Data-Driven Daoist

A web of luminous fungi draped the opposite wall, their pale light flickering like a slow, steady heartbeat. With each pulse, it illuminated the shocked faces of his companions.

The web of fungi had hundreds of fist-sized fruiting bodies. They looked like upside-down puffball mushrooms. The outer skin was transparent like a jellyfish, and inside was a flame-like luminescence.

That wasn’t what shocked them.

The fungi extended from the cesspool, and around the pit were tens of Filth Eating Ghoul corpses. Some were broken, others with large chunks taken out. The culprit of the massacre lay within the cesspool.

A huge earthworm.

Just the part of its body that was visible was over two metres long. It was about as wide as Yu Han’s thigh. Its muted green, mucus-covered segments glowed faintly. On its head were two earthy brown spots, like eyes.

It was injured, chunks of its flesh taken out here and there. Worse, the fungi actually grew out of the earthworm’s body. The web spread from it across the cesspool and climbed up the opposite wall. Those strange fruits were on the cesspool’s surface too. The fungi pulsed in sync with the worm’s muted glow.

“Is that a monster?” Li Yao unsheathed his swords.

As if responding to the sound, the creature lifted its front end, and a low hiss echoed. The seams at its tapered front segment split open, revealing a small, circular maw lined with ridges rather than teeth.

The worm hissed again. “Eek!” Huang Niuniu hid behind Yu Han.

A pressure pulsed out, rising and falling with the pulsating glow.

“It’s at least in the Qi Gathering Realm!” Fang Zhao said, his face paling. “We need to leave—”

“Shush,” Yu Han said. His back was cold with sweat. The moment he’d seen the creature, his knees had gone weak, and if not for Huang Niuniu suddenly clutching his arm from behind, he would’ve fallen.

The worm hissed again. Its body shook, the waste in the cesspool shifting slightly. But it didn’t move, the hard nodules holding it in place.

What does the data say?

“It’s trapped,” Yu Han said.

“So, easy Pure Qi?” Li Yao whispered. But the worm seemed to understand. It opened its maw again and hissed louder. The pressure increased, and with it, the glowing fungi. A second later, the worm’s head drooped down, the pressure vanishing.

“It might understand us,” Yu Han said. “So not a monster? Let’s assume it killed the Filth Eating Ghouls. Remember the characteristics of monsters?”

“They’re imitations of life without spirituality and only instinct. They crave spirituality, so they’ll try to kill any being that has spirituality on sight,” Fang Zhao said.

Yu Han nodded. “I’ve read monsters also fight other monsters. But this worm grew angry, or at least reacted, when Li Yao called it easy Pure Qi.”

As if confirming his guess, the worm hissed again.

“It’s a spirit beast,” Yu Han concluded.

The worm lifted its head, then bobbed it up and down. The fungi glowed brighter, as if draining all energy from the worm. Its head thumped back on the stone edge of the cesspool.

Yu Han took a cautious step towards it.

“W-Wait, don’t be hasty,” Huang Niuniu whisper-shouted.

“Niu’er, remember where we dump waste?”

“King Earthworm Gorge—oh!” Huang Niuniu’s eyes lit up.

“The land god of the gorge, and also the god of underground spaces, is supposed to be a super-strong Earthworm Spirit. We pray to it in the shrine outside.”

“Ah, right!” Li Yao slammed a fist into his open palm. “It had an earthworm statue too. Wait, you mean this is the land god?” His face paled. “Fuck!”

“Serves you right for blasphemy,” Huang Niuniu said.

“Hey now.”

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“I don’t think it’s the land god,” Yu Han said. “Would a super-strong land god be defeated by the likes of Filth Eating Ghouls?”

“It’s the land god’s brood, then,” Fang Zhao said. “Spirit beasts have clans too. This earthworm might be related to the land god. No—it definitely is.”

“We have to help it!” Huang Niuniu said. “It looks so pitiful. Why are there nets growing out of its body?”

“Fungi,” Yu Han said. “I don’t think it was defeated by the Filth Eating Ghouls. I remember Senior Wen saying that there are some small tunnels connecting this area to King Earthworm Gorge. Maybe something happened to it in one of the tunnels underneath, and it had to surface?”

“It doesn’t explain the fungi, though. What are those things?” Li Yao asked, taking careful steps behind Yu Han. The rest of the group followed.

Huang Niuniu stepped on a ghoul arm accidentally. The sound of bone snapping echoed out, and she whimpered an apology.

“Definitely treasures,” Yu Han said. “I refuse to believe that something that looks so awesome is worthless. Fang Zhao, you’re from a big clan. What do you think?” He tried to recall if there were similar things mentioned in any of the books he’d read, but nothing came to mind.

“I’ve never seen something quite like this. But those flames inside the fruits and the web—the only way they could glow like that is if they had Qi.”

Not quite; there is natural bioluminescence. But then again, Niu’er’s Bloodline Art might use Qi as a fuel.

“I don’t think it’s all right to take them without asking permission first,” Huang Niuniu said.

“From the Sect?” Yu Han asked.

“The earthworm.”

Yu Han stood before the creature. It lifted its head slowly, as if using the last of its abilities. Yu Han extended a palm.

“N-No, it’ll eat you!” the girl pleaded.

Yu Han patted its head. It was soft. The earthworm hissed again. The sound was lower and more drawn out.

“Maybe it’s a yeast infection,” Yu Han said.

“A what now?” Fang Zhao asked.

“Fungus infection. They happen to humans too, right?” Yu Han said.

The three shook their heads.

“Never mind. The web is growing out of its body. Every time it moves, the light glows larger, and it weakens. I think the fungi is sapping its energy,”

Yu Han extended his halberd into the cesspool over the earthworm’s body. He aimed for a few hyphae and chopped down. The web severed, and the portion of the fungi wall connected to the earthworm through that Section dimmed.

“Let’s cut all the webs,” Yu Han said.

“O-Okay,” Huang Niuniu readied her dagger.

“On it.” Li Yao grabbed his swords. He gave one to Fang Zhao, who used it with his left arm.

With each section of the web cut, the glow on the wall dimmed. But the flames inside the fruits would remain. They would quiver a bit, as if about to go out.

“What’ll we do next?” Li Yao asked as they worked. “It’s a shame to waste all these spirit plants.”

“How are they plants? They’re clearly fungi,” Yu Han said. It was a shame, too. But then again, didn’t he choose to live without shame?

“Fungi are plants too, tubs. Don’t be such a smartass.” Li Yao grinned.

“No, they’re not. You know what? We’ll come back to this later,” Yu Han said. “Maybe they won’t go to waste. The flames are still there, see?” One of the flames dimmed before growing stronger again.

“Most spiritual plants and herbs have specific harvesting methods. If…” Fang Zhao stopped. He continued to work.

“If what?” Li Yao probed.

The boy didn’t reply. He squinted his brows in deep thought. Yu Han and Huang Niuniu sent him glances, but continued to cut the webs.

Yu Han had the longest reach. Within a few minutes, the parts of the web above the cesspool were severed.

“Didn’t Senior Wen mention that if we work for the Night Alchemists long enough, the land god of King Earthworm Gorge might give us perks?” Huang Niuniu said. “That means they’re our friends, right?”

“I think so too,” Yu Han replied. “Okay, big guy, let’s see if we can pull you out.”

The four of them grabbed the earthworm’s exposed upper body. The creature wiggled in their grasp, hissing now and then. Its green glow pulsed, but it didn’t make any large movements.

“Now pull!” Yu Han shouted.

They were able to pull it out for a few inches before they stopped. More webs were beneath the cesspool, connected to the fungi wall on the other side.

“This is going to take a while,” Yu Han muttered. He eyed the fruits. Now and then, they would dim.

“Brother Yu, gather the fruits,” Fang Zhao said. He had a resolute expression. “I have a way to preserve them.”

“How?”

“I-I’ll explain later. For now, just gather the fruits, or they may go to waste.”

Yu Han nodded. “I’ll go to the other side. My halberd has a hook, so I should be able to pick all the ones on the wall.” He looked at Huang Niuniu with a serious expression. “About the ones in the cesspool—”

“No.”

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“No, I’m not going in.”

“There might be holes, Niu’er. I wouldn’t tell you to go in—”

“Really?”

“—all the way.”

“No.”

“We’re the only ones with Coveralls. It would be too cruel to let Li Yao and Fang Zhao go—”

“No.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

The other two laughed. Even the worm seemed to hiss in fits.

“Give me the halberd,” she said. “I’m the same height as you, and I have more strength.”

“It’s mine!”

“Don’t be stubborn,” she said.

Yu Han looked at the thick pool of sludge. He wouldn’t go in completely. But who knew if there was a hole there? If he fell in, that would be a very sad way to die again.

“Yeah, tubs, you’re the only one fat enough!” Li Yao smirked.

“Bastard, what do you mean?”

“You’re so fat that if you fell into a hole, you’d just get stuck and not go in.”

“I’ll kill you!”

“Calm, Brother Yu, calm!”

After raging for a bit, Yu Han decided to go in.

He knew that near the tank’s edge, the pool wasn’t deep. Night Soil Collectors had to go in and clean it up from time to time if the holes were clogged. The hole locations were marked with sticks poking out of the cesspool here and there. As long as he avoided those places, it would be fine.

They brought down the long rope used to tie the donkey’s harness to the well’s pulley. He gave the halberd to Huang Niuniu and tied one end of the rope around himself. The other two would pull him out if anything went wrong.

Yu Han climbed over the edge, then stepped into the cesspool. The gooey, mucky texture hugged him up to his torso. With one hand, he held the core harvesting scoop, and with the other, a hemp bag.

He trudged through, then suddenly stopped. Something snapped beneath his feet.

“What’s wrong, tubs?” Li Yao asked.