Chapter 0041 Insect Rearing Spell
Wang Hong said, "He's in that room. He accidentally got poisoned by that woman, but don't worry, we take turns sending villagers to look after him. He's fine!"
I turned my head and saw Frank Fang and four men walk into the room. Three of them—one tall and two short—had short hair. The tall one was covered in tattoos on his body and face, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt. The two shorter ones wore black clothes, were robust, had harsh-looking faces, and their eyes were bright. Standing by the door was a thin, middle-aged man in an old shirt and a blue cloth wrapped around his head, dressed like a local. He must have been the guide Frank Fang mentioned.
Frank Fang came up to me and asked, "Hey, how are you? You're not dying, are you?" I couldn't speak, and tears streamed down my face. Frank Fang quickly grabbed Wang Hong by the collar. "You said he was fine! Why can't he even speak?"
A few male villagers tried to intervene, but the two strong men in black simply shoved them aside, sending the villagers staggering to the ground. One villager grew angry, grabbed a carrying pole from the corner, and charged forward to strike. The strong man in black moved slightly to the side and deftly struck the back of the villager's head with his elbow. The villager didn't even groan, slumping to the ground motionless.
Grandpa Hong and the other villagers were too scared to move. I raised my finger and pointed at the strong man in black. Frank Fang understood what I meant and said, "Don't worry, these two are the apprentices of an Arjan master. They are skilled in ancient Thai boxing. They only used one-third of their strength. No one will die." He then turned back to Wang Hong. "You'd better explain clearly, or I'll turn you into char siu (barbecued pork)!"
Wang Hong quickly said, "Mr. Fang, please don't be angry. Mr. Tian Qi came to the village to understand the situation, but he accidentally got poisoned by that woman. His stomach hurts every few days, you see..." Frank Fang let go of him. Wang Hong quickly returned my leather bag. I supported myself, opened it, and checked—my wallet, phone, and everything else were still there, nothing was missing.
Frank Fang stared at Wang Hong. He said, "I was keeping it safe for Mr. Tian. There are many people in the village, and I was afraid it would get lost." Frank Fang said a few words in Thai to the man in white, asking him to check the illness.
The man in white felt my stomach and forehead, then pulled out a small glass bottle from his chest pocket. It contained a golden-yellow liquid. When he opened the stopper, a strong, foul odor rushed out, making everyone in the room cover their noses. I also smelled the odor, but for some reason, like a starving ghost seeing bread, I instinctively reached out to grab it. Seeing this, the man in white nodded to Frank Fang, pinched my mouth open, and poured the yellow liquid inside.
In less than ten minutes, my stomach churned like a boiling pot, rumbling constantly. My abdomen heaved up and down as if something inside was fighting. Several times, I opened my mouth to vomit but held it back. Finally, I couldn't bear it anymore and spewed several feet high, all black, unknown liquid. It sprayed all over Wang Hong's head and face. He quickly dodged and frantically wiped himself off.
When the liquid landed on the ground, countless small insects seemed to be wriggling inside. Frank Fang had a villager bring clean water for me to drink. I vomited a few more times. Finally, all I spat out was clear water and stomach fluid. I was completely exhausted and quickly fell asleep.
When I woke up again, it was evening. I was with Frank Fang and the others at Grandpa Hong's house. Frank Fang patted my shoulder. "You're fine, kid. This is Arjan Tong, whom I invited from Cambodia. He said you were afflicted with a Worm Katha . Judging by the type of insect, it appears to be the Rahu sect's secret technique from ancient Myanmar."
Arjan Tong said, "It's very strange that a practitioner of the Rahu sect, and a woman at that, is within your borders in China. I need to go and see for myself."
I told Frank Fang the location of the woman's house. Frank Fang asked if she might already know we were coming. Wang Hong shook his head. "She shouldn't. That woman doesn't come out during the day. She only comes out at night to fetch water from the well or for other activities. She has her own antidote, so she drinks the village well water without worry." Frank Fang said that made things easier. He and Arjan Tong discussed it and decided to use the woman's method to cure her. Arjan Tong took out a small packet of powder, mixed it into a bowl of clean water, and had Grandpa Hong tell the villagers to quietly pour it into the well water.
Grandpa Hong instructed the villagers to strictly guard the paths leading to the woman's house to prevent information leaks. The next morning, the lookout reported that the woman's father-in-law had come out and fetched water from the well the previous night. Arjan Tong said, "As long as she drinks this water, everything will be easy. The spell will definitely take effect in two days at most."
Frank Fang translated this for the villagers. Wang Hong said worriedly, "I don't know if it will work. But now the well water is completely undrinkable."
I glared at him fiercely and said, "We'll deal with your business later. Let's take care of this woman first." Frank Fang asked what business. Wang Hong quickly changed the subject. I sneered silently, thinking I would settle the score later.
Three days passed, and there was still no movement from the woman's side. I grew impatient and asked Arjan Tong what was going on. Arjan Tong shook his head. "By all accounts, it should have taken effect already. I used the Khmer Worm Katha technique, and the seed insects I used were bred and cultivated by me over more than ten years. Even if someone could solve it, it shouldn't be this fast."
Just then, a villager ran into Grandpa Hong's house and spoke rapidly and anxiously. He spoke too quickly for us to understand. Wang Hong said, "Strange. The strange illnesses of several families are reaching a critical point, and they went to find that woman, but she refused to treat them. It wasn't like this before!"
"Could it be that she lost patience and no longer cares if the villagers live or die?" I asked Frank Fang. Before he could speak, dozens of villagers rushed in successively, talking angrily to Grandpa Hong, pointing at Frank Fang, Arjan Tong, and me as they spoke. Grandpa Hong stood up and walked out of the house. We followed him out.
The woman had emerged without us realizing and was standing in an open area in the center of the village. Many villagers stood at their doorways. The woman saw me and pointed at me, shouting loudly, "It's not that I don't want to treat you, it's that this person has been messing things up! As long as he is here, I can't treat your family's illness!"
The villagers all looked toward me, many with angry expressions. Several women ran to the woman and knelt down, tears streaming down their faces, kowtowing repeatedly and shouting, "Bodhisattva, living Bodhisattva!" Encouraged by them, more villagers rushed to kneel before the woman. Soon, a large crowd was kneeling on the ground. I found it very difficult to understand that they were worshipping the poisoner as their savior.
Dozens of male villagers approached from a distance, carrying weapons like wooden sticks, carrying poles, iron shovels, and plows, charging angrily toward us. Grandpa Hong and Wang Hong quietly slipped away. I felt apprehensive and quickly asked Frank Fang what to do. The two black-clad apprentices stepped forward a few paces, adopting a fighting stance, ready to face the attackers. The guide was terrified and knelt on the ground, trembling.
Frank Fang shouted to the woman, "Hey, let's talk this out! Even if you kill us, what will you gain?"
The woman smiled proudly. "I love it when these ignorant people worship me as a living Bodhisattva. This feeling is fantastic. Hurry up and kill these people for me, and I will treat your illnesses immediately!"
More villagers got up from the ground, grabbing anything they could use as a weapon and surging forward. Frank Fang whispered, "Damn it, this is going to be tough. We can't hold off a few hundred people at once!" The woman burst into laughter, which sounded like a mix of laughter and crying. Her crying became increasingly painful, eventually turning into a painful moan. Everyone turned to look and saw the woman trembling all over. She opened her mouth, and countless black beetles surged out. Each was the size of a thumbnail.
The villagers were terrified and backed away quickly. Insects also crawled out of the woman's ears and nose. She knelt on the ground, her expression agonizing. Seeing this, Arjan Tong quickly pulled out a small bottle from his chest pocket, poured some powder into his palm, and blew it forcefully into the air, utilizing the wind. The black beetles scrambled to crawl toward where the powder was drifting. They crawled incredibly fast. Many villagers were scared out of their wits, scrambling back into their houses and tightly closing their doors.
When the powder landed on the beetles, many of them stopped moving. Two raised their wing covers, shook a few times, and actually extended small, black, transparent wings, flying toward the woman. I had previously heard Frank Fang mention a strange Southeast Asian "Insect Rearing Spell" . The principle, simply put, is to use specialized nutritional powder mixed with the insects to accelerate the metamorphic speed of holometabolous insects. This technique is incredibly difficult to master. There are only two places in the world where these insects exist: the deep mountains of Eastern Myanmar and the Zambia region of Africa.