Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Just then, a snapping sound rang out. In the silence, it was very obvious that Meng Yingying would subconsciously look at Hua Liu's face. The sound was like someone grinding their teeth. Hua Liu's skin was already covered with layers of grotesque blisters, and few people who came in dared to look at her.
Meng Yingying got goosebumps. The sound continued, and the madam sensed something was wrong, subtly taking a step back. Shang Mang saw this, put his hand on her shoulder, narrowed his eyes, and said with a slight smile, "Since you don't know anything, why are you offering a refund, old lady?" Only then did the madam notice the man who hadn't spoken until now; his tone was chilling.
Unlike the girl, the madam had met quite a few people before. Now, being stared at by him, she was speechless and could only quickly avert her gaze. A strand of hair brushed against Shang Mang's finger, and he frowned in disgust. He shoved her forward forcefully, and the madam almost cried out. She hadn't been able to see clearly from the distance and in the dim light, but his shove pushed her directly in front of the brothel, the talisman still affixed.
But the madam felt that she was still breathing. Looking at the bloody and mangled face, she almost vomited. She tried to remain calm and turned her back, her old face twitching a few times.
Meng Yingying then noticed that Hua Liu's chest was still rising and falling, just like a living person. She should have died after drinking poison, so why was her chest still rising and falling? She could still breathe like a living person. She wanted to get closer to see more clearly. So she approached Hua Liu, whose face remained contorted with resentment and rage.
Upon closer inspection, the talisman suddenly fluttered up, revealing a pair of wide-open eyes with the whites of the eyes rolling upwards—a truly terrifying sight. Meng Yingying recoiled in fright, her breathing becoming rapid.
But the more afraid she became, the calmer she became; Hanaya was indeed breathing.
But Hua Liu had indeed drunk the poison the madam had forced down her throat. Could it be that the madam had deliberately spared her life? Just as this thought crossed her mind, Meng Yingying quickly refuted it. She had clearly seen the madam force-feed her the poison; how could it be a lie?
The madam didn't dare to look at Hua Liu at this moment, and asked anxiously, "Taoist, what should we do about Hua Liu now?" Meng Yingying hadn't figured out the reason yet, when the talisman suddenly burst into flames for no reason, and Hua Liu's face started sizzling again.
Hua Liu covered her face, screaming in pain right in front of them. As Meng Yingying drew her soft sword, intending to stab Hua Liu, Hua Liu suddenly cried out, her entire body enveloped in a black mist, and a scorching heat instantly engulfed the entire space. Meng Yingying stepped back, seeing that Shang Mang seemed oblivious to the heat, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"Back off!" Meng Yingying shouted.
Shang Mang looked down at the hand that was holding his, and let her pull him backward.
The madam couldn't dodge in time and her hand touched the black mist, instantly turning red. The madam's face contorted in pain, but being the cunning old fox she was, she quickly concealed it.
"Xinghua Village! Xinghua Village!" Hua Liu stretched out her charred arm, her face so unrecognizable as human, and Meng Yingying's heart ached at the sight.
The fog and the high temperature made no one dare to approach, and the willow's body crackled and popped.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air, causing Meng Yingying to choke and forcefully suppress the nausea. The madam and her entourage, upon smelling the odor, many bent over and coughed violently. Everything had happened too fast; one second they were discussing something, and the venereal tissue had spontaneously combusted, instantly turning to ashes. To instantly reduce a person to ashes, one would need at least 500 degrees Celsius. Now, without any visible flame, a living person had been reduced to ash.
The madam's expression remained unchanged, suggesting that she cared more about the business of Cui Xiang Lou than a human life.
Meng Yingying waved her hand and coughed, saying, "Strange phenomena arise, ghosts and demons appear. Suppress your anger with evil fire, and your lingering spirit will not dissipate."
"It seems this matter is quite troublesome and beyond my ability to handle. I need to go back to the inn and inform my senior brother and master about everything."
Even if the madam didn't want to let Meng Yingying go, she wouldn't stop her when she heard that her senior brother and master were waiting. Even if she really wanted to stop her, Meng Yingying would have a chance of winning.
The madam pondered for a moment, then nervously stepped forward and grasped her hand, saying, "Taoist priest, this is where we eat. If something happens here, the girls in the brothel will have no food. Please, you must come back!"
Meng Yingying's mind was no longer on this matter at the moment, and she nodded perfunctorily.
With a slight nod from the madam, the people made way for the two of them. Meng Yingying led Shang Mang forward with her head down, when they bumped into someone. Kong Fusheng was covered in sweat, and as soon as he looked up, their eyes met.
"Senior Meng?"
"Kong Fusheng?"
This kid's intuition is ridiculously low. She hasn't gone out for so long. He didn't even bother to come in and look for her. If he comes in now and finds something, the corpse will be overgrown with weeds. Kong Fusheng looked to her side, then lowered his gaze and said, "You...you guys?"
Meng Yingying's mind was still preoccupied with the strange incident from earlier, so she didn't bother arguing with him and instead pushed him forward with her other hand. Shang Mang looked at Kong Fusheng with a smile, while Kong Fusheng wore an "I knew it" expression. Meng Yingying was oblivious to the undercurrent between the two.
Hua Liu, Li Youde, Xinghua Village, and today's story, according to the previous instance, these instances will not follow the original book's plot exactly as it is written, and changes may occur at any time.
As for Xinghua Village, all Meng Yingying remembered was that the twins seemed to be the reason the main characters in the original book were able to escape, but she couldn't recall exactly why. She tried hard to remember, but her mind was blank. She couldn't remember anything. She had clearly read the book and considered her memory to be quite good, so why had she forgotten the original plot?
I'm completely baffled.
"Senior Meng, I saw the madam go in just now. I thought you must be in danger, so I listened to the noise for a long time. I didn't hear you say anything. What were you doing in there?" No wonder I ran into him as soon as I came out. It turns out he had been outside the whole time, just not going in.
Meng Yingying's thoughts drifted away as she recounted everything that had happened inside. Due to the journey, she kept it brief, focusing on the key points for Kong Fusheng, omitting the part about Shang Mang. She glanced at Shang Mang, who was idly playing with her hair with his fingertips, but Meng Yingying was too engrossed to notice.
She took a step forward, and Shang Mang pinched a strand of hair, making it snap back and sting her scalp. Forced to stretch her neck back, she looked up and saw a smile on his lips. Shang Mang placed a hand on her waist and said softly, "Be careful, don't fall." His voice was gentle, as if he were thinking of her. Meng Yingying really wanted to roll her eyes. Kong Fusheng watched from the side, his whole body covered in goosebumps. How old was A-Guai? Senior Meng wasn't young either.
Although she's of marriageable age, what ordinary person would choose a callow youth? Is Senior Meng simply attracted to this boy because he's good-looking? Kong Fusheng's gaze towards Meng Yingying became somewhat inexplicable as he thought this.
Meng Yingying noticed this, but the more she explained, the more confused things became, so she simply decided not to explain at all.
Meng Yingying and Kong Fusheng walked side by side, while Shang Mang smiled and parted ways with them at a fork in the road. Kong Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought that A-Guai would be going back to the inn with them tonight, but things had progressed too quickly. Even if Senior Meng was older, she shouldn't be playing around like this.
Kong Fusheng thought to himself, then looked at the thoughtful Meng Yingying: "Senior Meng, this matter is not simple, but can we really tell them about our secret trip to Cuixiang Tower?"
Meng Yingying said, "Don't worry at all. With your acting skills, they probably all know we're secretly going out to do something naughty. We're just afraid they'll find out."
Kong Fusheng scratched the back of his head and retorted, "My acting wasn't that good, and it's true that I ate too much spicy food and had a stomachache."
"Kong Fusheng, have you ever heard of Xinghua Village before?" Meng Yingying was still preoccupied with the matter of Xinghua Village, so she put aside everything else. That matter must be quite significant, and Kong Fusheng might know something about it.
Kong Fusheng recalled for a moment before saying, "At that time, I was only a teenager and had not yet become a formal disciple. Every day, the disciples in the temple were discussing things. I only knew that they said there was something strange about Xinghua Village, but they couldn't find anything strange about it. So even though many people said that Xinghua Village had disappeared at that time..."
“My master never suspected it was an evil spirit either. But after hearing this today, I feel that Xinghua Village is quite similar to the one described in an ancient book,” Kong Fusheng said.
Meng Yingying pressed him for details, and Kong Fusheng hesitated before replying, "Although it's similar, this situation hasn't happened for hundreds of years, and it's very difficult for it to form."
"That is the cry of the dead."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yingying quickly scrambled through her mind to recall the information she wanted. The name "Wangrenwei" literally means "dead person," and the reason for its formation must be the condensation of resentment, which is controlled by a great deal of resentment. People inside will be affected by the resentment and live in it all day long.
Where resentment gathers, there becomes the shrine of the dead, and the shrine of the dead is often accompanied by blood-soaked mud. It takes the continuous flow of resentment to form. So, the reason why Kong Fusheng said earlier that it might not be possible to form is probably because of this.
Xinghua Village—the place of the dead.
...
"It's possible," Ling Daozi said. He had been pulled from his sleep to discuss the matter, and his originally rosy skin looked even more like an apple from his deep sleep.
Meng Yingying persisted, "Master, think about it again?" Ling Daozi had been cultivating in seclusion during that time, so he knew nothing about it. Kong Fusheng yawned and said, "Senior Meng, we'll only know what it's like once we get there. If you just let Senior Ling Daozi guess, he won't know what the situation is like either."
“If it is truly a dead person’s abomination, you will likely face dire consequences if you go there,” Ling Daozi said, wrapped in a blanket, staring at them seriously. “I’m not joking with you. The fact that this thing appears in ancient books and hasn’t appeared in a hundred years is enough to prove that the yin energy in this place is not comparable to that of ordinary places with malevolent energy.”
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