Chapter 394: Stomach Worm

Chapter 394: Stomach Worm

“What if he doesn’t have a cure?” A jianghu warrior voiced his doubt. “Sick Scholar isn’t stupid. If he’s audacious enough to hold an entire inn of people hostage, then I’m sure he would’ve hidden the cure at a secure location.”

But Ye Qing shook his head. “There is no reason for Sick Scholar to hide the cure since he has no idea that the Intelligence Department was coming. That is why I’m fairly sure that the cure is on his person.” Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Ye Qing grabbed Sick Scholar’s Nature’s Shell and wiped away the Spirit Purifier’s mental imprint with his demonic thought. Then, he searched the Strange Artifact for the cure.

A few breaths later, Ye Qing looked up at the jianghu warriors and let out an awkward laugh. “Ahem... it looks like I was wrong. He didn’t have the cure after all.”

The crowd’s gaze immediately turned disdainful, but there was even more disappointment.

“It’s not a problem though.” Ye Qing moved on casually as if he hadn’t just eaten his own words. “If I’m not mistaken, the gu insect inside Sick Scholar’s body is most likely the Gut Worm. This means that you are all infected by the Gut Worms.”

“Gut Worm? What’s that?” Someone asked.

Ye Qing didn’t keep them in suspense. “A Gut Worm is a Malice-class Stranger that infests a person’s guts after entering their body. If it is not taken out in time, it could consume your whole gut and kill you.”

Ye Qing suddenly looked down on Sick Scholar and asked, “Am I right, Sick Scholar?”

“You’re quite the knowledgeable man, warrior. You have my respect.” Sick Scholar opened his eyes and let out a quiet cough. He pushed himself to a sitting position and continued, “Since you know about the Gut Worm, you should also know that it’s near impossible to remove the Gut Worm from a victim’s body without the proper solution. Trying to pull it out by force is akin to disemboweling yourself. Hence the name.”

“Cough cough... therefore, I would advise you not to extract the Gut Worm by force. It will be a dangerous endeavor to say the least.”

Countless people’s faces turned ugly when they heard this. Someone uttered through gritted teeth, “You deserve death, Sick Scholar.”

Sick Scholar’s grin grew increasingly manic. “I do, but if I’m dying, then you’re all coming with me. It would be a worthy death.”

However, Ye Qing chuckled and slapped Sick Scholar at the back of their head. “No one’s dying today except you, brother.”

Sick Scholar froze and withdrew his grin. He looked up at Ye Qing with cold calculation and iron scrutiny as he said, “It sounds like you have a way to save them? You better move quickly then. It won’t be long before the Gut Worms eat through their intestines and spill out of their stomachs.”

“Thank you for the reminder.” Ye Qing’s smile widened. “But I’m not worried. After all, it’s quite easy to cure the Gut Worm.”

“Oh? Do tell,” Sick Scholar challenged.

“You just need the Stomach Worm, am I right?” Ye Qing replied.

“You—how did you know about that?” Sick Scholar’s face turned ugly and panicked all of a sudden.

“Why wouldn’t I know about the Stomach Worm?” Ye Qing countered. “Here’s a quote from ‘On Picking Up Strangers’: The gut and the stomach are like a pair of crazed lovers. They desire each other like a couple who are madly in love.”

“If I’m not mistaken, your ‘Feed The Worms Art’ begins by implanting a Stomach Worm in your body. Then, you follow up with a Gut Worm so they may copulate and produce even more Gut Worms. This method drastically cuts down on the time you need to practice the cultivation art and prevents the Gut Worms from betraying you because of the Stomach Worm.”

Ye Qing tightened his grip over the heart a little, and the larvae and eggs were stripped off layer by layer. Eventually, a big, fat worm was exposed for all to see.

The worm was about one meter long and was as thick as a baby’s arm. It was light red in color and covered in barbs. At least one Gut Worm was clinging to each barb, which painted a strange and horrifying picture.

“So this is the Stomach Worm!” Ye Qing remarked while examining it curiously. He had read about the worm, but this was the first time he saw it for real.

Sick Scholar didn’t say anything. He simply glared at Ye Qin with burning hatred.

“You were trying to kill the Stomach Worm, weren't you? It’s too bad I’m faster than you.” Ye Qing ignored his stare and chuckled. “And thanks to you, I don’t need to dirty my hands to look for it.”

Sick Scholar was without a doubt a ruthless man. The moment he pointed out that he possessed the Stomach Worm, he immediately tried to kill the Stomach Worm. Although it would drastically increase the amount of time he needed to practice the “Feed The Worms Art”, it would have allowed him to maintain his hold over the jianghu warriors. Too bad for him, Ye Qing had been waiting for this.

In fact, Ye Qing had purposely provoked Sick Scholar. Although he knew that the Stomach Worm was inside his body, he didn’t know where it was exactly. That was why he provoked Sick Scholar into revealing its location himself.

“I see... you...” Sick Scholar deflated after he understood everything. It looked like he had completely given up on hope after Ye Qing had ruined his final gambit.

“Can you save us now that you have the Stomach Worm, warrior?” “Yes, please!”

“We’ll be eternally grateful if you can save us, warrior!”

Contrary to Sick Scholar’s mood, everyone was brimming with joy and excitement when they saw the Stomach Worm.

“Give me a moment.” Ye Qing smiled and removed the Gut Worms clinging to the Stomach Worm’s fleshy barbs. Then, he gently pinched the Stomach Worm twice, causing it to swell up and give off a light red-colored scent.

A few breaths later, the jianghu warriors standing closest to Ye Qing suddenly started vomiting for seemingly no reason whatsoever. However, there were Gut Worms swimming in the puddle of vomit. They were so small that they were barely the size of a cow’s hair.

After the Gut Worms had emerged into the open, they immediately started wriggling toward Ye Qing. A clear wind blew, and they all dissolved into ash.

“Blargh!”

“Ugh...”

At the same time, more and more people began throwing up the contents of their stomach. Strange noises and a disgusting stench immediately permeated the inn.

Ye Qing had expected this, so he sealed his sense of smell long before the first man began vomiting. Chu Renhe and the others weren’t so lucky. Their complexion turned green when the horrible stench hit their noses.

Some of the Gut Worms were crushed by the furious jianghu warriors, and some were burned to ash by Ye Qing’s Burning Wind.