I pulled down my trousers, exposing the side of my thigh.

Both Red Sister and I were startled.

We hadn't expected this at all.

On the outer side of my thigh, near the pocket, there was a wound the size of a fingernail!

The flesh around the wound was turned outward, a purplish-red hue, and it was even beginning to fester.

But the strangest thing was, I felt no pain whatsoever!

When I gently pressed it with my hand, I couldn't feel a thing.

As I touched the wound on my thigh, some fluid seeped out.

At the same time, although Red Sister didn't speak, I heard a voice.

"Cloud Peak, where are you? I'm here." These were the words I had heard on the foggy night.

From Red Sister's expression, I knew that only I could hear this voice; she could not.

"Wait! Cloud Peak, don't move!" Red Sister yelled, her eyes wide with terror, fixated on the wound on my thigh.

I could see, with the naked eye, the flesh on the inner side of my thigh undulating, something alive was wriggling inside!

"Don't move! Bear with it!" Red Sister quickly drew her dagger.

Seeing my own thigh in such a state, I was petrified.

I bit down on my clothing, watching in horror.

The dagger was razor-sharp. Red Sister gritted her teeth, aiming for the slightly moving part on my thigh, and made a cut.

The blade sliced through the flesh, drawing blood. I clenched the fabric in my mouth, bracing for intense pain. But to my surprise, there was none, just a tingling sensation.

Once the flesh was cut open, it was clear to see.

Inside was a yellow-brown insect. It was the same legless Cicada Bug I had curiously pocketed before.

Red Sister carefully extracted the bug with the tip of her dagger.

The Cicada Bug died as soon as it was removed.

As the insect died, I began to feel pain, a drilling agony at the wound on the outer side of my thigh.

Red Sister tore her own clothing to make strips of cloth and bound my wound to stop the bleeding.

Wiping away her sweat, she took a breath and said, "There, it should be fine now."

Strangely enough, as soon as the insect was removed, I stopped mimicking her speech, and the auditory hallucinations ceased, everything returned to normal.

Red Sister looked at the dead insect on the ground, her brow furrowed: "Such a sinister creature, I hadn't thought of it before, but now it suddenly occurs to me. It might be a legendary creature called the Echoing Insect."

Red Sister took more than ten minutes to tell me everything she thought of.

I found it incredible after hearing it.

This insect had been mentioned many times in ancient texts. Initially, due to a lack of understanding, the ancients classified this condition as one of the Rare and Complicated Diseases, and there was an account of it in the "Compendium of Materia Medica."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Administering medicinal herbs, to cease the Thunder Pill, halts the insect's speech."

The specifics of how Li Shizhen treated the illness are interpreted by later generations as follows. It's said that Li Shizhen had the person suffering from a strange disease look at a directory of medicinal materials, instructing them to read the names aloud. At first, the patient showed no unusual signs, but when they recited the name "Thunder Pill," they began to tremble, sweat profusely, and appeared very frightened. Subsequently, Li Shizhen used the Thunder Pill in his prescription, and after decocting and administering it to the patient, the bizarre illness improved the next day. This is one of the tales passed down through the ages.

This type of insect was found in the Garden Secret Land, and I carefully reflected on the whole sequence of events.

Chen Jiansheng had been trapped here for some time, and he had entered the place several times before we arrived.

Is it possible that, like me, he began to mimic human speech because one of these strange insects had burrowed into his flesh?

Perhaps because of the prolonged time, Chen Jiansheng's condition was more severe than mine, which is why his eyes would become vacant and his consciousness blurry before an episode.

Whereas I, having discovered it early, still retained my own consciousness during the onset.

Chen Jiansheng initially had no contact with people, so the creature remained dormant within him.

Thinking it over like this, it seemed I could explain everything.

This incident was not a good omen, and although we dealt with it early, it certainly had an impact on our upcoming Drainage Plan.

It made things even more difficult.

Everywhere here was permeated with an eerie atmosphere.

Mountain Goblin, Creeping Gold Moss, the unnamed flowers, plants, and trees, as well as the Echoing Insect, the burial pits, the Sacrificial Altar, the Stone Carving of the Eight Fine Horses, and finally this small pond before us.

Red Sister thought it best not to delay. Once the wound on my leg stopped bleeding, she stood up and said, "Get ready, we're going to swim out."

Hand in hand, standing at the edge of the pond, she took a deep breath, turned to me, and admonished, "This is the final stretch, Cloud Peak. You must hold your own, don't be afraid. Do you remember what I told you earlier? We will both make it out alive."

I gritted my teeth and nodded, "Understood, Red Sister. Let's give it our all!"

"Inhale, take a deep breath."

I took deep, gulping breaths.

"I'll count to three, and on three, we start. Keep in sync, it's not far. Hold your breath to the end, and hold on tight to me."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"Jump!"

Without a moment's hesitation, as the count reached three, she and I leaped into the water almost in unison.

The temperature of the water wasn't as chilly as that of the Underground Dark River, but visibility was poor. Puffing out my cheeks and holding my breath, I kicked wildly with my legs, clinging tightly to Red Sister, relying on her to guide me through the swim.

Tiny fish darted past me. Diving for less than a minute, I faintly discerned numerous stone steps beneath the water, cascading down one after another.

The direction we swam in followed the path laid out by these steps.

There were no weeds under the water to entangle our feet, but something unexpected still occurred.

Due to my frantic kicking, the bandaged wound on my thigh had come undone...

Blood seeped continuously from the wound, diffusing into the surrounding water.

Attracted by the scent of blood, a black fish about a foot long appeared from nowhere. The fish was small, but it seemed to have teeth.

Red Sister glanced back and caught sight of the fish.

Her eyes wide with terror, she desperately pulled me forward, her strength immense.

Such vigorous movement led to a rapid depletion of the oxygen in my lungs.

I soon felt myself reaching my limit, the pressure in my lungs unbearable.

The blood kept oozing out.

Soon after, I saw more black fish with sharp teeth converging upon us.

They gathered in a swarm, tracking the scent of blood, and finally set their sights on me and Red Sister.

The school of fish grew larger and began to chase after us!

Swimming along the submerged steps, in a split-second escape, a series of red glimmers appeared on the water's surface ahead, resembling the light of torches.

"Gurgle," I reached my limit, unable to hold my breath any longer, and swallowed a mouthful of water.

Pain shot through me as a black fish clamped onto my thigh.

Then another...

As we drew closer to the surface, Red Sister, too, was attacked. She surged upwards, dragging me out of the water like a madwoman.

"Help... help!"

The moment my head broke the surface, I gasped for air and screamed for help, with piranhas biting me.

On the shore, torchlight flickered.

Eldest Elder Sun and Third Elder Sun stood agape, torches in hand, as they stared at me and Red Sister.

"Little Red!"

"Cloud Peak!"

Eldest Brother and Third Brother dropped their torches, and without even shedding their clothes, they plunged into the water. They pulled and dragged me to the shore.

Several black fish were still biting into my leg, and Red Sister was in a similar state, with a few latched onto her arm, a sight that spelled pain.

Third Brother slapped his thigh vigorously, his face alight with excitement.

"Fantastic!" (To be continued)

*******

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