Chapter Nine, The Young Lady Arrives

I do not know why, although it is dark ahead, I feel as if I can see the other person's pitch-black eyes, which are very spirited, filled with curiosity, fear, and other emotions within them

Zhu Bingyi glared at me with anger, while carefully smiling at Xia Xi.

Large drops of sweat slid down from between my nostrils, and the pain was so intense that I felt as if I were about to faint.

This feeling is difficult to describe, somewhat akin to being scorched by a branding iron

I do not know if it is a psychological effect, but I feel a surge of malevolent energy at my heel, rising up from beneath the ground, reaching the crown of my head, while starlight descends and illuminates the space in between

Then, she took two steps back and smiled at me with a chuckle, saying: "You are quite the poisoner now, your saliva is toxic, I dare not get involved. However, I will not be angry; you are a dying person, and I still have the capacity to be forgiving."

So many snake corpses, have they killed all the venomous snakes in the cellar

A little girl reached out through the wooden fence, and the venomous snake coiled on top instinctively slithered away. I handed it back to her and said earnestly, "Thank you"

I was filled with questions, and at that moment, a woman with striking beauty approached me. With her slender fingers, she lifted my chin and smiled as she said, "Handsome, I never expected that it would be you who made it to the end. It's truly fate, isn't it?"

These individuals should have already been transferred, judging by the tone of that nine-point woman, they are likely still alive, and only I...

Can I survive

When I saw these various wet insects rushing towards my mouth, I instinctively wanted to close my mouth tightly, but my entire face seemed to be frozen, and I simply could not close it.

When these things crawled into my mouth, a foul, rancid, and putrid odor surged straight to the crown of my head

I have been faint for too long, and my mind is a bit tangled. After a few seconds, I recalled what Old Zhu had told me. It is likely that this little girl is the daughter born to Zhu Bingyi and those "wives".

This smile, to be honest, is like a blooming poppy flower, possessing a kind of deadly beauty

I took a sniff, and it had been a long time since I had smelled the moisture; it felt as if my entire lungs had expanded in that moment. At that time, it was dark, and I couldn't see whether there were any insects in the water, but having gone through previous experiences, I didn't care anymore. Gulping, I drank all the clear water from the ladle in one go

She cautiously looked at me in the darkness, and when she noticed me looking up at her, she instinctively took a few steps back

I fear death, especially dying in a place where no family member knows.

I have been traveling in the south for many years and have also worked in sales for a while, yet I do not know how to communicate with a young girl. After saying a few words, she did not respond at all. In the end, she suddenly asked me, "Are you thirsty?"

Xia Xi, with foresight and intuition, tilted her head and avoided it.

I uttered a few curses, feeling parched and dry in my mouth, while the other party seemed completely unfazed. Suddenly, I felt disheartened and chose to remain silent.

Damn

I feel as if I am on the brink of madness, wishing I could just crash into the wall right now, thwarting the schemes of those despicable individuals. However, despite gathering my courage several times, I ultimately still do not dare to do so.

Heavens, what sin have I committed to end up in such a fate

Oh my!

Inside the wooden ladle, there is cool water

After a long period of drowsiness, I felt as if someone was watching me from the front. I opened my eyes, and it was dark ahead, barely able to make out the outline of a person. To my surprise, it was not an adult, but a child, about five or six years old, with long hair, and I sensed it was a little girl

She seemed to smile at me, then turned and left

I cursed vehemently, hurling insults such as "bitch" and "busybody". However, Xia Xi did not get angry; instead, she smiled, cheerfully gazing at the moon above, as if waiting for something.

Am I going to die

When everything returns to calm, it is as if hope has already departed

This is my first attempt to converse with this little girl, and I do not expect her to respond to me at all. To my surprise, a timid voice emerged from the darkness: "I dare not. If I let you go, my father and that woman will beat me to death..."

In a daze, I heard the woman give a few instructions to the person beside her, vaguely catching the words: "... these people have all been dealt with, give them some medicine, let them keep their lives, we cannot be implicated in this; as for this matter, at the hour of the rat the day after tomorrow, please summon the blood worm from the mountain, by that time, perhaps we will be able to summon the Yelang Ancient Spirit..."

Three people stared at each other with wide eyes, silently waiting for something

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Zhu Bingyi and Xia Xi, this pair of shameless lovers

After lamenting my own misfortunes for quite some time, I finally realized that the vast cellar had become completely empty, devoid of anything. Old Zhu from next door was gone, Xiao Liu was also absent, and the other dozen or so unfortunate souls like myself were no longer present.

At this moment, I am also in such pain that I collapse to the ground, like a puddle of mud

It is still night, but above the head, there is a full moon and stars, and around there are flickering torches, illuminating the surroundings with a sea of light

The enormous belly made me realize that everything before was not a dream

I found myself bound to a wooden stake in a desolate wilderness, surrounded by dense, dark woods. Beneath my feet lay layer upon layer of snake corpses, and upon rough estimation, there must have been at least one or two hundred of them.

I feel as if I have fallen seriously ill, my whole body is weak and powerless. I barely managed to sit up and found my stomach to be swollen. As soon as I touched it, something happened inside, it bulged out like a snake's head, as if it were about to bite me, which frightened me so much that I quickly withdrew my hand.

The balance of yin and yang has been inverted. When I awoke once more, I found that everything around me had become particularly tranquil, to the extent that even the sound of low breathing had vanished

My swollen belly began to churn, a large mass of flesh constantly shifting, and a sharp pain suddenly struck me. I instantly felt as if my body was no longer my own, my abdomen felt like it was being cut by knives, and the pain was unbearable.

I certainly do not expect a little child to let me out, but I was thinking that she could help me send a message and call the police. This thought circled in my mind, and in the end, I could not hold it back any longer. I softly said to her: "Little sister, could you help me deliver a message to my family?"

I have truly been regarded as a cauldron for raising poison.

However, I was not faint; I watched in horror as that nine-tenths woman dipped her brush into the blood of others and continuously sketched on my body. At first, my mind was consumed by the cramping pain in my abdomen, but after a while, I began to feel the warmth where the brush tip had passed, as if it were a furnace.

A man walked out from the side, it was Zhu Bingyi, who was nodding and bowing to the nine-point woman, and it was also the first time I saw that woman's smile

She took two steps back, and then she stopped retreating, staring at me with wide eyes

With so many insects inside my stomach, I no longer have anything to care about

This feeling is truly utterly disgusting

She looked at me, and I looked at her, the two of us glaring at each other

The breaths of Xia Xi and Zhu Bingyi grew increasingly rapid

I could only gape in astonishment, watching these things crawl into my mouth, and then down the esophagus, making their way into my stomach

However, after being tapped on the forehead by that summer evening, I found myself completely unable to move. I could only feel slippery things burrowing into my stomach one after another. At first, I had no reaction, but after a while, I began to feel a swelling in my abdomen. When I looked down, lo and behold, my belly had swollen up, resembling that of a five or six-month pregnant woman

My stomach began to rumble, while not far away, Zhu Bingyi clasped his hands together and nervously prayed: "Heaven bless, ancestors bless, may I surely cultivate an unparalleled divine worm, allowing me to pass on the legacy of the Poison Cave..."

The girl's accent has a bit of a local flavor, somewhat unclear, yet I heard it distinctly, which made me feel ecstatic

I want to call out, but not a sound escapes my lips

I gazed at the snake-like face that had once stirred such impulsive feelings within me, feeling both anger and fear, and without hesitation, I spat at her.

After looking for a while, I whimsically asked, "Little sister, can you let me out?"

In the darkness, I watched this little girl walk away step by step. Although I could not see clearly, I kept my gaze fixed on her until she reached the end, as if she had opened the lid of the cellar and left. I did not avert my eyes.

Heaven and earth, at this moment, are seamlessly integrated

The little girl looked at me, remaining silent

At that moment, suddenly, a charming voice reached my ears: "Oh my, in such a remote wilderness, how could such a thing happen? Please tell me, what exactly are you all doing?"

When he said this, I noticed that Xia Xi beside him lowered her head, and in the shadows, she seemed to be laughing disdainfully

Apart from this, no one else is seen

Are these snakes used for the sacrifice to the impending emergence of the blood gathering poison?

However, this pain suppressed the cramping in my abdomen. When that woman struck my chest with a heavy slap and shouted "Bazaha," the swarm of insects fighting inside my stomach finally quieted down

Moreover, it is a short-lived furnace; by the day after tomorrow or perhaps at some point tomorrow, I will die in this dark and damp hellish place

When I woke up once again, I found myself bound to a pillar, with a cool mountain breeze blowing on my face, a sensation I had not felt in a long time. Immediately, I heard the sound of bamboo groves swaying. Upon opening my eyes, I discovered that the moon had risen, and I had somehow returned to the ground.

However, before I could react, suddenly, a sharp pain like a knife cut through my abdomen, making me feel as if my internal organs were turned upside down, causing my face to turn pale in an instant

Time passes gradually, and before one realizes it, the moon rises high in the sky. At this moment, a chilling wind blows, and all the noisy insects in the forest fall silent. Birds flutter out from the darkness, flying towards the distance

In recent days, I have been surviving on snake meat and drinking snake blood, my throat feels extremely dry, and naturally, I am very thirsty. I instinctively responded with a sound, and the girl handed me a wooden ladle.

I do not know how much time has passed, I can almost feel myself on the verge of breaking down