Mrs. Yang went back to bed with her husband right after she locked Donny inside his room.
She woke up in the middle of the night to go relieve herself when she realized that the portable toilet
was outside the door, so she had to get up and go out. As soon as she was done she raced back inside
shivering with cold.
When she stepped inside, something didn't feel right. It seemed like she had stepped on something
soft and slippery. As if that weren't bad enough, she felt it slither past her fast really quickly!
'Where is that hissing sound coming from? No...could it... could it be a snake?' She reluctantly lowered
her head to look down and the moment she realized what was underneath her feet her entire body
froze on the spot.
Mrs. Yang, much to her chagrin, had stepped on, not one but two venomous snakes!
Before she was able to move her feet away, the two snakes bit her on the ankle and left four puncture
marks at the wound. With each bite, venom was injected inside Mrs. Yang's flesh and bloodstream.
She felt nauseated by the stabbing pain at the area of the bite. The poison soon affected her muscles
which caused a shortness of breath and an inability to speak, move or see clearly. Somehow a scream
dragged up her throat. "Help! Somebody please help me!"
The shrill sound of her scream cut through the dark night like a knife and frightened the sleeping birds
on the trees, who fluttered their wings uncontrollably.
While the two slithery intruders crawled into a hole on the ground and vanished from her sight just
seconds after they had attacked her.
"Can anybody hear me? Somebody, please help! Snakes! Snakes! I got bitten by snakes!" Before long,
drowsiness came over her as she found it difficult to speak and move due to the paralysis of her limbs
and muscles.
It was smack in the middle of winter. Where did the snakes come from?
Snake... snake... Who would want her dead? Who would have the guts to pull off something like this?
'Could it be...' she remembered the snake that she used to hurt Emily with. 'Does Bear know? Does he
know?!
Oh God, he must know!
And that's why he lured two snakes here on purpose. He wants me dead!
That's the only possible reason!'
Suddenly, she felt a quiver of panic like she had never felt before. She staggered to her feet and
stumbled around in the darkness. Out of sheer desperation, she needed to call for her son and
husband's help before she lost consciousness.
"Help me... Help... Somebody is trying to kill me..."
What she did not know was that her movements accelerated the spreading of the poison in her body
and before she knew it, she fell straight down to the ground, incapable of moving her limbs.
A chill breeze blew over, comforting everyone wrapped in profound sleep. Although there was a spine-
tingling cry from outside the door, no one wanted to leave their comfortable beds to see what was going
on. That included her husband, Mr. Yang.
Fortunately for Mrs. Yang, Donny was of the exception. He sensed something was wrong, but since he
was locked inside there was nothing he could do at the moment. Anxiously, he tried to pry open the
window with his fingers, but his soft, delicate fingers started to bleed against the hard wooden window.
His effort did not go to waste, as he was eventually able to open the small window and make his
escape.
He planned to see where the screaming came from, and maybe he could still slipped into Mr.
Barefoot's house to see Emily. And when he followed the sound, he was dumbstruck to see his mother
lying on the ground, unconscious.
"Mother!" Donny cried out in terror and he rushed to his mother to wake her up. "Mother! What is going
on with you? Please, don't close your eyes. Stay with me, mother!"
Mrs. Yangs eyes were shut tight, her face was ghostly pale and her lips had turned blue. Moreover, her
body temperature had dropped drastically.
Donny was at a loss. His mother was his anchor. She protected him from the world and took care of
him. To him, she was more than that; she was the strongest person in the world.
The sight of her lying on the ground like that lifeless and desperate, crushed his heart. Donny couldn't
imagine a life without his mother in it. 'No, no mother please don't leave me. I know you love me. Don't
leave me alone.' Donny was hysterical and overwrought.
Now knowing where or who to go to, he burst into tears. His wailing cries resounded throughout the
village and eventually woke Mr. Yang and their neighbours. Once their curiosity was aroused, they
couldn't fall back to sleep again.
Mr. Yang, on the other hand, felt overjoyed to see his wife lying on the ground unconscious. 'Finally, I
can rid myself of her! That wretched old hag!'
"My poor Donny, your mother is gone. Don't be so sad. I will take care of you, son!"
The head of the village feigned sorrow and grief. But the villagers were not blind, they could sense his
joy bleeding out from his face. "Mr. Yang, you should hurry and bring Mrs. Yang to Mr. Barefoot first.
She is still breathing!"
"Yes, Mr. Yang! Look, there are bit marks on Mrs. Yang's ankle! Are these snakebites? But where
would snakes come from? It is winter now! Unless someone lured the snakes on purpose! Oh no, is
there someone who want her dead?"
"But who could it be? Who would want her dead? Gosh! Whoever it was, must have really had it in for
her!"
A lively conversation developed with every neighbor joining in. With one accord, they let their
incredulous eyes settle upon Mr. Yang.
After all, he was the only one who felt joyful after finding out that Mrs. Yang was dying. Over the years,
Mrs. Yang had been tough on Mr. Yang. As the head of the family and the village, he actually did not
have any real power, and he had no choice but to accept that fact. It was highly possible that was
driven by his motivation of revenge.
The more the neighbours pondered the more suspicious they grew.
Mr. Yang felt wronged by their allegations. Even though he knew he had nothing to do with it, he still felt
guilty. "Why are you all looking at me? She is my wife. I will never ever hurt my wife!"
The truth was that he despised his wife to the bone. If he had the chance to strangle her in her sleep he
would have done it a long time. Sadly, he lacked the courage to take such actions.
The villagers looked at him quizzically and said, "You should take Mrs. Yang to the doctor's then. She
has no time to loose. Hurry up, if you can get her there in time she might still have a chance!"
Mr. Yang gave in under peer pressure and took Mrs. Yang to the doctor. He picked her up in his arms
and carried her to Dr. Li's place with the neighbours.
Dr. Li was also a doctor in the village. Speaking of his medical skills, he couldn't rival Mr. Barefoot.
However, he was a doctor nonetheless, and tackling minor illnesses were not going to be a problem for
him.
Mr. Yang and his posse showed up at Dr. Li's place hoping that he would help his wife. But the minute
Doctor Li saw Mrs. Yang, he shook his head and refused straightaway.
"It's beyond my ability. I suggest that you turn to Mr. Barefoot if you still want to save her."
"Please save my mother Dr. Li! Please! Please save her!" Donny's eyes had swollen up from crying.
Unfortunately, Dr. Li's words didn't not provide him with the respite he needed.
The doctor shrugged his shoulders and shook his head again but there was nothing he could do for
her. "I wish I could save her life, but honestly, my ability falls short of my wishes. Ask Mr. Barefoot for
help. He might still before able to save her."
He gave Mr. Yang the most sincere advice he could possibly give under the circumstances.
As soon as his words fell from his mouth everyone started to kick up dust.
"Mrs. Yang had an argument with Bear and she told Mr. Barefoot that no one in her family would come
to him for help, but now... will he still accept her?"
"Gosh, what shall we do? I told her to dial down her anger but she just wouldn't listen! Once again her
temper got in the way of her life!"
"He is a doctor and she is a dying patient. I'd say he should save her despite their unpleasant
encounter. As a doctor, it's his duty to save people in need."
"Perhaps that's true. But Mr. Barefoot is a weirdo, and no one knows what he will do. He doesn't care
about other people, and about life in general!"
Most of the villagers had gathered at the scene. Judging by their tone and facial expression, some of
them took this as an opportunity to gloat, while some looked worried and some cursed at her... they
behaved just the same the moment they found out Emily was critically ill.
Mr. Yang let out a deep sigh of relief as he heard neighbors' discussion. But still, he needed to keep up
his facade. "Oh! My poor wife, what else can I do to help you? Can you wake up and tell me what to
do? We've crossed Mr. Barefoot, so he won't help us at all! We should blame him for not having
morality and medical ethics!"
In truth, his heart melted away in secret raptures. He wanted to bury this woman as soon as possible
and get himself another beautiful wife, who would bear him lots of children. What a wonderful thought!
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