An Rugu contacted the second destined person, Strawberry Jam, and dialed the number. Soon, a young woman in her teens appeared on the screen.

She was young, beautiful and slim. She wore a cross-collared top and a pleated skirt. Her clothes are dazzling and elaborately embroidered. She also wore a silver ornaments and a silver headdress that sparkled with each movement.

The audience in the livestream channel suddenly brightened up.

[Wow, isn’t this Miao ethnic clothing? So gorgeous!]

[This girl has captivated me. She’s so pretty. Can she speak Mandarin?]

[Host: Urgent, waiting for a friend who can speak Miao dialect.]

“I can speak Mandarin!”

She was dressed in such an ethnic style, but she spoke fluent Mandarin. “Hello, streamer. I’ve been watching you livestream for a long time, and I’m so excited to win the prize today.”

“Hello.” An Rugu nodded in a serious manner, “Pay the divination fee, a high-powered gun salute.”

“Okay.” Strawberry Jam nodded immediately and gave a high-powered gun salute.

She was particularly enthusiastic. Before An Rugu could even begin to tell her fortune, she spilled the beans about herself. “Streamer, you don’t need to tell me about myself. I’ll just tell you what I do.”

“The Miao ethnic region is divided into ‘raw’ Miao and ‘cooked’ Miao areas. The cooked Miao areas have been assimilated into the Han Chinese and are no different from the Han people. I am from the cooked Miao part. After taking the college entrance examination, I went to university in another province and recently returned to my hometown to visit my relatives.”

The audience in the livestream channel were extremely curious about the mysterious ethnic minority, and asked those who had some knowledge to say more in the barrage.

Some people also said that they wanted to visit the Miao village and asked the pre-destined person to recommend some scenic spots.

“Our ethnic group can be roughly divided into several types. Those who wear red belts are called Red Miao, those who use black cloth are called Black Miao, and those who use green or white cloth are called Green Miao or White Miao. Our people in western Hunan are basically all Green Miao.”

The destined person was open and quite enthusiastic, saying, “We have beautiful scenery here, and there’s fun to be had everywhere. But you should be careful: stick to familiar Miao villages and avoid unfamiliar ones. They don’t speak Mandarin in those places, and um… they’re quite xenophobic. Even as a local, I’ve only been there a few times.

“If you go there and something happens, I won’t be responsible.”

Maybe people have a rebellious mentality. The more the destined person cautioned them not to go, the more curious the audience became about the place.

[I heard that you guys in Xiangxi are famous for corpse-driving and you can also cast gu spells. Miss, do you know how to do it?]

[I suspect my soulmate has cast a spell on me. Why is my heart pounding so fast?]

She saw these comments and couldn’t help but laugh. “Alas, actually I really want to learn how to cast a gu spell myself, but I don’t know how. My mother told me that there used to be a gu witch in our village—a woman who could cast gu poison. She was said to be very good at casting gu, her eyes were red, and she was very knowledgeable about the craft.

“My mom told me to avoid her if I ever see her and to never take food from her.

“I didn’t remember the instructions clearly because I was still little. Besides, who can resist the temptation of snacks? I remember I met her on the road and she handed me a pancake. After I ate it, started to have a fever the moment I got home.

“When my mother found out, she ran to her front door and loudly scolded her, saying she was harming people and that if she didn’t take it back, she would throw rocks at her roof and pour manure on her door. The noise needs to be loud, shouting that could be heard in the whole village. When the witch hears it, she would take the gu poison back.”

“My mother heard this from someone else. And so she really yelled like that. The next day, the witch seemed to have really taken the gu poison back, and my fever went away.”

Upon hearing this, An Rugu recalled the gu witch she had seen in the records and asked, “Did the gu witch in your village plant the mother gu in her own body?”

To gain the power to cast gu spells, some witches would plant a mother gu in their own bodies. This would then bite them, causing excruciating pain. One of the few ways to alleviate the pain was to temporarily inflict the mother gu on someone else, which would work for a while.

Strawberry Jam shook her head. “I didn’t ask. I haven’t seen her much since then. I don’t know where she went.”

An Rugu hummed, “I see. So what do you want to know this time?”

Strawberry Jam was about to speak when she heard footsteps outside.

A woman’s anxious voice came from outside the yard, echoing through the narrow space, “Come here quickly! There’s something wrong with your sister.”

A horrified Strawberry Jam hurriedly grabbed her phone and followed the sound of yelling to the yard.

Strawberry Jam‘s mother grunted as she supported her sister.

The young woman’s eyes were open, her face was pale, and she was shaking. If her mother hadn’t supported her, she would have fallen to the ground.

“What’s wrong?! Didn’t you go cut grass?” Strawberry Jam hurried over. She helped her mother and together they supported her sister.

The mother was extremely worried. “She said she was going to cut grass far away, when she came back she was in this state. Please help her into the house quickly, I will call a doctor.”

At this moment, her sister pursed her dry lips, her mind extremely confused. She forced herself to be clear-headed and said, “Mom, I feel like I’ve become a cave maiden.”

When the mother heard this, her face turned pale and she immediately scolded her, “Don’t talk nonsense. There’s no such thing as cave maiden.”

The sister looked dazed. “I was cutting grass near a cave when I heard a noise inside. I went in and saw a huge red snake. I was scared to death. I must have become a cave maiden.”

This time, without her mother’s persuasion, Strawberry Jam immediately covered her sister’s mouth and looked at her in fear. “Don’t overthink things, let me help you to the bedroom to rest for a while.”

Strawberry Jam and her mother took her sister to her room, took off her shoes, helped her to the bed, and covered her with a blanket.

Her sister seemed to have lost her last bit of strength and closed her eyes.

Strawberry Jam was shocked and quickly put her hand under her sister’s nose. When she found that she was still breathing, she breathed a sigh of relief and then said fearfully, “Mom, was she really chosen by the cave god?”

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. I’m going to find a doctor.” The mother forced herself to remain calm and said, “Even if the king of heaven himself comes, he can’t marry my daughter.”

I Livestream Divination to the World translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: The Miao is one of the 55 ethnic groups in China, the 5th largest (9.1 million population), and the largest one that doesn’t have it’s own autonomous region, living in scattered areas in South and Southwest China.

The Miao speak a language that is mutually intelligible (speakers cannot understand each other) from Mandarin. They seem to be an umbrella ‘ethnic group’ composed of several similar ethnic groups that banded together during the creation of the PRC to get a more favorable ethnic recognition and status. They are related to the Hmongs of Vietnam and are also found in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Their ethnic clothing is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage (now considered endangered because the knowledge on how to create them is not being passed on to the modern, younger generation).

The silver headdress is an important status symbol, each woman having their own. Families save up silver for their daughter while she is still young; it forms part of her dowry and in olden times was a show of the family’s wealth. In modern times, the silver headdress is still used but mostly for its cultural significance. 

One tradition that I found notable: the eldest son is not the heir. He is expected to move out and start his own family, still living near his parents. It’s the youngest son who is expected to remain with the parents and take care of them as they grow old, in return he will inherit most of the family’s properties, including his mother’s silver headress.  

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In relation to the story, the Miao—specifically the Miao women—are traditionally ‘known’ as practicing the supernatural arts of ‘gu’. 

‘Gu’ can mean the sorcery itself, the poison administered, the bug used to administer the poison, or—in specific gu cases—to seduce/bewitch someone.

Gu (the bug) is created by sealing all manner of venomous insects/bugs/centipedes/snakes etc. in a jar and letting them consume each other until only 1 is left. This gu is now imbued with supernatural traits and can be used to poison others, control them, even make them fall in love with you. In other cases, the gu master can send the gu out to steal from other houses (grains, gold etc).

The practice of gu is highly secretive and is passed on through women of the same family, or even same village. While it all sounds very nefarious, in some stories, the gu acts as the woman’s guardian. Each daughter is expected to raise their own gu at around 12 years old and this will protect her from assault and intentional harm.

A funny thing: most of what I’ve researched referred to gu as a poison causing fierce abdominal pain and eventual death if not countered with an antidote (which the gu master ofc possesses, allowing them to make people bow to their will). But I’ve read many c-romance novels where ‘love gu’ is used to make a person fall in love with the gu master. The mother gu (insect) is in the gu master’s body, and its child is secretly made to burrow into the body of the controlled person, affecting their heart. If they betray the gu master, the gu eats through their heart, killing them.

It seems the ‘love gu’ is a modern take on the traditional poison gu stories that’s been popularized in online stories 😂

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi and get access to advance chapters as reward. Thank you for your support! ☺️
Chapter 77.4 — The Strongest Gu
Chapter 77.5 — The Strongest Gu
Chapter 77.6 — The Strongest Gu
Chapter 78.1 — Ghost King
Chapter 78.2 — Ghost King
Chapter 78.3 — Ghost King
Chapter 78.4 — Ghost King
Chapter 79.1 — Attracting Lightning Technique
Chapter 79.2 — Attracting Lightning Technique
Chapter 79.3 — Attracting Lightning Technique
Chapter 79.4 — Attracting Lightning Technique
Chapter 79.5 — Attracting Lightning Technique
Chapter 79.6 — Attracting Lightning Technique