Looking For the Liquor Worm (Part Six)

Just a nightingale singing in the distance, sounding like a notification chime. He's not surprised, just moves on, walking a few hundred meters away.

He repeats the process, pouring a few drops of wine and waiting.

He does this again and again, moving to different spots, dripping wine. By now, the jar's basically empty.

"This is the last chance," Fang Yuan sighs. He tips the jar upside down, letting the last drops of wine flow out. The wine sprinkles the grass, making it sway like it's dancing. The wildflowers, stained with wine, are giving off major sad vibes.

Fang Yuan stands there, clinging to the last shred of hope, scanning the area like he's looking for a hidden quest.

Yo, it's deep night now. Clouds are straight-up swallowing the moon, making the bamboo grove pitch black. The green bamboo spears are standing like shadowy sentinels, just lines in Fang Yuan's vision.

He's standing still, listening to his own breathing, feeling his last shred of hope just... poof.

"Guess it's a no-go." He thinks, "Tonight, with everything aligned, still got nothing. Future chances are even slimmer. With only two stones left, and the Moonlight Gu to deal with, I can't risk it anymore."

Risks don't always hit. But when they do, the rewards are bussin'. Fang Yuan loves a gamble, but he's not a degenerate. He knows his limits, fr.

His 500 years of experience are telling him to tap out.

Life's like that. Some goals seem perfect, irresistible. So close, yet always out of reach, driving you absolutely insane.

"That's life's helplessness, but also its charm," Fang Yuan says with a bitter laugh, turning to leave.

Just then, a gust of wind, like a gentle hand, pushes the clouds aside. The moon, a white jade crescent, spills its clear light onto the earth. Moonlight's bathing the bamboo forest, the rocks, the streams, and Fang Yuan himself, giving major main character energy.

Fang Yuan, rocking his basic fit, looks straight-up ethereal in the moonlight. The darkness dipped, replaced by a field of frost flowers, giving major fairycore vibes. The nightingales, like they got the memo from the moon, started harmonizing, a whole choir in the bamboo grove.

Then, Dragonpill crickets, those mountain bugs that thrive in moonlight, started their ASMR rustling. Their bodies, glowing lowkey red, popped out in swarms, each flashing like a ruby.

To Fang Yuan, they looked like crimson water bouncing across the grass and flowers, straight-up vibing in the moonlight.

The bamboo forest felt alive, the green jade spears shimmering like they're glowing. It was enchanting, a full-on nature flex.

Fang Yuan stopped dead, feeling like he'd just entered a fantasy realm. He was about to ghost, but now he's instinctively scanning the scene.

The patch of wildflowers and grass where he dumped the last of the wine was swaying gently, still empty. Fang Yuan chuckled and looked away.

But then, as he turned, he spotted a tiny speck of white.

It was a lil' white bead, clinging to a bamboo stalk nearby. Under the moonlight, it looked like a suspended pearl, giving off major aesthetic vibes.

Fang Yuan's pupils dilated, his body shook a lil'. His heart started doing a speedrun.

"Yo chat, is this real?!"

It was the Liquor worm, fr!

The Liquor worm? Basically a chubby, glowing silkworm, giving off major pearlcore vibes. Super cute.

It's a wine-guzzling flyer, curls into a ball for speed. Even though it's just a Rank 1 Gu, it's worth more than a whole stack of Rank 2s.

Making it his vital Gu? That's a serious glow-up from the Moonlight Gu. Like choosing Bulbasaur as your starter instead of Charmander. 

The worm's chilling on a bamboo pole, like, 50-60 steps away. Fang Yuan holds his breath, doesn't rush, but slowly backs away.

He knows he's close, but catching a Liquor worm, especially for a noob Gu Master like him, is basically a speedrun on legendary difficulty.

He can't even see the worm clearly, but he feels its vibes. He backs away carefully, trying not to spook it.

If it flies off, he's cooked. He needs to wait till it's zooted and slow.

Seeing Fang Yuan back off, the Liquor worm perks up. The wine aroma is irresistible, making it drool (if it had drool).

But it's still paranoid. Only after Fang Yuan's 200 steps away does it finally send it. It launches itself into the air, curling into a white rice dumpling. The dumpling yeets across the air, landing on the wine-soaked grass.

With food right there, the Liquor worm drops its guard. It climbs onto a wine-soaked flower bud, burying its head inside, leaving only its chubby tail sticking out.

The Liquor worm is starving, and the wine is bussin'. It inhales greedily, lost in the flavor, completely forgetting about Fang Yuan, giving off major "distracted boyfriend" meme energy.

Fang Yuan crept closer. He could peep the Liquor worm's tail sticking out the flower bud. It was a chonky, rounded tail, glowing like a pearl.

At first, the tail was just chilling. Then, it started curling upwards, showing the worm was having a whole vibe. Finally, when Fang Yuan was like, ten steps away, the tail started wagging and swaying, vibing to its own little beat.

The worm was absolutely zooted!

Fang Yuan almost burst out laughing. He didn't rush in, but waited patiently. He could snag the worm rn, but he wanted it to lead him to Flower Wine Monk's secret stash first.

The Liquor worm pulled its head out the flower bud, now extra thicc and swaying like it just left the club. It still didn't clock Fang Yuan. It climbed onto a bright yellow flower, perched on the stamen, and started chugging wine droplets.

This time, after finishing, it finally felt the fullness. It slowly balled up and floated upwards. At about five feet off the ground, it leisurely flew deeper into the bamboo forest, giving off major "I'm too drunk for this" energy.

Fang Yuan immediately followed.

The Liquor worm was absolutely baked, flying at half its usual speed. Even then, Fang Yuan had to sprint to keep up.

The night blurred past as the teenager ran through the bamboo forest, chasing a tiny white orb.

The moonlight was soft, the breeze chill. In the bamboo forest, like a clear pond, the green bamboo stalks flashed by. The ground was a green carpet of grass, sprinkled with wildflowers, mossy rocks, and those cute lil' bamboo shoots.