Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
"Take care." I said my farewell to Huang San and turned to leave, knowing that Huang the Lame must have told Huang San'er how to survive.
"Yang Hao, my grandfather is on a different path now; tonight marks the seventh night. You should take care of yourself."
Huang San'er's words left me momentarily confused, but a chill suddenly ran down my spine as I hurried out of the forest.
After leaving Dagu Village, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that night, my heart racing with anxiety.
What did Huang the Lame mean by his last message to Huang San'er? What was this seventh night, and what did he mean by taking care of myself?
When I got home, I took a cold shower. It was already two in the morning, and the moonlight was bright, but my mind was in turmoil.
The lights in the house were still on. Zhou Manman was curled up against the wall, her back to me, without a blanket covering her.
I draped a blanket over Zhou Manman, but when my fingers brushed against her arm, they recoiled. Her body was icy cold, chilling to the bone.
"Manman." I shook Zhou Manman gently, trying to wake her.
She stirred and blinked sleepily at me. "You're back. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Are you sick?"
"No, just a bit cold. It's an old problem."
"Then I'll hold you." I wrapped the blanket around her more tightly and pressed my chest against her back, gently embracing her.
I did not resist, and we slept until the sun was high the next day.
When I woke up, the blanket on me had been completely taken by Zhou Manman. I felt a bit under the weather, my nose stuffed up.
My mother opened the door and called me, saying, "Son, wake up and see who that young man is at the door. He has been bowing in front of our house and won't answer when asked."
I got up, put on my clothes, and walked to the door, just in time to see Huang San'er kneeling three times as he circled around our house, mumbling some strange words.
"Huang San'er, what are you doing?" I was both surprised and somewhat displeased by his behavior. Huang the Lame had barely been buried; what was he causing a scene for at my house?
Huang San'er was already covered in sweat. He looked at me for a moment before turning to leave without saying a word.
I didn't understand what Huang San'er meant, so I chased after him and asked. He replied, "Before my grandfather died, he told me to bow in front of your house to apologize. At night, I should start walking east and not look back at anything. If I can survive until dawn, the ghosts will let me go."
After saying this, Huang San'er turned and walked away. I stood there in a daze for a long time. My mother came out of the house and quietly said to me, "Son, is there a dead mouse in your room? It smells a bit."
"My nose is stuffed," I replied in a low voice.
During dinner, my mother and I sat close together. I kept serving her food while she appeared cheerful on the surface but secretly pinched my thigh.
"Why don't you leave some food for Manman? I can't eat anymore."
Zhou Manman looked a bit pale. She glanced at me as she reached for some food, but I swiftly knocked her chopsticks aside. Zhou Manman shot me a look but remained silent, lowering her head to eat her rice.
My mother angrily said, "What are you doing, child?"
"I can't do anything else; it's disgusting." I slammed the chopsticks down on the table and got up to leave.
As I was about to walk out, I caught a glimpse of a tear rolling down Zhou Manman's cheek.
My mother called after me to come back, but I ignored her. I should have realized it long ago; my mother knew about Zhou Manman being violated by a group of people. No mother would tolerate her son marrying such an unclean woman.
And no woman who had been through such an ordeal would not only cut ties with her family but also cling to a stranger she had just met.
Gradually, I began to understand Huang the Lame's words. He told me to take care of myself; he knew that with my intelligence, I should have figured some things out already. It was just that I was unwilling to face them, even less so to admit them.
The seventh day—what a terrifying term.
On the seventh day after death, the soul returns. When midnight strikes, the soul returns to the Underworld.
Today marked exactly the seventh day since Zhou Manman came to my house.
Within seven days, at least one person must die each day. According to ancient legends, demons consume human hearts, and ghosts take Yang Qi. If a corpse possessed by a ghost fails to absorb human Yang Qi, it will decay.
Among Yang Kuan, Dazhuang, Li Tong, Zhang Kun, Zhou Cheng, and Wang Hai, four of them died in the Ghost Killing incident. The mastermind behind it deliberately created the illusion that the victims had choked themselves to confuse everyone. In reality, all four victims died from having their Yang Qi drained, especially the essence of men.
Li Tong was killed by Guo the Blind. He feared that if Zhou Manman were killed by Li Fugui, it would ruin his plans, so he preemptively eliminated Li Tong just in case.
As for the female ghost attempting to kill Wang Hai, she was caught by Li Fugui. Not only was her soul injured, but she also failed to absorb any Yang Qi. With her weakened spirit residing in a body that wasn't hers, she couldn't sustain the Yang Qi needed for that body and would inevitably reveal herself.
I walked toward the pond at the edge of Bright Moon Village, gazing at the Wind Stabilizer that had stood firm for a hundred years. A sense of unease filled my heart.
I remember that every time I passed by here, I felt a surge of anger. I had heard from the Old Man that at least four women had drowned in the Pond, all victims of the village's brutal practices. As for the Wind Stabilizer, it filled me with disgust. I had witnessed my playmate being tied to the Wind Stabilizer by his father and beaten mercilessly until he was covered in blood, barely clinging to life.
At that time, I was both grateful for my mother's greatness and relieved that I didn't have a father. Yet, I silently warned myself to study hard for the rise of China, determined to change the backward customs of the mountain village and make those stubborn executioners pay for their actions.
Leaving the mountains made me realize that I was just a grain of sand among countless others. My strength was weak; I couldn't even stand up to the thugs blocking my way, and when I faced injustice at school, I could only swallow my anger.
That year, during the final evaluations at school, I qualified for a scholarship due to my ranking. However, the teacher chose to award it to another student who was utterly unqualified. When I questioned him about it, he claimed that the scholarship considered overall qualities, not just grades. I asked what shortcomings I had. The other student's overall qualities were hardly impressive; he received his scholarship and immediately went out for a fling, while the rest of his time was consumed by games.
The teacher said I was impatient and not cooperative with my classmates, running to his office to report every little issue without basic decorum. He insisted that if I focused on doing my own work diligently, everything would eventually fall into place for me.
Later, my Buddy informed me that the student who received the scholarship was actually the teacher's nephew.
I thought that after graduating from school in disgrace, I could return home and do something meaningful, perhaps become a civil servant. But one event after another kept shattering my worldview. Conspiracies and schemes made me doubt everyone around me—even my girlfriend and mother.
In one moment of admiration and respect for Guo the Blind, I felt an urge to become his disciple. I even imagined that if I could learn real skills, I would become a hero who fought against oppression and helped the weak.
But now it seems that I was merely indulging in fantasies.
It's difficult to paint a person accurately; knowing someone's face doesn't mean you know their heart.
The death of Huang the Lame plunged everyone in Futu Ridge into extreme panic. With the last head of the Feng Shui Family—who had been passed down through generations—now dead, who could contain the spread of the Ghost Killing incident?
Many villagers from Futu Ridge took their children and left their homes to stay with relatives in nearby towns. Strange occurrences happened in Futu Ridge every few decades but never lasted long; they would return once the ghostly rumors faded away.
People are creatures of home; they have a deep attachment to their roots. Leaving a place where one has lived their entire life is not easy. Moreover, with strict checks on household registration issues nowadays, settling down elsewhere is unrealistic.
As I reached the doorstep of Guo the Blind, I decided to go in and ask him a few questions. Although he was dangerous, he wouldn't harm me for the time being.
"Old Guo?" I called out a couple of times at the door, but no one responded.
Seeing that there was no one home, I stepped into the main room to wait for him to return. My gaze fell upon the black long nails on his cabinet, and suddenly I recalled the scene when he had pulled out those black long nails from an old wooden box under his bed. I looked down towards his bed and spotted the dusty old wooden box, its seal already torn open.
Excitement surged within me as I opened the box. Just as I had guessed, inside lay the Zhou Compass that Guo the Blind had obtained from Huang the Lame.
The compass was covered in intricate runes, its surface wrapped in bronze, while the interior featured a turquoise jade base, exquisitely carved with every character and symbol seamlessly integrated.
I carefully lifted the compass out. This time, it showed no signs of rejection towards me. My index finger lightly touched the scale on the jade base of the compass, and with a snap, it felt as if lightning struck me. The compass fell to the ground, releasing a wisp of blue smoke.
I bit back the pain in my finger and intended to pick up the compass and return it to the wooden box. However, the needle on the compass suddenly began to spin, accompanied by faint mechanical sounds.
Thank you to reader ID: h64560 for the jade pendant donation, and thanks to Old Readers Owl; I also saw the fan you sent.
The content for my new book is still being carefully crafted and outlined. I won't say much more in gratitude; my personal energy and thoughts are limited. During this period of writing my new book, there will be two updates every time. Please make sure to download the Heiyan App on your phone and click to follow; you will receive immediate notifications when new chapters are updated.
That's all for today.
Comment 0 Comment Count