Chapter 0042 Is She a Living Bodhisattva or a Demon?
Countless flying beetles landed on the woman's body and face. The woman let out painful screams. Arjan Tong walked toward her, and we followed closely behind. The villagers, who had never seen such things, were all frozen in place, trembling and daring not to move. Several male villagers even urinated in their pants, the stream of urine pooling on the ground.
Arjan Tong stood in front of the woman. Frank Fang yelled, "Hand over the Katha powder, or the insects will eat you until only bones are left!" The woman, covered in beetles, still ran madly toward her house. Frank Fang, Arjan Tong, and I chased after her, followed by Wang Hong and Grandpa Hong with a few brave male villagers. The woman stumbled into the house, startling her husband and father-in-law, who quickly moved to avoid her. During the chase, the woman knocked over the large jar in the center of the room. Countless poisonous creatures—spiders, centipedes, scorpions, and snakes—crawled out and scattered throughout the room.
I am terrified of such creatures and ran out shouting. Arjan Tong reached into his chest pocket, pulled out a small porcelain bottle, and sprinkled the powder inside into the jar. The flying beetles on the woman, along with the "Five Poisons" crawling everywhere on the floor, immediately swarmed into the old jar. Frank Fang quickly righted the jar, grabbed the lid that was lying nearby, and sealed the jar opening tightly.
The woman lay on the ground, moaning, while her husband looked at her in astonishment. Grandpa Hong waved his hand. Several male villagers came forward, lifted her, and began dragging her out. The woman struggled desperately, turning her head to yell at her husband, "Quick, quick, save me!" The man looked at her with contempt, pulling his body back to avoid her.
Frank Fang stepped closer and reached out his hand to the woman. "Where is the Katha powder?" The woman's face showed an expression of collapse and despair. She slowly pulled a small porcelain bottle from her chest pocket and threw it on the ground before being dragged away by the male villagers. Arjan Tong picked up the small porcelain bottle the woman had thrown out, took out another small bottle from his pocket, and handed both to Frank Fang, asking him to test the authenticity. Frank Fang waved at Grandpa Hong and Wang Hong. "You two come with me!" They obediently followed.
After about twenty minutes, Frank Fang returned and said to Arjan Tong, "It works. The mixed water was given to the sick villagers, both internally and externally, and it has taken effect. But we don't know if the effect is temporary or permanent."
Wang Hong, who followed behind, said, "Don't save that woman yet. Wait five or six days to see. Only if the villagers' illnesses don't recur then can we consider it effective!" I nodded to Frank Fang. Grandpa Hong instructed the villagers to strictly guard the woman, who was now half-dead from the torment of the Worm Katha.
We ate lunch at Grandpa Hong's house. When Frank Fang saw only a few salted radish strips and chili peppers on the rice, he nearly flipped the table. Arjan's two apprentices also stared blankly at the meal. Only the guide quietly lowered his head and ate his rice, seeming used to it. Wang Hong quickly explained that the village was too poor, especially in the last half year. All the chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep in the village died after drinking the well water. Raising new animals also failed because livestock easily eat things and are hard to guard.
I asked curiously, "What about the cow that was butchered a few days ago?"
Wang Hong said, "To be honest, no one ate that cow's meat except for the piece reserved for you. The custom here is that cattle and sheep must be slaughtered for weddings and funerals. The village only had a few cows and sheep left. That time, the cow was slaughtered for Grandpa Hong's son's wedding. The meat couldn't be eaten. It had to be cut into pieces and thrown from the mountain to feed the Mountain God, so the God would bless the villagers with wealth."
I couldn't even manage a smile anymore. The village was so poor, yet they were delusionally hoping the Mountain God would bless them with wealth. Frank Fang glared. "I don't care about any of that! Get us a few chickens to eat! Did the Arjan master travel all the way from Cambodia to lose weight?"
With no alternative, Grandpa Hong had villagers run to the neighboring village to buy a few chickens, which the women slaughtered and cooked immediately. By the time we ate the chicken, it was already evening. I was tired and hungry and ate more than half a chicken myself. After the meal, Frank Fang paced outside and said, "There's actually a place this poor in the world! No money, no meat, no women. If I had to live in a place like this, I'd rather smash my head against a wall and die."
I laughed and said, "What do you mean, no women? It's easy for men in this village to find a wife. They can buy one from a human trafficker for a thousand or two thousand yuan."
Frank Fang rolled his eyes at me. "Those are their women, not mine! How am I supposed to get through the next few days?" I asked if he couldn't go seven days without a woman. Frank Fang said he couldn't even go three days. Wang Hong was feeling guilty nearby. Hearing Frank Fang's words, he whispered a few words to Grandpa Hong.
Grandpa Hong said to a male villager, "Go call Bai Laosan."
Before long, Bai Laosan, whose wife had died only a few days prior, jogged over. After Grandpa Hong instructed him, Bai Laosan looked very reluctant. Grandpa Hong started scolding him harshly, "Do you want the illness to be cured or not? Your wife is the youngest in the whole village!"
Bai Laosan mumbled, "My family isn't sick."
Grandpa Hong yelled, "Your family isn't sick, but aren't others sick? Go quickly!"
Bai Laosan had no choice but to walk away dejectedly. In a few minutes, he dragged the young woman the matchmaker had introduced over. Grandpa Hong spoke apologetically, forcing a smile. "This is Bai Laosan's new wife. She's very young, only twenty. There are plenty of empty rooms in the village. What do you think?"
I didn't immediately understand, but Frank Fang quickly realized what was happening. He widened his eyes and cursed loudly, "What kind of person do you take me for, old man? The villagers' wives aren't prostitutes! How can you casually call them over to entertain guests?" Grandpa Hong was scared into silence and quickly waved for Bai Laosan to take the woman away.
Wang Hong said helplessly, "Mr. Fang, I'm so sorry. This is already the youngest and best-looking woman in the village. Why don't you wait a little longer? I'll go to the county right away and ask if there's any 'stock' available to bring over and let you take a look?"
I knew exactly what he meant—these human traffickers colluded with each other. I glared at him. Grandpa Hong timidly said, "Why don't we have old Wu call his daughter over? His daughter is nineteen this year and is reasonably good-looking."
Frank Fang grabbed Grandpa Hong by the collar. "I like women, but I never mess with other people's wives, and I don't touch virgins! Why don't you call your own daughter-in-law over?"
Grandpa Hong said helplessly, "My daughter-in-law is older. I was afraid you wouldn't like her!" He pointed to a woman nearby. Frank Fang and I looked over. The woman was at least fifty, dark-skinned, short, and heavy, grinning at us with a wide, toothy smile. Frank Fang quickly waved his hand, released Grandpa Hong, and walked back into the house.
We stayed in the village for seven or eight days. The strange illnesses in the village had not recurred. We finally confirmed that the powder the woman gave was indeed the Katha antidote. Grandpa Hong gathered all the villagers in the open area in the center of the village and formally announced that the strange illness was completely resolved. The villagers cheered and danced with joy. Just then, many male villagers angrily picked up wooden sticks and sickles and headed toward the house where the woman was being imprisoned, shouting as they went, "Kill that wicked woman!" "Chop her to death!" Moments before, they had called her a living Bodhisattva; now, she had become the wicked woman.
I quickly told Frank Fang to stop them, or the woman would be hacked into meat paste by the villagers.
Frank Fang called Grandpa Hong over and instructed him, but Grandpa Hong shook his head. "Everyone hates that wicked woman so much. I'm afraid I can't control them." I had an idea. I said to Grandpa Hong, "This wicked woman shouldn't die too easily. It's best to wait a few more days for the Worm Katha on her body to take effect. She will die a terrible death then, and you can truly vent your anger."
Grandpa Hong thought that made sense and called the villagers back. They were very unsatisfied, but when Grandpa Hong explained clearly, the villagers became excited again, agreeing one after another, eager to watch the woman be eaten alive by insects.
Since the matter was resolved, the next step was to talk about money. That night at Grandpa Hong's house, I told Frank Fang about Wang Hong's actions. Frank Fang was so angry that his teeth ached and he wanted to beat him right then. Wang Hong covered his head and said, "I was wrong. I was greedy, but our village is truly too poor. Generations of people haven't been able to marry. If I don't help them, the village will die out in a few years."
"You're justifying being a human trafficker? Do you believe I'll take you to the county police station, let you spend a few years in jail, and see if you still feel justified! Tricking me into coming here and forcing me to drink poisoned water—how could you even think of that!" I was very angry.
Wang Hong was aggrieved. "Mr. Tian, buying and selling wives is wrong, but the idea of tricking you into coming to the village to drink poisoned water—that idea didn't come from me. It came from your cousin's husband, Sun Xicai!"