Chapter Fifty-six Poisoning

  "Run quickly! Take advantage of now!" Yingying said, finding that Tianqi was still looking at the black shadow that had just passed by.

  "Yeah, let's just forget about all that for now and see how far we can run!" Fatso chimed in.

  However, Tian Qi turned his head and said, "You guys go first, I'll catch up in a bit." Although Tian Qi couldn't be certain if the black shadow was the same as what they saw that night, it should be of the same type. At that speed, each of them could keep up.

  If three people all ran forward, leaving their backs to him was undoubtedly the most dangerous.

  Upon hearing Tian Qi say that, Ying Ying grasped Tian Qi's hand even tighter, "Little fatty brother, you go first, I want to be with Brother Qi."

  "Yingying!" Tian Qi's heart was moved, but he also felt a sense of urgency.

  Chubby naturally couldn't run first at this time, he's not that kind of person. Moreover, even if he wanted to leave now, he couldn't. The black shadow that was still a distance away from them earlier had now walked up to their faces and stood about five meters away from them.

  "Are you speaking Malay? Then speak Malay!"

  The one standing in front of him was not a monster or a mutated animal, but a human being, and this person looked very similar to Ma Wen, the son of the old village chief.

  "It really does look like him!" Yingying also looked at the black and white photo given by the old village chief, and naturally had an impression. Pangzi also took a look, but didn't remember, he just felt a bit familiar.

  When he heard Tian Qi mention Ma Wen's name, the person in front of him seemed to be stunned for a moment, and his eyes became somewhat dazed.

  Judging from his reaction, Tian Qi estimated that his guess was probably correct. This man was indeed the son of the old village chief who had been missing for many years. However, he also felt a pang in his heart.

  The old village chief's last hope was also gone, because his son had already died. Ma Wen's upper body was not wearing clothes, and it was unknown whether he hadn't bathed for a long time or if he had applied something, but his chest was black, however the empty hole in front of his chest was somewhat prominent under the moonlight, and it was unknown what had hollowed out his heart!

  A person without a heart cannot live, he is already a ghost!

  Pangzi and Yingying also saw this point naturally.

  With that settled, Tian Qi became less tense. If the magical tools they brought were useless against those mutated beasts earlier, they would still be very effective against this ghostly creature. Three against one, their chances of winning were still high.

  "Do you still remember who you are? You're the son of the village chief, we've come to find you, your father is worried about you." After all, it was the village chief's request, Tian Qi hoped to have a conversation with him.

  But no matter how Tian Qi scolded him there, Ma Wen stood there without any reaction, his eyes still very confused.

  "Be careful, he might rush over at any moment. You guys have your magical tools, the sparkling Buddhist beads, and Baozi's black jade. Don't hesitate when he rushes over!" Tian Qi gave up, having wasted half a day trying to persuade Ma Wen, only to find that he hadn't reacted at all.

  Just a few seconds after Tianqi finished speaking, Ma Wen suddenly moved, and the hearts of the three people rose to their throats.

  But Ma Wenzhong rushed over in a direction that was not towards Tian Qi and the others, but rather in the opposite direction, and instantly disappeared into the night.

  "Little fatty, come on, hurry up! What are you still standing there for?" Yingying pulled at the chubby boy who was still standing in place.

  It's not just Pongzi, Tianqi and Yingying are the same, they were all stunned by this sudden change and didn't come back to their senses for half a day.

  "Who can tell me what's going on, this is even more bizarre than the plot! I've lost too many brain cells and haven't recovered yet!" Back in the ancestral hall, Fatso closed the door and sat down on the ground with a thud.

  Things are indeed a bit strange, and it's no wonder that the fat man can't react in time. In just a few short hours, so many things have happened.

  First, Chou Shēn suddenly disappeared, then they went out to find him and were surrounded by a group of mutated animals. Just when they thought this time they really couldn't escape, a black shadow suddenly appeared and scared away all the animals. And this black shadow was actually Lao Cun Zhang's son who had been missing for many years.

  After many attempts at communication with no response, the three were about to give up when Ma Wen suddenly ran away!

  "That doesn't make sense!" Fatso said after drinking a lot of water.

  If things that conform to logic don't need them to be solved, Tian Qi has always thought so. Although he can't say how grand his ideals and revenge are, he doesn't do this line of work just for the love and interest, nor is it just for making a lot of money. After studying theology for many years, he feels that doing this job is more like correcting deviated logic, making things that shouldn't appear disappear, and letting things that have strayed from their development trajectory return to normal.

  Tian Qi has not yet realized that existence is reasonable, and some seemingly illogical things have their own reasons for existing. In the process of solving troubles and striving to restore order, he himself is a part of logic.

  Although they narrowly escaped this time, the enemy has not been found yet, and those disappeared animals may come back at any time, maybe after a while those animals will surround the temple.

  "Brother Qi, why did Ma Wen suddenly run back?" asked Yingying with some curiosity.

  Fatso disagreed and thought it was a good answer, "Of course we're afraid of the magical weapons in our hands, do you need to ask?!"

  Tian Qi didn't answer because he wasn't sure what the reason was either.

  Are you afraid? It seems like there's a hint of it in your eyes, but it's not obvious. I feel like there should be something else, could it be that what Ma Wen said had an effect on him, reminding him of memories buried deep within his mind? If he remembered something, why didn't he respond to my words?

  These are all unknown now, and even Ma Wen is somewhat skeptical about whether he is a ghost or not. If he had to define it, he thought that from Ma Wen's behavior, he seemed more like a half-human and half-ghost. Although he no longer had a heart, he seemed to be able to think, just like a normal person.

  There are still two hours before dawn, no matter how anxious they are, they can't go out again now. Tian Qi let Yingying and Pangzi go to sleep first, and wait until dawn to talk about it.

  Tian Qi found a long wooden beam in the ancestral hall and used it to block the door.

  Highly tense and coupled with physical exhaustion, Yingying wanted to accompany Tianqi but still fell asleep leaning on him in no time.

  Tian Qi thought it was himself who couldn't sleep, but he persisted for a while and eventually closed his eyes.

  Four hours later, Tian Qi was awakened by a knock on the door.

  "Who is it?" Tian Qi found that the knock on the door was very light, if it were Chou Shen, it shouldn't be like this.

  But Tianqi asked again and again, but there was no sound. He woke up Yingying and Pangzi, wondering if some animal had come again. But now the sky was bright, could they also dare to come out?

  "It's me, Qiu Shen." The voice was very weak, but Tian Qi still heard it.

  Tian Qi immediately opened the door and found Chou Shen lying unconscious at the entrance.

  "How is it, Yingying?" Tianqi and Pangzi carried Chou Shen into the ancestral hall, and Yingying quickly made an examination.

  "It should be poisoning, but I don't know what kind of poison it is. Look at this eye on the back of Shu's neck." Although Yingying understood some medical skills, she was not a professional after all.

  Under Xīng's indication, Tiān Qí also saw that on the back of Chóu Shēn's neck, there was a small hole about the size of a thumb, as if it had been stung by something. The surrounding area had already swollen and the skin around it had turned dark purple.

  "Could it be a scorpion?" Tian Qi guessed, recalling the time when he was stung by a young scorpion on his toe during elementary school. The pain had been so intense that he cried for half the night and still remembered it vividly to this day. Scorpions were highly venomous, and his entire leg had felt numb afterwards.

  "If it's scorpion venom, then aloe vera will do the trick!" Fatso said.

  Tian Qi also knew that using aloe vera could detoxify, but now even if there was aloe vera, it would be useless. Moreover, there wasn't any. This cave is so big, just one look and you can tell it's the work of those mutated scorpions they saw last night. The venom of newly born scorpions is already so potent, let alone these giant mutated ones.

  Yingying rummaged through the first-aid kit, but didn't find any effective treatment medication. She could only disinfect the wound for now and then gave Qiu Shen an injection of glucose.

  Tian Qi asked if there was a simple way to suck out the poison, but Yingying shook her head. Qiu Sheng had been poisoned for at least two hours, and the toxin had already entered his body. It was a miracle that he could still come back.

  All that's left can only rely on him...

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