Onset of Gu Poison, Seeking a Solution

The "Twelve Methods of Suppressing Mountains and Ridges" is divided into twelve parts: Altar Dipping, Preaching, Shamanism, Rearing Gu, Talismans, Forbidden Spells, Divination, Rain Prayers, Dream Fulfillment, Corpse Epidemic, Deity Worship, and Solidification. The entire book is transcribed in traditional Chinese characters, interspersed with many hastily written notes, illustrations, and experiential insights. It is quite thick, measuring about half an inch, and the final chapters also record some observations and miscellaneous feelings.

Due to the use of traditional characters, handwritten style, a mix of text and illustrations, and missing pages, it is challenging to comprehend.

When handling the funeral arrangements for my grandmother, my mother was deeply worried, but I didn't pay much attention to these things. Apart from occasionally flipping through the thick book during idle moments, I almost forgot about the incident with the swallowed silkworm gu amidst the busyness of the funeral. On the third day after the funeral, I packed my bags to return to Dongguan, but my mother insisted I stay at home for two more days.

"Why?" I asked her. My mother told me that tomorrow was the first day of the lunar month, and we should see if my grandmother's words were true.

My mother, with a worried expression, said, "She never tells lies to her family. Ah, she used to want me to take over, but I was afraid of insects and refused. Later, she never brought it up again. How did it end up falling on you? Ah, if only I hadn't called you back." I joked about my mother being overly superstitious, but I didn't take it too seriously. I agreed to stay at home for a few more days and spend time with friends.

The next day, I returned home late after drinking at a friend's house. It was already deep into the night, but my mother hadn't gone to bed.

She questioned why I didn't listen to her, staying at home peacefully. Seeing her pale face and tightly clenched lips, I thought she might be ill. It was already 11 p.m. at that time. My mother denied being sick and told me that both she and my father were sitting in the main hall, waiting for midnight with a solemn expression.

I noticed two bundles of red cloth and several bundles of wormwood hanging from the main hall's beams. There were scattered grains of rice by the wooden doorstep, irregularly placed. Seeing their serious expressions, I felt a sense of discomfort. My mother, noticing my disbelief, began recounting some past events:

The Miao people are divided into Sheng Miao (Raw Miao) and Shu Miao (Cooked Miao). Sheng Miao live in seclusion, while Shu Miao are assimilated, living together, not residing in the villages, not participating in ceremonies, and may not even speak the Miao language. My grandmother lived in Dunzhai her whole life, and in her early years, it was a Sheng Miao village. During that time, the authority of the tribal leader was greater than the heavens. The only person the tribal leader feared was my grandmother. In her youth, my grandmother was a beauty admired by many, but for some reason, she joined the shaman in the deep mountain Miao village to learn witchcraft.

The term "shaman" in the Miao village is a general title, applicable to both males and females. My grandmother followed a male shaman.

The Miao people are adept at raising Gu, especially those from the hundred-thousand-mountain region. In the early years, the mountains were undeveloped, rarely visited by humans, and were teeming with poisonous creatures such as snakes, eels, centipedes, frogs, scorpions, earthworms, large green caterpillars, mantises, cockroaches, four-legged snakes, spiders, and black-headed army ants. These poisonous creatures roamed the mountains freely. My grandmother's master was a master at raising Gu. Before the liberation, he even gained fame throughout Xiangxi. However, he died in a mountain cave without anyone caring, and wild dogs pulled his intestines, which stretched to five meters, full of white maggots.

Later, my grandmother became the shaman of the Miao village.

In 1950, when there were bandits in Xiangxi, a bandit leader passed through Dunzhai and took a liking to a girl in the village, intending to forcibly take her. However, there were many fearless individuals in the Miao village, and none of them feared death. They gathered some provisions and drove the bandits away. My grandmother muttered a few words to them but said nothing more. Later, the liaison officer of the People's Liberation Army in the town told the villagers that the eighteen bandits, including the leader, all died of evil diseases. When their bodies were burned, their hearts and livers remained intact, forming a honeycomb-like structure.

...

My mother intermittently told me many old stories about my grandmother. Some were heard from my honest grandfather, and some were shared by the elderly in the village. I learned that the grandmother I had always considered superstitious had a glorious past when she was young. It wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s, when administrative units began to connect with the outside world, that my grandmother gradually faded from the view of outsiders, engaging in rituals, spirit worship, healing, fortune-telling, and life rituals in the Miao village.

"When you went to work, we all opposed it. However, your grandmother checked with divination. She said you, like jade, need hardships and that going out to the world and suffering a bit would be helpful for your future. So, you should be thankful to your grandmother for how you are now," my mother said. I smiled but didn't comment. Over the years, I also learned a bit about fortune-telling. This kind of thing involves a mix of reality and illusion, relying heavily on psychology.

At this moment, the electronic clock in the main hall suddenly reached midnight, and the sound of bells rang out.

My mother suddenly stopped talking and, along with my father, looked at me with fear.

I was puzzled, directing my gaze to the glass decoration next to the shrine in the main hall. In the mirror, I saw my face, as pale as golden foil, terrifyingly yellow, with black lines wandering on my forehead. I stared at myself, and a severe twisting pain surged from the left side of my abdomen, wave after wave without stopping, rushing like a tide... I saw my mother seemingly saying something to me, but I couldn't hear anything. Then, it felt like the world had collapsed — yet, strangely, I didn't lose consciousness.

Then I felt something moving between the organs in my belly.

Ah... Ah... Pain, it was unbelievably painful!

This pain lasted for a full ten minutes. During this time, my mind was exceptionally clear, each bit of pain vivid and vividly remembered. Then the world distorted, and it seemed like countless evil spirits crawled out of the ground.

Later, I heard that some people quantify pain levels, saying that the pain value of breaking a rib is used for calculation, and childbirth for women is about ten times that. I always thought that the