Cloud Rise Temple.

An Rugu held her phone, and the excited voice of the Special Cases Management Bureau came through the receiver. 

“She ran really fast. We followed her all the way to the vicinity of the Miao village.

“She resisted fiercely, took out a lot of gu worms from her pocket, and sprinkled them not only on us, but also on the people around her, and escaped in the chaos.

“Fortunately, your insect-repelling talisman worked, and we had no casualties and caught her directly.”

A faint joy rose in An Rugu’s heart. “That would be best. By the way, what about that worm-bird heart gu?”

“You mean this…”

The Captain of the Special Cases Management Bureau’s originally high-spirited tone gradually lowered, and his face then fell. “After we subdued her, we opened the box, and inside was a heart submerged in liquid, still beating. It was really horrific.

“The worm-bird heart gu is of great research value, so we wanted to take the box with us and send it to the laboratory.

“She then gave a sinister laugh and said that outsiders were not worthy of obtaining the secret of the worm-bird heart gu, and then chanted a spell. The heart suddenly turned into water and merged with the liquid in the vessel.”

The captain sighed deeply. “Neither the heart nor the gu worms within it remained. If she could make the gu worms in this heart disappear, then she could make everything else disappear as well. It seemed that the worm-bird heart gu was about to become extinct once again.”

However, An Rugu felt that something was wrong.

She turned her head to look at the table next to her. On the table was a large shelf with a row of glass test tubes, each containing many red threads.

She recently used her talismans as deworming agent to get rid of the pest infestation from Wei Mingyan’s family, and these were all her spoils. The silk threads meandered and coiled like snakes, but did not turn into water like that heart.

Previously at the Celestial Masters Mansion, the witch seemed to hate Wei Mingyan intensely, but she only chanted incantations to kill Old Master Wang, not Wei Mingyan.

“Can you let the witch answer the phone?”

The captain hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not refuse, “She’s in the interrogation room, wait a moment.”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Shortly after, the captain entered the interrogation room, put the phone on speakerphone, and placed it in front of the witch.

The witch, wearing handcuffs and shackles, sat in a chair, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

When she saw the captain enter, her smile was sinister. “You still want the secret of the worm-bird heart gu? Go to sleep now, it’ll be faster if you dream about it.”

Captain looked at  her. “…You’re overthinking it. Only researchers want to study the worm-bird heart gu. I’m not interested in strange insects.”

The witch sneered twice. “I really want to dig out your heart and use it to raise gu worms.”

The captain felt a chill run down his spine from what she said, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

At this moment, An Rugu’s voice came through the microphone, “I’m guessing you said that to scare him. Actually, not just anyone’s heart can be used to raise worm-bird heart gu.”

The witch’s smile froze on her face as she looked down on the phone on the table, her face grim. “…What do you mean?”

An Rugu’s mind stirred slightly, and she voiced her guess, “I don’t know the underlying logic of how the worm-bird heart gu controls people, but I can make a guess. Gu worms should also be based on the same origin. You can’t control the gu worms your grandmother planted; you can only control the gu worms you yourself planted.”

The gu worm in Wei Mingyan’s great-grandfather’s body was inflicted by her maternal grandmother, a gu witch. This affliction was passed down through generations, with all descendants inheriting the gu worm from Wei Mingyan’s great-grandfather. 

However, there was one exception: Old Master Wang, whose gu worms were inflicted by this gu witch.

The witch’s voice was hoarse and dry, like pushing a piece of rotten wood, but she asked with great interest, “And then?”

An Rugu said quietly, “I’ve read some information. The Heart Gu is one of the most famous gu worms in Miao territory. It is said that after a Miao woman gets married, she will put this gu worm on herself and her husband, so that they will live and die together and cannot change their hearts. The characteristic is that both lovers will have the gu worm in their bodies, that is also why it’s called the Heart Gu.

“The worm-bird heart gu is an ancient gu worm, and in theory it is the ancestor of the Heart Gu. Its operating mechanism may be similar.

“You probably didn’t tell us the whole story that day. Your grandmother not only used the gu on her partner, but also on herself. Only by having one half of the gu worm in your body could you control the other half.”

The captain of the Special Cases Management Bureau, who was listening in, was shocked to hear this and looked at the witch with suspicion. “…You have a gu worm in your heart?”

He was well-informed and had heard of many witches who planted their own natal gu worms inside their bodies to control them. He never expected this witch to be so ruthless, daring to plant ancient gu worms inside her own body.

The witch, however, laughed, a laugh that was incredibly eerie. Without any attempt to hide anything, she frankly said, “…You are a bit smarter than I thought. The worm-bird heart gu does indeed recognize its master through the blood of the heart.”

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

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