Chapter 63: Animals, Unite!

"A parasitic tortoise-leech?"

This was the very first time I had ever heard of such a creature.

I inquired, "Master Lao Chen, could it be... the reason he was still able to move even after death actually has something to do with this parasitic tortoise-leech?"

"Hmm!" Master Lao Chen picked up his hip flask directly and took a swig.

*Puff!*

He spat a mouthful of wine right onto the insect.

I watched as the parasitic tortoise-leech, which had been wriggling even with its body pierced by the dagger, instantly stiffened at Master Lao Chen's wine-spray.

Its claws also slowly stopped moving.

"This thing is afraid of alcohol?" I asked in astonishment.

"Hmm!"

Master Lao Chen nodded, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and began to slowly explain the origins of this parasitic tortoise-leech to me.

...

He said that he had actually seen this kind of parasitic tortoise-leech many years ago, under circumstances very similar to this man's.

Except that back then, the parasitic tortoise-leech had burrowed into the brain of a deceased hunter, allowing him to walk around just like a living zombie.

At that time, it was the first time their team of hunters had ever encountered such a thing, and they all thought they had run into a ghost, until Master Lao Chen plucked the creature right out of the hunter's brain.

Everyone was so curious back then! Since it was their first time encountering this bug, they discussed and tried various methods—burning it with fire for a while, drowning it in water for a while—none of which worked. The creature was neither afraid of water nor fire; the only thing it feared was alcohol.

Master Lao Chen said that he was actually shocked at the time, as it was the first time he had ever seen a bug that wasn't afraid of fire.

...

At this point, Master Lao Chen paused his story.

I grew anxious and quickly asked, "And then? Master Lao Chen, what happened next?"

Master Lao Chen tossed away the butt of his cigarette, lit another one, and spoke in a calm tone: "Back then! All of us felt that something was fishy, because this kind of bug was unheard of even to us who had spent decades in the deep forests; something was definitely wrong! So we started thinking, this had to be an exotic species! We searched the deep forests for half a month and finally found a Rooshi in a cave!"

I swallowed hard: "So, this bug was made by that Rooshi?"

Master Lao Chen let out a cold snort: "Of course! When we found that Rooshi, he was scattering these things right into the water! We caught him red-handed! So we gave him a thorough beating with the butt of a rifle! That Rooshi wasn't much of a man, but his stubbornness was notoriously ironclad. No matter how hard we beat him, he didn't utter a single sound! He simply refused to say what that thing was or what it was used for!"

Qi Lin blinked her eyes at this moment and asked, "Then what happened? Did he talk in the end?"

Master Lao Chen blew out a ring of smoke: "Refused to talk? How could he not talk? The guy was tough, but so what? Once we brought out the ten ancient and modern tortures of China, he eagerly and obediently explained everything to us. This thing is a parasitic tortoise-leech, and its main purpose is to parasitize corpses, so as to spread rumors that there are zombies in the Greater Khingan Mountains... Once this rumor spreads, ordinary people won't dare to go up the mountains. Instead, it allows spies like them to hide safely in the Greater Khingan Mountains."

Hearing Master Lao Chen finish his account, I sighed with emotion: "Damn, that Rooshi is truly badass! He could actually manufacture something like this!"

Qi Lin also nodded at this point: "To be honest, when we tomb-raiding, we've encountered similar things too! It was when we went to western Sichuan and came across a hillside rumored to be haunted! Our tomb-leader told us that whenever you encounter a place rumored to be haunted, there must be something fishy going on! Because many covert matters require the word 'ghost' to deter people's curiosity!"

Master Lao Chen looked at her: "You grave-robbers also frequently use these ghost stories to dig graves in peace, don't you?"

Rose nodded embarrassedly: "That is indeed the case! Using ghosts is the easiest and most practical method; the moment anything is associated with ghosts, people won't even dare to listen, let alone come close..."

"So the Rooshi learned it from you guys, huh?" I turned my head and said speechlessly.

"Who knows! Maybe so! Our Chinese civilization is profound and vast, and what they learned in the end was merely scratching the surface," Rose said with disdain.

I curled my lip in utter contempt at the time; what profoundness was there in that? It could only be considered deceit and swindling.

After finishing his cigarette, Master Lao Chen beckoned me to help him throw out the corpse in the room.

The two of us each took an end and struggled mightily until we finally managed to toss the man outside. Moving a corpse isn't actually all that tiring.

The reason it was such a struggle was largely because the man had been dead for quite some time, coupled with the thorough beating Master Lao Chen had just given him...

In some places, as we lifted and pulled, his body simply tore apart; all sorts of disgusting, pungent, foul-smelling juices and viscous liquids spilled out.

Sometimes even his intestines tumbled out, and that pungent stench made me cover my nose for almost the entire duration.

After tossing and turning for over an hour, we finally cleaned up the man's remains and the room.

Yet that stench lingered persistently throughout the house, making it impossible for me to find any peace of mind. Dahand also kept chirping and hopping around the room; clearly, the foul odor had become too much even for it.

However, Master Lao Chen was a hard man. Even after experiencing such a scene, he calmly continued to eat the meat bubbling in the pot...

This left both Qi Lin and me wincing in revulsion.

I sat nearby, covering my nose, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Master Lao Chen, aren't... aren't you disgusted?"

"Disgusted?"

Master Lao Chen smiled, took a bite of meat, and said to me, "Sanqi, there was a time in the deep forests when we had nothing to eat; we ate the rotting flesh of animals and drank water soaked in feces... What's a little stench like this compared to that!"

"Ah?" I was even more astonished.

Because when we were at the hunting grounds, those hunters had told me that there was endless meat to eat and endless deer blood to drink in the deep forests...

They had never mentioned ever going through such hardship!

Master Lao Chen wiped his mouth and said, as if reminiscing, "Back then, it must have been at the Kunlun Mountains! Ah, that time... that was the most unforgettable time of my life, I almost died right there!"

"Was it because there was no game in the Kunlun Mountains?" I asked sub-consciously.

Master Lao Chen shook his head: "No!"

"Then what was it for?" I became even more puzzled.

Master Lao Chen lit another cigarette, glanced at Qi Lin, pondered for a long time, and finally spoke.

"That was because... back then in the Kunlun Mountains..."

"The animals of the Kunlun Mountains had all joined forces!!!"