Chapter 1071: Chapter 738: Stealing Ghost
In less than half a second, Yang Xiao snapped back to reality, politely greeting the old village chief, as if nothing had happened the previous night.
The old village chief pursed his lips, revealing a few teeth stained yellowish-black by his smoking pipe, and responded with a chuckle, asking Yang Xiao if he slept well and whether he was adapting to the local customs.
Soon, Yang Xiao was taken to the small square in the village center. Upon reaching it, he realized Tong Han and the others were already waiting, but Chai Yong was conspicuously absent.
Shortly, a villager came running urgently, reporting to the old village chief that Chai Yong had locked himself in his room and refused to open the door or respond, despite their knocking. Listening at the door, the room inside was silent.
Upon hearing this, the old village chief gathered Yang Xiao and the group of four, accompanied by many villagers, and hurried to Chai Yong’s dwelling. After continuously calling out to no avail, the old village chief ordered them to break down the door.
As everyone stormed inside, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but gasp in shock. Chai Yong was lying on the bed, already lifeless. His eyes were wide open, his body stiff, with no visible injuries, and his death mirrored last night’s village chief exactly!
"Dead..." Lina’s face turned pale. Chai Yong’s bizarre death left her increasingly uneasy, as her strength was lesser than his.
Yang Xiao turned to examine the room; the doors and windows showed no signs of forced entry, and the bolt was still in place. Chai Yong wasn’t dumb; he wouldn’t dare sleep after returning last night, meaning he was killed while awake.
How did the ghost even manage it?
What kind of power is this?
Fighting fire with fire?
Numerous speculations emerged in Yang Xiao’s mind; could it be that whoever kills a villager must pay with their life in the same manner that night?
This was too bizarre...
Because of Chai Yong’s death, the entire morning, Yang Xiao and the others did nothing but attend a simple funeral prepared for him. At the old village chief’s request, the villagers quickly brought an old coffin and hastily buried Chai Yong. While arranging his burial, Yang Xiao took the opportunity to retrieve the phone from his pocket.
During this process, Yang Xiao noticed the villagers were extremely skilled at this; each person at the funeral efficiently played their role without need for direction, rivaling a professional team.
Once this was done, it was already noon. Yang Xiao reunited with the remaining three, and after recounting the previous night’s events to Cen Fengyang and Lina, they were equally shocked.
Everyone agreed that Chai Yong’s death was definitely related to him killing the old village chief, and seemingly, no villager could be truly killed unless they dealt with the root cause: the Source Ghost.
These villagers are not human either but puppets controlled by an eerie force, perhaps unaware that they are already dead.
"Daytime has gotten shorter; it’s been only a little over two hours since dawn." Tong Han looked up at the sky, calculating the time, while noticing the villagers had already had lunch.
"Daylight is getting shorter; yesterday when we arrived, the morning lasted three hours, meaning a total of nearly six hours during the day. Now it’s reduced to four hours. At this rate, there will be only two hours tomorrow, and the day after..." Yang Xiao paused, "There won’t be a day after. I suspect all daylight will disappear, severing the link between this world and the real one, and then we won’t be able to return."
"What should we do?" Lina asked. "Should we go find the village chief now and insist we want to go home?"
"It’s not time yet; we’ll wait a little longer. It’s more complicated than I anticipated. These guys are evolving, and the ghost can learn new things from the trapped newcomers. Mentioning leaving abruptly may trigger these villagers." This was Yang Xiao’s biggest concern right now.
In the afternoon, per usual, the village chief arranged for Yang Xiao and the group to tour the village. Yang Xiao used this chance to observe the village more closely, secretly jotting down their travel routes.
Dusk fell faster than expected. Yang Xiao and the others returned separately to their residences. Just as Yang Xiao wetted his finger to attempt drawing the village map on the table, the discreet patter of footsteps emerged outside.
Tonight’s temptation arrived at his doorstep.
This time, no temptress came, but Professor Yuan instead. Professor Yuan lowered his voice through the gap in the door, revealing a big secret to Yang Xiao, claiming he had discovered a tomb in the village accidentally. The tomb contained many gold and silver treasures; they were short-handed and couldn’t carry them away, hoping to enlist Yang Xiao to join them.
However, he added it couldn’t be done now; they’d need to wait two more days because then the villagers would be celebrating a festival, during which guards would be most lax.
According to Professor Yuan’s plan, they would act in tandem on the festival day, ensuring they could haul all those treasures out, making everyone wealthy.
When seduction failed, they resorted to monetary temptation. Yang Xiao knew Professor Yuan was painting him a picture, hoping to keep them settled there, yet he inadvertently revealed something; two days later, Ten Thousand Immortals Village would hold a festival, which the old village chief or the other villagers had never mentioned.
Yang Xiao had no need to guess; he knew the main characters of this so-called festival were themselves. The festival would celebrate successfully binding them, heralding new members for Ten Thousand Immortals Village.
Seeing Yang Xiao remained silent and did not open the door, Professor Yuan lingered for a while before leaving, furious.
Once assured he wouldn’t return, Yang Xiao took out the Soul-Capturing Mirror and went to Tong Han’s quarters. Tong Han had also sent away the person tempting her, one from Professor Yuan’s team, with a similar proposal, albeit with an extra promise of a high commission.
