Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Three people, six eyes, all staring straight at Luo Qiyan.

Luo Qiyan felt a little awkward under the stares, tilting his head slightly. The braid woven with colorful silk threads slipped from his shoulder, falling across his chest, the silver beads at the end swaying gently with a soft jingle.

"I didn't come here to find a wife," Luo Qiyan said, sounding aggrieved.

Xie Zhiwei was unmoved: "Then what did you come here for?"

Luo Qiyan weighed how much to say.

Pei Dinglan was getting impatient: "Just say it when you're told. Beating around the bush like that—got a guilty conscience?"

"I don't have a guilty conscience," Luo Qiyan said honestly. "I came to Great Zhou to look for something."

"For what?" Xie Zhiwei pressed.

"For a gu worm." Luo Qiyan's amber eyes showed his anxiety. "Someone stole a really important gu worm from Luoqi. I have to get it back."

Xie Zhiwei and Pei Dinglan exchanged a glance. Gu worms weren't exactly rare in Luoqi, but for a Luqiren to chase one all the way to Great Zhou, it had to be something special.

"What kind of gu worm?" Xie Zhiwei asked.

Luo Qiyan: "The stolen gu worm can control people. If it's used for evil, it could cause great harm."

At that, both Xie Zhiwei and Pei Dinglan's faces turned a lot more serious.

A gu worm that could control people—that sounded like something out of a novel. But coming from Luo Qiyan, with that serious look on his face, it didn't seem like a joke.

"What do you mean?" Xie Zhiwei's face fell.

"Exactly what I said," Luo Qiyan replied. "Once the gu worm gets into a person's body, it parasitizes the host. The host loses their own will and completely obeys the worm's master—whatever they're told to do, they do it without hesitation."

Pei Dinglan frowned: "How many of these gu worms do you have in Luoqi?"

Luo Qiyan shook his head: "Not many. Gu worms of this level are only a handful in all of Luoqi, and they're super hard to cultivate, taking years or even decades. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chased it all the way to Great Zhou."

Xie Zhiwei's head was spinning. If such a gu worm really existed and fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"You've been hanging around Linyuan County—is the gu worm in Linyuan?" Xie Zhiwei asked.

Luo Qiyan's face fell: "I can only sense the gu worm when it's active. Whoever stole it must have used some trick to put it into temporary dormancy. I've been going around Linyuan County for days without finding it."

"Dormancy?" Pei Dinglan frowned. "Gu worms can go dormant?"

Luo Qiyan nodded: "Special methods can put them into dormancy, like snakes hibernating in winter. When dormant, the gu worm doesn't react to anything, so I can't sense where it is."

Xie Zhiwei thought for a moment, then asked: "How long until the gu worm wakes up?"

"Hard to say," Luo Qiyan said. "Could be as short as three to five days, or as long as ten days to two weeks. It depends on the method used and the worm's condition."

"So the gu worm could wake up at any time, and once it does, you'll sense it?"

"Yes."

Xie Zhiwei's eyes lingered on Luo Qiyan's face. This Luqiren didn't seem to be lying, and there was no reason for him to make up such a crazy story. If he'd wanted to hurt Xiao Yang, he'd had plenty of chances in that alley—he didn't need to follow them back to the inn.

Pei Dinglan was obviously thinking the same thing. His eyes swept over Luo Qiyan, finally landing on the bamboo basket.

"You said that gu worm is important—how important?" Pei Dinglan asked. "More important than your own life?"

Luo Qiyan: "Yes."

He answered without hesitation.

Xie Zhiwei stood up, walked over to Luo Qiyan, and looked down at him.

Luo Qiyan looked up, his amber eyes meeting Xie Zhiwei's calmly, without flinching or guilt.

"Alright, I believe you," Xie Zhiwei decided. "Untie him."

"You'd better behave, or I'll cut you down," Pei Dinglan warned before going to untie Luo Qiyan.

But Luo Qiyan didn't even need Pei Dinglan's help. He gave a slight tug, and the rope loosened; another casual pull and it fell off.

Pei Dinglan had tied the rope himself—he knew exactly how tight it was. The fact that Luo Qiyan could break free in an instant was nothing to sneeze at.

"You could break free?" Pei Dinglan was instantly on high alert.

"Yeah." Luo Qiyan nodded honestly. "From the moment you tied me up."

Xie Zhiwei's eyebrow twitched. Luo Qiyan could have escaped but had stayed tied up willingly for so long—either he really meant no harm and was cooperating with their questioning, or he had ulterior motives and was deliberately playing weak.

But from the conversation just now, the first one seemed more likely.

Pei Dinglan had obviously reached the same conclusion. His eyes lingered on Luo Qiyan for a moment, then he suddenly reached out and put a hand on Luo Qiyan's shoulder.

Luo Qiyan didn't flinch.

Pei Dinglan pressed down on Luo Qiyan's shoulder, frowning slightly before relaxing. When he pulled his hand back, the wariness in his eyes had faded a bit, replaced by a hint of understanding.

"Your martial arts are on par with mine," Pei Dinglan said.

Even Xie Zhiwei was surprised. Pei Dinglan's martial arts had been personally praised by Xiao Yan as formidable, and honed further through military service. That Luo Qiyan's combat skills matched Pei Dinglan's was no small thing.

A guy like that—if he really wanted to hurt Xiao Yang, he wouldn't need any gu worm. He could just attack directly.

Just then, Xiao Yang spoke up: "See, I told you he didn't seem like a bad guy."

"Xiao Yang," Xie Zhiwei said, rubbing his temples.

Pei Dinglan: "Don't stick up for this guy."

Xiao Yang let out a reluctant "oh," meaning he'd heard—whether he'd actually listened was another story.

Xie Zhiwei felt like he was falling apart.

A Luqiren of unknown origins, with martial skills matching Pei Dinglan's, and to make things worse, their own kid had been claimed by the gu worm and inexplicably liked this guy.

"Xiao Yang," Xie Zhiwei said as gently as he could. "Listen to your brother—we don't know this guy yet. We can't be sure if what he said is true or not. Until we figure that out, stay away from him, okay?"

Xiao Yang blinked, his clear eyes reflecting Xie Zhiwei's face.

"But he really doesn't seem like a bad guy," Xiao Yang said.

"Bad guys don't have it written on their faces." Pei Dinglan walked over, glancing sideways at Luo Qiyan. "Look at him—clearly not the decent type."

Luo Qiyan: "...What's not decent about me?"

"Since when are you proper?" Pei Dinglan shot back. "A grown man braiding his hair, in colors no less—you think you're some young maiden?"

Luo Qiyan touched his braid. "It's just a custom from my hometown."

Right now, Pei Dinglan couldn't stand Luo Qiyan. No matter what Luo Qiyan said, all he got was Pei Dinglan rolling his eyes at him.

Xiao Yang muttered under his breath beside them, "I think it looks nice."

Pei Dinglan was fed up. "What's good about him? There's nothing good about him!"

Xiao Yang clamped his mouth shut, but his eyes kept sneaking over to Luo Qiyan.

Xie Zhiwei watched it all, and the bad feeling in his gut only got stronger.

He really needed to keep this Luo guy away from Xiao Yang, before that boy got completely bewitched, but he couldn't relax if he wasn't keeping an eye on Luo Qiyan either.

Xie Zhiwei thought for a moment. "Where do you stay?"

Luo Qiyan said, "An inn east of the city. I'm staying there."

"Move somewhere else," Xie Zhiwei said bluntly.

Luo Qiyan was taken aback. "Wait, you want me to move to this inn?"

"Dream on!" Xie Zhiwei glared at him. "Move to a nearby inn. Don't even think about staying here."

If he weren't worried about something going wrong with the gu worm in Xiao Yang, and the fact that this guy was way too mysterious, he'd never let Luo Qiyan get near his kid again.

Luo Qiyan sighed, sounding disappointed. "Fine. I'll move today."

Pei Dinglan clicked his tongue, clearly not happy with the decision, but he didn't argue.

Xie Zhiwei walked to the door and hollered, "Li Gandang!"

Li Gandang ran out from the next room. "Sir, what is it?"

"Go with Young Master Luo to the inn east of the city, grab his luggage, and find him a place at a nearby inn," Xie Zhiwei ordered.

Li Gandang glanced at Luo Qiyan and said, "Yes, sir."

How weird. If the master wanted to keep an eye on this guy, why not just have him stay at the same inn?

Despite his confusion, Li Gandang obediently followed Luo Qiyan out the door.

Xie Zhiwei stood at the door, watching until Luo Qiyan's figure vanished around the corner of the alley. Only then did he turn and go back inside, closing the door.

Pei Dinglan lounged with his legs crossed, holding the half-finished cup of tea Xie Zhiwei had left behind. Not caring one bit, he tilted his head back and took a gulp.

"Good call not letting him stay here," Pei Dinglan said, setting down the cup. "That guy's a walking mystery. If he stayed too close, he could sneak in through a window at night and be at Xiao Yang's bedside in no time."

Xie Zhiwei grimaced. "That's exactly what I'm worried about. Xiao Yang's inexplicably fond of him. What if that guy tries to take advantage..."

"He won't," Xiao Yang's voice piped up from the side.

Xie Zhiwei and Pei Dinglan both shot him a disapproving look.

"Lingxi told me," Xiao Yang said, pressing a hand to his chest. "It said Luo Qiyan isn't a bad person. It wouldn't hurt its master."

Pei Dinglan frowned. "You can talk to that thing?"

"It's not talking," Xiao Yang tilted his head. "It's more like... I can feel what it feels. It's calm, and it really likes Luo Qiyan, but it likes me more."

Xie Zhiwei's expression was complicated. He couldn't stand the idea of having a worm inside him, yet Xiao Yang, a kid, had gotten used to it so fast?

A gu worm choosing its master was unheard of, but since it had already happened, they'd just have to take it one step at a time.

"Alright," Xie Zhiwei sighed, ruffling Xiao Yang's hair. "Either way, stay away from that guy for now. We'll talk once we've figured out who he really is."

Xiao Yang nodded obediently. He still did what Xie Zhiwei said.

"Xiao Yang, go back to your room and read for now," Xie Zhiwei said softly. "I need to talk to your Brother Lan about something."

Xiao Yang didn't want to bother Xie Zhiwei and Pei Dinglan, so he scurried off.

The second the door closed, Pei Dinglan started in. "See? See?! That kid's soul is practically gone! How many times have they even met? Sure, that Luo Qiyan's good-looking, but that doesn't mean Xiao Yang should be head over heels for him! I swear, Luo Qiyan's a fox spirit in disguise!"

"Enough," Xie Zhiwei raised a hand to cut him off. "Let's talk about the real issue."

Pei Dinglan reluctantly shut up, but his face clearly said he still had plenty to say.

Trying to seduce a kid—shameless, pfft!