Thinking of this, Chen Qingqing's eyes sharpened. "Since my elder brother has pleaded for you, I won't hold it against you. I can treat you, but..."
As she spoke, she paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone.
"However, I need to know how you contracted the corpse poison, what kind of corpses you came into contact with, the degree of decomposition, and whether they were male or female, so that I can prescribe the right medicine."
Upon hearing this, the pockmarked man's face showed a fleeting look of panic. Grave digging, exhumation, and necrophilia—any one of these was a capital offense.
If I were to die in the hands of the authorities, I'd rather die a quick, painful death from the itch.
He steadied himself and regained his composure, signaling with his eyes for Radish Head and Hook Nose to keep quiet.
“Miss Chen, to be honest, the three of us brothers did indeed encounter a corpse.”
The pockmarked man thought for a moment, then began to make up a story.
"Three days ago, my brother and I went hunting in the wild. We chased a rabbit for more than ten miles and ended up in front of a lonely grave. I was terrified. I thought the rabbit had become a spirit and had brought us to the grave to take our lives."
But the three of us still mustered our courage and went closer, only to find that the grave had been dug up by something, revealing a woman's corpse.
As the saying goes, "Respect for the dead is paramount; burial brings peace."
The three of us brothers, out of kindness, scooped up some yellow earth and buried the body. But our good intentions backfired, and we ended up being infected with the corpse's poison. If we had known this would happen, we wouldn't have been so kind.
"Yes, yes, we must have been infected with the corpse virus back then. Girl, we're doing a good deed, you must save us!" The hook-nosed man nodded repeatedly.
Radish Head added, "Yes, that woman seemed to have just died recently; her body was still fresh."
"That's all? You really buried that body, and no one else saw it?" Chen Qingqing clearly didn't believe them.
The pockmarked man swallowed hard and nodded guiltily. "That's all, really. If I were lying to you, I'd be a dog."
Radish Head also swore an oath, "Yes, whoever lies to you will fall and die while walking, choke to death while eating, or choke to death while drinking water. They will die a horrible death."
Hearing his words, the hook-nosed man almost vomited blood in anger, and pinched his butt hard, "Shut up, you never listen to anything, you're like a jerk."
The pockmarked man was also afraid that this loose-lipped kid would blurt out the truth, so he glared at him and said, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Carrot Head looked aggrieved. "I just wanted Miss Chen to treat our illness quickly. I... I'm so itchy!"
As he spoke, another wave of itchiness struck, and he couldn't help but scratch off two more pieces of skin from his arm.
Chen Qingqing frowned. He didn't believe these people would be so kind; they must have been tomb raiders.
But she had no other evidence, so for now she could only try to scare them.
Having made up her mind, Chen Qingqing spoke with a serious expression.
"To tell you the truth, the corpse poison you've cultivated is extremely rare. It's called 'corpse decay disease,' 'corpse poison,' or 'ghost possession.'"
Those afflicted with this disease experience unbearable itching all over their bodies. If they don't scratch, it's better to stay put, because scratching will cause their entire body to rot, starting with the skin and then the internal organs, causing excruciating pain.
If not treated promptly, the patient will die within three days, turning into blood.
To cure this illness, you must take my secret-recipe Soul-Soothing Herb Pill orally, once a month for three consecutive months.
"Girl, please give me my medicine, I really can't take it anymore!" the pockmarked woman wailed, her face contorted in pain.
Chen Qingqing waved her hand, "Don't rush, besides taking the medicine, there's something else I'm afraid you can't do."
"Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say, we'll do it without hesitation," the hook-nosed man replied in pain.
Radish Head, itching to do something, hurriedly spoke up to pledge his loyalty, "Miss Chen, just tell me. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west; if you tell me to beat a dog, I will never scold a chicken; if you tell me to pick my toes, I will never blow my nose. As long as you don't kill me, you are my second parents. I'm willing to be your slave."
The pockmarked man also said, "I'll do whatever Miss Chen says. Please, give me a Soul-Soothing Herb Pill first. I'm so itchy, I can't stand it anymore."
"Wait, I haven't finished speaking yet!"
Chen Qingqing had no intention of letting them off easily, so she put on a serious expression.
"This medicine can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. As the saying goes, 'the one who tied the knot must untie it.' Your strange illness is caused by the stench of rotting corpses."
"One good deed a day, eventually leading to great virtue?" To completely cure this disease, you still need to do good deeds and accumulate merit while taking medication.
You must never do evil or oppress others. If you cannot do this, or if you have not accumulated good karma, all your previous efforts will be in vain.
The old illness relapses, and within a day the skin and flesh will rot away, exposing the internal organs, leading to death.
These words terrified the three of them.
Although the pockmarked man made up lies to fool everyone, digging up graves is a very immoral thing to do, not to mention that he had a relationship with the female corpse. It must be that the female corpse was taking revenge on them, which is why she turned into a vengeful ghost and haunted them.
The pockmarked man nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, Miss Chen, we will definitely do our best to survive."
Radish Head quickly swore an oath, "Yes, yes, I can do it. From now on, I will go out on the street every day and guard it. If anyone dares to bully the poor, I will smash their head in."
The man with the hooked nose chimed in, not to be outdone, "That's right, it's just doing a good deed a day, right? That's easy. From now on, I'll stay up every night and help the night watchman keep watch."
“Yes, I won’t sleep either. I’ll go help people clean out latrines and sweep the streets,” the pockmarked man chimed in.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Chen Qingqing knew they were completely fooled. She then spoke with a half-smile,
"As the saying goes, 'Good advice is hard to persuade a damned ghost.' Anyway, I've done what I should do and said what I should say. Whether you listen or not is up to you. If you really don't listen to good advice, then you're headed for death."
"Don't worry, Miss Chen, we're not afraid of anything except death. To save our lives, we promise never to do anything bad again. Please, Miss, give us the medicine!" The pockmarked man pleaded.
Chen Qingqing took out nine candies that she had prepared in advance from her cloth bag, and shook them in her hand a few times. "I won't ask for more money for this medicine and the consultation fee. Just give me fifty taels of silver!"
The pockmarked man was stunned. He instinctively reached for his waist; this silver was the kickback Li the butcher had given him.
If he were to reveal this, he would gain absolutely nothing and only cause himself a lot of trouble.
Thinking of this, he burst into tears and pretended to be poor.
"Please have pity on us, young lady! We're just idle people, penniless as can be. Please, have some compassion and give us the medicine!"
"You wish! These are all made from precious herbs. If you don't have the money to buy them, I can't just give them to you for free. You'd better go and find a way!"
......
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