ENG
Twisted in form, it charges like a gale,
With feet unfurled, it strikes a deadly trail.
Beware its breath, the venomous embrace,
In narrow bounds, seek a wider space.
In bygone days, a young man embarked on a journey to the Webbed Hollow seeking vengeance. However, his quest took a dark turn when he was captured by yaoguais and thrown into the Bonevault. Falling into a deep pit, he landed in a lair of large insects. Despite suffering a broken leg, he managed to survive. As he looked around, all he could see were skeletons and remains, filling him with despair.
In the midst of his despair, he felt a sharp pain in his leg. A massive centipede, as long as a person, had bitten him and torn off a piece of his flesh to devour. Filled with terror, the young man instinctively grabbed a stone and viciously crushed the centipede until it burst apart. Only then did he realize that the stone he used was a human skull, which he quickly discarded.
To his surprise, he noticed that the pain in his injured leg had subsided. Curious, he applied some of the centipede's pus to a scraped arm, and the pain diminished, likely due to the numbing effect of the venom. This revelation sparked an idea in his mind. He tore strong silk threads from the cocoons surrounding the pit and found two leg bones to serve as support for his broken leg.
Exhausted from the ordeal, he rested, but soon heard rustling sounds around him. He searched for the source of the noise, but it abruptly ceased. Suddenly, a giant white ball descended from above, bouncing several times before unfurling into a massive centipede, hundreds of times larger than the first one. Swiftly, the young man curled himself into a ball, mimicking the centipede's movements to confuse the colossal creature.
At that moment, more objects fell into the pit—empty skins and remains. From them emerged a swarm of smaller centipedes, feasting on the discarded scraps. They passed by the young man, mistaking him for one of their own. Realizing this, he began to imitate their behavior, observing their habits and assimilating into their society. After ten days, he finally managed to escape the Webbed Hollow.
Basking in the daylight, he came to understand that dwelling on the past would not allow him to live a fulfilling life. Returning to his hometown, he sought to lead a peaceful existence. However, the weavers, aware of his visit to Zhu's Estate, gathered at his doorstep, demanding that he retrieve treasures from the estate. Forced to hide from them, he found no respite from the turmoil that surrounded him.
The short poem at the start is a warning about a deadly, twisted creature that moves fast, has many feet, and uses venom. It tells you to beware its poisonous bite and, if you can, to get out of tight places where it can corner you. That creature is the giant centipede-like life found in the story.
A young man originally went to the Webbed Hollow to get revenge, but his plan went wrong. He was captured by yaoguais and thrown into a place called the Bonevault, where he fell into a deep pit full of large insects and skeletons. He broke his leg in the fall and felt despair when he saw only remains around him.
While stuck, a huge centipede bit him and tore off flesh to eat. In terror he grabbed a stone and smashed the insect until it burst, then realized the “stone” was actually a human skull, which he threw away. He noticed the centipede’s pus numbed his injured leg, so he put some on a scraped arm and felt pain relief. He then used silk from nearby cocoons and two leg bones as supports to splint his broken leg.
Later a giant centipede unfolded from a white ball and more discarded skins and remains dropped into the pit, releasing a swarm of smaller centipedes. The man curled into a ball and copied the big centipede’s movements so the creatures would not attack him. The smaller centipedes passed by and mistook him for one of their own, so he kept imitating them, watched their behavior, and lived among them until he could escape after ten days.
When he reached daylight he realized that clinging to revenge and the past would not let him live a good life, so he went home trying to be peaceful. That peace didn’t last: local weavers, who knew he had been to Zhu’s Estate, came to his door demanding he retrieve treasures from the estate. He was forced to hide, showing that even after surviving the Hollow he could not escape new pressures and danger.