My words were like an icicle, piercing Wu Yan's heart.
To be honest, the villagers all knew about this but tacitly agreed not to mention it in public.
Because Wu Yan had such a high level of prestige, and everyone understood what he meant, who would dare to mention it in front of him? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
Wu Yan is now in an extremely awkward situation, and my words are no less than a stab in the back for him.
The torchlight flickered, illuminating Wu Yan's dark face, which alternated between pale and bluish-white.
He clenched his teeth tightly, veins throbbing on his forehead, wanting to retort but unable to utter a word.
"That's right, he's absolutely right!"
Just then, Sun Wang's voice boomed in our ears, his thin face filled with anger.
Not only Sun Wang, but also the villagers who had been oppressed by Wu Yan, those powerless and helpless people, all gathered together to denounce him.
Wu Yan avoided eye contact, not daring to look at the faces of the surrounding villagers.
Suddenly, a gaunt old man stepped forward; he seemed to be quite respected in the village.
When everyone noticed him stepping forward, they all fell silent.
And he spoke, his voice trembling:
"Wu Yan, what's the deal with that booklet the old villager kept talking about, and the mountain god? Can you really hear the mountain god talking?"
"I, I really, I..." Wu Yan's eyes darted around, and he stammered as he instinctively reached for his chest. This action only confirmed his guilty conscience to everyone else.
"Heh, it's hard to explain, isn't it?" Luo Tianhe tapped his baton against his palm, making a crisp cracking sound that was particularly jarring in the deathly silence. "I think you're not doing this for the village at all, but rather a vengeful spirit fed by that damned thing, just looking for food for your master!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Wu Yan suddenly looked up when Luo Tianhe pointed at him and cursed him like that. His eyes were bloodshot and his eyeballs were almost bulging out.
"No, I did it for the sake of the village, but you don't believe me, right? Fine, fine, fine!"
He said "good" three times in a row, like a beast driven to the brink of despair, ready to fight to the death.
I couldn't help but frown. This guy still seemed quite confident, as if he really was doing it for the village.
Wu Yan suddenly tore open the front of his jacket, revealing his strong but scarred chest.
In the firelight, several dark red veins could be faintly seen pulsating beneath the skin on the left side of his heart.
My expression immediately changed drastically.
"See this? This is a mark bestowed upon me by the mountain god. It's divine favor, something that even that madman from the old village doesn't have!"
Wu Yan roared, his voice distorted with rage.
"I can sense the will of the mountain god. I know what he wants. You can only survive by doing as I say and offering sacrifices. What do you fools know!"
His display not only failed to prove that he was favored by the gods, but also exposed the evil mark to everyone.
Needless to say, even the townspeople who were nearby could see that this was not divine favor, but rather signs of parasitism.
"This guy has gone mad!" I took two steps back and looked at the dark red veins throbbing in his chest. That was definitely not just a simple case of evil energy invading his body.
“You, surnamed Wu, are terminally ill, your mind is consumed by evil! The thoughts you have on sacrifice and blood offerings are not your own, but rather that thing has been stuffed into your brain!”
"Nonsense! What do you know about the mysteries of mountain gods!" Wu Yan went completely mad. He suddenly pulled a tattered booklet from his pocket, held it high,
"It's all clearly written in this booklet!"
I took a closer look, and the booklet looked very old-fashioned; at first glance, it really did look like some kind of antique.
When I opened my third eye, I saw that this thing was covered in dripping blood, and it looked like it was made of human skin.
I pulled out a yellow talisman, chanted some incantations, and then flicked my finger. The talisman turned into a stream of light and ignited the booklet.
"You bastard! This is the sacred decree of the mountain god! You actually burned it! You deserve to die!"
Wu Yan acted like a madman, not caring that the flames would burn his hands, frantically shaking them in hopes of extinguishing the fire.
Soon, the flames actually went out under his gaze, and he immediately felt a great sense of relief.
I scoffed, "Take a good look at this. Is it really a so-called imperial edict?"
The purpose of the yellow talisman I used just now was not to burn this thing, but to let Wu Yan see its true nature.
"Haha, stop spreading rumors and misleading the public. This is clearly..."
His words came to an abrupt end.
The booklet he had held up was now revealed in its true form in front of everyone.
The foul blood seeping down from above flowed down Wu Yan's arm and pooled on the ground.
At the same time, a putrid, fishy smell, ten times stronger than before, suddenly burst out from the booklet!
The smell instantly overpowered the smoke from the torches, filling the entire area. Several townspeople who were nearby immediately began to vomit and felt dizzy.
"That's the smell! That's the smell in the air when Tang Sen was dragged away!"
The girl with the ponytail screamed, her eyes filled with terror, and she covered her mouth and nose tightly.
Even Wu Yan himself was stunned, and was horrified to discover the booklet in his hand that had undergone a strange change, as if he were seeing this thing for the first time.
The crimson light reflected on his face, making his ferocious expression even more terrifying, as if he were a vengeful ghost.
"See that? The one surnamed Wu." My voice was icy, showing no regard for his dignity. "This is the true face of this thing. Do you still think you're a chosen one? He's just hungry and wants to feed on you!"
As if to confirm my words, a dense rustling sound simultaneously rang out from the impenetrable darkness surrounding the village.
"Ah, the wall, on the wall!" a town resident cried out in terror.
His finger trembled as he pointed to the base of a wooden house next to him.
On the earthen wall, countless glossy black vines, covered in foul-smelling mud, sprouted from the cracks at the base of the wall and even directly from the soil, like a swarm of frenzied snakes.
"That...that thing is angry! It can't wait any longer, it's going to come in and eat us!" At this point, Wu Yan finally broke down.
He no longer considered himself a so-called chosen one of the gods, but was left with only the extreme fear of being targeted by predators, like a lamb.
He threw away the strange booklet as if he were shaking off a red-hot coal, and turned to try to disappear into the crowd!
But it was too late!
The spot where he had just been standing was quite open and conspicuous, with few villagers around.
So he was caught by the vines, which were covered with tiny barbs that instantly dug into his flesh!
"Ah, help!" he suddenly let out a shrill scream that sounded inhuman.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com