961 Seeking Treatment a Thousand Kilometers Away (1/2)

He lied down for a while. His body felt like there was extreme pressure being exuded on him. It was as if something was stuck inside of him. Worse still, it felt a serious itch like something was scratching inside.

Cough! Cough! He coughed again.

Ptuu. He spat out phlegm.

It was a blob that had blood in it.

What the hell?

He stared at that disgusting blob of bloody phlegm and looked dazed. He began to feel unease deep down. It spread like a weed growing out of control and made him feel increasingly restless.

That feeling was there again.

Cough! Cough! Cough! He coughed yet again.

He spat blood this time, which had something sticky in it.

There seemed to be something wiggling in there.

He thought his eyes were fooling him.

He slumped down while feeling shaky. He was squatting where he had been standing. He felt his entire body freeze. His face was frighteningly ashen.

How could this be possible? How could this be possible?

He started shaking.

He saw bugs in the puddle of disgusting, sticky blood. The bugs were as thin as threads.

The bugs were from the village in the valley. They're here. They found me!

Miao Chengtang sat on the ground with a thump. He cradled his head and wept.

He was helpless and in a panic. He had no idea what to do.

”Why? Why?”

”I've gone this far to hide. Why won't they just let me go? Why?” He had begun to scream.

He was panicking. He was angry and frustrated.

Why? Why?

His expression grew increasingly sinister.

You want me dead, then I'll make you pay!”

The sudden threat of death caused several types of reactions to those affected. One of those reactions involved becoming insane, throwing tantrums, and going out of control. It often ended with them harming themselves and those around them. The other reaction was turning dumb. They would become so frightened that their brain froze. Yet another reaction was that the threatened one calmed down. When a person became calm, they were capable of many things.

After he was done weeping and screaming, Miao Chengtang grew calm. It was extremely rare for him to become that calm.

I'll have to save myself first!

He got his phone and called Miao Qingyuan, who was also in Tianjin.

”What? They're here in Tianjin!?” Miao Qingyuan was instantly flabbergasted. He quickly grew ashen and afraid. He knew how extremely brutal those people from the village were.

”Relax, they're here for me,” Miao Chengtang said. ”I'm not dragging you into this.”

”Th-that's not what I meant.”

”I've been cursed,” Miao Chengtang calmly said. ”I've sent you pictures. Have a look and see if you've seen something like that.” In detail, he told Miao Qingyuan how he felt. Although he was not hoping for much, he wanted to know if the other man knew any way to remedy that.

Back when he was in the village, Miao Qingyuan worked more with herbs than anything else. It was not that they could learn what they wanted to back in the village. There was the question of talent, as well as if anyone was willing to teach them. Things like that were not something that could be picked up on one's own. In a more mundane way of putting it, one needed connections. The term did not only apply to the outside world, but it also applied within the village. Although everyone shared the Miao surname, there were those some deemed closer and some deemed distant. A talent was of no use if there was no one to be a teacher. Miao Xihe was capable of getting to where he was because he was extremely talented and taught by the previous chief.

”Well, I guess you already knew that I don't know much about this.” Miao Qingyuan listened to his descriptions and took a good look at the picture.

”Yeah, I know.”

”But umm, you could try asking Xu Xinyuan. He has a lot of connections, so maybe he could do something to help.”

”Would his connections be able to cure the curse?” Miao Chengtang asked.

”There's no harm in trying.”

”Alright, I know what to do. Thanks.”

Miao Qingyuan hung up the phone. He paced back and forth in his room.

His wife looked at him and asked, ”What happened?”

Miao Qingyuan looked at his wife. She looked very average, but she had a mild temperament. He had nothing when she married him. He did not even have a place to call home. He had been like a rat running away from the village. Yet, that woman had been willing to marry him despite him being in such a downtrodden situation, and she never grumbled. She waded through the troubles with her husband, and the years had been more bitter than sweet. They had a cute daughter and a son. He felt as if he saw hope in his life. He wanted nothing more than to be happy with his family by his side. Their situation gradually turned for the better. They eventually went to Tianjin and settled down in the city. He still had all that enmity and resentment deep down, but he cherished the life he now had more than anything else.

”Nothing, it's just a friend who is sick,” Miao Qingyuan replied.

”Here in Tianjin?” his wife asked.

”Yeah.”

”Go see that friend of yours then.”

”Alright, I'll go and have a look. Stay home with the kids and wait for me.” Miao Qingyuan made up his mind. It was a decision that could have come with extremely great risks.

”Take care of yourself.”

Miao Qingyuan took some medicine with him and went outside. He hailed a cab and headed to Miao Chengtang's place.

Cough! Cough! Miao Chengtang continued coughing. Blood was being spat out now and then.

He looked terrible.