Chapter Six: The Crematorium

  Is there another way?

  I looked at Old Wang. This despicable old man is the father of that beast, he must also be a beast himself.

  "Are you a dog?" I asked.

  "Dog." Old Wang nodded and spat out a word.

  "Are you the father of this dog? Does your dog's mouth also have poison?" I asked curiously. As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. If the dog's mouth has poison, then the dog's father must know about it and there should be an antidote too.

  Hope has arrived, I looked at Old Wang with full expectation.

  Old Wang nodded and then shook his head.

  "Come on, Old Wang, just say what you want to say." Ah Li asked discontentedly, seeing Old Wang's pretentious look.

  "I'm his father, no doubt, but there's no venom in my dog's teeth." Old Wang shook his head, "So I won't be able to detoxify either."

  "Why? Why does he have it and you don't?" I asked with a frown.

  "The poisonousness of a dog is inherited from his mother." Old Wang's face turned slightly red.

  "Isn't your wife a dog?" I asked.

  Old Wang shook his head: "It's not a dog, it's a snake spirit."

  "Snake?" I was taken aback for a moment.

  "Yes, it's a seven-tailed venomous snake spirit. Her venom is extremely potent and those who are poisoned will die within seven hours without fail." Old Wang explained.

  "Seven periods of time? So you're saying I'm going to die soon?" I stared at Old Wang, dazed.

  "The toxicity of the puppy is not as strong as its mother's, maybe it can hold on for a few more days." Old Wang said, "As for how many days it can hold on, I don't have a count in my heart, after all, no ordinary person has ever been bitten by a puppy before."

  "Am I the first?" I said with a wry smile.

  "He just escaped from the Demon Tower, and you're the first mortal he's bitten. There was a turtle before that, which is now in hibernation." Old Wang sighed, looking helpless.

  After hearing what Old Wang said, it reminded me of that green-headed turtle. This should be referring to him.

  "Old Wang, you said there were two ways before? What are they?" Ah Li asked.

  "The first method," Old Wang said, walking to the medicine rack and taking down a small white bottle. "This is zombie poison. We can use the method of fighting poison with poison. As long as we can turn him into a zombie, the Seven-Tailed Snake's venom in his body will no longer be a concern."

  I was stunned at that moment. What kind of solution is this? Turning me into a zombie? That's no better than being dead!

  "No way, this method won't work." Ah Li shook her head. "He must be human, can't become a zombie or monster, in our plan he must be human, otherwise there will be a lot of trouble."

  "Then use the second method." Old Wang put down the bottle in his hand.

  "Is the second one reliable?" I asked Old Wang as I looked at him.

  Old Wang ignored me and called A Li over to his side, saying a few words in a low voice.

  The raccoon dog nodded after listening.

  "Let's go." Ah Li and Old Wang said a few words after turning their heads to look at me, saying to me.

  "Is it over? My poison? My wound is still bleeding! Is there no cure?" I fell into a panic.

  "Just stick two band-aids on and the bleeding will stop." Old Wang handed me a box of band-aids.

  "What about the poison?" I asked.

  "Your poison can only be solved by your daughter." Ah Li pointed at me and said.

  "What? My daughter? Whose daughter? I don't even have a wife yet! Who knows when I'll have a daughter? Can I live that long?" I exclaimed.

  "Who says you don't have a wife? Xiaoyan is your wife, she has already given birth to a daughter for you, you can rest assured." Ah Li said with a glance at me.

  "Are you kidding me?" I stuttered.

  "Believe it or not, it's up to you. If you want to save your life, follow me to see Xu Yan, otherwise do as you please." Ah Li said disdainfully and turned around to walk out of the veterinary clinic.

  "Be careful with your life, young man, be careful with your life." Old Wang patted my shoulder and sighed.

  Damn it! Dare to threaten me?

  I'm not satisfied in my heart, but Old Wang is right, preserving one's life is of utmost importance.

  Don't mess with these monsters.

  "Hey! Big sister, auntie, wait for me."

  I hastily chased after him.

  I followed that beautiful woman called A Li and ran another lap, only to find myself back at Hongshan Street 47 again.

  "Is she here again? Is Xu Yan here?" I asked breathlessly.

  "She's not here." Ah Li shook her head.

  "What are we doing here? Is your home here?" I looked at Ah Li and asked.

  "Your home is just here." Ah Li gave me a fierce stare. "This is a crematorium."

  "Huh?"

  I'm shocked, a crematorium? Hongshan Street No. 47 is actually a crematorium? No wonder the previous brother's behavior was so abnormal? So that's how it is.

  "What's wrong? Come with me." Ah Li said to me.

  "Is someone dead at your house?" I asked tensely and directly.

  "Someone just died in your family." Ah Li glared at me again, "Are you planning to go see Xu Yan empty-handed? She just gave birth to a child."

  "Need to buy some supplements or something so we don't have to go to the crematorium?" I asked, "Xu Yan wouldn't be a man-eating monster, eating dead people's flesh?"

  "Are you disgusting?" Ah Li gritted her teeth and glared at me, clearly having had enough of me.

  "What are we doing at the crematorium? Eldest sister, can't you just tell me what's going on?! I don't know anything right now! It's all so confusing - suddenly I have a wife and a daughter, and then I get bitten by a dog, and now we're here at the crematorium." The mud man still had some fire left in him, and I was getting anxious too, so I shouted back.

  "A bit of a man's demeanor." Ah Li saw me shouting, her face suddenly turned from cloudy to sunny, revealing a flirtatious smile. "I'm not unwilling to tell you, it's just that if I tell you now, I'm afraid you won't understand. I promise you, when we see Xu Yan and your daughter, I'll tell you everything."

  "Really?" I also calmed down.

  "Do I have to deceive you?" Ah Li hummed, "These things will be told to you sooner or later."

  "What are we going to do at the crematorium? Tell me now. Otherwise, I won't go in and I don't know what to do?" I asked slowly.

  "Your daughter needs to absorb nutrients from corpses," Ah Li said to me, "Do you understand what a corpse is?"

  "I don't understand!" I shook my head and said.

  "When a person is alive, most people have a spiritual energy on their body." Ah Li said to me, "This spiritual energy will not dissipate immediately within seven days after death, but will gather at the Tianyan acupoint on the forehead of the corpse. Such spiritual energy is called a ghost."

  "Wait a minute." Before Ah Li could finish speaking, I interrupted, "You can't be thinking of asking me to help you steal the corpse, are you?"

  "No need to steal the corpse." Ah Li shook her head and said, "Just taking out the ghost spirit is enough."

  "How to take it? Dig with a knife?" I felt a chill run down my spine.

  "Use this." Ali pulled out a small black gourd from the pocket of his robe, "Put the mouth of the gourd to the corpse's mouth, and you can absorb the evil spirit from the corpse."

  "Really." I felt relieved at once, as long as the body was not stolen, everything else would be easy to handle. "Then go ahead and take it in, I'll wait for your triumphant return."

  "You are Xu Yan's husband, this matter must be done by you." Ah Li said solemnly to me, "Otherwise, don't think about living, don't forget the dog poison on your body. If your daughter is malnourished, no one will help you detoxify."

  "I...I..." I was suddenly speechless.

  People under the eaves have no choice but to lower their heads. Isn't it just to kowtow to the evil spirits? Having seen all sorts of monsters, what's there to fear about dead people?

  I comforted myself like this and took the black gourd from Alai's hand.

  The calabash felt heavy in his hand, as if it were made of iron.

  "Go ahead! Three corpses will do, the kid is too young and can't eat too much for now." Ah Li nodded, smiling complacently.

  I walked a few steps forward with a gloomy face. Thanks to Ah Li's reminder, I had already seen the gate of the crematorium.

  Hongshan Road 47 is actually a crematorium? The beautiful woman I hooked up with is actually related to the demon? I've actually been poisoned by snake venom and won't live long?

  Dreams are plump, but reality is bony.

  A feeling of wanting to cry but having no tears.

  I walked slowly towards the crematorium.

  One step, two steps, three steps, four steps, like a devil's pace...

  When I grasped the black gourd and strode proudly to the gate of the crematorium, two uniformed guards suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked my way.

  I've only just reacted. I'm such an idiot! What kind of place is a crematorium? A place where they burn corpses? How can you just casually enter here? If I were to tell these people that I encountered a monster and I need to collect something called a corpse spirit, they wouldn't send me to a mental hospital?!

  I licked my lips and turned back to look at Ah Li.

  The raccoon dog was laughing at me with a strange and eerie laugh, making me feel like I wanted to hit her.

  "Two gatekeeper brothers." I clenched my fists and greeted them, "I wouldn't have come to the Three Treasures Hall without a reason, it's like this."

  No matter whether they believed it or not, I still told them about the monster in great detail. As for how they viewed it? Well, that's none of my concern anymore. If they insisted on not letting me go in, then I'd have to think of another way.