Chapter 18

Chapter 18

When Liu Ye’s eyes lit up, it didn’t matter to him, but it scared the living daylights out of the Fiends behind him. What had he set his sights on now?

They followed his gaze but didn’t see anything unusual. There was only their Mother Tree… The Mother Tree?!

“Big brother! Not that! Anything but that!”

The Fiends lunged at Liu Ye all at once, clinging to him for dear life.

They had died on that tree; if the tree was gone, they would cease to exist too!

“Relax, I’m not doing anything extreme. I’m just going to pluck some leaves to use as greens.”

As Liu Ye spoke, he continued walking forward, carrying the cluster of Fiends with him.

The Fiends were horrified to find that Liu Ye’s strength was truly monstrous. He marched forward as if their combined weight was nothing at all.

“It’s no use, we can’t hold him back. Fight him!” The Burly Man had just finished speaking when a sudden burst of white light erupted from Liu Ye’s body. In an instant, they were all sent flying.

Feeling much lighter, Liu Ye strode over to the Willow Tree in the center and scrambled up it in a few quick motions.

Half an hour later, the group of Fiends knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the Mother Tree, which now looked as if it had been gnawed on by a pack of dogs.

He had stripped it clean. The entire tree was nothing more than a bare stump.

“Hey, what’s with the long faces? Trees like this need a regular pruning. They’ll grow back faster this way,” Liu Ye said, cradling a massive bundle of branches.

Of course, he had also taken the opportunity to chop some firewood.

The Fiends didn’t feel even slightly comforted. They could feel the Fiendish energy within their bodies slowly dissipating.

“Alright, stop dazing off and get to work. The wedding starts tonight!” Liu Ye urged.

What else could the Fiends do? They could only stand up and start preparing the food. Since the leaves had already been plucked, they couldn’t let them go to waste.

Liu Ye used the leaves to whip up a stir-fried vegetable dish.

The others were busy assisting. While Baolong was helping to clean the dog, he suddenly discovered a foreign object in its stomach. He pulled it out to find a very crude Wooden Hairpin and a slip of paper.

Baolong’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately tucked the two items away.

These items, like the book from before, were likely special quest items. Normally, they should have been very difficult to obtain, but…

Baolong felt incredibly lucky.

He first took out the slip of paper. On it, a line of text was written in crooked handwriting.

“Lin Lang, my parents have sold me to the Zhang Family. They aren’t bringing me there to… Please, I beg you to save me. I hope you can meet me at the dog hole by the back gate in three days. Xiaoqian.”

Seeing this information, Baolong recalled that when the family members were discussing Xiaoqian earlier, they had mentioned this Lin Lang.

Lin Lang’s family were outsiders; they had only settled in the village during his grandfather’s generation.

Lin Lang had been bright and handsome since childhood, one of the most promising youths in the village.

He and Fang Xiaoqian were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Everyone had assumed they would eventually marry.

But unexpectedly, Fang Xiaoqian was sold to the Zhang Family by her parents, and her family moved away from the village shortly after.

Lin Lang had also vanished.

“It seems Lin Lang’s disappearance is related to this.”

With that thought, he took out the letter he had found earlier. Originally, he had assumed that Lin Lang had been killed by the Zhang Family while trying to rescue Fang Xiaoqian.

However, the contents of the letter left him utterly shocked.

The letter was filled with flowery, scholarly language, but the gist of it was that Lin Lang had informed on Fang Xiaoqian’s plan to escape. He had used her secret as leverage to get the Zhang Family to fund his studies.

No wonder the hairpin had been discarded. It was a token of their affection that Fang Xiaoqian should have cherished, yet it ended up in a dog’s stomach. This was why!
After looking through everything, Baolong couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

The events that had transpired in Liuxi Village seemed to revolve entirely around the tragic life of Fang Xiaoqian. If that was the case, why was the scenario titled “Cicada”?

On the other side of the estate, John was also puzzled. He had noticed the same discrepancy.

Generally speaking, the names of missions in the Fiendish World were closely related to their content.

This mission was titled “Cicada.” Although they had obtained a Cicada Jade Pendant during their first night’s stay, it didn’t seem significant enough to serve as the title for the entire scenario.

“Yuelang…”

A delicate voice drifted from behind him. John’s expression stiffened for a moment before he turned around with a practiced smile.

“Fumei.”

A young Female Fiend stood behind him. Her skin was a mottled purple-blue, a long tongue lolled out of her mouth, and a deep ligature mark ringed her neck.

Her appearance was terrifying. She was the young miss of the manor; the moment she saw John, she had become infatuated with him and insisted on claiming him for herself.

“Yuelang, what are you thinking about?”

The Female Fiend wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind. The force of her embrace made John’s bones creak and groan.

Despite the physical strain, John’s expression didn’t waver. He maintained a gentle smile and said, “I was thinking about today’s wedding. By the way, Fumei, why haven’t I seen your brother yet?”

After entering the manor, he had used his relationship with Fumei to scout the premises. He discovered that there was no room assigned to the Eldest Son of the Zhang Family.

The room that should have belonged to the eldest son was currently occupied by Steward Wang.

Because the aura emanating from that room was one of absolute Terror, John hadn’t dared to venture inside.

“My brother… Hehe… You’ll see him when the time is right.”

As she spoke, Fumei’s long tongue coiled around John’s neck, suddenly making him feel as though he were suffocating.

“Yuelang, don’t worry about all that. Let’s go back to our room, okay?”

John had already started to reach for the Oil Lamp hidden in his clothes, but he suddenly remembered Liu Ye’s way of handling things.

After a moment’s thought, he continued in an affectionate tone, “Fumei, I want to be with you forever too, but… I can’t.”

“Why? Why?! WHY?!”

Fumei suddenly flew into a rage. Bloody tears streamed from her eyes as she shrieked at John.

“I love you so much! Why are you rejecting me?! Why?!”

In that instant, John felt as if his body were about to be crushed. He quickly blurted out, “It’s not that I don’t want to, but my life is no longer in my own hands.”

John kept his explanation vague, stating only that his life was out of his control without specifying the exact danger he faced.

Hearing this, Fumei grew even more furious.

“That old bag of bones! I won’t let him hurt you!”

John’s heart hammered against his ribs.

*So that’s how it is!*

Meanwhile, Liu Ye and Baolong emerged from the kitchen.

The Chef had told them they were no longer needed there and suggested they go help someone else.

In truth, the ghosts had employed a classic tactic: *Sacrifice the neighbor to save oneself.* They basically told the duo: “Stop tormenting us and go bother someone else.”

“Where are we going now?” Baolong asked.

“Let’s go check out the Bride’s room.”

“Huh?”

Baolong looked at Liu Ye in shock. He hadn’t realized Liu Ye was that kind of person!