Chapter 116: The Crimson Centipede

When they finally arrived at the open space in front of the old village entrance, Yan Bo, who had been anxious and eager to save his companion just moments before, suddenly stopped and stood still, deep in thought.

“You... why aren’t you moving?” Qiyan asked.

“No, no, if we rush up the mountain recklessly, we’ll still be at a disadvantage... A demon that has been nurtured by the essence of nature in the mountains for years—anywhere with dense, lush vegetation is its home turf. Wouldn’t that just be walking right into a trap? You said it can spread powder through the air, causing hallucinations when inhaled. That’s an enormous risk.”

“You...” At first, Qiyan didn’t quite grasp his reasoning, but he also glanced at the dense thicket ahead, shadowed under the dark sky and the gusty mountain wind. It was indeed perilous—dangerous even without demons lurking. Before, they hadn’t known the true nature of their foe, but now that it was identified, they couldn’t just charge recklessly.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to set some kind of trap here and want me to lure the monster over?” Qiyan felt a bad premonition.

Yan Bo quickly shook his head. “Tsk... What are you thinking? You’re one of the holders of the Yin Palace’s Yin Token; your safety is paramount. If you want to go, I won’t stop you. But... wasn’t our original purpose to find that Yin Token? We haven’t found it yet, and Xuanyuan and Dalong are missing too... We can’t afford any more mishaps.”

“I do want to set a trap, sure, but you won’t have to be the bait. I just need a little favor from you.”

Though Yan Bo explicitly said Qiyan wouldn’t have to play the role of a suicide scout, his sly, sinister smile made Qiyan uneasy.

“What favor?”

“Help me with some manual labor...” Yan Bo tapped the ground with his toe, feeling the soil. “Hmm, not bad. The turf isn’t too hard. Dig a pit for me—about half a meter deep should do.”

Qiyan was stunned. “Dig a pit?! You want to use a pit to deal with a demon? Are you sure you’re not just trying to make it a bed for it?”

Yan Bo nearly lost his glasses from exasperation. “No, no... Just dig it, okay? I’m burying something. It’s part of the trap.”

Since the idea was his, Qiyan had no choice but to obey the expert, though he didn’t fully understand the plan.

Digging a pit wasn’t exactly hard or technical, but they had no tools—not even a small shovel or pickaxe. Even in soft soil, digging a half-meter-deep hole quickly was tough.

Qiyan found some sharp stones nearby, scraped off the grass and harder surface soil, then knelt down and started digging laboriously with his hands. He thought to himself that now he understood why Yan Bo sought out someone like Dalong, a burly man, as his assistant—this kind of work was usually left to someone like him.

While Qiyan dug, Yan Bo set down his backpack and began taking out various items, checking again with Qiyan: “Are you absolutely sure that demon’s shape is two human faces joined together, inseparable?”

“Absolutely! I’m not you—I haven’t seen many demons. Every encounter’s been heart-stopping. I already fought it head-on just now. No mistake: two beautiful female heads leaning against each other, with octopus-like tentacles extending below. It’s disgusting.”

Yan Bo’s expression darkened further and he sighed. “If that’s true, it’s going to be even harder to deal with. Usually, demons take the form of a single person, but this one has two faces? That means it’s a twin entity—one demon body with two demon souls.”

Qiyan poured a bottle of mineral water onto the soil to soften it, making digging easier. Hearing Yan Bo’s muttering, he recalled the strange scene he saw in the abandoned livestock shed.

“Twin entity... seems like it. I saw two ‘women’ in the shed, and... well, it was very strange.”

He wanted to tell Yan Bo about the humiliating experience he suffered under the demon’s illusion but hesitated. The memory was revolting—being forced into a twisted kiss and entanglement by such a creature made him sick even to recall it.

The demon maintained a beautiful appearance at first, but its true form was grotesque—two beautiful heads atop a monstrous body. It really lived up to the old saying: beauty and monster are separated by only a thin line.

As Qiyan dug, he glanced sideways at Yan Bo, who was now using tweezers to pull something out of a large glass bottle—a centipede?

Not just any centipede, but a fiery red one no thicker than a pinky finger, its many legs dense and its body twisted, curling into a coil on the tweezers.

“Yan Bo, do you voodoo practitioners always like using centipedes for casting spells?”

They were busy preparing, and Yan Bo glanced at Qiyan without objection to explaining. “It’s not about liking them or not. It’s about materials—some spells require centipedes. It’s not a rule we set; it’s just how it is.”

“Snakes, scorpions, toads, centipedes, and geckos... some say spiders too. These five poisons are typical types. Among them, centipedes are easiest to carry and very resilient. Like now, I keep it in a sealed glass jar—it won’t die even after a week. And if it does, it won’t stiffen like other insects.”

“In Thailand, many medicines are made from centipedes and venomous snakes. Know why?”

“Scientifically, these poisonous creatures contain components useful for medicine. Mystically, they’re excellent ‘conduits.’”

“As I said, the principle of voodoo is to establish a connection between two parties. The five poisonous creatures are widely used by sorcerers because of their potent venom. To a voodoo master, they serve as the medium, like a bridge.”

Qiyan paused his digging. “You’re going to cast a spell? But... can you cast voodoo on a demon?”

Yan Bo wrapped a long yellow talisman paper around the waist of a small clay figure, then sneered, “Hmph—who said I’m casting it on the demon?”