Chapter 94: Jar

“How can you not know?” Su Rou found it very strange.

“Because we all passed out, didn’t we? When we woke up later, only about ten minutes had passed, and that worm was gone. Who would still want to stay in that damned place? We all ran. So what exactly happened after I fainted, I really don’t know.” As he spoke, Guo Er asked Su Rou for another cigarette, took a hard drag, and looked somewhat pained.

“I think I know now. While you were unconscious, the worm crawled into your stomach. As for why it went into yours, it was probably because you were running in front and closest to it.” At this point, I basically knew what had happened afterward. I could never forget the scene of that worm crawling out of Guo Er’s stomach.

Thinking of this, I also felt a lingering relief. Fortunately, tongue tip blood and the tiger claw amulet had worked on that worm, otherwise I really did not know what we would have done.

“I am just glad I fainted back then.” Guo Er held his cigarette and took another deep drag.

Old Man Jiang’s expression was extremely ugly after hearing my account.

He slammed the table and cursed, “Those damn bastards brought the worm eggs up. Come with me to find that Old Du guy.”

I did not understand why Old Man Jiang was so angry. I had originally wanted to ask about the origins of that mysterious small room, but I swallowed the words back down.

At that moment, Monk Hui Jue just happened to enter the room. He said to Old Man Jiang, “Your guess was right. Someone in the market town is showing early symptoms. I am afraid this market town...” He sighed.

“Trouble, right? Someone brought up a gu container used to cultivate worm eggs. Do you think anyone can stay unaffected? Those who are already showing symptoms are still manageable, but the hidden ones are the real trouble. If one fully matures, the whole surrounding villages will be finished. How could this happen!” Old Man Jiang could not continue speaking. After a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up and left.

I quickly followed. I knew things had become serious, and I wanted to see what my master would do.

“Old Du, I know you are in difficulty. Do you really not understand that I am trying to protect you right now?” The person speaking in anger was the township head. In fact, he and Old Du had been comrades for many years. He truly was trying to protect him.

Old Man Jiang sat nearby drinking tea, his face calm, but I knew he was suppressing his anger. It was already deep night. After hearing my report, he had not even eaten dinner before heading straight to the town. I did not know what methods he used, but after returning, he went directly to the township government, where several high-ranking officials were already waiting, including the township head.

At that age, I was almost fifteen, and I often doubted my master’s identity. He only ever told me that he worked for the state, but how could he have such influence?

We still went to the small courtyard in the town. But ever since he told me his identity, he became more careful around me when handling matters, and I did not know why.

What the township head said was true. He was indeed trying to protect Old Du. After learning of the situation, the township had pleaded with Old Man Jiang, saying Old Du had a hard life. He had three children, one daughter died young, another married far away, and his remaining son had once had a high fever. A medical mistake left him mentally impaired.

They said Old Du must have been trying to secure a future for his foolish son, which was why he took such a dangerous risk. They hoped Old Man Jiang would not hand the matter over to the legal authorities, because once Old Du was finished, his entire family would be ruined.

Old Man Jiang gave no clear response, only saying they would talk after the item was retrieved.

So I knew my master was truly furious. He usually acted with a strong Jianghu attitude, not easily constrained, acting according to personal judgment. In normal situations, he would always say things like it was easy to talk things through, but this time he only gave such a cold response.

When we arrived at Old Du’s house, my master said nothing. I also did not dare speak. The township head was the one trying to persuade Old Du the whole time, but Old Du firmly denied everything. The township head, enraged, finally said what needed to be said.

Bang. Old Man Jiang slammed his teacup heavily onto the table. I thought to myself, this is bad, Master is angry. The township head turned to look at him and quickly said, “Old Jiang, you, you do not...”

Old Man Jiang waved his hand and said, “If it really is a golden jar, that would be one thing. Do you know what that actually is? It is not gold at all. It is made of special medicinal clay, with an outer layer of copper skin and coated with a special liquid to make it look like gold. Do you know what is inside it? If you care about your son and still want him to live, bring that jar out.”

Old Du’s expression turned ugly, but in the end he still shook his head and said, “What jar? I do not know. I am a government worker. Guo Er is a thug. Why would I be involved with him? You believe him but not me?”

Old Man Jiang gave a cold snort and said, “I do not think you are unaware of what has become of Guo Er. If I wanted you to tell the truth, there are plenty of methods. But I cannot be bothered with you anymore. If you care about your son, your whole family will end up like Guo Er. Just keep going like this then. I have never seen anyone so selfish. Call the police if you want. Just wait for the consequences.”

With that, Old Man Jiang swept his sleeve and left without any hesitation. I quickly followed. The township head was left there alone, looking extremely awkward, and I also noticed he was somewhat afraid.

Just as we were about to step over the threshold, Old Du suddenly hesitated and called out, “Old... Old Jiang, Master...”

Old Man Jiang turned back coldly and said, “Either bring out the jar, or stop talking nonsense.”

Old Du gritted his teeth and said, “I wanted to keep the jar and sell it when I had the chance, to leave some money for my son’s future. I was afraid that once we were gone, no one would take care of my foolish son. But now my son has also become somewhat abnormal, and I feel something is wrong with myself too. I originally wanted to sell the jar quickly, then go to a big hospital for treatment. But thinking about Guo Er’s situation and how strange that tomb was, I will bring it out.”

Old Man Jiang said nothing more and led me back into the room. I saw the township head clearly sigh in relief.

Old Du had hidden the jar under a dug-out pit beneath his bed. Since he agreed to bring it out, he did not hesitate further. In a few quick moves, he pried up the bricks covering the pit and pulled out the jar, tightly wrapped in several layers of plastic sheeting.

Old Man Jiang took the jar, tore off the plastic wrapping, and his expression changed immediately. He placed the jar on the table and said, “Look for yourself. Everything that was supposed to run has already run out. This is bad.”

Old Du was uneasy. Although he and his son had felt strange in recent days, he had deliberately avoided thinking in that direction. His main assumption was that the jar was tightly sealed, even covered with bricks.

Hearing this, he quickly pulled the plastic open and looked. Sure enough, there were tiny holes in it. He immediately thought of that terrifying worm. Could there be similar things in this jar?

Old Man Jiang did not bother explaining. He directly tore open the plastic again and examined the jar carefully. His expression changed again. He said, “It is over. The sealing wax has completely melted. The jar is probably empty.”

No one present understood what he meant. But the next moment, Old Man Jiang proved his words.

He forcefully twisted open the jar.

Inside, it was indeed completely empty. But what was nauseating was that the inner walls of the jar were covered with black egg shells, densely packed like a beehive.

Seeing this, the township head shivered. At that time, there was no explanation for it, but people nowadays would recognize it as severe trypophobia.

Old Du’s face turned ashen. He collapsed onto the ground, clutching his head, muttering, “What the hell did I bring up here? What did I bring up here...”

Old Man Jiang looked grave. He picked up two pieces of the egg shells, rubbed them between his fingers, and his expression eased slightly. “Good. They are still damp. Those worms cannot have left for more than five days.”

After speaking, he suddenly smashed the jar violently to the ground in front of Old Du. What happened next left him completely stunned.