Chapter 93 Tragic Death and Revenge

"Don't you think the people here are all so strange..." Cen Ying said in a low voice as she tucked some charcoal from the corner of the room into the charcoal brazier.

"Hmm, those villagers were discussing bringing us here... they're probably not simple." Li Tiankuo cleaned the dust out of the room, sat down on the old, creaky wooden chair, looked around, and said in a low voice.

Bai Yuheng happened to come in from outside and said upon hearing this, "I have set up a barrier around here, so ordinary demons cannot get in."

Pei Yuan followed closely behind and sat down next to her, saying in a deep voice, "The village is filled with demonic energy, and the villagers are very secretive about it. I'm afraid tonight will not be peaceful."

Li Tiankuo: "Should we tell the village chief and the others?"

"The villagers are so hostile to us, there's probably nothing we can do. Besides, they don't believe our identities, and if we rashly go and they mistakenly think we did it, it would be a huge loss!" Cen Ying still remembered the filthy words those disgusting men had said, and a chill ran down her spine.

"What are you saying? What are you saying?" Cui Mingcan hurriedly walked in from outside, carrying a bowl of rice mixed with some unidentified black substance. "I bought this from a fellow villager. I only managed to scrape together this little bit."

“It seems that people are not having a good life this year… By the way, Xiao Kuo, do you want to report this to the court? I heard from the villagers that the surrounding villages have been hit by a locust plague, resulting in a complete crop failure. Even the government can't provide relief grain, and many people have starved to death…” Bai Yuheng said to Li Tiankuo.

Li Tiankuo nodded upon hearing this, his brows furrowing slightly: "Alright, I will submit a memorial to the Emperor once we reach the capital."

The group moved on from the topic, as they, as cultivators, couldn't offer much help with matters of the mortal realm; they could only rely on Li Tiankuo, a man of royal blood, to intervene.

"We can walk around here tonight, and contact us immediately if there are any unusual developments."

The others had no objections: "Okay!"

That night, crows cried, and frost covered the sky.

A few people walked out of a dilapidated house on the very edge of the village, one after another.

The tiny candle flame went out abruptly in the desolate, snow-swept village.

The world was pitch black.

However, it was only past Chen Shi (7-9 AM), and there was no sound at all. Even the sound of breathing was suppressed. The lamps in the rooms were not lit, and there was not a single bark from a dog.

How strange. Bai Yuheng stood on the stone tablet at the entrance of the village, gazing at the entire village.

The compass in his hand was as still as a chicken.

Only the snow kept falling incessantly.

Suddenly, the intricate patterns on his wrist shimmered with a faint golden light, and the Soul-Seeking Lamp in his Qiankun Bag flickered wildly. The little golden snake poked its head out from his wrist, hissing and flicking its tongue restlessly.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" Bai Yuheng stroked the snake's head to soothe it while cautiously scanning her surroundings. The snowy night was vast, and she couldn't see any clues.

The group patrolled until dawn before going back to sleep. They hadn't been lying down long when they heard loud footsteps outside, followed by deafening cries.

The five of them quickly got up, opened their eyes and looked at each other, all thinking to themselves, "Oh no!"

"Knock knock knock—"

The rather urgent knocking made the five of them jump.

"Immortal Master? Is the Immortal Master here?"

It was the old village chief's voice.

Pei Yuan opened the door, and the old village chief, his face full of sorrow, looked even older than he had been overnight, his full head of silver hair and sagging flesh seeming to sigh.

"Fellow immortal masters."

As he spoke, he suddenly knelt down, startling Bai Yuheng and the others, who quickly helped him up.

"Village chief, why are you doing this?!"

The old village chief wept: "Esteemed immortals, we and the villagers were rude to you yesterday. Please forgive us..."

"No need to say that. We are already very grateful that you were willing to let us stay during such a dangerous time."

"Get up quickly."

Pei Yuan and Li Tiankuo attacked from both sides and lifted the old village chief up.

Cui Mingcan: "You're making us feel too awkward."

"Sigh..." The old village chief let out a long sigh.

"Is there something you want to say? Please speak freely. If it can help us, we will definitely lend a hand," Bai Yuheng said gently, handing him a glass of warm water.

“Yes, old village chief, as disciples of prestigious sects, we are meant to share the burdens of the people. If you have any difficulties, just say so, and we’ll all work together to solve them,” Cen Ying echoed from the side.

The old village chief's eyes were filled with tears. He had rushed over to ask for help, and given how they had treated them the day before, he was initially worried that he would be rejected. But now, looking at the five bright and eager faces, his shame and guilt were replaced by overwhelming gratitude.

The old village chief let out a long sigh, finally suppressing his choked emotions, and said, "The immortal masters must have heard the commotion just now. Someone else in our village died last night..."

"Impossible!?" Cui Mingcan was stunned. He muttered, "We patrolled outside until dawn last night and didn't find anything unusual. How could this be..."

Hearing this, the old village chief was even more grateful. They had treated them so badly yesterday, yet they had silently stayed up all night patrolling for their safety. The old village chief was so moved that he couldn't speak.

"Where is the deceased located?" Bai Yuheng asked sternly.

The old village chief said, "The youngest child in the family near the village entrance was killed by that monster right in front of their door!"

After saying this, she was also horrified by the cruelty of the murderer. She took a deep breath but could not exhale. Seeing this, Cen Ying quickly took a needle to prick her.

"Relax, relax, don't get too excited. You still have some ailments that haven't been resolved, so don't overreact."

"Okay, okay..."

"I wonder if the village chief could take us there to take a look?" Bai Yuheng said. "I was patrolling the village entrance last night, and there was indeed something unusual around midnight, but I set up a barrier, so there should have been some reaction."

Upon hearing her words, the other four people's expressions immediately turned serious.

After rushing for a while, they finally arrived at the village entrance with the panting village chief, where a crowd had already gathered in three or four layers.

"Make way! Make way!" Before he could catch his breath, the old village chief shouted to the crowd.

"How did they get here?!" someone asked, showing extreme hostility towards outsiders.

The old village chief glanced at him but didn't reprimand him. He then said to the others, "Since the immortal master is willing to help us capture that demon, you all quickly make way!"

Even though some were dissatisfied, their enthusiasm grew when they heard that someone was willing to capture the monster for them. After all, they had searched every Taoist priest and sorcerer in the surrounding villages, but either no one dared to take on the task, or they were so frightened that they fled Luoshui Village overnight. Now that someone was willing to take on this hot potato and solve their problem, there was naturally no reason for them to refuse.

The crowd parted to make way for them to go inside. It had been snowing all night and was now snowing even harder. By the time they reached the door of the family where the accident had occurred, the snow had already piled up to their knees.

Two women, crying their hearts out, huddled together. One could vaguely see that the child in their arms was completely naked, covered in countless claw marks.

Bai Yuheng and Cen Ying exchanged a glance, then squatted down and said to the two women, "Auntie, we are disciples of the Tianyan Sect, specializing in exorcising demons and monsters. Please release the child so we can see what's going on..."

Bai Yuheng and Cen Ying took turns trying to persuade her for a long time. The two women cried until they were almost breathless before reluctantly letting go of her hands. Only then could they see the child's body clearly.

hiss--

Everyone gasped in shock at the sight.

Its face was torn apart by sharp claws, its skin and flesh torn open, exposing the bones inside. There was also a bite mark on its neck, which had ruptured its throat. The blood vessels in its hands were also pierced. It was tortured to death!

Even the well-informed Cen Ying couldn't help but feel a chill. How could there be such a ruthless and cruel demon in the world, who brutally tortured people to death!

What a deep-seated hatred and grudge this is!

Cen Ying was examining the body, while Bai Yuheng was making hand seals, checking the barrier she had set up before returning home the previous night.

When the surrounding villagers first witnessed the magic, their initial panic subsided considerably. They realized they might have judged people by their appearances, and that these individuals were indeed capable. They wanted to apologize, but the old village chief chased them away, fearing it would interfere with their investigation.

Pei Yuan walked over from behind the house and asked about Bai Yuheng's condition: "How is she?"

Bai Yuheng shook her head and said in a deep voice, "The fact that the barrier wasn't destroyed means that the demon didn't break in from the outside, but rather..."

Her gaze was deep, and in the dim sunlight, her eyes, which gleamed with a faint golden light, sharply swept over the villagers gathered behind the fence. She said in a cold voice, "They are very likely hiding in this village."

These words were like water thrown into a hot oil pan, instantly causing panic and fear among the crowd.

Many timid people even fainted on the spot.

"What do we do! What do we do! That monster is hiding in here! Are we all going to die?!"

"Pah! Don't talk nonsense, old Zhang! The great immortals in the temple are still here, how could they let that demon hide peacefully here!?" Although the man spoke with courage, he was so frightened that his lips turned white and his legs trembled.

"Yes, yes, yes! Great immortals and ancestors... I have to kill a chicken to worship them..." As soon as she said this, many restless villagers took off running, afraid that if they were a step too late, the Great Immortals and ancestors would no longer protect them.

The crowd came quickly and dispersed quickly, leaving only the deceased's family and the old village chief behind.

Before Bai Yuheng could calm herself down, everyone had already run away. She could only sigh and think that after finding all the clues, she could set up barriers around each house to barely avoid them.

Bai Yuheng asked, "Village Chief, when did these strange things start happening in the village?"

"The strange things started happening more than two months ago..." The old village chief sighed again, sighing more in the last few months than he had in the first half of his life, aging him by more than ten years. "At the end of the village, not far from where you live, Old Yang's only son, Gou Dan, was found dead at the bottom of the cliff behind the mountain. His death wasn't as gruesome as it is now, but it was still horrifying. His body was covered in bruises and strangulation marks. The doctor said his skull was fractured, and his hands and feet showed signs of being bound and broken..."

Bai Yuheng asked, "Was he tortured to death?"

The village chief shook his head: "He froze to death. That cliff is the highest mountain in our area. It was cold for several days when he died, and there was frost on the mountain. He froze to death."

"Are there any other details?" Cen Ying asked after examining the body and hearing the old village chief's words.

"Besides his hands and legs, there were also ligature marks on his neck. He was completely naked when he died, with his eyes open and his mouth smiling..." The old village chief recalled the scene and suddenly shuddered. Even now, thinking about it makes him feel eerie.

Cen Ying noticed his fear and said calmly, "People who freeze to death will feel warmth before they die and will take off their clothes..."

The old village chief was embarrassed, feeling awkward that his thoughts had been seen through: "Apart from that, we haven't found anything unusual."

Cen Ying calmly pressed on, "And the next person? How old were they, and how did they die?"

"The person was completely naked, with marks on their hands and feet, just like a dog, except a dog is standing up, while the second person was hanged from a tree in front of their house!" After the old village chief finished speaking, he got goosebumps all over his body, shivered coldly, and his back was so hunched that it almost collapsed.

The group then asked several other children, all of whom were five or six years old. They had died in similar ways, but the final appearance of their deaths was different.

The five men were all quite worldly-wise, but even they couldn't help but shudder after hearing this.

Cui Mingcan, who emerged from behind the house, frowned, his teeth chattering slightly. A thought flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, "Could they be here for revenge?!"

Before anyone could react, a child screamed from inside the house.

"ah!!!"