Chapter 158: Chapter 132: Entering the Lake

Qiao Ying and Zhang Yuanzhong exchanged a few intimate words as a couple, then picked up the torches again, instructing Sang Que to escort her out. If the villagers noticed her absence, they would surely be suspicious.

Zhao Qi kept scratching behind his ears, feeling a burning sensation as if something was about to burst out.

Like Zhang Yuanzhong, he was extremely thirsty, longing to drink water, even wanting to submerge his entire body in it.

Qiao Ying didn’t know if they could leave the village, so she could only hope for help from the Day Traveling Envoy Xu San.

“My suggestion is to tie them up.”

After Qiao Ying left, Sang Que suggested to Xu San and Qin Ze, with Zhao Qi and Zhang Yuanzhong looking at everyone helplessly.

Qin Ze and Xu San exchanged a glance, nodded in agreement, and used the Soul-locking Rope from Zhao Qi to tie the two to the tree in the courtyard.

Zhao Qi knew when to yield, and Zhang Yuanzhong dared not object.

With temporary peace, Sang Que continued maintaining the Evil Mist and had a meal with Xia Chan in the donkey cart.

“Do you still remember the way out, Little Chan?”

In the donkey cart, Sang Que asked Xia Chan, who nodded while chewing on jerky, “I remember.”

Sang Que continued, “The situation in this village is a bit strange. Try not to directly touch the villagers with your hair. Beware of the Human-faced Snake and those dark green thread-like insects. If the guy with water plants growing on him changes when he goes into the lake tomorrow, you must take the donkey and Xuan Yu and leave the village first.”

“What about sister? Little Chan wants to protect sister!” Xia Chan was resolute.

Sang Que unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and handed it to Xia Chan, “Don’t worry about me. I have a way to preserve my life. If you can get out, you can follow that person called He Buning. He’s not a bad person and will protect you.”

Xia Chan nodded, half-believing.

Meow—

Xuan Yu returned, squeezed into the carriage to rub against Sang Que, seeking praise and treats.

In the first half of the night, Sang Que continuously used the Evil Mist to shroud the courtyard. The villagers outside were busy with their routines as usual, showing no sign of anything unusual.

In the latter half of the night, Xu San and Qin Ze came to switch with Sang Que, allowing her to withdraw the Evil Mist and rest for a while. The village was now silent, with few villagers moving about.

Sang Que and Xia Chan piled the food in the donkey cart to one side, and they squeezed in to catch some sleep. Xuan Yu dutifully lay on the cart’s yoke to keep watch over them.

Perhaps she was too tired; Sang Que felt as if only a second had passed after closing her eyes when Xu San called out from outside.

“Miss Sang, come out quickly and have a look.”

Sang Que sat up in the donkey cart and rushed out. The east was brightening; it was already dawn.

Xu San, Qin Ze, and Wan Biao stood under the tree in the courtyard, but Zhao Qi and Zhang Yuanzhong, who had been tied there, were gone. The knot in the Soul-locking Rope remained intact, lying in a large patch of water stains.

Wan Biao looked innocent, “I just dozed off for a moment. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared like this!”

Xu San and Qin Ze remained silent; everyone was mentally prepared since Zhao Qi and Zhang Yuanzhong were invaded by those insects last night and would end up like this.

After silently eating something, they checked various parts of the village separately, and as expected, it had reverted to a deserted state just like yesterday.

In the morning, they thoroughly searched the village again but found nothing, as Pinghu Village didn’t even have an ancestral hall or temples.

At noon, with the sun high in the sky, Xu San, preparing to explore the lake, knelt by the lake, clasped his hands together, silently chanting something, burned incense and paper, paying homage to the ’Suoweng’ he believed in.

It was said that Suoweng would lend his power to Xu San, allowing him to avoid the attention of Water Ghosts underwater and remain as long as fish below the surface.

Qin Ze originally also believed in ’Suoweng,’ but during his time playing the Corpse Recovery Man, it was inconvenient for him to worship, so he simply killed one of the roosters he brought, spreading its blood into the lake, took off his bamboo hat, tied the red cloth on his right hand around his forehead, completing the pre-dive ritual.

After all preparations, Xu San handed the signal smoke to Wan Biao, instructing him to wait by the lake. If they hadn’t surfaced after one hour, Wan Biao was to release the signal smoke to notify He Buning.

Xu San and Qin Ze rowed to the lake’s heart, and once in place, both bit the Ten Victory Stone Dagger and jumped into the lake from each side of the boat, vanishing in an instant, leaving only ripples on the water’s glittering surface.

Sang Que tried to extend the Evil Mist into the lake, equally curious about the underwater scene. However, when her mist touched the water, an overwhelming chill enveloped her. Suddenly, in her mind, a massive arm formed by countless corpses of the Water Ghost flashed.

The corpses on the arm reached out to her, muttering eerily.

Sang Que’s scalp tightened as she hurriedly withdrew the mist, stepping back two steps.

At this moment, the Mountain Ghost Token she had tucked in her lapel suddenly fell, and she bent over to pick it up before Wan Biao noticed.

Standing back, token in hand, Sang Que was stunned.

A cold and damp mist brushed past her face with the wind. Just moments ago, the clear, sparkling lake was no more!

The ground beneath her feet was dry and cracked, littered everywhere with turtle shells, stacked and scattered, each shell adorned with protruding human-like facial patterns wearing expressions of agony.

The former lake had transformed into a large pit, enshrouded in thin mist, with everything visible a grotesque display of skeletons—half fish bones, half human bones, with dark green Human-faced Snakes slithering through eye sockets of the skulls, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Sang Que silently stepped back two steps, turning her attention towards the village.

Originally a peaceful and harmonious fishing village, it was now similarly veiled in fog. Most houses had collapsed, with wild vines reduced to withered branches, entwining and covering various parts of the village, left desolate, decayed, cold, and silent.

The rustling sounds carried by the wind made her hair stand on end; clutching the Mountain Ghost Token tightly, she thought she might have been pulled into the Hidden Realm.

This token was originally found in the Hidden Realm; she never quite knew its purpose.

About the Hidden Realm, she knew nothing, only that it was more dangerous than the outside world.

Sang Que hurriedly checked the ’Recovery’ mark she had placed, ensuring that if she were suddenly attacked by lurking horrors, she wouldn’t die without knowing why.

Taking a deep breath to quell the panic within, Sang Que couldn’t help but mutter, “I offered incense, asking for a safe journey, yet you throw me into the Hidden Realm. Do you think I’m not dying fast enough?”

Glancing at her pocket watch, although she didn’t know why the Human-faced Snakes in the Hidden Mist didn’t vanish, she remembered what Liu Tianyou had said: humans cannot be exposed to the Hidden Mist for more than 15 minutes.

She could seek temporary refuge in the village, but…

Turning around, the lake within the Hidden Realm was devoid of a single drop of water, with mountains of skeletons piled high. In the depths of the mist, vague shadows hinted at what seemed to be a large complex of houses.

“Since I’m already here…”

Sang Que tucked away her watch, drawing the Hundred Victory Saber from her back, directing the Yin Child to lead the way, wrapping herself in Evil Mist as she headed towards the mansion at the bottom of the lake.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep