Chapter 355: Chapter 319: One Shot, Headshot

Sang Que said she wants to help. Qin Ze was excited, but the number of provisions was enormous and couldn’t be transported by the two of them alone.

Regarding Qin Ze’s doubt, Sang Que said she had her own way.

“You’re not healed yet. Stay here with them, I’ll go alone,” Sang Que said to Qin Ze.

Qin Ze stood up, “No way, this is my task, I must go with you. This little injury is no problem.”

Sang Que nodded, “Alright, there’s no time to lose. You’ve already startled them, we need to go now, lest they transfer the provisions elsewhere during the day.”

Sang Que packed up her things, asking Xia Chan and Qiao Ling to stay here to treat that person’s injuries, while Xuan Yu kept watch in the tree.

Returning to Black Mountain Village via the usual path would take at least two days. It was daylight now, so the flower sedan couldn’t be used.

“It seems we must visit the Ming Mansion once.”

Sang Que led Qin Ze back to the Hidden Realm, approached the Ming Mansion’s entrance, took a breath, and knocked on the door. Just as her hand raised, the door opened on its own.

Gray ashes scattered in the sky, revealing a familiar shadow wall. Amazingly, there was a well right in front of it, negating the need for Sang Que to venture further into the mansion to find other wells.

Sang Que and Qin Ze arrived at the well and peered down. Below was milky-white Jade Liquid, exuding a sweet, rich fragrance—unlikely the Water Ghosts would appear here?

“Let’s go!”

Sang Que pressed her hand onto the well’s edge, raised her leg, and jumped in without hesitation. Qin Ze followed closely behind.

It felt like floating on clouds, without the constricted sensation after entering the water. Milky-white mist flowed all around, two images flickered in the distance; they were pure white Ming Wanxi and Huilan in wedding attire.

Hand in hand, they smiled warmly at Sang Que, raising a hand to point a direction.

Sang Que nodded in response, swam towards the direction they pointed, and soon, as if passing through a barrier, the floating sensation abruptly vanished. Sang Que stood on solid ground, with a well opening overhead.

“I’ll go out first to check.”

To be safe, Sang Que cast a ’Xun Trigram’ on herself, a trigram that allowed her to enter a hidden state, not easily detected by people or ghosts, especially when motionless, bypassing their killing rules.

Sang Que instantly teleported from the bottom of the well. Outside was still the Hidden Realm, in the courtyard of Shouhou’s house, where Shouhou’s mother also sat, white hair cascading, eyes vacant, muttering a child’s rhyme under the eaves.

She was no longer alive, a part of the curse.

Sang Que surveyed the village. Black Mountain Village in the Hidden Realm was only gray and white, identical to her memory without any changes.

For now, no other people or ghosts were seen. Sang Que signaled Qin Ze from the well opening.

The red aquatic grass on Qin Ze’s body unfurled, clinging to the well opening, aiding his climb from below.

Sang Que also applied a ’Xun Trigram’ on Qin Ze, explaining the trigram’s rules and duration. If they couldn’t find the hidden provisions within five minutes, they should leave the Hidden Realm.

Considering previous usage, Sang Que now had four trigrams left, one reserved for leaving the Hidden Realm, allowing three more uses.

Sang Que donned her embroidered shoes, softly instructing Qin Ze, “If anything happens, leave through the well; the two sisters from the Ming Mansion will help you. I have my escape method.”

Qin Ze glanced at Sang Que’s brightly colored embroidered shoes and nodded.

On the day of the Wangshan City ghost disaster, Sang Que managed to survive a deadly situation; Qin Ze trusted Sang Que’s survival skills.

The village was eerily silent, only a few corrupt insects living in shadows.

The two swiftly searched the village; as expected, large amounts of provisions were found in the courtyard with the old locust tree, filling three houses and several neighboring courtyards.

Qin Ze intended to check inside, but Sang Que stopped him. She cautiously stretched her hand through the air beside one of the house’s side, her black sleeve revealing several thin threads.

“There’s a trap!” Qin Ze retreated.

After examining, Sang Que found all house doors had such threads; contacting them could instantly summon puppets to stop them.

The Puppet Master from the Ghost Opera Troupe had likely learned to enter and exit the Hidden Realm using the old locust tree.

Sang Que took a painting from the bamboo tube on her back, releasing the Yin Child, and spread the painting in the courtyard.

Seeing the Yin Child, Qin Ze involuntarily took a few steps back. He’d heard many legends of Sang Que controlling the Yin Child, but this was his first time seeing it.

Sang Que instructed the Yin Child to protect him; the Yin Child nodded obediently, leaving Qin Ze in disbelief.

Could this really be the fierce Yin Child who destroyed Fengning City and knocked General Cao from the Sixth to Fifth Level in Wangshan City?

So well-behaved!

“I’ll go out soon to distract the Puppet Master, you use the time to throw all these provision bags onto the painting. How long will it take? Give me a number.”

Qin Ze glanced at the painting on the ground. He recalled Sang Que had previously shaken Xia Chan from the painting; was this painting a special yin object to contain items?

Qin Ze was suddenly excited; if it could fit everything, moving them all would be best, but the sheer quantity…

“If it’s just me, it might take an hour.”

Sang Que took a breath and bent down to lift the painting from the ground, suspending it before Qin Ze.

In the painting’s field, bodies raised their arms upright, following a red-clothed female zombie, moving in orderly ranks towards the dock within the painting.

Soon, the red-clothed female zombie really leaped from the painting, landing before Qin Ze.

Before long, the courtyard and outside were filled with ordinary white-haired zombies, numbering at least three hundred.

Zombies were stronger than ordinary people and tireless, able to lift a provision bag with one hand, transporting provisions needed only from inside to outside. With their help, much time could be saved.

Sang Que placed the painting on the open ground, “Maximally a quarter-hour. If I’m not back, take the painting and leave; forget these zombies, the Yin Child will follow you.”

Qin Ze nodded. Sang Que was about to use her embroidered shoes to leave the Hidden Realm when she saw a distortion appearing below the old locust tree, quickly passing through it with the Red Ghost.

This was better; otherwise, her embroidered shoes would pinch her feet after use, requiring removal.

Todays’ overcast sky veiled Black Mountain Village.

As soon as Sang Que emerged, she severed the threads surrounding the old locust tree, and puppet after puppet dropped down, swinging blade-like arms at the Red Ghost.

With roughly half a minute left on Sang Que’s Xun Trigram, those puppets could only see the Red Ghost.

The Red Ghost’s body was hard; the puppets’ blade-arms sounded like clashing metal hitting Red Ghost, only tearing her clothes, and unable to harm her.

The Red Ghost furiously raised her hand, sharp claws piercing through a puppet’s chest on the tree, pulling it down.

From all directions, sounds of wooden mechanisms interlocking rumbled; originally empty, the deserted village now filled with humanoid puppets.

Still, the puppets didn’t swarm and all stayed in place.

On the rooftop behind Sang Que, a person appeared entirely shrouded in black cloth, only exposing two eyes, staring at the Red Ghost doubtfully.

“Qu Tianhe is dead, how did you manage to get here?”

The Puppet Master assumed the Red Ghost arrived by chance; just as he prepared to control the puppets to seize the Red Ghost, a cold voice sounded behind him.

“I brought her here.”

Before the words were finished, a black gun barrel aimed at the Puppet Master’s brain, Sang Que pulled the trigger without hesitation.

BANG!

Amid the crimson smoke, the head below the muzzle exploded, and the Puppet Master’s body fell stiffly forward.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep