Chapter Thirty-Eight: Strange Insect Eggs

The annual Jade Tablet Sun-Drying Ceremony lasted three days.

Each morning, the jade tablets were carried out and arranged, much like drying radish slices, sorted and laid out in the center of the small courtyard on the bluestone pavement. Before sunset, they were brought back to their wooden racks. The following two days, the process was repeated exactly—brought out, sun-dried, then returned.

In the courtyard stood an ancient locust tree. Under its shade, Master Chen placed a rush mat and sat cross-legged, his gaze sharp as a candle’s flame, watching over their work. The entire courtyard seemed shrouded in the oppressive presence he exuded.

The new disciples, all with only postnatal cultivation, had no spiritual power to shield them, and trembled with fear, barely daring to breathe or exchange a word with one another.

Now, Feng Ke’er stood out from the rest. Thanks to her Concealing Breath Talisman, the pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator had no effect on her.

Once she finished copying all the materials, her mind began to wander out of habit: What exactly were these “Jade Worms”?

In all her life, Feng Ke’er had never heard of jade deteriorating or breeding worms. She kept a close eye on the jade tablets, but with her microscope-like vision, she saw nothing out of the ordinary—no sign of worms, nothing different from regular jade.

Instead, while wiping the wooden racks, she accidentally noticed some extremely fine cracks on the bottom of each lowest shelf. If not for her heightened sense of touch, she would never have discovered them.

Sandalwood was famous for its density and fineness. Why would fine sandalwood show such flaws—and only on the bottom panels?

Curiosity killed the cat. Feng Ke’er rapped her knuckles on one such board, then on others; the sounds were utterly different! This panel seemed hollow!

Something was definitely amiss.

Seizing a moment when Captain Wang and Chen GG weren’t looking, Feng Ke’er quickly pried up one corner of the rack and took a peek.

What she saw startled her: In the darkness, those hair-thin cracks glimmered with a faint purplish-black fluorescence.

There was something inside the board!

How strange! Pretending to wipe the panel, Feng Ke’er narrowed her eyes, held her breath, and carefully used her fingernail to widen one of the cracks.

She hadn’t expected to glimpse beneath the surface: insect eggs! Dozens of rice-sized black eggs were crammed together, each coated in a layer of weakly glowing purple slime.

Disgusting! Feng Ke’er felt a chill run down her back, her stomach lurched, and she hurriedly set down the rack, rushing to squat by a wooden basin, feigning to wash her cloth while actually taking deep breaths to steady herself.

What on earth were these things? She’d never heard of sandalwood breeding such revolting eggs. Calming herself, Feng Ke’er pondered but could not make sense of it.

She glanced at Captain Wang and Chen GG. Both were soaked with sweat, carrying jade tablets back and forth, never sparing a glance for the bottom panels of the racks.

Were they deliberately ignoring it, or did they truly not know? Feng Ke’er swallowed the words that rose to her lips.

Master Chen’s rule was clear: Only after completing their tasks and passing inspection could they leave.

So, after moving the jade tablets, Captain Wang and Chen GG joined in wiping down the racks. The three of them worked together and managed to polish every rack in the east wing until they gleamed, all before lunch.

After Master Chen approved their work, he pointed to a peak to the west and instructed them to return and collect the jade tablets when the sun touched the mountaintop. Only then did he dismiss them for their meal—there were no clocks or hourglasses in this world, nor sundials; like ordinary folk, cultivators told time by the sun and moon.

The other two groups were clearly behind in progress and, seeing this, redoubled their efforts.

Leaving the courtyard, Captain Wang and Chen GG finally allowed themselves to smile with relief. After a morning of observation, their attitude toward Feng Ke’er had changed greatly. Especially since, under Master Chen’s pressure, everyone else was drenched in sweat while Feng Ke’er remained composed and dry, which impressed them even more.

A true scion of a noble family, they thought. Such bearing was beyond their reach. Captain Wang, abashed, spoke to Feng Ke’er in a conciliatory tone, “Brother Qin, this afternoon, shall we move the jade tablets together?”

“Of course,” Feng Ke’er agreed readily.

Chen GG looked as if he wanted to say something, but a glance from Captain Wang stopped him.

When Feng Ke’er left the dining hall, she ran into Chen Xiong and his group of five. Their chores were done, and they’d eaten lunch in the kitchen, ready to return to their courtyard.

Seeing Feng Ke’er, they greeted her warmly and asked about her jade tablet duties.

Feng Ke’er smiled. “It was fine. I was with Senior Sister Wang and Senior Brother Chen in the east wing. They took good care of me. I didn’t have to carry jade tablets, just wiped racks all morning.”

Their expressions remained unchanged, but in their eyes, there was a trace of frustration. Yesterday, they’d colluded with Senior Brother Qian to switch chores with this future inner sect elite, hoping to make things difficult for him. Unexpectedly, it gave others a chance to curry favor with a noble scion instead. Truly, a case of hurting others without benefiting oneself.

Pretending not to notice, Feng Ke’er asked Chen Xiong, “Senior Brother, you mentioned jade worms yesterday, but I haven’t seen any. Do jade tablets really breed worms? I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”

Chen Xiong replied with a hint of envy, “How would noble family disciples know such things? You can’t see the jade worms the first two days. Only after three days of sunning do they appear in the afternoon. You’ll see them then.” As for what they looked like, he kept that to himself.

So that’s how it was. Feng Ke’er began to suspect the “insect eggs” in the wood were indeed jade worm eggs. Perhaps she could find the answer in the copied materials. Changing the subject, she asked about their kitchen work.

It was their first time in the kitchen, and at her prompting, the five of them began chattering like a flock of sparrows.

Soon, they returned together to New Courtyard Number Four, laughing and talking.

Senior Brother Qian entered just after them. The five gathered around Feng Ke’er, peppering her with questions.

But her mind was on the trove of copied materials. She feigned a yawn, excused herself for a midday rest, and slipped back to her room to read.

Senior Brother Qian watched her retreating figure and bit his lip.

Chen Xiong, unconcerned, said, “Senior Brother Qian, he’s only been in the sect half a year, and the competition’s in four months—he won’t break through in time. Besides, as a noble, in three years he’ll be an inner sect elite for sure.”

“Exactly. He’s just lucky. Don’t worry about him; focus on your own cultivation and try to break through soon,” the others agreed.

Only then did Senior Brother Qian smile and thank his brothers quietly.

So they were in cahoots yesterday, Feng Ke’er thought. She heard all this from her room and smiled, shaking her head. Back turned to the short cot, she covered her Phoenix Jade Token with her spiritual sense and began reading the interleaved pages—she was determined to dissolve her contract with the flesh bird after Foundation Establishment, so she was even more cautious about revealing the token’s secret. Though the bird was in seclusion and unlikely to be peeking, habit made her turn her back, just in case.

The trove of materials was immense: pill recipes, artifact crafting, talisman drawing—everything one could wish for, a windfall from the heavens. Feng Ke’er was so excited, she hardly knew where to start.

After some thought, she decided to investigate the insect eggs in the wooden panels.

She focused her mind, and a flash of golden light from the pages revealed dozens of entries about insect eggs.

Ah, even a search function?

Feng Ke’er covered the Phoenix Jade Token, laughing inwardly with delight.

But after reading all the entries, she found nothing matching the eggs in the wood.

How mysterious! Her curiosity only deepened.

That afternoon, she returned to the small courtyard on time to help Captain Wang and Chen GG collect the jade tablets.

Master Chen had chosen the day well. The sun was so fierce the jade tablets could have fried pancakes.

Feng Ke’er kept a secret watch on the eggs. Each time she set a hot jade tablet on the lowest rack, she furtively pried up the wooden panel to take a look.

It seemed the eggs were responding to the heat, trembling slightly.

She also discovered that all the lowest panels were removable!

Astonished, she thought: Someone is deliberately playing tricks! These must be the so-called “jade worms.” Was the sunning of jade tablets merely a pretense? Supposedly to dry them, but really to use their heat to incubate these so-called jade worms?

With a plan in mind, Feng Ke’er took advantage of a moment while placing tablets on the bottom shelf to squat down and make a quick mark on the panel. Hmph, if someone was moving the panels, they couldn’t possibly put them back in the exact same spot two days running.

On the second day, the jade tablets were sunned as before.

Feng Ke’er noticed the eggs had changed: the coating of slime was thicker, the eggs larger and semi-transparent. Also, her marked panel had been moved.

Her suspicions grew stronger.

On the morning of the third day, she saw droplets of fluid on the floor beneath the panel—too much slime had overflowed from the eggs. The eggs had doubled in size and were now fully transparent; she could clearly see tiny creatures curled inside, resembling scorpions.

That afternoon, as they collected the jade tablets, Master Chen was noticeably more irritable than before. He stood in the sun, hands on hips, barking impatiently, only short of brandishing a whip.

Heaven knows, Feng Ke’er thought, they were already working as fast as humanly possible. Easy for you to scold us when you’re not doing the work yourself!

When about two-thirds of the tablets were collected, she understood his urgency: from a corner of the east wing came faint, continuous cracking sounds.

The first tablets to be collected were those in that corner.

Captain Wang and Chen GG, both with only postnatal cultivation, couldn’t hear it—but she could, clear as day. The “jade worms” were hatching! That cracking was the sound of pincers splitting the eggs.

Master Chen had heard it too.

“Hurry, hurry, you lazy lot!” he shouted, sweat pouring down his forehead.

All the robed disciples, Feng Ke’er included, began to run.

Soon, only about a hundred jade tablets remained in the courtyard. The east wing was down to its last five.

Feng Ke’er wanted to see the hatching worms herself, so she rushed ahead of Captain Wang and Chen GG and grabbed them all.

Just as she entered the east wing, setting down her jade tablets, a shrill scream rose from the west wing: “Ah, jade worms!”

The worms were hatching!

One new disciple in the courtyard was so startled he fell flat on his face.

“Out! All of you, out now!” Master Chen was furious, racing into the west wing.

Captain Wang and the other new disciples, faces drained of color, clutched their heads and fled in panic.

At that moment, Feng Ke’er clearly heard the distinct cracking in the far corner.

A jade worm was hatching in the east wing too!

Protected by her treasured shield, Feng Ke’er steeled herself and decided to stay. She turned and ran toward the corner.