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The old and ugly man, Zhang Quezi, had a face that turned a shade of liver color in anger as he roared at Zhang Bi and the others, "What are you doing? You want me to marry a demoness who sucks the vitality out of men? Luckily, I haven't been with her yet; otherwise, I would have turned into a dried corpse!"
"Come on, do you really believe that kid's nonsense?" The village chief, cunning as ever, didn't fully trust Ye Chenfeng's words. He continued drinking and eating while instructing Zhang Bi to call Ye Chenfeng into the house for a private conversation.
Ye Chenfeng thought to himself that if it weren't for the red tickets, that damn village chief might have ordered someone to throw him out.
Ding Li was shocked and found it hard to believe that Ye Chenfeng claimed to be a Demon.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him with indifference.
Ye Chenfeng knew he couldn't reveal the truth about knowing her at that moment. He could only disguise himself as an ordinary disciple well-versed in metaphysics and Taoist arts to mask his deep concern for Ding Li.
Ding Li was forcibly taken back into the house.
Ye Chenfeng followed Zhang Bi to meet the village chief.
The village chief's face was dark, his features twisted in anger. His nose resembled a strawberry placed on dough, making his ugly face even more glaring.
"Young man, what exactly is your background?"
Ye Chenfeng had learned quite a bit about Taoist etiquette from Little Monk Shen Binghan.
He stepped forward and said, "I am but an ordinary disciple. I did not come here by chance. One day, while looking out towards the southwest, I noticed a heavy presence of Yin energy in this area. I suspected something bad might be lurking here, so I invited some friends to investigate."
Upon hearing this, the village chief was secretly alarmed and quickly stood up to clasp his hands in greeting. "So you are a Taoist priest, one who practices with hair unbound?"
Ye Chenfeng nodded and replied, "I initially didn't want to reveal my identity for fear of disturbing any malevolent forces here, which is why I acted cautiously."
Zhang Bi exchanged a tense glance with the village chief and nervously asked, "So the Demon really exists?"
"Of course it does. I have the Ghost-Collecting Gourd as proof. If you don't believe me, let me collect a ghost tonight and show you," the village chief replied.
He stroked his bald chin, his expression fierce as he said, "The bride is a Demon; we should just burn her tonight."
"That's not how it works. The bride was originally a good woman; she has been possessed by something from your village. We can't burn her; we can only collect her. Burning a bride would bring disaster to others as well. To avoid alarming the snake in the grass, you should hand her over to me, and I'll deal with it," Ye Chenfeng explained.
As he spoke, he pulled out a talisman and handed it to the village chief. "Please stick this talisman on Zhang Quezi's doorframe; it will ensure that this Demon won't come to drain his essence."
"Alright, alright... Zhang Bi, you take it there. I still have things to discuss with the Daoist," the village chief said, initially skeptical but soon fully convinced, complying with Ye Chenfeng's requests.
Zhang Bi took the talisman to Zhang Quezi, bringing along a pale-faced Ding Li.
Ding Li glared at Ye Chenfeng with wide eyes, wishing she could tear him apart. The person she loved so deeply was being called a Demon. The anger she felt was suffocating; if it weren't for the little life stirring within her, she would have fought him and those foul-smelling men from Zhanglin Village.
The village chief saw Ye Chenfeng place a talisman on Ding Li's forehead and stepped forward, saying, "Daoist, to be honest, we really are haunted here."
"Mm." Ye Chenfeng grasped Ding Li's cool hand and pretended to chant a spell, saying, "Capture." Then he led her outside.
The crowd outside relaxed when they saw Ye Chenfeng capturing the Bride Demon.
The village chief followed closely behind and instructed Zhang Bi to refund half of the money to Zhang Quezi before trailing after Ye Chenfeng.
Ding Li struggled against his grip and growled, "Let go of me."
"If I let go, you'll be in danger. Qin Keqing and the others are still waiting for us. Don't be willful; come with me obediently," Ye Chenfeng replied. Noticing that the village chief and Zhang Bi were following closely behind, he quickly adopted a serious demeanor and hurriedly pulled Ding Li away from them.
"You... how can you say I'm a Demon?"
"This is the only way to buy time to save you."
"What if they burn me alive? What will you do then?"
"With me around, that won't happen."
"Do you know? The people of Zhanglin Village are terrifying. Just half a month before you arrived, they burned a family of five alive, claiming it was to stop the plague they spread. They believed that as long as they burned them, the plague would not spread any further."
"Don't worry, we'll be fine."
Ye Chenfeng hurriedly led Ding Li away.
Behind them, Zhang Bi and the village chief followed clumsily, glancing around nervously.
Ye Chenfeng felt his wrist inflamed and itchy, as if it were becoming infected. He thought of the girl in the tomb and the woman in red who appeared and disappeared, and he headed straight for the forest with Ding Li.
Little did he know that this forest was a forbidden place feared by the people of Zhanglin Village.
Zhang Bi and the village chief dared not follow any longer, helplessly watching as Ye Chenfeng took Ding Li into the woods.
Ding Li nervously said, "Why did you bring me here? This is where that family was burned alive."
"It's fine, don't panic."
Ye Chenfeng entered the forest, cautiously scanning his surroundings. The light was dim within the woods. If they could make it through, they would reach the graveyard.
The five members of the Sun Family Coffin Shop were buried in that graveyard.
Suddenly, from the shadowy area to the front left, a figure quietly stood up.
Ye Chenfeng recognized it was a little girl.
He and Ding Li cautiously approached her step by step.
The little girl saw them but did not panic or run away; instead, she stared at them with a blank expression.
"Who is she?"
"She is one who has not yet died. Ding Li, for the next few days, you will probably have to stay with this little girl."
"Why?"
"Because she is hiding in a safe place, and you will be safe there too." As Ye Chenfeng spoke, he had already reached the girl. "Little sister, you should know who I am." He waved his wrist, which she had bitten.
The girl's big, blinking eyes and her messy hair framed a face that seemed perpetually dirty and never clean. She maintained a wooden expression without a hint of emotion. It was as if she hadn't heard him; she made no sudden movements but shifted her gaze from Ye Chenfeng to Ding Li.
Ye Chenfeng squatted down, and Ding Li followed suit.
The little girl walked closer.
With a flash of her teeth—
Ding Li jumped back in surprise, but under Ye Chenfeng's firm grip, he forced himself to calm down and managed to pull out a smile that looked worse than crying.
The little girl reached out and grabbed Ding Li's hand, not even glancing at Ye Chenfeng as she walked away in another direction.
Ding Li couldn't understand how Ye Chenfeng managed to communicate their intentions without any words, deciding the girl's fate without her input.
She didn't have the chance to ask.
Just as the little girl took hold of Ding Li, Ye Chenfeng stood up and ran toward the edge of the forest.
Ye Chenfeng had an exceptional memory. Although the situation here was strange, he had left a trail of torn talismans along the way as markers.
By the time he returned to Zhang Bi's house, the sky had turned a dusky yellow, signaling the approach of night.
Qin Keqing and the others were neither at Zhang Bi's house nor in the tent, and they certainly weren't waiting for him in the car.
This surprised him and posed a problem.
He had originally planned to leave Ding Li with the little girl while he devised a rescue plan with Qin Keqing and the others. But now, with both Qin Keqing and Shen Binghan missing, had they gone to find Su Bei?
When Zhang Bi returned home, he found his woman dozing off. He felt satisfied and reached out to pinch her chest, which hardly piqued his interest at all, before sprawling out on the bed and falling into a deep sleep.
Sister Guai knew that Zhang Bi had drunk too much.
She quietly stepped outside just as Ye Chenfeng was about to look for her.
"Your two friends went to find another friend. They told me you were here waiting for them to regroup."
"That's strange. I need to ask you for a favor."
"What is it? Just say it."
Ye Chenfeng took a bag of food and some canned drinks out of the tent and handed them to Sister Guai, instructing her to deliver them to the Taboo Forest.
"There are ghosts in the Taboo Forest."
"Sister Guai, don't be afraid. That ghost is a good one; it won't harm you." Ye Chenfeng knew she was referring to the girl and the woman in red.
"Oh. Then I'll give it a try."
Sister Guai set off to deliver the food to the Taboo Forest.
Ye Chenfeng had work to do next.
He went into the woods to investigate, slicing into a tree trunk, which oozed a thick, sticky sap. He collected some in a small glass bottle, brought it back to the tent, mixed it with some food, and quietly delivered it to Zhang Bi's watchdog.
The dog ate the food mixed with the sticky sap. At first, there were no noticeable symptoms, but after a while, it began to show signs of agitation—scratching at the ground, hissing softly, its fur standing on end, and thick liquid dripping from its lips.
Before long, it was barking madly.
The iron chain rattled loudly as it dragged along, and its green-glowing eyes shone with a fierce and savage light, quite terrifying.
Zhang Bi was sleeping soundly but was awakened by the commotion of the dog.
He got up and opened the door, cursing at the beast.
Normally obedient, the dog now regarded him with hostility and lunged at him aggressively.
"Ah... you damn dog!" Zhang Bi shouted, his clothes torn to shreds and a bite mark on his thigh.
Ye Chenfeng stepped forward and said to Zhang Bi, "Uncle, your dog has rabies. Anyone bitten will turn into a mad dog, biting others and then dying."
Upon hearing the little Taoist's words, Zhang Bi's heart raced. He was terrified of death and didn't know what to do in his panic.
Ye Chenfeng continued, "I have a pill here. If you agree to do one thing for me, I'll give you this medicine."
Cold sweat streamed down Zhang Bi's face as he trembled, his voice shaking as he asked, "What is it?"
"Let Sister Guai go."
"What!" Hearing Ye Chenfeng mention Sister Guai, Zhang Bi panicked. Despite everything that had happened—being bitten by the dog and having his clothes ripped—he hadn't seen his wife, Sister Guai, at all.
"The onset of rabies is very quick. It depends on your physical condition; the weaker you are, the faster it develops. You've been bitten for over ten minutes now, and the virus is spreading toxins in your blood. You're already a dead man walking."
"Please, Sister Guai is just useful for keeping my bed warm. I've wasted so much energy on her, and she hasn't even given me a single child. If you want to take her away, go ahead! Just give me the medicine."
Ye Chenfeng pinched out a dark pill and handed it to Zhang Bi, saying, "Take it!"
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