False evidence

Chapter 184 Snake on the Beam

Fear is an instinct.

But at that time, Uncle Cheng felt more sorrow for himself and his parents.

Thinking that he was about to die, he thought of getting down, kowtowing in front of his parents' door, and then going back inside to wait for death.

But then he suddenly remembered something his father had once said: "For any poison, there is always an antidote within seven steps."

There are many snakes, insects, rodents and ants in the south, but not in houses that are backed by mountains or near water. The most common snake found in people's homes is the rat snake.

Where did this little red snake with its pointed head come from?

Could it be that this little snake originally lived on this beam?
(When I read this, I thought Uncle Cheng must have been confused at the time. Because in the old days, cough syrups and other medications could have hallucinogenic effects if taken in excess.)
For any poison, there is always an antidote within seven steps.

As soon as this idea, which seems a bit absurd even in modern times, popped into Cheng Shu's head, his hope was immediately rekindled.

He steadied himself, took out a match, struck one, and used the firelight to look around on the beam.

By the light, it was quickly discovered that there was a hole between the main beam and the hanging beam used for fixing.

The hole wasn't big; it was just big enough for an adult to stick two fingers in.

Uncle Cheng became increasingly convinced that the little snake had been living on the roof beam for many years, and that the hole was its nest!

He immediately struck another match, and with his other hand, he stuck his fingers into the hole.

I only rummaged around a couple of times before I felt a round little thing.

He pried the little thing out and looked at it. It looked like a snake egg, but then he thought, how could such a big egg be laid by such a small snake?
At this point, his left hand had gradually begun to go numb.

Without thinking too much, he hurriedly came down, removed the ladder, and went back inside.

(The truth is, after reading this far, it's almost certain that Uncle Cheng's mental state was indeed somewhat compromised at the time.)
After returning to the house, he carefully examined the white, egg-shaped object, about the size of a fingernail, and concluded that it was either the egg of the small snake or the inner core of the "Snake on the Beam"!

He was convinced that this thing could definitely cure snake venom, so without thinking any further, he put the 'inner core' into his mouth.

To his surprise, the thing melted as soon as it entered his mouth.

The speed at which it melted made him suspect that the thing hadn't even been put in his mouth.

However, at the same time that the 'inner elixir' disappeared, he felt a fragrance between his nose and mouth that he had never smelled before.

Then he fell asleep.

(When we understood this part, Pidan and I couldn't help but look at each other, thinking to ourselves that Uncle Cheng's literacy level at the time was indeed not very high. He was bitten by a snake, ate something randomly, and fell asleep? It should have been a case of snake venom attack and he was unconscious, right? But as we continued reading, we realized why Uncle Cheng used the words "fell asleep".)
Next, the original text is:
I had a very long dream in which I traveled to a certain dynasty and became a servant of some frivolous emperor. I witnessed him kicking his wife and son off the carriage to escape enemies and make his carriage run faster.

At that historically famous banquet, he was utterly shameless. I felt ashamed for him, standing beside him. That general, who started out selling dog meat, defied the emperor and ate raw meat for him; that strategist surnamed Zhang went to great lengths to defend him with clever words. And he actually used the excuse of needing to urinate to run away! I was lucky, because he did have status. Even when he went to the outhouse, someone had to guard him outside. I was one of those guards.

He ran away, so naturally I had to follow and "protect" him. I just wondered what happened to the dog meat seller and Zhang the strategist. Would they have been slaughtered by that bearded giant?

(The above are Uncle Cheng's original words. It was quite a hassle to transcribe them, but they seem rather absurd. Pidan and I both realized who that shameless emperor was. That banquet where he used the excuse of urinating to escape was the most famous Hongmen Banquet in history.)
(Uncle Cheng is absolutely right to use the word 'asleep.' I firmly believe that he fell into a deep sleep due to the cough medicine or the snake venom, which is why he had such a strange dream. It's just that he dreamed of accompanying Liu Bang to urinate... I really don't know what Uncle Cheng's ideals were when he was young.)
Because the original text was confusing, it will still be narrated in the third person.

Uncle Cheng's dream was indeed very long. From the beginning to the end of the dream... based on my understanding of history, it lasted at least ten years.

But the end of the dream was somewhat unsettling upon closer examination. It said that the most notorious rogue emperor had died, and as his most loyal guard, he and some other guards escorted Emperor Liu to his funeral. As the coffin was lowered into the tomb and the guards were about to leave, they suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, and then they fell asleep.

(He fell asleep in the emperor's still-open tomb... I don't know what Pidan was thinking, but one word came to mind—funeral sacrifice.)
Uncle Cheng's dream only goes this far.

Then he woke up.

The short-haired man in the white coat, whom he had always 'despised,' was standing right next to him.

Seeing the strange expression on the man in the white coat, he looked around and asked, "Where are my parents?"

The doctor in the white coat said that he had been seriously ill before and that he should rest in bed.

Uncle Cheng was very clever; he noticed something was wrong in her eyes, got out of bed, ran outside to take a look, and was immediately dumbfounded.

Although the yard of the new house cannot be described as overgrown with weeds, it is still quite dilapidated.

Inside the main room, the two memorial tablets on the table almost made him faint on the spot.

Those are his parents' names!
Cheng Shu omitted a lot of details in the following sections.

He simply recounted that he learned from the doctor in the white coat that he had slept for a whole year.

His parents fell ill with depression and passed away one after the other within that year.

……

Then, let's call this the second story...

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

That night, Uncle Cheng had another dream.

I dreamt of an old man dressed entirely in red, leaning on a strangely shaped cane, who came to my bedside.

The old man told him: "After you wake up, do two things right away..."

After the old man finished explaining what he needed to do, before he could ask any questions, the old man said, "I'm leaving now. Remember to do exactly as I say, otherwise you will not only lose this house, but you will also be alone and suffer a miserable life."

After saying that, the old man disappeared.

Uncle Cheng woke up with a start and looked out the window; the moon was high in the sky.

He remembered what the old man in red had said in his dream, so he immediately got out of bed, ran into the yard, and reached into the well. Sure enough, he found a loose well stone.

He pulled out the stone and then rummaged inside, and just as the old man in the red clothes had said, he found an oilcloth bag.

No matter how strange something is, once half of it is confirmed, the other half becomes undeniable.

Uncle Cheng opened the oilcloth bag, glanced at the sky, and without paying attention to anything else, took only one porcelain bottle from it. Under the moonlight, he hurriedly stepped out of the house...

(End of this chapter)