Wang Quan's breath hitched as he looked up and saw a torrent of rats falling down like rain.
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"... It's me," the person suddenly spoke.
Wang Quan stared for a moment, then his eyes widened in realization, "Fang... Doctor Fang?!"
"Yes," Fang Ji replied, lowering his head as if unsure of what to say.
Wang Quan's eyes lit up, and he clung to the well's wall, shouting, "Doctor Fang! Help me!"
Fang Ji quickly made a gesture to hush him, scanning the surroundings. He lowered his voice and said, "Shh! Keep your voice down!"
Seeing his reaction, Wang Quan's heart filled with joy. "Did that guy named Feng leave?! You're here to save me, right?!"
Fang Ji looked at him, a conflicted expression on his face.
"I know, he must have forced you, right? His own son ran away. He's gone mad! He wants to trap us here and let us to starve to death! He's a murderer!" Wang Quan stared intently at Fang Ji, "But you're not like him! Doctor Fang, you want to save me, don't you?!"
Fang Ji pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and finally, in a barely audible voice, he replied, "Yes."
The tense expression on Wang Quan's face finally eased, and he raised his arms as far as he could, urgently saying, "Quick! Hurry and get me out!"
However, Fang Ji continued to watch him silently, making no move.
Wang Quan's face stiffened, his lips trembling. He looked puzzled, "Doctor Fang?!"
"Sorry, I can't pull you up yet," Fang Ji's expression darkened slightly. "What Village head Feng said is correct. Your mother's illness was caused by your infection. That's why we brought you here. The parasites inside you have become a matron and can expel complete eggs from your body. Ordinary worm medicine won't work; it will lay a large number of eggs in your abdomen. When your body can't satisfy its nutritional needs, it will interfere with your nervous system, control your body to jump into water, and then exit your body to find the next host."
Wang Quan's expression froze. He was stunned for a while before he raised his hand and fiercely struck the well's wall, "Then can't I just leave?! Can't you let me go, even if I starve to death? This is murder! Murder!"
"I'm sorry. Village head Feng said you can't leave. Moreover, with your appearance now, anyone can tell you're from Shangyang Village. Once you leave, people from outside the village will beat you to death!"
Wang Quan's eyes turned red, his chest heaving. He stared fixedly at Fang Ji's face, his expression twisted as if he wanted to tear him apart, "You! You're the one who said you could cure me! What a damn quack doctor! All you guys are liars!"
"I didn't lie to you. I did cure one case!" Fang Ji's lips trembled, his face seeming extremely pained. "But it was only that one case..."
Wang Quan was taken aback, "What?!"
Fang Ji pursed his lips, took out a short knife from his pocket, picked a few leaves from the side, quickly wrapped the blade, and slid the short knife down the well's wall.
With a light clang, the short knife grazed Wang Quan's nose and slid down to the bottom of the well. Wang Quan lowered his head in a daze, staring at his feet in astonishment, "What... what is this?!"
"I once encountered a person whose parents, wife, and children were all infected by him. All worm medications were ineffective against him. At that time, I thought he was beyond saving, so I told him about the parasite mother inside him and advised him to take matters into his own hands. Unexpectedly, he actually cut open his own abdomen, took out the parasite mother, and killed it himself. I immediately performed a suturing surgery on him. The conditions were very poor at the time, and he was severely infected. He needed a large amount of antibiotics to stabilize him. That's how he managed to survive."
Wang Quan's pupils shrank, and a chill ran down his spine, causing him to shudder violently, "Wasn't there anesthesia? Wasn't there the possibility of surgery? Why did he have to cut himself open?"
Fang Ji shook his head, "I'm sorry, anesthesia can't be used. The parasite's migration ability is strong. It can parasitize almost all organs of the host. When the host's abdomen is injured, it can bite through the intestinal wall and migrate within the abdominal cavity. At this point, the operator can't see its position, and either the host is under anesthesia and can't feel it or they've lost consciousness due to pain, unable to tell the doctor its exact location. So, the only way is for the host to do it themselves. "
Wang Quan's face turned as white as paper, and he exclaimed, "How the hell am I supposed to cut myself?!"
Fang Ji sighed, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to save you." He turned around as if to leave.
"Wait! Wait a moment!" Seeing him about to leave, Wang Quan's face paled, and he shouted, "Can't I tell you where it is?!"
Fang Ji paused, "I already said earlier, the parasite's migration ability is strong. If it can't be removed quickly, it will move rapidly. The only way is for the host to do it themselves. The only patient I've encountered who survived did it this way. There's no other way."
Wang Quan's expression almost collapsed. He leaned against the well's wall, hands covering his face, his throat choked up. His choked sob soon turned into a wailing cry.
He cried for a while, finally wiped away the tears from his face with force, and picked up the short knife from the bottom of the well.
Fang Ji watched his actions and spoke in a coaxing tone, "Think about the noises you heard at night. It's probably still in your intestines. As long as the knife goes in, it will start moving along your intestines..."
Trembling, Wang Quan aimed the blade at his own belly. Somehow, a spasm-like pain suddenly surged in his abdomen, making him want to vomit immediately.
This was probably where the parasite mother was. With this thought, he bit down on his lower lip, gripped the knife handle tightly, and stabbed it toward his abdomen. The blade only went in a centimeter, and a scream erupted from his throat.
His hand trembled violently, and the short knife fell to the ground with a clatter. He hunched over, clutching his wound tightly. A crimson stain quickly spread on the hem of his clothes.
"It hurts..." His features twisted almost grotesquely, his whole body shivering. "It... it's impossible!"
"You can only survive by enduring this moment of pain. That person dug out the parasite mother within seconds. As long as you create a hole big enough for a hand to pass through and reach in to touch it, you might be able to feel the parasite's legs!" Fang Ji spoke quickly, seeming anxious as well. "You have to hurry! If it senses something, it might run away!"
Wang Quan cried out in despair, then fumbled around the bottom of the well for a while. Finally, he grasped the knife handle again. He closed his eyes, shouted loudly, and gritted his teeth as he thrust the blade in once more.
Clamping his lower lip tightly, he sliced open his belly, and blood surged out. He doubled over, clutching his wound, and a bright red stain appeared on the hem of his clothes.
"Pain..." His features contorted in agony, and he trembled violently. "Only pain..."
He was left with only one sensation—every movement, no matter how slight, brought searing pain, and apart from the pain, he couldn't feel anything related to the parasite.
Gasping for breath, he panted like a dying wheeze. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his eyes were filled with helplessness and sorrow.
"Where... where is it?" Wang Quan's voice had turned completely hoarse, "I don't... I don't know... help..."
Suddenly, a gust of wind rose, carrying an even stronger smell of blood. It swept away a few tattered clouds, obscuring the waning moon. Shadows deepened on Fang Ji's face, and a faint smile curved his lips. He spoke softly, "The parasite is quite cunning. You have to feel it slowly. It's probably moving within your belly now."
His fingertip seemed to catch onto something. Wang Quan's expression changed, and he pinched that thing, pulling it out. He saw a piece of reddish flesh in his palm, and his face drained of color.
A sudden chuckle sounded from above. Wang Quan stared, looking up to see Fang Ji's lips curved in a smile. He tilted his head, gazing at Wang Quan's face with an almost regretful tone, "Wrong, my dear. That's your intestine!"
Wang Quan's eyes widened abruptly, "What?"
"After all this time, I've been holding it in," Fang Ji sat down by the well's edge, leaning against the large stone behind him. He spoke slowly, "Since you're about to die soon, why not hear what I have to say?"
A bone-chilling sensation ran from the soles of Wang Quan's feet to the top of his head, causing him to shiver uncontrollably, "You... you're ly...ing..."
"Where should I begin?" Fang Ji lowered his head, pondering for a moment. "Right! Didn't you ask about well, 'A Shui'? A scum like you, even at death's door, you're still thinking about my sister. It seems that I haven't been a good big brother!"
With a clatter, the short knife fell from Wang Quan's hand. His expression resembled that of a person who had just seen a ghost. His voice was fragmented, "Help... help..."
Fang Ji laughed, "What are you afraid of?"
Wang Quan had already trembled like a sieve, "Don't... don't..."
With a soft sigh, Fang Ji's voice softened, "It's alright, don't be afraid. Someone is already waiting for you down below."
"What...?!"
"That seller, remember him? I just took off one of his fingernails. He was so eager to expose the fact that you're involved, but I was lying to him. Twenty nails, I spent the whole night plucking them. So what? He screamed so miserably. I had to stop and wait for him to catch his breath before continuing slowly. He had been soaking in the lake and smelling bad before, and now he's probably been burned to ashes along with the garbage."
"No!" Wang Quan's face was as pale as death, his voice choked as he stuttered, "I... I took a thousand! It... it was Guo's people! Go... go find Guo San..."
"Why the rush? Sooner or later, he'll join you down there." Finished speaking, Fang Ji picked up something from beside his foot and poured it into the well. Wang Quan looked up, a sticky substance falling onto him. A strong, sweet scent immediately permeated the air.
Wang Quan was momentarily stunned, not yet able to react, and the next second, a shadow plummeted down. It landed directly in his arms, damp fur brushing past his legs. He shivered, looking down to see a live rat clinging to his leg, its sharp snout busily sniffing. He stared blankly at the rat in his palm, his face devoid of color.
A sudden thud echoed above. Wang Quan's grip tightened on the rat, his heart pounding loudly. The sound of tiny feet echoed in the air, growing louder and more numerous. Before he knew it, a horde of rats rained down on him, their damp, matted fur brushing against his skin. Sharp claws scraped his flesh as they crawled up his body, following the sweet scent. He screamed in horror, thrashing to shake the rats off, but for every one he pushed away, another took its place. They crawled into his collar, sleeves, and pant legs, a cacophony of scratching sounds filling his ears. Countless cold, sharp knives seemed to slice into his skin, leaving behind trails of crimson. A sticky, gnawing sound came from the wound on his abdomen as he watched his intestines spill out, devoured by the ravenous rats. He was engulfed in a writhing sea of rodents, emitting a desperate howl, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
"Come on!" Fang Ji's smile deepened as he leaned against the boulder by the well, his feet swaying gently over the edge. A shadow cast onto Wang Quan's contorted face, and Fang Ji's voice carried a sinister tone, "The night is still young. I'll be waiting."
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Tn: How was it? Exciting? I sure was...hehe