Li was already disheartened by Old Man Xiao's decision to have her clear the way, and upon hearing Xie Yujiao's threats, she scoffed.
"I don't even know how much longer I'll live! How can I care about that far ahead!"
"Your fourth brother has been studying for so many years, and it was all thanks to your older brother and me farming and selling our money that we supported him. Now that the family is divided, he's taking the lion's share. If he dares to abandon us now that he's successful, we'll sue him for being unfilial, disloyal, and ungrateful. Let's see how he holds his official position!"
"You...you dare say that, Dad? Did you hear that? She's trying to ruin Fourth Brother's future! Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"Shut up, fourth son's wife! Are you going to fill the water tank or not? If not, go back to your parents' house. Our Xiao family can't afford a good-for-nothing like you!"
Old Man Xiao's disgusted rebuke
Seeing that no one was helping her, and fearing that Old Man Xiao would really send her home, Xie Yujiao had no choice but to agree to go and fetch water.
Xie Yushu was only jilted, so she could only marry a cripple. If she were divorced, who knows what fate awaited her? She had no choice but to swallow her anger and follow behind Li Shi.
By this time, the Liu family had finished their discussion. Liu Qiang led the fourth and fifth brothers and his second brother-in-law to clear the way, the third brother, who was good at archery, to provide defense, the ninth brother and a boy from their second uncle's family to provide backup, and the rest of them went to fill the water.
Six people cleared the way, two defended, five provided support, and eight poured water.
After agreeing on the plan, everyone worked together to cut down several pine trees to make torches. They sprinkled the burnt medicinal powder on the torches, and the pine trees, which naturally contain resin, burned very brightly. Combined with the snake-repelling powder, they instantly emitted a strong, strange smell.
Liu Qiang shouted
"We're all men, none of us should be cowards!"
Even if we die here today, it's for our families. Don't blame anyone. I'll count to three, everyone follow me!
The six men, each with two torches, held their breath and waited for Liu Qiang to count to three before rushing out together. Wherever the torches went, the snakes retreated, and even other poisonous insects scattered and fled.
The two people in front rushed forward a few steps, and the two behind followed suit, quickly clearing a path!
Xie Yushu and Liu's third son immediately followed and found a place to stand. One held up a bow and arrow, while the other held a gleaming short knife to intimidate the restless tigers and wolves.
"Hurry and fetch water! Those in the backup, grab your torches and keep an eye on the snakes, checking for any gaps or leaks as needed!"
As soon as Xie Yushu finished speaking, the people fetching water rushed to the edge of the pool, not caring whether the pool was clean or not, and quickly filled their containers with water!
The group's actions instantly caused a commotion. The furry animals, which are afraid of fire, fled in all directions, causing chaos. The snakes that had been dispersed were startled and scurried around. Some snakes even crawled through the torches back into the passageway and climbed onto people!
"hiss!"
"Holy crap, I've been bitten!"
"You motherfucker, I'll burn you alive!"
"Don't panic! All of you, stay calm! Even if you die, you have to keep watch on this road!"
The initially panicked people fell silent upon hearing Liu Qiang's shout. Ignoring their injuries, they shook off the snakes clinging to their legs and continued to drive them away. Liu's son, who was waiting outside, also stepped forward with a torch and chased the slithering snakes away! The situation was narrowly stabilized!
The people fetching water almost pressed the water gourds all the way down, filling them in just a few breaths, and then rushed them out. In about five or six minutes, almost everyone had finished filling their gourds. It was at this time that the powder on the torches was almost burned out, the smell was getting weaker and weaker, and the snakes were showing signs of turning back!
"Quick! Quick, the powder is almost gone, get out of there! Don't worry about the ones that haven't been finished!"
"Upon hearing this, everyone stopped and ran back. Even so, those who went back last were bitten a few times. Fortunately, they were all men from the mountains and were not afraid of snakes and insects. They grabbed the snakes that had coiled around them and smashed them to death. Some even held two rat snakes, intending to roast and eat them!"
Xie Yushu found this thing hard to accept; she was naturally afraid of such creatures. Even during her rain training when there was no food, she would rather eat grasshoppers than this! Besides, this thing might contain parasites, so she warned her...
"Snakes contain a lot of parasites, and eating them can easily make you sick. We'll catch some goats, rabbits, pheasants, or something later!"
Don't let the hard-won access to water lead to your death from eating spoiled food!
After Xie Yushu finished speaking, some people believed her and threw the snake away, while others did not believe in this superstition. Xie Yushu did not force them to listen; she had explained the reasoning, and it was up to them whether they listened or not.
Once outside the shade of the tree, the snakes naturally stopped chasing. The shade seemed to act as a barrier, dividing the area into two worlds: one dry and scorching, the other cool and eerie. Neither was an easy place to live.
The group found a gentle hillside nearby and stopped to rest.
Xie Yushu raised her voice and asked
"Who was bitten by a snake just now? If you feel unwell, speak up now!"
"I!"
"Me too"
I feel dizzy.
"My heart is breaking!"
Xie Yushu told people to quickly carry the people together. One person had no other reaction except for the pain from his wound. Xie Yushu threw them some medicine and told them to bandage themselves. The other five had symptoms of poisoning and needed to be treated immediately!
Liu Qiang and Liu Jiasan are the most seriously injured; their lips have turned purple and they are breathing rapidly!
Xie Yushu had someone find all their wounds and quickly made cross-shaped cuts. She then instructed the two Liu boys to suck out the poisoned blood and repeatedly told them not to swallow it. She then took out the antidote pills Xiao Yi had given her and fed them double the amount! She also gave some to the other two boys and had them suck out the poisoned blood in the same way.
After a while, the black blood turned red, and medicine was applied to the wounds. Seeing that the condition of the poisoned people did not continue to deteriorate, Xie Yushu breathed a sigh of relief!
The Liu brothers hurriedly asked
"Are my eldest brother and second brother-in-law alright?"
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