Chapter 37 – Gu Worms

Before long, Xiaojiu and the others came running back.

The clan leader no longer worried about their village chief being bullied when she went out—if she didn’t bully others, that was already good enough.

As for the other children’s parents, once they heard their kids were going out with the village chief, they were even less concerned—this was a great chance for them to see the world.

And so, two carriages set off in the direction Old Gu had mentioned.

Along the way, the children were full of excitement—sometimes jumping off the carriage to race the horses, sometimes darting into the woods to catch a rabbit.

The road was filled with their lively chatter.

Old Gu thought to himself, We didn’t even need two carriages—these kids act like they’ve got spikes on their backsides and can’t sit still for even a moment.

At one point, Xiaojiu and the others found a good spot for a picnic and quickly unloaded a pile of cooking tools from the carriage.

Fortunately, they had brought Xiao Liuzi along—according to the chubby boy, Xiao Liuzi’s roasted meat skills were unmatched.

They promptly tossed their freshly caught game to him, and Xiaojiu handed over the seasonings as well.

Shen Zhiyuan’s maid, Qinglian, hurried forward to help.

As the group laughed and took turns learning how to drive the carriage, they suddenly heard a loud, clear series of chicken calls from behind them.

“Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck!”

“Scumbag! Scumbag! Scumbag!”

“Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck!”

“Didn’t take me! You actually didn’t take me! Went out to play and didn’t take me!”

Turning around, they saw Cuihua following behind, wings weighed down with large bundles, flying after them while complaining non-stop.

Seeing Cuihua, Xiaojiu guiltily rubbed her nose.

Honestly, she hadn’t thought about Cuihua at all these past few days.

She flew over and scooped Cuihua into her arms.

“It’s not that I didn’t take you,” Xiaojiu said sheepishly. “It’s just that you were busy helping the county office with important work, so I didn’t want to disturb you!”

“Cluck?”

“Really?”

Only Cuihua knew—when she had rushed home, eager to show off her haul of spoils, she’d found the house completely empty. The shock was like the sky had fallen. She had craned her neck at Xiaojiu ’s door and cursed her out furiously.

It was only when Xu Xiaoxiao couldn’t stand it anymore that she told Cuihua where the village chief had gone.

“Really. By the way, what’s in these bags?” Xiaojiu quickly changed the subject.

She took the bundles off Cuihua’s back and opened them.

Inside were silver notes, a number of small jars and bottles, and snacks given to her by the people at the county office.

“What’s this?” Xiaojiu asked.

“Cluck!”

“From the cave—the ones the men in black were hiding.”

Curious, Xiaojiu picked up a small bottle and opened it—inside were plump, squirming bugs.

“Ugh! That’s disgusting. Why did you collect so many bugs?” Xiaojiu quickly put the lid back on, face full of distaste.

“Cluck!”

“Emergency rations!”

Right—she’d almost forgotten. This was a chicken, and eating bugs was perfectly normal.

Old Gu immediately grabbed the bottle Xiaojiu had just opened and checked inside.

His eyes widened. “Gu worms? Where did these come from?”

He quickly began opening the other containers—every single one was filled with Gu worms.

Old Gu promptly closed all the lids tightly, as though afraid the insects would escape.

“What are Gu worms?” The other children crowded around curiously.

“Gu worms are poisonous insects cultivated through special methods, usually used for harming or controlling others. Nasty, evil things,” Old Gu said with deep disdain.

The children all instinctively shuffled a few steps away from the bottles and jars.

Xiaojiu quickly turned to Cuihua. “Did you eat any?”

Cuihua nodded.

Here’s the English translation of the passage you provided:

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“Cluck-cluck!”

“I ate the fattest one.”

Xiaojiu hurriedly asked the old man, “Why is it fine after eating it?”

The old man shook his head. “I don’t know much about gu worms. Besides, gu worms are precious and usually used on humans. As for animals, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Xiaojiu patted Cuihua on the head. “Do you feel anything in your stomach right now? Next time, don’t just swallow whatever you find!”

Cuihua tilted her head.

“Cluck-cluck! Cluck-cluck?”

“My stomach doesn’t feel uncomfortable, but now these bugs listen to me—does that count as a reaction?”

“Nani?” Xiaojiu quickly urged her to demonstrate. “That amazing?”

Cuihua opened the lids of several bottles.

“Cluck-cluck!”

“Come out!”

“Cluck-cluck!”

“Line up!”

“Cluck-cluck!”

“Stand up!”

One by one, the plump little worms slowly crawled out of the bottles, then shuffled to the side and straightened their bodies upright.

“Wow! Cuihua, all these worms listen to you!” The children were amazed—this was so much fun that they instantly stopped finding the worms disgusting.

The old man frowned in puzzlement. “It’s probably because the one it ate was the Gu King.”

From afar, the smell of roasting meat drifted over. The children no longer cared whether it was a gu worm or a Gu King and hurried off toward Xiao Liuzi.

Xiaojiu grabbed a roasted rabbit leg and bit into it in big mouthfuls.

Then she took a gulp of the “Happy Fatty Water” she had exchanged for at the marketplace.

At that moment, life couldn’t get any better.

Especially for the chubby boy—holding roast meat in one hand and Happy Fatty Water in the other, eating and drinking to his heart’s content.

After spending this time with Xiaojiu , he was visibly rounder than before.

“Someone’s coming!”

Xiaojiu scanned the surroundings with her spiritual sense.

If it were just ordinary townsfolk, she wouldn’t have given such a sudden warning.

But what she sensed was a group of riders galloping toward them, accompanied by faint, unpleasant laughter.

These people were coming with ill intent!

“Who? Who’s coming?!” The chubby boy and the others hadn’t yet reacted, instinctively glancing around.

No one was in sight.

Zhao Hu and the others had already rushed to the wagon to grab weapons.

They had knives, bows, and whips—everything they had brought along for self-defense when they set out.

“Take this—for protection,” Xiaojiu handed each person who couldn’t fight a stun baton.

“If anyone comes close, just press this. As long as you touch them with it, you’ll be safe.” She tossed the items to them.

The wild laughter was getting closer. By now, not only Xiaojiu , but everyone could hear it.

The thunder of hooves approached, dust billowing, mingling with that arrogant laughter.

Behind the horses, a group of people were being dragged along.

The riders seemed to be treating them as playthings, dragging them at high speed and occasionally whipping them. Their laughter dripped with contempt and mockery for the weak.

The cries and pleas of the people being dragged mixed together—a living picture of human misery.

“What… is this?” Shen Zhiyuan’s eyes widened, her voice trembling. She had never seen such cruelty, and a surge of indescribable anger and fear rose within her.

“Quick, everyone, into the woods!” Xiaojiu swiftly assessed the situation, speaking as she waved for the group to retreat into the dense forest nearby.

Zhao Hu leapt up into a tree, bow in hand, aiming at the riders, waiting for the right moment.

The others quickly found a small hill to lie low on, eyes fixed on what was happening below.

The chubby boy took out his slingshot and aimed ahead.

The silent little boy also lay on the hill with the stun baton Xiaojiu had given him.

Like Zhao Hu, Xiaojiu crouched in the crook of a tree, spiritual sense locked on the group of riders.