The Republic of China: From Storyteller to God

"Mr. Liu, is this enough?"

Uncle Nine counted the frogs on the ground: "There are more than thirty. If that's not enough, let them go catch more."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Wencai and Qiusheng collapsed to the ground, saying, "I can't lift them anymore, I have no strength left."

"We've caught all the frogs there, there really aren't any left."

"That's enough, that's enough."

Liu Che reached out and took the dagger from A Wu, picked up the smallest frog, and laughed, "Actually, if you use the right method, one frog is enough."

"What?"

Wen Cai jumped up from the ground in anger: "Then why did you make us arrest so many?"

Liu Che disagreed: "It's such a waste to go all that way just to catch one."

"We can use the extra ones to make porridge!"

As he spoke, he gestured to Uncle Jiu: "Uncle Jiu, may I borrow a stick of incense, a writing brush, and a bowl?"

Uncle Jiu had brought a lot of incense and candles, and immediately gave Liu Che a bundle.

One is enough.

Liu Che pulled one out and casually placed it on the table.

He put the brush and bowl aside, scooped up a ladle of water, washed the mud off the frog, and held it in his hand.

Then, holding a dagger in one hand, he casually slashed open the frog's belly.

With a gentle pinch of two fingers, he squeezed out the frog's still-beating heart.

With a gentle slit in the blade, dark red blood gushed from the heart, dripping down the blade into the bowl.

However, the frog's blood was not much to begin with, and it was gone after only two drops.

There was still some blood left on the blade, which Liu Che didn't waste; he brushed it off with a brush.

Then, with a flick of his knife, he sliced ​​open the frog's skull.

Its brain, smaller than a mung bean, was still trembling slightly.

After Liu Che used the tip of his knife to scoop it out, he shook it into a bowl and mixed it with blood using the tip of his brush.

The meager amount of brain matter and blood barely soaked the brush tip.

Before it dried, Liu Che brushed it onto the incense stick.

He lit a candle, placed the incense stick about an inch above the flame, and after it was evenly dried, he stood up with satisfaction, holding the incense stick.

"That's fine."

Uncle Nine had been observing Liu Che's actions.

Seeing Liu Che stop, he couldn't help but ask in confusion, "That's it? Will it even work?"

"Give it a try."

Liu Che picked up the candle and went to the oyster farmer's bedside.

The oyster farmer, bound to his bed, remained immersed in his hallucinations.

Liu Che turned around and ordered, "Come here and help me hold his head down, don't let him move around."

Uncle Nine beckoned with his hand without saying a word, and Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng stepped forward to help hold down the oyster man's head.

Liu Che squatted down and lit the incense sticks with a candle.

Behind him, Uncle Nine watched his movements with curiosity.

By candlelight, a wisp of pale gray smoke drifted from the incense sticks.

Liu Che placed the red dot of the burning incense stick below the oyster man's nostrils and gently blew on it.

He immediately blew that wisp of pale gray smoke into the oyster farmer's nostrils.

Upon smelling the smoke, the oyster farmers' initial ecstatic laughter vanished.

Then he began to twitch uncontrollably.

Do do do!

His movements became more and more intense, even causing the bed to shake.

Wencai and Qiusheng pressed his head down desperately to keep him from moving.

Completely unaware, he stared blankly with his eyes open, inhaling large gulps of smoke.

The incense sticks were burning at a speed visible to the naked eye, and he even inhaled the ash into his nostrils.

As he breathed heavily, his chest rose higher and higher, and his belly swelled up more and more, like a toad holding its breath.

Seeing that the blood-stained part of the incense stick had burned out, Liu Che immediately and decisively signaled, "Let go!"

Wencai and Qiusheng had already reached their limit and quickly withdrew their hands upon hearing this.

Swish!

Liu Che reacted quickly, wielding his dagger and slicing through the ropes binding him.

Pfft!

The oyster farmer's convulsing body tumbled off the bed and he lay on the floor coughing violently.

He coughed desperately, almost coughing up his lungs, until his face turned purplish-red.

With each cough, streams of clear, viscous liquid gushed from his mouth and nose, emitting a strong, fishy stench.

"vomit!"

"It stinks!"

Wencai and Qiusheng both covered their noses and ran away.

But Uncle Nine didn't hesitate at all. He stepped forward, dipped his hand in the sticky liquid, rubbed it in his palm, and carefully felt it before nodding and saying, "That's right, it's the yin energy emitted by this thing."

Liu Che didn't leave either, he was also keeping an eye on the oyster farmers.

"Cough cough! Cough cough! Ugh!"

After coughing up a lot of mucus, the oyster farmer finally coughed up a light gray, soft, round ball.

It resembles a translucent, soft jellyfish, but its body is perfectly round.

After coughing it up, the oyster farmer's face immediately looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and he recovered and stopped coughing.

"What is this?"

Uncle Nine looked at the soft ball with suspicion, wanting to touch it.

"Don't touch it yet."

Liu Che stopped him and explained, "This is the culprit behind the oyster disaster."

Uncle Nine stopped what he was doing when he was called out to, and began to examine the soft ball.

After the soft ball emerged, it began to ooze a transparent viscous fluid at a visible speed.

As the mucus seeps out of its body, its size continues to shrink.

After a short while, it shrank to the size of a soybean, becoming a light gray, translucent bead, and stopped oozing mucus.

At this moment, Liu Che stepped forward and used his dagger to pull it out of the slime.

He pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket, placed the beads on it, carefully wiped them clean, and then opened it.

Under the candlelight, the translucent beads reflected the flame, creating a layer of colorful, misty vapor that seemed to move slowly as if alive.

"Is this what caused the oyster infestation?"

Wencai curiously came closer, examining the beads, and couldn't help but exclaim, "They look quite pretty!"

Liu Che smiled and deliberately brought the bead closer to his mouth: "Do you like it? If you like it, eat it and you'll become just like him."

As he spoke, he pointed to the oyster farmer who had been helped up.

Wen Cai remembered the plight of the oyster farmers, quickly covered his mouth and nose, and retreated to the side in fear.

With a soft laugh, Liu Che put the bead away and placed it in his pocket.

Seeing this, Uncle Nine didn't say anything, but instead came up to the oyster farmers.

The oyster farmer still looked a little weak, but he had regained consciousness.

Upon hearing Liu Che's question, he glanced at his weeping wife and children beside him, his expression somewhat bewildered, mixed with a hint of disappointment.

"How are you feeling?"

Uncle Nine scrutinized his face and asked in a deep voice, "Do you remember what happened?"

The oyster farmer opened his mouth, then said blankly, "I think I was dreaming."

The woman beside her sobbed, "You scared me to death! Do you know you've been insane for over half a month?"

"More than half a month?"

The oyster farmer was shocked: "I just took a nap, how could I have gone crazy for over half a month?"

Uncle Nine pressed further, "Do you remember what happened before you went to sleep?"

The oyster farmer thought for a moment and recalled, "I only remember going out to sea to collect oysters last night. When the tide was about to come in, I got a little hungry, so I opened a few oysters to fill my stomach."

I picked out a few small oysters, but when I opened them, they were all empty.

There was no other way, so I opened the biggest oyster at the bottom.

Wow! That oyster was so meaty, bigger than a fist, it melted in my mouth.

I ate it in one bite and I felt full.

After that, I flew up into the clouds and married a fairy...