chapter 23
“Four more people down!” Wei Dongting said grimly, staring at the surface of the pond and barking out the order.
Everyone instinctively took another step back.
Who would dare to go?
“Anyone who goes down will be rewarded with twenty thousand each!” Liu Hao promised.
But no one responded.
Twenty thousand was a lot, but it wasn’t worth risking one’s life!
“Fifty thousand each!” Liu Hao gritted his teeth and raised the reward.
Seeing that still no one volunteered, Wei Dongting’s face grew even darker. He had no choice but to raise the price again, “One hundred thousand! It’s just jumping into a pond-miss this chance and you won’t get another!”
“Damn, they’ve got money to burn. Are we getting shortchanged?” Iron Head cursed.
As the saying goes, “Great rewards produce brave men.” When Liu Hao raised the price to one hundred thousand, some people were truly tempted.
“I’ll give each of you a Talisman Paper-guaranteed protection from any monsters or ghosts!” Wei Dongting took out four Talisman Papers.
Some people had already been considering it, and upon hearing about the protective Talisman, four “warriors” stepped forward from the crowd.
The four took the Talisman Papers from Wei Dongting, stripped off their shirts, and, following his instructions, stuck the Talisman Papers to their chests.
“Do those scribbles actually work?” Iron Head muttered.
“They’re used to ward off evil,” I explained to him.
“Then I guess they do work,” Iron Head realized. “This guy’s got some tricks.”
“It depends on the situation. In this Lotus Pond, they might not work,” I said.
Iron Head was taken aback.
While we were talking, the four men had already prepared themselves, took a few deep breaths, and leapt into the pond together.
Everyone held their breath, waiting.
But just like last time, after the four entered the water, they were silently swallowed up-without even a bubble rising to the surface.
The crowd around the Lotus Pond, terrified, retreated several steps.
“Seven Stars Borrowing Method-Break!”
Wei Dongting bit his finger, drew a Talismanic Symbol on his palm, and pressed it toward the surface of the pond.
The moment his palm touched the water, there was a loud splash.
The previously mirror-like surface of the pond suddenly began to spin rapidly, forming a huge whirlpool.
Liu Hao and the others turned pale with fright, cries of alarm breaking out.
“Help!”
Suddenly, a few heads popped up in the whirlpool, bobbing up and down in the water, mouths open, screaming for help.
It was the very men who had just jumped into the Lotus Pond!
“Quick, get up! Bamboo Pole, hurry!”
Liu Hao and the others shouted from the shore, and someone grabbed a Bamboo Pole and thrust it toward the water, telling the men to grab hold.
Amid the swirling currents, someone managed to grab the Bamboo Pole, and the others joined forces to pull him up.
But strangely, no matter how hard they pulled, they couldn’t budge him.
“Something… something’s grabbing us!”
The men in the pond screamed in terror, the pitch-black water splashing wildly, droplets flying onto the crowd, making them cry out, “So cold!”
The pond water was chillingly cold, and soon a white mist began to rise from the surface.
“Seven Stars Borrowing Method-Suppress!”
Wei Dongting used his bitten finger to touch his forehead, then pointed at the pond.
A strange phenomenon appeared in the Lotus Pond!
The water level began to drop rapidly, as if a giant beast at the bottom was opening its mouth and swallowing the water.
In the blink of an eye, the Lotus Pond was nearly drained.
“Lights, shine the lights!” Liu Hao shouted.
Reminded by him, several people turned on their flashlights and shone them onto the pond.
When everyone finally saw the bottom of the pond clearly, they all gasped, their bodies tingling with fear.
At the bottom, clusters of long, black Hair were tangled everywhere, wrapping around the six people, trapping them so they couldn’t escape.
The Hair writhed like living things, entwining their bodies and burrowing into their mouths, noses, and ears-invading every possible opening!
“Quick, pull them up!” Liu Hao shouted, directing the others.
Everyone, fighting their terror, stepped forward and tried to prod the Hair with Bamboo Poles. But as soon as they did, the Hair slithered up along the poles.
Amid the cries of alarm, someone in the pond suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream, “There’s… there’s a woman! A woman!”
His scream made everyone shudder in fright.
Looking closer, sure enough, among the tangled black Hair at the bottom of the pond, there seemed to be a human figure, though it was hard to see clearly, wrapped tightly in Hair.
The man who had screamed, driven by terror, struggled desperately and managed to tear away some of the Hair, revealing half of the figure’s face.
The face, pale from soaking in the pond water, stared blankly ahead with ashen gray eyes.
It was a Female Corpse!
“Mother of God!” Iron Head exclaimed in shock.
I frowned, staring at the pond, and saw the Female Corpse’s gray eyes suddenly shift. Instantly, I grabbed Iron Head. “Let’s get out of here.”
Iron Head shivered, didn’t say a word, and ran with me!
Behind us, screams and cries erupted, followed by a loud crack.
I stopped and looked back, only to see countless strands of black Hair, like thousands of black snakes, crawling out of the pond. The moment they touched someone, they wrapped around them instantly.
People scattered in terror, but were quickly tripped and bound by the Hair, wrapped up like giant rice dumplings!
“Should… should we run even farther?” Iron Head’s voice trembled.
I didn’t answer, just kept my eyes on the Lotus Pond.
We were only about ten meters from the Lotus Pond, and in the blink of an eye, the Hair surged toward us like spilled ink.
“Oh my god!”
Iron Head picked up a stone from the ground, ready to smash it down.
Just as the wet, black Hair was about to reach our feet, it suddenly recoiled as if pricked by a needle, then quickly retreated.
“What happened?” Iron Head held the stone, bewildered.
“Maybe you scared it,” I replied offhandedly.
“Huh?” Iron Head was stunned for a long moment.
My attention was focused on the Lotus Pond, so I didn’t say more.
At that moment, Wei Dongting had already drawn a Talisman Paper. Wherever he went, the approaching Hair caught fire, billowing black smoke and filling the air with a pungent, burnt stench.
“Seven Stars Borrowing Method-Break!”
Wei Dongting held the Talisman Paper in his left hand and stepped to the edge of the Lotus Pond. He raised his right hand, marked with Talismanic Symbols, and pressed it toward the pond.
Suddenly, a fierce wind whipped up!
The Female Corpse sitting at the bottom of the pond slowly stood up, her joints creaking as they moved.
Her long, black Hair erupted like jets of ink, surging toward Wei Dongting.
He stood firm, then suddenly stomped his left foot down.
With a loud bang, the surging Hair instantly snapped and exploded into dust.
Watching Wei Dongting’s techniques, I realized that Master Gu, Meicheng’s number one, truly lived up to his reputation-he was no ordinary Feng Shui Master.