The Love Gu - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My many years of friendship with my senior brother were only worth three days and three nights of sleep on Buzhou Mountain.

After that, he told me to get the hell out as fast as possible.

Before I left, he gave me ten taels of silver for travel expenses.

Hmph. At least he had a shred of conscience.

The world is vast, so where was the place farthest from the Southern Frontier?

Obviously, the Capital!

If I couldn’t afford to provoke them, I could at least hide.

So I hurried straight for the Capital.

All along the way, I kept myself covered up and acted furtive, practically like a fugitive.

Thankfully, I didn’t run into that bastard Cang Guan on the road.

After arriving safely in the Capital, I realized I was out of money.

All ten taels of silver were gone.

Every last coin had gone to buying alcohol.

In order not to starve to death, I stood in front of a tavern, thinking.

Actually, it was because their wine smelled so good my mouth was watering.

The place was called Feixian Tower, and its decor was quite elegant.

There was a hiring notice posted outside saying they needed a cook.

Generous pay, food and lodging included.

I immediately tore down the notice and went inside to find the proprietor.

The Capital was prosperous; even jobs hauling out chamber pots had people fighting over them.

If you were too late, you wouldn’t even get to eat shit while it was hot.

Not that hauling chamber pots was a big deal.

But Qunyu would definitely say I’d completely disgraced our master.

…

When the proprietor saw I was just a young girl, filthy from head to toe, his face fell and he tried to chase me out.

The nerve!

I put my sword to his neck.

The proprietor’s expression changed instantly.

“Spare me, heroine! Spare me, heroine!”

Why would I want your life? You’re my future boss.

After I repeatedly stressed why I’d come, the proprietor remained half-convinced and asked cautiously,

“Then… what dishes can you make, Heroine?”

A lot.

“Fried bamboo worms, fried grasshoppers, fried spiders, fried centipedes…”

Looking at the proprietor’s face, which had gone the color of shit, I added,

“Those are just my specialties. Anything else, I can learn!”

And just like that, I had a place to stay in the Capital.

Working in the back kitchen meant I hardly needed to go out either. Hidden deep in the marketplace, so to speak.

No way Cang Guan could still find me.

…

That day was my day off. I swiped a flask of Zhuyeqing and leaned against the railing on the second floor, listening to Master Xiao tell stories.

His tales were always fresh and unusual, and the guests of Feixian Tower especially loved them.

Every time, the tip money he collected made his little granddaughter with the pipa beam with delight.

“As for the gu insects of the Miao Territory, there are simply too many of them.”

“Their varieties are so numerous and complex that even people from the Wanjiang Sect wouldn’t dare claim to recognize every single kind of gu insect…”

The moment the Wanjiang Sect was mentioned, the guests’ hushed discussions grew noticeably louder.

Tch, what’s so impressive about that?

I was someone who’d survived being hunted by their young master!

I was the impressive one.

Seeing how excited the crowd had become, Master Xiao waited a bit with a chuckle before continuing,

“Ladies and gentlemen, you likely all know that those who cultivate gu poison each raise a Life-bound Gu. Their toxins are bizarre and tricky, making them impossible to guard against.”

“Snake gu, Golden Silkworm Gu, and the like are all familiar names. But today, I am here to tell you about a rather unusual insect.”

“This gu is called the Love Gu. It feeds on its host’s blood and carries no poison, but its effects are exceedingly rare in this world.”

Interesting. I wonder if Cang Guan kept one.

That guy wore a mask all day long, all cold and icy, petty, vindictive, always killing and fighting. If some girl actually fell for him, she had to have gotten her brains caught in a door.

“The Love Gu resembles an ordinary bamboo worm. Its whole body is snow-white and spindle-shaped, but it bears nine red rings on its body.”

Bamboo worms!

Bamboo worms were delicious!

Fried bamboo worms were fragrant and crispy, sweet and rich, and burst with juice when you bit into them.

…

Wait!

The reason Cang Guan had started hunting me in the first place was because of a bowl of fried bamboo worms, and there had seemed to be one inside with nine red rings on its body.

I remembered thinking that one was especially plump and tasted especially good.

No way… did I eat his Love Gu?

I went completely blank.

Master Xiao went on,

“This Love Gu, before it finds its master’s destined love, will not die.”

“If it dies…”

I frowned and pricked up my ears.

Say it already. Come on, say it!

“If you want to know what happens next, come back and hear the next installment.”

Amid the noisy applause, Master Xiao rose to his feet, flicked out his sleeves, smiling as he gathered up his tips and slowly walked away.

His little granddaughter skipped after him, pipa in her arms.

My conscience gave a rare pang.

Better to tear down ten temples than ruin a single marriage.

I returned to my room in a daze. Even the wine in my hand no longer tasted good.

Afraid I’d cause trouble, the proprietor had assigned me a first-rate room.

Ordinarily, the soundproofing was fairly good.

But martial artists have sharp hearing, and that meant I was often forced to hear things I really shouldn’t.

Just as I lay down that day, preparing to repent in my dreams until dawn, I heard the sound of something heavy being dragged in the room next door.

Based on my many years of experience roaming the jianghu, what they were dragging was a person.

A man, at that.

“This one’s not bad. Where’d they find him?”

“Picked him up off the roadside.”

“?”

“Probably drank too much and passed out by the street. Looks like some rich young master too. His clothes are all top-grade brocade.”

“How much do you think Nanfeng House will pay us for him?”

“At least a thousand taels of gold. He’s really good-looking.”

I quietly peered through the crack in the door and saw a black sack. A pale hand stuck out from inside it, with well-defined knuckles and bruises visible on the skin.

If I hadn’t heard what they were saying, I’d have thought they were dragging a corpse.

“What’s this thing? Looks kind of creepy.”

Something metallic knocked against the tabletop. I focused and took a closer look.

It was a mask.

One I knew all too well.

After all, Cang Guan had worn it while chasing me for thousands of miles.