Chapter 50 The Old Gods: Faded and Dim Gods
Jinzhi did not wait for the girl to return.
As darkness fell and the campfire in the house burned out, she knew she would not be returning.
The weather outside was so cold it felt like it was about to snow.
I wonder where she went?
Before leaving, she only told Jinzhi that she had some errands to run, and then plunged into the gloomy weather.
Jinzhi looked at her back and felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Xiao Jiang left, and the young girl left too. Despite their brief encounter, Jinzhi felt that she had met quite a few good people.
She added some rotten wood from the house to the fire, then took out the heavy money bag and counted it in the firelight. It was quite a lot of money, more than enough for her journey home, and even enough for her to rent a shop and start a small business.
Jinzhi didn't pay attention to the small "Liu" embroidered on the money bag, as she was focused on planning her return home.
*
"This awful weather, will it prevent the adults from picking up the goods tomorrow?"
In the manor on the outskirts of the city, the scarred middle-aged man glanced at the sky, frowned, and muttered something.
He had been working tirelessly for the past few days to finally gather the amount of spirit essence the customer needed, and tomorrow was the delivery date. The closer it got, the more anxious he became. He absolutely couldn't afford for anything to go wrong.
The buyer of this batch of goods is a powerful immortal family with hundreds of years of history in Zhongzhou, someone he absolutely cannot afford to offend.
"Uncle Wu, come and eat."
A shout from his subordinate pulled the scarred middle-aged man back to the aroma of food wafting everywhere.
This courtyard was well hidden and usually deserted. In order to gather the spiritual essence in time, he mobilized many of his subordinates. Today, he finally managed to gather enough before the deadline, so they all had a meal together.
Scarface kicked a few teenagers in the corner, the force of his kick was heavy, and one of them whimpered.
They're alright, they're all still breathing. These people aren't needed for now, so tie them up here for now. After he delivers the goods tomorrow, it'll be their turn to go into the pool.
As expected, you can't rely on that guy. He promised so readily, but then he disappeared in the blink of an eye. What a dishonest fellow! Next time he catches me, I'll throw him into the Gu pool to feed the insects!
This deal was significant, and the client was also very generous, paying a substantial deposit. Unlike before, Boss Wu was not stingy with his rewards to his subordinates, preparing some fine wine and food. The group was having a lively time, while the children who had been tied up in the corner cowered in fear, not daring to make a sound.
Inside the room, which was decorated with murals of gods and mythical beasts, an iron pot was set up with firewood burning underneath. The boiling steam from the pot and the smoke from the firewood mingled in the air above the main room, creating an ethereal and dreamlike atmosphere in the lamplight.
It was so cold outside it looked like it was going to snow. In this kind of weather, nothing could be more comforting than a hot meal, so the group prepared to have a feast.
"Why are there not enough chopsticks?" Just as they arrived, there weren't enough chopsticks on the table, and someone asked irritably.
"I'll go get it, I'll go get it." The youngest of the group of human traffickers was very sensible and quickly took on the errand.
The kitchen wasn't far away. The young human trafficker had just picked up his chopsticks and was about to return when he noticed that the back door had been opened at some point. Behind the yard was a deserted woodland, and few people usually opened this door.
He took a few more steps and was about to close the door when he suddenly caught a glimpse of what looked like a dark figure standing in the woods outside.
Upon closer inspection, the dark figure was still there, facing his direction, as if it were staring intently at him.
"Who's there?" He was a vicious criminal who had killed many people, so he wasn't afraid of whether the shadowy figure was human or ghost.
There was no response.
Instead, the brothers in the front hall heard his commotion and asked from afar what was wrong.
The dark figure moved instantly, charging straight at him like a wild beast. Terrified, he immediately tried to close the door. But he was no match for the figure and was knocked to the ground.
Before he could even call for help, he felt a void in his chest.
Seeing that the person hadn't returned for a long time, someone got up and went to the kitchen to check on the situation.
The moment he entered the kitchen, the man was speechless.
A young girl lay face down on the ground, the youngest one lying there. Just moments ago they had been chatting and laughing, but now, with a huge bloody hole in his chest, he was a corpse.
The girl was holding a bloody heart in her hand.
...
The group in the front room was enjoying their meal when suddenly, a loud "BOOM!" came from the back kitchen.
Just as they were about to move, they saw the door panel be broken open by a great force, and a person was thrown out and rolled in front of them.
It was the same person who had gone looking for someone earlier; his body was still twitching, but there was a hollow space in his chest.
Smoke and dust drifted behind the door, revealing a girl covered in blood.
She glanced up at the crowd in the front hall, blood splattered on her pale eyelids, her dark eyes cold and ruthless, like a demon crawling out of hell.
Everyone was terrified and quickly took a few steps back.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
This was the scarred middle-aged man's territory, and he immediately took out his weapon and pointed it at the uninvited guest. The others also drew their knives and swords.
Upon seeing them, the girl tossed the heart she was holding aside and parted her pale lips slightly.
"I'm here to kill you."
She was unarmed, while they were all armed with swords and knives.
She took a step forward, and those people took a step back.
"Damn it, what's there to be afraid of with just a little girl? I've sold countless girls like her."
Among the crowd of vendors, one with a short temper couldn't stand it any longer. He spat out a curse and swung his knife at the man.
He was tall and strong, the strongest among the group.
He swung his knife down with all his might, but the girl easily caught it.
She gripped the blade and snatched the knife from the tall, muscular man's hand. He tried to grab it back, but the knife suddenly changed direction and flew towards him, swiftly slicing through his neck. It was so fast that no one saw how she swung the knife.
Then a line of blood spurted from the tall, muscular man's neck, and his body collapsed to his knees, then he lay prostrate on the ground.
The middle-aged man with the scar knew he had met a tough opponent; he was afraid inside, but he didn't show it on his face.
"What do you want? I'll give you anything..."
In business, anything is negotiable.
The girl ignored him and slowly approached him, like a wild beast toying with its dying prey.
"You want the spirit marrow, don't you? You can take it. It's underground. This spirit marrow can increase your cultivation by more than sixty years..."
He threw out his chips.
"If that's not enough, there's more here. You can have all the spiritual essence from these people!"
He pointed to a group of boys and children tied up in the corner. Those who had been drugged and unconscious were now awakened by the noise. When they heard him pointing to this demon-like person, they all opened their eyes wide in terror.
"I just wanted to eat." The girl's voice was soft, as if she were talking to herself. "I just wanted to ask you for a meal."
"Why would you want to harm someone?"
Upon hearing this, Scarface suddenly realized that this person had come for revenge.
But he had drugged and thrown into the Gu pool to feed the insects countless people, so he couldn't possibly remember each person's face.
Since the deal couldn't be made, he had no choice but to fight to the death.
Scarface secretly gave a look to his men, then let out a low growl, and the rest of them followed him in attacking.
Several swords slashed at the unarmed girl simultaneously—
But then she used her legs to slide along the wall and delivered a flying kick that sent the scarred man spewing blood and collapsing to the ground.
A human trafficker next to her tried to sneak up on her from the side, but missed several times. His ghostly figure seemed to anticipate her intentions and dodge away each time.
The moment the figure swept past the corner of the wall again, she swiftly grabbed the bronze halberd from the halberd rack, and with a clean and decisive backhand motion, shot the halberd, pinning the person facing her side firmly to the wall.
Blood and foam continued to gush from the attacker's mouth, and the halberd tail that pinned him to the body trembled violently, the force so great that it cracked a fissure in the wall. His blood slowly flowed down the wall, staining the faded murals red once more.
Having witnessed this scene, the remaining men lost all courage to attack and fled.
The girl didn't chase after them; the open door was right in front of them, giving them hope that they were about to escape.
Suddenly, a nameless gust of wind blew in, and the two doors slammed shut. No matter how they pulled, smashed, or chopped, the two doors remained unmoved.
The killing god was right behind them. Someone anxiously turned around and saw the girl take another short halberd from the halberd rack, test its feel in her hand, and then slowly walk towards them with a rather satisfied smile.
Blood splattered everywhere in the flickering candlelight of the main room, on the window panels, the murals, and on the body of the boy bound in the corner.
The screams and wails had been gone for a long time before the boys in the corner dared to secretly open their eyes.
Severed limbs and mangled remains littered the ground...
All those who lured them here are dead; not one of them escaped.
The girl, who seemed like a goddess of death, stood quietly in front of a mural depicting gods and mythical beasts, her white robe stained with blood, as if the corpses scattered on the ground had nothing to do with her.
She looked closely at the statue on the wall for the first time—a dim and faded deity with a faint fish tail, flowing blue hair, and an enchanting appearance.
She looks a lot like the merman she once saved.
She reached out to touch the face of the statue, but when she raised her hand, she found it was covered in blood. She hesitated for a moment, then put it down.
"That's the Mermaid God," a boy behind him whispered.
Xiao Jiang turned around and met the boy's wary and fearful gaze.
Seeing that there was no anger in her eyes, but only pure curiosity, the young man continued, "The Mermaid, the Feathered One, the Qilin, and the Taotie are the four ancient gods worshipped by the people of Zhongzhou. This place used to be a temple for worshipping the Mermaid God, but now no one believes in these things anymore..."
A faint smile appeared on the girl's ghostly face, giving her a touch of humanity.
"Thank you for telling me all this," the boy heard her say.
The young man felt embarrassed by her thanks. But he couldn't help thinking, what's there to thank me for? Isn't this common knowledge among the people of Zhongzhou?
She stepped over the corpses scattered on the ground, untied everyone, and then scavenged several money bags from the bodies to distribute to them.
The boys who had received the money fled as if their lives depended on it. Although this person had saved them, the scene of her killing still left a huge shadow in their hearts, and their fear of her far outweighed their gratitude.
When the money bag was handed to the boy who had spoken, he heard the boy say to him, "You know so much, you shouldn't be so easily fooled in the future."
He lowered his head and mumbled an "uh-huh," not daring to look at the person again, and ran away as fast as he could.
After walking a long way, the boy turned back and saw the nightmarish manor burning fiercely behind him.
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