"I am a Gu Master, and like Mr. Zhang Wei, I'm a self-taught practitioner. It's just that I'm not as formidable as you, Mr. Zhang Wei, to have made it into the top three of the New Star Ranking as a late bloomer."
He Qiao responded with a playful remark.
Upon returning from the apartment, Zhang Wei had overheard He Qiao's teammates discussing Gu Masters in the car, and he knew that Captain He Qiao was a Gu Master.
"Captain He Qiao, you're too modest. You may be self-taught, but you are now a captain in the Wei Dao Division."
As Zhang Wei spoke, he recalled his knowledge about Gu Masters.
Unlike ghost exorcists in Western countries, the professions of ghost exorcists abroad are very singular. Most countries have only one or two types of ghost exorcist professions, such as the priests of the Vatican, the shamans of the Amazon, or the Phet Phra of Siam, and so on.
However,
In Da Xia, it's different. There are all sorts of ghost exorcists, with almost every region having its own characteristic ghost exorcist profession. And the characteristic ghost exorcist profession of Xishuangbanna is the Gu Master.
Gu Masters, one of the mysterious witchcrafts passed down since ancient times, are skilled in raising gu. They use gu worms as their means of execution. Gu worms are varied, as rich as medicinal herbs in medicine. Each gu worm has its own unique efficacy, and most of them are vicious and terrifying.
Because of this,
In ancient times, people would turn pale at the mention of Gu Masters. Especially in some rural areas in the south, it is said that many terrifying incidents involving Gu Masters occurred in ancient times. Therefore, people in the south are most wary of Gu Masters.
Just then,
He Qiao, hearing Zhang Wei's praise, waved his hand and said with a smile:
"You flatter me. Compared to you, Mr. Zhang Wei, my achievements are trivial. Speaking of which, Mr. Zhang Wei, is there something you wanted to ask me? Although I'm self-taught and can't compare to those inherited Gu Masters, feel free to ask. If I know, I'll tell you."
Zhang Wei nodded and asked:
"I wanted to ask, Captain He Qiao, since you are a Gu Master, you must be very knowledgeable about poisonous insects, right?"
"Indeed. The methods of us Gu Masters involve raising gu worms. Gu worms are actually some poisonous insects, snakes, ants, and other animals. Therefore, compared to ordinary ghost exorcists, we are more knowledgeable about poisonous insects."
"Then Captain He Qiao, do you know of any places in Da Xia where there are many poisonous insects, where poisonous insects, snakes, and ants are enough to kill people, even ghost exorcists are not powerful, and even if they have cultivated physical strength, it's the same."
Saying that,
Zhang Wei's eyes flickered as he looked at He Qiao.
Although Huang Qingshan had not told Zhang Wei where he needed to go to save the elder of the Huang family, it did not mean that Zhang Wei could not investigate it himself. Through the key information in Huang Qingshan's words, that place was filled with poisonous insects and miasma.
Now that he had arrived in Xishuangbanna and met a Gu Master who understood poisonous insects, Zhang Wei naturally would not miss the opportunity to see if he could find that place.
He Qiao was stunned for a moment, somewhat surprised by Zhang Wei's question:
"Oh, Mr. Zhang Wei, are you also interested in poisonous insects? I actually know something about your question. After all, I myself like to fiddle with poisonous insect-type gu worms. For a while, I even went traveling with my colleagues to catch poisonous insects to fiddle with."
He pondered for a moment, recalling information about poisonous insects, and continued:
"If you talk about where poisonous insects are most abundant in Da Xia, Xishuangbanna would definitely be the first choice, because Xishuangbanna is a very humid and hot region. Such an environment makes it easy for insects to breed, and also causes them to grow large and have strong toxins."
"To put it bluntly, even for the same species of insect, the insects in the Xishuangbanna region are larger than those in other places."
"Let me give you a simple example. Take cockroaches, for instance. In the north, cockroaches are generally small, and even thumb-sized ones are considered large. But in our south, cockroaches are huge, especially when they fly. How should I put it? They are scarier than ghosts."
As He Qiao said this,
Zhang Wei saw that Liu Li and others beside him nodded repeatedly:
"I agree with this. Big cockroaches are too scary."
"Exactly, exactly. Damn it, really. Every time I see a cockroach at home, if I don't kill it, I feel like I can't stay in this house. But every time I kill a cockroach, I'm scared. I'm always afraid it will suddenly fly up and attack me from the air."
"Haha, Liu Li, your description of flying cockroaches, I can deeply relate to."
"Let alone big cockroaches, even big spiders and other insects like that. As soon as they appear at home, I feel like I can't sleep all night. I sleep by tucking the edges of the quilt tightly."
He Qiao laughed heartily:
"What's there to be afraid of? Aren't they just cockroaches? Next time you encounter a cockroach, call me. I'll release some cockroach-killing gu worms in your house to help you kill them."
Liu Li and others: "..."
Feeling the exasperated looks from Liu Li and others, He Qiao smiled again:
"I'm not joking. Let's talk business. Mr. Zhang Wei, if you want to talk about places with many poisonous insects, the first choice is the mountains and forests of Xishuangbanna. This is beyond doubt. Didn't 'Tomb Robber's Chronicle' and 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' always mention Xishuangbanna when writing about insects?"
"But."
"Besides Xishuangbanna, there are actually two other places in Da Xia where there are many poisonous insects: one is the Daxing'anling Mountains in the northeast, and the other is the Hundred Thousand Mountains in Guangxi. These two places also have many poisonous insects, snakes, and ants."
"In the mountains and forests of these three places, there are many highly venomous poisonous insects, snakes, and ants. Even if a Buddhist cultivates a golden body, they will die if bitten."
"If you are looking for poisonous insects, Mr. Zhang Wei, I suggest you take precautions, even if your physical strength is great."
Saying the last sentence,
He Qiao's smile disappeared, and his expression became serious, daring not to joke.
Zhang Wei nodded:
"Thank you for the reminder, Captain He Qiao. I will pay attention. Besides Da Xia, do you know of any places abroad with many poisonous insects, snakes, and ants, Captain He Qiao?"
Huang Qingshan had told him that the place to save the elder of the Huang family was full of snakes, insects, and poisonous ants, but he hadn't said it was in Da Xia. Therefore, Zhang Wei could not rule out the possibility that the place was abroad, as, according to his understanding, there were many dangerous places abroad.
The most famous one was the Bermuda Triangle, which was said to be an extremely mysterious place.
"Abroad?"
He Qiao pondered for a moment:
"I don't know much about foreign countries, but if you talk about places with many poisonous insects, it's definitely the Amazon, and also Southeast Asian countries near our Xishuangbanna, such as Siam. The unique ghost exorcist profession of that country, Phet Phra, is also skilled in using poisonous insects."
"I don't know the rest. I'm not very familiar with Europe, but there should be some too, for example... the Bermuda Triangle?"
Zhang Wei noted down the places He Qiao mentioned one by one, preparing to check the information when he returned.
Following that,
He Qiao's voice came:
"Mr. Zhang Wei, are you trying to catch some poisonous insects, snakes, or ants? If you need them, you don't have to risk going. You can trade with us Gu Masters. See what you need, and if I have it, I'll give it to you."
Zhang Wei shook his head:
"I'm not trying to catch any poisonous insects, snakes, or ants. I'm just interested in this aspect and want to learn about it. After all, the history of Gu Masters is very long, possibly longer than that of Taoist priests, and it can be traced back to ancient witchcraft in Da Xia."
It was inconvenient for him to reveal that he was saving the elder of the Huang family, so he made up a lie.
Afterward,
Before Zhang Wei finished speaking, he changed the subject and said:
"By the way, Mr. He Qiao, since you are a Gu Master, you must be very familiar with poisonous insects, snakes, and ants. Do you have any information on them?"
In his opinion,
Even if he didn't know the place to save the elder of the Huang family, it was always good to learn more about poisonous insects, snakes, and ants.
"Yes, I usually record some. And Gu Masters often record information about gu worms and the like. I've also shared some records with friends before. Please wait for me, I'll get them for you to see."
He Qiao stood up and took out a notebook from his desk drawer.
It was the information about poisonous insects, snakes, and ants that he had recorded since he became a Gu Master.
"This is great. Can you share it with me, Captain He Qiao? Price is negotiable."
"Mr. Zhang Wei, you're too polite. You helped me exorcise ghosts, and I haven't had a chance to thank you yet. Besides, this kind of encyclopedia-like thing is no big deal. Any Gu Master can find it. I'll make a copy for you right away."
He Qiao smiled and made a copy of the notebook for Zhang Wei.
Not long after,
Zhang Wei took the copied notebook, a smile on his face. This trip to Xishuangbanna was worth it. Not only did he gain system points, but he also got something good. The only regret was that he didn't get to kill a ghost king in this place.
Thinking of this,
Zhang Wei murmured in his heart:
"Speaking of which, Old Man Liu Shu should be done with his tour in the Grassland Province by now. He hasn't been to Xishuangbanna yet. I'll send him a message later and ask him to come to Xishuangbanna for a tour."
...