Ascending to the Clouds Alone

With a series of spasms, Han Xiangyu rolled down and writhed on the stained deck.

In no time, his face turned from blue to purple, his mouth was wide open, and air was constantly leaking from his throat.

"Uncle Han!"

Lin Su panicked and quickly reached out to help him, but stopped halfway through.

Where should I support him? His neck? His shoulder? Or his arm?

At this moment, Han Xiangyu seemed to have lost all his strength, and the twitching of his hands and feet became less and less pronounced.

Those who drown, when they are pulled out of the water, are like this: at first they can still move their hands and feet a few times, but gradually they become completely still.

Only when the convulsions were about to completely stop did Lin Su finally reach out and support Han Xiangyu's nape.

I'm really afraid he'll just die like this.

Lin Su's mind was blank when suddenly that sentence came to mind.

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"Survival is only for two kinds of people—the useful ones and the obedient ones!"

Uncle Han, which one are you?

The bulges created by something wriggling in his palm sent a shiver down Lin Su's spine.

He looked down and saw several tiny insects crawling around in Han Xiangyu's veins.

It looked like an ordinary insect, grayish-brown with a hint of black, and carrying some kind of foul curse.

They were greedily gnawing at Han Xiangyu's flesh, burrowing forward in arches.

With each arch, a lump would bulge in Han Xiangyu's veins.

The lump traveled upstream along the blood vessel, down to the neck, and across the cheek...

Han Xiangyu couldn't make a sound, but her eyes remained open, staring at Lin Su as if she wanted to say something.

Lin Su stared at the insects, then used his other hand to try and pry them out.

Should I pinch it with my fingernail? Or squeeze it with my fingertip? If only I had a needle.

He remembered when he was a child, he got a splinter in his finger, and his mother used a needle to pick it out for him. He cried from the pain, and his mother said, "Just bear with it, it will pass."

But now, he didn't know how to bring it up for Han Xiangyu, nor did he know whether he should say "bear with it."

His hand was trembling so badly that it hung suspended above Han Xiangyu's neck, unable to fall down even slightly.

Everything around seemed to have been blocked out, leaving only the clear wriggling of the insects in front of me.

The insects crawled faster and faster, and Han Xiangyu's eyes were about to close.

At this moment, the female deacon took half a step forward, her pupils suddenly contracting:

Corrosion Gu!

These Gu worms are divided into three grades: the inferior grade erodes the body, the middle grade erodes the spirit, and the superior grade erodes the soul.

How did it suddenly appear here?

"Erosion Gu! It's Erosion Gu!"

Someone shouted, and everyone froze in place as if under a spell.

After a short while, the crowd scattered in all directions, and in an instant, low tables were overturned and wine jugs flew everywhere.

"Throw him out!"

"Don't let him die here!"

"Please, fairy, restrain him! Don't let that thing crawl out!"

This time, it wasn't apathetic indifference, but a direct threat of death.

Everyone knows what the word "Erosion Gu" means. After it has eaten something, it will crawl out of the body of a dead person, and any living person who touches it will find it difficult to get rid of.

The people inside the cabin rushed frantically to both ends of the shuttle, desperately trying to get away from Han Xiangyu, as if the area within three feet of him was a death zone.

The pushing, shouting, and cursing nearly overturned the top of the shuttle.

Lin Su knelt on the ground, listening to those sounds, which were both very close and very far away, as if separated by something.

In the chaos, a figure flashed out, raised his hand and grabbed Han Xiangyu from the air, pulling him down to his feet.

He gathered spiritual energy and, in mid-air, struck several major acupoints on Han Xiangyu's chest, Juque, and Shenfeng.

With each tap, Han Xiangyu's body would twitch.

After the person finished ordering, Han Xiangyu seemed to improve, and his convulsions lessened.

Those nearby exclaimed in surprise, "To manipulate objects from a distance, to strike pressure points mid-air—this is the skill of a half-step Core Formation cultivator!"

Another person chimed in, "Most people wouldn't even recognize all those acupoints, yet he pressed seven of them in one go."

Someone else asked in a low voice, "The Gu worms have been sealed off?"

The person beside him replied in a deep voice, "Look at that person's face, the purple color has faded."

Lin Su looked up and saw a gray-robed figure standing there, like a huge mountain peak.

His beard fluttered, and the aura of a half-step Core Formation cultivator immediately overwhelmed everyone.

He had seen someone with that kind of aura before, but that was a long, long time ago.

"Senior Brother Yang." The female deacon bowed her head and stepped back, giving a respectful salute.

The man's gaze lingered on the female deacon's face. After a couple of breaths, he looked around and said loudly:

"Fellow Daoists, there is no need to panic. I have already contained this Gu, and it will not spread."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the cabin felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they all retreated to their seats, whispering among themselves.

"It's Supervisor Yang from this thousand-machine shuttle."

"Which Inspector Yang?"

"Who else could it be? The one who single-handedly hunted down thirteen disciples of the Green Wood Sect ten years ago."

"It is said that among those thirteen people, three were in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and he killed them all."

"A half-step Core Formation cultivator, truly terrifying!"

"Is the Gu worm really sealed off? Will it break free?"

"His words are credible; it's unlikely."

The voices gradually faded, and everyone's eyes secretly glanced towards the patrolman, but then quickly looked away.

The inspector glanced down at Han Xiangyu, then looked at the female deacon.

Seeing her shake her head slightly, the patrolman withdrew his gaze, grabbed Han Xiangyu by the back of his collar, and headed straight for the central hub of the Thousand Machine Shuttle.

After he walked away, someone whispered among themselves:

"And who is that female deacon? Even Inspector Yang has to consult her before making any decisions?"

"Keep your voice down. She used to be from the Witchcraft Hall, and she knows the most about Gu worms."

"Then why would someone be doing sales on the Thousand-Machine Shuttle?"

"I heard she was kicked out of the witchcraft guild for some reason..."

Lin Su was still standing there, stunned.

Suddenly, he realized that Han Xiangyu was no longer in front of him.

Turning around, Han Xiangyu's body was being lifted up, limp and lifeless; it was impossible to tell whether he was dead or alive.

Watching him being dragged away, further and further away, until it seemed he would never come back.

As the patrolman's figure disappeared behind the cabin door, Lin Su remembered the words on the jade slip.

Is this what the goods are?

So, do all these entire shipments end up the same way?

A chill seeped up from under the deck, making his teeth chatter.

Before Lin Su could react, a cold hand grabbed his arm, pulled him up, and pushed him forward.

Lin Su resisted that force, slowly turned his head, and looked at Qi Fengqin sitting beside the couch.

The zither was still lying there, but a few drops of wine had splashed on it, making it a bit darker in color than the rest of the instrument.

Lin Su struggled a few times.

The female deacon did not stop him. She let go of his hand and stood still, waiting for him to walk over and pick up the zither before pushing him forward again.

As Lin Su passed through the cabin door, he turned around and looked at the corner where he had been hiding for the past few days, where there was a stain of wine.

He didn't know if Uncle Han would ever come back, but he knew that the wine stain had seeped into his heart.