Chapter 120
Chapter 120
Liu Ye emerged carrying a pile of supplies. Seeing Eunuch Wu and the others trembling from head to toe, he lowered his voice.
“My father’s asleep. Keep an eye on him while I buy him something to eat.”
Eunuch Wu stared at him.
Rat poison, perhaps?
Liu Ye left the county office and looked back at the silent compound in confusion. Why was everything so quiet today?
He walked into the street and found it completely deserted, as though the whole of Nine Worlds County had become a ghost town.
“I wanted to buy some vegetables. Where am I supposed to find any now?”
Liu Ye scratched his head.
At that moment, several children appeared at the corner of the street and stared directly at him. Their bodies were entirely black, making them resemble the little Fiend from before.
Blood stained the corners of their mouths. One even held several eyeballs.
Liu Ye happened to glance over. The children instantly ducked behind the corner.
His eyes lit up, and he ran after them.
“Hey, hey! Are you playing marbles? Let me join!”
Time passed, and night soon descended.
Outside Nine Worlds County, the river suddenly began to churn.
One pitch-black infant after another crawled from the water. Every pair of eyes was bloodred, every face devoid of emotion. They made straight for Nine Worlds County.
At Squire Wang’s residence, the household wore the Talismans purchased from Wushenzi and felt remarkably secure.
They sat together over dinner. Squire Wang’s wife asked nervously, “Master, will these Talismans truly work?”
“Why wouldn’t they? Haven’t you noticed how much healthier we look? We don’t feel cold anymore either. You’re a woman. What would you understand?”
Squire Wang irritably lifted the wine pot and found it empty. He turned to a maid.
“Go fetch another pot.”
“Yes, Master.”
The maid left with the pot. She too wore one of Wushenzi’s Talismans.
Squire Wang had purchased one for every person in the household. Not out of kindness, of course. He simply feared that if all his servants died, no one would remain to attend him.
After some time, he looked outside impatiently. What was taking her so long?
“Chunmei! Dazhuang?”
He called twice, but no one answered.
“Always dragging your feet over the smallest task. You deserve to be eaten by that evil spirit!”
Squire Wang threw down his chopsticks and went to summon another servant. As he reached the door, however, the sound of chewing came from outside.
Anger rose in him. His servants were growing more unruly by the day. How dare they steal food under his own roof?
He flung open the door and strode out.
“You-”
The sight before him froze him in place.
A group of black little Fiends huddled together, chewing relentlessly.
They were eating the maid he had sent for wine.
At the sound of his voice, every little Fiend turned in unison and looked at Squire Wang.
“Aaaah!”
He fled inside and slammed the door.
“Huff… huff…”
Squire Wang gasped for breath. The maid had clearly carried a Talisman. Why had the little Fiends attacked her?
“Mas… ter…”
His wife’s faint voice came from ahead.
Squire Wang immediately grew angry. Why would she speak at a time like this?
“You-”
His rebuke died in his throat.
His wife stood rigidly before him. A pitch-black little Fiend clung to her neck, its teeth buried deep. Blood sprayed from the wound like a fountain.
“Mas… ter…”
She reached toward Squire Wang, begging him to save her.
Squire Wang screamed, yanked open the door, and fled outside-straight into a sea of little Fiends.
“Mas… ter…”
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The sounds of chewing filled the house as well.
The same scene unfolded throughout the county.
In one home, a man held up the Talisman he had bought from Wushenzi and trembled before a little Fiend.
“D-don’t come any closer! Th-this is a Talisman bestowed by an immortal master!”
The little Fiends had made no move at first. The instant they saw the Talisman, they flew into a frenzy. Every one of them charged and devoured the man completely.
His wife huddled on the heated brick bed with her son in her arms, utterly despairing.
The family was poor and had only been able to afford one Talisman. They had never imagined it would enrage the little Fiends instead.
After devouring the man, the little Fiends glanced at her.
She squeezed her eyes shut in terror.
The expected pain never came. When she finally opened her eyes, the little Fiends were gone.
She did not understand why they had spared her. The joy of surviving overwhelmed every other thought.
“Thank goodness, Changsheng! We’re alive!”
She turned excitedly toward her son.
He gave her a strange smile.
“S-son?”
Crunch!
Her body convulsed several times, then went completely still.
Elsewhere, inside the magistrate’s office, Eunuch Wu held a staff and shouted at Qiqi behind him.
“Run! Take the baby and find Magistrate Liu! I’ll hold them here. Hurry!”
Eunuch Wu roared and swung the staff in a wild flurry.
Nothing happened.
Just as he became certain he was about to be eaten, the little Fiends crawled around him and entered the office.
Screams soon rang through the compound.
“Huh?”
Eunuch Wu blinked. Then he picked up a broom, motioned for Qiqi to follow, and ventured inside.
Some servants and Senior Lord Liu had been bitten to death. Others, like Eunuch Wu, remained completely unharmed.
Most of the surviving servants shared one trait: they were young and unmarried.
“A-are you all right?” Eunuch Wu asked.
“W-we’re fine!” a constable stammered.
“Why… why didn’t we die?” Eunuch Wu asked.
The terrifying little Fiends would not even look at them.
“Because none of you committed that unconscionable act,” an elderly voice answered.
Everyone turned and recognized the man who had treated Old Master Liu: Physician Zhou.
“Physician Zhou, are you saying these children are…” Eunuch Wu covered his mouth in shock.
Physician Zhou sighed.
“Correct. These little Fiends are vengeful spirits formed from the resentment of the children in the river. They have come to punish those who failed them.”
Eunuch Wu and the others finally understood. Everyone who had died had participated in the sacrifices to the River God.
“So the survivors are either young people who never married or old bachelors?”
Several old bachelors stared at him.
That hurts, Eunuch.
“Does that mean we’re safe?” the constable asked.
“No.” Physician Zhou shook his head.
“These little Fiends are being controlled by someone. The true Terror is still to come.”