Chapter 69

After hearing her words, our faces lit up with joy.

I quickly took out some beef jerky and gave it to the little boy. He looked at my hand and hesitated to take it, as if he had never seen beef jerky before.

"Eat it! This is beef jerky. It's delicious." I bought this on the way. Ever since Liu Danchen and I had it last time, I've fallen in love with the flavor. Later, when Erma arrived at the Tianshi Temple, I wanted her to make some for me, but the temple forbids slaughtering cattle, let alone making beef jerky with beef. My plan was ruined.

I picked up one, took a bite in front of the little boy, and started eating.

He then quickly took one from my hand and put it in his mouth and started chewing it like me.

"Is it delicious?" I asked him with a smile.

He smiled and said nothing.

I gave him two more and then was led into the house by the old lady.

The house was very simple, and the little boy cleaned up a room for us.

"Just make it through tonight. I'm not sure if I can sleep at night," said Li Danyang.

"By the way, brother, what's your name?" I looked at him and said.

"Sun Peng." He looked at us curiously and said, still chewing the beef jerky I gave him.

"Sister, let me ask you, has anything strange happened in your village recently?" I asked him.

When he heard this, he was very scared. Finally, he ran to his grandmother, hugged his grandmother's arm and looked at us.

Seeing him like this, Li Danyang and I looked at each other and knew that something must have happened.

"Don't be afraid, brother. I'm here to help you." I tried my best to comfort him.

The old lady couldn't hear what we said at all. She just touched her grandson's head with a loving look on her face.

At this moment, Li Danyang suddenly used a trick. A flame suddenly appeared out of thin air on his hand, and the flame danced at his fingertips. This is much more effective than my words. Sun Peng looked at Li Danyang in surprise.

I know that this is Li Danyang using their Taoist secret method. It seems that he is trying very hard to get Sun Peng to speak.

Sun Peng was attracted by Li Danyang's move.

"Little friend, we specialize in catching ghosts and eliminating demons. Do you believe it now?" said Li Danyang.

Sun Peng nodded emphatically and ran out to the yard. Li Danyang and I followed him to the yard and saw Sun Peng closing the gate. He then said to us, "There's always someone knocking on our door at night. It's those scarecrows in the fields."

The two of us listened as he continued.

It turns out that in Sunjiaying, it's rice harvest season, but the vast rice fields haven't been harvested yet. Scarecrows often come out at night and knock on doors. If someone opens the door, the next day they'll reappear in the rice fields as scarecrows, wearing the same clothes. Over time, many people in the village have been captured by scarecrows. I was wondering why Li Danyang was so stunned when he looked at those scarecrows. They're all transformed from living people.

"Then why don't you just get out of here?" I asked him.

"The scarecrow has nothing to do during the day and only comes at night. Just don't open the door," said Sun Peng.

This is very strange. If the door is not opened, won’t the scarecrows break in?

With this question in mind, Li Danyang and I waited until the evening.

The scarecrow didn't knock on Sun Peng's door; it was the door next door. I heard the dog barking wildly, and not just next door, but dogs all over the village. Li Danyang and I quietly left Sun Peng's house. When we opened the door, we saw a scarecrow dressed in child's clothes knocking on the neighbor's door.

When it heard the door open, it turned stiffly and looked at us blankly. Then, six or seven scarecrows on the street gathered towards us.

"Hehehe!" A burst of children's laughter rang out in the quiet street.

The scarecrow at the end was holding a little boy. When it came closer, I found that the boy was the one who bumped into me during the day.

Seeing this, Li Danyang immediately drew out his sword. The sword flashed red in his hand. He muttered something and, guided by his finger gestures, several sword energies hit the scarecrow.

The scarecrows instantly burned and screamed in pain.

The boy who was being pulled by the scarecrow woke up and screamed when he saw that he was being pulled by the scarecrow.

The scarecrow stared down at him stiffly, then flashed to the back of the village. Li Danyang immediately created a circle of fire, encasing the scarecrow. As expected of Master Zhang's first disciple, Li Danyang's magical powers far surpassed Liu Danchen's. He thrust his sword finger, sending a red beam of light shooting straight at the scarecrow.

"Hehehe!" The scarecrow raised a strange smile at the corner of his mouth.

It held the little boy in front of it. Li Danyang had to retract his sword. The red light hit the ground, stirring up a handful of soil.

"The five stars suppress the light and illuminate the dark world. The five demons will be killed and their bodies will be destroyed!" As Li Danyang recited the spell, five stars appeared above the scarecrow's head. The five stars revolved around the scarecrow, emitting strong starlight.

The scarecrow screamed miserably and threw the little boy away. His whole body was filled with a strong ghostly aura, as if he was enduring great pain.

I ran over and caught the little boy, throwing him heavily to the ground.

Without the little boy's restraint, Li Danyang let go completely. As his finger gestures shifted, five stars entered the scarecrow's features, followed by a loud explosion. The scarecrow's head turned to ash, and its body collapsed, transforming into a long flame that illuminated the black night.

I didn't expect that he got rid of this straw ghost so quickly. I was just about to praise him when I heard a "clang" sound. Li Danyang quickly blocked the sword behind him, sending out sparks.

Behind him stood another scarecrow ghost. This one was significantly different from the others, starting with its size—it was noticeably larger. Its face was painted white, and its eyes were circled in black, with glowing red pupils. It floated in the air, confronting Li Danyang as he turned around.

It was this one that attacked Li Danyang just now, but this scarecrow should just be a container for it to live in.

Li Danyang stepped forward to fight with him again. I held the little boy and retreated. Now there was no difference between him and me. I could only stay away from him.

The scarecrow exuded a dark, ghostly aura, and Li Danyang's sword glowed red. Sparks flew as the two touched. Finally, Li Danyang's sword transformed into a red rope, tightly wrapping around the scarecrow.

Seeing that he couldn't escape, the ghost immediately separated from the scarecrow. In an instant, the scarecrow caught fire, and the ghost's true identity was finally revealed.

Its head was as round as a basketball, with no hair or ears, its nose cut off, and its eyelids and lips sewn shut. Looking at its limbs, its hands and feet were all chopped off, and its kneecaps must have been shattered, leaving its calves clanking in the air.

When the little boy saw it like this, he was scared and hid in my arms. I covered his head to prevent him from seeing it.

Unexpectedly, the ghost, seeing it was no match for Li Danyang, turned its attention to me. It was in front of me in an instant, and the strings that sealed its mouth broke one by one. When it opened its mouth, its tongue had been cut off, and black blood was dripping onto the ground.