78: Chapter 78: The Festival of Sacrifice (Twenty-Three)

Qian Ye looked at his lost-in-memory expression and asked, "Then why did the Mountain Spirit's curse appear?"

"Heh, they wanted to have it all. They wanted health, they wanted wealth, and they didn't want to miss out on fame either."

"Without a shred of sincerity, are the gods really so easily fooled?"

"Retribution came very quickly, hahahaha."

The man recalled something and laughed maniacally.

"Deserved! It was well deserved!"

"But why did you have to drag my daughter into this? She's my only daughter!"

"They all deserve to die!"

"But they're already dead, aren't they?"

The man paused.

Seeming to remember something, he clutched his head, "Ahhh..."

"It hurts! It hurts!"

"What happened? What on earth happened?"

"They died? They died?"

"Hahahaha, yes, that's right, they've already received their retribution!"

"My daughter? Where is my daughter?"

The man seemed to have gone mad, his speech incoherent.

It was unclear how much trauma he had suffered; even after transforming into a Vicious Ghost, he couldn't remember exactly what had happened.

As he spoke, he transformed back into a mass of black mist and charged away recklessly.

"What did he mean by that?"

Tai You came to Qian Ye's side, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Where's my Baby?"

Qian Ye turned her head, but the boy was no longer by her side.

Her attention had been entirely on the village chief, so she hadn't noticed when he left.

Qian Ye's gaze turned icy, and she ground her teeth. "He'd better not let me catch him again!"

She hadn't expected him to actually run away.

Instantly, an ominous aura radiated from Qian Ye. Her newly acquired boyfriend had flown away just like that.

Tai You glanced at her and swallowed hard. Good grief, so this doll was actually alive.

Apart from its eyes moving, it could actually run too.

This... the future teammate's standards for choosing a partner were really not picky at all!

——

Night fell.

Tai You looked at the pitch-black forest in front of him, then looked up at Qian Ye, "Do we really have to go in?"

Meng Yu, who was nearby, kicked him inside. "You're a grown man, stop dawdling. You're as cowardly as a mouse."

"Aren't you embarrassed!"

"I am not!" Tai You's exasperated voice came from within the forest.

Such a loud yell, unsurprisingly, attracted another group of non-humans.

"Wuwuwu, Tai You, you damned fool, this is all your fault!"

"I hadn't even had a moment of peace, and you just had to go and stir up trouble."

The surroundings were full of wandering villagers, and Tai You's loud shouting had successfully attracted them to their side.

Meng Yu wiped her tears while killing the ghosts in front of her, cursing Tai You all the while.

When they arrived back at the spring, Meng Yu and Tai You sat on the ground, panting and looking disheveled.

Even then, Meng Yu didn't forget to kick him a few times, grumbling and swearing.

Looking at Qian Ye, she was holding her hong ling umbrella, looking elegant and noble.

If one ignored the surrounding environment, she looked just like a noble young lady.

Tai You looked at her, then looked at his own disheveled state, and gritted his teeth. Truly, comparing people only leads to frustration.

He stared at her umbrella, his eyes practically glowing.

He had seen that this umbrella emitted a faint red light in the dead of night, directly deterring those ghosts, who dared not approach her easily.

The spring was still emitting a faint white light.

Qian Ye looked closely at the spring again; the faint red color was no longer inside.

It seemed the effect of the little pill had worn off, though it was unknown how many villagers had absorbed the spring water containing the little pill.

She had discovered that not all the villagers wandered here every time; they came in batches.

This also meant that the spring water had some kind of effect, capable of suppressing something within these villagers.

"I'm really curious about what secrets those villagers are hiding!" Qian Ye stared at Tai You with a smile.

Tai You was still observing the spring with curiosity.

Suddenly feeling two scorching gazes, he turned around and saw Qian Ye's ambiguous smile and Meng Yu's teary eyes, causing his eyelids to twitch instantly.

"Y-you guys, just say whatever it is you need to say, don't look at me like that."

Tai You hugged himself, "I, I'm scared."

"Get lost!"

Without exception, he was treated to another kick from Meng Yu.

"Wuwuwu, you really shouldn't be named Meng Yu."

"Tell me, where are you cute at all?"

The answer to him was another kick.

"Hurry up and catch a villager for me!"

"Let's see what effect this spring water really has!"

Just as Tai You wanted to retort, he saw Qian Ye's ambiguous smile again.

Qian Ye raised an eyebrow. "What, do you want me to do it?"

Tai You stopped talking. He couldn't afford to mess with them, definitely couldn't.

This person looked like a porcelain doll, but her personality was not pleasant in the slightest.

Tai You went into the dense forest without complaint.

Those villagers were also strange; at night, they would never approach the spring, only wandering around it incessantly.

By the time Tai You returned, his already tattered clothes had several more holes in them.

They were all scratch marks, and he was dragging two villagers in his hands.

He looked at the two of them with eyes full of resentment. "I've caught the people."

"Then strip them." Qian Ye poked the villager with the tip of her umbrella; there was no reaction at all.

"Strip them?"

"This... isn't that inappropriate?"

"I told you... to strip them, so strip them! Stop talking nonsense!" He took another hit to the leg.

Tai You glared at her with a bitter expression. "Don't go too far!"

The next second, he squatted down and obediently started stripping the clothes.

Tai You twisted his body and violently tore off the outer coat.

Meng Yu teased, "You don't have to be in such a rush."

Furious, Tai You glared at her fiercely and continued to grunt while stripping the clothes.

This was definitely a dark history for him; he never imagined he would be bullied by two people today.

"Stop!"

Halfway through stripping the clothes, he was pushed aside by Qian Ye.

Qian Ye looked at the villager's entire chest, which was pitch black, with something wriggling inside.

The small, bulging movements looked very much like insects.

In an instant, it reminded her of the insects that "Zhang Yan" had summoned in the back mountain.

Tai You squeezed between the two of them. Qian Ye stepped aside, and he lunged forward.

His face was right in front of the chest. Oh no!

"Damn, what is this thing? It's so disgusting! And it's still moving."

Tai You instinctively closed his eyes.

The next second, huh, he didn't feel anything.

He opened his eyes and realized the back of his neck was being grabbed, and he was thrown aside.

"Goodness, what kind of ghost thing is this?"

"Continue, strip them."

Qian Ye pointed the tip of her umbrella at the other person.

This time, Tai You attacked the chest directly, and with a few quick movements, tore the clothes open. The exact same symptoms appeared on that chest.

"Why is there... ugh... it feels like... ugh... insects..." Tai You watched the wriggling body and couldn't help but dry heave.

It was too disgusting.

Meng Yu stared at him with an expression of disgust. "You're a grown man, yet you're so squeamish."

Qian Ye pointed at one of them. "Throw him in for me."

Tai You resigned himself to the task and threw the person in. The person sank to the bottom.

Seeing this, Qian Ye didn't say a word and jumped in directly.

Tai You was startled and looked at Meng Yu. "What do we do now?"

"Let's... wait for now."

Tai You nodded, and the two of them guarded the side of the spring.