Chapter 1 So Many Chickens

"Just a few chickens, and that Golden Silkworm Gu was eliminated?"

For a time, Zhou Datong and the others couldn't imagine what kind of bizarre situation this was. Even they, as night watchers, couldn't withstand the Golden Silkworm Gu, yet it was eaten by a rooster in a few bites.

After all, they were night watchers, having cultivated a whole body of skills, yet they were inferior to a chicken?

As for the other flesh-cutters and others, it was even more unbelievable. They had just felt that disaster was imminent, and many of them had cried out in fear, feeling that their work was really not worth it, and they hadn't even slept with a woman before the end.

But now they found that the problem that so many skilled people couldn't solve was solved by a few chickens, as if in a dream.

"Hehe, the principle of mutual generation and mutual restraint isn't without reason."

Facing the surprised eyes of the crowd, Old Abacus also breathed a sigh of relief, with a hint of smugness, he chuckled and said, "Especially in the art of witchcraft, this principle is even more taboo. No matter how powerful the Golden Silkworm is, when it encounters a rooster, it's just a small bug."

"Of course, I was worried that one rooster wouldn't be enough, so I brought its whole family."

"Now it seems that my old man's calculations are still good. The Golden Silkworm is, after all, an insect. The more powerful it is against people, the weaker it is itself. In the eyes of this red-crowned general, it is also the most delicious."

"..."

As he spoke, he took a breath and shouted to the flesh-cutters and others beside him: "But these roosters saved your lives, so keep that in mind, feed them well, and don't stew them…"

The flesh-cutters beside him nodded repeatedly in fright, not daring to have any opinion, their eyes filled with awe when they looked at the rooster.

The rooster, however, didn't feel that it had done anything great. After swallowing the fat worm, it only felt refreshed. It shook its feathers, and suddenly spotted a hen huddled on the ground, not yet recovered, and began to peck at the feathers on its head and try to mount it.

"So now…"

Confirming that the harmful thing was really gone, the group of flesh-cutters in the valley finally breathed a sigh of relief. The oppressive atmosphere was swept away, and they began to whisper to each other.

Zhou Datong and the others, however, looked anxiously at the house. Hu Ma had just entered the house, and hadn't come out yet. They could hear that the toad croaking sound had been made by Hu Ma, and they had heard it several times.

It was also Hu Ma who had helped suppress the Golden Silkworm Gu for so long, that no one in the valley had died.

But now that the Gu had been removed, why was there still no movement inside the house? Could something have happened?

Just as they were anxious to go into the house to check, the movement beside them suddenly startled them. When everyone relaxed, Old Abacus turned to look at the shed, chuckled, and said, "Elder Wu, not easy…"

"Now that even such a powerful Golden Silkworm Gu has been removed, the Gu you've been refining should be completed, right?"

"..."

"Just one step away…"

Everyone then had time to look at the Wu clan leader who was refining Gu in the shed. Their eyes were no longer as trusting as before.

It was he who wanted to refine Gu in the valley, and said he would help people deal with the elusive witch outside, but in the past few days, they hadn't seen him help at all. Instead, they had relied on the outsider, Manager Hu, and the old man to solve several crises.

The crowd, who had initially been full of expectations for the Gu he was refining, now had doubts.

At this time, the Wu clan leader's face was extremely pale, as if he was under some kind of great pressure. He was slowly taking out an oilskin package, and placing pieces of black meat into the Gu basin. There was a faint sound of gnawing and chewing in the Gu basin.

The Gu worms inside seemed to be restless now. He continuously put in a lot of black tai sui, but they were not appeased. Finally, he suddenly cut open his palm and dripped his own blood into it.

Only then did the crawling and restless sounds in the Gu basin weaken slightly, but there was still a rustling sound, and the crawling sound made people feel uneasy.

He listened silently, and said in a low voice, "Emerge from the altar!"

Hearing his words, the pale-faced witch youth hurried forward, and little by little, began to dismantle the wooden strips on the shed.

Previously, when the Wu clan leader entered the shed, he had bent over, but now he carefully held up the Gu basin in his hands, and slowly stood up in the shed.

Until the witch youth had dismantled a space large enough for him to stand upright and walk out, he slowly raised his foot and walked out, his footsteps seemed a little unsteady, his face was terribly pale, and his eyes were filled with ghost fire.

"We still can't be careless. Wu Song's Golden Silkworm Gu was so powerful, who knows what else he hasn't released?"

While holding the Gu basin, he said in a low voice, "My Gu also needs to be refined more quickly. It's time to ask everyone to help me complete the final step."

"Eh?"

Old Abacus also forced a smile and said, "Then what is this final step you're talking about?"

"I opened the Gu altar on the blood food mine, so I can borrow the energy of the mine to nourish the Gu. It's already been nourished eight or nine times, but there's still one place that's sealed."

The Wu clan leader looked up ahead. His gaze fell on a section of the mine wrapped in red cloth and tightly sealed. He forced a smile and said, "Open that mine and let me complete the final step of refining the Gu, okay?"

"What?"

Suddenly hearing him say this, many people around felt a tremor in their hearts, and some even subconsciously stepped aside to block the mine.

Since this Wu clan leader came to the mine, they hadn't seen him mention this mine, nor had he asked about it. He didn't seem to know about this mine. Why was he suddenly thinking about it now?

Old Abacus swallowed slightly, his expression already a little gloomy. He tried hard to squeeze out a smile, and slowly said, "So, you old brother, you planned this in advance, didn't you? Borrowing the mine to refine Gu, first asking us to take off the red lanterns, and then using blood food to help nourish it."

"Step by step, the demands are getting more and more excessive, and finally you've set your sights on this mine… or rather, from the beginning, it was for this mine, right?"

"..."

As he spoke, everyone in the valley was silent, feeling a strange atmosphere pressing down on their hearts. But the chickens that he had brought over gradually became lively. Driven by the rooster, they fluttered around.

The horse that Old Abacus had ridden back to the valley, after panting for a few breaths, was also taking advantage of people's unpreparedness, and quietly approaching the Wu clan leader from behind…

"Isn't it what you agreed to, to lend me this blood food mine to refine Gu?"

And in this process, the Wu clan leader just slowly paced forward, with a sacred expression, holding the Gu basin, and slowly said as he walked, "Now you don't agree again, aren't you afraid that Wu Song will send Gu worms over again, and kill everyone on this blood food mine?"

"Or are you saying that you think you can defend against all Gu by bringing a few chickens over?"

"..."

As he spoke, he looked at the chickens running around the valley. It seemed that he had frowned ever since these chickens appeared, and was very annoyed. Until then, his eyes gradually turned cold:

"The principle of mutual generation and mutual restraint is correct."

"But as long as the Gu worms are powerful enough, they can also suppress their natural enemies. Are there fewer roosters poisoned to death by insects?"

"..."

As he spoke, his lips seemed to tremble slightly, and he recited something. In the Gu basin he was holding, a worm's cry suddenly came out. This worm's cry was extremely hoarse, sounding like rusty iron rubbing, strange and unpleasant, but the sound was loud.

As if the worm's cry started, the sound echoed everywhere in the entire valley.

Or rather, a certain aura in the valley was shaken by the worm's cry from the Gu worm, forming a resonance with it, and echoing back and forth in the valley.

"Kakaka…"

Listening to this worm's cry, the people present were already extremely uncomfortable. The chickens running around the valley became even more anxious. They seemed to be stared at by some invisible natural enemy, and suddenly became agitated and restless, running and bumping around the valley like crazy.

Some even tried to flutter their wings, as if trying to fly out of the valley, but in this violent struggle, they didn't last long, and fell to the ground one after another, their heads tilted, and they died.

It was like an invisible grim reaper passed by, one by one, dying extremely quickly. In the end, only the most energetic rooster was left. At this moment, it was also flapping its wings and calling out loudly, but its voice was getting hoarser and hoarser, and had been completely suppressed by the sound of the worm's cry.

The Wu clan leader's face was slowly returning to normal, holding the Gu basin, his expression became a little more cheerful, and he walked faster and faster, heading straight for the mine.

And in the Gu basin, the sound of the worm's cry was getting louder and louder.

The people in the valley were not unaware of something wrong. Those who wanted to stop him were the managers among the flesh-cutters, and the two disciples of the mine chief, Zhuang Erchang. But before their bodies could move, the sound of the worm's cry in their ears grew louder, and they felt dizzy and lightheaded.

This valley was actually full of killing intent, and merged with the Gu basin in the Wu clan leader's hand. As soon as they made a move, they felt as if they were being stared at by something, and even their hands and feet were out of their control.

A valley full of people, listening to the worm's cry, seemed to be under a petrification spell, and could only watch him walk towards the mine.

"Bang!"

But just at this moment, suddenly a black shadow crashed straight over, it was the horse. It approached silently, and then with all its strength, it slammed its head into the Gu basin in the Wu clan leader's hand, hitting it solidly.

It was a pity that Wu Ya, who was surrounding the Wu clan leader, suddenly turned her head and glanced at the horse. The horse, which was running wildly, suddenly cramped in its hind legs and fell straight down.

An unknown bulge had formed on its butt, and there were faintly wriggling worms in the bulge. This was where Wu Ya had smiled and touched it when she saw it before.

Old Abacus looked at it and secretly cried out in pain: "They came prepared…"

"Even this horse that can withstand the Gu formation was calculated. So as soon as they came over, they first planted Gu on it…"

"The little shopkeeper was talking so well with himself earlier, how come he's suddenly not making a sound now?"

(End of this chapter)