Chapter 21
The secluded hut was hidden behind a courtyard strewn with bones. The sky above the small temple was gloomy, with occasional sticky bubbles dripping down.
The sow-woman carried the madam on her back to the dilapidated hut, pushed the door open with her rough hands, and with a creaking sound, she saw a lit candle on the table opposite the door.
The fire was dim, only illuminating a small area in the room.
In the candlelight, Xiao Yuanbao and another boy were tied up with thick ropes, with cotton and linen stuffed in their mouths. They looked at the open door in horror, their heads leaning against each other, huddled closer to the corner.
The woodlice carefully placed the person on her back onto the bed, then turned around and closed the door. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she looked into the bone courtyard for a moment before she came to her senses and closed the door completely.
The hunchbacked and lame woman stepped forward, hooked the two boys with her rotten nails, and brought them before her.
She tapped the two boys' foreheads with her fingers, and the fear in their eyes disappeared.
The woodlice blew a breath, and with a push of her hands, the two boys tied to the ground flew up and landed beside the bed.
The woodlice bent over and backed away. Under Xiao Yuanbao's distracted gaze, the blanket on the bed moved, twisted and tightened, turning into a rope.
It hooked Xiao Yuanbao's waist and brought his body in front of the madam.
The monster, with only half of its body left, propped itself up on the bed, its ugly face covered in rough skin and thick beard.
A low roar came from his throat, and his head folded back strangely, revealing his mouthparts and venomous jaws.
The long, dark jaws pierced into Xiao Yuanbao's skin, and the mouth opened and attached itself to the skin. The boy's eyes turned white, and his body quickly lost color.
And as if human skin was draped over the monster's human form, the hairs and whiskers began to break and shrink, and the dead skin fell off, revealing a new life of porcelain white.
The skin of the little ingot, which was sucked by the mouthparts, began to age and wrinkle. Aging quickly spread to the boy's arms and upper body.
The human skin draped over the monster even had its eyebrows and eyes changed.
Willow-shaped eyebrows, peach blossom eyes, the blurred skin once again reveals the posture of a woman. It becomes soft and moist.
Finally, when Xiao Yuanbao's black hair turned white and he looked very old, the madam stopped.
The lower half of her body began to wriggle and regenerate. Her mouthparts retracted, and her strangely long jaws returned to her neck. The rat woman pulled a large gown from a nearby wooden wardrobe and respectfully handed it to the madam.
He stretched out his arms and let the pillbug change her clothes.
The man tied his hair up, and with new nails growing on his fingers, he gathered his messy hair into a bun.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and never looked at the little boy again.
The woodlice knelt down at the man's feet diligently, holding nail polish made of safflower in her hands, stroking the man's hands, and applying dark red to his nails over and over again.
Then there is white powder and rouge.
The dough dotted the man's face, covering up his stiff bones, layer after layer, until his face looked deathly gray.
Two dabs of rouge were smeared on his cheekbones, and a piece of oil paper was pressed on his lips, and he turned from a "he" into a "she".
Zu Qianjiao looked at the woodcutter, and the woman leaned over and answered yes, then walked out of the room dragging a boy with one hand.
Zu Qianjiao twisted her neck and stood up with the sound of bones colliding.
It was not easy for her to maintain her female body; she had to sacrifice the life span of a boy. But how many boys were there in the academy?
Zu Qianjiao walked out and the door opened automatically. He stood on the pile of bones and walked towards the small temple step by step.
The cold wind lifted the dark roof, making a roar, as if welcoming him.
As he approached, he saw the headless and faceless statue in the shrine. Zu Qianjiao's left hand grasped her right, then she forcibly severed her right little finger and inserted the severed finger into the incense burner in front of the shrine.
He muttered something, clasped his hands together, and closed his eyes devoutly: "Buddha, I am here to burn incense for you."
"You must bless our family to succeed. We want that Gu Luoyan to die, and we want that little monster to have no power to fight back!"
The severed finger on the incense ash quickly dried up into a piece of black, dry meat.
The flesh and blood were absorbed into the shrine, and as Zu Qianjiao was chanting, a gust of wind seemed to blow from inside in response.
Zu Qianjiao opened her eyes, still looking at the statue, but seemed to be muttering to someone: "Gu Ji, ah Gu Ji, you are so good, Gu Ji, you actually dared to plot against mother. This time, mother will not indulge you anymore."
·
Li Shisan was extremely busy. This morning, he followed the leader's instructions and killed an old hen. He cooked it with the squab that he had raised for a long time to make soup for Nian Qing to nourish his body.
In the side room, Nian Qing lay on the bed with her legs crossed, scratching idly at the scar that was tied with a thin cloth.
A small incense burner lit beside the bed, its soothing aroma filling Nianqing's nose and eyes. But Nianqing couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, finally waiting for the door to open. She sat up with a whoosh, her eyes shining.
"Gu Luoyan..." Before he could finish his words, the light in his eyes went out in an instant when he saw that the person coming was Li Shisan.
Nian Qing fell back onto the bed dejectedly, ignoring the injuries on his body, shaking his legs and waving his hands: "Why are you here?"
"Silly girl, why are you so disappointed!" Li Shisan was furious. He held the casserole in his hand. Although he looked angry, he held it lightly in his hands. He put the casserole on the table, then stood up and turned to look at Nian Qing: "Take good care of it. Ouch, don't move!" Li Shisan walked over and felt his heart pounding when he saw Nian Qing wrapped in fine cloth and looking so aggressive.
Nian Qing ignored him until Li Shisan knocked her on the back of the head. Then she calmed down. She buried her face in the pillow and said in a muffled voice, "Where's Gu Luoyan?"
"The leader has a lot of things to do, so naturally he has to do what needs to be done." Li Shisan walked back to the table and uncovered the casserole. "Come and drink the soup. This is a gift from the leader."
"Poor hens and pigeons..." He was muttering to himself sadly. He raised his head and turned around, but was startled by Nian Qing who was standing in front of him without him knowing.
"You girl, you don't even make any sound when you walk!" Li Shisan raised his hand to hit Nian Qing's shoulder, but then he thought of her weak body, so he put his hand down in dissatisfaction.
"Is this soup made by Gu Luoyan?" She spoke with excitement and reached out to take the meat in the casserole impatiently.
Li Shisan slapped the hand away: "You're rude! You don't know how hot it is!" He turned around and fetched a bowl and spoon for Nian Qing, handing it to her: "This is made by your Thirteenth Master! Gu Ji is very busy, how could she have the time to make soup?"
Nian Qing pouted, turned around and walked towards the bed, "It's boring, Li Shisan, you can eat it yourself."
"Hey, hey, hey, even though it wasn't Kuishou who did it, she asked me to do it. Do you really not understand her intentions?"
Li Shisan became anxious and quickly found an excuse to provoke her.
Sure enough, the girl stopped, turned around and stared at the casserole.
This method really worked. Li Shisan realized that if it was related to Gu Ji, then Nian Qing's rudeness could be cured.
Nian Qing sat down at the table obediently, no longer in a hurry to eat the meat. She asked Li Shisan, "Did Gu Luoyan really say that?"
"How could this be false? Why would I lie to you?" Li Shisan kept nodding, but his hands did not stop either. He poured soup for Nian Qing and put two pieces of meat into Nian Qing's bowl.
He was still scolding Nian Qing, but his eyes fell on Nian Qing's wound, scanning from head to toe, and then they became gentle and distressed.
Finally, he just said: "Eat quickly, eat quickly."
Nian Qing blew on the bowl to blow out some of the hot steam in the soup, then took a big sip and swung his feet in joy.
"It's delicious." She smiled at Li Shisan, "Next time you see Gu Luoyan, thank her for me."
"When I recover from my injury, I will go find her myself."
"Why don't you thank me?" Li Shisan couldn't help but tease her, "I made this soup."
Nian Qing sat cross-legged on the chair, leaning forward, picking up the meat with her chopsticks. She didn't look at Li Shisan, her face full of joy: "Thank you, Master Thirteen."
So the old man, who was full of bad words, stopped talking. He stared at Nian Qing, watching her eat meat with big mouthfuls. After a long time, he finally said, "You girl, you should take good care of yourself."
·
Gu Luoyan sat in the room, Qiu Niang waiting nearby. Only a few candles were lit in the room, and a thin veil hung down, making the room seem as dark as a layer of fog.
Gu Luoyan stared at the candlelight in front of him and asked, "Did the person leave?"
Qiu Niang leaned over and whispered in Gu Luoyan's ear, "The owner of the academy has issued a ban. The surrounding rooms are all under guard. The news from Miaoyinfang is that your music has been replaced. I'm afraid you will be confined to your room and will no longer be seen by the public. You must be more careful."
"We failed in our attempt to test him. He is truly cunning, and after this incident, we are now completely his enemy."
Qiu Niang hugged Gu Luoyan from behind and said, "No matter what, this old slave and I will live and die together."
Gu Luoyan raised her hand and took Qiu Niang's arm. She comforted her, "No, Aunt Qiu, we will definitely be able to get out of this red hall together."
She turned to look at the red leaves and flowers beside the candlelight, and said to Qiu Niang, "Burn it."
"But……"
Gu Luoyan chuckled, "I've been poisoned. He's been severely injured by Nian Qing now, and no matter what, he can't cover the sky with one hand. Don't worry, I won't die."
Gu Luoyan then looked up at the talismans stuck on the beams and doorframes around him and said, "Let's get started."
So Qiu Niang stood up and held up a candle. Gu Luoyan was sitting at the table, wearing a silk dress dotted with stars. She looked calmly at the red-leafed flower that was being tested by the candlelight, watching the edges of the flower curl up and its roots turn dark.
Gu Luoyan said immediately: "Aunt, hurry up and leave!"
The lamp was thrown down completely, covering the stamens of the red leaf flowers.
The yellow talismans on all four sides lit up at the same time, and the covered flame burned higher, sparks overflowed, and the entire vase was burned along with the flower buds.
Gu Luoyan heard a slight scream, and a foul air rose from the flowers and leaves, corroding the vase on the table.
Then, a lump appeared in her hand again. The lump quickly moved up her arm, but suddenly stopped at her shoulder.
Gu Luoyan raised her arm and pulled her sleeve downwards, revealing a fair hand.
On her shoulder, a circle of spells that seemed to be engraved with incense and needles was emitting flames, forcing the poisonous insect in her arm to be unable to move forward.
Then the bulge turned around and moved around in Yu Gu Luoyan's left arm.
Gu Luoyan's face was filled with pain, and her hands, uncontrollably, swung back and grabbed her neck. Qiu Niang, watching from the side, suddenly felt her face change. She was about to move forward, but Gu Luoyan looked up and stopped her.
Her right hand gripped her left wrist to counteract it.
Finally, the fingers of the left hand turned blue and black, and broke strangely, revealing a curved arc.
The poisonous insect stopped in her palm, as if it was about to break out of the skin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
