Chapter 34: To Eat or to Raise
Four people were sitting in the lobby. Hui Gu and A Cuo looked at the unexpected guests with displeasure. Hui Gu wanted to say something, but A Cuo stopped her from speaking.
Shang Yuji pointed to the empty seat next to her: "Please sit down. I would also appreciate it if you would take the usual route next time you visit, and not be a thief again."
Perhaps sensing the complex emotions swirling within Aji, Jiang Xi secretly stared at the person dressed in black.
Lin Mingshan nodded in agreement, took off his bundle, gently placed it on the table, and then, with a snap, pressed down a sword.
After he sat down, Shang Yuji asked, "Fulai Inn?"
"Hmm." Lin Mingshan glanced at the others in the lobby and asked, "Is it all alright to listen?"
Shang Yuji followed the people inside and saw that Hui Gu and A Cuo represented the forces of Southern Xinjiang, while Lin Mingshan represented Fulai Inn. Sometimes, it is only by starting from different perspectives that one can discover some novel things in conversation.
"Can."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Mingshan nodded again and said, "The Moon Pearl comes from Wuming Village in the Southern Frontier. This village is usually isolated and does not like outsiders to come and go. In the eyes of the other villages in the Southern Frontier, it is a mysterious place."
Upon hearing him mention the name "Moon Pearl," Hui Gu almost wanted to get up and tell him to stop talking.
Ah Yue is Ah Yue, Ah Yue is not called Yue Mingzhu!
Moon Pearl was the name that damned Da'an man gave her!
A-Cuo didn't stop Hui-Gu's angry glare immediately. When the name of Wu-Ming Village was mentioned, she was stunned. She didn't expect that this person could even detect Wu-Ming.
They didn't mention that Aunt Yue came from Wuming Village just now in order to conceal Wuming's existence.
A distinct "crackling" sound came from Hui Gu's direction. Shang Yuji turned her head to look and saw the sound of the wooden stool handle being crushed into pieces when she was extremely angry.
Noticing Shang Yuji's gaze, Hui Gu forced a smile and said softly, "This person speaks so incoherently. I have a Gu that can cure this ailment. I wonder if you would allow me to try it?"
Asking her is useless; the Gu wasn't used on her anyway.
Judging from Hui Gu's expression, she couldn't be sure whether the Gu poison was good or bad.
Shang Yuji hesitated, wanting to refuse, but Lin Mingshan skillfully stretched out his arm, pulled up his narrow sleeve, revealing his wrist: "Okay."
Seeing that he agreed, Shang Yuji said kindly, "Actually, what you just said is not harmful if you listen carefully."
Lin Mingshan shook his head: "It's nothing. When I was in Wuming, they also used Gu on me."
At this point, Shang Yuji stopped talking.
Hui Gu stood up and moved closer to Lin Mingshan. A Cuo, sitting on a stool, exclaimed in surprise, "You even went into Wuming?"
It seems they managed to escape unscathed?
"Yes, Wuming, the people there are very nice."
Some outsiders actually think that the people of Wuming are good!
A-Cuo looked him up and down as if he had seen something rare.
Although Hui Gu harbored resentment towards him, she wouldn't stoop so low as to harm him with Gu poison.
She pressed firmly on his wrist to feel his pulse, tapped it twice with her slightly longer fingertips, and then got up and left.
Lin Mingshan: "Then I'll continue."
"Okay," Shang Yuji replied.
He thought to himself that this Gu poison was truly effective.
"The villagers' information about the Moon Pearl was roughly the same as what she said."
Hui Gu gave a soft hum and said nothing more.
"On the other hand, the information was found on Jiang Langjun's wet nurse. From her, we learned that one day in Hebei Province, Master Jiang suddenly brought Yue Mingzhu with him, but did not tell anyone in the mansion her identity. He only told them to serve Yue Mingzhu well. So some people suspected that she was Master Jiang's concubine who was not in the public eye. But apart from the time he brought her back, the master never came to the courtyard to see her again."
"..." Shang Yuji understood. Before using the Gu, punctuation marks were as free as they were, but after using the Gu, using punctuation marks would be illegal.
Also, he must have a lot of lung capacity to say so much in one breath.
"Master Jiang doesn't come to the courtyard, but Madam Jiang comes occasionally. Madam Jiang is Master Jiang's second wife. The night before Yue Mingzhu committed suicide, Madam Jiang saw Yue Mingzhu. Because this matter was suspicious, the wet nurse always remembered it. Later, Yue Mingzhu died, leaving behind a one-year-old child. Although Madam Jiang did not care about him on the surface, she was actually still taking care of him. Otherwise, the child would have starved to death long ago."
After listening to him read it aloud, Shang Yuji felt like she couldn't breathe for some reason.
Shang Yuji looked up at Lin Mingshan, who was clearly pleased, his face beaming with delight. Seeing him about to speak again, Shang Yuji wanted to shout:
—Master, please stop chanting!
Shang Yuji's gaze was unfocused, unable to look at the others in the lobby. She noticed that they didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what Lin Mingshan said, and occasionally even nodded in agreement.
She quickly realized that she was different from them; she had never practiced martial arts!
So what if you practice martial arts?
Practicing martial arts is truly remarkable.
Jiang Xi went to see Aji Yanba, who had collapsed. She secretly held her palm with her fingers and squeezed it. When Lin Mingshan spoke again, she gently tapped her palm according to his instructions.
"I also found out that Master Jiang's decision to move to the capital was very sudden. The people in the mansion were confused. Suddenly, Master Jiang moved the whole family without giving them any preparation."
By the way, Jiang Langjun's biological father was named Jiang Moliu. He was a clever man from Hebei Province. In any case, many old people said he was very smart, but he died young because of his talent.
Then Yue Mingzhu met and fell in love with him in Hebei Road. At first, everyone was not optimistic about their relationship, but after Jiang Moliu met Yue Mingzhu, he showed a smile that had not been seen for a long time. Everyone could only silently wish them well.
During Jiang Moliu's final days, while he was bedridden, Yue Mingzhu seemed to go out frequently, leading some to suspect she had found someone outside the home. After Jiang Moliu's death, Yue Mingzhu suddenly entered the Jiang family mansion, seemingly confirming the rumors.
Shang Yuji added pauses to Lin Mingshan's words based on the gesture of his finger pointing, and understood what he was saying in a short time.
Jiangxi is gone! Her beautiful stream is gone!
She happily grabbed his fingertips, shook them twice, and stopped when Lin Mingshan spoke.
Jiang Xi felt her ears burning and smiled, pursing her lips.
After being exposed to so many books of heart-wrenching romance brought by Master Yi, he understood that his burning ears, blushing face, and racing heart were signs of shyness.
She was shy because of her affection for Aji.
To like, to love.
He likes Aji.
"There is still some time to spare, so there are still doubts about where Yue Mingzhu went after Jiang Moliu became seriously ill."
Shang Yuji had a guess about this. She turned to Hui Gu and asked, "Did she tell you what materials are needed to make this Gu? Like Wu Ming's sacred objects. Maybe she was out collecting the materials needed to make the Gu during that time."
In addition, in order to coax Jiang Xi into becoming his disciple, Yi Sha later told her that the Seven Star Sect's thousand-year-old lotus seeds were also used to make Gu poison.
Hui Gu lowered her eyes and said softly, "Wu Ming's sacred object is a Myriad Manifestations Gu that has lived for four hundred years."
The term "Gu" (蛊) signifies that all phenomena within a Gu can be transformed, meaning that the Myriad Manifestations Gu can fulfill the Gu user's (蛊's) requirements by transforming into the specific Gu worm type needed by the user.
"It's actually the Myriad Manifestations Gu?" A-Cuo exclaimed in surprise.
This is the dream Gu of countless Gu makers; obtaining one Gu means obtaining ten thousand Gu.
However, taming it is no easy task.
Slowly, Hui Gu sighed, "She only told me that she had a method, but she didn't tell me how to make the Heart-Connecting Gu."
At this point, Shang Yuji finally heard the true name of the Gu poison on Jiang Xi's body: "Heart-to-Heart Gu?"
Hui Gu chuckled, and the silver ornaments she wore vibrated and made a tinkling sound: "The two people who are of one heart... the mother Gu will share the suffering of the child Gu, and extend the life of the child Gu with her own life. Of course, the two people of one heart must care for each other and truly share the same bed in life and the same grave in death."
"If there is no one in their heart, they will both perish."
"That's why I say Ah Yue is bold, gambling her life and death with love. In this world, there are many people who change their hearts. Am I right? Xi Qu?"
Upon hearing her name called, Jiang Xi looked up and met Hui Gu's gaze, which was filled with anguish. She then gripped Shang Yuji's fingertips tightly and said, "No, I won't change my mind about Yun Xiao!"
?
Why is she involved?
Shang Yuji wore a natural working smile and did not respond.
Hui Gu didn't say much. She got up and walked towards Lin Mingshan. Under Lin Mingshan's reluctant gaze, she decisively took out the Gu.
"How much does this Gu cost? Can I buy it?" Lin Mingshan asked, pressing his wrist.
A-Cuo got up, stretched, and her silver ornaments jingled as she spoke: "You're quite something. You've managed to get your hands on a Gu worm that everyone else avoids."
Lin Mingshan declared righteously, "A useful Gu is a good Gu!"
My master said that no matter how orthodox a move is, as long as it can defeat the enemy, it is a good move.
The same applies to Gu (a type of poison).
A-Cuo glanced at him and muttered, "No wonder you were able to come back alive from Wuming."
“I’m sorry, this Gu is not for sale.” Hui Gu turned to Shang Yuji and said, “Do you and your husband have anything else to say? I would like to speak with you both.”
Lin Mingshan seemed not to understand her meaning to send him away, and slapped the table where the bundle was placed: "Employer, this is what I brought for you, some specialties from Southern Xinjiang!"
"Hmm?" Shang Yuji was puzzled. Why would this person give gifts when he was on a business trip?
With lightning speed, he untied the cloth covering the bundle, revealing a bamboo cage inside, teeming with crawling insects.
He said excitedly, "Fried insects, fresh ones. I specially fed them all the way here so that I could fry them alive. I even learned how to fry insects, and now I'm frying them for you to eat."
Shang Yuji was speechless, then pointed to the bamboo cage: "You should save this good stuff for your relatives and friends."
Not wanting to keep a cold face, Lin Mingshan smiled awkwardly, like someone who had never smiled before trying to smile for the first time: "They have a part too, Senior Sister and Master will like it."
Poor fellow sufferers!
Shang Yuji sighed inwardly. She had to find a way to refuse. Eating insects was too much of a test for her heart.
"Ah!" A-Cuo screamed, "Little Black, Little Black, Little Gray, what are you doing here!"
A-Cuo ran to the bamboo cage, pointed at the insects climbing on each other so densely packed that it was impossible to tell them apart, and asked, "Why did you bring Xiao Hei and the others here? You even said you were going to blow them up!"
Lin Mingshan paused for a moment: "I asked the villagers, and they said that you can catch any insects outside, so I caught some and left."
"That's true, but we can't eat Little Black and Little Gray."
"Otherwise, I'll open the cage, and you can pick out the ones that can't be eaten."
"OK."
The two communicated quickly, and soon, several Gu worms crawled up A-Cuo's drooping fingertips through the opening of the bamboo cage and slowly moved into her sleeve.
Shang Yuji suppressed her strange and uncomfortable thoughts. Just when she thought she wouldn't have to eat insects anymore, A-Cuo closed the bamboo cage: "Alright, you can fry the rest and eat them."
In an effort to save her poor stomach, Shang Yuji asked, "Miss A-Cuo, aren't you going to pick out the other bugs too?"
It's said that they were picked up, but what I really want to say is that they were rescued.
A-Cuo raised an eyebrow: "I don't recognize the other insects, why would I pick them?"
So you can eat insects you don't recognize?
Shang Yuji suddenly felt a stomach ache.
Shang Yuji felt her palm being squeezed, and turned her head, wondering what Jiang Xi wanted to say.
"Yunxiao, they're talking. They want me to raise them, is that okay?"
Shang Yuji no longer had the strength to question that insects couldn't speak; she just wanted him to take the cage of insects away from her sight as soon as possible, and preferably not into her stomach!
“I can… take care of him…” she waved her hand weakly.
Shang Yuji's unexpected breakthrough was Lin Mingshan's downfall.
He urged, "Fried insects are delicious. You can keep a few to fry."
She politely declined, saying, "Thank you for your kind offer, but we would prefer to keep it."
Lin Mingshan said helplessly, "Fine."
Jiang Xi caught up with the group: "Thank you, please give me the insect, that's all."
The bundle was tied up and placed aside. Shang Yuji felt as if she had escaped death. After she came to her senses, she didn't know whether it was better to live with the insects or to eat them.
She tugged at Jiang Xiqu's arm, and Jiang Xiqu immediately bent down and listened to her say, "Take them to the backyard to keep them. I don't really want to see them."
Jiang Xi reached out and whispered close to her ear, "If you don't like it, I won't keep it."
Shang Yuji looked up and met his gaze. After a moment, Jiang Xiqu blushed and smiled faintly at her.
She chuckled and said, "It's okay, you can raise it if you want, as long as I can't see it."
Jiang Xi's dark eyes seemed to melt into a pool of rippling spring water. He held onto the hand tightly, but as he approached, Shang Yuji reacted quickly, pulling him back and patting his arm with her free hand, whispering, "Someone's here!"
"Oh." Jiang Xi stopped what she was doing and sat up obediently again.
A-Cuo and Lin Ming-Shan were discussing how to fry and stir-fry insects to make them delicious, while Hui-Gu became interested in the interaction between the two.
Ah Yue, is this what you wanted?
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