Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Outside the village office at Five Dragons Mountain.
On the stage, the five lifelike dragons had exploded into chunks of multicolored flesh.
The gongs and drums fell abruptly silent. The performance seemed to have ended just like that.
“Is that real meat?”
“What’s going on?”
“It has to be some kind of magic trick, right?”
Every teacher watching the show was stunned.
When the five dragons had flown through the air, it could still have been explained as an elaborate stunt using wires. But now…
They had actually been made of blood and flesh?
“Teachers, please enjoy the dragon meat.”
The old village chief suddenly rose and spoke in a sinister voice.
Two villagers in plain cloth clothing climbed onto the stage with empty platters. They gathered the scattered pieces of flesh, then carried them down.
An empty plate had been placed on every table. Now a piece of “dragon meat” was set upon each one.
“Eat. Go on, eat. Heaven births all things to nourish mankind; mankind repays Heaven with a single life… Eat and drink your fill.”
The old village chief’s voice had become hoarse and cold, utterly devoid of human warmth.
“You can eat this?”
Gao Shen frowned. The meat was dripping with blood. Was it not still raw?
But as he hesitated, loud chewing erupted all around him.
“Delicious! It’s delicious! Hahaha!”
A male teacher in glasses picked up a piece of “dragon meat” and began chewing. As he ate, blood streamed from his mouth, nose, and eyes.
“Don’t take it! It’s mine! Hahaha, so good!”
A quiet, elegantly dressed female teacher seized the “dragon meat” in both hands and tore into it like a wild beast. Fanaticism filled her eyes as blood drenched her white dress.
…
Every teacher in the courtyard seemed to lose their mind, leaving behind nothing but a ravenous hunger for food.
The villagers seated among them remained motionless like puppets. Their clothes faded before Gao Shen’s eyes, becoming old and ragged, while their faces gradually turned deathly pale.
“Something’s wrong…”
The sight made Gao Shen’s skin crawl. Panic rose inside him.
Anomalies had long since ceased to be some unbelievable rumor. Only one thought entered his mind.
They had run into one!
“Eat. Why aren’t you eating?”
A dry, rigid voice suddenly sounded.
Gao Shen looked back, screamed, and tumbled to the ground. He tried to flee, but his legs had gone weak.
The old village chief who had been sitting beside him was shedding great chunks of rotten flesh. Pus streamed from his body, and both eyeballs were nearly falling from their sockets as he stared straight at Gao Shen.
The table full of delicacies had transformed as well. The dishes now held nothing but maggots, stones, and leaves!
“An anomaly! Help! Someone help me!”
Gao Shen nearly wet himself.
The old village chief slowly raised his head and looked at Qin Shiyu.
She remained seated and composed.
“A guest has the freedom to eat or refuse. That is proper hospitality.”
Her palm grew warm as the Sovereign Seal, representing rules and authority, activated.
In truth, the only reason Gao Shen had not lost his mind like the other teachers was that he sat close to her and was partially sheltered from the village’s anomalous influence.
The old village chief, his body covered in rotten flesh, seemed to fall silent for a moment.
“Yes… Guests must be treated with courtesy. If an honored guest does not wish to eat, then she need not eat.”
Gao Shen, still sprawled on the ground, stared in amazement. Then understanding struck him.
“An anomaly wielder… Dean Qin, you’re an anomaly wielder!”
He scrambled excitedly to Qin Shiyu’s feet, grabbed the edge of the table, and hauled himself upright.
“Dean Qin… save me! Please save me!”
His voice was almost a sob.
Qin Shiyu frowned. She did not particularly want to protect Gao Shen, but neither did she want him disrupting her concentration.
“Sit down. Stay at the table.”
Gao Shen hurriedly sat beside her, his entire body rigid.
“If our honored guests will not eat, then please have some tea.”
The old village chief rose in person and picked up a tarnished copper kettle to pour tea for Qin Shiyu and Gao Shen.
The water flowing from the kettle was foul, black, and rank with blood. It was almost enough to make them vomit.
Gao Shen’s face turned white. He looked pleadingly at Qin Shiyu.
Cold sweat now dampened her temples as well. She reached out, touched the teacup, and said,
“The tea has gone cold. Could you warm it?”
The flesh on the old village chief’s face twitched, then fell away in large pieces. He seemed to be growing angry.
He turned, seized a portly male teacher nearby, and made warm blood burst from the man’s body until it filled the kettle.
Then he poured for them again. This time, the tea was indeed warm-and reeked of blood.
“Drink.”
The old village chief’s command was terse.
Qin Shiyu considered her options, secretly assessing the strength of the anomalies around her.
The villagers were merely minor anomalies and posed little threat. Even the old village chief was only S-minus-class.
But the entire village formed an anomaly domain that naturally suppressed any anomaly wielder who entered. Although Qin Shiyu was an S-class anomaly wielder, she now estimated her chances of success at only fifty percent.
She had no idea what Li Que and Lin Xiaoyu were doing.
Anxiety gnawed at her. Looking at the teachers around her, she knew perfectly well that they would all die if this continued.
“Not all the guests have arrived. How can the banquet begin?”
Her clear voice suddenly carried a force that brooked neither refusal nor doubt.
“I will find my companions first. The banquet cannot begin until everyone is present. That is the rule!”
She emphasized the final word. The old village chief’s body began to tremble as he fought desperately against some unseen force.
Gao Shen stared in utter amazement. Qin Shiyu could no longer be described merely as a commanding beauty. She was an inviolable queen!
“Find them… Yes… they should be found…”
The old village chief finally forced out the words.
A bead of sweat rolled from the tip of Qin Shiyu’s nose. She silently sighed in relief.
She had barely suppressed him!
After drawing a deep breath, she rose and walked out of the village office.
Gao Shen hurried after her, terrified of being left behind.
The old village chief followed step for step like a walking corpse.
Every villager at the banquet turned their head toward Qin Shiyu and rose in unison, their expressions vacant.
The teachers who had been devouring the food collapsed across the tables like puppets with their strings cut. Every one of them lost consciousness.
All the villagers silently followed Qin Shiyu. Her steps immediately grew heavier, and sweat continued dripping from the tip of her nose.
In this way, she led a whole villageful of anomalous entities out of the village office. Behind her, Gao Shen stared at the dense crowd of villagers, his legs trembling so badly he could hardly stand. He shook all over, unable to utter a word.
Outside the village entrance-
“Humans cannot defeat Heaven! Only a god can! The divine lamps are lit, and dawn is coming! Hahahaha! The path to life is ahead! Just ahead!”
The crazed, limping man suddenly appeared in front of them. Leaning on his crutch, he bounded away in a certain direction.
Qin Shiyu’s heart stirred. She hurried after him.
…
Meanwhile, inside the old wooden house at the end of the flagstone road, beneath the Five Dragons banner.
“Now we have some light.”
Li Que lit the two candles on the shrine and smiled.
He had not expected Lin Xiaoyu’s home to lack electricity. After searching everywhere, these two candles were the only source of light he could find.
Their flames cast a dim yellow glow. The long-neglected painting of the Five Dragons on the wall seemed to come alive.
The dragons’ eyes appeared to have been painted with a special pigment. Under the candlelight, they gradually brightened, as though the dragons were opening their eyes.
There seemed to be anger in all five pairs of eyes.
“In the past, only someone specially appointed was allowed to light these candles. I wasn’t worthy,” Lin Xiaoyu said with her head lowered, avoiding the dragons’ gaze.
Li Que remained perfectly calm. He knew some places still clung to feudal nonsense-girls forbidden from eating at the table or visiting ancestral graves, and other ridiculous rules.
But this was the modern age. Such customs belonged in the trash alongside foot binding.
“You’re the only descendant of this household. If you aren’t qualified to light them, who is?”
Li Que calmly glanced at the painting.
“Besides, they’re nothing but five imaginary creatures. Burning incense for them is you showing them respect.”
As his words fell, the candles on the shrine seemed to burn brighter. The five dragons’ eyes dimmed, as though they had been scorched!
“I’ll look for some firewood and see if I can start a fire. Wait here.”
Li Que turned and left the main hall.
“Sir…”
Lin Xiaoyu wanted to say something, but he was already gone.
She drew a deep breath, bit her lip, and raised her eyes to the painting.
“Sir lit the lamps for me and granted me divine authority… so today, I will become a god!”
For the first time, determination and fearlessness erupted from this quiet girl.
She raised her wrist. The red cord around its pale skin seemed to transform into a scarlet dragon.
Five dragon shadows appeared across the painting.
Then…
They lowered their heads and bowed.
Their eyes appeared scorched. Above their heads, the two candles had become two blazing suns!
“We… were blind…”
“Please forgive us…”
Faint draconic voices rumbled through the room.
…