The sticky, glue-like lump of "Divine Remedy" was stuck in Shawn Young's throat, neither going up nor down, nearly suffocating him. He tried to spit it out, but the "Divine Remedy" was already dissolving, sticking stubbornly to his throat like a wad of paste, and emitting a stench so foul it made him want to vomit but unable to do so. It truly felt worse than death.
At that moment, Shawn Young felt like a lobster being roasted alive, his skin burning red and hot all over. He couldn’t figure out what kind of strange snake had bitten him—the toxin was bizarrely powerful. Normally, when someone gets bitten by a venomous snake, their body goes numb and swells black, but Shawn experienced all that and, on top of it, felt like he was being grilled from head to toe!
As his consciousness blurred, Shawn slowly felt strange waves of heat spreading from his throat to his stomach. Soon, his whole body was engulfed in a pain that felt like he was being ripped apart. Every bone and muscle was being brutally washed and whipped, the agony eating away at every cell. He opened his mouth wide but couldn’t make a sound, his hands and feet flailing desperately in the air, and he kept banging the back of his head on the ground, trying to ease the pain, but he couldn’t wake up no matter how hard he tried…
Finally, that hellish pain slowly faded away, replaced by a surge of power filling his limbs, bones, and even his heart. He regained control of his arms and legs, and every pore in his body felt incredibly refreshed. His mind returned, though a burning sensation still lingered in his head, leaving him dazed and out of sync with his body’s strong reactions. Shawn was gradually waking up from this bizarre dizziness.
He crawled up from the ground and was shocked to discover that his vision had suddenly improved dramatically. Especially in the originally dark and hazy cave, he could now see even the tiniest pebbles on the ground.
"Gurgle..." Suddenly, his stomach churned violently, as if a hundred stampeding elephants were rampaging inside him—"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" A series of loud farts erupted uncontrollably, and not only were they deafening, but the stench was absolutely unbearable!
Shawn hurriedly pinched his nose, but he was still nearly knocked out by the stench of his own farts. However, after that noisy outburst, he felt much more refreshed…
Suddenly, Shawn remembered something crucial—he immediately pulled open his pants and looked down, and was overjoyed to find that his previously swollen, dark, and shiny giant ** had returned to normal, though it was still noticeably bigger than before!
"Looks like this dog-shit-like 'Divine Remedy' really does work! Heh, but why do I suddenly feel like... like I want a woman?" Shawn, excited, felt his ** stirring, and a strange heat spread below his belly, filling him with a wicked urge to find a woman and let loose.
Lost in wild thoughts, his gaze swept toward the depths of the cave. His eyesight was inexplicably sharp now—even in the pitch-dark cave, he could see clearly. As he glanced over, he suddenly noticed a vague figure sitting cross-legged against the far wall.
"Ah! There’s someone here?!" Shawn was startled and quickly walked deeper into the cave.
Soon, he reached the depths of the cave, and what he saw shocked him again—a Taoist priest in a golden robe, with an ancient, lean face, three long strands of beard, snowy temples, and eyes half-closed, sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, hands folded in a mystical gesture. He looked just like the Taoist masters Shawn had seen in movies, striking a pose similar to monks in deep cultivation.
In front of the old Taoist, there was another empty straw mat with a piece of yellowed silk cloth on it, covered in ancient script. To his left sat an old sandalwood box, which looked like his personal belongings.
"...Uh... Master Taoist... Hello! Sorry to bother you... I know this is a bit abrupt, but... can I ask, why are you here? What is this place?" Shawn cautiously asked the old Taoist.
But the old Taoist acted as if he hadn’t heard Shawn at all—he didn’t move or respond in the slightest.
"Uh... Master Taoist... I’m really sorry... I... I’m trapped here... I want to get out... Could you please tell me how I can leave this place?"
No response—
"Master Taoist... don’t be like this! I know I’m disturbing your meditation... I really didn’t mean to. If you could just say a word to me, that’d be enough..."
Still no response—
"Come on, Master Taoist... don’t tell me you’ve already ascended to immortality? Surely answering a tiny question from me wouldn’t trouble you, right?" Shawn asked several times, but the old Taoist remained completely unresponsive, making Shawn mutter to himself.
The old Taoist still didn’t react at all, which made Shawn feel even stranger. A thought flashed through his mind—“Could it be… this old Taoist is already dead?!”
The idea startled Shawn. He examined the old Taoist closely and saw that his face was rosy like a living person, eyes half-closed as if meditating in some Daoist practice—nothing like a corpse. But when Shawn looked carefully, he realized: the old Taoist’s chest wasn’t moving at all—not a single breath.
Shawn was stunned. He moved closer, gathered his courage, and waved his hand in front of the old Taoist’s face, calling, "Master Taoist... Master Taoist... Are you still alive? If you are, could you please give me a sign?"
Unexpectedly, the old Taoist remained completely oblivious. Shawn reached out to feel for his breath—and discovered there was none. "Ah! He really is dead!" Shawn gasped in shock.
At that moment, Shawn sensed a strange force appear above his head. Before he could look up, his legs buckled and he stumbled backward, falling to his knees—right onto the empty straw mat.
Only then did he notice the yellowed silk cloth lying on the empty mat. He quickly picked it up and began to examine the writing on it...