Chapter 10, The First Night at Camellia Cave

"Take me to see Aunt Ma, I want to see what he means?" The black uncle did not heed the胖子's words and directly requested to meet someone called "Aunt Ma."

"No... this backpack can never leave me..." I said with great determination

The black uncle said, "Is there really no way out?" His words were filled with deep frustration

Yes, but I don't understand a single word. I have no intention of hiding the bald fat man; from his appearance, it seems he knows my master

Ma Yan? The black uncle frowned and said, "Xiao Guan, the things you should do yourself, you should do them yourself. Do not come to me for help."

The bald fat man is a very proud person, rarely intervening to help others, as using gu worms to save people is quite labor-intensive. If it were not for the favor of Bai Yueming, he would certainly not go so far as to personally boil eggs or stay up late to assist. Upon hearing my rebuttal, he reacted.

The bald, overweight man was somewhat agitated: "Tell me, what does he look like?" As he spoke, due to his excitement, the egg in the bald man's hand fell to the ground and cracked open...

The only person in the world who worries about my death is not by my side

I can tell that the words spoken by the black uncle are meant to comfort me

"Put down your backpack, no one wants it," said the chubby boy unhappily

I was startled by the expression of the overweight person and stammered, "My master is not very tall and rarely speaks. He has a disability in one leg, making it particularly inconvenient for him to walk... Moreover, he enjoys keeping centipedes and scorpions, as well as other strange insects..."

The black uncle nodded, somewhat helplessly: "Indeed, the master of the mantis gu was killed by me."

Upon mentioning the name of Aunt Ma, the previously obstinate fat man softened considerably and sighed, "I must admit I am afraid of you for even bringing up Aunt Ma's name. This child is afflicted by the mantis curse, not just any ordinary curse. This type of curse is not particularly difficult to deal with; the challenge lies in the fact that he is not an ordinary child.

The black uncle pondered for a moment: "Then would I not become a person without integrity? I would actually betray a child."

Of course, this is an ancient Miao language. You are Han, so naturally you cannot understand it. It is said to be a mantra left behind by the great Emperor Chiyou..." The bald, stout man spoke these words with a unique sense of pride

The black uncle said: "What do you mean? Are you saying that if you use the parasitic insect to save him, you would end up dying instead? However, the mantis parasitic insect... no... why didn't the nematode turn against its host?"

The fat man stopped rolling the egg, walked from behind me to in front of me, and stared at me with wide eyes: "What does this mean? Your master, who is your master? ... ... This is a mantra passed down from the Majiakou of the Camellia Cave in Xiangxi, how could you have heard of it ... ... "

Isn't the person who cast the curse already dead? the fat man said

I sat on the chair, clearly observing the arrangement of the room. It was a very low earthen brick house, with a dim yellow low-wattage light bulb, making the room appear small and oppressive. Under the illumination of the light, I noticed that the fat man was completely bald; he was indeed a monk, but he was dressed in Miao ethnic clothing, which made him look unlike a monk.

The bald man placed a porcelain bowl beside me and then pointed at me, saying: "Take off your shirt."

The big black uncle Bai Yueming walked over, closed the door properly, then went to the kitchen and brought over a basin of charcoal fire, saying to me: "It's alright, take off your clothes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fat man left me and the black uncle to busy himself in the kitchen. The black uncle looked at me and patted my shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I will definitely find a way."

"This cannot be blamed on you; it is fate that has determined this. This child is not an ordinary child; his body possesses an exceptionally strong resistance to the external environment. If I were to rashly attempt to save him, I would undoubtedly perish, and it is not certain that I could save him. Life and death are in the hands of heaven; it depends on whether he can survive. Bai Yueming, you should stop showing off this time; do not go against heaven. It is futile to act against the will of heaven." said the胖子.

It is evident that in order to save me, the fat man must die

There is no need to blame him at all

"What happened?" the black uncle asked, somewhat surprised. The fat man did not respond to the black uncle but instead asked me, "Have you ever heard anyone recite such a mantra?"

Ah... you dog-like creature, I truly have no way to deal with this... For now, I will help him suppress the parasites within his body," said the fat man

While it is possible that all monks are bald, not all bald individuals are necessarily monks. This fat man is certainly not a monk

"Do not speak to me in riddles," said the black uncle

Why? The big black uncle has lost his patience. Looking at his appearance and the book, if the fat man cannot explain himself, his clenched fists could smash this place to pieces at any moment

"Do not call me fat." The fat person felt somewhat displeased

Yes, I also asked my master, but my master did not express any meaning

"It is ... ... it is him ... ... it is him ... ..." shouted the bald, stout man loudly, as if he were a child. Suddenly, he grabbed the clothes that I had set aside, draped them over me, picked me up, and kicked open the big door, running outside.

The big man was taken aback for a moment and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense with me; that's a solution for ordinary people. You are not an ordinary person; you are a fat man. If you continue to brush me off like this, I will really go find Aunt Ma to have a word with her"

I took off my clothes, and after taking them off, I still put on my backpack

The fat man sighed, not dwelling on the term "fat man," and said: "Indeed, I have at least ten methods to lure out the steel wire worm, each of which will not have any side effects. But do you know? This child, I cannot save."

"Get away... Malun... have you lost your mind..." the big black uncle also chased after.

From the egg that had fallen to the ground, two slender black wireworms slowly crawled out...

I have heard it, I have heard it..." I couldn't help but say, "It seems that my master has recited such a mantra.

I do not know how to respond to the black uncle, and the black uncle also does not know what to say. The two of them sit quietly in the small room, as if the soul snatcher could appear at any moment.

The words of the fat man are quite convoluted, the mantis gu is indeed the mantis gu, yet he also claims it is not the mantis gu. Furthermore, he adds that it is easy to save an ordinary child, but I am not able to do so, what exactly is going on here

Although the bald fat man does not give me face, he still respects Bai Yueming. He extended his right hand and picked up one of the boiled white eggs.

I thought to myself: "If I can still live, I will definitely take revenge, but at the moment, I cannot survive."

This child is not an ordinary child; if I use the cursed insects to save him, I will die myself. The fat man revealed this astonishing answer

The fat man said: "Yes. It is precisely because the master of the mantis gu worm has died that the bloodline connection between the gu worm and its master has been severed, preventing it from backfiring on its master. However, if I were to use the gu worm to save him, my gu worm would be trapped within the child's body, and I would also die. You should understand what I mean, right? The child's uniqueness, you may have already noticed it."

Alright, fatty

"Cannot save?" The black uncle furrowed his brow

There exists an extremely tiny parasite on the mantis, which we refer to as the steel wire worm, a very diminutive insect. The mantis that was cursed has already been crushed, yet the steel wire worm residing within its body remains alive, having undoubtedly entered the child's body. The steel wire worm is difficult to deal with, and since the person who cast the curse is already dead, it is impossible to ask him to lift the curse. It is necessary to employ a forceful and intense method to expel the steel wire worm. However, once such a vigorous approach is taken, it could result in extremely severe aftereffects for the child, such as dementia or paralysis.

He leaned over and rolled the farm-fresh egg on my back, moving it back and forth. The warm egg transmitted a gentle heat, as if the previous pain had been carried away by the egg

The stout man nodded and said: "In principle, if you come to find me, I would certainly take action. However, there are two reasons at present: the first is that some incidents have recently occurred in the village; the second is that this child truly cannot be saved"

"If you don't want to save me, then don't. My death truly has nothing to do with you." I raised my head and stared defiantly at the bald, overweight man.

I watched as the egg in his hand transformed from its original luster to a deep black

I am neither close nor familiar with the fat man, and there is no need for him to sacrifice his life for me. From the fat man's perspective, it is understandable that he does not save me.

At the same time, he was muttering some strange incantations. I could not understand the content of the incantations, but they sounded particularly familiar, as if my master had also recited such incantations.

The bald fat man was even more displeased: "To be honest, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me."

The bald man appeared very serious, looking as if he was not joking.

About ten minutes later, the bald man approached, holding a white porcelain bowl in his hand, which contained two peeled free-range eggs, the egg whites of which were very transparent

I said: "Uncle, if I were to die, then so be it. You return to my town and help me teach a lesson to a woman named Ma Yan, give her a few slaps for me."

This backpack is the only memento left to the child by his foster father, so please do not take offense. Bai Yueming intervened in the matter.