Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Beneath the old matriarch’s bed board, there was a lump, about the size of a tumor, and it seemed to breathe—swelling and contracting, an unsettling sight.
“How did you clean this room?” The steward rebuked the maids.
The maids knelt and wept, begging for forgiveness.
Ye Fengyun said, “Don’t blame them. The pendant hanging there interferes with the senses; naturally, they couldn’t see it. And this thing was tiny at first, barely visible to the naked eye—it grew bigger only over time.”
With that, Ye Fengyun flicked his right hand. There was a crisp sound, and five silver needles pierced through the bed’s underside, lodging in the opposite wall. The lump that had grown beneath the bed board dropped to the floor.
Remarkably, the five silver needles produced only a single sound.
The steward began to realize that this young man was far from ordinary.
The maids hurriedly placed the lump in a basin and took it away.
The lump was the size of a fist. Even after being removed from beneath the bed, it continued to breathe, and on its surface grew a human-like face, surrounded by sticky, repulsive matter.
Ye Fengyun asked Elder Yun, “Elder Yun, do you recognize this thing?”
Elder Yun stared at it for a long while, then admitted with some embarrassment, “I’m sorry, I cannot.”
Ye Fengyun replied, “This is a Gu from Miao territory—very mysterious and ancient, the kind most people wouldn’t know.”
Lin Qinghuan suddenly understood, “No wonder Uncle wanted to take the family to Miao territory for a trip. After they came back, Grandmother started acting differently.”
Ye Fengyun retrieved his silver needles, walked over to the lump, and said, “You’d better brace yourselves—don’t throw up.”
As he spoke, he stabbed a needle into it.
“Ah!” The human face on the lump opened its mouth and screamed, even spewing out green, viscous fluid.
Lin Qinghuan couldn’t stomach the grotesque scene and turned away.
The scream jolted Elder Yun’s memory. “I remember now! I saw something like this in ancient texts—it’s called a ‘Human Tumor Gu.’ It feeds on a person’s vital essence, growing larger and larger. Eventually, it becomes a doll that looks exactly like the afflicted person. Then, the soul of the victim is imprisoned within the doll, and their body becomes a mindless puppet, controlled by whoever cast the Gu.”
Ye Fengyun nodded, “It seems Elder Yun has some insight after all.”
The steward said, “It already has a human face. Does that mean it’s almost done?”
Ye Fengyun replied, “The limbs haven’t grown yet. Once they do, the old lady will be completely lost—even I won’t be able to save her then.”
Lin Qinghuan nervously clutched Ye Fengyun’s sleeve. Now, Ye Fengyun was her only hope.
“Ye Fengyun, I beg you, please save my grandmother! No matter the cost, I’m willing to pay it!”
Seeing the urgency in Lin Qinghuan’s eyes, Ye Fengyun suddenly felt the urge to tease her.
“Oh? Any price?”
“Any price!” Lin Qinghuan nodded firmly, though his mischievous smile made her feel uneasy.
“Are you scared?” Ye Fengyun stepped forward.
Lin Qinghuan instinctively stepped back.
“That’s not like the Lady Lin I know,” Ye Fengyun mocked.
Lin Qinghuan lowered her head, hesitated for a moment, then looked up with resolve. “Any price!”
Ye Fengyun smiled, “Rest assured, I won’t make things difficult for you. I only ask that your Lin family support the Tang family a little more in the future.”
“Is it because your wife, Tang Shihan, is from the Tang family?” Lin Qinghuan asked cautiously.
Ye Fengyun tilted his head and smiled, “Who else? If my wife weren’t a Tang, I wouldn’t bother with the Tang family. I’d rather enjoy a quiet life.”
“Oh.”
Lin Qinghuan replied, her emotions complicated.
The steward squinted, observing all of Lin Qinghuan’s reactions closely.
He had watched Lin Qinghuan grow up and could see through her thoughts at a glance.
“So, Ye Fengyun, will my grandmother recover?” Lin Qinghuan asked.
Ye Fengyun nodded, “Of course she will. But I won’t be able to protect her day and night. Who knows if someone might try to cast another spell on her? That’s why, to catch the thief, you must first catch the ringleader.”