Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 63 Being bitten
After making sure that Taoist Xuanji had left and could no longer hear their conversation, Rong Wanyin quickly stepped forward and grabbed Ruoping's hand: "Sister Ruoping, I'll take you away from here. That Taoist priest is not a good person."

Ruoping shrank back timidly, shaking her head and saying, "Poison! Poison! Poison! Poison!"

Then, as if she remembered something, she looked terrified, tears streaming down her face as she pushed Rong Wanyin away: "Hurry... run... Gu! Gu! I'll kill you!"

Yan Mingzhang glanced at Rong Wanyin, thought for a moment, and said, "The Taoist priest has kept Miss Ruoping for so long, she must still be useful to him and won't kill her. Judging from her appearance, she probably can't escape even if she wants to. Let's leave here first. If the Taoist priest finds out that we've deceived him and turns back, it will be troublesome."

Rong Wanyin looked at Ruoping. Ruoping pointed at herself, shook her head, then pointed at her, pointing to the long road outside the bamboo forest, indicating that they should leave quickly. Rong Wanyin hardened her heart and said to Ruoping, "Sister Ruoping, protect yourself. I will come back to save you."

With that, Rong Wanyin grabbed Yan Mingzhang and ran. The longer path outside the bamboo forest, while longer, didn't pass the mountain temple. Furthermore, the dense bamboo forest completely obscured their presence. Just as they were about to leave the forest, Yan Mingzhang suddenly tugged at Rong Wanyin's hand, warning her. A dense swarm of tiny red spiders covered the ground and bamboos at the edge of the forest, seemingly encircling the entire area. Each spider was only the size of a fingernail, yet their numbers were astonishingly numerous. The spiders simply lingered on the outskirts of the forest, refusing to enter, seemingly afraid of something. Rong Wanyin and Yan Mingzhang exchanged bewildered glances, afraid to move forward. An unsuspecting bamboo rat crept past the spiders and was instantly devoured. Before they could fully see, the rat collapsed, foaming at the mouth. The spiders had devoured it completely, leaving only its fur and skin, a dried corpse in an instant.

"It seems that if you get bit by this spider, you'll be paralyzed by its toxins and then have them sucked out completely. No wonder the Taoist priest let us go so confidently just now. It seems that's how the mummy was formed!" Yan Mingzhang stepped back a few steps while protecting Rong Wanyin, touching the jade flute in his arms. "I wonder if this spider is afraid of fire."

Yan Mingzhang took out a tinder from his arms, blew on it a few times and lit it. He brought the tinder close to the spider swarm and could see the spiders scatter with the naked eye, but the fire was not big enough and the gap was too small.

Rong Wanyin picked up a branch and quickly threaded the bamboo shoots that had fallen from the ground. The dry bamboo shoots caught fire immediately. Rong Wanyin threw the flaming bamboo shoots at the spiders, and they scattered instantly. Some of the slower ones were instantly burned to ashes.

The bamboo shoots burned quickly, and the flames died out in an instant. But the gaps created by the burning were immediately filled by other spiders. Those spiders didn't care whether the ground was scorching or not, as if they had been ordered to do so, like soldiers defending a checkpoint.

"Sir, it looks like this won't work. Let's retreat first and think of a solution." Rong Wanyin pulled Yan Mingzhang back a few steps, kicking sparks towards the spiders. Suddenly, the spiders caught fire, and a disgusting burnt smell filled the bamboo forest.

The spiders retreated temporarily, but they still showed signs of encircling them. Rong Wanyin stared at the restless spiders before her, and in a moment of inattention, a tiny red spider fell from the bamboo shoots and landed on the collar behind Rong Wanyin's neck. Yan Mingzhang, with his quick eyes and hands, swept the spider away, and it instantly stung Yan Mingzhang's arm.

"Ah!" Yan Mingzhang endured the severe pain and pinched his upper arm.

Rong Wanyin held Yan Mingzhang's waist, tapped her toes, and retreated from the spider's circle. She set Yan Mingzhang down, leaning against a bamboo tree. Without hesitation, she tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her skirt and tied it tightly around Yan Mingzhang's upper arm to prevent the poison from spreading. She then drew her dagger, carefully roasted it over a fire, and then cut open the wound, squeezing out the poisonous blood until it turned from dark to bright red. Only then did Rong Wanyin stop and carefully rinse it with the clean water she had brought with her.

Yan Mingzhang's lips were dark purple, but he endured the severe pain and comforted Rong Wanyin: "Miss Rong, don't worry about me. You are good at martial arts. If you light more fires, you should be able to get out. These spiders are a bit sticky."

Rong Wanyin's eyes were red. She glared at him and gritted her teeth, saying, "Let's go find Sister Ruoping. She must have a solution!"

Yan Mingzhang shook his head and said, "No, if we run into that Taoist priest, wouldn't we be walking into a trap?" Just as Rong Wanyin was hesitating, she suddenly heard footsteps coming towards them from the other end of the bamboo forest. Rong Wanyin covered her and their bodies with dense bamboo leaves, then lay on the ground and held her breath.

Rong Wanyin looked closely and saw that it was actually Sister Ruoping. She was not very good at speaking, only making anxious "ah...ah..." sounds, as if she was looking for them. She was carrying the child on her back, but the child was silent. She didn't know if she was asleep or what, there was no sound at all. Rong Wanyin even had some doubts about the child...

Rong Wanyin pricked up her ears and listened carefully. Indeed, only Sister Ruoping was there, so she came out from behind Zhu Cong: "Sister Ruoping!"

Sister Ruoping was very excited when she saw Rong Wanyin. She gestured and said incoherently: "Spider! Bite! You will die!"

Rong Wanyin held Ruoping's hand, her eyes reddened. She nodded as if she had seen a savior, "We know this spider is highly venomous. But the adult has been bitten. What should Sister Ruoping do? Although we treated it simply, it seems to be very serious!"

Only then did Ruoping see Yan Mingzhang's condition. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, his eyes were closed, his lips were black and purple, and the arm that was bitten was swollen.

Ruoping hurriedly took out a pill from her bosom and fed it to Yan Mingzhang, then shook out a bag of white powder and sprinkled it on the bite wound.

After a while, Yan Mingzhang's expression looked a little better. He slowly opened his eyes and nodded to Ruoping to express his gratitude.

Afterwards, Ruoping frowned and thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and seemed to have made up her mind. She stuffed the white porcelain jar into Rong Wanyin's arms, pointed at the jar, and said with great difficulty: "Mother Gu! Spider! Be afraid!"

"You mean, this jar contains a Gu mother, and those spiders are afraid of it?" Rong Wanyin asked anxiously, "Then how do I use it?"

Ruoping's face flushed with anxiety, but she couldn't say anything. She nodded and said with difficulty, "Master! Use! Save people!"

"You want us to find your master? Can he use this to save people?" Rong Wanyin said quickly.

Ruoping nodded repeatedly.

"Sister Ruoping, where is your master and how do I find him?" Rong Wanyin asked anxiously.

Ruoping gestured, pointing in the direction of the cave where she lived, and then pointed to the top of the mountain: "Top of the mountain! Master!"