Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 152 The Painted Skin Spider

Lin Fan stepped on the fallen leaves, making a crunching sound.

Yesterday was the fifteenth, the Lower Yuan Festival, when the Water Official relieved calamities, and it was also the night of the full moon.

Lin Fan looked at the moon in the sky and then recalled the lewd cultivator he had seen under the full moon on Mid-Autumn Festival.

Lin Fan sighed, "Er Gou, it seems your master really is a scoundrel."

Er Gou quickly waved his hand and said, "Brother Fan, he is my master after all, my own master. You can't say that about him. But if you want a way to cultivate together without breaking your primordial yang, you don't necessarily have to ask him."

Lin Fan quickened his pace. "Not interested."

"No way, Brother Fan, this is a great deal!" Chen Ergou quickly caught up. "Let's turn back now and work together to help my master ascend to immortality. He cultivates immortal techniques, and I reckon that dual cultivation method is within his immortal techniques. When you get his immortal techniques, won't it be the same for you?"

Lin Fan turned around and stared at him, "Is this how you treat your own master?"

Chen Ergou chuckled, "Didn't Brother Fan think he was a scoundrel?"

Lin Fan continued walking forward, shaking his head, "No thanks, I'm not interested. I just want to go home as soon as possible."

In the early morning, Dr. Lei could roughly tell what was wrong with Lin Fan just by looking at him, who seemed to be in poor spirits and had more wrinkles.

"Didn't make any money, did you?"

Lin Fan nodded, then shook his head, and took out a blood-stained silver ingot and a jade pendant. "These are all I have."

Dr. Lei's lips twitched. "Weren't you going to perform a ritual for people? Why are you getting physical again?"

As she spoke, she began to reattach Lin Fan's finger. It wasn't a real surgery; it was just like before—removing the rotten flesh, gluing it together, clamping it with a splint, and then relying on Lin Fan's self-healing ability.

Lin Fan endured the pain and said, "This job isn't really suitable for me. Let's find something else to do."

Dr. Lei nodded. "There really is. I went to the caravan manager, and he said he could arrange some odd jobs for us. You can rest for another day today, and you can start working tomorrow."

The caravans moved constantly during the day, but work could still be done on the wagons.

Chen Ergou also needed to rest, so the carriage was handed over to Niu Dadan to drive.

In the past, Chen Ergou taught Lin Fan and Niu Dadan how to drive a cart. Perhaps because Niu Dadan was closer to the horse, he learned quickly, while Lin Fan was still far behind.

The carriage began to move shakily; the caravan had already set off.

After bandaging Lin Fan's finger, Chen Ergou came over and asked, "Doctor, can this be put back on?"

The doctor glanced at Chen Ergou's little finger, which was missing a small part, and said, "I've already told you, I'm not a god. If you have a constitution that is different from ordinary people like my brother, then you can give it a try, otherwise don't even think about it."

At this moment, Niu Dadan, the driver of the carriage, interjected, "Brother Er Gou, I actually have a way."

He drew everyone to his side and, while driving the carriage, pulled out several yellow blood pills.

Lin Fan immediately recognized it as the food the man had given him at the Lin family home that night.

"Actually, I was considering giving this to you guys before. After all, we don't know what might happen later, and I'm not sure whether to take it to improve our physical condition or keep it for emergencies."

Niu Dadan explained for a long time in a daze.

Lin Fan interrupted impatiently, "Simply put, this Blood Pill can quickly heal wounds for injured people. It can strengthen the body for healthy people. The side effect is a high fever for several days. However, each person can only take one pill; taking a second pill will most likely be too much for the body to handle."

Niu Dadan nodded.

Chen Ergou took one without hesitation. "Brother Niu is amazing. What are you waiting for? If we wait any longer, my fingers won't grow back."

He finished speaking and ate it in one bite.

Not long after he finished eating, he lay dead in the carriage, groaning and moaning.

Dr. Lei touched him; his whole body was burning hot. "This isn't just a simple high fever; it could be fatal."

Niu Dadan scratched his head. "I ate it when I was a child, and it directly helped me break through to the first level of martial arts. But back then, I had a doctor to take care of me, so I didn't feel it was too dangerous. All the direct descendants of the Li family eat this, and no one has ever died from it."

Lin Fan glanced at Niu Dadan and realized that he still had some of the airs of a young master.

Dr. Lei reattached Chen Ergou's finger and started making him a fever-reducing soup.

Lin Fan approached the doctor and showed him the spider eggs.

Doctor Lei frowned and looked at it for a while. "You said it's the egg of a giant spider? But I can't tell what kind it is. Spiders are a large species in the Southern Frontier, and many spider eggs do have wonderful uses. Some can be used as medicine, some can be used to make poison, and some have all sorts of miraculous effects if ingested. But if you don't know the species, it would be troublesome if you accidentally ingested a poison."

Lin Fan was also in a dilemma. If this thing went any further, little spiders would really crawl out. He wanted to burn it, but what if it was something that could improve his strength? Wouldn't that be a waste?

Lin Fan suddenly remembered something and pulled a booklet out of his luggage. It was Miao Zhuzi's notebook, filled with various kinds of knowledge she had learned from each of her masters.

Lin Fan flipped through the pages quickly. He had read all these books before, but unfortunately, he didn't recognize many of the characters. Fortunately, Miao Zhuzi could draw some pictures in them. Her drawing skills were quite good, so Lin Fan memorized the pictures.

Turning to a page, half of it was drawn with a large spider, and below it were written the words, “x skin xx, with people xx, with people xx, x like x heart x, x after xx enter xx. x silk can xx.”

Most importantly, next to the spider was a drawing of the back of a person's neck, with a fleshy hole just like Shen Meng's. Considering this obvious feature, Lin Fan guessed it was probably this.

He handed the book to Doctor Lei, who was brewing the medicine. Doctor Lei read aloud: "The Painted Skin Spider feeds on and lives among humans. It especially likes to eat the heart and liver, and enters and exits its host through the back of the neck. Its silk can stop bleeding."

"Huh? Silk can stop bleeding? Why didn't I think of bringing spider silk?" Lin Fan regretted it deeply. If only he could read and remember what was in the book.

Dr. Lei nodded. "So it's a painted skin spider. It's quite rare even in southern Xinjiang."

Lin Fan was truly filled with regret, realizing how much the spider silk, which could immediately stop the bleeding, could help him. If it weren't for the spider's inhumane lifestyle, he would have loved to keep one to spin silk for him. He even had a fleeting impulse to go back to the Shen residence to retrieve some spider silk.

In fact, during this period, Lin Fan had been asking Doctor Lei to teach him to read during the day, as he had always recognized the importance of this. However, lately, he would learn something in the morning and forget it by the afternoon.

He looked at Dr. Lei with some frustration, "Doctor, is there something wrong with my brain? Why can't I remember the characters I recognize lately?"

Dr. Lei looked at Lin Fan with some surprise, "Brother, I don't think there's anything wrong with your health. It's probably just that you're getting old."

Lin Fan never expected to be said that. He was about to retort when he remembered that his body was indeed not young anymore. So that's how it is; his memory had declined so drastically with age.

Because Lin Fan's age didn't increase gradually, but rather he aged rapidly due to the Power Pill, frankly speaking, he simply couldn't adapt so quickly.

Taking advantage of Lin Fan's dazed state, Doctor Lei advised again, "Brother, you should still try to restrain yourself. I know you are willing to pay any price to return to the mortal world, but what is the point of going back if you use up all your lifespan?"

Lin Fan thought to himself: I'm a soul transmigrator, so I should be fine, right? Actually, even he himself couldn't convince himself. He came here as a soul, but going back might not be so easy.

However, if Lin Fan were given another chance to choose, like what happened in Yuxi Village yesterday, he would still choose to intervene. He certainly needs to go back, but once he's back, when he thinks back to the nights when he could have saved someone but didn't, he'll definitely feel guilty and toss and turn in bed.

Dr. Lei's words interrupted Lin Fan's thoughts, "Brother, since these are the eggs of the Painted Skin Spider, they really do have some use."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan's spirits suddenly lifted. "Oh, this can also be used to stop bleeding?"

"That won't do. After all, an egg is an egg, and silk is silk; they have different uses. I need to process it before using it. Please wait a moment, my dear brother."

After feeding Chen Ergou the fever-reducing soup, Dr. Lei took out a jar, put the spider eggs in, then added something resembling lime and started stirring.

With anticipation in his heart, Lin Fan chatted with Dr. Lei, "Dr., sometimes I really feel that you are more realistic than me, and more eager to go home than I am."

While busy with his work, Dr. Lei casually replied, "Of course I want to go to the mortal world because I have no attachments here. Ah, the mortal world, what a wonderful place."

After Dr. Lei finished speaking, a look of longing appeared on his face.

Lin Fan wasn't surprised. Compared to someone like him who grew up in the modern world, people like Doctor Lei from the Great Qian Dynasty might feel a greater sense of difference after going to the modern world.

He could understand the unforgettable feeling of going from frugality to extravagance. Besides, Dr. Lei probably didn't have the same troubles that people in the world have.

"Does the doctor truly have no worries whatsoever?"

Dr. Lei smiled and shook his head, "Of course there's nothing there."

Lin Fan didn't like asking about other people's past. He only chatted for a few minutes before getting out of the car to relieve himself.

He jumped out of the car with a thud.

Although the caravan was made of horse-drawn carriages, it moved very slowly.

If someone wanted to release water, it wouldn't make the entire caravan stop; they could just get off and release the water themselves, and then catch up in a few steps.

Lin Fan unbuttoned his trousers in the bushes and set up his gun, but there was no movement for a long time. Although the carriage was slow, he wasn't entirely unhurried. After all, if he was delayed too long, he would have to run for his life to catch up.

A chill ran through him. Could this be the legendary middle age...? This symptom is a symbol of middle age for people in the modern world, but for people in the Great Qian Dynasty, it is a symbol of old age.

Lin Fan took a deep breath. To be honest, he had never been this nervous when facing hordes of mechanical figures or a mountain of black dragons. Why was he so weak?

As older people know, the more nervous you are at this time, the worse it is.

After a long while, Lin Fan returned to the carriage with a dark expression.

Dr. Lei excitedly showed him his results, "Brother, look, I've already inactivated these spider eggs. They'll be effective for up to six months if you put them in a bag."

Lin Fan shook his head, unwilling to face his physical condition, and asked, trying to calm himself down, "Oh, what use is it?"

Doctor Lei picked out a pill and handed it to Lin Fan, saying, "Brother, you'll know once you try it. Don't worry, it's not very toxic."

Lin Fan didn't hesitate and swallowed it directly.

Ugh, this tastes awful. It tastes like cilantro pickled in a stinky sock.

Lin Fan felt nauseous, and then he noticed something different about his body. His belly button felt swollen, which was understandable since he had eaten something that made him feel nauseous. But his hands also felt a little swollen.

"Doctor, how do I use it?"

Dr. Lei shook his head. "I've only read about it in a book. It says it can spit out invisible sticky threads. As for how to use it, you'll have to try it yourself."

Lin Fan leaned out of the carriage and reached out towards a thick tree trunk. Whoosh! He was pulled away by a strong force.

By the time he realized what was happening, his body was already about to crash into the tree branch. Lin Fan grabbed the branch, flipped over, and landed on it.

Before he could even feel happy, the disgusting smell of cilantro from those smelly socks came rushing back, and thankfully he didn't throw up.

Lin Fan stood on the tree branch for a while to calm himself down, and began to recall the feeling he had just experienced. Was this Spider-Man?

If I had to put it into words, this feeling of movement is more like that of a retreating dwarf than Spider-Man.

The body can emit invisible, highly adhesive, and extremely elastic threads from the hands and navel.

Actually, calling it a thread isn't accurate, because Lin Fan searched around but couldn't find the invisible threads he had emitted.

According to Lin Fan's understanding, "spitting silk" might just be a concept, and he had no idea why the eggs of the Painted Skin Spider could have such a strange effect.

But that doesn't matter. There are too many things in this world that Lin Fan doesn't understand. As long as it's useful, that's all that matters.

With a thought, Lin Fan aimed at the trunk of the big tree next door, exerted force through his navel, and was pulled out like a shrimp.

With a bang, Lin Fan had no way to avoid it and crashed heavily into the tree trunk. Dizzy and disoriented, he fell directly from a height of several meters.

As soon as I landed, I didn't care about the pain in my body; all I could think about was vomiting.

Lin Fan forced himself to spit out two mouthfuls of saliva, his body already covered in cold sweat.

The side effects aren't too severe, but feeling nauseous during battle is really annoying. I wonder what the effect would be if used with the Soul-Suppressing Pearl; it would be fun if I didn't spit it out.

Also, the effect is a bit too strong; I need to try it a few more times to get used to it.

However, Lin Fan returned to the carriage first. Once the excitement of getting new things wore off, the fatigue from not sleeping all night surged up.

Once Lin Fan got into the carriage, he explained the function and toxicity of the spider egg to everyone. He didn't want to keep it all to himself; something that could instantly boost one's strength was best shared among everyone.

However, after hearing Lin Fan's description, everyone except Sun Ruolan said they didn't want it.

Sun Ruolan was also stopped by Dr. Lei because she was pregnant. Neither feeling nauseous nor hitting a tree was something a pregnant woman should do.

A few days later, the caravan stopped in another town.

Lin Fan, skilled in bamboo weaving, helped the caravan weave bamboo baskets for holding goods. He also took on an apprentice, Niu Dadan.

Chen Ergou was working as a carpenter not far away.

Needless to say, doctors can find employment anywhere.

Although they didn't earn much money, they managed to stop the situation of only spending and not earning.

While working, Lin Fan casually asked Niu Dadan, "Why didn't Miss Sun come with us today?"

Niu Dadan, on the other hand, was not as relaxed as Lin Fan. He was sweating profusely while weaving bamboo baskets. "Oh, the caravan's escort said that she should help make some food, and he'll pay her fifty coins each time!"

Lin Fan stopped what he was doing and looked at Niu Dadan. "Old Niu, something's not right! How could you let her go alone?"