That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Such fear makes one want to pull their hand back, but Jiang Jingming lowered his eyes, remaining calm like a monk in meditation.

Wujiu trembled slightly in its sheath, the menacing blade sensing something it wanted to kill once more.

Chapter 88 Just Kidding

Looking at the serious and quiet expression on the person's face, Fang Zhiyi wanted to laugh for a moment, but sighed softly in her heart.

The black insect twisted its body and crawled smoothly from her palm into Jiang Jingming's hand.

You can feel the insect's hard shell with your hands, and it has an eerie coolness that makes you want to pull your hand back for no reason.

In that instant, the situation changed drastically!

The black worm, which was originally on the verge of death, quickly came back to life, like a stranded fish touching water. Everyone present saw what "ecstasy" meant from this worm!

Jiang Jingming felt a sharp pain in his palm. He frowned and looked down to see that the insect's head had already been buried in his palm.

"Hey!"

Xie Yunqi, who was closest, instinctively cried out in surprise.

The next instant, a flash of silver light appeared before everyone's eyes.

A sharp sleeve dagger pierced the black worm's body with perfect precision, peeling it away.

Aqing glanced coldly at Fang Zhiyi, then swung her sleeve knife and threw it out, pinning the black worm to the ground.

This girl, who always seemed to have no emotions, now had an undisguised murderous intent in her eyes, which everyone could feel.

Jiang Jingming looked down at the spot on his palm that had just stung. He clearly felt that the black insect had bitten him, but there was no bite mark on his palm; it was completely unharmed.

The black worms seemed to be able to burrow into a person's flesh without biting through the skin.

The culprit, Fang Zhiyi, still smiled calmly, as if she was completely unaware of the hostility emanating from A Qing.

Lu Zhao rushed over, knelt down, and grabbed Jiang Jingming's hand to check it.

"Good heavens! Is this filthy thing trying to use the same trick again? To crawl into your body?"

"Probably so."

Jiang Jingming nodded.

The eerie scene and feeling just now were truly terrifying.

"Look!"

Xie Yunqi's eyes widened in disbelief.

She originally wanted to check if the black worm was completely dead, but she saw that Ah Qing's sleeve knife was still stuck to the ground, while the black worm was gone.

Jiang Jingming squatted down, raised his hand to grasp the hilt of the knife, and pulled it out.

Aqing's knife, like herself, is unadorned and nameless, only displaying its sharp edge.

Jiang Jingming examined the knife closely and noticed some black marks remaining on the underside of the blade, as if it had been scorched by a raging fire.

He rolled up his sleeves and wiped them across the blade, smelling a burnt charcoal odor.

"The scientific name for this black worm is the Heart-Burning Gu."

Fang Zhiyi slowly tidied up the needle roll, and then slowly uttered a word that was completely unfamiliar to everyone.

蛊。

Jiang Jingming gripped the dagger in his sleeve with his other hand and fell into deep thought.

The library of the Xiquan Sword Sect contains a few records about this item.

Everyone knows that the tribes of Cenzhou are skilled in using poison, but only a few people know that they are also adept at cultivating Gu worms.

These Gu worms come in countless varieties, each with its own unique function, and possess power that is unimaginable to others.

Legend has it that Gu worms can kill people invisibly, completely manipulate a person's mind, and even bring the dead back to life.

Jiang Jingming hadn't paid much attention to these files when he used to look through them.

After all, all the records are predicated on the premise of being "rumors," making their veracity unknown.

However, he actually saw it today.

Xie Yunqi also stared wide-eyed in surprise:

"Sister Fang, is there really such a thing as Gu poison?!"

"Yes."

Fang Zhiyi smiled.

"The one you just saw is the Heart-Burning Gu. The method of making it involves putting hundreds of Gu worms into an iron pot and burning it with a raging fire day and night. In the end, only one of these Gu worms can survive, and the Heart-Burning Gu is considered to be successfully made."

"This last Gu worm lived on the corpses of all its kind and endured the pain of burning for so long, so its resentment was naturally extremely strong. Therefore, once it touched flesh and blood, it would quickly burrow into it and kill all the hosts. This is what is called refining Gu with resentment."

"After the Heart-Burning Gu enters the body, people usually feel unbearably hot, as if there is fire burning in their blood. It is extremely painful, but not fatal."

"Are you saying... my husband has been enduring this pain for the past few days?"

The old woman covered her mouth in disbelief, her eyes reddening.

"Yes."

Fang Zhiyi smiled and nodded:

"The Heart-Burning Gu will mold a person's body into its favorite shape, and then gradually devour the heart. The person parasitized will eventually become a living dead body resembling charcoal."

Xie Yunqi listened with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

She had only ever seen such magical things in storybooks before, and at that time she was very fascinated by them.

After all, if you cast a spell on the teacher, you can get full marks on all your own coursework.

But now that I've actually seen the Gu worm, it feels a bit like Lord Ye's love of dragons—I was only superficially interested in them.

After all, she would never dare to reach out and catch such a terrifying monster like Jiang Jingming did.

"Is that Gu worm really dead? What if it escaped?"

Lu Zhao walked anxiously to Jiang Jingming's side, dug up the clod of earth, and examined it carefully.

"The characteristic of the Burning Heart Gu is that it must rely on a host to live. It was already dying when it was removed. Now that it has been stabbed by A Qing, it is of course completely dead."

Fang Zhiyi put the rolled-up needle into her sleeve and smiled slightly at Jiang Jingming.

"If it burrows into my body, will it come back to life?"

Jiang Jingming looked up at her.

"Yes."

Fang Zhiyi nodded, without refuting:

"You must have felt it just now, right? How strong its will to survive was. Gu worms are raised and tortured by their breeders; the accumulated resentment over the years is the best nourishment for them. Given a chance to survive, they won't willingly die and will naturally fight desperately."

"..."

Jiang Jingming remained silent. Indeed.

The moment the black worm touched him, it acted like a mad dog that hadn't eaten for half a month, craving flesh and blood like a madman.

"Moreover, you are probably a host that the Burning Heart Gu would find very satisfactory."

Fang Zhiyi continued speaking with a smile.

Why?

Jiang Jingming felt like he was choking.

I doubt anyone in the world would be happy about this, becoming a host recognized by these terrifying Gu worms.

"It likes you, otherwise it would burn your palm if it crawled into your hand."

Fang Zhiyi stood up and said something quite terrifying, but the corners of her lips curled up slightly, as if she found the matter quite interesting.

"But it has already taken you as its host, so it is not aggressive."

Knowing this, why did you deliberately make me catch it?

Jiang Jingming's eyes held a silent question.

Just teasing you, who told you to be so curious?

Fang Zhiyi walked past him, her voice very soft, like a gentle breeze brushing against his ear.

"..."

Jiang Jingming remained silent for a moment, speechless.

"Okay."

Fang Zhiyi smiled gently, her eyes sparkling.

"With me here, it won't hurt you, even though you're a very curious idiot."

Chapter Eighty-Nine: A Joyful Rain

The sudden appearance of the "Gu" made things even more confusing.

Lu Zhao helped the old woman carry her husband, and the group walked towards Xinghua Village.

Xie Yunqi kept pestering Fang Zhiyi to talk about the Gu worms.

It's a bit like a child pestering an adult to tell them ghost stories; they're always both scared and eager to hear them.

Fang Zhiyi responded to everything and answered whatever was asked, but most of it was just the same old stuff to coax a child. She even lied to Xie Yunqi, saying that she only knew a little about these things.

Only with a little knowledge can one easily recognize the Heart-Burning Gu?

Jiang Jingming followed behind, his eyes lowered in thought.

Aqing walked beside him, looking up at the falling apricot blossoms, lost in thought.

According to the old woman, her husband believed what other villagers said and decided to take advantage of the massacre at Tingpu Villa to sneak in and steal some valuables to resell.

Unfortunately, not only did they fail to steal anything, they also unfortunately became tainted by something evil, namely the Heart-Burning Gu that Fang Zhiyi mentioned.

The appearance of the Burning Heart Gu at Listening Waterfall Manor might create another possibility for the murderer's method of killing.

In other words, the murderer used a large number of Gu worms to catch Tingpu Manor off guard.

For the sects of Zhongzhou, the poison and Gu techniques of the Cenzhou tribe were far too distant; they had very little understanding of them, let alone any means of countering them.

However, according to the information provided by Wen Fuxiao, the fatal wounds on the corpses were all caused by sharp weapons, and there were no traces of the heart being eaten away.

Perhaps the Heart-Burning Gu was just one of the Gu insects used by the murderer?

In addition, Fang Zhiyi explained the origin and habits of the Gu worms to everyone.

The Burning Heart Gu relies on its host for survival and will die quickly after leaving the host.

So, how did the Burning Heart Gu survive before it parasitized that man?

Could it be that there were other living people inside Tingpu Villa a few days ago?

Could it be the Divine Capital Guard stationed in the surrounding area?

However, no news of anyone being poisoned by the Gu was reported from within the Divine Capital Guard.

Even if they intentionally blocked the news, Lu Zhao should at least have heard about it.

Everything is so strange.

Jiang Jingming looked up slightly. Smoke curled from the chimneys of Xinghua Village. At dusk, he could faintly smell the aroma of cooking oil wafting from other houses.

There was one last thing that caught his attention.

After Fang Zhiyi took the Burning Heart Gu out, it became extremely obedient in her hands, not daring to move at all, let alone burrow into her body.

This is completely inconsistent with its deep-seated resentment and strong will to survive.

Perhaps it's because it's afraid of Fang Zhiyi.

Jiang Jingming suddenly understood.

Logically speaking, the Heart-Burning Gu had already been parasitizing the man for two days, and only needed to consume his heart meridian as the final step, so there was no need for others to discover its existence.