I hurried back to the hospital, having just been there in the morning and now returning in the afternoon. The doctor was taken aback when she saw my finger, swollen again.

This time, in addition to draining fluid with a needle, the doctor also drew blood for a pathology test to see if I had contracted some sort of bacterial infection.

The test results wouldn't be available until the next day. The doctor instructed me to take my anti-inflammatory medication on schedule. Perhaps fearing that Amoxicillin wasn't sufficient, she prescribed another anti-inflammatory drug for me, one that came in an English-labeled, expensive package.

Returning to the inn that evening, the boss said to me, "Cloud Peak, don't go down into the pit tonight. Rest at home. Our main task these two days is to find the Main Tomb Chamber." He wanted me to stay behind and look after things.

In the wee hours, my bitten finger swelled up again. This time it wasn't just swollen and oozing with pus; it started to hurt, a throbbing pain that came in waves, about every twenty minutes.

We had booked the entire small inn, and now there were only two guests left: A Mole and me.

I knew the Sun Family Brothers and the boss were searching for the Main Tomb Chamber. Not wanting to disturb them, I gripped my swollen index finger through the night, tossing and turning in agony, unable to sleep.

I sneaked out, hoping to find a pharmacy that was still open. I wanted to buy some painkillers.

In those days, online shopping wasn't prevalent, nor was there a service for delivering medicine online. Unfamiliar with Shunde Birthplace, I simply headed north from the inn, asking anyone I encountered if they knew of any open pharmacies nearby.

I did get some directions, but when I arrived, the pharmacy was already closed; there were no 24-hour drugstores.

Just then, I realized that I was not far from Li Jing's home in Nanshan District. It was very close, and from where I stood, I could see the arched bridge over the moat.

Li Jing, a local, came to mind, and I thought to check if her family had any painkillers. If not, I would have no choice but to trek a long distance to the hospital.

Upon reaching the place, I knocked on the door a few times, and it was Mother Li who opened it for me.

"Xiao... Xiao Xiang? What brings you here so late?" Mother Li asked me, clearly surprised.

"Auntie," I said, "is Li Jing at home? I was passing by and wondered if you might have some painkillers I could borrow."

"Painkillers?"

"Oh, yes, we have some. Come with me," she ushered me into their home.

"Little Jing, are you asleep? Open the door," Mother Li knocked and turned to tell me that the medicine was in Li Jing's room drawer.

Not wanting to startle anyone, I had kept my hand in my pocket the whole time, which is why Mother Li had not seen it.

"I'm coming, Mom. What's going on this late?" Li Jing, in her Donald Duck pajamas, rubbing her eyes, opened the door for me.

"Xiang Yunfeng? How did you get here?" Li Jing was surprised to see me.

"Your classmate said he came to borrow some painkillers. Mom remembers there should be some in the cabinet under your desk. Go find them for little Xiang. I still have water boiling; I need to fill the thermos," Mother Li instructed Li Jing before turning to leave.

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At that moment, Li Jing was wearing Donald Duck pajamas. The sleepwear was short, only reaching her upper thighs. As she bent over to search for the medication in the drawer, I dared not look because of the angle.

Back then, I was still an innocent young man, and the more I tried to avoid looking, the more embarrassed I felt, ending up with a red face.

"Why are you so red?" Li Jing had found the painkillers and turned around, puzzled.

I was about to speak when a sharp pain shot through my finger, as if a small knife was slicing into my flesh.

"It's... it's nothing..." I was in so much pain that sweat beaded on my forehead.

"I... I'm leaving!" I grabbed the bottle of medicine from Li Jing's hand and ran out of her house.

Not far from Li Jing's home was a public faucet. I didn't know whose it was, but it had water. I took three painkillers straight from the tap.

After resting for a while and still feeling the pain, I took two more pills. Only then did the pain subside somewhat.

Leaning against the basin, I began to feel a chill all over my body, my head felt heavy, my eyelids were fighting to stay open, and I had no strength left in me.

At that time, I thought I was probably about to die. It must be death approaching.

Curled up by the basin, shivering with cold sweats, I then passed out.

I hadn't been asleep for long when I woke up in Li Jing's bedroom.

"You're awake! What happened to your hand? You scared me to death! If I hadn't felt something was wrong and gone out to look, you could have been in serious trouble, you know?" Li Jing looked at me, still frightened.

Mother Li came in with a bowl of water at that moment and asked me, lying on the bed, "Little Xiang, why didn't you say anything earlier? What happened to your hand?"

I stammered, "Auntie, I think I might have been bitten by a snake."

"You think you were bitten by a snake? What kind of snake?" Mother Li was astonished.

I shook my head, indicating I didn't know.

"This won't do. We don't have a car, and the hospital is far away. It's the middle of the night, and the clinics and pharmacies are closed. We can't delay this, Little Xiang. Little Jing, help Xiang up. We're going to see Granny Liu."

On the way, Li Jing explained to me that Granny Liu was from Guangxi, married over from the Hundred Thousand Mountain Miao Village. Granny Liu had her own herbal remedies and was skilled at treating venomous snake bites. Once, someone was bitten by a Five-step Snake, and the hospital had run out of the antivenom. Granny Liu managed to cure the bite with her herbs in no time at all—she was truly miraculous.

Departing from Li Jing's Home, it took a forty-minute walk to reach Granny Liu's residence. Along the way, I suffered another bout of pain, but the five painkillers I had taken were still effective, enabling me to bear it.

Granny Liu's house was quite old. Li Jing had mentioned that after the New Year, it might be deemed unsafe and demolished. Mother Li knocked for a long while before an elderly lady finally opened the door for us, sluggishly.

Mother Li got straight to the point, explaining our visit. Upon hearing that I had been bitten by a venomous snake, Granny Liu hurriedly ushered us inside.

Granny Liu was over seventy, and her room had a certain odor about it—the kind that comes from unwashed soiled cloths. There was another elderly person lying on the bed, covered with a thick quilt, who seemed to be in poor health.

After examining my swollen finger, which had ballooned to the size of a 'One Yang Finger,' and the two small puncture marks left by the bite, Granny Liu's expression gradually darkened.

"Young man, let me ask you, are you certain it was a snake that bit you? Where were you bitten?"

I certainly wouldn't admit in front of Li Jing that it happened while tomb raiding, so I hesitated and lied, "I... I was bitten at home."

"At home?" Granny Liu fixed her gaze on me, her tone laden with implication, "I don't believe such a snake exists in your home..."

With a wave of her hand, Granny Liu signaled for Li Jing and Mother Li to step outside; she wanted to speak with me privately.

Once they had left, Granny Liu shook her head and said, "Young man, let me be frank with you. What bit you wasn't a snake. Have you been to the hospital? What did the doctor tell you?"

"Granny, the doctor initially said it was edema. Later, they took my blood for some kind of bacterial pathology test to see if there was an infection."

After hearing my response, Granny Liu let out a cold, mocking laugh, "By the time they find the cause, your body will likely be cold."

"There's no way such a thing could be in your home, not even in the wilds of the mountains. What bit you was a creature with white feelers, an 'Earth Corner Immortal.' In the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the older generation of the Miao people call it a 'Corpse Corner Immortal.'"

"They can only thrive amidst the dead." (To be continued)

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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/7b136c