Back in the courtyard, we didn't even rest before starting to work.
The carving work is left to me. This peach wood heart is incredibly hard, and each cut requires a lot of effort.
What's worse is that the runes are incredibly complex; if even one stroke is carved crookedly, you have to start all over again!
As I carved, I couldn't help but mutter curses.
"Damn it, carving this thing is harder than embroidery!"
I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Luo Tianhe, who had been watching anxiously from the side, couldn't help but speak up after hearing what I said:
"How about I give it a try?"
His words almost made me laugh. Carving looks simple, but it's incredibly difficult to do.
Seeing that he said that, I handed him the peach heart:
"Fine, if you're so capable, you do it."
Luo Tianhe took the peach wood sword, but the weight of the peach wood core far exceeded his expectations. Caught off guard, he stumbled and almost fell.
"Damn, this thing is so heavy."
"Hehe, anyone who has studied physics knows that the greater the density, the greater the hardness. Go ahead and carve it. If you can carve it, I'll call you grandpa."
I crossed my arms and sneered. My hands were aching from carving this stuff, and Luo Tianhe was still spouting nonsense. It would be strange if I wasn't angry.
Old Chen, who was standing to the side, hesitated for a moment, wanting to stop me, but seeing my expression, he couldn't say anything.
Li Huai, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.
"Haha, Luo Tianhe and I are brothers. If you call him grandpa, what should you call me?"
"Get lost, I'll call you a grandson!"
I cursed and then looked at Luo Tianhe.
At this moment, Luo Tianhe held the heavy peach wood heart and didn't know how to proceed.
After a pause, he handed me the peach wood heart and smiled somewhat awkwardly.
"Look at what you're saying, how could I bear to let my good brother call me grandpa? Wouldn't that mess up the generations?"
I took the peach wood heart, glared at him, and continued carving.
After resting for a while, I felt much better, and this time I finished engraving all the runes in one go.
Upon seeing that I had finished the last stroke, Luo Tianhe immediately bit his index finger and smeared his blood on the tip of the peach wood nail and the groove of the rune.
"It's done!"
Old Chen shouted excitedly, his voice even trembling slightly.
Just when we thought everything was ready and we were just waiting for the right moment, a strange noise suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.
"Thump, thump, rustle, thump,"
It sounded like human footsteps, or something patting on the ground, and something crawling.
Because of the unease I felt about who I was going to meet, I took out my phone and saw that it was already six o'clock!
I looked up at the window and sure enough, it was already dark!
We were so engrossed in carving that we forgot about time.
Luo Tianhe crept to the door and peeked through the crack. He immediately felt as if he'd swallowed a dead fly:
"Outside, outside is full of villagers, they've completely surrounded Old Chen's house!"
"Damn it, why are all these villagers swarming around like flies that've seen shit!"
Li Huai cursed loudly, clearly having lost his mind, even saying things like he was shit.
We ignored Li Huai, but Old Chen peeked out through the crack in the door and immediately turned pale, collapsing to the ground.
His lips trembled, and his voice shook as he spoke:
"He must have sensed the aura of the peach wood nail, otherwise all the villagers wouldn't have gathered around!"
I gripped the newly made Yin-breaking nail tightly, feeling the pure Yang power contained within it clashing with the Yin energy outside the door!
This magical artifact is like a beacon in the darkness; it cannot be hidden even if one tries.
"Damn it, we're just one step away! I refuse to believe it! Let's find a way to break through!"
I gritted my teeth and shouted loudly.
After hearing my words, Li Huai, Luo Tianhe, Lao Chen, and the others also revealed resolute looks in their eyes.
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.
"Open the door."
It's my seventh uncle!
Hearing his words, we wavered a little.
Could this be Chen Hua's trick, deliberately imitating Uncle Qi's voice to make us open the door?
But we had no choice. Regardless of whether the person at the door was a technician or not, we would open the door. With that thought, I didn't hesitate any longer and yanked the door open.
I'm prepared; if it's not Seventh Uncle in front of us, we'll just charge straight out.
I've already bitten the tip of my tongue, ready to draw a blood talisman at any moment!
But when we opened the door, the scene before us brought us to a delightful surprise.
The villagers who had previously surrounded the gate have now disappeared—or rather, they have simply left.
They were still not far away, staring intently at us.
Uncle Qi stood alone in front of the door, his hunched figure appearing so small and thin in the night.
Behind him stood a dense crowd of villagers, stretching all the way to the end of the street.
This is, after all, a rural area. The streets aren't very wide, yet they've already filled them up so densely that you can't see the end of them.
What chilled us even more was the terrifyingly uniform posture of these villagers, whose breathing rhythm was perfectly synchronized, as if they were one person!
A terrifying thought suddenly popped into my mind: all these villagers are now under Chen Hua's control!
"Seventh Uncle, what exactly happened?"
Old Chen asked in a trembling voice, his hand gripping the machete so tightly that the knuckles had turned white.
The technician didn't answer him; his gaze fell directly on the broken nail in my hand, his expression incredibly complex, a mixture of relief and worry.
"You don't have much time left."
His voice was as hoarse as ever, like sandpaper rubbing against wood.
"Chen Hua has already sensed the aura of the Yin-Breaking Nail and has forcibly moved all the villagers. You must now go to the locust tree to complete the final step!"
Just as I guessed, my face turned ashen, and my hand holding the Yin-breaking nail trembled slightly.
"But with so many villagers blocking our way, how could we possibly get through?"
Luo Tianhe looked around anxiously, cold sweat beading on his forehead, and asked the question before I could.
He's right. There are at least a hundred people surrounding us. If the four of us were to try to break through, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Uncle Qi still did not answer, but slowly raised the cane in his hand.
The next moment, he bit his fingertip.
No, it can't be called the fingertip; he bit off the very tip of his index finger!
This scene made all four of us shrink in the pupils and turn pale.
There's an old saying that the ten fingers are connected to the heart, and I always feel unbearable pain when I bite my fingertips to let them bleed.
Uncle Qi actually bit off his finger, yet remained expressionless, as if it wasn't him who had his finger bitten off.
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