Chapter 164
Chapter 164
The instant the foul-smelling bat flew away, two little mice burst from the snow beside the road.
They leaped three feet into the air and sank their teeth into Li Jinlong’s face.
Blood immediately began to flow.
Clutching his face, now missing two chunks of flesh, Li Jinlong howled in agony.
After biting him, the two little mice did not linger for even a moment. They raced after the fleeing bat.
Unfortunately, their legs were too short. No matter how hard they ran, the distance between them only grew.
Just as they squeaked anxiously, two foxes and four weasels came racing from the distance.
They took up the chase.
They could match the bat’s speed, but it flew too high. Even when the young foxes and weasels jumped, they could not reach it.
A cunning gleam entered one little fox’s eyes. It suddenly accelerated past the bat and ran straight toward a low hill a hundred yards ahead.
When the bat flew over the hill, more than ten little hedgehogs abruptly appeared.
With a rapid series of soft pops, they fired the spines from their backs at the bat overhead.
Their aim was not very good, nor were the spines particularly powerful.
But one still pierced the bat’s wing.
The bat tilted and began to fall in pain.
Before it could right itself and climb again, the waiting little fox sprang into the air and knocked it into the snow.
The large bat tried to resist, but the small animals swarmed over it and tore it to pieces in an instant.
Then each of them took a piece in its mouth and excitedly carried it home to report what had happened.
These little spirits were fiercely loyal. They deliberately saved an entire bat wing for the slower mice.
The two little mice did not stand on ceremony. Grunting with effort, they hoisted it up and ran home.
Since ancient times in the Divine Land, the southern slope of a mountain and the northern bank of a river have been considered yang, while the northern slope of a mountain and the southern bank of a river have been considered yin.
Homes for the living were generally built on the yang side, while graves were usually placed on the yin side.
Yet deep in the mountains of Dongyang County stood an unusual villa built on the yin side.
Untended graves surrounded it. Half-burned spirit money and paper effigies of people and horses drifted in the wind.
The villa’s architectural style was equally strange.
Its exterior walls were entirely black-the sort of black that inspired despair at a single glance.
Instead of traditional guardian statues such as stone lions, two ox-head sculptures stood at the main entrance.
Inside the villa, a man and a woman sat facing each other.
A brazier stood between them.
Several clay jars on top bubbled with a black, viscous substance.
The rising steam filled the entire room with a nauseating stench.
The man appeared to be around forty and was dressed normally enough.
Only his perpetually dark expression betrayed a cruel and ruthless nature.
The woman wore a scarlet robe. Her dry white hair looked as though it had not been washed in decades and hung in tangled strands around her head.
Whenever she looked up to speak, she revealed a deeply wrinkled face.
The man was Li Feng, Li Jinlong’s father.
The woman was Li Jiao, Li Jinlong’s younger aunt.
Li Jiao was actually younger than Li Feng-she was his little sister.
Li Feng felt a trace of fear as he watched Li Jiao’s face twitch from time to time.
“Little Sister, you planted the Ox Ghost ages ago. When will it finally kill that bastard who owns the ski resort?!”
“Damn it, I tried to talk things over nicely and only asked him for tens of thousands in protection money each month, but that bastard refused to show respect!”
“Maybe that’s for the best. Once he’s dead, the whole resort will belong to us!”
Though Li Jiao was a woman, her voice was extraordinarily coarse.
It was raspier than that of an old farmer who had smoked a pipe for decades.
“The Ox Ghost should have awakened long ago.”
“Could something have gone wrong?”
Li Jiao continued speaking as she shakily stirred the substance in a clay jar.
“Here’s what we’ll do.”
“Second Brother, return to the ski resort in three days and pour what’s in this jar over the Ox Ghost’s head.”
“Remember: run immediately afterward. No matter what you hear, don’t look back!”
Li Feng frowned at the foul-smelling clay jar.
“Little Sister, can you tell your Second Brother what exactly is in there?!”
Li Jiao gave a neurotic giggle, revealing broken, yellowed teeth still caked with scraps of food.
“Corpse oil!”