Chapter 155: Chapter 129: Human-faced Snake

Those people stood motionless by the lakeside after coming ashore, with something seeming to writhe behind them.

Sang Que wanted to see more clearly, but the distance was too far, and the mist was thick. Her eyes were a bit sore, and when she turned her head, Xia Chan beside her suddenly transformed into a female ghost with long hair, dressed in blue, staring with blood-red eyes.

A chill shot straight to the top of her head, and Sang Que drew the Ten Victory Stone Dagger from her waist and swept it towards the female ghost.

“Sister!”

The female ghost suddenly spoke, and the dagger stopped just at her neck. More flickering black shadows appeared in her sight, baring fangs and brandishing claws as they rushed towards her.

“Ah——”

Zhang Yuanzhong screamed miserably and fell to the ground, rolling and crawling away from the others.

Xu San gripped his dagger tightly and attacked Qin Ze, who stretched out red water grass from his torn arm, entangling Xu San’s arm.

Wan Biao and Zhao Qi were also fighting each other, with terror in everyone’s eyes.

In their eyes, the surroundings were filled with Evil Ghosts, with no allies among them.

Ring ring!

The Dao Bell at Sang Que’s waist rang, the sound jolting her spirit, and the blue-clad female ghost in front of her eyes transformed back to Xia Chan, the strange black shadows disappearing.

Others also shuddered, returning to clarity.

Sang Que whispered, “There’s something wrong with this mist; we can’t stay here.”

The people who were originally motionless by the lakeside began to move one by one, walking like ordinary people, heading towards the village.

Zhao Qi, who was like a pale-faced scholar, quickly said, “There’s a courtyard behind the village that’s already abandoned; no one should be living there. We can go there.”

There was still some distance from the lakeside to the village, so they immediately took action.

Sang Que quickly placed the immobilized Zhang Yuanzhong onto the donkey cart, and without any urging, the black donkey galloped quickly for its life.

Zhao Qi was familiar with the route, soon leading them to a remote courtyard built midway up a hill, with high terrain and less fog.

Inside, they extinguished all lights and only pasted an Exorcism Talisman on the gate as a precaution.

“What’s wrong with Ying Niang? Is she already dead? How can a living person walk out of the water?” Zhang Yuanzhong asked tremulously, tears in his eyes, sitting by the wall hugging his knees and shivering, crying quietly.

No one paid him any mind, so he just continued sobbing by himself.

“Brother Shuangxi, back from fishing, eh? How was today’s catch?”

“Not bad, caught quite a few fat river crabs, want some?”

“Nah, not much meat, eating them is too much trouble.”

Voices of villagers greeting each other came from outside, with every household lighting lamps, smoke rising from cooking, and a scent of food, just like normal people leading normal lives.

“It smells so good, Little Chan is hungry again.” Xia Chan sniffed toward the outside, while Sang Que made a gesture to silence her.

Qin Ze and the others stood below the courtyard wall, secretly observing outside.

“They don’t seem different from normal people. Looks like we’ll have to quietly capture one and ask some questions.”

Qin Ze turned to Xu San, who nodded in agreement. Wan Biao and Zhao Qi exchanged a glance.

Both of them were ordinary people who excelled in the army but lacked the background to advance, so they decided to take a gamble with the Evil Suppression Bureau.

To successfully join the Evil Suppression Bureau, they had to make a merit.

“Let’s go then.” Zhao Qi said.

Xu San reminded, “Be careful, the situation in the village is unclear, try not to alarm the others.”

Zhao Qi and Wan Biao sneaked out, and within five minutes, they returned carrying a middle-aged man. Sang Que hadn’t heard any extra sounds, they indeed had some skill.

After carrying the unconscious middle-aged man in, they quickly tied him up and gagged him. Xu San wore the white ghost face mask of the Day Traveling Envoy and watched as Wan Biao and Zhao Qi finished gagging the middle-aged man, pinched his philtrum to awaken him.

Once the middle-aged man woke up and saw the unfamiliar faces around him, he immediately began to struggle, emitting muffled cries of panic.

Xu San walked up to him, showing his token, “I am a Day Traveling Envoy of the Evil Suppression Bureau, ordered to investigate the village. Answer my questions and I will spare your life, or you will be executed on the spot without mercy, understand?”

The middle-aged man’s face showed terror as he nodded. Zhao Qi squatted down, pressing a hand on the man’s shoulder and slowly removed the cloth from his mouth.

“Did you just come out from the lake?” Xu San asked the most critical question directly.

The middle-aged man trembled, just about to speak, but suddenly his whole body seized up, his eyes widened, and mouth agape. An indigo-black cobra shot out from his mouth, swiftly escaping.

The speed was so fast that none present had time to react.

Just as Sang Que prepared to act, Xuan Yu leapt out from the darkness, pinning the cobra’s seven-inch spot with a claw and biting down beneath its head, dragging it towards Sang Que.

“Look at this man!” Wan Biao exclaimed softly.

After the cobra shot out of the man’s mouth, his body began to exude large amounts of water, gradually withering, with bulging eyes, and he fell flat forward.

Fish scales appeared on the back of his neck, rising and trembling.

The scales were strikingly similar to those Xuan Yu found in Zhang Yuanzhong’s backyard, and as the group was astonished, Sang Que crouched down, using the Ten Victory Stone Dagger to flip over the cobra Xuan Yu had brought to her.

Sure enough, the snake bore a human face identical to the middle-aged man’s.

The snake’s tail suddenly twitched, and Sang Que immediately raised the Ten Victory Stone Dagger. Before she could stab the snake’s head, the entire snake disintegrated into countless indigo-black filaments, entwined together like wireworms, with one end writhing and the other diving rapidly underground.

Sang Que quickly scooped up Xuan Yu, protecting Xia Chan while retreating, and the others also distanced themselves.

Xu San pulled off a bamboo tube from his waist and splashed black dog blood onto the heap of indigo-black filaments.

A sharp sound pierced everyone’s ears like a needle, flashes of horrifying illusions passed before their eyes, and Sang Que gently shook the Dao Bell to steady their minds.

The swirling black filaments sizzled in the black dog blood, melted along with the middle-aged man’s body into a watery fluid seeping into the earth, leaving behind only a few palm-sized fish scales.

The group looked at each other; this scenario was something none of them had ever seen before.

The sturdy Wan Biao swallowed, asking Xu San, “Does this mean that all the people of Pinghu Village have become these demonic beings?”

Qin Ze was also somewhat at a loss, spitting out half a blade of grass, “What should we do with these people next, kill them all?”

Before Xu San could decide, Zhang Yuanzhong, who had been sitting in the corner, suddenly sprang up, his movements sudden and fierce, drawing everyone’s attention.

Sweat poured down Zhang Yuanzhong’s face like rain, a dark indigo line swiftly moving across his neck, eyes beginning to bleed, his Adam’s apple rolling as he swallowed repeatedly, stretching a hand towards the others.

“Water…give me water…”

On the other side, Zhao Qi, who had been restraining the middle-aged man, also began to sweat unnaturally. Realizing something was wrong, he frantically tore open his waterskin, pouring its contents into his mouth.

Choking on the liquid, he coughed and sprayed out a large puddle of indigo-black liquid, which contained the same wireworm-like, tangled, writhing parasites!

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