Chapter Index

    Miedie Valley was located deep within Miedie Forest. Without a Gu worm planted in their body to fight poison with poison, outsiders could not infiltrate it. The reason Jin Jiuzhou was able to pass through Miedie Forest and reach Miedie Valley was because he had also planted the Gu worm that was sent back to Upper Cloud Capital.

    However, the rumors in the capital regarding the beauty of the Miedie Valley Master were not baseless.

    Among the group of people who went missing two months ago, only one man was returned after being captured.

    The reason was simple: he was too frail and lacked sufficient Yang energy.

    It was from this man’s mouth that the astonishing appearance of the Miedie Valley Master was first spread.

    As the sole son of the General of the Nation’s Residence, Jin Jiuzhou was respectfully called Young General by everyone in the capital. What kind of person hadn’t he seen? Moreover, the Valley Master was a man.

    Only a country bumpkin like Lu Yi, who had sneaked into Upper Cloud Capital, was so ignorant that he nearly ruined the affairs of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager.

    “Since the Xiaoling Division is useless, the merit for eliminating this demon will naturally be claimed by someone else. If not me, it will be another.”

    Jin Jiuzhou, hanging in the Five Poisons Cave, maintained a calm expression. “Rumor has it that Vice Envoy Lu despises evil and would personally apprehend a suspect even if a commoner lost a chicken. Now that someone is helping you, shouldn’t you be pleased?”

    “I don’t need help,” Lu Yi turned around, his fringe obscuring his eyebrows and expression. “If the General’s Residence wants a share, then let’s rely on our own abilities.”

    The two parted on bad terms.

    Lu Yi stayed up all night. Early the next morning, he was summoned by Xie Rong to the Bamboo Hut to test a Gu worm again.

    When Xie Rong said ‘test a Gu worm,’ he meant exactly that.

    The morning light filtered into the Bamboo Hut. The man knelt on the ground with his back to the light, his upper body bare, the whip marks on his chest already scabbed over.

    A sharp dagger rested against his heart.

    “It won’t hurt, it will be over quickly,” Xie Rong held the dagger, perfunctorily stroked Lu Yi’s head, and lightly sliced open a cut on the man’s chest.

    A ravenous Gu worm eagerly drilled into the man’s body through the broken skin.

    Lu Yi closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. His chest heaved violently, and every muscle in his body was strained to the maximum.

    The Gu worm rampaged recklessly through his meridians, proving even more agonizing than the tortures in the Imperial Prison.

    Lu Yi looked up, only to see that Xie Rong was not looking at him; his attention was completely captivated by the ugly Gu worm.

    [Protagonist Pain Value +5. Current Pain Value 59]

    Xie Rong stared intently, not blinking.

    The Gu worm happily darted around the man’s meridians. Finally, full and satisfied, the small, bulging mass curled up near the man’s heart and stopped moving.

    Xie Rong extended his index finger and poked the disobedient Gu worm through the man’s sweat-soaked chest.

    “Come out,” he said, displeased.

    The Gu worm slowly drilled out of the wound and dropped into Xie Rong’s palm.

    He cupped the plump, well-fed Gu worm in both hands, as if he had received some rare treasure. His heterochromatic eyes shone, his cheeks flushed, and he impatiently got up, scurried past the pale-faced man, and climbed into the bed.

    “The protagonist’s blood really is different from other men’s blood,” Xie Rong murmured to himself.

    Compared to the Gu worms fed by other men, the one in his palm was not only plumper but also had a livelier disposition.

    Such a Gu worm could lay ten times the number of eggs as a regular Gu worm in one go.

    The resulting offspring Gu worms would have stronger toxicity and be harder to cure—exactly what he wanted.

    Xie Rong placed the Gu worm into a bamboo tube, walked back to the low couch, and sat down.

    “Lu Yi, you are amazing,” he cupped the man’s face, leaned down, and kissed the man’s pain-dilated pupils, then smiled and said softly, “You are better than all the other men. I truly like you so much.”

    Lu Yi looked up at him, his bloodless lips moved, but he said nothing.

    Xie Rong didn’t care whether he responded or not. He carefully wiped the blood from his chest, then patiently applied medicine, muttering to himself, “Such precious blood cannot be wasted.”

    “From now on, you will eat meals with me,” Xie Rong pulled him up and pressed him down on the edge of the low couch. He then sat on the man’s lap, wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, and smiled sweetly and innocently. “Your body was just injured. You must be nourished every day, or I will feel distressed.”

    Lu Yi responded with a low hum.

    Xie Rong was very satisfied. As a reward, he parted his lips and actively exposed his bright red tongue, allowing the man, who instantly lost his mind whenever kissed, to kiss him to his heart’s content.

    With such little effort, he could make Lu Yi obediently feed his Gu worms. Xie Rong had never made such a profitable deal.

    He didn’t understand what exposing his tongue to a man implied, nor did he understand that the word ‘like’ casually hanging on his lips could carry other profound meanings.

    He loved refining Gu worms, he loved the tingling sensation when Gu worms and venomous snakes intimately slid across his skin, and naturally, he also loved the strong man who could feed powerful Gu worms for him.

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