Chapter 41
Chapter 41
After Zhou Xiuqi finished shouting, he was too busy to attend to anything else. He raised his sword and cleaved the crooked corpse in two. Meng Yingying shook her head, her brain feeling as heavy as lead. She could barely make out the location of the ghost.
The scene before her slowly transformed. Before her, the village was ablaze, flames engulfing every villager. Their desperate cries of pain and grotesque expressions staggered toward her, passing by, their faces burning from the heat. The entire land wailed; the happiness of the day turned to blood and foam, rising into the sky, turning it crimson.
A woman, her skin sizzling and burning, stumbled back. Half of her hand was burned away. She cried out for help, "Help me...help me...it's so hot...so burning...it hurts so much..."
Meng Yingying stood there, sword in hand, as black resentment emanated from the calamity.
Attracted by her, the surrounding corpses stopped attacking Zhou Xiuqi and changed direction, heading towards Meng Yingying. Shang Mang watched from the side, gazing at her calmly.
Zhou Xiuqi drew his sword and, with a tense expression, chased after them.
Meng Yingying looked at the growing number of people before her, their bodies engulfed in flames, pleading for her help. Their outstretched hands, layer upon layer, surrounded her in a cloud of resentment. A sense of panic began to rise within her. Since transmigrating into the book, she had rarely experienced emotional fluctuations. She hadn't allowed herself to empathize with this world, nor had she allowed herself to show it any mercy. She hadn't always been like this.
She pursed her lips tightly, and said hesitantly, "Stop shouting, stop shouting. I can't save you, I can't save anyone." She couldn't save Li Zhaodi, couldn't save Ali and Ajin, couldn't save anyone. What was the point of her transmigrating into the book? What was the meaning of all this?
"Help us, help us—I'm so hot—it hurts so much—"
"It's so hot, so painful, I'm going to die from the pain."
"Someone save me, someone save me—"
Meng Yingying stood there helplessly, the wind blowing her thin Taoist robe. Each face became etched in her memory, their pain so vivid. She closed her eyes tightly, raised the Evil-Repelling Sword, her eyes sincere: "Alright, I will save you all." The crimson blade of the Calamity Sword began to change inch by inch in her hand. She closed her eyes, chanted an incantation, and the Calamity Sword flew from her hand, splitting into thousands of swords.
Thousands of crimson swords swirled in the air, illuminating the land. The scene before her seemed familiar. Meng Yingying squinted as the light stung her eyes, and a voice echoed in her mind.
"You are tolerant of everything in the world, but you are not tolerant of yourself."
As the sword formation took shape, she stared at it, lost in thought. How could she have created such a sword formation? She was clearly the worst at using the sword. Driven by a strange intuition, Meng Yingying watched the sword formation descend, slowly like a spring rain. The gentle green light of the swords pierced the hearts of everyone present. Meng Yingying watched as the people slowly dissipated, but the resentment in their eyes remained.
Zhou Xiuqi looked up at Jian Yu, remaining silent.
Shang Mang's fake smile froze, as if he had been transported to another world.
After a moment, Zhou Xiuqi turned his head to look at Shang Mang, who clicked his tongue lightly and asked with displeasure, "What are you looking at?"
Zhou Xiuqi was used to it: "The cause and effect have come."
Shang Mang nodded, his eyes widening: "Who's afraid?" he countered.
Zhou Xiuqi turned back: "It's disgusting."
Shang Mang gave a forced smile: "Thank you for the compliment."
Kong Fusheng retrieved the gourd and rushed over, exclaiming in surprise, "Is this the legendary Calamity Sword? This is too powerful! Senior Meng, you have always kept your abilities hidden, and you can even use such a sword formation. You are already comparable to Senior Zhou."
As Meng Yingying listened to his words, the calamity flew back into her hand. Her vision blurred, and she swayed. Her mind, which had just cleared somewhat, was now like mush again. She asked, "Senior brother, have you found the source?"
Zhou Xiuqi draped his sword behind his back and said, "The source is not here tonight."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yingying's eyes widened in disbelief. She frowned and asked, "The source isn't here? Does that mean we can only see him if he appears on his own?"
Kong Fusheng scratched the tip of his nose and said, "According to the book, the deceased's voice is indeed like that." After he finished speaking, he saw that her face was not good and comforted her, "Senior Meng, don't worry, we still have time, we can search slowly."
“The longer it goes on, the more pathetic our deaths will be.” Xiao Zheyu said, wiping the short jade sword in his hand. He walked up to them, pointed at the sky and slid his finger down again: “The days and months here change very quickly. Today, we have only spent six hours before nightfall. The longer it goes on, the more ghosts we will have to deal with every night, and we will only be exhausted.”
“By then, if the source hasn’t appeared yet, we’ll already be dead. Rather than waiting for it to come out on its own, we should force it out.” Xiao Zheyu said slowly and forcefully. Zhou Xiuqi’s gaze fell on the jade sword, then moved to her face, and said, “That’s feasible.”
Meng Yingying's thinking was indeed the same, but now they didn't even know who the source was or where it started.
Kong Fusheng asked, "Do you have someone clearly identified?"
Shang Mang rested his chin on his hand, smiling as he looked at him: "Hasn't the most abnormal person already appeared?" Kong Fusheng didn't expect him to respond, smiled awkwardly, shifted his feet, and looked at Meng Yingying beside him: "Why is he talking so sarcastically?"
Meng Yingying pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh: "His unique characteristic."
Kong Fusheng had no choice but to force himself to understand, and then said, "The most abnormal people are everyone in this village."
Meng Yingying couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Compared to the outside world, everything is naturally abnormal. Look at this village, the most abnormal and strangest people we see are definitely the village chief and his family."
“You haven’t met the village chief, but you have met the man from this morning. He’s the village chief’s son. Unlike the others, his family doesn’t wear fake smiles. They are all able to move freely and answer questions fluently.”
Just as Kong Fusheng was about to speak, Zhou Xiuqi interrupted him, saying, "Kong Fusheng, raise the gourd, the second-class is here."
The doors around her creaked and groaned as Meng Yingying raised her sword in defense.
Shang Mang, standing beside her, asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
Meng Yingying looked around warily and replied, "People can be afraid, but they cannot back down."
Shang Mang smiled enigmatically, touching the ring on his hand. Meng Yingying swallowed hard and suddenly asked, "Shang Mang, do you like me?" Shang Mang looked at her, while Meng Yingying stared ahead calmly, her hand rubbing the hilt of her sword.
Shang Mang didn't speak, he just smiled.
Meng Yingying felt a sense of dejection again, and she vowed never to ask that question again.
The doors of the surrounding villagers' houses were flung open, and corpses flooded in like a tide. Meng Yingying's mind was overwhelmed by the screams of those who had killed her. She took a deep breath and charged forward to fight. Her figure grew smaller and smaller, and in Shang Mang's eyes, it was as if a silver whip had pierced her heart. In the blink of an eye, only her resolute back remained. Shang Mang's hand was clenched against his chest, and the stench of decay swirled around his nose. He frowned in disgust, pulled out a bottle of pills, and swallowed them. A strong fragrance spread, masking his stench. Xiao Zheyu's nose twitched, and she turned to look at him. That strong odor was back on him, and it was growing stronger.
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