Chapter Twenty-Three: The Golden Silkworm Sheds Its Skin

I quickly dodged to the side.

"Crack!"

The wooden ornament shattered on the floor. She was fuming, pointing a finger at me. "Getting bold, aren't you? Not only do you fail to flatter me, but you dare to call your sister-in-law by her nickname?"

I stood a short distance away and muttered, "You said you weren't my sister-in-law."

Liao Xiaoqin's beautiful eyes turned cold. "Then I am your master!"

I: "..."

Liao Xiaoqin clapped her hands and tried to stand up on her own, but after pushing herself up twice, she slumped back onto the bed. However, her expression was overflowing with intense joy. Clearly, with the Spirit-Language Centipede removed from her body, the strength in her legs was returning.

She looked at me with dissatisfaction. "Don't you know to come over and help me?!"

I hurried over and took her arm. Supported by me, Liao Xiaoqin moved her legs forward step by step, inching toward the middle of the room before telling me to let go. Once I released her, she tried walking around on her own several times. Although her movements weren't as fluid as a normal person's, she had recovered at least sixty to seventy percent.

Exhausted, she breathed a little heavily and sat back down. She looked up at me, her eyes slightly red, and said nothing. Not knowing what she meant, I explained, "Xu Qingguo said that as long as you focus on nutrition, you should be back to normal in two or three days. Don't be too anxious."

Hearing this, Liao Xiaoqin shook her head. Her eyes turned resolute and murderous, and she gritted her teeth. "I'm not anxious; I'm just excited! The Nine-Nether Hall dared to scheme against me. Now that I've recovered, none of them will get away with it!"

I frowned and asked, "The Nine-Nether Hall?!"

Liao Xiaoqin glanced at Fatty Dong, who was snoring and passed out on the floor. Her expression was solemn and grave as she turned back to me. "Your skills are now enough to hold your own in the underworld. Sit down and listen to me!"

I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The cause of my brother's death, the enemies, the next steps—she was finally willing to speak. She had likely stunned Fatty Dong earlier precisely because she didn't want him to know the inside story.

I sat down across from Liao Xiaoqin.

Liao Xiaoqin said, "The Skin Sect, one of the eight major sects of the underworld, has a long history. As times changed, old masters like Xu Qingguo’s second uncle gradually faded from the scene. However, there is another group that changed their allegiance and banded together to form an organization called the Nine-Nether Hall."

"They open clinics, manufacture counterfeit medicine, and use conceptual marketing to rake in massive amounts of money. Over the years, they have seized control of a vast portion of the pharmaceutical industry in Southeast China. People like Xiao Sanpi are merely small ants working for the Nine-Nether Hall in Chang City."

I had guessed that the people who offended my sister-in-law were related to the Skin Sect, but I hadn't expected their influence to be so vast.

***

I asked, "Why is the Nine-Nether Hall so fixated on you?"

Liao Xiaoqin explained, "Two years ago, your brother and I collaborated with the Nine-Nether Hall. They provided leads, and we provided the technical expertise to travel to an ancient tomb in Yunnan in search of a legendary treasure called the 'Golden Silkworm Molt.' This object is primarily made from the gold thread spun by silkworms that molt only once every fifty years, soaked in secret ancient medicinal herbs and coated with a rare, unknown metal, then forged by master craftsmen."

"The 'Golden Sands Burial Records' once recorded: 'Touching it is cold as mysterious ice; it is as thin as a cicada's wing, impervious to blade and fire. Used as a burial suit, it can preserve a corpse for a thousand years without decay. If worn by the living, sores and wounds vanish instantly, and all illnesses are cured. If a deceased person is wrapped in the molted skin within seven days, they may regain one more breath of life.' Whether it truly has the effects described in the book, I don't know, but after much hardship, we did find the Golden Silkworm Molt."

"At the critical moment, the Nine-Nether Hall betrayed us. A group of their experts attacked your brother and me. There's no need for the gruesome details. The end result was that your brother was used as a vessel for the coffin, and his blood covered the entire burial chamber. I dove into the corpse-water where the Spirit-Language Centipede was kept, and only then did I barely escape with my life."

Although years had passed, every word felt like a needle pricking my temples. My breathing grew shallow. "What about my brother's body?"

Liao Xiaoqin replied, "After the Nine-Nether Hall left, I returned to the tomb to look, but there was no sign of his body, nor the Golden Silkworm Molt."

I asked again, "Did the Nine-Nether Hall take it?"

She shook her head. "No. Precisely because the Nine-Nether Hall didn't obtain the Golden Silkworm Molt, they believed we had played a trick and taken the treasure. That’s why they’ve been searching for me frantically for two years. Because they saw me dive into the corpse-water with the Spirit-Language Centipede, they were certain my legs would be paralyzed forever. They kept tabs on Xu Qingguo, the only person capable of resolving the condition, which led to what happened recently."

I: "..."

Seeing my silence, Liao Xiaoqin seemed to read my thoughts completely. "Are you wondering if your brother might have been wearing the Golden Silkworm Molt, and since it possesses the 'regain a breath of life' effect mentioned in the book, he might still be alive?"

My throat tightened, and I admitted it helplessly. "Yes."

People always hope for miracles, even though we know deep down that most claims in ancient texts are exaggerations.

Hearing this, Liao Xiaoqin’s expression softened, as it had when we first met. She reached out and ruffled my hair. "So, we both desperately need an answer."

I asked, "What should we do?"

Her eyes were firm and resolute. "Counterattack! Now that I have reappeared, the Nine-Nether Hall will surely be shaken, and Chang City will be turned upside down!"

"Once my legs recover in two days, I will secretly head to Yunnan to find the answer. You must act as the bait to keep them pinned down in Chang City. As for how to contain them, the intensity of your actions, and how you plan to escape, that is all up to you!"

I desperately wanted to go to Yunnan with her. But if I didn't stay here to occupy the Nine-Nether Hall's forces and create the illusion that Liao Xiaoqin was still frequently active in Chang City, she wouldn't be able to enter the tomb with peace of mind.

I asked, "How long?"

She replied, "About a month. Wait for my call!"

I nodded. "Alright!"

She countered, "Are you afraid?"

Afraid? The sword was already unsheathed. Life and death no longer mattered!

I replied, "Perhaps they are the ones who should be afraid!"

Hearing this, the corners of Liao Xiaoqin's mouth curled up, her eyes filled with admiration. "You’re looking more and more like it! Go wake the fat man; I'm hungry."

I leaned over, helped Fatty Dong up, and patted his back twice. Fatty Dong coughed violently and slowly woke up, looking miserable. Liao Xiaoqin waved at him with a smile, just as she had before. "Hi! Little fatty, why did you faint just now?"

Fatty Dong looked completely bewildered. "Did I, the Great Daoist, faint?"

I pointed to the wound on his arm. "You lost too much blood, you were hungry, and you accidentally bumped your head. You were out for a few seconds."

Fatty Dong rubbed his forehead. "No wonder my head hurts... Beauty, when did you wake up?"

Liao Xiaoqin patted her stomach. "I woke up from hunger just now."

Hearing this, Fatty Dong sniffed. "Damn! If I don't replenish my energy soon, I'm going to starve to death!" He hurriedly got up and went to the kitchen to find food.

Liao Xiaoqin said to me, "Stay here at the incense shop for the next two days; it's safe enough."

I asked, "How can you tell?"

Liao Xiaoqin laughed. "Little Fatty isn't a bad person; he's just a bit dim."

I: "..."

Fatty Dong wasn't dim; he was just a little naive.

Over the next few days, we lived in the incense shop. Aside from wearing hats and sunglasses to occasionally buy groceries and change our clothes, we barely stepped outside.

On the evening of the third day, Liao Xiaoqin moved as well as ever and decided to leave. I felt both happy and uneasy. I was happy that after two years of suffering, she had finally fully recovered. I was uneasy because her sudden departure felt like a massive mountain I had been leaning on had been moved away, leaving me with a sense of anxiety mixed with loss.

Deep down, even though Liao Xiaoqin’s temper was foul and arrogant, after two years of living together, I had come to view her as my only living relative. As for our relationship, I sometimes found it hard to define—sister-in-law, master, sister...

Before she left, we looked at each other for a few silent seconds.

Finally, we both spoke at the same time.

"Take care!"