Chapter 7: Nursery Rhyme Mystery
After Li Ge left, Chu Yun stood in the room for a long time, but ultimately, he stayed. He walked over to the bedside, looking at the comatose Xiaoya and the faint blood-red rune on her arm. A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him once again. He sat on a chair beside the bed, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing. He had to be at his best, for he knew Li Ge was right; tonight would not be peaceful. As the night deepened, and just before midnight approached, the long-dormant children's song began to resound over Qingxi Town. "The moonlight shines brightly, illuminating the hall..." "Red clothes, playing hide-and-seek..." This time, the singing was no longer just a few children, but a chorus of men, women, and children. The voices echoed from every corner of the town, converging into an eerie, magical wave. Chu Yun's eyes snapped open, and he rushed to the window to look out. He saw figures appearing one after another on the street, where every door had been closed. Men and women, young and old, all in pajamas, barefoot, their eyes vacant, their mouths mechanically repeating the nursery rhyme over and over. Their movements were as stiff as puppets, slowly moving in the same direction—to the mass graves in the north of the town. Chu Yun's heart sank. What was going on? Why had the nursery rhyme's influence suddenly spread to such a degree? Just as he was lost in wonder, a dark figure appeared beside him like a ghost. It was Li Ge. "See?" Her voice was colder than the night. "The curse has begun to take full effect. It's summoning all those marked by it to complete the final ritual." "The final ritual?" "Human sacrifice," Li Ge's answer was simple and cruel. "Use the flesh, blood, and souls of these people to feed its body." Chu Yun's fists clenched instantly. "Follow me." Li Ge didn't explain further. In a flash, she leaped out the window. Chu Yun didn't hesitate, following immediately. The two men, one in front and one behind, moved like two dark shadows across the rooftops of Qingxi Town. Below them, a dense crowd of people, like the walking dead, swarmed like corpses. "Can they be saved?" Chu Yun whispered as he soared. "I don't know," Li Ge replied without emotion. "You'll find out when you get there. If the ritual has already begun, no one can save them." Chu Yun's heart sank even more. The two soon reached the edge of the mass grave. They saw the bewildered townspeople lining up, one by one, entering...
After Li Ge left, Chu Yun stood in the room for a long time, but ultimately he didn't leave. He walked over to the bedside, looking at the comatose Xiaoya and the faint blood-red runes on her arm. A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him once again. He sat down in a chair beside the bed, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing. He had to be at his best, because he knew Li Ge was right; tonight would definitely not be peaceful.
As the night deepened and midnight approached, the nursery rhyme that had been silent for a long time once again rang out over Qingxi Town.
"The moonlight illuminates the underworld..."
"Red clothes, hide and seek..."
This time, the singing was no longer just sporadic children, but a chorus of men, women, young and old. The voices came from every corner of the town, converging together to form a strange, magical sound wave.
Chu Yun's eyes snapped open, and he rushed to the window to look out. He saw figures appearing one after another on the street, where every door had been shut. They were men and women, young and old, all in pajamas, barefoot, their eyes vacant, while they mechanically repeated the nursery rhyme over and over. Their movements were as stiff as puppets, and they were slowly walking in the same direction—to the mass graves in the north of the town.
Chu Yun's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. What was going on? Why had the influence of the nursery rhyme suddenly expanded to this extent?
Just when he was wondering, a black figure appeared beside him like a ghost. It was Li Ge.
"See?" Her voice was colder than the night. "The curse has begun to take full effect. It is calling all those it has marked to complete the final ritual."
"Last rites?"
"Human sacrifice." Li Ge's answer was simple and cruel. "Use the flesh, blood, and souls of these people to feed its body."
Chu Yun clenched his fists instantly.
"Follow me." Li Ge didn't explain further. In a flash, she leaped out the window. Chu Yun didn't hesitate and immediately followed. The two of them, one in front and one behind, moved like two black shadows across the rooftops of Qingxi Town. Below them, a dense crowd of people, like the walking dead, was thronged.
"Can they still be saved?" Chu Yun asked in a low voice while flying.
"I don't know." Li Ge answered without any emotion, "You'll know when you go there. If the ceremony has already begun, no one can save you."
Chu Yun's heart sank even more.
The two soon reached the edge of the mass grave. They saw the bewildered townspeople lining up, one by one, entering the depths of the mass grave. In the center of the mass grave, the abandoned ancient altar suddenly lit up with bursts of crimson light, and all the townspeople headed towards it.
"What are you going to do?" Li Ge stopped and looked back at Chu Yun, "Rush in and use your Thunder and Fire Talisman to wake them all up?"
"No." Chu Yun immediately rejected this idea. "They are now insane. If we use external force to attack them, at best they will become fools, and at worst they will lose their souls on the spot."
"It seems you're not that stupid." Li Ge's tone was unclear whether it was praise or ridicule. "So, what do you think we should do?"
"We must first find the source of their confusion and cut off the singing of the nursery rhyme." Chu Yun said in a deep voice.
"The source is on that altar." Li Ge looked at the stone platform in the distance that was flashing red light. "But it has been shrouded by a powerful evil spirit. Anyone who tries to get close will be discovered immediately."
"I have a way." Chu Yun took out two "hiding breath talismans" that he had prepared long ago from his arms, "It can temporarily hide our figures and breath."
He handed one to Li Ge.
Li Ge took the talisman and took a look at it, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "You can draw talismans without pen and ink, it seems that the inheritance of the Evil Suppression Bureau has not been completely broken." She slapped the talisman on herself, and the talisman silently turned to ashes. Her whole aura instantly merged with the surrounding darkness.
Chu Yun also used the Anonymous Talisman. The two looked at each other, nodded at the same time, and then quietly sneaked into the mass grave, one on the left and one on the right.
They dodged the wandering townspeople, using the scattered graves and dead trees as cover as they inched closer to the central altar. The closer they got, the clearer the children's song became, as if countless invisible children were singing in their ears. The song carried a powerful, bewitching force, constantly assaulting their minds. Chu Yun had to divert some of his attention, using his inner strength to shield himself, barely maintaining consciousness. He glanced at Li Ge beside him; she seemed completely unaffected, her eyes still cold and calm.
The two men safely arrived at a place less than thirty steps away from the altar, hid behind a huge tombstone, and looked towards the altar.
The massive stone altar was empty, but in its center, hovered a sphere the size of a human head, formed from thick black fog. The eerie nursery rhyme emanated from this sphere. Beneath the altar, a vast, bottomless hole opened in the ground, from which a crimson, sinister aura continuously surged. The bewildered townspeople lined up, expressionlessly approaching the hole one by one, and then... jumped.
"What are they doing?!" Chu Yun's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Sacrifice." Li Ge's voice was extremely solemn. "They are using their bodies to feed the things in the cave."
"What's in the hole?"
"I don't know." Li Ge shook his head, "But that thing is the root of all this. The one singing the nursery rhyme up there is just a cover."
"We must stop them!" Chu Yun said as he was about to rush out.
"Wait!" Li Ge grabbed him and said, "If you go out now, you will just become a target. We must act at the same time."
"How do you do it?"
"I'm responsible for dispersing that ghost thing singing nursery rhymes up there, disrupting its singing and allowing the townspeople to regain consciousness temporarily." Li Ge said quickly, "You're responsible for dealing with anything that might appear in the cave and protecting the townspeople."
"Okay." Chu Yun agreed immediately.
"I'll count to three." Li Ge's eyes became extremely focused, "One..." She took out a palm-sized bronze bell from her arms.
"Two..." She raised the bell to her lips and took a deep breath.
"Three! Do it!"
Before she finished speaking, Li Ge's figure had already flashed out from behind the tombstone and rang the bronze bell in her hand.
“Ding-ling-ling——”
A clear, melodious bell rang out instantly, a strange, magical sound that drowned out the children's songs that filled the air. Above the altar, the "children's song ghost" formed from the black mist suddenly trembled violently and let out a piercing scream.
At the same time, Chu Yun also moved. He did not rush towards the cave, but quickly formed seals with his hands. More than a dozen talismans that he had prepared flew out of his hands like flowers scattered by a fairy, instantly covering the entire area in front of the altar.
"Suppress evil and break delusion!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
More than a dozen talismans exploded at the same time, and the golden light merged into one, forming an indestructible wall of light, which forcibly stopped the townspeople who were about to jump into the cave.
The townspeople illuminated by the golden light trembled violently, and a hint of spirit returned to their empty eyes.
"I...why am I here?"
"Where is this? A mass grave?"
"Ah! Ghost!"
The townspeople who regained consciousness looked at the scene before them and their companions who were still numb, and instantly burst into screams of terror, and the scene was in chaos.
On the altar, the "children's song ghost" became increasingly unstable due to the interference of the bell, and the condensed black mist began to show signs of disintegration. Li Ge rang the bell faster.
Just when Chu Yun thought they were about to succeed, "Roar!" A roar that was not like a human voice, full of violence and hunger, suddenly came out from the bottomless cave!
Immediately afterwards, a huge ghost hand made of pure black air and resentment, as big as a water tank, suddenly stretched out from the hole in the ground, and with an overwhelming momentum, it grabbed the chaotic crowd fiercely!
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