The Jin Can Gu, a Golden Silkworm Gu, cautiously emerged from under the bed, lifting its small head to observe the lively scene outside.
"Come here," Wang Ying exclaimed in surprise, beckoning to it.
The Jin Can Gu instantly retreated.
Wang Ying paused, "Xiao Fan, it's so smart! It seems to understand what I'm saying?"
"I already told you, there's nothing else hidden in the room. You keep being so suspicious," Lin Fan said with annoyance.
"Call it out, let me play with it," Wang Ying said, practically jumping with excitement.
"..." Lin Fan was speechless. He really wanted to tell the two silly women, that was a Jin Can Gu! A Jin Can Gu! A Jin Can Gu! One wanted to make it a specimen, the other wanted to play with it. Where did they get such audacity?
"Are there many more under the bed? I heard movement," Wang Ying's gaze fixed on the area under the bed, wanting to snatch one while Lin Fan wasn't paying attention.
"Don't!" Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat. The Jin Can Gu was very intelligent and not particularly aggressive. The dull-witted Tie Tou Gu, however, was a different story.
"Why are you so stingy?" Su Yurou was displeased. "What's wrong with us taking a look?"
"Alright, alright," Lin Fan relented and beckoned with his hand.
A flash of golden light streaked by, like an illusion. By the time the two women reacted, the Jin Can Gu was quietly perched on Lin Fan's palm, its six transparent wings still fluttering gently, resembling a fairy from a fairy tale.
"Wow!"
"So cute!"
The two women, their childlike curiosity piqued, simultaneously reached out. Lin Fan quickly pulled his hand away.
"You stingy person, can't we even touch it?"
"Yeah, it's so well-behaved, what are you panicking about?" The two girls glared at Lin Fan angrily.
"So cute? Well-behaved?" Lin Fan didn't know how to explain the little guy's power to the two women, but their continued behavior was also problematic.
"You two, follow me," Lin Fan turned and walked towards the door. The two women, not understanding why, followed hesitantly.
The rain had lessened considerably. Lin Fan glanced upwards, his gaze settling on a few sparrows perched on a utility pole. Sheltered by a tall willow tree above, the sparrows were not entirely drenched and were chirping as they preened their feathers.
"Watch this," Lin Fan said with a gentle smile.
"Watch what?" Wang Ying was nearsighted and disliked wearing glasses, so she squinted, barely able to make out three moving dots.
"Why are you showing us the sparrows?" Su Yurou was very confused.
"Go..." Lin Fan commanded the Jin Can Gu mentally. He didn't know how to control it, only that it could sense his intentions. Lin Fan's thought was to attack or kill the sparrows, and if it could bring one back, even better.
A golden light shot out! The Jin Can Gu's flight speed was incredibly fast, disappearing into the rain like a streak of light. The two women curiously peered from the doorway, wondering what Lin Fan was up to. Lin Fan focused his vision, his sight stretching further. He hadn't witnessed the Jin Can Gu's true power before, and now was his chance to observe it closely.
Swish! The golden streak instantly pierced through the curtain of rain. The three sparrows turned their heads, curiously observing the strange light before them, completely unaware of the impending danger. Suddenly, the Jin Can Gu's speed increased dramatically. Before one sparrow could react, its head was severed from its body and plummeted to the ground.
"Hiss!" Lin Fan gasped. Was it its wings or something else? Due to the distance and the small target, Lin Fan couldn't clearly see how the Jin Can Gu had done it. But slicing through a sparrow's neck was as easy as cutting through vegetables. What if it were a human neck? Lin Fan dared not think further.
Seeing their companion's gruesome fate, the other two sparrows chirped in panic, flapping their wings in a desperate attempt to escape. The Jin Can Gu, however, gave them no chance. Two bright golden arcs flashed, and the small sparrows were successively dismembered, falling from the sky in four pieces. Su Yurou's mouth hung open in shock, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.
Wang Ying, unable to see clearly due to her poor vision, anxiously called out, "Xiao Fan, what happened to those sparrows? I think I saw something fall."
"You'll know in a moment." Without Lin Fan's command, the Jin Can Gu nimbly weaved through the air, its sharp claws hooking onto a sparrow's head, and flew back. Lin Fan faintly sensed a feeling of exhilaration from the Jin Can Gu, a pure love for slaughter. He couldn't help but chuckle wryly. The Jin Can Gu might not look fierce, but that was only on the surface. Natures die hard!
"That's..." As it got closer, Wang Ying strained her eyes, looking ahead. It appeared to be a sparrow without a body, flying towards them eerily. "Ah!" Wang Ying screamed, stumbling backward as if having a seizure, "Don't come near!"
"Don't be afraid," Lin Fan held her arm. The Jin Can Gu dropped its prize and landed on Lin Fan's palm. Its small body emanated a golden glow, reflecting a dazzling sheen. Viewed from the side, its transparent wings shimmered with iridescent colors. The two women no longer exclaimed "so cute and well-behaved," but retreated in terror.
"Do you still want to make a specimen? Or play with it?" Lin Fan teased.
"No, no, no..." The two women were still shaken, shaking their heads vigorously. Their eyes darted away from the golden Jin Can Gu, lest it suddenly fly up and attack with its beautiful wings and sharp claws.
"Xiao Fan, how could you keep such a dangerous thing?" Wang Ying asked with a worried expression. "There are so many under your bed, what if they escape? Will they go around killing people?"
Lin Fan inwardly sneered, it wouldn't be killing, it would be eating people!
"Sister Wang Ying, do you know why I haven't come to find you now?" Lin Fan sighed helplessly. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm tied up."
"Xiao Fan, can't you find a way to get rid of them?" As soon as Wang Ying finished speaking, the Jin Can Gu, perched on Lin Fan's palm, suddenly raised its head, its cold eyes staring directly at her. The Jin Can Gu had the ability to perceive emotions. Understanding Wang Ying's thoughts, it vibrated its wings in anger, ready to attack. This greatly startled Wang Ying, who fled in panic. "Xiao Fan, keep it under control."
"Don't be afraid, it won't harm you without my command." Lin Fan closed his fingers, holding the Jin Can Gu in his hand.
"I was wondering, isn't it an insect? How can it seem to understand human speech, and it obeys your commands, right?" Su Yurou asked in surprise.
Lin Fan nodded. "It's actually a Gu worm, ferocious but sentient."
"Gu worm?!" The two women recoiled from them.
"Xiao Fan, what were you thinking, raising such a thing?"
"Just burn them all." Su Yurou had been contemplating earlier how these obedient insects might allow Lin Fan to kill people invisibly and without consequence in the future. But upon hearing the words "Gu worm," her face paled instantly, and she unhesitatingly wanted to destroy them. Wang Ying felt the same. In the minds of the two women, anything associated with Gu worms was inherently bloody, strange, evil, and terrifying.
"Burn them all, you say." Lin Fan walked to the brazier and took down the kettle of boiling water.