Azi and You Tanzhi pursue the crystal silkworm

Azi and You Tanzhi’s pursuit of the crystal silkworm turns one of Azi’s poison-baiting sessions into a long, uncertain chase. When the rare creature appears, its extraordinary effect on a python makes it a prize Azi is determined to claim; after it escapes into a stream, she leaves You Tanzhi to find it, and his search leads to MinZhong Temple.

Background and Pursuit

At Xingxiu Sea, Azi had watched her master practice a poisonous skill using people captured from nearby villages. She expected You Tanzhi to die when he was exposed to the poisonous creatures, but he survived, to her private surprise. Their work continued for three months. As the insects attracted to the bait grew scarce and weak around the area near Nanjing, Azi and You Tanzhi had to travel farther afield to find better specimens.

The pursuit begins at a place thirty li from the city. Azi burns spices in a wooden tripod and waits for more than two hours before hearing movement in the bushes. She tells You Tanzhi to stay low; he obeys and watches a large, unfamiliar python emerge. Its triangular head has a protruding growth, and its white body is marked with black stripes. About two zhang long and thicker than a human arm, it circles the tripod, drawn by the fragrance, then rams its head against the wood.

The Silkworm Appears

Azi is taken aback by the python and briefly unsure what to do. She moves beside You Tanzhi and quietly asks what they should do if it breaks the tripod. Her gentler manner emboldens him: he says he will drive it away, stands, and approaches. But the python coils, raises its head, and waits to strike; faced with its display, You Tanzhi hesitates rather than closing in.

A sudden cold current and a moving yellow line draw their attention away from the python. What first resembles a line of fire is a creature traveling through the vegetation: grass dries and chars where it passes, while the surrounding air grows colder. The apparent flame is a silkworm, two times larger than an ordinary one, white like jade with a greenish tinge, and transparent enough to look like crystal.

The python’s earlier aggression gives way to fear. It withdraws its head and hides within its coils as the silkworm climbs over its body, leaving a scorched line behind. When the creature reaches the python’s head, the snake’s body splits; the silkworm then feeds at its venom gland. As it swells, it comes to resemble a crystal vessel filled with purple liquid. Azi is delighted by its apparent power and identifies it as a creature that must rule over poisonous animals. You Tanzhi, by contrast, fears that it might feed on his blood and kill him.

The Trail and the Escape

The silkworm circles the tripod and climbs onto it, leaving a scorch mark. It does not enter the vessel, as other poisonous creatures had done: instead, it seems to avoid the danger and heads northwest. Azi quickly covers the tripod with brocade, picks it up, and urges You Tanzhi to follow. They track the creature by the marks it leaves, because it moves too quickly for them to keep pace by sight alone.

After pursuing it for three to four li, they reach a small stream. The scorch marks end at the water, and there are none on the far bank, suggesting that the current has swept the silkworm away. Azi complains that You Tanzhi should have told her to hurry, then insists that he must find the creature. They search for more than two hours as daylight fades, but she loses patience and returns to the city alone, warning that he need not see her again if he fails to catch it.

You Tanzhi remains anxious and searches downstream. After covering seven or eight li, he spots scorch marks among the vegetation on the opposite bank and calls out that he has found the silkworm. Azi is already gone. He wades across, follows the marks toward a mountain, and runs after them as dusk falls.

MinZhong Temple

The trail leads to a great temple on the mountain. Its plaque identifies it as MinZhong Temple, built by imperial edict, but You Tanzhi does not stop to examine it. He follows the scorch marks around the side of the building and toward the rear, passing within earshot of monks chanting and striking wooden fish during prayers.

Wearing an iron mask, You Tanzhi feels ashamed and afraid of being seen, so he keeps close to the wall and moves quietly. The marks cross an open patch of ground and reach a vegetable garden. Hoping the silkworm has stopped to feed, he approaches the fence, but a loud rebuke from within makes him halt. A man scolds someone for leaving alone and causing worry, saying that he had brought the person from the Kunlun Mountains and warning that such conduct could ruin their prospects. The angry words also carry care and expectation. The scene ends before the speaker or the person being reprimanded is identified, leaving You Tanzhi’s pursuit—and the silkworm’s fate—unresolved.