Chapter 7, with a face full of holes

This is how Old Zhu was imprisoned

This matter sounds truly gruesome, and I am trembling in fear

Just as I caught sight of Xiao Liu, whose body was covered in finger-sized holes during the second meal, Zhu Bingyi and the nine-tenths girl, Xia Xi, who had not appeared until then, finally made their entrance

The other party does not even value human life

He leaned against the wall covered with long snakes without any reservations, his eyes wide open, staring straight ahead, occasionally turning slightly to let me know he was still alive

His body and face are already riddled with wounds, and he is unaware of the insects crawling and burrowing within. Yet, despite this, he maintains a clear state of mind, which is the most terrifying aspect for me

I suppose it may be due to some kind of powder that they have prevented in this cell

This type of poison is called Blood Gathering Gu

I catch snakes to eat meat, and although Lao Zhu appears quite formidable, he is actually timid in the face of those long snakes. Unable to endure his hunger, he quietly pleaded with me to get him one.

When the next meal was served, I saw the young man next door, following the flashlight in the hands of the mute woman

In the coming days, I still dared not eat the porridge provided by the mute woman, and Old Zhu similarly did not eat. My share was consumed by the young man beside me, while I became more accustomed to the situation. That night, I killed a long snake again and devoured it raw.

I was so frightened that my whole body trembled, and instinctively I touched my face, fearing that there would be many holes appearing on it as well

Several days have passed, and I feel that the atmosphere in the cellar has become increasingly heavy. In the past, there were always people humming, and I would occasionally hear the sounds of grinding teeth and snoring. At this moment, however, it is completely silent, which feels particularly eerie

Due to Lao Zhu's long-term residence in the countryside and his lack of exposure to the wider world, his cousin did not take him to the big city to explore. Instead, he kept him at home to help take care of the pregnant young women and to look after the newborn babies.

However, whenever I think of death, I instinctively resist it

These individuals were almost all carried in like dead dogs

The young man seemed to sense that I was looking at him and smiled at me with a grin.

I know that they should also be the prey of Zhu Bingyi and that girl from the Nine Points, Xia Xi

Using humans as a vessel, nurturing insects as poison

I began to smell a foul odor that spread throughout the entire cellar, and this scent seemed particularly oppressive due to the lack of air circulation

Having finished speaking, Old Zhu said no more. He did not even mention to me the reason why he was also confined here.

Several days passed in this manner. The initial days were relatively calm, but by the fourth day, several individuals arrived in succession

However, what sent chills down my spine was that the young man's face was marked by pockmarked, small holes the size of a little finger.

Even he is somewhat unrecognizable

This type of poison is quite different from others; it does not involve various insects placed in a clay pot for the purpose of sorcery, but rather uses a person as the vessel.

Being confined in a detention center, regardless of the circumstances, one can use the law as a weapon, but what about here

The young man next door, whose surname is Liu, has not even come over to ask for porridge to drink again

These conditions are exceedingly harsh, as the so-called bloodline of the Gu-raising practitioners from Miaojiang is said to have been passed down from the priests of the Yelang Kingdom, which existed one to two thousand years ago. However, that Yelang Kingdom was already destroyed during the Western Han Dynasty, and the so-called priests have long since vanished over the course of a millennium. It is simply impossible to gather them together in a short period of time

If I do not believe, how can I explain this lifeless snake pit dungeon

Those women, for the sake of their children, have no choice but to resolutely engage in physical activities.

Now it is different, for human life is of utmost importance

How can I explain that a small woman easily knocked me down

All the questions were answered here by Old Zhu. I know he certainly has many things he is concealing from me, but I have almost come to a conclusion about the general situation. The only thing I am concerned about now is what Zhu Bingyi and the woman named Xia Xi will ultimately do to me

The young man had consumed too much of the insect porridge provided by the other party, causing him to take on the appearance of a living dead person in a short period of time

Or perhaps I have been implanted with a poison insect within my body

In order to seek those eighteen cauldrons, Zhu Bingyi, along with that woman and a group of helpers, has cast spells on more than five hundred individuals along this path

It is said that "those who do not share the same path do not conspire together," yet Old Zhu's cousin does not adhere to this principle; if you do not walk this path, then you will be left with no way to go.

Moreover, as soon as these snakes fall to the ground of the monitoring cage, they become completely limp and possess almost no offensive capability

I have never refused this person's requests. Firstly, I have experience in catching snakes, and secondly, I always feel that this person might be of some use. In a place where one could die at any moment, it is beneficial to befriend someone strong.

His cousin has many ways to control these women, the most important of which is to control these little dolls

It is necessary to select eighteen robust men who possess a certain lineage of the Miao people known for raising Gu worms to serve as the furnace, placing the Gu insects within, allowing them to breed and thrive inside, and ultimately condensing them together to be refined into a substance

A person actually took seven wives

As he smiled, a dark red centipede crawled out of his mouth. Despite the dim light and some distance between us, I could see that this centipede was almost identical to the one that had crawled over the back of my head that day

After listening to Old Zhu recount the entire story, I felt a chill run down my spine

Having consecutively consumed four snakes, I discovered something: although these snakes are highly venomous and fierce, they do not readily attack us

Upon seeing the other person for the first time, I thought to myself, if I looked like that, I would rather die

If I do not believe, how can I explain the centipede crawling from the back of my head

He told me that his cousin Zhu Bingyi regarded this operation as the last major action, and after it was completed, he would withdraw. Therefore, he acted without restraint, but when he heard that there was to be a killing, he showed some signs of retreat.

This is called broad net casting, large-scale screening

However, it must be said that the woman is quite formidable; she has her own ways of discerning and can ascertain with a certainty of about thirty to fifty percent

As such matters occur frequently, a person's sense of shame gradually diminishes, and eventually, they may become an accomplice to their cousin, instead of protecting the family, they may assist Zhu Bingyi in bringing more young women into harm's way.

Old Zhu spoke in a very disjointed manner. After talking for a while, he suddenly said that the reason we were arrested was because his cousin wanted to concoct a type of poison.

I have been working away from home for a long time, and I have certainly endured hardships. I have engaged in my fair share of fierce and aggressive activities, and I have even been detained for fifteen days due to fighting. However, none of these experiences are as terrifying as this moment.

The day the worm within me finally matures will also be the day of my death

That woman actually practices the art of raising poison, cultivating various insects to create all sorts of strange and bizarre things; moreover, she is capable of many miraculous feats. Old Zhu does not understand why she would associate herself with a cousin who is as worthless as a pile of dung, but it is evident that Zhu Bingyi has become increasingly terrifying over the past two years

These small holes do not merely exist on the surface, but extend deep into the skin, and at the openings of these small holes, there are numerous pink, soft-bodied creatures wriggling about.

The situation reached a turning point when Zhu Bingyi managed to marry a woman from the Miao family

Although Old Zhu looked down upon his cousin's behavior, he ultimately joined him for the sake of earning a living

Although the previous matters were unsavory, they were still a means of earning a living through one's own abilities. Moreover, he was merely helping to take care of the family and had not committed any wrongdoing.

This matter left me, as a person in my late youth, feeling utterly incredulous; however, I did not dare to interrupt Old Zhu's words and listened to him continue recounting the ins and outs of the situation

What to do

Because of this, Lao Zhu regarded me with a higher opinion and began to discuss more matters with me

Had this statement been made a few days ago, I would have certainly scoffed at it and not even wanted to listen. However, at this very moment, I cannot help but believe it.

If that person is not the one, then the curse will naturally be expelled along with the digestive system. However, if the person who has been cursed truly possesses that bloodline, the curse will naturally guide them over here, and then they will jump into the trap by themselves

A bad life is better than a good death