Insect Shadows in the Eyes

The Insect Shadow in My Eye

My whole life had been inseparable from Gu.

I was born in Luo Family Village, Dafengdong Township, a place where Gu culture flourished. There were all kinds of rumors here about Gu poisons. Some people used Gu insects to make fortunes, and others used Gu insects to kill.

Here, no one was more hated than me. Any bad thing that could be done, I had done it.

They cursed me as a bastard, as someone no one had taught, and I never talked back.

Because ever since I could remember, I had been an orphan without father or mother. No one had told me what I could do and what I could not.

The purpose of my being alive was to fill my stomach. Compared to having enough to eat, being cursed at and beaten bloody counted for nothing.

To me, the hardest thing in the world to endure was hunger.

Fish swimming in the water, grasshoppers in the rice paddies, loaches and eels, mountain rats running through the hills, little birds flying in the woods—I found ways to get them all and eat them.

I had even eaten plenty of venomous snakes from the mountains. When I was starving, I roasted black centipedes and ate them too.

I still remembered that day. I was so hungry my stomach was clawing at me, so I ran up the mountain to catch snakes to eat.

In the end, I slipped by accident and rolled down a slope, landing beside a snake den.

At the time, three venomous snakes of different colors suddenly lunged over to bite me, and I hurriedly raised my right hand to block them.

Just before I was about to pass out, the sound of stones striking came from up the slope. That miraculous sound actually drove the three venomous snakes away.

It was Master who appeared in time and saved me, bringing me back to the temple.

After I was bitten by the venomous snakes, my whole body began to burn, and all kinds of hallucinations appeared. I felt as if countless venomous snakes were coiling around me, leaving me in agony so great I wished I were dead.

Master never even loosened his clothes to rest. He spent three days and three nights using every method he knew before he finally saved my life. And on my right hand, three bite marks were left behind.

When I opened my eyes, Master's eyes were bloodshot. He sighed and said, "To survive the jaws of three-colored venomous snakes—this is the Gu God protecting you."

Only later did I learn that the blue, red, and white venomous snakes I had run into were the best materials the Dong people used to make the Three-Corpse Snake Gu. Their toxicity was so strong it was hard to describe in words.

In short, of a thousand people bitten by three-colored venomous snakes, not a single one would survive.

And I just happened to be the exception, one in ten thousand.

Master asked me, "You're so young. Why did you run up the mountain to catch snakes? Where are your parents?"

I lay on the bed. The words reached my lips, but no matter what, I could not say them. Tears suddenly surged out.

I did not know who my parents were. The people of Luo Family Village in Dafengdong all cursed me as a bastard. If I had not been so hungry, if I had not been unable to find anything to eat, I would not have gone into the mountain to catch snakes.

Master seemed to understand my suffering. He reached out and patted my forehead, saying gently, "From now on, you'll live with me in the temple. As long as I have one mouthful to eat, I won't let you go hungry."

The temple where I lived with Master was called Gu God Temple.

Inside Gu God Temple stood a huge divine statue. According to Master, the most powerful deity within a hundred li was enshrined here.

After I was besieged by the three-colored snakes, I drank herbal medicine for a full three months before the poison could be considered completely removed. Only the bite marks on my arm could never be erased.

To me, Master was a capable man. Aside from answering my questions and neutralizing snake venom, he had also reclaimed a patch of wasteland behind the temple and planted all kinds of melons, fruits, and vegetables there, turning it into our vegetable garden.

Beside the vegetable garden, Master built a wooden hut. One spring, Master brought back some black centipedes and Golden-Tailed Black Scorpions and raised them in the wooden hut.

At first, I was still a little afraid of them, but as time passed, I grew used to them.

In my lonely childhood, they kept me company.

Master dried the larger centipedes and scorpions in the sun, and then they could be sold as medicinal ingredients to merchants who bought herbs.

Holding a scorpion whose tail glimmered faintly gold, Master said, "Kunlun, this golden-tailed scorpion—don't look at how venomous it is. If it stings you once, you might lose your life. But once it becomes a medicinal ingredient, it can be used to treat illness and save people. The key lies in how we use this golden-tailed scorpion."

I was still young then and did not understand any great principles. I only stared at Master with wide eyes, then glanced at the dried scorpion and started drooling. "Master, when we sell this batch of medicinal ingredients, cut some meat and bring it back. I haven't eaten meat in so many days. I want meat."

In my eyes, it did not matter whether the dried scorpions were poisonous or not. As long as they could be exchanged for pork, that was enough.

Master froze for a moment, then reached out and smacked me on the head, scolding, "You little puppy, when Master is teaching you principles, listen properly. In the future, I'm afraid you won't be able to hear them..."

Master kept sighing, but at dinner that night, there was an extra plate of red-braised pork on the table.

Master's appearance finally gave me the feeling of having a home.

Later, Master went to Luo Family Village to ask about my origins. The people in the village said I was a "bastard," that they did not know which wild man my father was. My mother had left Luo Family Village before I was even old enough to remember things.

In their mouths, my mother was a vicious woman, the most terrifying vengeful spirit, who had brought disaster back to Luo Family Village.

Master angrily shouted down those people making cold remarks, warning them that if anyone let those words reach my ears, he would not be polite.

Over the following two years, I followed Master and learned to identify venomous snakes, venomous spiders, venomous centipedes, as well as venomous scorpions, poisonous frogs, all kinds of beetles, and even corpse insects that appeared in grave mounds.

The mountains of southeastern Guizhou stretched endlessly, bordering Hunan and Yunnan, and there were countless species of insects in the forests. This place became my paradise for adventure. Master knew the habits of all kinds of poisonous insects well, and he also told me which herbs in the mountains could neutralize poison.

I had a good memory, and on top of that, I was bold. Everything Master taught me, I learned very quickly.

"When you're a little older!" Master said. "I'll teach you even greater skills! You are a one-in-ten-thousand youth. You should master greater skills."

I blinked, thinking to myself, What could these greater skills be?

I truly wanted to grow up faster.

When I turned eight, Master prepared half a pig's worth of pork and two jin of fine tobacco, then sent me to a school, exhorting me to study properly.

At this school, besides children from Luo Family Village, there were also children from nearby Dong and Miao stockaded villages.

The children of Luo Family Village treated me like a plague god, but the children from the Dong and Miao stockaded villages got along with me as if we were one big crowd.

By the time I was thirteen, in the autumn of fifth grade.

Luo Chui from Luo Family Village suddenly warned me, "Xiao Kunlun, stay away from Tian Xiaoyuan. You're a bastard. You're not worthy of a micai like Tian Xiaoyuan."

Micai meant beautiful girl in the Miao language.

I stared wide-eyed at Luo Chui and said, "Say that again. Who's a bastard?"

Luo Chui shouted, "Everyone in the village says your ma fooled around with some man outside, then got abandoned, so she came back to Luo Family Village and gave birth to you. Everyone in our Luo Family Village has the surname Luo. You're the only one surnamed Xiao... You're a bastard! My mom also said your mother still hadn't given up, so she let you take your father's surname! Hoping he'd change his mind—what a cheap woman!"

All these years, I had never suffered such humiliation. My eyes went bloodshot, and a surge of rage rushed up inside me. I stepped forward and slapped Luo Chui across the face.

Luo Chui staggered back a few steps, then shouted even louder, "After your mother came back, your grandpa and grandma were both cursed to death by her. She's a vicious evil spirit, and you're the offspring of an evil spirit..."

Those words echoed through the classroom, and every single person heard them clearly.

I did not fear venomous snakes or poisonous insects, yet today I was bullied like this by a thieving little brat. I was about to explode with rage, and a powerful resentment surged up from the bottom of my heart.

I stepped forward, grabbed Luo Chui by the throat, and pinned him against the wall at the back of the classroom. For some reason, the strength in my hands grew immense. Luo Chui, who had always been sturdy, was choked by me until he could not move, his eyes rolling white.

"Xiao Kunlun! Let go right now!" There were quite a few classmates watching, but only Tian Xiaoyuan rushed forward. She tried to pry my hands apart.

"No... I can't stand this humiliation! Get out of the way!" I turned my head and glanced at Tian Xiaoyuan.

"There are red insect shadows in your eyes!" Tian Xiaoyuan's pupils widened, her body went limp, and she collapsed directly onto the ground, shouting, "There's a Gu insect inside your body... a Gu insect that kills without leaving a trace! Spare me... I don't want to die yet!"

Tian Xiaoyuan was a child from a Miao stockaded village. There was absolutely no way she would be mistaken.

My head buzzed as if it were about to explode. My body trembled, the strength in my hands suddenly weakened, and I let go of Luo Chui. Luo Chui fell to the floor, already unconscious.

I walked out of the classroom as if trapped in a nightmare. All kinds of voices rang in my ears, but I could no longer hear them clearly.

So I really was a bastard. I should never have come into this world. I had been abandoned by my father, left in Luo Family Village by my ma, and even my grandpa and grandma were dead.

There was also a Gu insect in my body that could kill without leaving a trace. Everyone in the world could mock me and spit on me.

What was the point of me living anymore?