Living with Gu

  That night, Dog Root and I did not live in the stockade, but were arranged to a special residence in the southwest corner of the stockade.

  This is a very typical Miao-style hanging foot building, all of which are wooden structures, with one side leaning against the mountain wall and the other side adjacent to a small pool formed by the convergence of mountain springs. The small building is far away from the residential area of other Miao people, surrounded by trees, quiet and elegant environment, even I, a person who only thinks about money, feel refreshed after seeing it.

  It was Hong Zhouchuan, the "official second generation" who brought us here. We and he are familiar with each other, while others from Miao ethnic group don't get along with us well. However, after he knew the relationship between my master and his grandfather as well as grandmother, he became much closer to me.

  Meng Zhouchuan said that the building in front of him was where his aunt, Meng Zhounanli, lived when she was a saint, but he had never seen her live here since he was aware of things. However, someone has always been sent to clean and ventilate it, keeping it tidy.

  Gourds are still resentful about being deceived by Zhou Chuan's father, who pointed a knife at him outside the village. He deliberately said that there is still a holy girl in the Miao village, and asked if they believed in the Sun Moon God Sect?

  Meng Zhouchuan explained that the Holy Maiden was actually a reserve for their Hua Miao tribe's high priestess, with the Holy Maiden succeeding at 16 years old and each term lasting twelve years. If the high priestess passed away during her term, then the Holy Maiden would succeed her; otherwise, she would become an ordinary Huo Maiden after stepping down.

  The dog root makes trouble, asking Meng Zhouchuan if all the saintesses are virgins. The young man blushed and said that the saintesses indeed have to be unmarried girls, but after they step down, it doesn't matter anymore, those who should get married will get married, and those who should give birth will give birth.

  I'm a bit curious about what this so-called holy girl is responsible for in the Miao village. Mong Zhouchuan said that the holy girl's main task is to serve as the deputy of the high priest, helping the high priest complete various rituals, and at other times she is no different from the other girls in the village.

  "Who's the holy maiden in your village this time around? Let's take the brothers to see her another day, huh?" Dog Root warmly wrapped his arm around Meng Zhouchuan's shoulder.

  Meng Zhouchuan cautiously glanced at me and said that the village had not had a Holy Maiden for decades. The most fundamental point of becoming a Holy Maiden is to let the dragonfly recognize its master, but unfortunately, his cousin Ayoungduo was likely to become a Holy Maiden, but the dragonfly was lost.

  The dog root child listened to the music and said, "Xu Ge, it's probably because you lost the dragonfly, Ah Yu Duo that little girl can't become a saint, so she's not polite to you."

  Meng Zhouchuan muttered, he would rather his cousin not become a saint, like his Southern Lian aunt, from being a saint to becoming a high priestess, spending her whole life alone and lonely, it's really too pitiful.

  。

  Once you become a high priestess, do you have to be alone for the rest of your life? I am not from Miao Village, so I cannot comment on their feelings towards the village and the witchcraft, but I still think this fate is too cruel for women.

  Now thinking about the subtle emotions between Shifu and Nanli, I couldn't help but wonder if the two of them ultimately failed to be together due to the long-standing conflicts between the Han and Miao tribes, as well as the fate that Nanli carried on her body.

  The sound of Dog Root's snoring was like thunder, but I lay in bed, tossing and turning. In my mind, the images of Nanli Shiniang and Ayoudao gradually merged together, until they could no longer be distinguished.

  The next day I woke up not early, at least when I got out of bed, Master and Nanli had already arrived in the small building, but surprisingly, the usually sleepy Dog Genzi was nowhere to be seen.

  Master said the dog went to the village to have breakfast, after eating, let Meng Zhouchuan accompany him in the village to wander around at will, so as not to disturb me studying Gu sorcery.

  Nan Li Shiniang said, although she promised to teach me the art of Gu, but teaching me all the Gu arts she knew was not only unrealistic, but also against the rules of her ancestors. So today, the first thing she wanted to teach me, and the only thing she wanted to teach me, was how to raise the Long Yan Gu into my own Ben Ming Gu.

  Benming Gu, for a Gu Master, is not only an extremely powerful Gu worm but also shares the same bloodline as the Gu Master, living and dying together. Benming Gu lives inside the Gu Master's body, feeding on the Gu Master's vital energy and essence, and is an extension of the Gu Master's life. If the Benming Gu dies, the Gu Master will not only lose all their cultivation but may also risk losing their life.

  Nan Li said that Long Piao and I have long been in a symbiotic state of life and death, so this most difficult step of blood connection is actually the easiest to pass. Next, as long as I can achieve heart-to-heart communication with Long Piao, then it's done.

  I think it's a bit fresh, can't the dragonfly still understand human words? Can't we make a deal with it, whatever you want to eat I'll buy for you, just don't eat me.

  "This Benming Gu feeds on human essence and blood. After opening up its spiritual wisdom, it's even smarter than ordinary children, and being able to understand human language is nothing special."

  Nan Li Shiniang waved her hand, and a small insect flew to my face with its wings fluttering. I looked at it, similar to the dragonfly I saw that night, but only one-third of its size, with a light golden shell, reflecting colorful lights, and its eyes were also soft pink, unlike the dragonfly that night, which had an eye-catching blood-red color

  。

  I know it's weird to describe an insect as cute, but this little bug in front of me really gives me a sense of closeness.

  "This is my destined Gu."

  "Shi Niang, is your Ben Ming Gu also a dragon leech?"

  I stretched out one hand, and the little bug landed neatly on my palm. It felt warm to the touch, with a delicate fragrance on its body.

  "That's right, I call it little rock."

  I chuckled twice, my master's name is Xiao Tian Shi, Nan Li Shifu's congenital Gu is called Little Stone, everything is self-evident. I winked at Master, seeing that the old man's face was a bit unbearable.

  The master smiled awkwardly and said that Nanyu's Benming Gu, explained by Taoist theory, was a demon that had become intelligent. Not only did it possess wisdom and could understand human speech, but it also possessed many other magical powers.

  Nan Li said with a glance, as long as I work hard, one day the dragon leech in my belly can also be cultivated into a small stone, and then I can also stay young forever, without becoming an old man like Master.

  It turns out that Nanyu Shiniang was able to maintain her youth even after passing the age of 70 because of the dragonfly. Now that I think about it, having a dragonfly in my belly is actually a blessing in disguise.

  Nan Li Shiniang explained the basic method of cultivating Benming Gu to me in detail, and then left the small building, because my master still had something to say to me.

  I carefully pondered the method that Nanli Shiniang taught me, using human spiritual energy to tame the dragon leeches. The more I grasped it, the more familiar it felt. Why does this method seem almost identical to the Daoist qigong method that my master taught me? Isn't the spiritual power in Gu technique the same as the true qi in Daoist techniques?

  I shared my thoughts with Master, and he nodded, saying that whether it's Taoist magic, Gu magic or witchcraft, they all boil down to using the human body to borrow non-natural powers. One method is universal, then all methods are universal. Cultivating the Benming Gu actually requires me to separate some of the true energy I've gathered during my practice and use it to nurture the Gu insects, which can tame their wild nature and cultivate their spiritual nature.

  Master also said that he had long been aware of this point, but the Taoist and witchcraft techniques, although they share a common origin, still have differences. This kind of thing is too mysterious, if there's even a slight mistake, my life might be in danger. So he took me to the Miao village to seek help.

  Master casually threw another book at me, saying that in two days he would go out with Shang Nanli and I would stay here to practice the art of raising Gu. When I have free time, I can also study the Taoist methods of the Qingmang Sect, which is good for referencing and may speed up the refining process of my life-bound Gu.

  。

  The old couple met again after fifty years, and I can understand that they wanted to spend a few days in their own little world. But Master, you just said that raising the Benming Gu is a matter of life and death for me, so how can you be so carefree about it now?

  But I only dare to mutter this in my heart, if I really ask Master face to face, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape a beating. I took a look at the book that Master threw at me, the book was quite thick, but the cover was already tattered and yellowed, and it's unknown how many years old this old thing is, the blurry traditional characters on the cover can still be made out, the title of the book is called

  Master said that this book records all the methods of Qingmangmen, and there are also the insights and supplements of the ancestors of past dynasties. He asked me to study hard and never be lazy, otherwise the red cloud on my face will disappear for a lifetime.

  Thanks to Master's reminder, I suddenly remembered that there was still a big red mark on my face. I hurriedly promised Master that I would study hard and not disappoint him and Mistress's expectations.

  Master left the small building with satisfaction, and I didn't even have time to eat breakfast. I hastily sat cross-legged on the floor and tried to establish contact with the dragon in my body for the first time using the method that Shanglin Shifu taught me earlier.

  The true energy rising from the dan tian and qi hai flowed slowly through my body's meridians, but this time, while circulating the small heavenly cycle, I concentrated my spirit and made an effort to distinguish any unusual breath in my body.

  After carrying the breath and turning it for three small cycles, I finally discovered a hint of strangeness. The energy in the dan tian every time it passes through the left side between the third and fourth ribs, there will always be a slight feeling of blockage. As my breathing in and out becomes more skilled, this feeling becomes more pronounced, neither painful nor itchy, like growing a small tumor.

  Could this thing be a dragon flea? I intentionally accelerated the flow of my true energy, and with each impact, I struck that small flesh tumor. Gradually, an unusual feeling emerged in my mind, as if the small tumor was feeding back some information to me, but this piece of information was too chaotic and couldn't be understood at all.

  "Little stinker, time to get up." I took a deep breath and charged straight at the tumor.

  I only felt a heat in my chest, as if an electric current had flowed through my entire body. For some reason, I was certain that the tumor on my chest was the dragonfly from before, and now it had awakened.

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