Huang Shitou held the lamp, shining it around nervously, fearing the centipede might come back to life. He asked Liu Dashao, “Master Liu, what kind of centipede is this?”
Liu Dashao sighed and said, “I bet it’s the offspring of that coffin board creature! This centipede laid its eggs on this dog!”
Huang Shitou was startled, “We killed its child—won’t its mother come charging in for revenge from outside?”
Liu Dashao replied, “But the door is well blocked… Oh my ancestors!”
This sudden exclamation startled Fan Debiao so much that he dropped to the ground in shock. Ge Shuanwa was using his clothes to tightly wrap Su Yougui’s arm to stop the blood flow. When Su Yougui saw Liu Dashao cry out like that, he thought he must be beyond treatment, and tears began to stream down his face.
Fan Debiao looked around and saw nothing strange. He grumbled, “Master Liu, how many times must I tell you not to overreact for no reason!”
Sweat poured down Liu Dashao’s face like raindrops. Suddenly, he asked, “Which of you can tell the gender of a centipede? Was the one outside male or female?”
Ge Shuanwa thought for a moment and said, “If you look carefully during the day, you can tell. But in this dim light at night, I couldn’t possibly tell!”
Fan Debiao clapped his hands, “I’ve been so confused by all of you… What difference does it make whether the one outside is male or female? Right now, we should be worrying whether Su Yougui can survive the poison! Are you planning to set the centipede up on a date so it will let us go?”
“No!” Liu Dashao slowly shook his head and said solemnly, “I was thinking—if the one outside is male, there might be a female centipede still inside here with us!”
This sentence struck like thunder on a clear day, shocking everyone to their core. Fan Debiao was the first to crouch down, hugging his head, “Damn, what a life…”
As the group was gripped with fear, they noticed the stench in the room growing stronger, making them feel increasingly nauseous. Ge Shuanwa finished wrapping Su Yougui’s arm and took off the lampshade. Grabbing a kitchen knife, he began heating it over the flame. Su Yougui, trembling with fear, asked, “Brother Ge, what are you doing?”
Without turning his head, Ge Shuanwa replied, “Draining your blood to remove the poison!”
Su Yougui’s eyes rolled back as he cried out, “Oh my God!”
Fan Debiao, suffocating from the stench, said, “Master Liu, can we move this mess somewhere else? This stink might kill someone!”
Liu Dashao was listening intently to the surrounding sounds and suddenly put his finger to his lips, signaling everyone to stay silent. The group exchanged anxious glances, sweat pouring from their faces.
Suddenly, Huang Shitou turned pale and said, “Listen! There’s something!” They all felt an eerie rustling sound approaching, like the sound of silkworms chewing mulberry leaves, yet somehow unsettling. Their hearts pounded in their chests. Ge Shuanwa dragged Su Yougui to the altar table in front of the statue and said, “Watch out for yourselves. I’ll help Su Yougui drain the poison first…”
Liu Dashao nodded in understanding.
Su Yougui’s face turned pale as he asked anxiously, “Brother Ge, there’s really no other way?”
Ge Shuanwa’s face darkened as he scolded, “You dare ask that!” He placed Su Yougui’s arm on the altar table, preparing to cut. Su Yougui looked over and saw the severed head of the corpse staring at him, and silently cursed Huang Shitou, “Why did you go and chop its head off for no reason?”
Fan Debiao had already turned on the miner’s lamp and was waving it toward the source of the sound. Everyone’s hearts were pounding. Ge Shuanwa coldly told Su Yougui, “Brace yourself!” and slashed the knife down.
“Ahhhh… my God!” Two voices cried out simultaneously—one was Su Yougui’s, tears and snot pouring out from the pain; the other was Fan Debiao’s, who was so frightened he crouched on the ground, the light from his lamp flickering wildly. Liu Dashao impatiently grabbed his hand and shone the light toward a stone wall above. Suddenly, a wave of urine surged up, and he wet his pants.
There, a centipede as wide as a bench was slowly emerging from a crack in the stone wall. Its head was nearly as big as Fan Debiao’s. Hu Beikang felt his heart sink as he muttered, “Oh my dear ancestors, the female really came out!”
On Su Yougui’s arm, blood spurted out—probably half a jin of black blood, most of which splattered onto the ancient corpse. Su Yougui felt dizzy and nearly collapsed.
The centipede moved unusually slowly, twisting a few times before fully revealing its head. Now everyone could see clearly—it was another coffin board centipede! Liu Dashao was shocked but his mind raced quickly. Grabbing the kerosene lamp from Huang Shitou’s hand, he hurled it toward the centipede’s head. Amid the startled cries, the lamp smashed against the stone crack below, instantly igniting a fire.
The centipede, unaccustomed to such chaos, was suddenly hit by a wave of heat, its two antennae nearly singed. It quickly retreated. Liu Dashao shouted, “Quickly find something to block that hole! If it comes out again, we’re done for!”
Like headless flies, the group searched frantically. Everything was either a pillar or small stones—nothing suitable for blocking the hole.
Ge Shuanwa was still hurriedly bandaging Su Yougui’s wound when he suddenly shouted, “Right, the altar table! The altar table!”
As if waking from a dream, the others rushed over, pushed the corpse aside, and tried to move the table. But the table was made of cast iron, weighing at least four or five hundred jin. Not an inch could it be budged.
Liu Dashao ran to the fire, watching it gradually die down, desperately wishing he could jump into it to reignite. He threw more pillars into the flames and tossed stones into the crack, trying to buy more time. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he shouted, “You all take off some clothes and let Huang Shitou pee on them!”
Fan Debiao and the others were still struggling with the altar table when they heard this and asked in confusion, “What? Who? Pee on what?”
Liu Dashao shouted, “If the centipede comes out again and sprays poison mist, you’ll all die! Virgin boy’s urine can neutralize the poison. Cover your noses with wet clothes, and you might last a little longer!”
Now Fan Debiao understood. In his urgency, he didn’t even take time to undress but tore off his clothes directly. Hu Beikang also took off his clothes and threw them on the ground. Everyone except Ge Shuanwa had stripped. Hu Beikang grabbed Huang Shitou and shouted, “Quick, quick, pee!”
Huang Shitou was overwhelmed, “What? I just gave blood, and now you want my urine too?”
Fan Debiao yanked down his pants, “Don’t argue with me! Pee now, or I’ll cut your thing off!”
The men stared at Huang Shitou’s crotch, making him almost cry, “You’re all watching me—I can’t pee like this!”
Fan Debiao was furious, “You little brat, you can’t even pee when I tell you to! Are you trying to kill me with frustration?” He was so angry he almost tried to squeeze the urine out of Huang Shitou himself.
Just then, thick smoke billowed from behind. Liu Dashao rushed over in panic, shouting, “Bad news! The wood won’t burn—it smothered the fire! Once the smoke clears, the centipede will come out!”
Fan Debiao said despairingly, “Master Liu, maybe we should run outside. Either way, we’re surrounded by centipedes. I don’t want to die here, never to be found again…” He began to cry as he spoke.
Liu Dashao replied, “Inside, we’re guarding against the centipede. Outside, the centipede will guard against us. At least in here we have some defense. Don’t run out unless it’s absolutely necessary. Oh my God, Huang Shitou, how come you can’t even pee yet? Hurry up! The centipede is about to come out!”
At this moment, Hu Beikang started whistling again, “Shhh… Shhh…”
Huang Shitou’s face turned red, but not a drop of urine came out. Fan Debiao, furious, was about to grab Huang Shitou’s crotch when he suddenly heard a sound.
It seemed there was a ventilation opening above the cave, and in a short while, the smoke had mostly cleared. Liu Dashao was anxious and frustrated when he saw Huang Shitou’s face suddenly pale, followed by a stream of urine pouring out! Hu Beikang laughed happily, “I told you my method of coaxing a kid to pee is the best!” But Huang Shitou was pointing ahead, saying, “Tha… that… per… son… is… alive…” while peeing nonstop.
The group heard the sound of ropes snapping, and a bad feeling gripped their hearts. Looking up, they saw the ancient corpse, which had been hanging by the neck, suddenly stand up on its own.
Then came another rustling sound. They turned toward the crack and saw the scorched female centipede peeking out again.
Fan Debiao had once read about the Red Army being blocked in front and pursued from behind, and he thought, “What’s so impressive about that? I can just run faster.”
But now, in this cave, there was a two-meter-long centipede on the left, a corpse that had been dead for centuries but had now revived in front, and another two-meter-long centipede possibly lurking at the cave entrance outside. He suddenly felt hopeless, wishing he could just die quickly and be at peace.
Liu Dashao shouted, “Tear the clothes and wrap them around your mouths and noses! Watch out for the centipede’s poison spray!” The group scrambled to cover their mouths and noses with the urine-soaked clothes. As soon as they wrapped the clothes, they felt slightly relieved, never before realizing how good urine could smell.
The centipede, probably never having suffered such a defeat before, sensed their presence and immediately crawled toward them. The ground was filled with flying ash, creating a terrifying scene. The group was startled and quickly dodged to the side. Su Yougui, still dizzy, suddenly found strength from somewhere, jumping probably two meters away. When he landed, he saw the headless corpse swaying right in front of him, scaring him into a scream. He rolled to the left again. Seeing the centipede’s incredible speed, everyone’s hearts sank, but the ancient corpse was much slower. Fan Debiao, thinking quickly, shouted, “Dodge the centipede first, then the corpse!”
Everyone thought this was a good idea. As Fan Debiao dodged the centipede and darted past the corpse like a butterfly weaving through flowers, the others were about to cheer. But then the corpse “whooshed” and turned around, its two hands grabbing Fan Debiao’s shoulders.
“Ah my God!” Fan Debiao felt as if his shoulders had been struck by iron rods, causing him to scream in pain. Looking closely, he saw the black insects on the corpse’s neck had turned dark red, standing upright. Several of the insects were emerging from his arms. These insects seemed to know where Fan Debiao was, their thin, worm-like heads slowly approaching him.
How had these insects come back to life? This sight terrified Fan Debiao to the point of losing his mind. But then a leg shot from under his ribs, directly hitting the ancient corpse’s chest. The corpse was pushed back several steps, finally releasing Fan Debiao. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Fan Debiao couldn’t speak. Looking beside him, he saw Huang Shitou, tears still in his eyes, standing stiffly.
Fan Debiao grabbed his hand and said, “Brother…” Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind him. Both of them realized something was wrong and quickly dodged to the sides. A dark, black centipede shot between them.
Liu Dashao bit open a cut on his hand, running while drawing a talisman to suppress the corpse on the kitchen knife. This time, he drew it with utmost sincerity. Although it wasn’t made with virgin blood, the spiritual energy wasn’t far off. He knew that with these two creatures around, no one would have a good outcome. Observing that the corpse wasn’t very fast and lacked the centipede’s ferocity, he decided he must first take down the corpse!
Fortunately, the chamber was relatively large. Liu Dashao darted past the centipede in a few quick steps and rushed behind the corpse, swinging the blood-drawn knife at it. With a “Peng” sound, it felt like hitting rotten wood. Liu Dashao looked at his hand and groaned—his blade had curled like a wave, but the corpse remained unscathed. Strange worms stood upright from the broken neck, trembling violently.
The corpse turned around swiftly, swinging its arm like an iron rod. Liu Dashao couldn’t possibly block such a strike and quickly jumped aside, nearly getting bitten by the centipede rushing from behind. His face turned pale with fear. As the corpse passed by, Liu Dashao saw clearly—it was covered in black blood, the same blood Su Yougui had sprayed out during the detoxification. A sudden realization struck him—could the worms come back to life upon contact with blood?
Ge Shuanwa and Hu Beikang each carried a kerosene lamp, the flickering flames threatening to go out at any moment as they ran. Liu Dashao’s heart leaped to his throat, shouting, “Don’t let the lamps go out! Those without lamps, help block!”
Hu Beikang’s voice was filled with tears, “Master Liu, how long do we have to keep running like this… I can’t go on!”
Huang Shitou had stopped crying and was furious, cursing, “Damn it, these two creatures have targeted us!”
Su Yougui suddenly remembered something in his bag and said, “Master Liu, what if we use a detonator?”
Fan Debiao roared angrily, “You idiot! Using a detonator will kill us all!”
Ge Shuanwa was panting from running, “Why are these two things after us?”
This question struck Liu Dashao like thunder. A sudden thought flashed in his mind: The centipede had been burned by him and naturally wouldn’t forgive them. But why was the corpse after them? It must be the worms on its body causing the trouble. But what grudge did they have with the worms?
There was no time for hesitation. He shouted loudly, “You all run toward the door and listen carefully—run together!” Then, using his agility, he charged toward the centipede chasing Hu Beikang and Fan Debiao, slashing the centipede’s rear with his knife. With a loud “Peng,” the centipede turned its head around. The two who had escaped rushed to the hidden door, joining the other three who had already arrived. They didn’t understand what Liu Dashao was planning.
The centipede, already furious from chasing them for so long, was even more enraged by the blow to its tail. It turned around, sensing someone behind it. Its two jaws opened and closed, spraying two streams of black mist from its mouth.
Liu Dashao was so shocked his heart nearly stopped. He silently cursed: “You chased us for so long without even releasing a fart, but now you spray poison mist just because I hit your butt? If my guess is wrong, I might die here today…” He silently prayed, “Ancestors, protect me!” and pushed off with his feet.
Meanwhile, Huang Shitou and Su Yougui stood at the front, anxiously shouting, “Master Liu, hurry up and run! Hurry!” But they saw Liu Dashao turn a small corner and run directly toward the outstretched arms of the ancient corpse. Fan Debiao exclaimed, “Master Liu has gone mad?” Hu Beikang said, “Is he sacrificing himself to save us?” In the blink of an eye, Liu Dashao reached the corpse, with the centipede only two feet behind him.
Everyone was so tense they forgot to breathe. At this critical moment, two “Aiyo!” cries rang out. One after another, the two kerosene lamps went out, plunging the chamber into darkness…
“Damn it! Master Liu!”
“Oh no! Master Liu!” This sudden change shocked everyone rigid…
“Ahh… Ahh… Ahh…” The moment the lamps went out, a piercing, heart-wrenching scream erupted from Liu Dashao in the chamber. The five at the hidden door became chaotic, “Oh no, who pushed me!” “Who’s squeezing me? Why are you pushing?” Fan Debiao, though frightened, remained clear-headed and shouted, “Quick, light the lamps!” Suddenly, he felt someone trying to squeeze out and blocked the hidden door, shouting, “Light the lamps for Master Liu! If not, he’s definitely done for! No one runs!”
Su Yougui grabbed the lamp from Huang Shitou’s hand, took out a lighter, and began striking it, cursing in his heart, “Why does this lighter always fail at critical moments!” Fan Debiao was slapping the miner’s lamp, shouting angrily, “Damn it, you always have connection problems at critical moments!” In the flickering sparks from the lighter and the dim flashes from the miner’s lamp, they vaguely saw two shadows entangled together, increasing their panic.
Finally, Su Yougui lit the lighter and immediately used it to light the lamp. But then they heard a “Wuwa…” sound—a baby’s crying. This sound was too familiar—it was the infant corpse’s cry! As everyone was filled with dread, Liu Dashao’s voice suddenly rang out from the darkness, “Oh my… ancestors… Oh my God…”
Su Yougui lifted the lit lamp and handed the lighter to Ge Shuanwa behind him to light. At the same time, Fan Debiao managed to strike the miner’s lamp, producing a yellow glow that illuminated the chamber a little more.
When the light shone over, everyone was stunned. Liu Dashao was sitting on the ground, pale-faced and motionless, his pants soaked, and the cloth wrapped around his face half-fallen. But the ancient corpse was entangled with the centipede. The centipede’s jaws occasionally sprayed mist, struggling against the corpse. From the corpse’s body, over a hundred strange worms emerged, wrapping tightly around the centipede. Everyone was too shocked to speak.
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