...
Not long after Zhang Hao and the others had left, they heard the sound of a chicken clucking at the altar abruptly stop, but soon after, it was followed by a chickenâs scream.
The people in Chicken Luck Village have dealt with chickens all their lives and know very well what their sounds mean.
"Thatâs the sound!" Zhang Hao suddenly shouted.
Last night, it was the same; first, there was extreme silence, then a scream.
"Village chief, what sound?" someone asked.
Zhang Hao swallowed and said, "Last night, it was like this too."
"First, the chickens were very quiet, but quickly, it turned into chaos and screams."
"The Snake God is here, the Snake God is here!!"
As soon as the villagers heard this, they immediately felt relieved.
"The Snake God is here, thatâs good."
"It seems the Snake God has accepted the village chiefâs offering."
"Looks like we can sleep peacefully tonight."
...
In their view, whether the Snake God ate the chicken or killed it, it meant the Snake God accepted their offering.
The most important thing is, itâs not their chicken being eaten, but the village chiefâs. Having accomplished things using someone elseâs possessions, why not be happy!!
Hearing this from the village chief, everyone went back to sleep, thinking tonight would be a safe night.
...
The Physicianâs house.
The Physician, having just participated in the village chiefâs ritual, returned home to prepare some herbs.
Then.
A dark red slender figure swiftly flew past his eyes, accurately biting into his ankle.
"Ah!!!"
A scream echoed.
The apprentice, who had just been instructed by the Physician to go out and grab herbs, heard the sound inside and immediately rushed in to check, only to find the Physician already lying on the ground.
"Master, what happened to you?"
At this moment, the Physicianâs lips were purple, and his forehead was dripping with sweat.
His hand trembled as it pointed to his right ankle.
The apprentice, seeing this, rolled up his pants leg, revealing two clearly visible blood holes at his ankle, from which black blood was flowing.
Simultaneously, the black blood began to spread upwards from the two blood holes, moving at an alarming speed, covering his entire right leg in just ten breaths.
By this point, the entire right calf of the Physician had turned black.
The apprentice had never seen such a dramatic scene before; yesterday, when the Physician treated the village chiefâs wife, he only assisted with the delivery of medicine.
Now that his master was in such a situation, he truly didnât know what to do.
"Quick, go to the kitchen, get a knife, and chop off my right leg!!"
The Physician, clutching his right leg, shouted loudly.
"Ah!!" For a moment, the apprentice didnât react, nor did he understand what his master meant,
if he really chopped off his masterâs right calf, wouldnât he become an ingrate who betrayed his master? With such concerns, he hesitated to move.
Seeing the apprentice still standing there, the Physician continued to yell, "What are you standing around for, hurry, do you want my body to be entirely poisoned!!"
"Hurry up!!"
This time, the apprentice understood what his master meant, immediately running to the kitchen to find a cleaver and returning to the room.
At the same time, the Physician picked up a piece of herbal cloth, bit it in his mouth to prevent himself from accidentally biting off his tongue when his leg was chopped.
When he raised the cleaver, ready to cut down, he froze mid-air, trembling all over, and said, "Master, Iâm scared!"
"Cut, you useless fool!!" the Physician angrily shouted.
He knew his apprentice was very timid, and could only try another way.
As expected, upon hearing his master call him useless, the apprenticeâs expression turned fierce, and he gripped the knife with both hands and chopped it down hard.
"Ah~~~~"
Instantly, the Physicianâs right leg was nearly severed, blood flowing freely, and the intense pain made him unable to bear it, causing him to faint dead away.
"Clang~"
Watching his master faint, the apprenticeâs grip went limp, and the cleaver fell to the ground as he sat on the floor, his hands drooping by his sides.
At that moment, as he didnât know what to do, he felt a warm current in his hanging hands, looking down, it was the blood left by his master.
Eventually, the apprentice regained his senses, looked at his master, then immediately got up, ran to the pharmacy, trembling as he took out various hemostatic herbs and some treatments for snake venom to use on his master.
During this process, the apprentice kept knocking over bottles and jars.
It wasnât until midnight that the Physicianâs condition stabilized, with the apprentice applying the last batch of medicine to the severed leg, finally having a moment to rest.
"Didnât the village chief just hold a ritual? How did my master get bitten by a snake at night?" the apprentice wondered.
Thinking for a moment, in the darkness, the apprentice looked towards where the Great Mountain was located, guessing.
"Could it be that this wasnât done by the Snake God? But by a snake from the Great Mountain?"
The oddities of the Great Mountain are well-known among the nearby villages.
"If thatâs really the case, why has nothing happened to the Great Wilderness Border Village, which is closest to the Great Mountain?"
For a moment, the apprentice wasnât sure what had happened.
"Forget it, this matter must be discussed with everyone tomorrow." The apprentice couldnât figure it out, so he shook his head, leaned against his masterâs bedside, and inadvertently fell asleep while keeping watch.
...
The next morning.
When the sunlight streamed into the house, casting over his face, the apprentice finally woke up.