Chapter 20: The Hidden Chamber

The wall of the study shifted slightly, revealing a neat, square entrance.

A cold, faintly damp wind rushed out from within.

“…There’s actually a hidden passage?”

Si Qingxuan sounded curious as he lifted the oil lamp and stepped into the pitch-black corridor.

Creak… creak…

The wooden stairs, already on the verge of decay, seemed unable to bear his weight, groaning continuously.

The further down he went, the heavier the moisture in the air became.

Si Qingxuan even felt as though his feet were stepping on something sticky from time to time.

He frowned and lowered the lamp to take a closer look.

At some point, the soles of his shoes had been coated in a patch of transparent, viscous liquid.

After a few more steps, he noticed that the stone walls beside him and the stairs ahead were all covered in the same slime.

Under the dim light, it emitted a faint silver-green glow.

Si Qingxuan: “…”

What kind of place was this? A nest of worms?

Did the Ouroboros vomit here every day?

[High Priest, that’s unfair.]

The system spoke lazily.

[Even an Ouroboros wouldn’t secrete this much slime. This looks more like traces left by some other aberrant creature…]

Si Qingxuan sighed.

Fortunately, although the slime looked like mucus, it didn’t have a strong odor.

He could tolerate it—for now.

So he continued deeper into the chamber.

After dozens more steps, the winding staircase finally came to an end.

Before him stood a carved stone door.

On both sides were intricate, eerie patterns—like flowing water, yet also like writhing serpents.

Thankfully, the door itself wasn’t covered in much slime.

It just looked old, with soft green moss growing along its edges.

“What’s inside?”

[Judging by the movement… it’s a worm in the middle of transformation.

Of course, not an Ouroboros—at best, some kind of derivative.]

Si Qingxuan carefully approached the door.

In the silence, his enhanced hearing picked up every detail—

The sound of water dripping along stone walls…

And another, far more unsettling sound—

Chewing.

After listening for a moment, he straightened up and gently pushed the door open.

What greeted him was a chamber filled with dimly glowing green slime.

Compared to outside, this slime was thicker, brighter.

Neatly arranged green bricks formed a massive serpent-shaped formation—head and tail connected.

In one corner of the formation lay a giant worm.

It was roughly the size of a two- or three-year-old child.

Calling it a worm felt inaccurate.

It had a distinctly human-like face.

But its body was bloated, with stubby insect legs where limbs should be.

Its skin looked swollen and thin, as if soaked in water—

Beneath it, pinkish blood faintly flowed.

It was molting.

Its lower body was still trapped inside a jelly-like green cocoon.

Its tail curled within, not yet fully emerged.

And what it was chewing—

From afar, Si Qingxuan could tell—

Was a human thigh.

Si Qingxuan: “…”

The worm’s facial features were barely formed.

Its face looked blurred, unfinished.

It seemed to sense his presence but didn’t care.

It simply hugged its food and continued eating slowly, greedily.

In a corner, something faintly glowed.

Si Qingxuan looked closely—

It was a badge, gold-backed with blue patterns, engraved with letters and numbers.

…If he wasn’t mistaken—

It was the police badge of that drunken officer.

[Ah, poor officer.]

The system sighed theatrically.

[We thought he left early to slack off. Turns out he was killed and fed to worms.]

Si Qingxuan stared at the creature.

“What exactly is this? Why don’t I feel any threat from it?”

High-level aberrations usually carried immense spiritual pressure.

But this thing—

Aside from being disgusting—

Felt weaker than even the ghost-cry thrush he had previously subdued.

[This… is likely a human deliberately transformed into a ‘worm.’]

[It’s a common ritual method. Devotees try to resemble the form of the deity they worship—

If it’s a bird, they wear feathers.

If it’s a horned beast, they wear horns.]

[In extreme cases, they reshape a human into something resembling the ‘god’ itself.]

[Here, since they worship the Ouroboros, they transformed someone into this form—

Feeding it, raising it, as a symbol of devotion.

Think of it as… collecting merchandise when you can’t meet your idol.]

Si Qingxuan fell silent.

So this “worm”…

Was likely another victim.

“Does he still have his human consciousness?”

[Hard to say. Depends on how long ago he was transformed.

If recent, he might still retain some habits or personality.]

Si Qingxuan stepped forward.

The worm ignored him.

He stepped closer.

The worm dragged its “food” backward, shrinking into the corner as if afraid he would steal it.

It curled into a ball, pretending not to be seen.

Even its chewing slowed down.

Si Qingxuan: “…”

Expressionless, he summoned the ghost-cry thrush.

The black bird swooped down and snatched the food away.

The worm panicked instantly.

Its short limbs flailed as its upper body twisted violently—

But its lower half remained trapped in the cocoon.

“Yee—”

It finally made a sound.

A weak cry—

Disturbingly similar to that of a human infant.

After struggling for a while, it quickly exhausted itself.

More slime oozed from the cocoon, glowing faintly in the dark.

It pulsed along with its breathing, giving off a fragile, pitiful impression.

So fragile that—

It seemed one could kill it with any ordinary weapon.

…

Meanwhile—

The four awakened ones decided to temporarily ignore the obvious clues pointing to the young master.

Instead, they focused on investigating “Ricardo Moranden.”

They tried asking the castle servants.

But all they got were cold stares or “I don’t know.”

Eventually, Domingo figured out something—

Bribery.

With gold coins, someone finally spoke.

The family doctor.

“In this town, there aren’t many established medical families,” he explained.

“My family has served for generations.

Though not servants, we’ve had ties with the Moranden family.”

“I’ve seen Ricardo’s medical records—my father treated him.”

“What’s his relation to the current young master?”

“Father and son.

Ricardo Moranden was the previous lord of the castle.”

“Was he seriously ill?”

“Yes.

So ill that my father believed he could never recover.”

“He grew weaker by the day.

Until one day… it wasn’t his illness that was the problem.”

“He claimed he was chosen by God.

That only he could hear divine responses.

That he could summon a god.”

The doctor sighed.

“He even invited my father to join him.”

“Thankfully, my father refused.”

“So… he died of illness?” Song Zan asked.

“Not exactly.”

“He disappeared.”

“The official claim is that he took money and fled.”

“But think about it—

A dying man, secretly escaping with wealth?

And abandoning his own castle?”

The doctor shook his head.

“In my opinion…”

“Ricardo Moranden…”

“May still be somewhere inside this castle.”

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