Chapter 83: The Golden Toad Blocks the Path

“The life-bound Gu I cultivate in my body is relatively gentle in nature. It is produced from forty-two medicinal insects: green silkworms, scorpions, centipedes, blister beetles, ground beetles, silkworms (known in herbal medicine as ‘stiff silkworms’), ants, crickets, earthworms (called ‘earth dragons’ in medicine), cockroaches (referred to as ‘zhè insects’), leeches... After forty-nine days of nurturing, these are refined into a single medicinal silkworm Gu seed!”

“Then, I fed it with herbal medicines and cultivated it using secret techniques, finally raising it into a medicinal silkworm Gu capable of curing the thousand poisons of Gu and bone!”

Yue’er chattered on endlessly, perhaps because so few outsiders ever came to the village. At this moment, her enthusiasm was infectious.

The two of them walked on, soon arriving at a suspension bridge spanning a cliff.

“Once we cross the bridge, we’ll reach the cave of the King of Gu!” Yue’er said, following behind Fang You.

“Will I finally see Uncle?” Fang You’s heart surged with mixed emotions. This was his only remaining family. Since childhood, his ill-fated destiny had driven his parents away, and the rest of his kin had severed all ties, shunning him. Only his uncle had treated him as family.

“What’s wrong, sir?” Yue’er asked, seeing Fang You lost in thought.

“It’s nothing. Let’s keep moving.” Fang You led the way onto the bridge, Yue’er following close behind. Suddenly, a thick fog welled up around them.

As they pressed forward along the bridge, the mist only grew denser. Fang You felt an unease rise within him.

“What’s going on? Why has such a heavy fog settled all of a sudden?” he wondered aloud.

Yue’er surveyed their surroundings, her keen senses picking up the faint aura scattered through the haze. Suddenly, her face changed drastically. “Could it be the Fog Toad?”

“Fog Toad?” Fang You repeated, puzzled.

“In the forbidden lands behind the mountain, many wild Gu breeds roam. Most are abandoned Gu insects or their descendants, or even offspring of Gu interbreeding with other insects. Though these progeny lack the full strength of true Gu and cannot turn invisible, and are visible to the naked eye, they still bear the bloodline, retaining some of their abilities.”

“That’s why tamed Miao aren’t allowed into the back mountains. Their Gu arts are not as refined as those of the wild-born; some who return from afar barely understand the arts at all. If they entered the back mountain, they could, out of youthful recklessness, stumble into danger from powerful wild Gu.”

Despite her explanation, the current situation made it clear: they had indeed encountered a formidable Gu.

“Let’s keep going,” Fang You insisted. His uncle was ahead, and nothing would make him turn back easily.

Halfway across the bridge, a strange sound suddenly echoed—half toad, half frog, a low croak reverberating through the mist.

“It’s here!” Yue’er summoned her life-bound Gu, which hovered around her protectively.

“We should be able to handle a single Gu,” Fang You said, drawing his peach-wood sword and a sword strung with coins, advancing cautiously.

As they drew nearer, a massive toad appeared before them, its entire body a slick green, viscous liquid oozing from its skin and sizzling as it dripped onto the wooden planks of the bridge.

“A toxic fog toad!” Yue’er exclaimed nervously. “When two Gu with different abilities mate, their offspring may inherit both powers!”

This giant toad clearly had the power to summon fog and exude deadly toxins.

Even as they faced this threat ahead, a hissing sound rose from behind. Twisting around, they saw a huge serpent gliding silently toward them—the very snake Fang You had wounded earlier.

Now they were beset front and back, any thought of escape impossible.

“Just my luck! Could things get any worse?” Yue’er groaned, confronted by two such fearsome Gu.

But the situation was even grimmer than they’d imagined. As the mist began to dissipate, behind both the toad and the serpent, hundreds more Gu began to gather.

“This is bad—they’re all carnivorous Gu!” The realization dawned on Yue’er. These Gu had likely devoured nearly all the mountain’s animals. She and Fang You were fresh meat, irresistible to the starving creatures. No wonder the snake had fought so desperately to kill Da Zhuang—it must have gone long without a live meal, and now, after being wounded by Fang You, it wanted both food and revenge.

Yue’er and Fang You pressed back to back, the toad and its poisonous kin—mantises, scorpions, venomous rats—closing in from one side, while a host of snakes slithered up from the other.

“Sir, what do we do now?” Yue’er’s voice trembled with fear.

Fang You looked down at the swords in his hands and suddenly had an idea. He handed the peach-wood sword to Yue’er. “Hold on tight to this!”

“You’re not expecting me to fight off all those Gu with a sword, are you?” Yue’er protested.

“I’ll fly you off this bridge.”

“Fly?”

“Yes, fly!”

Fang You pressed a talisman onto the peach-wood sword and said earnestly, “Hold on tight!”

“Sir…” Yue’er did not know what he intended, but she trusted him. She gripped the sword with both hands, certain he would find a way to save them.

Fang You began to chant: “All things are endowed with spirit and nature; with the talisman as medium, I borrow strength—to the sword, lend your power!”

Such was the essence of Maoshan talismanic arts: using a talisman as a vessel to draw on the powers of heaven and earth, of spirits, of ghosts, and of all living things. If one’s heart is sincere, one can borrow any power needed from the myriad beings.

As soon as Fang You finished the incantation, the peach-wood sword in Yue’er’s hands began to tremble.

“Sir…!” she started, but before she could finish, the sword soared into the air, whisking Yue’er up with it.

“Sir, save me!”

At that moment, seeing only Fang You left on the bridge, the Gu swarmed forward, desperate lest their prey escape.

Fang You swiftly activated another talisman: “Depart!”

Instantly, the coin sword lifted into the air, bearing Fang You straight off the bridge as well.

Below, the Gu leaped up in a frenzy. The giant toad opened its enormous maw, its tongue flicking out, coated in venom. Had it caught him, his body would have been instantly dissolved.

But Fang You narrowly evaded their grasp, flying on toward the mouth of the King of Gu’s cave.