The room was packed with men. Even with the door wide open, the air remained thick with the acrid, lingering stench of tobacco smoke.
Nan Zhi quietly observed the man kneeling on the floor, sensing that something was wrong with him.
His eyes were bloodshot, and a layer of black energy—invisible to ordinary people—shimmered across his forehead and cheeks. His exposed neck and arms were covered in bloody welts where he had clawed himself with his fingernails. The wounds were deep, with torn skin and jagged marks that showed just how much force he had used.
“Isn't that the guy from yesterday...”
Zhang Qiuyu clearly recognized him too. She nudged Nan Zhi’s back surreptitiously, but Nan Zhi simply shook her head and shot a meaningful look at Shi Hongjiang.
The three of them headed toward the back of the house, but instead of entering the kitchen, they circled around and returned to the main room from the front, hiding behind the crowd to watch the commotion.
Being outwardly obedient while secretly rebellious was something Nan Zhi and Shi Hongjiang had done plenty of as children.
“You might not recognize him, but he’s Chu Erpangzi’s uncle. He drives for the tourism company. His wife is my grandpa’s niece, so I have to call her ‘Auntie.’
“Look, you said it on the bus yesterday—you can't eat a snake that’s carrying young. You said it had to be buried, otherwise eating it would make your mouth rot.
“The driver didn't listen. He even found a restaurant to stir-fry the snake and eat it, and he dug out the snake eggs to boil them. As a result, he started getting sick in the middle of the night. He was vomiting sour water and screaming that someone was strangling him and he couldn't breathe.”
Shi Hongjiang pointed at the driver surnamed Chu, explaining the situation to Nan Zhi and Zhang Qiuyu with a solemn expression.
“There was another guy from your company, a real glutton, who joined in to eat the boiled snake eggs. When he woke up this morning, he had a huge sore on his mouth. It looks hideous.
“I told him the hospital wouldn't be able to cure this and told him to come find my grandpa, but he refused to listen. By the time that sore of his scars over, I bet he’ll end up with a harelip.”
Nan Zhi was startled at first, but once she heard the name, she calmed down.
“Well, we should believe in modern medicine. If people want to go to the hospital, who are we to stop them?”
It was the man who always liked to make crude, suggestive jokes toward the girls in the company.
“This is great! It’s like he’s got a hemorrhoid on his lip. Serves him right. This is what you call divine justice and karma. Trash like him deserves a rotten mouth.”
Zhang Qiuyu was delighted, but even in her schadenfreude, she didn't forget to ask a question.
“Grandpa just said he was going to ‘extract the black.’ What does that mean?”
“‘Blacked’ is just local dialect for ‘spooked’ or ‘scared.’ You can also think of it as ‘clashing’ with something or ‘bumping’ into a spirit. Extracting the black is basically a way of looking into the matter and resolving the trouble.
“When we were kids and someone got spooked while playing in the mountains, Grandpa Shi would roast an egg in the fire pit. He called it ‘burning the embryo.’ He’d have us kids eat one, saying it was good for the body.”
Nan Zhi stared at the driver and added casually:
“Some forms of extracting the black are actually just using herbal medicine to treat an illness; it has nothing to do with gods or ghosts. Wood ash itself is a type of Chinese medicine that can disinfect and sterilize. The roasted eggs taste just like boiled eggs, only with a bit more of a charred aroma. When I was little—”
As she spoke, she saw Shi Hongjiang slip over to the fire pit. With practiced ease, he fished out three roasted eggs with blackened shells and slipped back out, ignoring Grandpa Shi’s scolding gaze.
“I knew you loved these, so I buried a few early. Once everyone leaves, I’ll bury some sweet potatoes in the fire pit. My mom bought the long, thin ones; they’re incredibly sweet when roasted.”
“Aren't you afraid of Grandpa Shi scolding you... Toss a few tangerines in there to roast later. Those are good for the throat.”
Nan Zhi peeled the warm roasted egg, took a bite, and continued watching the conversation between Grandpa Shi and the driver’s family.
...
Click, click.
Grandpa Shi sat hunched over, taking a puff from his water pipe. Suddenly remembering something, he set the pipe on the ground before squinting at the driver.
“What a sin you’ve committed. Even a three-year-old in the village knows you can't catch a mother snake carrying young. Not only did your brother run it over, but you also boiled and ate it.
“A mother beast protects its young, not to mention you even ate her babies. How do you explain that?”
The driver, who had been tormented by pain all night, was on the verge of collapse. He was barely holding himself up on his knees. Hearing Grandpa Shi’s words, the man scrambled forward a step and howled in a hoarse voice:
“Grandpa, Grandpa, please save me! I’ll do anything you say, as long as you make this stop. I mean it, really! My whole body is itching right now, like ants are crawling all over me. If this keeps up, I’m going to be done for!”
As he spoke, the man didn't stop scratching himself violently. His nails dug into his flesh, tearing the skin and leaving hideous bloody gashes. Yet he seemed oblivious to the pain, even showing a look of relief as he scratched.
If this continued, he wouldn't have a single patch of intact skin left on his body.
“What a tragedy. Her head was crushed flat. She wasn't even angry with you at first, but then you went and boiled her babies. How could she not torment you?”
Grandpa Shi smacked his lips. Ultimately unable to harden his heart, he squinted and stared at the man’s neck for a long time.
“Tormenting him now won't bring the babies back to life. I’ll have him take your bones later and bury them in the mountains. I’ll tell him to offer incense to you on the first and fifteenth of every month. If you’re willing, I’ll send you on your way. Otherwise, if you keep clinging to him like this, it won't end well for you either.”
A chill ran through everyone inside and outside the room.
Although Grandpa Shi was speaking to the man, his gaze was fixed on the man’s neck—more specifically, at the empty air just above the right side of his neck.
Nan Zhi, however, saw it clearly.
It was a faint, elongated black shadow coiled loosely around the man. Its tail flicked downward, and every time it brushed against him, the man felt a piercing itch.
After dozens of flicks, the man scratched himself so frantically he was almost covered in blood. Only then did the snake seem satisfied, flicking its tongue toward Grandpa Shi.
Nan Zhi saw it clearly, but the old man did not. He simply had someone bring a brand-new red cloth and a bowl of rice. He covered the rice with the red cloth, circled it around the man’s neck, and then lifted the cloth to look.
“She’s agreed. Go back and find someone to bury the snake’s bones, and the itching will stop.”
Grandpa Shi stared at the rice in the bowl and breathed a sigh of relief before turning to instruct the driver.
“Bury them where you hit the snake. Dig a hole about a meter deep; too shallow is no good. Then, go offer incense on the first and fifteenth. You can stop after a year, but you should still pay your respects whenever you pass by.
“Also, from now on, you must not hit snakes or eat snake meat. If there are any children in your family born in the year of the Rat or the Snake, you must be careful not to let them eat snake meat either.”
Nan Zhi noticed that the snake soul on the man had clearly dissipated, though it still lingered slightly around him.
It seemed Grandpa Shi was similar to the He Xiaoyi she had met before; both could use objects to communicate with spirits.
However, Grandpa Shi seemed even more skilled, able to understand the thoughts of a snake.
The driver had already fainted from the pain. His family members repeatedly promised to follow the instructions, then looked at his wounds and asked cautiously:
“What about these wounds? The scars will be hideous later.”
“Go to the hospital for that, of course. I’m not a doctor; I can't give shots or prescribe medicine. At most, have him buy some pig liver to replenish his blood.”
Grandpa Shi gave them a strange look.
“You’ve got your life back, what more do you want? Hurry up and get him to the hospital for a tetanus shot. Otherwise, if the wounds get infected, it’ll be the death of him.”
Nan Zhi: “...”
She felt a bit conflicted.
Grandpa Shi was quite something, knowing that infected wounds could be fatal.
They said that the end of science was theology, but it turned out that theology occasionally had to rely on science too?
A lesson learned, indeed.
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