Chapter 13: Deadly Poison Mushrooms

    After speaking, she forcefully pushed past Xie Jiu’er and went straight inside. “I see you’re eating quite well. How many people are there in your family?”

    Xie Jiu’er looked bewildered and frightened. “My mother, my younger brother, and I. Mother and my brother went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables; I’m staying home.”

    The thinner man behind her burst into laughter. “Boss, this girl must be daft! She’ll tell you anything you ask!”

    Saying this, he approached with a cruel smile. Just as his hand reached Xie Jiu’er, she cried out, “Big Brother, please don’t eat me! I’ll give you all my food!”

    She offered the half-eaten taro to the man. The thin man took it. “I’ve been eating meat for days; my stomach’s a bit upset. Some greens will do me good.”

    Xie Jiu’er then scurried back to the kitchen and brought out the remaining taro in the basin. “Two good gentlemen, this is all the food we have. I’ll give it all to you, please spare me!”

    The two men took the basin and ate a taro in two or three bites without a second thought. “You know, this taro is surprisingly delicious! It tastes different from anything I’ve ever had before.”

    Jiu’er looked at the few remaining taros in the basin and smiled ingratiatingly. “If you like it, eat more. Just don’t eat me.”

    Seeing this, the man with the bushy beard asked jokingly, “Little sister, why do you talk like that? Do we look like bad guys who eat people?”

    Jiu’er rolled her eyes, her eyes reddening. *I’m blind!*  She didn’t know when the poison would take effect. “I was just saying it casually. You two gentlemen certainly aren’t that kind of person, right?”

    The thin man finished the last taro, grinned lecherously, and ran his finger along the blade of his knife as he walked toward Jiu’er. “It seems you guessed right. After the greens, it’s time for the meat.”

    Xie Jiu’er stopped pretending. “Do you two know why our taro is so delicious?”

    The man with the bushy beard just swallowed his last bite. He didn’t take a thin, weak girl seriously. “Say what you want to say! You won’t have a chance later.”

    “You’re right, you won’t have a chance later, because you two won’t be able to hear it,” Xie Jiu’er said, looking at them as if they were already dead.

    Xie Jiu’er’s sudden change in demeanor made the bushy-bearded man’s heart skip a beat. “What do you mean?”

    “The taro was delicious, wasn’t it? It was stewed with mushrooms. Mushrooms are the most delicious, even if they are a bit brightly colored. I heard that the more vibrant the mushroom, the stronger the poison. Have you felt anything unusual?”

    Xie Jiu’er took out a bright red umbrella-shaped mushroom from the cupboard and smiled harmlessly.

    “Big Brother, my stomach hurts.”

    As soon as the thin man finished speaking, he looked back and saw that the bushy-bearded man’s forehead was covered in sweat. Had it started already? The poison was so fast?

    Xie Jiu’er pouted. “Why don’t you hurry to the next village? There’s an antidote to this mushroom there. The antidote for poisonous mushrooms is kept in the medicine cabinet; it’s easy to find.”

    The two men were now writhing on the ground in pain. The bushy-bearded man looked indignant. “You liar! This is the red umbrella mushroom, the most poisonous one. There’s no cure! I’m going to die, why are you still lying to me, you vicious woman!”

    Jiu’er looked regretful. “Oh, I just hoped you could struggle to walk a few more steps and die outside! Look how strong you are. If you die in my house, how can I, a weak woman, move your body?”

    “You… you… the most vicious woman’s heart.”

    The two men pointed at Jiu’er, then their heads thudded to the ground, and they were still.

    Xie Jiu’er turned to the two side rooms. “Are you guys done watching the show? Come out and move the bodies!”

    Wuyang poked his head out from the door. “Sister, people in the village who ate poisonous mushrooms usually fell unconscious for several days before dying. They probably aren’t dead yet.”

    Jiu’er twitched her lips. “After eating so many people, burying them alive isn’t too much. Are you waiting for them to wake up and settle the score with you?”

    Zhou shi came out, looking terrified. “Did we kill someone?”

    Jiu’er took her trembling hand. “Mother, if we hadn’t poisoned them, they would have attacked us. These two men had no humanity; they didn’t die unjustly. Don’t scare yourself. In this world, are there few who die? We stay in the village all day and are safe. Who knows how chaotic it is outside?”

    Zhou shi nodded. “Mother understands. I’ve lived so long, and in the end, I let you, a girl, face man-eating demons alone.”

    Wuyang also hung his head in shame. Jiu’er smiled. “What are you doing? It wasn’t you who pushed me out. Xiao Jinyu and I just thought it would be easier for me to make them relax their guard and become complacent.”

    Zhou shi patted her hand. “Okay, let’s not talk about it. Let’s move them somewhere further away and bury them. It’s creepy to look at them.”

    Then, the three of them carried the two bodies to a mountain ravine and threw them down. They didn’t have any tools, and digging a grave was too much work.

    Xiao Jinyu went into the mountains with his bow and arrow. After eating Xie Jiu’er’s braised chicken, he really didn’t want to drink their foxtail grass porridge anymore. He wondered if his subordinates were looking for him, or if they thought he was dead.

    It would take two or three months for his wounds to heal completely, and he didn’t know how much it would delay things. But for now, no matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do.

    He was immobile and couldn’t fight, and he didn’t have any armed subordinates with him, so he couldn’t go out to avoid being hunted down. It was better to lie low here, heal quietly, and wait for the right moment.

    When Jiu’er and the others returned home, they found Xiao Jinyu gone. She ran to his room and saw that his bow and arrow were also missing. “Oh, one by one, they’re all thinking about eating meat. His wounds haven’t healed yet!”

    If he encountered a ferocious beast, her money bag would be lost!  It was really not easy for her.

    Thinking that the God of Wealth was in danger, she didn’t care anymore. Xiao Jinyu was injured and shouldn’t be able to walk fast. She ran towards the forest. Luckily, when she found Xiao Jinyu, he had just reached the edge of the forest and hadn’t gone in yet.

    “Why are you here?”

    Xiao Jinyu asked without turning around.

    “Hey, you have eyes in the back of your head. How did you know it was me?”

    Xie Jiu’er supported herself on her knees, gasping for breath. She had run quite a distance.

    “Everyone’s footsteps and breath are different.” Xiao Jinyu turned around, saw her flushed face, and stopped to look at her.

    “You’re amazing, but can you be a little less worrying? There are all kinds of prey in this forest. Your wounds haven’t healed, why are you running around? Don’t you want to live? Last time was adventurous enough, and now you’re doing it again.”

    Jiu’er’s tone was full of reproach.