Chapter 515 The Tragedy Begins
With a loud thud, the sturdy nanmu chair landed on the ground, making the floor shake.
But everyone in the room was focused on Wu Chi, so they didn't find Grandpa Wu's reaction particularly abrupt.
"What did you say? Those outsiders know about the Golden Silkworm Gu? How could they know about the Golden Silkworm Gu?"
Wu Chi's face was ashen: "They said that a few days ago, in a remote village less than two hours from here, a family raised Golden Silkworm Gu, and had been raising it for about twenty years, which killed several people."
"Twenty years..." As soon as Wu Chi said this, everyone's expression changed.
Wu Chi nodded solemnly: "According to their story, they stumbled upon this incident by chance when they came here. As for Miss Ye, I told you, Grandpa, yesterday that she was carrying a pill to expel the Gu poison, so she should know something about Gu poison."
Grandpa Wu added with a stern face, "I met with Old Man Tao last night, and he also said that this Miss Ye is indeed quite capable. She saw through Old Man Tao's use of witchcraft on people outside right away."
That's why, after discovering early this morning that Shi Yuyan wasn't the person they were looking for, they instead sent Wu Chi to investigate Ye Wanxi and the others.
“I was really surprised and anxious when I heard them talking about this. I came to find you, Grandpa, without asking any questions. Miss Ye said that the matter has now been handed over to the higher-ups to handle. If we don’t believe it, we can call and ask.”
Although Wu Yan was the clan leader, he had not been in charge of clan affairs for very long. The real decision-maker present was still Grandpa Wu.
Upon hearing Wu Chi's words, almost everyone's gaze fell upon Grandpa Wu, awaiting his instructions.
"Ask, I'll ask right now."
In front of everyone, Grandpa Wu dialed a familiar number, and as soon as the call was connected, he explained his purpose.
The other party was very cooperative, briefly explaining the whole story, and then sent over a few photos.
Grandpa Wu and the others zoomed in and saw the faces of two strangers in their forties or fifties. They immediately recognized that the two had died from the backlash of the Gu worms.
"That's right, it is indeed the Golden Silkworm Gu. These two must be the Gu keeper."
Wu Chi's uncles and aunts' expressions changed slightly, and they started chattering amongst themselves.
"Is it really a Golden Silkworm Gu? How can anyone raise such a wicked creature? Aren't they afraid of being attacked back?"
"It has already backfired, but this is indeed strange. How could an ordinary villager in a village learn to raise such a thing without a teacher? Someone must have taught him."
"Who would teach him? This is a forbidden technique of our clan. Even many of the younger generation today have only heard of it by name and don't even know what it is, let alone outsiders."
"Do you think it could be that person?"
"Who?"
"That person, the one from twenty years ago."
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room froze again.
Wu Chi, listening from the side, was completely bewildered. He frowned and asked, "Who is that person? What exactly happened twenty years ago? Why does everyone avoid talking about what happened twenty years ago? Dad and Grandpa, you both said that you would tell me everything when I came of age, but several years have passed and you are still keeping it from me."
As the young clan leader, Wu Chi only vaguely knew that a major event had occurred in the village more than twenty years ago, the year before Tao Wan was born.
Because of this incident, many people died in the village; his mother and Tao Wan's father both died around that time.
The cause of all this tragedy was the Golden Silkworm Gu.
But when pressed for further details, these elders became unwilling to say more.
When Wu Chi was a child, he asked his father and grandfather about it, but they usually evaded the question and brushed it off.
When he grows up, he won't be so easy to fool anymore. But every time this matter is brought up, it inevitably reminds them of their deceased mother, which is tantamount to stabbing them in the wounds that have just begun to heal.
Over time, Wu Chi stopped asking.
But now, the Golden Silkworm Gu has reappeared. Even if Wu Chi doesn't want to reopen old wounds, he can no longer let everyone deceive themselves.
Grandpa Wu and Father Wu exchanged a glance, a trace of sorrow flashing in their weathered eyes, and sighed, "Speak."
Wu Yan thought for a moment and said loudly, "Actually, you have an aunt."
"Aunt? How come I've never heard you mention her before?"
"Because she died when you were three years old."
The aunt Wu Yan mentioned was not actually his biological sister, but rather the daughter of his grandfather's elder brother.
Grandpa Wu's elder brother died young in an accident, and his wife passed away a few years after giving birth to their daughter, leaving behind their young daughter who had no one to take care of her.
Grandpa Wu and his wife felt sorry for the child. Since they only had one son and no daughter, they took the child from their elder brother's family and raised her as their own daughter.
"Your aunt is a very cheerful and opinionated person, but it is precisely because she is too opinionated that she made a big mistake."
“Back then, although our clan was secluded from the world, it wasn’t as xenophobic as it is now. If young people in the clan wanted to go out and see the world, no one would stop them. When your aunt was fifteen or sixteen, she liked to go out and play. At first, we didn’t take it too seriously, until she was twenty and brought a man back, saying she wanted to marry him.”
Wu Chi frowned: "And then?"
Wu Yan turned to look at his grandfather: "Your grandfather opposes this marriage."
"Why? Is that man not good enough for Auntie?
"That man is a senior executive at a company, a graduate of a prestigious university, handsome, from a wealthy family, and has excellent qualities in all aspects."
"Then why..."
“It’s because he was too perfect.” Grandpa Wu recalled the events of that year, a hint of pain appearing in his eyes. “He was very good, perfect in every way, but it was precisely because he was too good that he gave off a sense of incongruity. I couldn’t explain why I didn’t like him back then, I just felt that this person…”
"It's too fake?"
"Yes, that's kind of a feeling."
"And then what happened? My aunt and that man..."
"get married."
"They got married?" Wu Chi was startled. "Grandpa, weren't you against it? How could they get married?"
Grandpa Wu gave a wry smile: "You can't fight city hall. What's the use of my objections?"
Grandpa Wu really loved the daughter left behind by his eldest brother; he even loved her more than his own son.
He did oppose the marriage at the time, but the child liked it.
Grandpa Wu still remembers the child who had never asked him for anything before, kneeling before him in tears, praising the man's kindness and begging him to grant her wish.
Grandpa Wu couldn't bring himself to hurt the child, and in the end, he had no choice but to compromise.
Little did they know that this compromise would lead to a lifetime of regret.
(End of this chapter)
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