Chapter 25: The true secret of the worm

In the end, only my master and I were left in the room. Uncle Wang gloated at my master and said, “You should deal with your own disciple. My disciple is so obedient. He never asks so many questions.”

I glared at Uncle Wang angrily. Why was his mouth so poisonous? But Uncle Wang just walked out of the room as if he hadn’t seen anything, and very ‘kindly’ closed the door. At the end, he didn’t forget to say, “Brother, when you punish your disciple for interrupting the conversation of an elder, you have to be gentle. After all, he is the successor of the Shan family, hehehe…”

I had no choice but to look at Wang Shishu with a resentful look. I was really speechless.

After Uncle Wang left, the atmosphere in the room fell silent. After a long time, the master sighed and said to me, “What are you standing there for? Sit down.”

I sat down next to my master. I had a lot of questions to ask when I first came in, but now I didn’t know where to start.

Master looked tired and said to me, “In two days, when the main force arrives, we will begin our operation. This time, the operation will be very difficult. Unlike in the deserted village, we have so much time to delay.”

I didn’t understand why my master was telling me this, but I still asked, “Master, what exactly is the operation about?”

“In one day, everything must be completely resolved. That’s it. The department’s requirement is that all the mother worms must be destroyed, and not a single worm egg can be left behind. If we don’t act quickly, then a real military strike may be used. In that case, we will cause a lot of potential trouble internationally, and a military strike cannot guarantee that there will not be a trace of evil left behind. In short, some of the responsibility will still be on our shoulders.” Master said to me.

Destroy the Black Rock Miao village in one day? I thought of that terrifying village, and it was going to be destroyed in one day. That’s too unrealistic, isn’t it? What about the hidden dangers buried outside?

I was about to ask, but the master had already said, “These have all been arranged. Some things, the country has been working on. Modern times are not like ancient times. The information network is much more developed. Basically, the dark side of the Black Rock Miao Village has been clearly investigated by the state. Originally, it would have taken some more time to confirm it just in case, but time is no longer an option because the adult insects are about to appear.”

“Adult worms? Master, what do you know? You seem to know a lot about these worms.” I finally asked the question I wanted to ask.

“What is an adult insect? An adult insect can be anything. The most likely thing is that the insect evolves into a human. Do you believe it?” Master suddenly turned to me and said. I was suddenly stunned. An insect becomes a human? Is Master joking?

Of course, I wasn’t completely unable to accept it. After all, in my country, China, there are so many legends about monsters and demons, and everything in this world can be cultivated. When one’s cultivation reaches a certain level, of course one can become a human.

But this is no longer the time of the great era, it is an era of lack of spiritual energy and shortage of resources for cultivation. The legends of monsters are already far away from us, not to mention this bug. I don’t think it is a monster at all. I can feel its momentum, but I can’t feel its spirituality.

The special aura that belongs to the animal of cultivation is like the spirit of a snake.

Seeing me gape in amazement, the master sighed: “This could have been a very small one, but someone gave this bug a chance, and that person was Gao Ning. In that case, it’s better to say that we’re helping the Black Rock Miao village than to say that we’re destroying it. Once the adult insect appears, there’s probably no way to destroy it except by using the ultimate means.

The adult insects are so terrifying, and I know too well what the ultimate means of this world are. That is nuclear weapons. To use that to destroy a bug, isn’t that a joke?

“Maybe even the ultimate means can’t destroy it. That’s something beyond the scope of this world! The reason we destroyed the Black Rock Village so quickly was to prevent more adult worms from appearing. Because the appearance of one adult worm provides great conditions for other worms to evolve into adults. One is better than several.” When he talked about this, the wrinkles on the master’s face seemed to deepen.

“Master, what exactly is that bug? Why is it so terrifying? Did Gao Ning find it? Why do you know so much about these bugs?” I asked in a rush. I didn’t expect the female bug I saw in the bug room to be so powerful.

I thought the female worm was just a worm controlled by the old demon in the Black Rock Village, and I felt sorry for it.

“What is that bug? It’s just like the Devil’s Flower, something that doesn’t belong in this world, something terrifying! Chengyi, there are some things that I can’t tell you, but it involves too much about your master. Your master’s business is a taboo for me, understand? At least I can’t say it now. This is not just about me, but an agreement between us brothers that we will never involve the next generation. As for Gao Ning, I only hope that he won’t be as crazy as the Black Rock Miao tribe, thinking that he can control the worm. That would be as ridiculous as a real ant trying to control a person. Master said this to me.

For some reason, Master’s words reminded me of a scene in the insect room that I thought was an illusion. It was the scene where the insects seemed to be hiding a sneer under their obedience and dependence on Gao Ning. I once thought it was my illusion.

But that’s not important. What’s important is what happened to the Grandmaster and what the Master is hiding.

“Master, I am also a descendant of the Grand Master. Are you really going to keep me in the dark for the rest of my life?” I was a little resentful.

The master said slowly, “Maybe not for the rest of your life, maybe long after, you will know the answer. But knowing the answer is not necessarily a good thing, because you will feel powerless about the answer, and even live your whole life in the shadow of that speciousness.”

A shadow of a shadow? I didn’t quite understand the meaning of this sentence, but I could already feel the bitterness now, and I could feel that my master’s words were so paradoxical.

“I have told you everything about the worms. Go now, the operation will begin in two days. I didn’t expect you to master the art of the middle mire. We will have to work together to solve this problem once and for all. Once this problem is solved, all the other problems will be solved as well, and my master’s wish will be fulfilled.” After saying this, the master didn’t want to talk to me anymore, and let me go out.

The master’s wish is fulfilled? I don’t know why I keep thinking about this question. Is this master really my master’s self-proclaimed master, or is he my master’s master? Where did the master go? If he exists, why hasn’t he appeared yet?

If he doesn’t exist, what does my Zhongmao technique prove?

A conversation seems to be more confusing than not talking. I walked out of the house in silence and happened to see Uncle Chen and Uncle Wang sitting in the living room outside the door.

“Let your master rest in peace. He is the successor of the Shan lineage in our generation, and he must have a heavier burden than we do.” Uncle Chen said.

“Chengyi, I can’t believe you used the Zhongmao technique to summon your master. It’s been so many years, and I’ve never forgotten what he looked like. I really want to see him again.” Uncle Wang also said with emotion.

I stared at Uncle Chen and asked, “Uncle Chen, don’t you know why I guessed that I could use the Zhongmao technique to invite my master? Can you tell me now?”

Now, everything about the master is like a mountain, from pressing on the master, to pressing on my heart. Everything is so heavy, but it makes people want to open it up and see what it really is.

“Do you want to know the reason?” Uncle Chen stood up, slowly walked to my side, and then pressed his finger on my back, where my birthmark was. After all these years, it has faded a lot. I don’t know what Uncle Chen meant.

“I guess the main reason you were able to invite the Grandmaster is because of this,” said Uncle Chen.