Chapter Nine, The Strange Insect Sculpture in the Wooden Box

"Yes, yes..." Upon hearing Tian Jiushi's call, the mountain villagers climbed onto the truck in a noisy yet orderly manner, even the most unruly young men usually displayed remarkable obedience.

He slept for over ten hours, and it was not until the next morning that he finally woke up. Before he even got out of bed, he heard a voice outside the door shouting, "Mountain Bug, Mountain Bug, I am your Uncle Lie, quickly open the door"

In a hurried glance, he also discovered that at the very bottom of the wooden box, there was indeed a brand new set of traditional Miao attire, along with several ancient and rustic red gold necklaces and bracelets, suitable for him to wear.

In the midst of the insect beasts, there were four enormous corpses shrouded in black mist, carrying a massive stone bed. On the bed sat a small, dark-skinned man of ordinary human size, appearing rather comical as he sat cross-legged, his face seemingly bearing a faint smile.

Once the beef reaches a medium doneness, reduce the heat from high to low, and at the appropriate time, add some of your secret brown herbal sauce to braise the meat until it is tender. A highly nourishing medicinal dish will be ready.

In the distant jungle of the battlefield, countless enormous, fanged venomous creatures and ferocious beasts are lurking in the shadows, eyeing the flesh and blood of the giant warriors from both sides of the conflict.

However, in contrast to Zhang Lisheng, Tian Jiushi displayed a markedly different demeanor. Watching Tao Lielin lead the young man to his side, he shook his head and sighed gently, saying: "The mountain worms have arrived. Dao Wu's younger brother is in such good health; who would have known he walked ahead of this old man."

"When one family is in trouble, a hundred families come to help" is an ancient custom passed down by Miao Xueren during his difficult life in the mountains, and putting it into practice is no trivial matter

The Zhang family in Luowocun has always been solitary, not associating with other mountain dwellers. Zhang Lisheng, from childhood to adulthood, was addressed by his peers simply by his name, while those older than him were referred to as Uncle or Aunt. Even for the eighty-year-old Tian Jiushi and the forty-something Tao Lielin, he called them 'Uncle'.

As soon as the convoy passed the station in Damu Town, it caught the attention of those with ulterior motives. Along the way, two police enforcement vehicles marked with the word 'Police' intercepted the cargo trucks from Luowocun.

Although the Zhang family consists only of a father and son relying on each other, Zhang Daowu has always been harsh towards Zhang Lisheng. In fact, Zhang Lisheng has no memory of ever having entered his father's bedroom.

The vast land appeared to have grass that was three to four meters high, where a group of giant warriors, bare-chested and clad in grass skirts to cover their modesty, were fiercely battling with stone knives and axes as their weapons

Zhang Lisheng has worn the inexpensive children's clothing bought by his father from the county's department store since childhood. After entering junior high school and receiving a school uniform, he has only worn that uniform without ever changing it, and he has never worn the traditional clothing of the Miao people.

Zhang Lisheng hurriedly put on his pants, threw on a coat, and shouted, "Uncle Ali, wait a moment, I will open the door soon." He strode over to the heavy, old wooden door, unlatched it, and opened the door.

However, for Zhang Lisheng, who has become a 'sorcerer', everything is not so simple

Standing outside the door was Tao Lielin, who, upon seeing Zhang Lisheng in disarray, exclaimed, "What on earth are you doing?"

You are a descendant of the Zhang family from the Guo Wo Zhai, today you should properly welcome your father

However, it is clearly not the time to indulge in fanciful thoughts about divine transmissions. He hurriedly glanced at the other statues in the wooden box and found that they too belonged solely to the records of ancient Chinese texts, representing fantastical creatures such as the mountain spider, the qinyuan, the mysterious bee, and the transformed centipede, which could not possibly exist in reality, after which he closed the wooden box.

Looking at the statue, Zhang Lisheng immediately recalled a passage from the ancient text "Shuijing Zhu (Commentary on the Waterways)": "In ancient times, there was a hook snake, measuring ten zhang in length, with a forked tail, adept at swimming in water. It would use its tail to hook hunters and beasts in the water, swallowing and consuming them"

With a command from the old village chief of Guo Wo Village, more than a dozen trucks loaded with the villagers from the mountain village drove towards the county town of Qi, displaying their might.

This medicinal dish is different from ordinary medicinal dishes; it does not have a strong and pungent aroma, and at first taste, it does not seem particularly special. However, after taking a few more bites, it evokes a wonderful sense of satisfaction, and the body becomes pleasantly warm and relaxed.

The illusion flickered and vanished; Zhang Lisheng had not yet discerned the features of those giants, monstrous beasts, and colossal corpses, especially the visage of the man on the stone bed, when he felt another darkness envelop him, and everything returned to normal.

After dressing neatly, Zhang Lisheng ran out of the ancient house barefoot.

It is no wonder that you children are confused; sigh, even adults, after going through such significant events, find their minds quite unclear

"Ninety-year-old, I understand, I understand now," Tao Lielin raised his voice and shouted awkwardly

He was feeling disappointed when suddenly everything went dark before his eyes, and a vast wilderness filled with tangled vegetation appeared in his mind

Realizing that too much time had already been wasted, Zhang Lisheng could no longer afford to be surprised. He hurriedly took off his clothes and clumsily changed into the outfit from the wooden box.

What?

Today, I went home with the librarian. Why haven't you gotten up at this hour?

Tao Lielin saw Zhang Lisheng, who was dressed in Miao attire, outside the door. He nodded and said, "Alright, alright," and then pulled him along as they ran towards the village entrance.

In the freezer of the refrigerator, there were still several blocks of frozen beef. Zhang Lisheng took them out, and without thawing, he tossed them into a coarse ceramic pot, adding cold water, seasonings, and medicinal herbs, and then simmered them vigorously over a high flame on the stove

"Do not delay, get in the car," Tian Jiushi said with satisfaction as he waved his hand.

Therefore, in order to bring back the remains of my father, he did not have clothing that conformed to customs, so he could only go into my father's room to search a bit and try his luck

Zhang Lisheng suddenly remembered that today was the day to go to the county town to pick up his father "to come home". He hurriedly rushed back to the side room of the old house, saying, "Uncle Ah Lie, I have been muddled these past two days. I, I will go and get dressed right now"

According to modern biological perspectives, even in an oxygen-rich atmosphere during the Cretaceous period when large animals dominated the Earth, it would have been impossible for such large reptiles to exist. The account of the hook snake in the "Commentary on the Waterways (Ruo Shui)" is undoubtedly an exaggerated myth in scientific interpretation

It is not that I am urging you, but today, in addition to picking up your father, you also need to meet with the driver responsible for the accident, the traffic police, and the insurance company representatives. If you are not in a hurry, there may not be enough time. As Tao Lielin spoke, he planned to step into the old courtyard, but just as he lifted his leg, he inexplicably felt a chill in his heart, shivered, thought for a moment, swallowed hard, and then put his leg back down.

The customs of the Miao people dictate that those who die away from home must have their bodies remain at the place of death for twenty-four hours, which is equivalent to two days and two nights, before being retrieved by family members for burial in their hometown

Six police officers, both plump and thin, tall and short, got out of the police car, all wearing smiles and presenting a demeanor of civilized law enforcement

Since several hundred years ago, when Guo Wo Village was still a Miao village, few people have dared to enter the main gate of the Zhang family alone throughout the various dynasties.

At this time, hundreds of villagers had already gathered at the village entrance. In Guawo Village, apart from leaving one person at home to watch over things, nearly all adult villagers had come together. Unlike the previous occasion when the young men had mostly approached the event with a playful attitude, the return of Zhang Daowu's remains began with a much more solemn atmosphere.

One zhang is approximately equal to three meters, which is three hundred centimeters. A ten-zhang python would therefore be thirty meters long, and when standing upright, it would be roughly equivalent to the height of twelve stories.

Tian Jiushi did not find Zhang Lisheng's address inappropriate, and with another sigh, turned to Tao Lielin, who was full of energy, and said, "Ah Liezai, your Grandpa Jiushi is getting old and can no longer go to the county town. I am entrusting this matter to you today; make sure to handle it well and do it properly."

"Yes, Uncle Jiu Shi." Zhang Lisheng lowered his head and replied in a muffled voice

Hearing the old village chief call him 'Ah Lie Zai' in front of the entire village and many tourists, Tao Lielin's face nearly turned as red as a cloth, but he did not dare to say anything. He could only nod submissively and murmur, 'Ninety-year-old sir, I understand, I understand.'

"The mountain bug is coming. You sit in the front row of the vehicle, while the others head to the east, west, south, and north of the village in one, two, three, four, five... vehicle loads. Do not scatter around." From a distance, Tao Lielin was seen pulling Zhang Lisheng as they ran along the stone path. An elderly Miao man, with a face full of wrinkles and a spirited demeanor, shouted loudly without a trace of a smile on his face.

Pushing open the door, despite knowing that Father has already passed away, both Mingming and Tu Shu Zhang Lisheng could not help but feel a tremor in their hearts

Zhang Lisheng was momentarily taken aback, climbed onto the wooden bed, and forcefully opened one side of the heavy wooden chest at the head of the bed. Inside, he found not clothing, but dozens of palm-sized, vividly lifelike animal sculptures.

The customs of the people in western Sichuan have always been wild and untamed, filled with numerous legends of the supernatural. When the indigenous mountain dwellers seek to welcome back family members who have died an unnatural death, it is customary for both men and women to wear tube pants and floral shirts, with red cloth wrapped around their heads. They must adorn their necks and wrists with an abundance of gold and silver jewelry to attract good fortune and ward off misfortune

He vigorously shook his head and, seemingly deep in thought, picked up a small statue from the wooden box

The room is dimly lit, and the most prominent feature is a massive wooden bed, similar in material to the one in Zhang Lisheng's bedroom, but twice its size. On either side of the headboard, in accordance with the customs of the Miao people, there are large redwood boxes for storing miscellaneous items

The elderly speaker is Tian Jiushi, who served as the village head and party secretary of Guo Wo Village for fifty-seven years. It is said that he participated in the patriotic uprising against the Japanese in western Sichuan before the establishment of the Red Republic of China, and he is highly esteemed throughout the entire Damu Town

Although stout, once he rolled up his pant legs and tightened his waist, everything appeared neat. After putting on the collar and bracelets, he instantly transformed into a lean youth of the Miao ethnic group

Da Kou finished off the beef stew along with the broth, and Zhang Lisheng let out a sigh of relief. He wiped his mouth clean, washed his face with well water, walked into the side room of the ancient house, and lay down on his rough, sturdy wooden bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep

Afterward, Zhang Lisheng climbed to the other end of the wooden bed and opened another wooden box, inside of which were neatly stacked many articles of clothing

The statue depicts a black, pointed-headed venomous snake, its body coiling and twisting as if playing in the water, with its tail divided into three prongs