Chapter 9

The next morning, after obtaining the search warrant, Ma Haibo invited me to go along with him. I shook my head and refused, saying I didn't want to go and see. Ma Haibo was uneasy, saying that without someone to keep the scene under control, there might be casualties among the comrades. I laughed and said, "You guys are the state's armed forces, all big and strong, carrying sticks and guns, and you're afraid of this?" However, after what happened yesterday, Ma Haibo's courage had truly diminished. He frankly admitted that he was scared because the feces he had passed in the toilet last night was black, and he had nightmares all night.

The leader of their team was the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team, a man in his forties. He also invited me, saying that Comrade Lu Zuo must go. He added that the comrades would never forget me. I said that I really wasn't putting on airs; in fact, I was genuinely a bit scared. They all considered me an expert in esoteric methods, but in truth, I was just a novice, and I didn't even have a master to guide me. She was a person who had been raised in a family with a long tradition of raising gu (poisonous insects), and if it weren't for the decades-old golden silkworm gu that my grandmother had raised inside me, and the fact that I had spent the previous nights reading that old book, I would have been done for long ago. How could I still be here, living it up?

Moreover, Luo Ermei seemed not only to be skilled in raising gu but also in raising ghosts. Who knew what else she could raise? In terms of her expertise in the witchcraft of Miaojiang, she was far superior to me. As for me, I was just a beneficiary of my ancestors' legacy.

Seeing my hesitation, Ma Haibo became even more uncomfortable. He tugged at my sleeve and asked, "Lu Zuo, be honest, is this mission dangerous? If it is, you should have said so earlier, so we could have been prepared." A young police officer standing nearby, looking nervous, said, "Boss, should we write our wills?"

They called their leaders "boss," and their boss, Deputy Captain Xing, was swallowing hard, looking at me expectantly.

Being surrounded by a group of big men made me feel uneasy, as if I were back in school, on stage, and being watched by a thousand people. At the same time, I felt a bit excited. Think about it: as a young man in my early twenties, seeing all those police officers in uniform, who usually drove around in police cars, now gathered around me like elementary school students, what kind of feeling would that be? During my time working in the south, I had dealt with their colleagues (actually just auxiliary police officers), who were all arrogant and condescending. But now... hehe.

My mind heated up, and I vaguely agreed.

Looking back now, I was really too young then. If I hadn't agreed and returned alone, would I have avoided a lifelong enemy? Would my life have changed, and would the series of events that followed not have happened?

But life is full of surprises.

********

There were always people on duty watching the madman's house. After Deputy Captain Xing confirmed there were no abnormalities, he announced the start of the operation.

I walked in the middle of the group, my mind constantly recalling the contents of the "Twelve Methods of Suppressing the Mountains" (PS: The name is too long, so I'll just call it the old book from now on. I call it the old book because it is really old and worn out). There was too much content, and I had only memorized the chapter on raising gu and some miscellaneous parts. I was trying hard to recall them now.

Even at the last minute, it's better to be prepared.

I still ran to the same house as yesterday and got the bull's tears. Seeing my caution, the others also smeared some on their eyelids. Soon, we arrived outside Wang Baosong's house in the village and met up with the police officers who had been monitoring the situation.

With so many strangers gathered, the two local dogs from the neighboring house started barking wildly. Ma Haibo, who had been standing next to me, pulled me and said, "Lu Zuo, why do I feel such a heavy, eerie atmosphere in this house?" I looked up and saw black mist rising from the old wooden house, enveloping it. The wind carried a pungent, salty, and sour smell, which was indeed very ominous.

We, who had come from the base and had smeared bull's tears on our eyelids, all had furrowed brows and serious expressions, while the police officers who had been on duty here looked at us curiously, asking, "Where? Where?"

It was a cloudy day, and the morning sun had not come up. A cold wind blew from the mountain, making us feel chilled. The old hands like Ma Haibo were hesitant, but among the seven or eight people at the front door, there were always those with strong blood and no fear of evil. With Deputy Captain Xing's order, two young police officers broke the door down.

I was about to go in when I heard a startled cry from inside, followed by two gunshots.

The two young police officers ran out as if fleeing, their clothes covered with seven or eight colorful centipedes, each about two fingers long. They screamed like pigs being slaughtered and rolled on the ground. The centipedes were wriggling, their shiny shells giving off a disgusting glow. The police officers quickly slapped them off and stomped on them. The centipedes were fragile, and when stepped on, they oozed white and black fluids, emitting a foul smell.

After a flurry of activity, the centipedes were finally dead, but the two young police officers who had fallen to the ground had turned purple and black, convulsing.

I squatted down to examine them and found several bite marks of various sizes on their bodies, oozing black, pus-like blood. "Lu Zuo, you must save them!" Seeing their skin hot and their bodies shaking, with more breaths out than in, Ma Haibo placed all his hopes on me. I was at a loss; gu is usually无形无味, and who knew that the person inside would release centipedes. This was not witchcraft but the control of animals and insects, something I knew nothing about.

The young police officer who had been bitten the most was rolling his eyes, about to die. A tall police officer, holding a gun, was ready to rush in again: "Damn it, let's fight her, capture her to detoxify, or kill her to avenge Xiao Li!" I felt a jolt of fear and quickly stopped him, saying I had a way, and we shouldn't act rashly. They all looked at me, asking anxiously what to do.

I said seriously, "Today, you must not tell anyone about what I do, and you must not write it in your reports."

Deputy Captain Xing agreed immediately: "High person, high person, please, I promise not to tell anyone." The others nodded in agreement.

Why did I say this? Because I suddenly remembered something. In the realm of biological toxins, gu is both the source and the solution to all poisons. If it was just a bite and didn't involve spiritual matters, perhaps the golden silkworm gu could help. I could now communicate slightly with the golden silkworm gu, and it conveyed that it could help, and it seemed quite happy about it.

I remembered that the golden silkworm gu's food was poison, especially gu poison, which it particularly loved.

Seeing that they had all agreed, I sat cross-legged and, following the method in the old book, clasped my hands together and silently chanted: "Please, spirit of the golden silkworm, appear. Please, spirit of the golden silkworm, appear..." After about ten repetitions, I felt a lump in my throat, and a slippery object emerged from my mouth. I opened my mouth, and the plump golden silkworm shot out, landing on the wrist of the most severely injured person, who had the deepest toxins, and began to suck the pus and blood from the wounds.

Although I knew that this little creature lived inside me, seeing it in person made me want to vomit my dinner from last night. But I couldn't vomit; if I didn't hold it in, my reputation as a high person would be ruined. I forced myself to watch the little thing crawl around on the two injured police officers, my face pale.

Worse still, a fat police officer next to me said, "How cute..."

This comment made me want to die of embarrassment and cover my face.

As the golden silkworm gu absorbed the toxins, the two people on the ground began to look better, though still very pale, they were no longer as black. After about two minutes, the golden silkworm gu had crawled over both of their wounds, its movements becoming sluggish. It then crawled to the ground and started eating the crushed centipede corpses. It had a good appetite, and its eating habits were as unappealing as mine. I asked a few people to help the two young police officers to a nearby rock and said, "They should be fine now."

Deputy Captain Xing, holding my hand, was so moved that tears streamed down his face: "Lu Zuo, thank you so much."

I said it was nothing and turned to look at the wooden house. A few police officers were on guard with their guns, but they didn't dare to enter. I thought, since I had helped them this far, I should finish the job, so I called out loudly, "Old lady inside, it's me, Lu Zuo, the one who came to see you yesterday. Please don't release any more insects to harm others."

The wooden door was closed, and the windows were dark. After a long while, a strange voice spoke: "Young man, it seems you are really Long Laolan's grandson."

This voice was not human but sounded like the buzzing of mosquitoes and the crawling of insects, strange but clear.

I said, "Yes, I am. The old people in the village say you have never harmed anyone in your life. Why are you doing this now in your old age?" She sighed but didn't speak. I continued, "Do you feel that the government wronged your son, wronged Brother Baosong?" She sighed again and, after a moment, said, "Young man, your grandmother's lineage and our family have some connection. Among the eighteen caves and thirty-two entrances of the Miao people, only our two families are in Pingdong, the gateway to the mountains. I see you also raise the golden silkworm gu. Let's have a competition. If you win, I will surrender."

I said, "Old lady, isn't that unfair? If you want to compete, compete with my grandmother, not with me, a young man."

She laughed, a sound like a night owl, which was very unsettling.

After a while, she asked if I would compete.

I looked at Deputy Captain Xing and the others, who nodded and said, "Yes, let's compete." They thought I would win, with ten guns around the house, what was there to be afraid of? Before I could speak, the wooden door suddenly opened, and a cold wind blew out, raising dust. I instinctively took a step back. Before I could react, the golden silkworm gu, which had been eating the centipede corpses and licking the blood, suddenly spread its limp wings, flapped them, and shot into the house.

Deputy Captain Xing, Ma Haibo, and the other police officers with guns looked at me with admiration.

I looked at the dark room inside the house, expressionless, and said nothing.

I knew they admired my ability to command such a small creature, but they didn't know that the little thing didn't listen to me at all and had just rushed in on its own.

There was no sound from inside the house, and it was too dark to see anything. I just felt a thread of consciousness connecting to me, moving rapidly, entangling, and biting... All these actions were transmitted to my mind through some unknown medium, making me feel very confused. After a few minutes, the golden silkworm gu flew back, circling in front of me proudly. I saw that it seemed a bit bigger, and I felt a strange sense of fullness in my stomach.

The golden silkworm gu landed on my shoulder and then crawled up my neck, preparing to enter my mouth.

Thinking of how it had just sucked pus and eaten centipede corpses, my stomach churned, and I quickly covered my mouth and nose to prevent it from entering. It wriggled on my hand, looking at me with its black, beady eyes, and I felt a bit soft-hearted. However, I was still repulsed and refused to let go. Seeing my determination, it gave up on communicating with me and crawled back down my hand. Its body was cool, like jade, and it didn't smell bad; it even had a sandalwood scent.

I thought it had given up, but then I felt a tickle in my anus, and something started to enter. My stomach tightened.

It finally returned home, and I was in tears, vowing never to let it come out of my mouth again.

From inside the house, an old woman's mournful voice said, "I never thought Long Laolan would really cultivate the golden silkworm gu. Ah, this is fate, this is fate!" The sound of the insects and the flapping wings had disappeared, and then came her uncontrollable sobs, faint but clear.

Deputy Captain Xing looked at me and asked if we could start.

I knew he wanted to know if the poisonous insects had been cleared. Seeing his respectful and fearful expression, I felt a sense of satisfaction. Seeing the black mist in the wooden house dissipate and hearing Luo Ermei's acceptance of her fate, I nodded and said, "Yes, go in, but be careful of her nails."

As I said this, my ears felt hot, and I turned to see the young man named Qing Yazi, who I had seen yesterday, standing at the gate with a chipped wooden lunch box, glaring at me and the public safety experts who had broken in, with intense hostility.

{Piaotian Literature}