Corpse on the Beam and Silent Disaster

The moment the black-robed figure lunged forward, the Red Sun Gu box in Su Xiao's arms suddenly erupted with a blinding red light. Blood oozing from the cracks formed a web of fire in the air, barely blocking the shadow's impact. But the red light lasted only a moment before it was engulfed by the black energy surrounding the black-robed figure. The web of fire crackled, and Su Xiao was blown away by the blast, slamming heavily into the old locust tree. The blood gushing from his mouth splattered onto the tree's eyes—which suddenly closed, as if greedily sucking blood.

"Ahem..." Su Xiao climbed up, holding onto the tree trunk, the dagger clenched in her palm until it turned pale. She turned to look at the three unconscious people, her heart suddenly tightening. Meng Meng, whose wrist had been entangled by the vines just now, was now nowhere to be seen.

"Meng Meng? Meng Meng!" Su Xiao screamed, his voice dissipating in the morning mist. Only the old locust tree's branches rustled, like a mocking laugh. Zhao Yu was awakened by the shout. He sat up, propped up by his machete, and his eyes swept around. His face turned pale. "She was right next to me just now... How could she disappear so suddenly?"

Lin Xi slowly opened her eyes, the broken pieces of the bronze bell still clutched in her palm. She stared at the empty ground, her voice trembling, "When the black-robed figure exploded just now, a dark aura wrapped around her ankle. I thought it was a vine..."

Just as the three of them were about to get up and search, they heard a sudden sound of breaking wood from the east end of the village, followed by the screams of villagers. Su Xiao's heart sank, and he ran towards the sound—it was the wooden hut that the villagers had temporarily used to house the wounded. Meng Meng had gone there to help the previous night.

The door of the wooden house was ajar, and there was a big hole in the door panel, as if it had been hit by something. Su Xiao pushed the door open, and a strong smell of blood hit her face. The villagers in the house were huddled in the corner, staring at the beams with pale faces. She followed the villagers' gaze and her pupils suddenly contracted -

Meng Meng's body was hung from the beam, her hair hanging down, obscuring her face. Her hands were bound behind her back, the marks on her wrists oozing black blood. A black vine was wrapped around her ankle, the other end of the vine wedging itself into a crack in the beam, clinging to her tightly as if alive. Even more eerie, the Gu-repelling fabric she was wearing had shattered into strips, sticking to her skin. The silver threads had completely turned black, as if completely corroded by an evil spirit.

"Meng Meng!" Zhao Yu rushed forward and wanted to put the body down, but was suddenly pulled back by Su Xiao.

"Don't touch her!" Lidya Su's voice tightened. She pointed at Meng Meng's face and said, "Look into her eyes."

Zhao Yu paused and gazed at Meng Meng's face in the morning light. Her hair blew aside, revealing a pair of wide-open eyes. Within her pupils was a distorted black shadow, the outline of the black-robed figure. A strange smile played at the corners of her mouth, identical to the one seen on the old patriarch's corpse.

"It was done by the man in black robe... He hung Meng Meng's body here to lure us into the trap." Lin Xi's voice was filled with tears. She clenched the fragments of the copper bell, and her palms were scratched by the fragments, and blood oozed out.

Su Xiao was about to speak when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned and saw a young villager stumbling in with a bowl of herbs, clearly bringing medicine to the wounded. The villager, not noticing the body hanging from the beam, walked straight into the house, about to bump into Meng Meng's body.

"Be careful! Don't come over!" Su Xiao shouted hoarsely and wanted to rush over to stop him, but it was too late.

The moment the villager looked up, he saw Meng Meng's body. The medicine bowl in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and the herbs were scattered all over the floor. He was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a heartbreaking scream and turned to run. But as he took a step, a black vine entangled his ankle, tightening violently and pulling him towards the beam.

"Save me! Save me!" the villager's voice was filled with despair. He reached out to grab something, but only managed to grab Meng Meng's hair. The moment his fingers touched Meng Meng's body, Meng Meng's eyes suddenly blinked, and the smile on her lips grew wider. A stream of black energy flowed from the corner of her mouth, followed the villager's fingers, and penetrated into his body.

The villager's body suddenly froze, his eyes rolled back, and his skin paled visibly. A few seconds later, his body went limp, dragged by the vines, hanging from the beams alongside Meng Meng's body. A strange grin gradually formed at the corners of his mouth.

"No..." Lin Xi covered her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked at the two bodies hanging from the beams, her body trembling. The villagers had become like this after touching Meng Meng's body, as if they were under some kind of sorcery.

Su Xiao gripped the Red Sun Gu box tightly, and the Red Sun Gu inside let out a faint hissing sound, as if in fear. She looked up at the crack in the beam. Black energy was seeping out continuously from the gap, wrapping around the two corpses, as if nourishing them.

"The man in black is nearby. He's using corpses to set up a formation." Su Xiao's voice was cold. She looked at Zhao Yu and Lin Xi, "We must find him as soon as possible, otherwise more people will be killed."

Zhao Yu nodded and picked up the machete from the ground. The black frost on the blade had not yet dissipated. He swung the machete at the beam, trying to cut through the vines, but found that as soon as the blade touched the vines, it was deflected by an evil spirit, and the blade was covered with a layer of white frost again, which made his palms numb with cold.

"This vine is not afraid of knives or fire. What should we do?" Zhao Yu's voice trembled. He looked at the corpse on the beam, his eyes full of despair.

Su Xiao suddenly remembered the fragment of the evil core on the coffin. She reached into her arms, but found that the fragment had disappeared. She looked down and saw that the fragment had fallen into the corner of the wooden house, emitting a faint light, as if guiding something.

"Evil Core Fragment!" Su Xiao rushed over to pick it up. As soon as the fragment touched her fingers, it burst into a dazzling red light, spreading along her arm and dispelling the evil spirit around her. She gripped the fragment tightly and threw it towards the vines on the beam. The fragment streaked red light in the air and landed right on the vine.

"Sizzle!" The red light rubbed against the vines, creating a sharp sound. The vines instantly began to emit black smoke and gradually withered. The two bodies lost their support and fell to the ground with a thud, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Su Xiao hurried forward to examine Meng Meng's body. Her body was already ice-cold, the shadows in her pupils gradually dissipating, and the smile on her lips slowly vanished, returning to her normal appearance. However, dark blood was still oozing from her wrists and ankles, as if reminding everyone that what had just happened was not an illusion.

"Let's bury her. We can't let her be used by the black-robed man again." Zhao Yu's voice was low. He squatted down and carefully picked up Meng Meng's body, his eyes full of grief.

Lin Xi nodded, wiped her tears, picked up the broken pieces of the copper bell on the ground, and followed Zhao Yu. Su Xiao looked at the two bodies, her heart filled with guilt - if she could have discovered the black-robed man's conspiracy earlier, Meng Meng would not have died, and the villager would not have been killed.

Just as the three were about to leave the wooden house, a strange laugh suddenly came from the cracks in the beams. The voice of the man in black robes came from the cracks, carrying a cold chill: "Do you think this is the end? The next one will be one of you..."

Su Xiao suddenly looked up at the crack in the beam. Black energy was pouring out, gradually converging into the outline of a man in a black robe. She gripped the dagger tightly, the Red Sun Gu box burning in her arms. She had only one thought in mind: this time, she must kill him and avenge Meng Meng and the villagers.