Chapter Eighteen: The Serpent’s Whisper

I dropped the cigarette butt in shock and quickly turned to rush into the room.

Liao Xiaoqin lay on the bed, her delicate face pale as wax, completely devoid of color. A towel was stuffed into her mouth, her whole body drenched in sweat. Strands of hair stuck messily to her cheeks. Her pants were rolled up, revealing legs covered in dark, coagulated blood. She had fainted, unconscious.

A strange smell wafted into my nostrils—sour and metallic, like the stench of dead insects on a sweltering summer day.

Xu Qingguo stood by the bedside, gasping heavily, looking nearly exhausted.

I asked urgently, "How is she?!"

Xu Qingguo ignored me, wiped the dark blood from my sister-in-law’s legs, tossed the towel into the trash bin, then beckoned me to step outside for a private talk.

We moved to the hall outside the room.

Xu Qingguo washed her hands, her expression grave and deeply worried.

“I need to take your pulse.”

“Huh?”

“I suspect you might have been infected by her.”

Paralysis could be contagious?

Though confused, I still extended my hand.

Instead of taking my pulse, Xu Qingguo pulled a long silver needle from a sandalwood box, lightly breathed on the tip, then gave me a mischievous, provocative wink.

In an instant!

The needle plunged into my arm!

My right arm felt as if struck by a jolt of electricity, the numb pain rapidly spreading through half my body. I couldn’t stay seated; the chair toppled as I fell helplessly to the floor, unable to move.

Xu Qingguo turned, grabbed her bag, and unleashed a fierce barrage of blows on me.

“You deadbeat! Scared me, stabbed my acupoint, and smoked me out!”

“When have I ever taken this kind of nonsense lying down?!”

“If I don’t cripple you, I swear I’ll get a mammary gland nodule!”

“......”

I was utterly speechless.

Sure enough, the prettier the woman, the less trustworthy. They were just praising each other moments ago, now suddenly venting their anger on me—like a Sichuan opera face-changing act.

“Xu Qingguo, are you crazy?”

“Oh? Still talking back?!”

She spun around, took out another gleaming silver needle, and glared menacingly, ready to stab again.

I trembled with fear. She couldn’t kill me with her fists, but those needles definitely could.

“Stop, stop! I’m sorry!”

Seeing I’d finally behaved, she pummeled me a dozen more times before calming down, gritting her teeth, and pulling the needle out of my arm.

Regaining mobility, I stood up swiftly, pointing my finger at her, anger rising.

“You...”

Xu Qingguo stood proudly with her hands behind her back, chest thrust forward, head slightly raised, radiating arrogance.

“You hit me!”

I never hit women.

Besides, I still needed this goddess doctor’s help to treat Liao Xiaoqin’s legs.

I bit back fiercely, “You’re too beautiful!!!”

Xu Qingguo chuckled, flipped her hair, sat down, and took a sip of water.

“I hadn’t even started acupuncture yet, just drew some blood.”

“......”

“Do you know what’s wrong with your sister-in-law’s legs?”

“No idea.”

“She’s infected by the Lingyu worm.”

“What?”

Xu Qingguo explained:

“It’s a poisonous insect that breeds in ancient tomb stagnant water. Only recorded in the ‘Insect Compendium of Southern Yunnan.’ The larvae are invisible to the naked eye. They enter through the Rangu acupoint on the sole, turn into liquid inside the body, and travel along the meridians to lodge in the lumbar vertebra and Mingmen point.”

“It feeds on the person’s essence and blood, gradually growing into a solid worm. Early symptoms include intermittent numbness in the legs, followed by muscle atrophy. After several months, the skin shows terrifying black spider-web patterns. The person develops ‘worm talk syndrome,’ meaning they babble and reveal all their innermost secrets.”

I was stunned.

“That can’t be right! She’s had symptoms for two years, no babbling, no muscle wasting, and her legs have always been pale…”

Xu Qingguo cut me off decisively.

“Do you think you know better than me?”

I scratched my head.

“Please continue.”

Xu Qingguo pondered for a moment.

“Has she often asked you to buy horse money seeds and blister beetles to soak in wine?”

I hesitated.

“Yes! She said she had a cold constitution.”

Xu Qingguo’s brows furrowed deeply as she massaged her temples.

“Cold constitution? Those two herbs are extremely poisonous. Anyone drinking even a small amount should be dead! She’s not only skilled and bold but also ruthless—using poison to counter poison, suppressing the Lingyu worm through wine, forcing it into dormancy. That’s why she hasn’t shown the symptoms I described.”

I was speechless.

Xu Qingguo scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

Written were: Lightning-struck ground, burial shroud, and ten-year incense ash.

“I only drew blood from your sister-in-law just now, but the key to curing her is using the Taiyi divine needle to extract the dormant Lingyu worm from her body. These items are essential. The weather forecast says there will be thunderstorms tomorrow night—perfect timing for the treatment. You must find them quickly!”

I frowned, “What’s lightning-struck ground?”

Xu Qingguo explained, “It’s ground where a tree has been struck by lightning. The Lingyu worm fears lightning, so needling there yields the best effect.”

I nodded, “Got it!”

Finding all three in one day would be nearly impossible.

We had to start tonight.

Just as I was about to leave, a name flashed through my mind.

Dong Chuan!

That fatso was the abbot of Meiling Zhenjun Temple. Those three items shouldn’t be hard to find there.

My only worry was that he might be unreliable, a fraud.

I immediately asked Xu Qingguo.

“Does Fatso Dong really have the skills?”

Her eyes lit up.

“Yes! I didn’t expect… finding him won’t be a problem!”

With her affirmation, I took my sister-in-law’s phone and called Dong Chuan.

The line was noisy on his end.

“The auspicious hour has arrived! The pillars stand tall, the world is steady, auspicious light fills the courtyard, the Taoist priest sings the beam-raising song, the household prospers for ten thousand springs…”

“Hey! Xiao Meng, I’m binding red cloth to secure the beam for someone else. Don’t hang up, nearly done.”

“Old Luo, red envelope, red envelope!”

After a while, Dong Chuan probably moved somewhere quieter, panting, he asked:

“Xiao Meng, calling so late, are you planning a tomb raid? The Taoist priest is free!”

“No, I want you to help me find three things.”

“What things?”

I explained the situation thoroughly, emphasizing:

“I need them to save a life. Name your price, but no jokes!”

Dong Chuan laughed heartily.

“We’re good brothers, it’s about loyalty! Forget payment! Those three things are nearly impossible for others, but the Taoist priest already has them… How much can you give?”

“Name a price.”

“Ha, we’ll talk later! There’s a lightning-struck spot not far behind the temple. Come over and call me.”

After hanging up, I told Xu Qingguo, “Fatso Dong has them ready!”

Her eyes brightened with the fierce longing of a doctor about to cure a fatal disease. She stood immediately, ready to pack up.

“The temple is quiet—perfect for treatment. Let’s go now!”

I hesitated.

“Let’s wait until tomorrow night.”

Xu Qingguo looked puzzled.

“Why?”

I couldn’t quite explain.

My sister-in-law was hiding in the village to avoid disaster. That group of bastards chasing her must have followed us secretly into the village.

It reminded me of the cigarette case in the foreigner’s tomb cave.

If the shadowing people outside the tomb were the same as those in the village, I strongly suspected that besides Xu Qingguo and me, Dong Chuan might also be under surveillance.

If Dong Chuan was being watched too, rushing to meet him now would likely fall into another ambush.

Liao Xiaoqin once said all catastrophes come from carelessness.

Though this suspicion was a bit far-fetched, we had to be cautious.

I told Xu Qingguo, “Dong Chuan is busy securing beams now. He’ll prepare the items, and we’ll go tomorrow night.”

Afterward, I sent Dong Chuan a message, asking him to quietly return to the temple, mark the lightning-struck spot on the back mountain, and bury the shroud and incense ash underground. We would come ourselves.

Dong Chuan was confused and asked what I was up to.

I replied:

“Don’t ask! Here’s a thousand-yuan red envelope. Stay out for the next two days, and don’t come back to the temple.”

Dong Chuan responded, “Got it, Master Meng!”

If he was being watched, him being out would distract our enemies.

Liao Xiaoqin remained unconscious.

The next afternoon,

We rented a small four-wheeled vehicle from a farm owner and headed to Meiling Zhenjun Temple.

We proceeded cautiously, abandoned the vehicle, and took a mountain path, not even entering Dong Chuan’s shabby temple, going straight to the back mountain.

Dong Chuan tied a red ribbon on a charred lightning-struck tree, dug into the ground, and pulled out a jar of incense ash and a dirty burial shroud.

Xu Qingguo glanced up at the sky, thick with dark clouds.

“Go undress your sister-in-law!”

I widened my eyes.

“Undress? How much?”

Xu Qingguo replied, “Completely!”