The night deepened. All the houses in Niu Xin Village, except for Niu Han's compound, had their lights extinguished. It was pitch black everywhere. Su Yan quietly left the village under the cover of night, leaving only the Dark Water Centipede in Niu Han's house. He hurried back to Cloud-Front Village and slipped into his room.
The next morning, Su Yan went to find Xie Yuzhu.
"Uncle Xie, you..."
When he saw Xie Yuzhu, he was truly shocked. Xie Yuzhu had his hemp shirt open, and the footprint on his chest was even more swollen and bruised than yesterday, looking like a puffy bun.
"It's nothing," Xie Yuzhu whispered, "I used a little too much Wooden Red Flower..." His tone was light, but his smile was strained and tired. Wooden Red Flower is used to promote blood circulation and dispel bruises, but if used incorrectly or at the wrong time, it can cause the bruised area to swell and become more painful. As a mountain-man, Xie Yuzhu would know the proper use of the herb; he had done this intentionally. Xie Yuzhu knew he was just an ordinary man. His nephew was no longer ordinary, and if Su Yan wanted to take action, the only way he could help was by making his injuries look worse.
Su Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the emotion swelling in his heart: "Uncle, I'm taking you to see a doctor."
"Mm, alright." Xie Yuzhu nodded.
Su Yan helped Xie Yuzhu out and headed for the lizheng's ( village head's) house.
"Grandpa Lizheng," Su Yan called out into the courtyard. Soon, the old lizheng walked out. Seeing Su Yan helping Xie Yuzhu, he was shocked and urgently asked, "Yuzhu, what happened to you?"
Xie Yuzhu spoke with a muffled voice: "I don't know what that plague-ridden Zhao the Scabby kicked me with. I woke up, and it was swollen like this. Ah Yan wants to take me to the market to see Doctor Du. We wanted to borrow the cart."
"Sigh," the old lizheng sighed and cursed: "They're all bullies!" He then ordered: "Da Lang, go fetch the cart and take your Brother Zhu to the market with Brother Yan to see Doctor Du."
Everyone in Cloud-Front Village was related or at least had grown up playing together. Xie Yuzhu, by seniority, was the playmate of the lizheng's son, Zheng Penggang, who had always called him "Brother Zhu" or "Brother Yuzhu."
"I understand, Father." Zheng Penggang immediately went to fetch the cart in the yard, unloaded the miscellaneous items, swept it clean, and pushed it to Xie Yuzhu. "Brother Zhu, get on first. I'll push you." He looked indignant: "We should have beaten those bastards to death yesterday, the bloodsuckers."
Zheng Penggang put the pushcart straps over his shoulder and lifted the handles. "Father, you go back first. Don't worry, I'll definitely take Brother Zhu to Doctor Du." He instructed his father, then turned to Su Yan: "Brother Yan, hold your Uncle Xie steady."
One person pushed the cart, and the other supported Xie Yuzhu. They traveled along the small path toward the Mountain Market Town. The sun was just rising as they left the village, with occasional crowing still heard.
Meanwhile, in Niu Han's compound, Niu Dang had spent the night calling in the thugs from the village who followed Niu Han. About five or six young men, all in their twenties or thirties, woke up groggy, but their spirits lifted when they heard there would be drinking and business. Fearing the matter would be urgent the next day, Niu Dang also called in thugs from neighboring villages. By midnight or 2 or 3 AM, about twenty people had gathered in the courtyard.
Niu Han ordered two chickens and a sheep to be slaughtered. He briefly prepared food and wine, and they started drinking in the courtyard. To get people to work, one must be generous. Thus, those who were called in late at night didn't feel bothered and swore to Niu Han that they would handle the matter tomorrow morning. Everyone ate and drank, and the party was in full swing by the fifth watch (around 3 AM).
At that moment, the first rooster crowed, and the roosters in Niu Xin Village began to sing their high-pitched, staggered calls.
Hidden among the roof tiles, the Dark Water Centipede heard the crowing and began to move. Its thousand segmented legs rustled as it climbed down the rafter, descending from the beam.
Inside the room, only Zhao the Scabby and Niu Daqi and a few others remained, their snores like thunder. They were injured, so they couldn't drink and were resting in the room. One or two subordinates with poor tolerance for alcohol were also sitting on the floor by the bed, resting.
The Dark Water Centipede silently entered. They had no defense. It moved with a rustling sound, opened its hideous mouth, and bit the sleeping men.
It started with Zhao the Scabby on the bed, biting him on the neck.
"Ooh, ooh..." He woke up abruptly, but a large amount of blood rushed into his windpipe. He choked and gurgled, spitting foamy blood, unable to speak. Before he could even struggle, the poison invaded his body, and he died.
His struggle alerted Niu Daqi next to him.
"Damn you, Zhao the Scabby, you..." Before he could finish, a dark purple shadow lunged at his blurry, sleepy eyes. His eyes burned with pain, and he was bitten, his flesh mangled. His face instantly turned black and purple, and he quickly lost his breath.
The struggles finally woke the other people in the room.
"Centipede! There's a centipede!"
The remaining four or five men frantically scrambled up. The Dark Water Centipede was enraged. It began to kill, rushing straight at them. The men were either injured or drunk, and though they grabbed objects to smash it, they couldn't hit the centipede at all. The centipede sprayed venom like an arrow, injuring and killing them in short order, leaving them completely helpless.
One man grabbed a stool and desperately smashed it onto the centipede. The stool shattered with a loud crack. The man thought the centipede was dead but suddenly saw it leap out from beneath the broken pieces of the stool. It caught him off guard and bit through his throat.
The commotion inside the room caught the attention of the people outside. With a loud bang, the door was kicked open by Niu Han.
"What's going on?!"
Niu Han was holding a broadsword, his upper body bare, revealing a tattoo of a tiger descending the mountain on his thick arm. He stared wide-eyed, his face a mask of shock. The men inside the room, including Zhao the Scabby and the others, all collapsed on the ground. Those still alive writhed as if they'd suffered a stroke.
The Dark Water Centipede was voraciously devouring flesh and blood, its gruesome appearance making it look like a devil bug crawled out of hell.
"Where did this exotic bug come from?!"
Anger surged through him. The Dark Water Centipede finally caught the familiar scent and immediately turned its head. It suddenly shot two thin, arrow-like streams of venom straight at Niu Han's face.
A chill ran down Niu Han's spine. Three parts of his drunkenness instantly evaporated. He brought his broadsword up in front of him and turned his head to dodge. Most of the venom was blocked by the thick blade of the broadsword, and Niu Han managed to avoid the rest.
The subordinate who rushed in behind him became the unfortunate victim, taking the full force of the residual venom. His eyes were corroded, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming.
"You dare to attack!"
Niu Han was usually emboldened by alcohol, and now a surge of hot blood rushed to his head. He raised his broadsword and swung it at the Dark Water Centipede. This ferocious, mountain-descending bug would make excellent wine if he chopped it up. An exotic bug was no less valuable than a Treasure Plant.
He lunged forward. The Dark Water Centipede twisted its body and darted around the corpses, evading the fierce attack. The broadsword landed on the body of the subordinate who had just died, mangling his flesh.
The centipede attacked from the side, quickly moving up the broadsword and rushing towards Niu Han's right hand. Niu Han tried to swing the blade back, but the centipede had already climbed onto the handle. It was too late to retrieve the blade. Terrified, he instantly let go.
But the Dark Water Centipede had already leapt onto his hand.
Not good!
Niu Han's face contorted. He couldn't pull his hand back in time, and the pain instantly hit him. The centipede had bitten down, injecting a large amount of venom into his skin. He violently shook his hand, tearing off a large piece of flesh as the centipede bit down. His thumb and index finger were already mangled.
The centipede hit the ground hard but flipped back up, immediately shooting more venom. Niu Han, in pain, reacted much slower. Unable to dodge, half his face was splashed with venom. He stumbled backward, screaming in agony.
"Get the net!" The subordinates who rushed in finally found a large net, hoping to deal with the ferocious creature.
However, after successfully striking its target, the Dark Water Centipede had already burrowed under the bed and was climbing up the beam via the corner of the wall. The thugs, armed with fishing nets, baskets, and steel forks, could only stare at each other. The centipede was on the ceiling beam, where the nets and forks were useless. They didn't dare approach, afraid of being hit by the arrow-like venom.
"Save the boss first!" Someone shouted. They had no choice but to drag Niu Han out.
The group retreated from the room. The Dark Water Centipede vanished into the roof tiles, quietly heading back to the mountains. Outside the compound, the sky was just starting to turn gray; the sun was slowly rising.