Chapter 477: Ingrained Bad Habits

A person’s character is shaped by both genetic inheritance and environmental influences.

Shui Miao, born into a poor family, took on responsibilities at an early age. After experiencing that “dream,” his mind matured far beyond that of ordinary people, making him truly extraordinary.

Yao Ye, however, was raised in luxury, indulged and allowed to do as he pleased. He frequently associated with idlers and hooligans in society and rarely received any positive guidance. As a result, his personality became biased and narrow-minded, causing upright people to hold him in disdain. Over time, he received even less positive influence.

This is why the ancients said, “If a child is not properly raised and educated, it is the parents’ fault; if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will surely follow.”

The story of Mencius’s mother moving house three times certainly has its wisdom.

After hearing Shui Miao’s words, Yao Ye felt admiration in his heart. When Shui Miao grabbed his hand, he no longer resisted so strongly.

“Damn it! For the Master’s sake, I’ll let you off today.”

Yao Ye shouted at the bald manager and then grabbed a shovel and a hammer from Xiao Zhang and others.

Yao Kang was clever. Seeing Shui Miao speak up, he quickly helped the bald manager to his feet. Under the halo of honor as a martyr’s family, Yao Kang echoed Shui Miao’s magnanimity and spoke generously.

The bald manager was deeply moved. Immediately, he took off his shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and, along with two assistants, began helping Yao Kang’s family build the tomb.

The bald manager’s name was Zhang Cheng. Originally a professional pig farmer, he lost his entire herd of hundreds to swine fever six months ago. Overnight, his entire fortune vanished, leaving him in debt to the tune of more than 100,000 yuan. To repay his debts, he sold his pig farm. To support his family, he used connections to secure a position as the cemetery manager. He made a good profit by manipulating the price differences in selling gravesites. Just when his life was becoming more comfortable, he suddenly encountered Shui Miao, who threatened to expose the cemetery and ruin his job while holding him accountable for negligence. That was why Zhang Cheng was so terrified he fell to his knees begging for mercy.

Only those who have experienced great ups and downs can truly appreciate the value of hard-earned work.

Shui Miao saw how difficult Zhang Cheng’s life had been and thus stopped Yao Ye in time.

Through this incident, Shui Miao also gained insight: everyone makes mistakes, and mercy should be shown where possible. Sometimes giving someone a second chance can save an entire family’s happiness.

With the conflict resolved, it was now time for Shui Miao to work.

Shui Miao asked Yao Kang to buy miner’s lamps. The group went to the back of the tomb, where Shui Miao used the lamp to shine into the dark holes, inspecting the interior one by one.

As a result, Shui Miao made another shocking discovery.

The tomb was damp and moss-covered. Shui Miao also found a small black jar in every corner of the tomb. Hidden so well that only a careful search could uncover them. The jars’ mouths were sealed with black cloth, and their contents were unknown. Shui Miao carefully examined the dark holes and, suspecting they might contain insect eggs or something similar, asked Yao Kang to fetch some gasoline, or alternatively, white liquor, laundry detergent, or vinegar to deal with the situation.

Zhang Cheng volunteered, saying there were pesticide sprayers in the warehouse that would work better for spraying inside the holes.

Yao Ye volunteered to go buy supplies, while Zhang Cheng sent Xiao Zhang to fetch the sprayer.

Shui Miao found a stick and carefully pried one of the black jars from the corner of the rear tomb. Using two sticks, he cautiously carried the jar to a wide, open cement area.

Two yellow talismans were pasted on the jar’s side, each drawn with ghost-like patterns.

Shui Miao did not rush to pierce the black cloth sealing the jar. Instead, he placed the jar in the sun for a while and went to retrieve the other jars.

“It’s moving, it’s moving… there’s something inside moving!”

Before long, Yao Kang, who was watching the jar, suddenly shouted.

Hearing this, everyone quickly gathered around.

Shui Miao noticed the black cloth sealing the jar was being pushed from within, moving slightly, causing everyone to recoil in fear.

“If I’m not mistaken, these should be insects. Everyone, be careful.”

Shui Miao asked Yao Kang to fetch some gasoline from the car.

At this moment, Xiao Zhang arrived with the sprayer.

Shui Miao poured the gasoline into the sprayer and first sprayed the jar. If any insects emerged, he would set them on fire.

However, as Shui Miao sprayed gasoline onto the jar, the black cloth covering it suddenly bulged violently. With a “pop,” a hole appeared in the cloth, and a black, grotesque insect’s head emerged… Its head was thicker than a thumb.

Seeing this, everyone again recoiled in fear.

Shui Miao, carrying the sprayer, cautiously stepped back a few paces.

“Master, shall I light it now?”

Yao Kang, holding a lighter in one hand and a gasoline-soaked cloth in the other, looked very tense.

“Not yet. Everyone, move upwind first. I need to see what kind of insect this is. Only by identifying it can I determine what the person who did this was trying to achieve.”

As Shui Miao spoke, the black insect emerged from the torn cloth. One leg, two legs, three legs…

“Is it a bedbug?”

Xiao Zhang, who wore glasses, squinted and asked doubtfully.

Zhang Cheng quickly responded, “No, there’s no way bedbugs can be this big. It’s a centipede!”

“Damn it! It’s not a centipede; it has wings!”

Xiao Liu, with better eyesight, spotted the wings on the insect’s back.

“Light it!”

Seeing the wings, Shui Miao immediately told Yao Kang to ignite the fire.

“Click, click, click…”

When things go wrong, even drinking cold water can cause a toothache. Yao Kang pressed the lighter hard but couldn’t ignite it no matter what.

Seeing this, everyone pulled out their lighters and finally lit the cloth. Yao Kang quickly threw the cloth but missed the target!

Everyone sighed in disappointment.

As Yao Kang picked up a stick to adjust the burning cloth, the black insect had already crawled onto the ground. The cement was hot from the sun, and after crawling a few steps, the insect quickly retreated, crawling back onto the jar and slowly spreading its wings.

“It’s going to fly! Quick, it’s going to fly!”

Everyone shouted.

Yao Kang wanted to adjust the cloth again but was afraid of the insect, caught between advancing and retreating, hesitating.

In an emergency, Shui Miao quickly used the sprayer to spray the gasoline mist, igniting the fire. At the moment the black insect took flight, it was engulfed in flames.

It didn’t fly far before falling to the ground. Shui Miao sprayed gasoline several more times, burning it until it curled up, emitting thick, foul-smelling black smoke.

The insect was dead, and everyone was drenched in cold sweat.

Shui Miao used a stick to tip over the jar and found a bamboo slip inside, bearing writing. Moreover, there was a round hole at the bottom of the jar.

Yao Kang squatted down to look and saw the name Yao Jun written on the bamboo slip, followed by Yao Jun’s birth date and time.

“So it was aimed at Yao Jun!”

“No way, this is a big deal. I need to call him and make him pay for this.”

Seeing the chance to recover the money, Yao Kang was visibly excited and immediately took out his phone to call.

At this moment, Yao Ye returned on a tricycle, carrying dozens of bags of laundry detergent and two cases of white liquor.

For the insect to grow so large, it must have had food. Shui Miao suspected there were other insects inside the tomb hole, feeding this winged black centipede.

Shui Miao poured white liquor and laundry detergent into the tomb hole. Soon, white worms emerged from under the moss, extremely disgusting.

Seeing this, Shui Miao felt his scalp tingling.

Everyone else was equally disgusted and terrified.

However, Shui Miao now understood the opponent’s tactics: using moss to feed white worms, then using the white worms to feed black centipedes. The black centipedes crawled out through the hole at the bottom of the jar to eat the worms, using the jar as their home. Inside the jar was a bamboo slip with Yao Jun’s birth date and time. Imagine someone living day after day with such a disgusting insect—how could life go on?

“Master, Yao Jun is sick. He’s in the hospital, apparently suffering from a parasitic disease. His wife answered the phone just now.”

Yao Kang put down the phone, his face pale with shock.

Everyone was horrified upon hearing this.

Shui Miao took a deep breath and sighed, “Sorcery is indeed sinister. Uncle Yao, although the main victim is Yao Jun, because you are from the same clan, you have also been somewhat affected. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have noticed the dark, resentful aura on your foreheads. This matter involves a wide scope, and my time is limited. We should quickly consider how to handle the aftermath. As for tracking down the culprit, I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Yes, yes, Master, you can rest assured. That brat Yao Jun must pay. If he doesn’t, I won’t let him off.”

Yao Kang immediately turned around and asked Yao Ye to record everything with his phone as evidence.

At this moment, Dai Jun, the cemetery’s overall manager, arrived.

Zhang Cheng explained the situation, and Dai Jun quickly apologized to Yao Kang, who didn’t hold a grudge, only asking for proper resolution.

However, Yao Ye’s eyes flickered, and he pulled his father aside, whispering, “Dad, you’re being foolish!”

“Foolish? How am I being foolish?” Yao Kang was puzzled.

Yao Ye quickly explained, “They were targeting Yao Jun. We’re spending money to clean up after him. Once everything is resolved, do you think Yao Jun will believe you? Even if he does, with his stinginess, do you think he’ll pay you much? Although we’re from the same family, we can’t be the fools here! If we spend so much money fixing things and he refuses to pay us back, what can we do?”

Yao Ye not only had money on his mind but also devised a plan to profit further.

Hearing his son’s words, Yao Kang’s eyes flickered, feeling that his son made sense. “Son, then what should we do?”

“What else? Let’s put this on hold and wait for Yao Jun to return. Let’s first get rid of the Master. After all, we now know how to deal with these insects. We can invite a TV crew to film the evidence. After all, the one suffering is Yao Jun, and it has little to do with us. If Yao Jun refuses to compensate us, we can sue the cemetery for negligence and demand they pay us a few hundred thousand. That way, we can actually profit.” Yao Ye’s eyes gleamed with cunning. “Also, Dad, don’t trust the Master too much. He tells you to be magnanimous, but does he reduce his fees for you?”

“Right!”

Yao Kang slapped his forehead, feeling his son’s words were very reasonable. His thoughts shifted, and he began to regret, muttering to himself, “This time, I really got taken by that brat, earning him twenty thousand for nothing and even taking my car…”

“Hmph!”

Yao Ye smirked, hatching an evil plan, sinisterly saying, “I have my ways to make him spit the money back out.”