Twilight Boundary-Chapter 385 - 382: Golden Silkworm Gu

"Look out! Watch out!"

Seeing the old woman with small feet charging into the valley, laughing eerily and grabbing an unsuspecting miner, someone nearby immediately shouted a warning and rushed forward.

This person was Zhuang Erchang’s disciple, Niu San. He was a reckless type, always trying to outdo others. Even his master, Zhuang Erchang, respected Hu Ma enough to call him the great Shousui. However, during these past few days patrolling with Hu Ma, Niu San had constantly seemed eager to show off, hoping to gain Hu Ma’s praise. It wasn’t that he wanted to challenge Hu Ma, but rather he always wanted to display his skills before him, as if seeking a compliment.

Now, he was the first to charge. The miner had already been grabbed by an arm. Niu San, seeing this, hurriedly twisted the miner’s body, pulled him free, and swiftly pushed him towards the back of the valley, crouching down himself. The old woman reached for his neck. By crouching, Niu San narrowly dodged her grasp and immediately rolled more than two zhang away, creating distance between them. His movements looked both smooth and impressive. Even he felt a little proud. As he stood up, he couldn’t resist looking towards Hu Ma, as if wanting to hear his assessment.

However, Hu Ma merely glanced sharply at him without speaking. Then, he quickly turned to look at those who were about to help the miner and shouted, "Don’t touch him!"

"Eh?" Niu San froze for a moment. What’s going on?

Before he could process it, he suddenly felt an icy chill run down his spine, accompanied by a numb, itching sensation.

"Aiyoo..."

Before Niu San could react, the miner he had pushed into the valley, along with several others who had just helped him, suddenly began to scream. They jumped around, desperately trying to reach their backs, but couldn’t. The others, already in a panic and thinking they were injured, rushed over to look, which only spread the affliction to more people. Someone, in their panic, tore open the clothes on their back, revealing a large black patch. On it, the faint outline of a face was visible, as if something within the black patch was trying to emerge.

"Don’t... don’t touch him..."

Amidst the chaos, the Wugong Clan Chief from the shelter was already shouting hoarsely, "The Resentful Ghost Gu is formidable, and Wu Song’s method of inflicting Gu is even more potent! This is the Gu Transfer Technique!"

"Anyone touched by it is doomed! A fleshy lump will gradually grow on their back, eventually developing eyes and a nose. Once it fully resembles the little girl-doll on Old Ayan’s back, they’ll suffer the same fate as Old Ayan..."

"The power of the Gu Transfer Technique lies in this: not only will those touched by Old Ayan be infected by the Gu, but anyone who touches an infected person will also fall prey to this Evil Gu..."

"In our... our tribe, the most skilled can manage a transfer two or three times... But Wu Song, he can transfer it at least five times! Those people who are infected now also carry the Gu on them..."

"..."

"Ah?"

The miners, who were already feeling the cold, numb itch on their backs, were even more horrified upon hearing this. They leaped about, some even running to rub their backs against the walls. Those who were not yet infected were terrified by the Wugong Clan Chief’s words. Their faces paled, and they scattered in all directions, desperate to escape being afflicted by the Evil Gu.

Amidst this pandemonium, Hu Ma frowned. With a SWISH, he drew his saw-toothed knife, holding it horizontally before him. His stance was firm, his breathing steady, like a stone pillar in the swirling chaos. He asked in a deep voice, "Forget everything else. How do we deal with this Gu?"

"This Gu..."

Wugong was anxious to speak, but unexpectedly, the Gu Bowl he clutched in his arms suddenly emitted a rapid series of vibrations. It seemed affected, the gu insects within growing agitated and restless. He quickly hugged the Gu Bowl tighter, pressing his forehead against it and muttering incantations, unable to finish his sentence.

In that brief interval, Old Ayan had charged into the valley. In mere moments, the situation had devolved into chaos, like a pot of boiling water. Countless people were afflicted, their screams echoing incessantly.

Wuya, who had just been pushed into the valley by the old woman, managed to struggle to her feet. She shouted towards Hu Ma, who stood steadily with his knife amidst the crowd, "...Young Han master, the Vengeful Ghost Gu fears fire!"

Fears fire?

Hu Ma took this to heart. While everyone else was fleeing, he suddenly strode forward to confront the old woman. She was extending her arms rigidly, her face a ghastly green, black fluid continuously dribbling from her mouth. The old woman, brimming with resentment and seemingly attacking any living human, noticed Hu Ma approaching and immediately reached out with both arms to grab him.

Hu Ma did not retreat. Instead, he abruptly raised his right hand, employing the Big Stone Breaking Hand technique. His palm glowed fiery red, and faint rune patterns materialized on the back of his hand.

BANG!

His palm strike didn’t hit the old woman but slammed into the ground. Instantly, dirt and sand erupted, and the earth trembled. He left a palm-shaped crater in the ground. The old woman, who had just charged up to him, was shaken by the impact and stumbled, falling to the ground.

Even though she was called the Resentful Ghost Gu, she wasn’t truly a vindictive soul but a corpse Gu with a physical body. Therefore, she could be struck and knocked down. However, her seemingly half-decayed, emaciated body appeared to contain an extremely sinister power. She bounced once on the ground and then suddenly leaped up again, extending her hands to once more claw at Hu Ma’s neck.

"Datong, Zhou Liang, Zhao Zhu..."

But just as Hu Ma knocked her down, he simultaneously shouted their names, and the others reacted instantly. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Zhou Liang, being the most level-headed, had stayed close to Hu Ma and had also heard Wuya’s warning. He immediately sprinted towards a stone wall where several dozen altars were stacked. These altars contained harvested Black Tai Sui, awaiting fermentation to produce black oil ointment. He stretched out his left hand, grabbed an altar, and with a grunt, hurled it forward. Although he had achieved refining life in his left hand, his strength was still insufficient. Coupled with the altar’s weight, it only flew about three to four zhang.

By this time, Zhou Datong had already dashed over. Having achieved refining life in his legs, his steps were swift. Seeing Zhou Liang throw the altar, he immediately understood. He launched a kick at the altar, using a skillful burst of force. The altar didn’t break but was propelled further with increased accuracy, flying straight towards the old woman.

As for Zhao Zhu, upon hearing his name, he didn’t hesitate, charging forward with his fork raised.

SHINK!

The old woman had just leaped up from the ground when Zhao Zhu speared her with his fork, pinning her straight to the wall. He then quickly retreated, and an altar half-filled with black oil ointment smashed onto the old woman.

Hu Ma had just straightened up. He took a Fire Stick from his clothes, blew it into flame, and tossed it onto the old woman.

WHOOSH!

A large fire immediately blazed up from beneath the old woman’s feet. The fire crackled, and eerie, ghost-like shrieks issued continuously from her mouth. Faintly, one could almost see a burning centipede trying to crawl out of the old woman’s mouth. Halfway out, it too caught fire. It slowly draped across her chest like a long tongue, then was swiftly reduced to ashes by the inferno.

It wasn’t just the old woman; the few people who had been afflicted earlier also began to jump around, asking others to look at their backs. It turned out they also felt a burning sensation on their backs. However, this burning was both painful and strangely comforting, and the cold, numb itch gradually disappeared with the heat.

The surroundings slowly quieted. Seeing the bizarre old woman vanquished, everyone felt a sense of relief, except for Zhao Zhu, who stared blankly at the fire.

"I’ll forge you a new, better one later," Hu Ma said, trying to console him. He knew Zhao Zhu was heartbroken about his fork; he had used it for so long, and now it was consumed in the fire along with the Resentful Ghost Gu.

"No need, I’ll just find one in the village later..." Zhao Zhu shook his head. "These things, they have to be old to work well, to feel right in your hand..."

"..."

Hu Ma was rather speechless. He could only sigh and respect the man’s professional preference. "Well, alright then..."

Witnessing how swiftly and decisively they had dealt with the Resentful Ghost Gu, Niu San, Zhuang Erchang who had recently arrived, and the others felt a profound sense of awe and envy. Forget Hu Ma, how is it that even his junior brothers seem so much more capable than us?

However, they were perhaps overthinking it. The youths from Dayang Village weren’t necessarily vastly more talented than others. Firstly, they had received genuine instruction, diligently practicing their respective trump cards from the very beginning of their training, which gave them extremely solid foundations. Secondly, they had ample practical experience and didn’t hesitate when faced with trouble, so naturally, their performance was outstanding.

After all, when it came to true talent, that still had to be Li...

"Ah?"

But just as they had dealt with the Resentful Ghost Gu and were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a startled cry suddenly pierced the air. Everyone, their hearts still pounding, hurriedly looked around. What they saw made their faces change dramatically. On each other’s faces, a faint golden sheen had appeared at some unknown moment. The origin of this golden color was unknown; it seemed to radiate from beneath the skin, as if everyone had been dusted with a fine layer of gold powder. Most critically, this golden powder was visibly thickening, making everyone’s complexion look like golden paper.

For a moment, everyone was utterly silent, staring wide-eyed at each other, a sensation like tiny insects crawling under their skin.

"Another Gu?" Zhuang Erchang reacted, leaping back, his voice cracking.

"It’s... it’s the Golden Silkworm Gu..." Inside the shelter, the Wugong Clan Chief, who had just managed to pacify the gu insects in his Gu Bowl, cried out in a trembling voice, "Wu Song... while the Resentful Ghost Gu was causing chaos, he secretly released the Golden Silkworm Gu..."

"He... he’s actually learned to multitask, simultaneously controlling two types of Entering-the-Mansion Gu?"