This was an old silver hairpin that appeared dark due to oxidation. It looked very plain, with two butterflies carved at its ends. The butterfly’s pupils were embellished with small round pale red crystals, the only spot of color on the entire hairpin.
The tip of the hairpin was very sharp as if it was sharpened intentionally as a weapon. Upon careful observation, Wu Rong noticed that the surface of the silver hairpin was also carved with images of the Five Poisons.
This silver hairpin came from the Miao region.
“Chirp!”
The Zhong Gu, too thrilled to articulate human words, excitedly emitted bird-like chirping sounds to convey its various joyful sensations to Wu Rong. Before the hairpin appeared, Wu Rong thought the Zhong Gu’s unusual behavior was caused by a pure gold object. However, now it seemed like this hairpin may have originated from one of its past owners.
“Ka ka ka!”
The Black Rock Wolf Spider clung to Wu Rong’s pants, its eight small, shiny eyes glancing upwards eagerly. There was a strict hierarchy among the Gu, and as a subordinate Gu, it must be positioned below the Zhong Gu. Similarly, the Human-Faced Spider obediently lay on Wu Rong’s shoe. Although it also eagerly extended its long eight legs, it couldn’t take a step up as it was a lower-level subordinate.
Sure enough, this was something that could cause insects to undergo a transformation. Just taking it out made all the Gu that Wu Rong kept excited. However, Wu Rong didn’t let down his guard just because this silver hairpin could possibly be from the Miao region. The mutated insects had just appeared today, and the silver hairpin couldn’t have been under the school the whole time. Who put it there, and for what purpose?
Wu Rong cautiously wiped the surface of the silver hairpin and was surprised to find that the red-black color on the hairpin was not an oxidized surface, but the traces left by strong Death Qi corrosion. Gu themselves were Yin in nature, and the Zhong Gu would not be greatly affected. However, ordinary insects would turn into rampaging monsters due to this.
The person who placed the hairpin in the school’s underground deliberately caused today’s chaos. What did they want to achieve?
Wu Rong speculated about something and called Bai Gu over. Miao Witches record the history of the Miao village, and Bai Gu might know the origins of this hairpin.
“This isn’t an ornament from our era.”
As soon as Bai Gu arrived, his gaze locked onto Wu Rong’s hand. His bloodline originating from the Great Witch allowed him to perceive that this item was extraordinary. Without taking it from Wu Rong’s hand, Bai Gu carefully observed it, with his brows occasionally relaxing and tightening.
“This is the Swallowtail Butterfly Stone.”
After a thorough examination, he pointed to the carved eyes of the butterfly at the end of the silver hairpin. “The Swallowtail Butterfly feeds on the stone liquid seeping from red rock crevices and rubs its wings against the rock wall, staining them with red stone powder, making their wings as red as blood. Thousands of Swallowtail Butterflies molt into butterflies in early July, mate in August, and then a large number of them return to the red rocks before dying. Their stacked bodies, soaked in stone dust, form the Swallowtail Butterfly Stone.”
“This kind of stone is rare and can’t be found normally. It’s an essential material for the advancement of a Gu to become a Gu King. It also has a strong anesthetic effect, and ancient Miao doctors used it instead of anesthesia for surgery.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ktf Xe wjceji vbfrc’a tjnf atlr yeaafgois.”
“Tfr, atf Vkjiibkajli Deaafgois jcv atf gfv gbmxr jgf atlcur atja vb cba fzlra lc atf tewjc gfjiw.”
Djl Xe rjlv rbifwcis, “Ktfs jgf ybat ogbw atf Yiv Zljb Jjnf.”
Old Miao Cave?
Qe Ebcu ralii gfwfwyfgfv atf alwf tf fcafgfv atf Yiv Zljb Jjnf ys ygfjxlcu atgbeut atf ybcolgf veglcu atf mfgfwbcs. Ktf rmfcfgs atfgf kjr jiwbra lvfcalmji ab gfjilas, yea tf mbeiv rff wjcs rqlglaeji Xe atja kfgf lcnlrlyif ab atf cjxfv fsf, jcv atf mbibgr bo atja kbgiv kfgf nfgs wbcbabcber. Ca atja alwf, tf tjv pera yffc gfybgc jcv vlvc’a ecvfgrajcv wemt, yea cbk la rffwfv ilxf atf Yiv Zljb Jjnf kjr lcvffv ilxf j rfqjgjaf rqjmf, pera ilxf atf Kljcxfcur.
“It’s just like the Tiankengs.”
“The only people of the Wu tribe and those with the bloodline of the Great Witches can enter the Old Miao Cave. This butterfly hairpin is likely to have been passed down and has always belonged to a high-class group.”
Such as the Wu family.
Bai Gu’s meaning was obvious – this hairpin probably belonged to the Wu family, and was the kind of item that had been passed down through generations. It was just unclear why it had such strong Death Qi as if it had been buried with a corpse. Death Qi is highly toxic and Wu Rong spread a bit of it on the Black Rock Spider as an experiment, and it almost shed its shell on the spot. Such a hairpin couldn’t be shown to Mother Wu immediately; Wu Rong worked on it for half the night, and it wasn’t until dawn that the silver hairpin finally regained its luster.
After removing the black and red stains, the bright silver hairpin seemed attractive. The Zhong Gu’s shadow immediately nestled in the middle of the two butterfly carvings, rubbing against the Swallowtail Butterfly Stone beads. When the Zhong Gu hatched, it was supposed to be a butterfly, and it had an exceptional fondness for these small stone beads, eager to greedily swallow them. When Wu Rong stopped it, it anxiously ‘chirped’ incessantly, but couldn’t prevent Wu Rong from resolutely taking it back into his heart.
Why does the Zhong Gu seem a bit mentally impaired?
Wu Rong pondered this question while going upstairs, it was clear that it used to speak confidently and articulate complex emotions. But now, it seemed to only retain its pure desires, no longer revealing any complicated emotions, and it didn’t even speak anymore.
“It’s accumulating all available energy.”
After hearing Wu Rong’s description, Mother Wu frowned, “In the past, when the Wu family reclaimed the Zhong Gu, after providing the essence of the five elements, it would first hatch and exist in the form of a larva for a period of time, accumulating enough energy before cocooning and metamorphosing into a butterfly, completing its full incubation.”
“But yours… it seems to show signs of cocooning directly.”
“A-Rong, if that’s the case, you need to find pure gold essence as soon as possible.”
Mother Wu looked serious, “If this state persists for too long, the Zhong Gu may degenerate.”
Now, the Zhong Gu almost abandoned all useless characteristics and solely stored energy for now. Like a child with a high fever, if it persists for too long, it might damage its brain. If large amounts of energy aren’t provided quickly, and the Zhong Gu doesn’t enter the next stage, it’s likely to get stuck here.
“The Swallowtail Butterfly Stone can provide it with energy.”
Wu Rong said affirmatively, then he took out the silver hairpin, “Mom, have you seen this before?”
“This is… your great-aunt’s hairpin.”
Wu Cui was stunned, and her expression suddenly turned to an excited one but like Bai Gu, she didn’t take it from Wu Rong but observed it in his hands. Her expression was complex and she went silent for a long time, till she finally sighed, “This is a lost sacred object of the Wu Clan, and I didn’t expect to see it again.”
“It can only be touched and worn by the village chief of the clan and Wu family members who have retrieved the Zhong Gu. It used to be placed in the Old Miao Cave, and it would only appear after the Wu family recaptured the Zhong Gu.”
Mother Wu rarely caressed Wu Rong’s hair gently, even though he had been growing his hair longer, it only reached his ears. It obviously couldn’t withstand the weight of this silver hairpin, “A hairpin, forehead ornament, earrings, necklace, bracelet, navel ring and anklet – this set of jewelry has a total of eight pieces. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, and have only heard your grandmother talk about it. These jewelry pieces are extremely precious, they possess the ability to turn ordinary Gu into Gu Kings.”
Mother Wu’s hand touched Wu Rong’s earlobe, sighing, “The ear piercing your grandmother did for you when you left the Miao’s territory is a tradition of the Wu family, for wearing that pair of earrings. But they’ve been missing since your great-aunt’s generation, even your grandmother never wore them.”
“This belongs to Aunt Wu Rao?”
Wu Rong immediately thought of the butterfly necklace that Inspector Angus had in his hand, he had said at the time that it was obtained from the Miao’s territory by Sir Leo. But now, it seems highly likely that it was also a part of this jewelry set!
“Why didn’t I know about this?”
“Hmph.”
Speaking of this topic, Mother Wu snorted coldly, a trace of anger and fatigue between her eyebrows. “Of course, you didn’t know. Originally, I planned to keep it to myself. Even your grandmother didn’t intend to tell you until later, because this is the shame of our Wu family. I didn’t expect you to recover this hairpin. I’ll tell you, the loss of this jewelry set is related to one of those devilish foreigners.”
Devilish foreigners?
“That liar, thief, and shameless thing. If it weren’t for him stealing this set of jewelry, why would your Aunt Wu Rao leave the village!”
Wu Rong was momentarily stunned, he clearly remembered that when the Miao’s ethnic songs were sung during the ceremony, it was about ‘when a terrifying disaster struck’, Wu Rao resolutely stood up and followed Grandmaster Fu and seven other powerful individuals from around the world to the Central Tiankeng. She sacrificed herself, sealed the Tiankeng, and won a respite for humanity. She was a hero of the Miao ethnic group and also a hero of the world.
“At that time, outsiders said… oh, in fact, except for your grandmother and me, now including you, everyone else thinks the same.”
Mother Wu slammed the table, a hint of sarcasm and fatigue in her brows, “They are the perfect heroes who saved humanity, of course they must’ve had spirits filled with dedication and sacrifice. Your grandmother has always refused the Federation’s pension and resolutely refused all forms of preferential treatment. This was at the cost of your aunt’s life.
From his mother’s mouth, Wu Rong heard another version of the story. At the beginning of the supernatural revival, the Miao’s village in the mountains wasn’t greatly affected. The eldest daughter of the Wu family, Wu Rao, was exceptionally talented. At the age of twelve, she went to the Old Miao Cave to recover the Zhong Gu. Possibly because her 'mother was originally male, she did not have excessive Yin Qi and the need for Yang Qi supplement like other Wu family members. She could suppress the Zhong Gu’s Yin Qi alone and live well.
At that time, the Miao’s village was full of talent, and with Wu Rao in charge, there were almost no casualties in the early stages of supernatural revival. That was until an accident occurred in the OldMiao Cave.
“The Old Miao Cave is where the Zhong Gu and his Gu subordinates stay. If ordinary people want to obtain Gu, they can only go to the Ordinary Miao Cave.”
Ghost Qi in the mountains liked places with dense Yin Qi the most. They eroded the Old Miao Cave, causing a large number of Miao seedlings to die. If the Zhong Gu didn’t have the ability to nurture many Gu seedlings, and if Wu Rao was not the outstanding leader of that generation, the Miao’s tradition would have been cut off entirely.
At that time, some Miao villages proposed the idea of refining spiritual Gu, but spiritual Gu required the cultivation of human flesh and souls. Its methods were cruel and detrimental to both heaven and humanity. Most villages did not agree with this approach. Wu Rao used the Zhong Gu to cultivate many Gu seedlings, not only for her own village but also to send to other villages to alleviate their urgent needs.
However, with the ongoing supernatural revival, the Yin Qi in the world became heavier, and Gu seedlings cultivated by the Zhong Gu had a hard time surviving, let alone ordinary Gu. In this environment, insisting on their previous methods seemed, to many Miao people, like seeking their own destruction, and various villages were in turmoil, arguing endlessly. Some villages had even started to refine spiritual Gu using people, and the situation gradually got out of hand.
It was at this time that a foreigner came to the Miao village.
Editor: Cloud Chip Cake
Unexpected history
look at that, the stone head might be right?
Thanks for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Hmm, now I’m thinking of Leo… maybe the stone head wasn’t lying? Leo was a coward and he was deceitful… he stole the Miao artifacts, led Wu Rao to the Great Tiankeng and sacrificed her instead of himself, and faked his death to make it seem as if he was a great hero… well it’ll get explained next chapter anyway 🤷