Chapter 9

He had already become the "chongmu" (insect mother), and the insect eggs had been expelled from his body along with his bodily fluids, infecting his mother who lived with him.

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When Fang Ji saw Wang Quan, it was already noon. He was lying on the kang (traditional heated bed), his eyes closed in sleep.

Old Lady Wang sat at his bedside, her eyes a deep shade of purple. Unshed tears made her eye corners turn red. She hadn't had a proper night's sleep in who knew how many days. A basin, a chamber pot, and a half-empty bowl of vegetable soup were placed at the foot of the bed. She was wringing out a wet cloth, slowly wiping away the stains on the bedding. Hearing footsteps, she hurriedly stood up from her stool. But her vision suddenly darkened, and Fang Ji quickly reached out to support her. After she steadied herself, her legs gave way, and she knelt in front of Fang Ji, her voice hoarse: "Fang... Doctor Fang! Please save him!"

Fang Ji held onto Old Lady Wang's arm, and in a gentle tone, he reassured her, "Granny, please don't worry. I promise I won't let him die from this illness."

Old Lady Wang's gaze shifted, locking onto his eyes. She pleaded, "Really? Quan-er is okay, right?!"

Fang Ji smiled, "If you trust me..."

"I do! Of course, I trust you!" Old Lady Wang's lips trembled, "I've heard about you. You've cured many people's illnesses!"

Feng Bao Nan lifted his arm, attempting to guide her to a nearby chair, "You should sit down for a moment. Let Doctor Fang examine your son's condition first."

Old Lady Wang reluctantly withdrew her hand, stood up, and moved to the foot of the bed. She leaned against the bedpost, standing there, "I... I'll watch from here! I won't disturb Doctor Fang!"

Fang Ji didn't pay her any more attention and sat on a stool in front of the bed. Lifting the bedsheet, he found that Wang Quan was awake. Although his face appeared grayish-yellow and he seemed a bit weakened, his eyes were still clear. Wang Quan shifted his gaze slowly, sizing up Fang Ji. He spoke hoarsely, "Doctor? Are your treatments effective?"

Fang Ji remained silent, only lowering his head to feel Wang Quan's pulse. Wang Quan thought this man seemed a bit aloof, so he kept his gaze fixed on Fang Ji's brows and eyes, and his expression appeared somewhat dazed. After lying in bed for several days, he felt stifled and couldn't help but play a little trick. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he said, "I heard... you treated A Shui, right? So... how is A Shui now? Village head Feng's a tight-lipped guy, he won't say anything... You two aren't sharing a bed, are you?!"

Fang Ji locked his gaze onto Wang Quan's eyes, his expression turning stern. Suddenly, he uttered, "Who are you?"

Wang Quan was taken aback, "What?"

"Are you Wang Quan's consciousness talking to me right now? Or is it the consciousness of the parasite?"

Wang Quan's smile froze, and his spine chilled involuntarily, "Par... parasite?!"

Old Lady Wang's complexion changed as well, and she anxiously asked, "Doctor Fang, what are you saying?!"

Feng Bao Nan furrowed his brows and discreetly signaled to Fang Ji, "Doctor Fang, don't frighten him!"

Fang Ji gave a faint smile and slowly said, "Village head Feng, don't worry. This parasite can interfere with the nervous system. I've noticed the patient's speech is somewhat erratic, so I wanted to confirm."

"W-What parasite? Are you talking nonsense?!" Wang Quan, growing anxious, tried to grab Fang Ji's arm to question him. However, Fang Ji quickly evaded his hand, as though he were avoiding something dirty. This reaction sent a shiver down Wang Quan's spine.

"It's not nonsense. It's widely rumored that males becoming pregnant is a fallacy, and there's no doubt about that. While men's intestines cannot give birth to human embryos, they can give birth to the offspring of parasites. Among the cases I've encountered, female parasites lay eggs in the veins of the submucosa of the intestines. The parasite eggs enter the intestines. The toxins, suckers, mouthparts, and secretions of the parasite will damage your intestinal wall. Subsequently, your immune system will be activated to repair the wounds. The parasites will bite and damage again, and then your immune system will repair it once more. After this cycle repeats, your belly will gradually swell day by day." As Fang Ji watched Wang Quan's eyes fill with fear, a cold smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "At night, when everything quiets down, if you cover yourself with a blanket and listen carefully, you'll definitely hear faint sounds from your abdomen. Those are the sounds of the insects biting..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Wang Quan suddenly shouted loudly. He clutched the edge of the bed, bent over, and retched.

Seeing her son like this, Old Lady Wang's heart tightened instantly. She hurriedly stepped forward to support his shoulder, trying to help him up.

"Get away!" Wang Quan pushed her aside and stared at her with bloodshot eyes. After panting for a moment, he slid his hands under his clothes, hugging his abdomen tightly. With a fierce grip, his nails dug deep into his skin. Suddenly, his whole body convulsed, he bent over again, and then he vomited with a "retch" sound.

He retched violently, his face losing all color. Exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed. Old Lady Wang quickly caught his head and gently laid him back onto the bed. Bending over, she wiped away the saliva with traces of blood from the corner of his mouth. Wang Quan was too fatigued to even push her away. He turned his head to the side and let her attend to him. Overwhelmed by fatigue, he closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

Feng Bao Nan's tense expression slightly eased. He grabbed Fang Ji's sleeve and pulled him to the side, speaking in a low voice, "Doctor Fang, why did you say so much?"

Without looking at him, Fang Ji lowered his voice and said, "Village head Feng, take a look."

Feng Bao Nan was taken aback and followed Fang Ji's gaze to the ground. He was astonished to see several pale yellow egg-like substances wrapped in the vomit, identical to the parasite eggs they had extracted from the body of the giant earlier.

"Doctor Fang! You just said... you can treat this illness, right?!" Old Lady Wang finished cleaning Wang Quan's face and tugged at Fang Ji's sleeve, asking anxiously.

"Of course." Fang Ji stood up, took out a paper packet and a water bottle from his bag, and placed them by the bedside. He told Old Lady Wang, "The medication in the paper packet should be given to him according to the instructions I've written on it. The water in the bottle is mixed with some powdered medicine. You can dip your hand and apply a little to the areas where blood vessels pass through, like his neck and limbs. Apply it around ten times a day."

Old Lady Wang noted everything down. As she was about to kneel down to thank him, Fang Ji stopped her and advised, "Please focus on looking after your son for now. Thanking me can wait until he's better, especially during the night. Be extra careful then."

Her face turned pale, and she hastily replied, "Yes! Doctor Fang, you're right. He often feels feverish at night and struggles to breathe."

Fang Ji nodded, "Night time is the critical period. Apply more of the medicinal water when he's feverish. It can help cool him down. If you happen to fall asleep and he stops breathing again, there won't be a second chance to save him. Old Lady, keep a close watch. I'll be leaving now, and I'll come back to check on him in a few days." With that, he and Feng Bao Nan left.

After the courtyard gate closed with a muffled thud, Fang Ji's brow furrowed slightly, and his face lost all traces of a smile. Feng Bao Nan looked at his expression and asked, "Fang Ji, what's really going on with him?"

Fang Ji shifted his gaze to Feng Bao Nan's face and said in a low voice, "Village head Feng, you can start making arrangements for the aftermath."

"What?" Feng Bao Nan's expression changed, "He's beyond saving?"

Fang Ji opened his hand, and Feng Bao Nan looked closely. He saw Fang Ji pinching a substance resembling a parasite egg through his gloves. It was remarkably similar to the parasite eggs they found inside the corpse at the Giant's Pavilion. The difference was that the previous egg had been damaged inside the body, while this one was complete and round.

"This is..."

"An intact parasite egg. I picked it out when Old Lady Wang wasn't paying attention just now." Fang Ji asked, "Village head Feng, is Old Lady Wang's husband still alive?"

"He died several years ago."

"So, there's no possibility of him becoming pregnant," Fang Ji said, "When I entered, she knelt down in front of me. She slightly loosened her collar, and I noticed that her chest was covered in numerous erythemas and papules. Her abdomen was also slightly swollen, resembling early-stage symptoms of the disease. I didn't want to say this in front of her just now..."

Feng Bao Nan furrowed his brow, "Are you saying that Old Lady Wang has also contracted this disease?"

"The fact that complete parasite eggs were expelled along with the fluids from Wang Quan's abdomen confirms that he has become a host to the parasite mother, and the eggs have infected his mother, who lives with him."

"Earlier, you said he was beyond saving, that hosts infested with the parasite mother are beyond saving, right?"

"Yes, I provided her with ordinary deworming medicine, which has no effect on the parasite mother. It's as effective as a placebo. My idea is to temporarily move Wang Quan elsewhere. This way, his mother probably still has a chance." Fang Ji looked at Feng Bao Nan, "Village head Feng, what do you think?"

Feng Bao Nan fell silent. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled a long smoke ring. His face was shrouded in a layer of gloom, and after a long pause, he spoke, "You saw it today as well. If something happens to him, his mother probably won't survive either."

"But if we let him continue living here, there will be more patients from Shangyang Village." Seeing Feng Bao Nan's expression shift slightly, Fang Ji continued, "Let his mother spend her remaining time with hope. When she falls, we..."

Over the next few days, Wang Quan slept most of the daylight hours, but at night, he struggled to fall asleep. He could always hear a faint, rustling sound in his ears, as if countless tiny insect legs were crawling in his head. He curled up under the covers, and a flush spread across his pale face. His entire body was soaked in cold sweat.

"There... are bugs..." He huddled his body, covering his ears tightly, and shivered uncontrollably under the covers.

Old Lady Wang wiped away his sweat bit by bit and patted him gently through the covers, soothing him softly like a baby, "Quan'er, it's just mice! Nasty mice gnawing at the table legs! Mama's here, don't be afraid. Mama will catch it in a little while. Go to sleep! It'll be better once you're asleep!"

After a restless night, he endured until dawn in a half-dream state. Finally, his exhaustion overcame him, and he closed his eyes. Seeing his peaceful sleeping face, Old Lady Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Dawn's light filtered through the window paper and fell on her sunken eye sockets. She stared at the gradually brightening room, and suddenly, everything seemed to sway. Then, she felt a pain in her waist, and as she looked at the gray ceiling, she remained stunned for a while. It wasn't until her waist ached that she realized she had fallen to the ground.

She raised her hand and felt around for a while before managing to reach the bedpost. Using it for support, she struggled to sit up and leaned against the bed, catching her breath. She managed to focus on her son's face with great effort, but her eyelids were stubbornly heavy, threatening to close. She raised her hand and pinched her arm hard, but still felt drowsy. She clenched her teeth and drove her nails into her flesh, finally drawing blood. The pain overcame her weariness. She released her arm, which was now soaked in blood, and continued to focus on Wang Quan's face.

Suddenly, her entire body spasmed. Something seemed to churn up her throat, and she quickly turned her head away from Wang Quan. She covered her mouth and nose with her hands and coughed in a muffled manner.

The pungent, salty smell filled her nostrils, and her palms were sticky. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked at her palms, which were smeared with a dark substance. It was blood.

Staring at the blood on her hands, she remained frozen for several seconds. She then turned her face and looked at Wang Quan's sleeping face. Her heart suddenly clenched. She wiped the blood off with a towel, tossed it into a basin, bent down, held the basin, and tried to stand up. However, a sudden wave of pain struck her abdomen. With a splashing sound, she and the water basin crashed to the ground together. She tried to brace herself and stand up, but the pain came in waves, one after another, overwhelming her. Her vision went dark, and she fainted.

In the evening, when Feng Bao Nan and Fang Ji entered, they saw Old Lady Wang lying motionless on the ground.

Feng Bao Nan hurried over, turned her shoulder, and saw her pale face. She had lost consciousness. He carefully lifted her and placed her on the bed, saying, "Doctor Fang, make some space!"

Fang Ji wrapped the sleeping Wang Quan in a blanket, lifted him along with the blanket, and placed them on the floor. Wang Quan winced in pain and woke up instantly. His vision was pitch-black, filled with hot, dry air. He heard a faint rustling sound somewhere around him. His scalp tingled, and he shivered as he cried out, "Bugs... bugs!"

No one responded to him. Panic surged through him. Following the light coming from above, he slowly emerged from the covers. As he propped himself up and looked around, his gaze met Old Lady Wang's pallid face.

His heart skipped a beat, and he reached out with trembling hands to check her breathing.

"She's not dead yet."

Suddenly, he heard a voice. Startled, Wang Quan trembled and looked up, only to meet Fang Ji's face. Shocked like being struck by lightning, he yelled and instinctively recoiled.

Feng Bao Nan's face was shielded from the light, and he fixed his gaze on Wang Quan's face. In a deep voice, he said, "Wang Quan, come with us."

Wang Quan was taken aback by the unexpected appearance of the two men. He shouted and instinctively moved backward.

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Tn: The mother is too good for this world... poor soul