530 Bizarre (1/2)
”These villagers...aren't human?”
Chen Xin broke out in cold sweat. She replayed the happenings of the day in her mind, meeting the woodcutter, the village chief and Madam Donghua. She could not help but feel faint.
”How could they all be ghosts?”
”Amituofo...I don't feel any ghostly aura emanating from them either. Could it be that all of them are malevolent spirits?”
Jiese was confused as well.
”Fang Yuan's opinion might sound ridiculous, but the unease I feel in my heart right now tells me that this may very well be the case!”
Tantai Guihu continued to speak in a calm manner.
”Ghost Sealing Village...it is now a ghost village inhabited only by ghosts!”
”My god...we have fallen into a trap.”
Chen He spat out the chunk of meat he was chewing on and retched. He was cross.
”Since we are aware that this place has a problem, why did we still come here?”
”Wait up!”
Fang Yuan shook his head.
”I only said that they were dead. I didn't say that they were ghosts.”
”My head hurts…”
Chen He looked very distressed.
”If they are dead, and can move about, what else can they be other than ghosts?”
”I can't say for sure…”
Fang Yuan had gone silent. The people in the village were very strange indeed.
All of them seemed like they were enveloped in a mist as if their days were numbered. At the same time, they looked active and not at all like ghosts.
”We have a situation!”
They had realised that something was up.
”It is too quiet outside!”
A mountain village like this would have no lack of livestock. But now, night had fallen and there was a deathly silence outside.
It did not seem like it meant anything, but right now, they were feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Whoosh!
The oil lamps in the house flickered even though the flames were encased in glass. They all went out one by one.
”Strange indeed. This is worth an investigation!”
Tantai Guihu rubbed the mask he was wearing on his face.
”What do you all think?”
”No matter what, let's look for this person before anything else.”
Fang Yuan got to his feet and walked out of the house.
Dark clouds swam about in the night sky. A full moon was out and threw a cold light upon the landscape.
”Ah!”
As they inspected their surroundings, a piercing scream cut through the silence. It sounded like it was from a woman.
”It came from Madam Donghua's house!”
Fang Yuan and Tantau Guihu rushed forward to the house and barged the door open.
Ping!
The few of them entered the house, holding an oil lamp between themselves and the darkness within.
”Madam Donghua?”
Chen Xin called out hesitantly, but no reply came.
”What is going on? She was here just now…”
She walked a few steps forward before the light from the oil lamp fell upon a figure. It was a little figure that hung above the ground.
”A corpse? It looks like her son, Goudan!”
Chen Xin could feel her voice begin to quiver.
”Tsktsk...this is sorcery!”
From the light of the oil lamp, Fang Yuan could clearly see that the child wearing red was hanging from the beam. He had been dead for some time and there was a pin stuck deep into his head.
”Amituofo, I've seen this set up before. The South Sea Sorcerer once used this method to acquired souls!”
Jiese rubbed his bald head.
”Could this be...the origin of the curse?”
Chen He was shocked.
”A sorcerer harming an entire village. What could his motive be? To acquire souls, or to derive a curse?”
Hey!
Chen He suddenly felt himself go numb. The hanging dead child had opened its eyes and was smiling at him.
”Ghost!”
Although Chen He was afraid, he was after all an elite exorcist and quickly sprayed amulet water upwards.
Ping!
The rope broke and this body fell to the ground with a thud.
”Boss, this child came alive for a moment!”
Chen He took a few steps back tentatively.
”I can't sense anything…”
Tantai Guihu had an awful look on his face. He proceeded to cut open his palm and let his blood drip over the area.
”Go examine the boy's body for clues.”
”Alright!”
Chen He was confident in Tantai Guihu's abilities and strode forward. He then turned the corpse over.
”Uhm...the corpse is cold. It has been dead for a while. The red clothes were put on it after its death. The pin on its head was hammered in by a person with experience.”
He had some serious doubts. The killer must be human. If a spirit wanted to kill, it would not be such a sucker for details.
”Still...the most important concern is whether this sorcery was successful…”
Chen He stood up and dusted his hands.
”This is indeed a corpse and not a ghost in disguise. Even if there were ghosts around, they would have run away when Boss decided to use his blood, am I right? Haha…”
He had barely finished speaking when a stunned look came over his face. It was as if he had seen something incredible. Without any warning, he disappeared.
”Chen He?”
”Brother!”