Chapter 51: The Antidote

  The village chief got up and returned to his seat after we followed him in bowing our heads.

  "Mother-in-law, these two guests have come from afar and need your help with something." The village chief, although seated in a chair, still bowed his waist humbly as he spoke to the mother-in-law.

  "Is it the Golden Orchid's curse?" The old lady, 132 years old, still spoke with a strong and clear voice, surpassing many sixty or seventy-year-old villagers. If not for the village head's previous mention, I would have never believed that this elderly person was over a hundred years old.

  "Yes, yes, it's about the thing that Hua Gu said to you last night." The first time I saw the village head was on the morning of the day when Knife Scar hung himself. At that time, the village head appeared with a crutch and the crowd automatically made way for him, quite majestic. But this village head now is completely different, not only speaking humbly, but also low-key in his eyebrows and eyes, not like a village head at all, but rather like a well-behaved grandson.

  "Isn't it true that when people are out of sight, the poison starts to take effect?" The way she spoke with such dignity and composure was quite reminiscent of Empress Dowager Cixi.

  "Yes," I couldn't help but chime in. "I saw the person who cast the curse last night, unfortunately I couldn't ask her to lift it. Sister's life is still hanging by a thread."

  "Are you her blood brother?" the old lady continued to ask.

  "En." I nodded.

  "How long will it take you to get back?"

  "About eight hours."

  "Alright," the old lady nodded and said, "I can help you, but after rescuing the person, you have to do something for me." As she spoke, Hua Gu led her out of the room, heading towards the backyard, and the three of us followed humbly behind them.

  The backyard was even more desolate compared to the front yard. There were no bean vines, no walls, only a dilapidated small thatched cottage. The path leading to the cottage was all muddy, with only a few stone slabs laid at the doorstep. It wasn't easy for a 132-year-old old woman to walk through such a road.

  Unexpectedly, Hua Gu was supporting her mother-in-law as they walked on the muddy ground, not only were their footsteps steady, but their cloth shoes didn't even get a speck of mud on them. I and Wang Ju were just the opposite, one step down and our pants were covered in mud.

  It was easy to walk through the muddy ground, and followed them into the thatched cottage. Inside this hut was more dilapidated than outside. The corners of the walls were stacked with jars and cans, full of dust and mold. A square table was placed in the center of the room, and the surface was relatively clean.

  Three men stood still in the house, the old woman standing beside the table, Hua Guo moved a golden ceramic bottle from the corner, wiped it clean with a cloth, and placed it on the table. Then she took out an oil lamp from under the table, lit it with matches, and put it in front of the old woman.

  The old woman pulled out a dagger from her bosom. I looked at it and found it quite familiar, but I wanted to ask about its origin, fearing that it would delay the treatment of the gu, so I swallowed my words and quietly watched on the side.

  She held a dagger in her right hand and opened the palm of her left hand towards Hua Gu, as if asking for something. Hua Gu hurriedly took out a small pair of scissors from her pocket and walked to my side, indicating that she wanted to cut off a strand of hair. I admired their silent understanding with all my heart.

  Hua Gu cut off her hair, holding it in both hands and placing it in her mother-in-law's left palm, then stepped back to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us.

  She clutched her left fist and held a dagger in her right hand, then suddenly stabbed the dagger into the palm of her left fist. Fresh blood mixed with hair slowly flowed out from between her fingers, giving us all a fright.

  She then spread out her left hand, letting the blood and hair flow into the porcelain bottle. With her eyes closed, she began to chant. A wisp of blue smoke slowly rose from the bottle, drifting towards the flame of the oil lamp, disappearing as it reached the fire, as if it had gone to another world.