Gu poison refers to a poison that has been transformed into a witch. Before liberation, in some places in the southwestern provinces, there were often voodoo masters who "rolled the voodoo" on people who had been poisoned by the voodoo, and they would mention a long list of voodoo names in their spells. Ancient books record hundreds of kinds of folklore voodoo, such as golden silkworm voodoo, louse voodoo, etc. Not only are there many types, but they are also endlessly varied. There is a saying in "Sou Shen Ji" of Jin Dynasty: "There is a monster in the box, like a ghost, its monster shape changes, and it is a miscellaneous and special species. It may be a pig or a dog, or an insect or a snake, and everyone knows its shape. It is often used by the people. Everyone dies."
But the terrifying poison is not exclusive to the Miao people. The reason why Huai Rujin and I directly associate poisonous poisons with the Miao people is, on the one hand, because the Miao people are famous for their poisonous techniques all over the world, and on the other hand, there is a lack of understanding about it. Gu magic was also widely spread in the ancient Jiangnan area. Most of the Gu insects in the Pre-Qin period were naturally occurring and extremely mysterious. Now they are either extinct or hidden and cannot be seen.
There is a story circulating among the Miao people: a mother who was poisoned by the poison tried to take over the body of her son. The mother was so poisoned that she had no choice but to agree to put the poison on her son. However, the daughter-in-law heard about it and quickly told her husband about it. He said that he must not eat the bowl of eggs that his mother-in-law fried for him after returning home. Then, the daughter-in-law returned home and boiled a large pot of water. When the son returned home, his mother took a bowl of eggs and asked him to eat them. The daughter-in-law said, quickly grabbing the egg with her quick eyes and hands, saying that the egg was cold and she wanted to warm it up before eating. As he spoke, he opened the lid of the pot, poured the bowl of scrambled eggs into the boiling pot, covered the pot, and pressed it tightly. I just heard a stir and struggle in the pot, and after a while there was no movement. The daughter-in-law opened the lid of the pot and saw that it was a big snake that had been scalded to death.
Lord Guihou had been waiting for us on the top of the mountain. When we met, he said: "Miss Huai, there is a situation now. Something seems wrong."
"Master Gu is talking about the grass hag that sister Sissi saw?" I asked.
"It's not a big deal just to say that we're on the wrong track. I mainly wonder if our route is wrong. This is a Miao village, so it wouldn't be worth it if we go the other way." said Lord Ghost.
"Miss Huai said that the information is correct. I think it may be due to historical reasons. The Miao people here have also migrated from other places, and the Yi people who originally lived here happened to have moved away."
"Yes." Lord Gui nodded, "What I said makes sense. I think if we want to find the location of the ancient tomb here, we will definitely have to go through some troubles."
"Why did Mr. Gu say this?" Huai Rujin asked.
"Miss Huai might as well think about it carefully. Residents have lived here for generations, and the original traces will inevitably be obliterated. Furthermore, it has been so long that there are very few people who know the situation at that time. It is difficult for us to find any clues. "
"Master Gu is right." Huai Rujin nodded with some disappointment, "Then what should we do?"
"There is a way." The Ghost Marquis stroked his mustache, "It seems we have to go and meet this idiot first."
"Do you know what you are doing? What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.
"Grass Ghost Po Li is one of the Miao people who masters witchcraft, divination and tomb matters. It would be easier to start with her."
"But how can we tell others? After all, we are here to fight." I was confused.
"It's not the fight of the Miao people that failed. Besides, people die for money and birds die for food. Don't the Miao people understand this truth?" Lord Guihou sneered.
"If you want to say that, then I understand." I laughed.
"I think I'll ask Brother Yu to handle this matter. He should be able to play a role in dealing with this kind of thing." Huai Rujin suggested.
"Okay! Fatty will definitely be able to show off his skills this time."
When Fatty Yu heard that I wanted to ask him to go say hello to the witch, he immediately jumped up and said he would not go even if he died. That's true. He saw Sissi being very frightened after seeing the grass hag, and he must have been afraid. I had no choice but to use my trump card at the critical moment.
"Ah hum, um... you're not going, are you?" I said deliberately.
"If you don't want to go, I won't go. Whoever you like can go. Fatty has no intention of organizing such nonsense for you."
"I just said that Miss Huai was mistaken. How could she recommend someone like you? This kind of sacred mission must be carried out by a courageous man like me!"
As soon as I said this, Fatty Yu's eyes immediately stood up, his eyes flashed, and he shouted: "Wait a minute!"
"You said Miss White asked you to come?"
"Yes, but I still don't think it's reliable, so I didn't plan to ask you to go."
"Hey! You kid is so dishonest. How can you steal the limelight from your brother when he is told by Miss Huai?" Fatty Yu immediately became excited and rushed forward. His enthusiasm was so high that I was impressed. He smiled and said, "Since you are like this I said it, then I will let you forget it with my adult beauty."
"Hey, that's right!" Fatty Yu ran out in a hurry and disappeared in a flash. I was so happy that I couldn't open my mouth from ear to ear and thought to myself: "Fat man, you have been stuck with stupid words all your life. How can you believe such nonsense?"
According to the plan discussed with Huai Rujin, she and Gui Houye first went to the mountains near the village to check the situation. They were both experts at searching for dragons and tapping their acupoints. They were probably able to find some clues. Sister Meng and I were secretly trying to figure out the details of the witch, and at the same time we could keep an eye on Fatty Yu. Who knew if he might pull something off or something.
Sissi has always been afraid of the old witch and said she was extremely ugly, but I just wanted to see how ugly she could be.
"Brother Li Rui, I'm scared to death."
"Sister Sissi, don't be afraid. What are you afraid of when I'm here?"
"Ahem." Sister Meng coughed slightly when she saw the two of them were greasy and crooked, and said: "Master Gu has told me that all actions will be under my command in a while. You two should be smart, in case that old man If the witch has any evil intentions, don't be lenient."
This is the first time for me to act alone with Sister Meng. I don’t know what kind of approach this person has, but it seems that his style of doing things should be vigorous and resolute, which is more convincing.
"Should we still fight against her?"
"If you haven't been with Master Gu, you don't know. Master Gu is known as the number one Gu master in Lingnan, and he specializes in dealing with these heretical practices. The grass witch can cast poison very fast, and she can even blow her breath to cast poison, causing her life to be invisible, so Once an emergency occurs, you must not hesitate, otherwise you will bear the consequences if something happens."
"That's right." I nodded thoughtfully and smiled: "Then did Master Gu teach me any tips? Or maybe an antidote or something?"
"Yes, there is, but you can't learn it even if I teach you now."
"Yes, brother Li Rui, but don't worry, Sister Meng is here to ensure that nothing happens to you."
"That's good, that's good." I said anxiously.
Fatty Yu swaggered into a thatched house surrounded by a fence. As soon as a yellow dog in the yard saw him, he started barking wildly, scaring him so much that he ran away. I saw it not far away and said with a smile: "This fat man is so funny. He is chased by dogs wherever he goes."
Later, he didn't know where he got a bone and threw it over. Finally he got rid of the yellow dog and walked in quietly.
As soon as they entered the door, they heard the fat man yelling "Ah" again. Sister Meng had already had a premonition that something was going to happen and immediately followed outside the fence. When they looked inside, they couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
The yard outside the thatched house was actually crawling with scarab beetles. The beetles secreted a thick yellow liquid under the sun's exposure, and then spontaneously ignited.
I suddenly thought of the record in my grandfather's diary. This thing should be called the Red Flame Beetle, and I couldn't help but muttered: "The Red Flame Beetle?"
Sister Meng glanced at me and said in surprise: "You actually know this stuff?"
"Yes, I saw my grandfather describe this thing before in his diary. He said it was produced in the Western Regions and feeds on yellow phosphorus. It can penetrate into the human body and ignite spontaneously when exposed to heat." I said.
"This red flame beetle is actually a kind of voodoo. The kind you mentioned was placed in tombs to prevent theft. It is relatively large, ferocious in nature and very poisonous. However, the beetle used by the grass hag to make poison , are much smaller in size, are particularly good at digging into the body, and have a fanatical love for blood. Once bitten by them, life would be worse than death."
"So that's it. I was very curious about the contents of the diary at that time, but unfortunately I never had the chance to see it. I didn't expect to meet it here today."
I thought about it for a while and said: "These red flame beetles are probably still in the cultivation stage, that is, they are just selecting Gu, so it's not a big deal."
Fatty Yu, who was standing in the yard, had never seen these things before. He was naturally at a loss and showed a desperate and demented expression. Not long after, Fatty Yu stood at the door and yelled, "You Li Rui, you ungrateful thing! You let me come here to be bullied by these bugs, you don't know where to enjoy the cool air!"
"Brother Li Rui, why did this fat brother scold you?"
"Don't worry about him. He's a dignified Captain Jin, and he's very capable. But he has to curse a few times before he does any work, otherwise he won't be able to walk into the yard."
"Ah? Is there still such a rule for touching Captain Jin?"
Sure enough, after Fatty Yu cursed loudly, he seemed to be full of energy and mustered up the courage to walk in. We wanted to follow closely, but suddenly Sister Meng and I felt something was wrong.
"It's so cold around here. There are so many red flame beetles crawling on the ground, as if they have lined their pockets waiting for us to get into them." This feeling was extremely uncomfortable, and I said, "Have we been discovered? "
"In that case, there is no need to hide." Sister Meng said and stood up.
"Yeah, I've come here, so I have to bite the bullet and leave."
Strangely enough, as soon as Fatty Yu reached the door of the thatched cottage, the red-flame beetles immediately retreated and all got into the earthen jars placed next to the door in an orderly manner.
