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墨書 Inktalez
At night, unable to find a cave, we had no choice but to camp under a giant pine tree that could be embraced by three people.
After the earlier events, I became more diligent, gathering dry branches to start a fire and cook. I was quite industrious.
As the saying goes, "One who accepts help is at the mercy of the giver." Hong Chou didn't dare to make things difficult for me. However, I could only eat after she and her disciple finished their meal.
I watched as Hong Chou poured white powder around the base of the tree, and while eating the leftover rice, I asked, "Sister, what are you doing?"
With a hint of pride, Hong Chou replied, "What do you know? There are plenty of snakes and insects in this wilderness. Sprinkling some medicinal powder will help us sleep better at night..."
I scoffed and muttered under my breath, "You people who deal with strange bugs still need to guard against snakes and insects? Isn't that just overkill?"
Though Hong Chou didn't hear my words clearly, she could tell from my expression that I was not being complimentary. Angrily, she said, "This powder is useful, but it’s not as safe as having a living person on watch. Ling Feng, you’d better stay awake tonight..."
I stared at Hong Chou with wide eyes, my mouth full of steamed bun. "Sister... is this really necessary?"
Hong Chou shot me a glare in return. "Don't think I don't know your little schemes... Tonight you have to keep watch whether you like it or not..."
In the end, no matter who won or lost in our arguments, I was always the one at a disadvantage. As Confucius said, "Only women and children are hard to raise." So I decided to keep quiet.
In the deep of night, with heavy dew settling in, I sat on the ground, propping my chin up with one hand, nodding off like a chicken pecking at grains.
The sound of rustling leaves echoed around us like something slithering through the bushes.
"Rustle rustle..."
Suddenly, Miao Yayun shouted into the darkness, "Come out if you're sneaking around..."
Her fierce voice jolted me awake, and instinctively I moved closer to her.
Miao Yayun's beautiful eyes flashed with deadly intent as she stood still. From the dense forest nearby came a heart-wrenching roar that sent chills down my spine.
After a long while, the sound gradually faded away. A swaying figure emerged from the thicket. In the light of the firewood pile, I saw that this person was covered in blood holes as thick as fingers. Their abdomen was swollen like that of a woman eight months pregnant, with long worms crawling out of the gaping wounds.
The man stared wide-eyed, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets, with several worms hanging from his cheeks and ears.
Before I could get closer, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
I thought I might be seeing things; my stomach churned, but I didn’t vomit.
Hong Chou looked on coldly, “He had it coming…”
“What's the matter? Aren't you going to come out?” Miao Yayun shouted into the darkness.
I glanced around, listened intently, but found nothing unusual.
I saw Hong Chou raise the bell on his wrist; as he shook his hand, the bell emitted a melodious sound.
The clear chime echoed through the dark night like a curtain.
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
Several figures sprang from the shadows—some slid down from trees, others emerged from the ground, and some were concealed within the tree trunks…
Hong Chou sneered, “They won’t come out until they’re taught a lesson.”
“You old hag, just wait until I get my hands on you…” A middle-aged man with a full beard continuously patted down his clothes with one hand while pulling out several daggers from his waist with the other, hurling them toward us.
As the cold light flashed by, I quickly took off my clothes and spun them into a net-like formation to block the daggers.
Miao Yayun shot me a glance, probably surprised that I would try to help. She slammed her beast-headed staff onto the ground, driving its end several inches into the earth.
Miao Yayun formed hand seals with both hands, muttering obscure scriptures under her breath. The beast's mouth opened wide and spewed forth thick black mist…
A buzzing sound emerged from the black mist, and giant mosquitoes flew out, their long proboscises like needles, heading straight for a few people.
The man with the bushy beard changed his expression drastically upon hearing the strange noise, disregarding everyone else as he turned and fled.
The others were covered in insects, long centipedes crawling into their orifices. They screamed and rolled on the ground, trying to crush the bugs with their body weight…
But contrary to their wishes, the Gu Worms seemed to possess some intelligence, burrowing into the human body through the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. I felt a wave of chills wash over me as I watched one person pull a centipede out of his ear. To his dismay, although the centipede's body was torn apart, it still desperately tried to crawl back inside.
In the silent night, the air was filled with heart-wrenching wails, and before my eyes lay corpses that could not close their eyes in death…
It was no different from walking through the eighteen levels of hell…
“Cowardly rodents…” Miao Yayun cursed before closing her eyes to rest.
Hong Chou found the incessant wailing of those lying on the ground too noisy and disruptive to her rest. She stepped forward, cut out their tongues, and stuffed something into their mouths.
Hong Chou walked past me as if she had done something trivial, her steps light. “What are you staring at?”
I mumbled under my breath: Am I admiring your beauty? Yet you are so ruthless and venomous…
The group did not breathe their last until dawn, having endured endless torment.
I recited the Heart Sutra and Amitabha Sutra, offering my small gesture of compassion.
In a battle between two armies, it’s either you die or I die… I understood this principle. Moreover, I was merely a captive now, powerless despite my lingering thoughts.
As soon as dawn broke, we set off again. Approaching the mountain stronghold, we encountered a corpse devoid of any blood. It seemed to have bled out completely.
Looking at the clothing on the body, I vaguely guessed that this was the bushy-bearded man who had fled last night.
He had once been a robust man; now he lay in this dense forest as nothing but skin…
Miao Yayun walked straight past, as if she hadn't seen anything.
Hong Chou sneered, "No one has ever escaped from Master’s Bloodsucking Fly..."
I, embodying the spirit of asking when I don't understand, inquired, "Senior Sister, what exactly is this Bloodsucking Fly?"
Hong Chou seemed to be in a good mood, likely because we were almost home. She smiled and explained, "The Bloodsucking Fly is a mutated form of mosquito and fly. It is a type of Gu Worm. A few Bloodsucking Flies can drain an adult's blood completely..."
By noon, we finally arrived at a Miao Village. Being located in the south, the air was humid and hot, so most houses were built on stilts.
Looking around, there were about a hundred households, with houses scattered here and there.
On the hillside, there seemed to be a stone house that looked like a temple from a distance...
Hong Chou pointed at that house and said, "That will be our place to stay... It's the village's sacrificial site... Ordinary people cannot enter, but since Master has accepted you as a disciple, you are an exception..."
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