Chapter 102: Chapter 102: The Bizarre Village

「One day later.」

In the morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the gate to the temporary interrogation courtyard was pushed open. Leng Qianhu strode in quickly. He glanced at the two squad leaders guarding the interrogation room, who gestured toward the main building. He immediately walked to the front of the main building, cupped his hands in respect, and said, "Daoist Changqing."

Inside, Wang Ping immediately put away Puppet Zi Hong and dismissed the two enchanted soldiers. He stood up, cast a Cleansing Spell on himself, then pushed open the door. He met Leng Qianhu and asked, "Is there good news?"

"Not exactly good news. After a full night of sorting through it, we’ve pinpointed a place in Cai Xin’s memories called Xia Bian Village." Leng Qianhu took a file half a finger thick from his storage pouch and handed it to Wang Ping.

As Wang Ping took the file, Leng Qianhu asked, "I wonder if this place I’ve found overlaps with the intelligence you’ve gathered, Daoist Changqing?"

A very clever question.

"The assassin who tried to kill me yesterday was from Xia Bian Village," Wang Ping admitted without concealment.

"That settles it. Shall we move out now?"

A smile spread across Leng Qianhu’s face.

Just then, Ah Jiu also entered the courtyard. He cupped his fist to Wang Ping in a salute and said, "None of the monitoring points have detected Zhang Jinglong’s aura. Xuanhe Daoist speculates that he has hidden himself deep in the mountains."

"So he can’t be found, then..." Leng Qianhu’s tone was unsurprised. "I was prepared for this. I’d be more surprised if you actually managed to find him."

Ah Jiu pretended not to hear Leng Feng’s mockery and continued his report. "Zhang Jinglong left the city once, heading south. I rode hard through the night to trace his movements, which led all the way to Xia Bian Village, eighty li away. The village gave me a dangerous feeling, so I didn’t go in to investigate."

CLAP!

Leng Qianhu clapped his hands. "Everything lines up. We can set off..."

"We don’t need too many people. Ah Jiu, go report to Daoist Wen Yang. I’ll send a distress signal if necessary." Wang Ping made his decision. He first instructed Ah Jiu, then turned to Leng Qianhu and said, "The two of us will be enough."

"My thoughts exactly. Who knows, Zhang Jinglong might be in Xia Bian Village right now!"

Wang Ping nodded. He first took out some Copper Coins to perform two divinations. Only then did he project his identity token into the sky. Wrapping himself in True Essence, he flew south, away from the city. Leng Qianhu followed close behind, flying through the air on Wang Ping’s tiger skin.

Ah Jiu could only watch with a face full of envy.

「Half an hour later...」

Following the memories of Chen Jushu from the Soul Searching Technique, Wang Ping spotted a village built along a high slope. A stream flowed through its center, and it was surrounded by vast stretches of rice paddies. In some of the paddies, old farmers were still busy at work.

"Why have we stopped?" Leng Qianhu asked, looking at Wang Ping, who had abruptly halted and concealed himself within the clouds.

"Don’t you find this village odd?"

"Odd in what way?"

Wang Ping didn’t speak. Yu Lian slithered out of his sleeve, returning to her original length and coiling around his body. She spoke in a human voice, "The overwhelming malice has stained the entire sky blood-red."

Hearing this, Leng Feng looked down at the village. The thought that this could be where the Corpse Soldiers were stored made its current peaceful appearance seem truly bizarre. He formed a hand seal for a Spell to enhance his spiritual perception...

The next moment, his expression turned ugly. In the world of Spiritual Energy, the very space in this area seemed to be seeping blood. The ground looked as if it were covered in lava, and ashen dust filled the air everywhere.

"A fire spirit? How can it be a fire spirit?" Leng Feng muttered under his breath.

"It’s not a fire spirit. It’s an artificially created monster, but we don’t know where it is," Yu Lian cautioned.

Wang Ping recalled the frenzied bonfire party from Chen Jushu’s memories. He said, "In the assassin’s memory, something special happens at night, but the memory is very vague. Perhaps we should wait until nightfall."

"Very well."

Having made their decision, the two of them concealed their forms and began to meditate among the clouds.

Four hours later, a passing father and son were traveling near the village. After exchanging a few words with a villager, they were politely invited into a house and were never seen again.

Another four hours passed, and an old woman met the same fate. By now, the sky had begun to dim.

Leng Qianhu frowned. "I can’t believe I never discovered this village. It’s been existing brazenly right under my nose."

Wang Ping smiled and consoled him, "There are many things in this world that are beyond human ability."

"I’ve hated that saying since I was a child!"

"The truth is often unpleasant."

During their brief exchange, the villagers who had been farming in the fields returned one after another. They all gathered in the small square at the center of the village and methodically began building a pyre more than ten feet tall. Then, in front of the pyre, they used crushed stones to build a simple sacrificial altar.

Watching the busy villagers in the center of the village, Wang Ping said, "Have you noticed? It seems no one in this village lit a fire to cook lunch. Also, I don’t see a single child."

As they spoke, the villagers placed a young woman in a long blue dress on the altar. She was unconscious. The villagers then began to pray devoutly around the altar. Before long, the unconscious woman opened her eyes. She rose into a kneeling position on the altar and began to pray along with the villagers.

The bizarre scene made Wang Ping’s scalp tingle. Leng Qianhu, beside him, felt much the same.

They prayed until the sky was completely dark. Then, they jubilantly lit the pyre they had built earlier. As the flames soared into the sky, they danced and gestured wildly around the fire with joy.

At that moment, the three people who had been invited into the village during the day were brought out to the village square. The three of them were screaming desperately, but the villagers continued to dance jubilantly. A portion of the villagers brought out prepared dishes of chicken, duck, and fish, and they warmly beckoned the three "guests" to eat.

The three didn’t dare take a single bite, but the villagers continued their enthusiastic invitations. Meanwhile, the dancing by the bonfire grew more and more passionate, and the roaring flames grew stronger and stronger, eventually igniting a rune array carved into the village square.

"It’s the first day’s sacrifice!"

Leng Qianhu recognized the array at a glance. Just as the words left his mouth, the dancing villagers’ skin began to peel back, revealing scorched flesh and blood underneath. In the firelight, blood blisters oozed, creating a sight that was beyond bizarre and terrifying. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The three ’guests’ were trembling with fear. The cheers suddenly became grating and harsh. Shoved along by a mob of horrifying ’villagers’, the three were pushed toward the blazing bonfire.

At this moment, on the altar, the beautiful young woman’s face began to crack, and a substance like molten lava flowed from the fissures.

Seeing this, Wang Ping felt a chill run up the back of his neck...

"They deserve to die! I can’t stand this anymore..."

Leng Feng roared in anger. Two Standard Long Sabers, refined with Demon Blood and assimilated by him, appeared at his side. With a flip of his body, he charged down to attack.

Wang Ping watched from the side, stunned. ’I really didn’t take this guy for such a hot-blooded hero!’

"Aren’t you going down?" Yu Lian asked.

"Let’s observe first. This whole place is suffused with strangeness." Wang Ping slapped his storage pouch and summoned seven Sword Talismans, but he did not immediately go down to help.