The Corpse Worm was extremely rare and difficult to obtain, and Bai Sheng needed to find a way to legitimize its acquisition. Otherwise, it would be difficult to fool her master.
After breakfast, Lu Ye announced loudly to everyone that he had received a letter from a carrier pigeon the previous night. A friend in the county town had found a rare medicinal herb and asked him to come over immediately.
Bai Sheng nodded impassively, "If your friend is so urgent, it means this herb is truly important. Husband, go and come back quickly."
Lu Ye patted her head, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon." After speaking, he glanced in the direction of Granny Wu.
Bai Sheng spent the morning hiding in her personal space, studying the usage of the Corpse Worm. The medical book stated that one should take the Corpse Worm, add single-leaf white atractylodes, mercury pills, dragon bone, frankincense, pound them into fine powder, and apply it to the affected area daily for forty-nine days. If the Corpse Worm was taken from the corpse of a relative, the treatment time would be significantly shortened, approximately twenty-one days. Furthermore, to ensure the continuous growth of Tianya's little ding-ding, the skin around the growth edge needed to be cut, and it should never be allowed to heal completely until the ding-ding recovered to normal. (Purely fictional, do not imitate.) This meant Tianya would have to endure forty-nine days of pain. Sigh, this was truly... Bai Sheng wondered if Tianya could persevere.
At noon, Lu Ye returned at full gallop, dusty and travel-worn. After throwing the reins to Lu Tong, he shouted excitedly before even entering the house, "Master! My dear! I've found the Corpse Worm! Tianya is saved!"
Bai Sheng, hearing Lu Ye's loud shouts from the room, chuckled at the four cubs in the crib, "Tsk tsk, your father's acting skills are definitely Oscar-worthy."
"Ah oh," the four cubs all smiled in agreement.
Bai Sheng rushed out, "Oh my! Husband! You are amazing! You actually found the Corpse Worm! Master! Master! Lu Ye found the Corpse Worm!"
At this time, as it was nearing lunchtime, the family members were gradually gathering in the main hall, waiting for the meal. Hearing Bai Sheng and Lu Ye talk about the Corpse Worm, they were all filled with curiosity. Granny Wu, A Wu, also rushed out, pushed through the crowd, and asked urgently, "Corpse Worm? Where?!"
"Master, here!" Lu Ye excitedly handed the small ceramic jar to A Wu. A Wu opened the lid and chuckled, "Oh, it really is the Corpse Worm! Disciple, is this the medicinal herb your friend found? You've truly helped us immensely."
Lu Ye rubbed his nose and said calmly, "Uh, that friend travels extensively, visiting other continents besides Yun Zhou, so... he's very knowledgeable."
A Wu was very pleased and turned to Bai Sheng, "Sheng'er, today we will help Tianya grow his little ding-ding!"
Bai Sheng smiled and nodded, "Alright! Our Tianya will be a handsome boy with a little ding-ding from now on!"
Everyone in the household was happy for Tianya's upcoming possession of a little ding-ding. Lu Yun, with Tian Dou and Tie Zhu, rushed to Tianya, who was still practicing his horse stance, and said excitedly, "Tianya, my elder brother found the Corpse Worm, you... you're about to have a little ding-ding!"
"Really?" Tianya couldn't believe it, because he had heard his Shiniang mention that Corpse Worms were extremely rare and incredibly expensive. How much silver would this cost his Shiniang!
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Tian Dou and Tie Zhu nodded their heads like little chicks pecking at rice.
"Oh yeah! I'm going to have a little ding-ding!" Tianya shouted, and then quickly ran towards home.
"Shiniang! Yun said Shifu found the Corpse Worm, so I'm going to have a little ding-ding, right?" Tianya ran up to Bai Sheng, tilted his head up, and asked breathlessly.
"Yes, our Tianya will also be a member of the 'Ding Clan'!" Bai Sheng laughed heartily.
"Wuwu... Shiniang..." Tianya was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears. He hugged Bai Sheng's thigh and cried his heart out. As a seven-year-old man, he... he had his dignity, alright? Being called a pervert, deformed, eunuch, impotent... he simply couldn't hold his head up among men.
Bai Sheng pulled Tianya aside, explained the healing method to him, and asked if he could endure the pain. Tianya, with trembling tears on his face, patted his small chest and gritted his teeth, "Shiniang, Shifu always tells me to be a man who stands tall, can bear hardship and endure difficulties. I can endure that little bit of skin-piercing pain."
Bai Sheng stroked his little head, "Our Tianya is truly strong. However, if it's too painful, Shiniang can knock you out so you can sleep more."
"Yes, Shifu, I can do it. As long as I can have a little ding-ding like Xiao Yun and Tian Dou, I can endure any pain," Tianya knew himself that without a little ding-ding, he wouldn't be a true man. He wanted to be a real man! He also wanted to compete with other boys in peeing! And then proudly dominate their urine!
Bai Sheng and Granny Wu prepared the Corpse Worm medicine paste and then called the bathed Tianya into the room. Since the wound needed to remain unhealed for 49 days, to prevent Tianya from getting infected, Bai Sheng had previously brewed a medicinal water and sprinkled it throughout the room. After knocking Tianya unconscious, Granny Wu took out a sharp small knife, carefully cut open the growth edge, and then applied the medicine paste to the bleeding wound. If the wound healed by the next day, it would have to be reopened, making it extremely painful for Tianya. Bai Sheng planned to keep Tianya in a comatose state except for meal times and when taking medicine, letting him sleep for dozens of days to suffer less and endure more easily.
The next day, Bai Sheng and A Wu went to check on Tianya. There were no noticeable changes yet. A Wu cruelly reopened the wound and applied the medicine again. A few days later, it was very clear that Tianya's little ding-ding had grown considerably. Bai Sheng and A Wu were overjoyed. Bai Sheng even meticulously used a ruler to measure the length of daily growth. However, on the twenty-first day, the length stopped increasing. Bai Sheng wasn't sure how a boy of six or seven years old should grow, so she had Lu Ye bring Lu Yun and Tian Dou over for comparison. After just one glance, Lu Ye exclaimed happily, "It probably won't grow anymore; it's already very 'extraordinary.' Tianya will be super powerful like me in the future."
Bai Sheng gave him a reproachful look and whispered with a blush, "What are you talking about? Master is still here."
Lu Ye chuckled and whispered a few words into Bai Sheng's ear, making her face even redder. A Wu: Please continue, I am blind and deaf, and also not very proper.
Bai Sheng and A Wu applied a wound healing ointment to Tianya, allowing the wound to heal as quickly as possible. However, both of them fell into deep doubt. The Corpse Worm's host and the recipient of treatment sharing a blood relation would shorten the treatment time because closer blood relation meant less rejection, and thus faster flesh regeneration. But Tianya was just a little beggar Lu Ye picked up from the capital, someone completely unrelated to Lu Ye's mother. Why would the Corpse Worm's treatment time also be shortened so much? Granny Wu, however, felt that Tianya and Lu Ye's mother likely had a blood relationship, because the Corpse Worms did not lie.