Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 50: Rigor Mortis Poison! It must be burned to ashes!_1

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Rigor Mortis Poison! It must be burned to ashes!_1

In fact, Fan Wu didn’t need to walk into the thatched cottage to smell a strange odor, reminiscent of pus and rotting flesh mixed together, which was nauseating.

As he lowered his head to step over the threshold and entered the cottage, he was greeted by a shocking sight.

He saw... the floor of the cottage was covered with at least a dozen straw mats.

Each straw mat had a person lying on it.

They were all extremely weak.

They looked as if they were not long for this world.

These dozen or so people lying on the straw mats must all be villagers from Nie Family Village.

There were men and women.

Young and old.

Their skin was riddled with sores, each looking like the mouth of a volcano.

From each sore, black and stinking pus oozed out.

The pus slowly trickled down their skin.

Fan Wu also noticed that their fingernails were black, their complexions were turning green, and even their lips were purple.

Each person was exceptionally thin, with just skin over their bones.

Their frail arms and legs...

Fan Wu suspected that he wouldn’t even need to use much strength with just one finger.

He could crush their bones.

[Nie Family Village youth A — Life: 18 — Power: 0.1 — Skill: None]

[Nie Family Village pregnant woman...]

[Nie Family Village...]

Fan Wu could see the attribute information of the dozen or so people lying on the ground.

Their "Life" and "Power" attributes were absurdly low.

Even lower than that of Wang Old Two from Qiulong County who had encountered a ghost!

Most of them had just a 0.1 "Power" attribute; newborn babies might be at this level, right?

No wonder they were all paralyzed and motionless.

With such a "Power" attribute...

They could hardly move a muscle!

"Huh?" Fan Wu, sharp-eyed, suddenly noticed something amiss. He squatted down, staring intently at the hand of a gravely ill villager from Nie Family Village.

More precisely...

At the fingers.

The village chief had walked in unnoticed at some point, and seeing Fan Wu’s actions, couldn’t help but continue to persuade him, "Taoist Priest..."

But before he could finish, Fan Wu interrupted him, "Have their fingernails always grown this fast?"

"Ah?" The village chief was taken aback.

He instinctively answered, "Before they caught this strange disease, they were normal. After getting sick, they became very weird. Not only did sores appear all over their bodies, but their limbs also became very cold and stiff, and their fingernails and toenails turned black."

"Their fingernails and toenails did indeed grow very quickly. I have to have someone trim their nails every day. What’s more strange is that their blackened nails are as hard as wood."

As he said this, the village chief suddenly realized something, his tone carrying a hint of slight excitement, "Taoist Priest, have you discovered something wrong?"

"No."

Fan Wu’s answer was blunt, completely indifferent to whether the sharp word would cut into the village chief’s heart.

He asked again, "About how long ago did they contract this strange disease?"

The village chief thought for a moment and answered, "Seems like it was about five or six days ago?"

Then, he saw this towering figure of a Taoist Priest before him...

Reach out and start rifling through a patient on the ground!

It made the village chief’s eyelids twitch.

All the patients were so weak! If he wasn’t careful with his hands, it could mean their death!

But before he could stop him,

Fan Wu’s hand had already touched a patient’s lips, flipping the lips up.

He saw... two unnaturally long, sharp fangs, coming into view!

Oh no!

Their limbs were stiffer than before.

Their complexions turned even more green.

Their lips turned purple.

In a short amount of time, their nails could grow very long and hard.

Their fangs were much longer than those of an ordinary person.

A special fishy stench emitted from their bodies, similar to the smell of rotting corpses.

And yet, they still clung to life, gasping for breath.

All these signs together...

Made Fan Wu think of a species.

—Zombies!

Whether zombies existed in this bizarre and supernatural world, Fan Wu was not entirely certain. After all, his first encounter with true ghosts and ghouls was only after the death of his charlatan master.

"This..."

Though the Village Chief was of advanced age, he was not yet blind.

He too saw those beast-like fangs.

It was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

"Taoist Priest, I come to check on them every day, and I’ve never seen their teeth grow so long," said the Village Chief, swallowing nervously. "This... This reminds me of a poison mentioned in an ancient medical text!"

"Hm?" Fan Wu turned and looked at him.

Listening, the Village Chief continued, "It’s called ’Rigor Poison,’ a deadly poison that causes the afflicted to become very stiff all over within seven days, growing black nails and long canine teeth. After the seven days pass, they lose their memories, become irrational, and turn into raging lunatics, like the walking dead."

"It was a long time ago when I read that medical book; If it weren’t for you, Taoist Priest, prying open his mouth just now and making me see those sharp teeth, sparking a moment of clarity in my mind...I doubt I would have remembered it."

The Village Chief paused, recalling the memories of his youth, and said, "I remember the book stated that those afflicted with Rigor Poison need to be treated within three days, using glutinous rice as a primer and rooster blood as an auxiliary, mixing well and applying it all over the body of the poisoned."

"During this period, the poisoned must be exposed to the sun during the day; at night, they must not be disturbed by the cawing of crows. If the best three-day period is missed, one must immediately summon a local Mage to drive out the Rigor Poison."

"If one misses the best three-day period and there is no Mage available... The poisoned must bathe in the scorching sun and be sun-burned to death. Or, the poisoned should be placed in a fierce fire and burned to bones."

"In order to prevent them from turning into zombies and harming the countryside," he added.

At this point,

The Village Chief fell silent.

His lips trembled slightly as if he had more to say,

But those words were all stuck in his throat, unable to come out even one word.

He looked at the several lying members of Nie Family Village and slowly closed his murky eyes,

Letting out a sigh of helplessness.

Fan Wu, upon hearing this,

Was thoughtful.

If the medical book the Village Chief saw in his youth was not fabricated, then it meant that zombies indeed existed in this supernatural and bizarre world.

And the likelihood of the medical book being a fake was slim, given that this was the supernatural world!

There were plenty of demons and devils!

And gods and Buddhas as well!

Who would dare to fabricate such things?

Aren’t they afraid that after spreading such falsehoods, they would bring disaster to countless people and then incur divine retribution?

Oh!

His charlatan master would dare to make it up.

Well, then no problem!

"Wait for me a moment," Fan Wu left this message and stepped out of the thatched cottage.

He went to Old Blue Ox and from the pile of baggage on the ox’s back, he extracted an iron can.

Then he returned.

"Taoist Priest, what is this?" The Village Chief saw Fan Wu holding an iron can in one hand and was at a loss as to what Fan Wu was planning.

Fan Wu spoke with a calm expression, "Village Chief, get some people to smear the ashes from inside here onto those afflicted with Rigor Poison. Then take some of the ashes, mix them with water, and have them drink it. If they can’t drink it, use a tube to forcibly pour it down."

At this, the Village Chief’s eyes showed a glimmer of hope, "Taoist Priest, do you... Do you have a way to cure them?"

"No."

Fan Wu answered frankly and directly, "It might even make them die suddenly earlier than expected."

Village Chief: "...Ah?"

...

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