Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Chapter 82 The Gu Can Eat People

Wang Zhenqiu touched his face, somewhat bewildered: "Huh, the poison seems to be gone?"

Cheng Mo said thoughtfully, "It should be that the host died, and the Gu mother died along with him. The Gu poison in your body lost its activity."

Wang Zhenqiu and Xia He simultaneously realized, "So that's how it is."

Cheng Mo frowned.

Are the people from the Medicine Immortal Society really that ordinary in strength?

It was much weaker than he had expected.

This man in gray should be a manager in the Medicine Immortal Society, yet he couldn't even defeat Wang Zhenqiu now, let alone the seven or eight who used poison.

In the original work, Chen Duo, as a Gu-body Saint Child, demonstrated combat power at the level of a temporary worker.

Is there really such a big difference between an ordinary Gu Master and a Gu Body Saint Child?

Or is it that the true masters of the Medicine Immortal Society are not here at this moment?

Or perhaps, Chen Duo in the original work is an exception?

As he was thinking, he caught a glimpse of a corner of the threshing ground.

The group of children were still standing there.

Just like before, it remained motionless.

No, things are a little different now.

A little girl rolled her eyes very slightly.

She looked at the corpses of the Medicine Immortals on the ground.

Then, the other child also moved his neck.

No one rushed over and slapped them on the back of the head.

The children began to steal glances at each other.

Their gazes met briefly before quickly shifting away.

The expected punishment has not yet arrived.

One, two, three—more and more children began to look at each other, their eyes blank, with something so faint it was almost nonexistent.

Cheng Mo noticed the children's commotion, temporarily suppressed his questions, and pulled Xia He over.

Wang Zhenqiu took out his phone and dialed Hao Yi's number: "Hey, Lao Hao, we've taken down a whole bunch of members of the Medicine Immortal Society, plus over thirty kids. Send someone over right away. Location? Can't you guys pinpoint their location? —"

Cheng Mo and Xia He walked up to the children.

The children immediately stopped moving when they saw someone approaching.

Don't cry, don't make a fuss, don't speak.

Like a group of dolls whose pause button has been pressed.

Cheng Mo squatted down and looked at a little boy at eye level.

The little boy had mud on his face and his clothes were torn at the cuffs.

"What's your name?" Cheng Mo asked.

The little boy didn't say anything.

Xia He squatted down next to Cheng Mo and asked softly, "Are you hungry?"

The little boy glanced at her.

There was no curiosity or fear in his eyes, only emptiness.

He then quickly looked back at the ground and returned to his original posture.

Xia He asked a few more questions.

There has still been no response.

She wanted to pat a little girl's head.

Before Xia He's hand could even touch her hair, the girl suddenly lurched backward, bumping into another child behind her.

Both children shuddered, immediately stood up straight, and dared not move.

Xia He's hand hovered in mid-air—two seconds later, she withdrew her hand, unsure of what to say.

After finishing his phone call, Wang Zhenqiu walked over and, seeing the scene, lowered his voice: "What happened to these children?"

Cheng Mo stood up and shook his hands. After spending so much time with the children, his skin felt sticky. He did a few movements to loosen his muscles, and the stickiness finally disappeared.

His voice turned extremely cold: "Those scumbags from the Medicine Immortal Society have brainwashed them to this extent."

Xia He's eyes were a little red. Looking at the children who dared not move, dared not speak, and dared not even glance around, anger and sorrow mingled together: "Golden Hair, when are the people from All-Around Tong arriving?"

She knew very well that the three of them simply couldn't take care of so many children.

Moreover, this village also has a group of beggars, tomb raiders, and counterfeit liquor dealers.

These people are only temporarily intimidated. Once they come to their senses, who knows what they might do? It's impossible for us to keep an eye on them 24 hours a day.

Wang Zhenqiu put away his phone: "Old Hao said he'll contact the person in charge here right away, and they should be here soon."

Just as Cheng Mo was about to speak, Xia He suddenly swayed.

"Hmm—" She held her forehead, "I feel a little dizzy."

Wang Zhenqiu also swayed, his expression changing drastically: "This is a curse?! We've been cursed?"

Cheng Mo reacted instantly.

These children have all been infected with Gu, and they cannot fully control the Gu within their bodies.

The stickiness they felt was the Gu poison, and because Hunqiu and Xiahe were too close to the child, the Gu poison silently invaded their bodies.

"Step back!" Cheng Mo grabbed Xia He and pulled Wang Zhenqiu back, all the way to a distance of ten meters.

The two people's bodies began to operate automatically, cleaning up the trace amounts of Gu poison that had invaded.

Soon, Xia He's complexion returned to normal, and Wang Zhenqiu's dizziness also disappeared.

Cheng Mo watched the group of children from afar.

They remained standing in the same spot, motionless.

"These children all have Gu poison in their bodies," Cheng Mo said. "And they can't control it; the Gu poison will continue to spread outwards."

Xia He bit her lower lip.

Wang Zhenqiu asked, "Then what should we do? We can't keep standing this far away—"

Cheng Mo didn't reply, but turned to Wang Zhenqiu: "Go and talk to the villagers and ask them for some ingredients. I just heard a child's stomach growling."

Wang Zhenqiu immediately nodded: "Leave it to me."

Xia He volunteered: "I'll go too. I don't trust the people in this village. I have to keep an eye on them."

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "Forget it, I'll cook. Qiu'er, you go ask the villagers for ingredients. Xia He, you watch over these children."

Wang Zhenqiu turned and walked toward the nearest house. The door of that house was quietly opened a crack, but when it saw someone coming, it slammed shut again.

Xia He stood still, watching the children from afar.

Cheng Mo returned to the kitchen where he had been.

The members of the Medicine Immortal Society were still lying in the room. Both stoves were overturned, pots and pans were scattered all over the floor, and oil was spilled everywhere.

He tied up the surviving members of the Medicine Immortal Society and piled them in the corner. Then he found a rag, wiped the stove clean, picked up the pot, and arranged the usable bowls and chopsticks.

Wang Zhenqiu quickly came over, carrying half a bag of rice, a few pieces of cured meat, and a bunch of green vegetables.

"The villagers were initially unwilling to give it to me," he said, putting the items on the stove. "I told them that if they didn't give it to me, I would smash those jars of fake liquor in their house first, and they immediately agreed."

Cheng Mo didn't reply, and started washing rice, starting a fire, and cutting meat.

The fire in the stove was lit, and the water in the pot gradually began to steam.

The first dish—stir-fried cured pork with cabbage—was just put into the pan.

Xia He rushed in, flustered: "Something terrible has happened, little Taoist! A child has fainted!"

Cheng Mo threw down the shovel and rushed out with Xia He.

Two or three children were lying on the ground beside the threshing ground.

The other children, though still standing, also looked unwell; some had pale lips, and others were sweating profusely.

Cheng Mo squatted down, examined the eyelids of a child who had fainted, and checked his pulse.

He suddenly thought of a question.

What sustains the life of a person with a Gu (a type of poisonous insect) in their body?

It's the human body itself!

If a person doesn't get enough energy, the Gu will eat them!

Cheng Mo rushed over, picked up the unconscious children from the crowd, and placed them on the clean ground ten meters away.

"Xia He," he turned around and instructed, "you channel Qi into these children, but don't force it into their bodies. Just send it slowly so that the Gu within them has something to eat, and don't let it devour the children."

Without saying a word, Xia He squatted down, pressed one child with each hand, and carefully seeped the fluid into the child's meridians.

Cheng Mo turned to Wang Zhenqiu: "Qiu'er, go find the villagers, bring them all the snacks, fruits, and pastries you can eat, the sooner the better. When you're done, come back and help Xia He with her Qi circulation."

Wang Zhenqiu turned around and ran towards the village.

He ran so fast that he snapped the clothesline, and several pieces of clothing hanging on it were smeared all over his face.

He ripped his clothes off and threw them aside, then kicked open the door: "Do you have anything to eat? Fruit, snacks, biscuits, bread, anything!"

An old woman inside the house was so frightened by him that she shrank back and pointed with trembling hands to a bamboo basket in the corner.

Wang Zhenqiu rushed over and saw half a basket of oranges and a few limp bananas.

He carried the basket away with him.

He went outside and kicked open the doors of the two neighboring houses, rummaging through them and grabbing a bag full of persimmon cakes, walnut shortbread, and two packets of damp glutinous rice strips.