Soul collecting monster
"Such monsters appear in more than one place? They just self-destructed and didn't try to escape? How strange... Have you found out what method the monster uses to collect evil spirits?" Yuanli said through telepathy.
Ayi said through telepathic communication, "The person behind this must be extremely afraid of being discovered by the Netherworld. They know that if a demon collecting evil spirits falls into the hands of the Netherworld, their identity will be discovered. The method of collecting evil spirits has not yet been discovered. No Netherworld messenger has witnessed this demon collecting evil spirits, and there are no eyewitnesses. Abang and I haven't had the opportunity to capture this demon yet."
Ah Bang transmitted his message through telepathy, "Ah Li, this is a good opportunity. We might be able to find out the details of this monster before Lord Hades returns. This would be a great achievement! I will immediately bring these souls back to the Netherworld, but please wait until we catch the monster together. I only have the Soul-Locking Chain, and I'm not sure if it can tie up the monster, but I can definitely guarantee that when the monster explodes, I can tie up the escaping evil spirits. If only I had the Immortal Binding Rope, I would definitely be able to accomplish this great feat!"
"I brought a binding rope." Heng Jin interrupted through telepathy.
Yuanli sent a telepathic message, her tone slightly dissatisfied, "How come the Emperor loves eavesdropping on other people's conversations so much!"
Heng Jin cast a spell and transmitted the message to Yuan Li privately, "You are not someone else."
"Your Majesty, please be careful with what you say. Abang and Ayi are here. Don't let them hear the attitude with which you speak to me. They might think that there is something going on between you and me that is hard to explain. By the way, I was clearly communicating with Abang and Ayi alone, so why could you hear it? Did you hear it only this time? Or have you heard it many times?" Yuanli tried to communicate with Hengjin alone again.
She wondered if her telepathic skills weren't entirely up to par. She worried that Ah Bang and Ah Yi might also hear what she was saying to Heng Jin, so she used euphemisms to distance herself from the matter.
"Is Yuan'er afraid that they'll misunderstand, or is she afraid that they'll tell Cha Suxun when they get back, and that sour teapot will get jealous and angry again?"
She deliberately ignored him and said nothing. Heng Jin simply stood close to her, pretending to be sad, staring at her with lowered eyes. If she looked away, he would catch up. In short, he had to make sure his face was in her sight.
Seeing that Abang Ayi's eyes had reacted, Heng Jin guessed that she was about to explode in anger again, so she restrained herself a little.
He explained to Yuanli through telepathic communication, "I only heard it today, and it wasn't my intention to eavesdrop, really."
Yuanli glanced at him, then turned to Ah Bang and said, "Ah Bang, you and Ah Yi should take these souls back to the netherworld first. It's still a while before dark, so if you go and come back quickly, you should be able to catch up with the monsters."
Abang Ayi nodded in agreement, then he sent a telepathic message to her to tell her to be extremely careful, and then he took all the souls that had been successfully liberated back to the underworld.
The four souls except Meimei knelt down together.
"Please forgive us, Star Lord. We were not honest before. We just discussed it and realized that it was because we harbored hatred and were eager to seek revenge before we could finally rest in peace that we were unable to successfully exorcise our souls. Please give us a chance, Star Lord, to join Sister Meimei in seeing for ourselves the remnant soul of the man from Huamian Village."
Yuanli had no choice but to agree.
They were originally earthbound spirits trapped in Huamian Village. Even if they didn't agree, they would still see them catching monsters. But if they didn't make three rules in advance and stipulate that they couldn't take action, they might do stupid things without any scruples.
"Did any of you see how that monster extracted the remaining souls of the men from Huamian Village from the steamer?"
Meimei said, "I saw the entire process of the monster refining the residual soul. He first took out a handheld bell like the ones used in rituals and shaman dances. It was about the length of my wrist to my elbow. The handle was wrapped with red cloth, and the excess cloth was like tassels. At the other end, there were many bells piled together, and they tinkled when they were shaken."
"Does the monster use the bell-like thing in his hand to extract the residual soul?" Yuanli asked.
"Yes, I saw him standing in front of the steamer tablet and shaking a hand-held bell. The sound of the bell shaking was very rhythmic. Soon, the neatly arranged steamers began to shake violently, and residual souls began to emerge from the steamers. After several residual souls were fully extracted, they began to rampage, howling like ghosts and wolves."
"And then?"
"Later, the monster calmly began to cast a spell. I couldn't understand it, but it was probably just dancing and waving handbells around, similar to a real shamanic dance or a rain-praying shamanic dance. As it danced, the monster, as if possessing the ability to clone itself, created dozens of identical clones. They leaped out of the ancestral hall, one after another bringing back small pieces of bones and piling them in the center. The clones sat together, needles and thread in hand, and began to sew the bones onto the monster's removed robe. They worked very quickly, and once they were done, the monster put on the robe and began to jump and dance again. However, the dancing was different after putting on the robe, and the bells became more rapid. The crazed souls gradually calmed down, and eventually even began to move closer to the monster, finally burrowing into the bones sewn into the monster's robe."
"You saw the monster take off its robes and saw so many clones jumping around, but did you see the monster's appearance clearly?"
"I couldn't see clearly. When he arrived, he was wearing a loose, tattered red robe that covered his head, leaving only his hands and feet exposed. He was extremely cautious when taking off his robe, but underneath the loose, tattered red robe, he was wearing another red robe that was slightly more fitted. It was still impossible to see anything other than his already exposed hands and feet."
Yuanli pointed at the broken steamers on the ground and asked, "Were these iron steamers also broken by monsters?"
"Yes, that monster was terrifying. He had successfully taken away the remaining souls in the steamer, and after taking back his clones, he actually lost his temper. He tore the iron steamer apart as easily as if it were paper. He raised his hand and punched it down, and it dented a lot. He almost destroyed the steamer tablet in the ancestral hall."
"Is there anything else unusual?"
Meimei thought carefully and said, "Well... apart from the fact that he comes around the same time every day, jumping around in the ancestral hall, transforming into many clones, and searching Huamian Village for whatever he's looking for, we don't dare go out and just hide inside this stone statue. Perhaps it's thanks to Kashi's protection that the monster hasn't found us. Apart from that, there's nothing unusual."
Yuanli approached her and used the method taught by Cha Suxun to explore the fragments about monsters in Meimei and the others' memories one by one.
After reading it, I was able to confirm that what Meimei said just now was true and she had not concealed anything.
She telepathically transmitted her thoughts to Heng Jin, "She didn't lie or hide anything from us. I've reviewed their memories and found a suspicious point. While the monster seems certain that Meimei and the others' souls are here and must be captured, it also seems to be searching for something in Huamian Village. There are so many women in Huamian Village, some of whom have come here willingly for support, while others have been in cahoots with the men of Huamian Village. Yet, before we've even begun to question them, they've already successfully liberated so many souls. This suggests, combined with what Ayi said, that in addition to her own internal conflicts, she's likely influenced by artifacts, formations, or spells."
"Cha Suxun even taught you the method of reading the soul's memories before and after death?" Heng Jin said through telepathy.
"I think you're the biggest tea-souring person. I'm talking to you about serious matters, so be serious."
"What I'm telling you is also a very important matter." Heng Jin heard her unhappy reaction and immediately slowed down her tone. Her tone was gentle and serious, and she continued to transmit the message through the spirit: "Okay, okay, my mistake, my lady is right, I will be serious. My lady might as well take a look at the memories of the other four women before their death and see their hatred and knots."
Upon hearing this, Yuanli immediately looked into the memories of the four souls except Meimei one by one.
After reading the first woman's memories before her death, Yuanli always felt that it was not that simple. The memories were too long. If she told Hengjin all the similarities and similarities in the memories of the four of them after reading them, and discussed them together, it would be time-consuming.
She used telepathy to call Heng Jin to stand behind her on the right side, then she put her right hand behind her back and held Heng Jin's hand.
After casting a spell to briefly explore the soul's memories, Yuanli turned and said to Heng Jin through telepathy, "Well, do you have any memories of seeing this woman?"
Heng Jin felt the tender warmth of Yuanli's palm, and her heart was filled with joy. She couldn't suppress the faint smile on her face.
"See, Yuan'er's memory-searching spell is really good!"
Continuing to explore, Yuanli discovered that most of them were young, just over the age of 15, and were tricked into coming to Huamian Village. They had all stayed in Huamian Village for quite a few years. Even a cursory look through the books would take up a lot of time and effort.
Their hatred and suffering are no less than Meimei's.
But, they have one thing in common.
They were all deceived here by their beloved husbands, and the husband was the same person.
That is, the first village chief of Huamian Village.
When they were in love, it seemed like they were truly in love. They matched their horoscopes outside the mountains, worshipped heaven and earth, and married Mingmei into the family, showering her with care.
Half a year after getting married, she happily went back to her hometown with him to visit relatives. They went up Gusu Mountain and while resting, she drank the warm water handed to her by her husband and fell asleep. When she woke up, she was already in the dark Huamian Village.
The husband she loved turned against her and, like a stranger, he fiercely forced her to bow down and serve tea to his concubines. All his care and love were then given to his real wives, who were imprisoned in a dark room and lived a life worse than pigs and dogs.
Since she was imprisoned, her husband has never visited her again, and the men in the village have taken turns coming in and forcing her to have sex with them.
Not long after, she became pregnant.
Later, her husband brought in another girl.
Upon asking, she discovered that her story was the same as hers, both having been married according to a match made in heaven and earth, and formally married. His care and affection for her were exactly the same as her own.
Even her experience after being locked up in this small room was the same.
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