Ink Blade Chapter 32 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver
Gu Worm (part 1)
The inside of the shop was also gloomy, it was unknown if it was deliberately pretending to be mysterious to deceive people. The owner of the shop was a sloppy little old man. Seeing the handsome face and the cold eyebrows with an extraordinary bearing guest came in, he immediately greeted him warmly. "Have, have! Everything you want, this guest has high vision. The things from the southern border are rare to see in our Central Plains..."
Chu Yan didn't pay much attention to him, and walked in directly. Looking around, there were wooden, porcelain, and iron bottles and jars on the counter, lined up in a row.
The little old man tilted his head, picked up a jar mysteriously and pushed it in front of Chu Yan. There was a strange crawling sound coming from inside. "Guest, look here, what’s here ah, this is the southern border Wuxian Sect’s refined Gu worm! Hehe... How about it, would you like to take a look?"
This scene was really creepy, Chu Yan's eyes twitched, and he endured it, "Wuxian Sect?"
The little old man slapped the counter. "Ai! It's the Wuxian Sect, the southern border poisonous gu evil sect that failed to invade the Central Plains 40 years ago! Although it's gone now, there are still a small number of Gu worm that have been passed down... "
"It's also a coincidence that we got a few things. Taking advantage of the fact that there are many Jianghu warriors in recent days, no, just trying to see if we can get a good price..."
Chu Yan was clear. From Changqing and heading further south, it would indeed leave the Central Plains and enter the area under the southern border. It's quite normal for things from the other end to flow out in this small town.
The little old man squinted his eyes, chuckled a few times, and rubbed his fingers, "Would you like to open it and have a look? Please, take a look, just take a look. It's just that the things inside may be dangerous….let's say it first, in case something happens, we will not compensate for medical expenses."
Chu Yan narrowed his eyes and pondered for a while, then chuckled lightly, "Oh, old man, you got this poison but didn't dare to open it yourself, that’s why you are in a hurry to sell it?"
The old man chuckled in ridicule twice, as a tacit consent.
Chu Yan didn't care too much. He flicked his cuffs slightly and as he spoke, he was about to open that jar. "Alright, let me take a look."
As a result, before his hand touched the jar, five pale fingers swiftly stretched out in a ghostly manner from behind, and pressed the lid of the jar first!
Mo Ren had already stood behind Chu Yan at some point, expressionless, "Master, please allow this subordinate to come."
...This man appeared without making a sound, was dressed in black, with pale complexion, and a cold expression. The little old man screamed "Aiyaa" in fright, and almost didn’t slip off from the seat.
Even Chu Yan's eyes widened, "...Aren't you testing swords with Ying Yu?"
Mo Ren lowered his eyes again and stopped talking, but at the same time he held the jar stubbornly and did not let go.
It seemed that the whole body was unwilling and said, “...but Master, you really don’t make people free from worry.”
The corners of Chu Yan's mouth twitched, and he couldn't express his feelings in words, "Okay, okay, come, come. You, you should be more careful..."
"Yes, Master should also step back."
Mo Ren had always been cautious. He first signaled Chu Yan to take a step back, and he also took a half step back himself. Then he took off the Jiuzhong Palace secret guard short dagger worn on his waist with his right hand, and opened a gap in the lid of the jar.
The light from the outside fell into the jar, but no ominous creature jumped out to bite people.
There was only a small colorful beetle lying quietly in the jar, crawling around.
Nothing happened for a long while, even the little old man who had been hiding aside early on poked his head out and asked in a low voice, "What, what's the matter..."
The little beetle was still crawling around, but it couldn't climb the wall of the jar. It looked quite harmless indeed.
Mo Ren was about to pick up the jar and show it to his master for a closer look. Just as his hand touched the edge of the jar, he faintly smelled an indistinct aroma.
Suddenly, the long-term habitual vigilance he had, pierced through his mind like a cold arrow. The guard's pupils shrank, and he felt his mind immediately sink for a moment!
Something is wrong, this smell...
The nerves in Mo Ren's whole body exploded in an instant. He quickly slammed the lid back with a bang, and at the same time said sharply, "Master, hold your breath!"
In an instant, he slowly retreated, and subconsciously wanted to turn around and cover Chu Yan's mouth and nose, but unexpectedly, as soon as he raised his arm, he lost all strength. Instead, he groaned, and fell limply into the arms of the palace master!
Chu Yan was almost scared out of his wits. "Ah Ren!!"
"—Elder brother Mo!"
A figure dashed in from outside. Ying Yu first heard Mo Ren's shout, and when he came in, he saw Chu Yan holding Mo Ren, and his face turned pale with fright.
He immediately drew his sword out of its sheath, and pointed at the little old man who had been stunned for a long time. "Palace...Young Master! What happened!? You——what did you do!"
Seeing that something big was about to happen to the small shop, luckily Mo Ren recovered in just two or three breaths, gasped lightly and straightened up from Chu Yan’s arms—he was born as a secret guard, and the constitution he had trained in his childhood was resistant to this poisonous smell, and coupled with the quick reaction just now, it was actually only a momentary effect.
But as soon as he recovered, he instinctively jumped up from Chu Yan's arms as if he was being burned, and then knelt down in panic, "This subordinate is rude! Alarming the Master!"
——The reaction was so strong that Chu Yan couldn’t even hold him back, and Guard Mo was so panicked that he didn't know where to put his hands, as if accidentally bumping into his master’s arms was a thousand times more terrifying than almost being infected by poison just now.
He wished he could uncover the lapel of his master's clothes, but he didn't dare to offend, so he said incoherently, "Master, you…are you hurting anywhere? Did it agitate the wounds just now..."
Chu Yan was so frightened by his fall that his hands and feet were cold and trembling. At this moment, he stared blankly at Mo Ren, and swear words were held back in his throat. "You—"
At this moment, Mo Ren spoke quickly, with a remorseful look on his face, "It's all this subordinate's carelessness! And should be punished by the Master. This Gu worm has a peculiar fragrance on its body, and it should be a poisonous substance."
"........" Poor Palace Master Chu just wanted to speak but was robbed first, and only choked uncontrollably, "You, you..."
He stared at the guard and hesitated for a long time, and finally let out a low voice without any momentum, "I——you're going to scare me to death, you know that!?"
... This time it was Mo Ren's turn to be surprised. Maybe it's because the master was concerned that an outsider was present and avoided the “this Master” self claim, thus the tone of his speech was…..how to put it? Extraordinarily approachable...or rather naive?
Even more so than when he and Ying Yu were suddenly pushed out to play this morning, it was even more confusing.
Chu Yan was still flustered and furiously said, "You're still shouting, what are you shouting about, hm!? You found out that the scent is poisonous and fortunately gave a shout in time……Are you in a hurry to seek death!"
Mo Ren had no choice but to answer blankly, "Yes, yes... this subordinate knows his mistake."
However, he actually didn't know what the mistake was. He couldn't understand, as a bodyguard, there was nothing wrong with reminding his master when discovering danger.
Taking a step back, even if he wasn't the bodyguard who followed the palace master since he was young, even if he was just a somewhat loyal and ordinary subordinate, he should still give a shout, right?
——The evidence was that even Ying Yu was stunned there, the sword in his hand was still pointing at the shivering little old man with his head in his arms, and forgot to put it away.
Chu Yan knew just by looking at Mo Ren that he didn't know, thus he raised his hand in anger and pointed at his nose and scolded, "You...!"
... But unwilling to scold again, he could only flick his sleeves bitterly and said, "Forget it, I...I will go back to the inn and teach you a lesson!"
