When Wang Chen looked up, Duo Duo had already removed most of her vest.
Seeing this scene, Wang Chen felt his mouth go dry and his tongue parched, but the wriggling Black Crowsnake in his hands quickly sobered him up.
He stepped forward and pulled down Yang's vest, "Just stretch the towel inside and wipe, no need to take it all off."
Duo Duo, ignorant of the matters of men and women, asked in confusion, "Didn't you say we had to wipe the whole body? If we don't remove it completely, some areas can't be reached."
Uh...
Wang Chen grinned awkwardly, "A general wiping is fine, no need to be so meticulous."
"Oh," Duo Duo replied, then continued to wipe.
Wang Chen did not linger any further and ran outside to find a kitchen knife.
He gently cut open the snake's body, took out the Snake Gallbladder, then threw the snake into a bag nearby.
Afterward, he exerted a great deal of effort to move the large water jar from outside into the room, beginning to pour cold water into it, basin by basin.
While busy with these tasks, Zhang Hu walked in from outside, helping Wang Chen and asking, "What kind of snake was it?"
"Black Crowsnake," Wang Chen replied.
Hearing this name, Zhang Hu's face changed color, "Gosh, that's a lethal snake. Can you cure it?"
Wang Chen shook his head, "For snake venom, Western medicine requires serum, but that stuff is too expensive, and we don't have any in our town. As for traditional Chinese medicine, we need several kinds of herbs, which would be difficult to find in the mountains at night."
"So, there's no hope?" Zhang Hu said, eyes wide with alarm.
Wang Chen pointed at the water jar and Snake Gallbladder, "These things should keep her going for a few hours. Once it's light, I'll hurry to gather herbs. If I can bring the herbs back in time, Aunt Yang will be all right."
"Then you..."
Zhang Hu meant to talk about Wang Chen and Li Qian having a baby, but he halted mid-sentence.
His concern was urgent, but it could not surpass the immediate life-and-death situation here.
Seeing him hesitate, Wang Chen asked, "What's wrong, Hu?"
Zhang Hu waved it off, "Nothing, just wondering if you need any help here?"
"No, Hu. You'd better go back to sleep," Wang Chen advised.
Zhang Hu took a deep drag of his cigarette and headed towards the door.
However, after just a couple of steps, he stopped and said, "Chenzi, remember about your sister-in-law's matter, head over as early as possible if there's nothing else."
Wang Chen paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Don't worry, Hu. I remember."
...
Next door.
Zhang Hu entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed, lighting another cigarette.
Watching him puff away in silence, Li Qian asked, "What's the matter? Did Chen back out?"
"No. Aunt Yang was bitten by a snake, Chen will probably have to watch over her all night."
After snuffing out his cigarette, Zhang Hu lay down next to Li Qian and added, "Life is at stake. Let's set aside the other matter, we've waited so long already, a day or two more won't make a difference."
"Mm-hmm," she responded, and then she also turned off the light.
Neither of them could fall asleep, tossing and turning, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.
Although they had waited so long, the wait became slow and excruciating once expectation set in.
This feeling of agonizing slowness was shared by Wang Chen next door.
But his concerns were not about Li Qian's family issues, but about Aunt Yang's predicament instead.
No sooner had Zhang Hu stepped out than Aunt Yang began to regain consciousness, groggy and dazed.
She felt parched and as if she had been thrown into a blistering furnace.
That intensely burning sensation made her frantically lift her clothes in distress.
"Duo Duo, help fan your mom," she pleaded in her vague murmur.
Kindly, Duo Duo picked up a broken book and began to fan her.
But the wind in this summer night, even though cool when fanned, turned hot once it reached her skin.
Sweat quickly drenched Yang's entire body.
She, already scantily clad, now appeared practically naked before Wang Chen, her clothes soaked with sweat.
A young man in the prime of his youth could hardly resist such a temptation.
Wang Chen turned his back, trying his best not to look or think about it.
There was nothing he could do at the moment, even though he had sucked out a lot of the snake poison, the residual venom inside was not easy to deal with.
The effects of the snake poison were just beginning to take hold; he couldn't rush to use cold water. After all, there were still four or five hours before daybreak.
If he used it now, he would have no remedy when the later stages of the poison's effects set in.
Time passed slowly, so slowly that Wang Chen felt restless, neither sitting nor standing comfortably.
"Hot, so hot."
"Duo Duo, open all the windows. Mom is so hot."
"Duo Duo, I'm so hot I can barely take it."
"Huff, huff."
Yang's voice grew louder, her breathing more and more rapid.
Wang Chen glanced at the wall clock, it was only two o'clock.
Should he wait a bit longer?
"Chen, look, my mom's foaming at the mouth."
Just as he was conflicted about whether to use the prepared measures, Duo Duo cried out with a sobbing tone.
Wang Chen turned his head and saw that Yang was not only foaming at the mouth but also convulsing.
He hurried over, took out a needle pack from his pocket, and inserted two silver needles, one into the Renzhong acupoint and the other into the Baihui acupoint.
Watching Yang's condition gradually stabilize, he quickly picked her up and placed her into the water bucket.
Touching the cold water, the purplish-red color on Yang's face slowly faded a bit.
However, this did not last very long.
After about half an hour or so, the water was no longer cool.
The increasingly hot Yang began to lift her clothes again, muttering about the heat.
Wang Chen gritted his teeth and, not caring that dawn was still a while away, hurriedly stuffed the treated snake gallbladder into Yang's mouth, "Yang, eat this quickly, the snake gallbladder can dispel heat and detoxify for a while."
The groggy Yang swiftly complied. After swallowing the snake gallbladder, a cool sensation spread from inside out, calming her previous heat.
Watching her like this, Wang Chen fell into another bitter struggle.
"It's finally about to get light."
After dozing off, Wang Chen saw the dawn break with a pale light on the eastern horizon.
While this brought him relief, it also brought a smile to his face.
But before the smile could fully blossom, Yang in the water tank suddenly embraced him from behind.
Looking at his arms being restrained, Wang Chen shivered and struggled to break free to look; Yang's mouth was now purplish-black, her complexion a ghastly shade of pale tinged with black and red.
The delirious Yang raised her hand and grasped at Wang Chen, "So… hot…"
Wang Chen's eyes widened as he cursed silently to himself.
The final aphrodisiac effect of the snake poison had kicked in.
He thought this situation wouldn't happen, but just when dawn was breaking, it occurred.
As he bowed his head to ponder a solution, Yang suddenly stood up from the water tank.
At that moment, like a lotus flower emerging from the water, her naked body, covered in water droplets, exuded an indescribable charm.
Afflicted by snake poison, her body was limp; her sudden rise, unsteady in the water tank, caused her to lurch forward, falling onto Wang Chen.
This fall was critical, catching the unprepared Wang Chen off balance.
Splash!
Both of them tumbled to the ground together.
Wang Chen hit the ground with a sore back, but Yang, oblivious, continued to tear at Wang Chen's clothes under the influence of the poison.
"Yang, wake up… wake up now…"