The crisp sound of crackling, never-ending, stunned the Centipede Demon into stillness. It just looked at the "fire poker" on its chest with an incredulous expression, then looked at me with great difficulty, saying, "How...is this possible?"
I was equally puzzled. Shrugging, I innocently shook my head, "I don't know either..."
"You!" The Centipede Demon, desperate, glared at me viciously. But it had already lost the strength to make a move, and its body went limp, falling heavily to the ground, life extinguished, dying with eyes wide open.
"Phew..."
Watching the Centipede Demon finally fall, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Wang Lin! Are you okay?"
At the same time, there was a sudden, anxious shout from Sand Leopard outside the door, followed by his swift entry! Looking at the motionless Centipede Demon nailed to the ground, Sand Leopard's face immediately lit up with joy! Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "Ah? You took it down!"
"Geez..."
Amazed, Sand Leopard kicked the Centipede Demon's body on the ground, making sure it was dead, then helped me up. Excitedly, he asked, "How did you do it?"
Gasping heavily, I rested by the stove for nearly five minutes, before finally pulling out the fire poker and saying, "All thanks to this!"
Although I didn't understand the origin of the fire poker, the fact that it effortlessly killed the Centipede Demon, leaving it no room to resist, indicated that it was no ordinary poker! If I guessed correctly, this should be the treasure that the old Wu family hid!
In other words, this was what the Centipede Demon had been looking for, but it ended up dying by its hand!
"Relying on this?"
Instinctively, Sand Leopard took the stick from me, checked it over, then rolled his eyes, "Tsk! Just a very ordinary fire poker, isn't it?"
He said so and disdainfully tossed the stick away, complaining, "If you can't say, there's no need to fabricate such excuses."
"I..."
Sighing, I picked up the stick again, looking it over.
Strangely, I really couldn't find any clues, as if it were just a very ordinary fire poker. Also, it seemed that Old Wu had been using it as a fire poker for some time; the whole stick was black, like charcoal.
"Forget it..."
Finding no clues, I felt no need to explain anything further. Leaning on the fire poker, I walked out of the kitchen and called out to Zhang and Chief Han, "It's okay, you can all come in now!"
"Really?"
Hearing this, Zhang and Chief Han couldn't help but feel relieved, then pinched Old Wu and Wu Dah Ma's acupoints to wake them up, and the four of them nervously entered the kitchen.
"My goodness!"
Looking at the huge centipede on the ground, Old Wu and Wu Dah Ma were suddenly shocked, with Wu Dah Ma even fainting right away.
"Is this the thing from earlier?"
Old Wu repeatedly swallowed saliva, a fearful expression on his face.
"Yes! This thing is what harmed your sheep!"
Sand Leopard nodded, then grabbed the centipede's tail, dragging it out into the yard.
"This...burn it right away! What if it comes back to life later?"
Although the Centipede Demon was already dead, Zhang and the others still instinctively suggested burning it.
"Yes! Burn it quickly!"
Hearing this, Old Wu also nodded repeatedly, obviously in agreement with Zhang.
"No way!"
Almost simultaneously, Sand Leopard and I objected, then Sand Leopard continued, "It's a rare giant centipede. If you don't want it, I'll pay 5,000 yuan for it and use it to make medicinal wine! This thing is extremely nourishing...hehe."
"Five thousand?!"
Hearing this, Lao Wu's eyes immediately lit up. You see, those ten or so dead sheep of his were only worth a few thousand yuan. If this big centipede could really be sold to Sha Biao for five thousand, then his loss would be completely recovered!
However, he seemed to quickly remember something and hurriedly turned his gaze towards me. Strictly speaking, this centipede actually had nothing to do with him, because I was the one who killed it, so naturally, its ownership belonged to me.
"..."
Looking at Lao Wu and Sha Biao with expectant looks, I couldn't help but shake my head directly.
I thought Sha Biao and I had the same idea, but now it seemed that I overestimated him... This guy actually planned to use the centipede's body to make medicinal wine? Seriously, was he planning to sell it on the street as a cure-all tonic?
"Alas... some people can't recognize precious things."
With a long sigh, I took the knife from Sha Biao's hand and finally managed to cut a small opening on the centipede's head, reaching inside.
After a thorough poking, I finally pulled out a pearl about the size of a pigeon's egg! It was the centipede's inner pill. Compared to before, this inner pill had shrunk significantly, but had become extremely hard, and all its luster had completely retracted. Without careful observation, one might even mistake it for a common pebble.
"Is this... the inner pill?"
Looking at the pearl in my hand, Sha Biao seemed to react. During the recent fight, the centipede did indeed spit out a pearl. According to folklore, he couldn't help but think that this was the essence of the centipede's body! Inner pill!
"Mhm!"
I nodded and wiped the blood off the top, explaining, "This is the centipede's inner pill. However, the centipede's inner pill also has another name, called the Wind-Controlling Pearl! It is said that if used properly, this thing can cure all kinds of ailments. Whether it's true or not, it's hard to know..."
With that said, I handed the "Wind-Controlling Pearl" to Lao Wu and said, "Take it, this pearl is the most valuable thing inside the centipede!"
"Ah?"
Hearing that the pearl was so precious, Lao Wu didn't dare to accept it and quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no, you killed this big centipede, so naturally, the things belong to you! I have to thank you for helping me get rid of this big pest. How can I take your thing?"
"I won't take it for free!"
I instinctively raised the "fire poker" in my hand and laughed, "I'll trade you this for your stick!"
"Ah?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded. Zhang Ge was particularly speechless, "Are you crazy? Trading such a precious thing for a fire poker? If you like, I can get you a whole bunch..."
"Yes!"
Lao Wu quickly nodded and echoed, "You're our benefactor, I'd be willing to give you anything, even if it's the beam of my house, how can I accept your pearl?"
"No, no, no!"
I quickly shook my head and said, "Although I can't see for now what's so special about this stick, I'm sure it's definitely not an ordinary stick! Honestly, when I pounded the centipede earlier, it was with this stick, so I suspect that your treasure might actually be this stick."
"Really?"
Everyone found it hard to believe, especially Zhang Ge, who quickly took the stick from my hand and examined it carefully, then finally curled his lips and returned it to me with a disdainful look.
"Is it really a treasure?"
Sha Biao also checked the stick again, but still shook his head, looking skeptical.
"I... also don't know, but the possibility is quite high! You saw how powerful the centipede was just now, if it were an ordinary fire poker, could it have killed it?"
Although I couldn't see through it for now, I was almost certain that this stick had a big background. Otherwise, do you think I'm stupid? A Wind-Controlling Pearl is definitely better than a fire poker, right?
"Alas... it's up to you!"
Shaking my head, Sha Biao's main attention was still on the body of the big centipede, "You don't want the body of this big centipede?"
"If you don't want it, I'll offer to buy it from Lao Wu!"
"Okay!"
I didn't care about it at all, so I said, "You guys decide for yourselves, what use do I have for that thing..."
"No, no..."
Before Lao Wu could say anything, Sha Biao immediately waved his hand, "You are a guest, how could I take advantage of you? How about this, you give me five thousand, and I'll cover the rest of the five thousand myself!"
"No. Today, you also put in effort, so the centipede rightfully belongs to you!"
I also waved my hand and firmly said, "Alright, it's settled! Tomorrow morning, I will go to the county with Zhang to withdraw the money and then deliver it to Lao Wu!"
"This..."
Hearing that he could get ten thousand yuan, Lao Wu seemed intrigued, glanced at Sha Biao without saying a word, and inadvertently looked at me, "Are you sure?"
"Of course!"
I nodded confidently. Regardless of the outcome, I had benefited from this, so of course I was sure.
"Fine!"
Sha Biao glanced at Lao Wu, then nodded, feeling embarrassed, "Then, brother, it's on you... I..."
"Hey! We are friends, don't talk about this... So it's settled, it's getting late, shall we go back to the village first?"