“Ahh!”
The venomous snake’s bite was extremely painful, and Shui Miao couldn’t help but cry out. He quickly tore the snake off his arm, slammed it onto the ground, and crushed it underfoot. “Damn it! Old man, you’re cheating, using these things again! Don’t you have any real skills?”
Shui Miao had expected some sinister martial art.
Instead, it was just a snake. He’d encountered nothing but snakes these past couple of days!
These snakes were extremely venomous creatures from the mountains, known as the Ten-Step Snake. After being bitten, one could only take ten steps before the blood coagulated, the body stiffened, and death became inevitable. For ordinary villagers, these snakes were pure nightmares. As soon as Shui Miao finished speaking, he felt his arm go numb and immobile, the poison rapidly spreading through his bloodstream.
Seeing the venom take effect, Old Man Long was overjoyed. To be safe, he took another bamboo basket and hurled a giant spider onto Shui Miao! This was the famous Ghost-Faced Spider from the Miao region, named for the skull-like pattern on its back. Its venom was extremely potent, capable of destroying the nervous system and even causing paralysis. Zhang Ling had once been bitten by this very spider.
The Ghost-Faced Spider crawled onto Shui Miao’s other hand and bit down decisively!
As the venom took hold, Shui Miao collapsed to the ground, convulsing…
Seeing this, Old Man Long exhaled in relief. Spitting contemptuously at Shui Miao, he sneered, “You little bastard! I thought you were some big shot, but you’re nothing special! Still trying to show off? I’ll show you how to show off! Show off this!” Old Man Long poured the snake basket and the Ghost-Faced Spider basket onto Shui Miao’s body. Dozens of venomous snakes and seven or eight giant spiders crawled onto Shui Miao, biting him repeatedly.
These snakes and spiders had all been raised by Old Man Long himself, and they would bite anyone without hesitation.
“Zhang Ling…”
Hearing the cry, Ma Po tried to hold her back, but the young bride struggled through and rushed in. Her sisters followed closely, lifting the curtain to see Shui Miao lying on the ground, covered in venomous snakes and spiders. Seeing this, Ma Po hurriedly tried to pull the young bride away, but she broke free, pulling out a pair of scissors to fight Old Man Long to the death.
Seeing the scissors, Old Man Long immediately thought of his nether regions and felt a sharp pain shoot through him!
“Good! You’re all here! So it really was you behind this! Today, I’ll make sure none of you leave alive!”
Old Man Long reached for the red string. Just as he was about to pull it, he suddenly saw Shui Miao move. Shui Miao stood up, saying “That felt great!” and grabbed a woodcutter’s knife from a startled girl. He swiftly killed all the snakes and spiders, then licked his lips and smiled at Old Man Long. “Any more tricks? Don’t tell me you only know how to use insects.”
“This is impossible! How did you do that? Why aren’t you dead yet?” Old Man Long stared at Shui Miao like he was some monster, completely unable to believe what he was seeing. After all, the combined venom of the snakes and spiders should have been absolutely lethal—enough to kill a hundred men. Yet this person was not only alive, but seemingly unaffected. This made Old Man Long question whether this person was even human.
“Alright, I’ll tell you. Actually, I’m the true heir of the Poison Witch lineage. In my eyes, your skills are nothing more than an apprentice’s level.” Shui Miao smirked. “Take the pus on your hand for example. Come here, let me give you some pointers, so this frog in the well can finally understand that there’s always someone stronger, and a sky beyond every sky.”
“…”
Old Man Long had always been obsessed with poison techniques. Hearing Shui Miao’s words, he couldn’t help but feel intrigued and instinctively extended his pus-covered hand.
Shui Miao examined Old Man Long’s hand and shook his head. “Didn’t you use lizard urine?”
This was something Shui Miao had made up on the spot.
Old Man Long was immediately confused. “What? What’s lizard urine for?”
Shui Miao looked up at the rafters. “Ha! Quick, look, there’s a big one up there!”
Old Man Long instinctively looked up, and in that moment, Shui Miao swung his knife. With a “thud,” Old Man Long’s pus-covered hand was severed.
“Hehe, now I’ve helped cure you.”
Shui Miao stood up and overturned the reclining chair. “Hmph! You still wanted to pull the red string to release your poison insects. You evil man, you really are the worst, trying to endanger the entire village?”
Old Man Long had originally been covered with a black cloth. Once it was thrown off, everyone could see his lower body was covered in blood. The wound on his abdomen from the scissors had reopened from the fall, and blood began flowing again. Combined with his severed hand, blood spurted out as he writhed in pain, cursing, “You little bastard! You damn little bastard! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”
“Kill me?”
Shui Miao picked up the woodcutter’s knife again, stepped on Old Man Long’s other hand, and grinned. “If you hadn’t reminded me, I almost forgot—if I don’t cripple someone like you, you might actually find a way to fight me to the death. So I’d better strike first…”
“Crack!”
With one powerful swing, Shui Miao severed Old Man Long’s other hand!
“Ahh!”
A scream echoed as Old Man Long screamed hysterically, “Who the hell are you? If you’ve got the guts, leave your name!”
“I’m called… Zhang Ling.”
Shui Miao hesitated slightly, thinking he should say that, since he was avenging Zhang Ling.
Old Man Long wasn’t stupid and naturally knew Shui Miao was lying. Enraged, he began cursing Shui Miao’s mother. Hearing this, Shui Miao hardened his heart, drew his knife, and was about to castrate him. However, when he pulled down Old Man Long’s pants, he was stunned and immediately exclaimed, “Oh my! Who was so eager and beat me to it? Well, I guess I can always add a few more cuts to your wounds…”
Shui Miao wasn’t this cruel by nature, but who asked Old Man Long to curse his mother?
So, the woodcutter’s knife came down directly onto the wound…
Looking at Old Man Long lying there, bleeding profusely and barely alive, Shui Miao stood up and asked, “Who has fire?”
“I…”
“I do…”
“I also have it…”
Everyone spoke up, pulling out flint stones. Even Ma Po took out her flint.
So, Shui Miao set fire to the bamboo house. As the flames roared to life, Old Man Long suddenly laughed. Laughing bitterly, he roared, “You think you’ve won, grandson… I’ll tell you, our feud has only just begun! You’d better destroy my soul tonight, or else I’ll show you the most terrifying aspect of the Poison Witch techniques—the Ghost Poison!”
“Oh? Ghost Poison, huh?” Shui Miao grinned. “Alright then, starting tonight, I’ll wait for you at the spot where you stole Zhang Ling’s body. Remember to come possess me, and don’t disappoint me again.”
After saying this, Shui Miao turned and walked away.
The young bride and the other women were surrounding the dry grass around the mosquito nets, preparing to burn all the poison insects.
Shui Miao walked onto the road, looking back at the growing fire, feeling no fear for having taken lives. Instead, he felt he had done something incredibly good, feeling deeply satisfied and fulfilled.
“Shui Miao, you’re really ruthless. I admire you completely. But the matter isn’t over yet—the Black Snake Demon is still out there…” Ma Po ran up to Shui Miao, changing her term from “Black Dragon God” to “Black Snake Demon.” “I want to ask you, please help us completely. Do a good deed and see it through to the end. Help the village defeat the Black Snake Demon!”
Ma Po spoke with intense hatred, convinced that the “Immortal” had already been destroyed by the Black Snake Demon.
Therefore, she wanted to ask Shui Miao, this killer star, to help her take revenge.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage