197: Gu worm

Sensing something was wrong, Jiang Hanwen conjured three sparks of starlight around him, illuminating the darkness.

As his crimson robe fell away, he saw a back as pristine white as mutton-fat jade. Embroidered in the center of her back was a spider with a blood-red abdomen and black-purple markings.

In that instant, the barrier between him and Zheng Yunxu vanished. In Jiang Hanwen's perception, what lay before him was a tangled mass of extreme, profound blood-red, like a black hole devouring everything, leaving only endless destruction and deathly silence.

The spider had eight legs. Like a drop of water falling into a still pond, after a ripple, it seemed to come alive.

The next second, Jiang Hanwen's pupils widened.

He saw cold, metal-gleaming claws, as thick as a baby's arm, emerge from beneath her bare skin, stretching half a zhang long. Eight steel-like spider legs splayed out menacingly.

Immediately after, obsidian-like scales spread from the spider's abdomen, covering her entire body.

"After I left the bookstore, an injured Ancient Gu Witch took me as a Gu mother, raising me underground, feeding me five poisons, and making me gnaw on corpses for a whole year... In the end, I was the only one of all the venomous insects who survived."

"She fed me the cocoon of a Void Blood Spider, and then I killed her."

"But I am just a corpse now. When the spider eggs on my back hatch, they will devour me completely. Knowing all this, are you satisfied?"

"Jiang Liu, not everyone can live with dignity like you."

"Some things, people like you, will never understand!"

Ancient Gu Witches, who deviated from the normal Cultivation system and followed the ancient Human Race Cultivation practices, were spoken of with great secrecy in all the books Jiang Hanwen had read. Only a few words were dedicated to this branch, indicating a deep apprehension.

It sounded like just a few short sentences, but to be treated like an insect, forced to eat centipedes, chew on corpses, and live in perpetual darkness—

The mental torment of it, just thinking about it was despair-inducing, yet Zheng Yunxu endured it for an entire year.

No one could truly empathize, and no one could tell Zheng Yunxu to just move on.

However, no matter the hardship, dwelling in yesterday was killing one's present self.

When faced with difficulties, find a way to solve them—this was Jiang Hanwen's fundamental attitude, and also why he decided to meet this Xiao Yatou who had been silently helping him from behind the scenes.

Words were pale and powerless in the face of such tragedy; they were, at best, mere bullshit.

Without speaking, Jiang Hanwen reached out and slowly embraced the stone-hard "monster" before him from behind, expressing his attitude through action.

She didn't need reasons; what she needed was just an embrace.

Zheng Yunxu froze instantly, still as a stonecarving. In the dim light, her blood-red eyes trembled, and a mist instantly welled up within them.

Her hard spider legs, like Vajra, pressed against Jiang Hanwen's chest. The icy touch, blocked by his clothes, seemed like that unfathomable chasm that lay between them.

Jiang Hanwen hadn't expected that Zheng Yunxu would endure such torment after leaving him.

Moreover, the most important thing was that this Xiao Yatou didn't have long to live, yet she still thought about helping him, wasting her already limited time.

After a long moment, Jiang Hanwen released her hand and gently grasped one of the steel-like spider legs.

"You don't need to try to scare me with these things. No matter what you become, in my heart, you're still that Xiao Yatou."

"As for the spider eggs, we'll talk about that later."

"I told you that the next time we met, I would heal the scars on your face. Now, it's time to fulfill that promise."

"I... I don't need it." Recovering from her petrification, her murmured voice trembled, lacking strength.

"You agreed to this in the letter you left me." Jiang Hanwen held the spider leg, his fingers lightly flicking it, producing a resonant clang like metal striking stone, showing no intention of compromise.

He didn't know that the black-scaled cheek facing away from him was now burning hot, whether from shame or anger.

Although it was very eerie, those were her legs!

"You... go out first, I'll open the window."

"Then I'll take that as a 'yes'."

As his voice fell, Jiang Hanwen clapped his hands together. Dense water vapor spread out from his palms in all directions, forming a water prison that enveloped the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Click~"

Jiang Hanwen pushed the door open and left the room.

Once the door closed, darkness returned to the room.

The eight sharp, long legs retracted to her back, and the scales gathered, returning to stillness.

Zheng Yunxu touched her scarred face with her left hand, sitting blankly before the dressing table, her eyes unfocused.

It was a face more terrifying than it had been two years ago.

There were gnawing wounds from centipedes, and indentations from scorpion stings... Slowly, her gaze focused, lingering on the dark blue water surface.

Her intention to trick him into leaving so she could run away had been anticipated.

Because of the spider eggs on her back, she had less than two years left to live.

This water prison couldn't hold her, but the attitude of the water prison held her firmly in place.

On the ground floor, in the snow, Wang Ye and Xia Zhijie secretly hid behind the corner of the wall, both pairs of eyes fixed on the upper floor.

"The shopkeeper came out, will there be a problem?" Wang Ye frowned.

"If it were before, certainly not."

"But now, I'm not sure. The resentment on her is too heavy." Xia Zhijie sighed. Even the shopkeeper's intervention was met with rejection?

If that was the case, then this woman who instilled fear in him was probably completely unrestrained.

"You'd best pray that the shopkeeper can talk to her properly. Otherwise, no one in this City Name City will survive."

"What!" Wang Ye grew anxious, pulling Xia Zhijie back abruptly and looking at him seriously.

Xia Zhijie shook off his hand:

"Do you know why she went to the merchant guild halfway and saved you?"

"Because that string in her heart has always been taut, and only the things the merchant guild does can ease her a little."

Both of them peeked out again. The shopkeeper at the corridor was gone, whether he had left or gone back inside.

"It's all your nonsense."

"Keep your voice down, what if she hears us..."

"Chirp~"

A long-tailed finch perched on a snow pine tilted its head curiously, not understanding what the two-legged beasts were arguing about by the wall.

Jiang Hanwen walked into the room. The spider webs had vanished, and the windows were wide open.

Golden sunlight streamed into the room. A quarter of an hour ago, it had been pitch black, but now, it was a bridgehead with three windows, offering excellent lighting and a commanding view.

Before the dressing table, the beautiful woman had changed into a neat black long dress, sitting on the bed, wearing the mask—the mask Jiang Hanwen had bought on the bridge, which had already yellowed.

Jiang Hanwen took out a short stick of incense and lit it.

"It might hurt a bit. Why don't you get some sleep first?"

Zheng Yunxu took the broken incense stick and inhaled deeply.

"It's useless on me. Just go ahead. This little pain is nothing."

Walking in front of Zheng Yunxu, Jiang Hanwen removed her mask. As the darkness beneath the mask was illuminated,

he saw a terrifying, pockmarked face, far more horrifying than any he had repaired before.

Looking closely, he saw wounds of different shapes, layered one upon another, and also smooth, scarred flesh where healed wounds had been torn too violently.

It was like the smooth, scarred skin from a burn, lacking normal skin texture, which made it look eerie.

How many injuries must she have sustained to look like this?

His heart ached, as if something had gnawed at it.