Chapter 156: Chapter 130: Immortality

A chilling sensation suddenly approached, even though Sang Que saw nothing, goosebumps rose all over her body.

In a flash of instinct, without much thought, she vigorously shook the Dao Bell.

Ring, ring!

Ring, ring!

The crisp sound of the Dao Bell echoed in the small courtyard, as a few blue-black threads crawled out from the cracks between the green bricks beneath her feet, retreating under the influence of the bell’s chime.

Seeing this, Sang Que’s eyes lit up, and she continued to shake the Dao Bell to push back those blue-black threads.

“Come over to me.”

Qin Ze, dragging the still-shaken Wan Biao, with Xu San not giving up on Zhang Yuanzhong and Zhao Qi either, pulled out a small gourd-shaped medicine bottle from his pocket, risking infection, and quickly stuffed two red pills into Zhao Qi and Zhang Yuanzhong’s mouths.

As soon as they swallowed the pills, several blue-black threads rushed out from the corners of their eyes and vanished, alleviating their symptoms of thirst.

Obviously, it was medicine from He Buning.

The commotion here eventually alarmed the villagers, and Sang Que saw a large group of people holding torches running up from the village below.

The situation was urgent, and Sang Que no longer hid her actions. She immediately released the Evil Mist to envelop the entire courtyard.

The Evil Mist blocked out sound and the view of the courtyard; Xuan Yu volunteered, jumping off Sang Que’s shoulder, quickly running out of the Evil Mist to divert the villagers’ attention.

Sang Que slowed the frequency of shaking the Dao Bell, observing her surroundings carefully, and after confirming that those blue-black threads did not reappear, she put away the Dao Bell and looked at Zhao Qi and Zhang Yuanzhong.

Both were still sweating profusely, swallowing saliva constantly; it seemed the symptoms were only alleviated, not completely cured.

Those blue-black threads resembled modern iron worms, which could parasitize animals and cause them to crave water, eventually leading them to drown themselves by the river, their corpses becoming fodder for the iron worms’ reproduction.

The legend Yao Zhen had previously told her about the ’Fish Woman’ who could resurrect the dead also felt somewhat like parasites controlling their hosts.

But in the Deceit Dynasty, these things carried an additional eerie flavor, making them even more elusive and unpredictable.

Sang Que was deep in thought, and it wasn’t until Xia Chan shook her arm that she returned to her senses, looking up to find everyone staring at her in shock and inquiry.

Xu San, incredulous, asked, “Are you also a Yin Walker?”

Qin Ze was taken aback, stuttering, “You… you… you’re not the one who single-handedly wiped out the bandits of Purple Clouds Mountain, are you?”

Xu San found it hard to believe; Sang Que didn’t exhibit any of the aura or signs that a Yin Walker like Qin Ze did, with water dripping from him and strange water plants appearing, which made it obvious he was possessed by evil spirits.

Moreover, some experienced old Yin Walkers, even if they had managed to control their evil spirits, always carried a distinct smell of death about them.

But along the way, Sang Que appeared completely normal; Xu San had never seen a Yin Walker suppress their evil spirits so completely.

Now Xu San realized what Captain He meant by asking him to pay extra attention to the sisters!

Just moments before, worried they would all die trapped here, Xu San now felt a surge of hope, seeing their survival chances significantly boosted by the presence of the skilled Yin Walker Sang Que.

Feeling more confident, Xu San pondered, while Qin Ze felt like slapping himself; he had previously underestimated Sang Que, thinking she was holding them back. Even after Xiao Liu told him, he still felt Sang Que was just a bit more skilled than the average girl, but still relied on him, the Yin Walker.

It turned out she was a Yin Walker too!

Her control involved the rare Evil Mist, which, in itself, was beyond what he, the Corpse Recovery Man, could manage.

No wonder she knew the method of taming evil spirits through deception; she was truly an expert!

At this moment, Qin Ze deeply understood the futility of trying to show off in front of an expert!

Zhang Yuanzhong was clueless, while Wan Biao and Zhao Qi felt similarly to Qin Ze, utterly embarrassed; Zhao Qi, being thin-skinned, kept his head down, while Wan Biao, being burly, cast Sang Que a flattering smile with his uneven eyes.

Sang Que remained silent, merely glancing at them before refocusing on the task at hand, considering how to explain things to He Buning without exposing the Yin Child’s presence, relying on her skills of fabrication.

Xia Chan sensed the sudden respect and awe the group had for Sang Que, puffing out her small chest with pride, looking smug as if to say, ’My sister is the best in the world.’

Outside the courtyard, the villagers holding torches were led away by the disturbances Xuan Yu intentionally created.

While others couldn’t see through Sang Que’s spread Evil Mist, she could observe the situation outside; among the crowd, she spotted a sharp-witted woman in a blue coarse cloth skirt, her hair tied with matching coarse cloth.

Moreover, this woman bore a striking resemblance to Zhang Yuanzhong’s eldest son, undoubtedly being Zhang Yuanzhong’s wife, Qiao Ying.

Sang Que felt a stir in his heart, allowing the Evil Mist to silently envelop them.

…

Qiao Ying was following the villagers to check if outsiders had come to the village again. While walking, she was suddenly surrounded by dense fog and cautiously slowed her steps, unknowingly walking into the abandoned courtyard.

“Ying Niang!”

Qiao Ying heard Zhang Yuanzhong’s voice and suddenly turned around, seeing the eerie gray mist gradually dissipate. Zhang Yuanzhong shrank his neck with a dry laugh, still the same pathetic look as before.

“Yuan Zhong?!”

Qiao Ying, surprised for a moment, threw down the torch and ran towards Zhang Yuanzhong. As Zhang Yuanzhong opened his arms to welcome her, Qiao Ying unexpectedly slapped him, making him stagger.

“Who told you to come?! Aren’t you taking care of Da Lang and Second Niang? Are you just ignoring them?! You reckless fool! You want to make me angry, make me so angry that I die?!!”

Qiao Ying slapped Zhang Yuanzhong repeatedly, her strength so great that she almost slapped ’Zhang Yuanzhong’ back into a mist.

“Ying Niang, don’t hit, don’t hit, the children miss you so much, Second Niang cries at home every day, I have no choice, the kids can’t be without you.”

Zhang Yuanzhong shrank his neck to dodge, and at the mention of the children, Qiao Ying’s eyes instantly reddened.

“But I have no choice either! If I don’t come back, you and the children will die, and it’ll be my fault!”

Qiao Ying wiped her tears, and Zhang Yuanzhong seized the opportunity to ask, “Ying Niang, tell me honestly, what’s going on?”

Qiao Ying shook her head, “I can’t say. You’re not from the village, I can’t tell you.”

“Who says I’m not from the village? I’m your husband, the son-in-law of the village,” Zhang Yuanzhong said loudly.

Qiao Ying continued to shake her head, “No, you have to… I can’t say, I can’t!”

“Ying Niang?”

Another voice of Zhang Yuanzhong came from behind Qiao Ying, making her body stiffen. She watched as the Zhang Yuanzhong in front of her was swallowed and disappeared by the gray mist.

She slowly turned around and saw Zhang Yuanzhong, drenched in sweat, swallowing saliva constantly, his eyes starting to protrude.

Qiao Ying gasped, realizing Zhang Yuanzhong had already become ’one of them’.

“Zhang Yuanzhong, you reckless fool——” Qiao Ying covered her mouth, unable to suppress her sobbing, “What will happen to Da Lang and Second Niang without mom and dad——”

The real Zhang Yuanzhong was stunned upon hearing this, realizing Qiao Ying was worried about the children but not about him, making his eyes redden with grievance.

The Evil Mist in the courtyard gradually dissipated, and the onlookers, astonished by Sang Que’s actions, were speechless. Xu San was grateful he wore a mask, preventing others from seeing his loss of composure.

Intending to step forward and inquire of Qiao Ying, Xu San hesitated again, glanced towards Sang Que, and found everyone else looking at her too.

At this moment, Sang Que had transformed from a ’burden’ into the core and leader of the small team.

Qiao Ying stared intently at Xu San’s Day Traveling Envoy mask, with a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Sang Que said to Qiao Ying, “Qiao Ying, we are here to deal with the matter of Pinghu Village. If you know any crucial information, you can tell Zhang Yuanzhong. Since you’ve been gone, the children’s faces haven’t been clean even once, they’re still waiting for you to come back.”

Suddenly seeing so many people, the previously panicked Qiao Ying heard Sang Que’s latter words and instantly became furious, rushing forward to beat Zhang Yuanzhong again mercilessly.

“While I was gone, did you even bother to wash the kids’ faces? What use are you! What use are you! You utter failure, you reckless thing!”

“Ah, don’t hit, Ying Niang, don’t hit, people are watching, people are watching!”

The crowd, because of Sang Que’s cunning, twitched at the corners of their eyes, while Sang Que remained expressionless and unperturbed.

Scared by Qiao Ying, Xia Chan hid behind Sang Que, recalling the scene when her mother used to beat her for misbehaving, exactly the same.

So terrifying, sob sob…

Once Qiao Ying had vented enough, she grabbed Zhang Yuanzhong’s collar, seemingly talking to Zhang Yuanzhong, but actually addressing everyone else.

“You can’t handle the situation here. The four Day Traveling Envoys who came before killed all the villagers, even burned the bodies, but at night, we still emerge from the lake, indistinguishable from normal people.”

“I don’t know how many times I’ve died. Here, we are immortal. If you can get out, then leave as soon as possible, and please take care of my children for me!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep