Master's bamboo house with great excitement, bowed to the Gu Master, who was somewhat surprised: "You're quite eager, coming so quickly."

"Isn't this because I'm afraid you'll regret it?" Shen Miao smiled innocently.

The Gu Master ignored him and said solemnly, "Since you're here, I have to say something beforehand. Gu techniques aren't what you imagine. You might find them hard to accept once you've experienced them. If that's the case, I advise you to give up now and not waste your time."

Shen Miao said confidently, "No, Gu Master, I don't have any other skills. My greatest strength is perseverance."

The Gu Master looked at her for a while, not knowing whether he believed her or not, and said meaningfully, "Is that so? Then come on, I'm just about to feed the Gu worms, come with me and take a look."

Upon hearing that they could see the Gu worms so soon, Shen Miao immediately followed along eagerly.

In front of Shen Miao, the Gu Master opened a large black urn, and a rustling sound immediately came out. Shen Miao curiously leaned closer to take a look, and almost vomited.

Good heavens, what are those things? They're so densely packed, the whole jar is full of them. And those insects are incredibly ugly, some have two heads, some are all legs, they're all deformed.

"What are you standing there for? Put this meat in and feed it to them."

The Gu Master's voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Shen Miao looked up at him, mechanically took the meat out of the basin, and threw it into the jar. The insects then went crazy and began to scramble for it.

The rustling sound grew louder, and Shen Miao saw that one of the insects, having failed to get any meat, had eaten its companion.

She looked at the Gu Master in horror, but the Gu Master's expression was extremely calm, even carrying a trace of tenderness, as if he were looking at his own child.

A child? Shen Miao looked at the dense swarm of insects and felt a little nauseous again.

Having witnessed the horrific scene inside the large urn, Shen Miao skipped lunch. While the Gu Master took his afternoon nap, she secretly prepared to leave, carrying her unopened bag.