The Gu Master never got to see who was manipulating these filthy things from behind the scenes, even until his death.
Originally, he thought that as a Gu Master, hiding in dark corners to control insects and harm people was insidious enough, yet he never imagined there was an even more cunning path, called the underworld.
When the Gu Master lay motionless in the ruins, Xu Qing still did not approach him.
For a person who refines and controls Gu like him, the insects on his body are not much fewer than the fleas on a beggar, Xu Qing inwardly despised it for being filthy.
The Golden Simurgh, however, was not so picky and came beside the Gu Master. First, it used its claws to tear apart the other’s robes into shreds, then began pecking at the insects inside to eat.
Xu Qing watched from a distance and only saw the insects on the Gu Master resembling a pot of boiling noodle soup, with a lid on top, bubbling and oozing out.
If someone unaware got close to the corpse at this moment, they’d certainly fall for the Gu Master’s trick!
When the Golden Simurgh’s crop bulged and couldn’t swallow any more, Xu Qing tossed the Thousand Insect Gu Jar over from afar.
The Golden Simurgh, having benefitted, worked even more diligently.
After gathering up all the remaining insects into the Gu Jar, the Golden Simurgh, holding the jar with its beak, ran to Xu Qing like it was seeking credit.
"Is everything cleaned up?"
The Golden Simurgh responded with a cluck, at this moment, its impression of Xu Qing had greatly changed.
Although this person sometimes did things quite inhumane, he has always been generous in terms of food and expenses.
Following Xu Qing for months, the Golden Simurgh had gained at least ten pounds.
Just like today, Xu Qing brought it to this restaurant for a sumptuous meal.
Unlike back when it was at the Five Elders Temple, where people would only feed it rice and grains every day; over time, its beak almost dulled to a bird’s taste!
Meanwhile, Xu Qing glanced at the Thousand Insect Gu Jar. The small jar had its own world inside, with various flying and crawling insects biting and killing each other, the whole jar filled with poisonous malevolence.
Capping the jar, Xu Qing put it into the Box Garden, then controlled the Paperman to search the Gu Master’s residence.
During the search, he discovered a room specifically for refining Gu, known as the ’Insect House’.
Taking out the Gu Jar again, Xu Qing collected all the insects in the room into the jar, and looked at his own Gu Jar, musing if he could cultivate a king cricket from it, then wouldn’t he dominate the bug-fighting circles?
But that was just a passing thought, after all, which decent Gu Master would idle about creating a cricket for play?
"I wonder which of these insects will survive till the end."
Xu Qing watched thousands of insects, where scorpions and centipedes were mere cannon fodder, soon being chewed into scraps by other unnamed poisonous insects.
The key was, that scorpion didn’t look like an ordinary one, and even the centipede was completely a dim, metallic blue.
Clicking his tongue, Xu Qing stored the Gu Jar again, and when he returned to the courtyard, the only valuable thing left in the entire estate was the Gu Master’s corpse.
Approaching, Xu Qing examined the Gu Master’s body, which was bitten open by poisonous insects, leaving only a shell like a cicada husk.
This corpse was desecrated to such a degree, it was uncertain if it could still be salvaged.
With the Golden Simurgh and the Fierce General protecting the surroundings, Xu Qing reached out towards the Gu Master’s body. The next moment, the Sutra of Salvation, which had been silent for several days, stirred again.
The incident happened thirty years ago, at Eight Gates Alley in Luojing City.
This was where the Capital City’s enthusiasts gathered to deal in jade artifacts, and on normal days, it saw a diverse mix of people from all walks of life flocking there; some were just seeking novelty, while others came with dreams of striking it rich by finding a true treasure.
But you must remember, in front of great wealth often lie countless pitfalls. Many throughout history, dreaming of becoming wealthy overnight, fell into those pits, never to climb out again...
Today, next to the big pit of the antique market, stood a crowd.
On usual days, the busiest places in Eight Gates Alley were those stalls relying on hired help to create forgeries.
The bigger the fake, the busier the stall.
Today, there was a person with a simple stall, which had nothing else but a small earthen jar with a bug that looked like a cockroach but was entirely golden inside.
The stall owner said that nowadays the Emperor was pursuing the art of immortality, holding a Water and Land Great Assembly, widely inviting talents from across the world to help extend his blessings and longevity.
He admitted with modesty that when he arrived at the outskirts of the assembly, queuing up for inspection and selection by the officials, someone asked what skills he had.
He simply replied that he did not know the art of immortality but only knew how to raise bugs.
"I am an honest man from the mountains, not someone who lies. Those who claim to know the art of immortality, haven’t seen many people in this world who are truly unaging."
"The officials dismissed me, saying my bugs were unpresentable, and threw me out of the assembly. I came all the way from the southern hut, spent all my travel money, and couldn’t even get into the Water and Land Assembly."
The vendor cupped his hands and said, "Everyone, I feel disheartened now, and all I want is to sell this treasure-seeking bug, to exchange for some travel expenses to return home, nothing more."
Among the onlookers was a pair of master and disciple from the southern hut; the elder master named Mu Dian, dressed in a gray robe wrapped tightly around him, and the younger disciple named Li Acuo, only twelve or thirteen, also in a long robe with a face covering.
Mu Dian was a true Gu Master from the southern hut; with just one glance, he could tell that the vendor was an impostor, a fraud selling counterfeit goods.
It’s well known that the southern nations have a nickname in Dayong, called ’southern barbarians’, and their speech is distinctively different from the people of Yong dynasty, naturally carrying a barbaric flavor.
But this person, claiming to be a Gu Master from the southern hut, spoke with a complete Capital City accent, what else if not a fraud?