Yan Lin swayed dizzily, asking in a daze, “What’s going on? What happened?”
“We’ve come out of the illusion realm,” Chen Fuzhou surveyed their surroundings.
“Why was that illusion realm so bizarre?” Jinshu pouted, muttering as she stood up.
Li Xingdao held his sword in his arms, looking overjoyed as if he had regained something precious.
The group found themselves in the courtyard of the ancestral hall, which had been a den of filth, but everything was vastly different from before they had lost consciousness.
Most of those involved in the ancestral hall affairs, including Yang Dafu, were suspended from the eaves of the hall. Their faces were filled with terror, their hands tightly bound by several blood threads. Those who couldn’t be hung were piled haphazardly in a corner, their hands and feet similarly bound by blood threads.
As soon as Yang Dafu saw Jinshu and the others, who had been unconscious, stand up, he immediately acted as if he had found a savior. His legs kicked wildly in the air, causing his entire body to lose balance. The layers of fat on his face slapped against each other, splattering droplets of sweat.
“Taoist master, please save me! Taoist master!”
The piercing voice made “A Cui” frown. She stood in the center of the courtyard, admiring her “handiwork” with great satisfaction. Hearing Yang Dafu’s cries, she gently raised her hand.
“Ah!” Yang Dafu let out an even sharper, short scream before falling silent as if his throat had been squeezed. Jinshu glanced sideways and saw his veins bulging, eyes protruding, and face contorted in a ghastly expression. The red glow from the lanterns illuminated his face, making his eye sockets appear bloodshot.
Jinshu, after all, was a youth raised under the red flag and had never witnessed such a scene firsthand. She couldn’t help but take two steps back in fright. Yan Lin stepped forward, shielding her behind him, and asked firmly, “Who are you, really? What is your purpose in doing all this?”
“A Cui’s” voice was chilling: “Hmph. I thought you’d only emerge from the illusion realm after I’d dealt with these fools. I didn’t expect you to come out so quickly. It seems you Sect disciples have some real skill.”
She then sneered twice: “But you’re too young. Even if all of you joined forces, you wouldn’t be my match. However, you should consider yourselves lucky. My purpose in entering this world is only to seek revenge. I have no intention of troubling a few youngsters like you. If you leave this place now, I’ll spare you.”
Hearing this, the group exchanged glances and made their decision. Yan Lin spoke up: “The Xuanqing Sect receives offerings from the people, so naturally, we must protect this land with all our hearts. I’m sorry, but today we must stand against you.”
“A Cui” let out two strange cries. Her pupils, fixed intently on the group, suddenly transformed into vertical slits like a cat’s. Everyone felt their hairs stand on end and instinctively summoned their magical instruments, holding them defensively in front of them.
“Protect? Don’t you find it laughable yourselves? Since you’ve broken the illusion realm, you must already know what happened in this Yanjian Village. How can you have the nerve to claim you’ve protected this land?” “A Cui’s” questioning voice grew louder.
Jinshu, initially puzzled, connected “A Cui’s” words with the events in the illusion realm and asked in astonishment, “Could it really be as I guessed?”
“A Cui” turned her head, glaring with hatred at the group of people hanging from the eaves. “If not for these people, who killed so many innocent girls in the name of so-called carrying on the family line, I would never have been born. I am the embodiment of these wronged souls, gathered together. Today, I have come to seek revenge on these people. Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor. This is all the retribution of karma. Everything these people have done must be repaid in blood today!”
For a moment, everyone was speechless. After a moment of thought, Bu Quegan replied apologetically, “The events that occurred in Yanjian Village are the result of our Xuanqing Sect’s negligence, which allowed such a grave mistake to happen. These evildoers will face their own retribution. If you kill them, the immense karmic burden you would carry might prevent the souls of those girls who make up your being from ever achieving reincarnation!”
“A Cui” shouted, “Do you think I don’t know the price of killing? But if we do not take revenge, even if you try to send these wronged souls to be reborn, they will never leave this place. Their hatred is like drops of spring water—when gathered together, it becomes a raging storm, determined to wash away all sin!”
“In the illusion realm, you played the role of Ah Hua, didn’t you? You should understand. Ah Hua was born into such a family—a mother who showed favoritism, mediocre brothers, and a household willing to sell their own daughter for the sake of survival. Poor Ah Hua married, thinking that her husband’s wealthy family would finally allow her to live a good life. Who could have imagined that her first child would be a daughter—an unwanted daughter, treated as nothing but a burden?”
“From that day on, Ah Hua’s brief year of happiness came to an end. She went from being a burden in her own family to a burden in her husband’s family. When her child was only a few months old, her husband one day said he would take the child out for a stroll. Ah Hua was overjoyed, thinking her husband had finally accepted their child. She quietly followed behind, hoping to watch the father and daughter together. But who could have imagined that such a cold-hearted man, desperate for a son, could be so cruel as to willingly sacrifice his own daughter? Ah Hua watched as her young child was thrown into a well, and from that day on, she went mad. Even after she lost her mind, these people refused to let her go. Fearing she might reveal the truth to the unsuspecting villagers, they locked her in the woodshed, treating her like livestock, feeding her day after day!”
“Do you think I am seeking revenge only for these young children? Over the past century, how many women in Yanjian Village have suffered in different ways? This village is built upon the bones of countless ‘Ah Huas’!”
“A Cui’s” expression was frenzied, her chilling laughter seeming to envelop all of Yanjian Village. Originally, only a few dozen villagers—those who followed Yang Dafu’s lead and had failed to produce sons—were present tonight. But as her laughter grew increasingly mad, the entire village seemed to switch on. One by one, lights began to flicker on, and the sound of chaotic footsteps drew closer to the ancestral hall.
“What should we do?” Jinshu seized the opportunity to whisper to the others.
Bu Quegan’s voice was urgent. “This demon was born from the accumulated grudges of so many people. Her magical power is immense, and as long as they cannot take revenge, their resentment will continue to grow, and her power will only increase. The few of us combined are no match for her. I fear we wouldn’t last five minutes in her hands.”
“Moreover…” Yan Lin, who always acted with swift decisiveness, couldn’t help but hesitate now, yet she still voiced the words she had kept bottled up inside: “I… I don’t want to stop her from seeking revenge.”
Strangely, after she spoke these words, not a single person expressed opposition.
They were all young, and having spent years secluded in the Sect cultivating, they had inevitably developed some naive, righteous indignation against evil. Everything they had encountered earlier in the illusion realm, coupled with “A Cui’s” resentful words, had planted a seed of hesitation in their hearts.
Jinshu said, “‘A Cui’ said she wouldn’t harm the innocent. There are still so many unaware people in this village. Why don’t we focus our efforts on protecting them instead? If anyone asks, we can just say our cultivation level isn’t high enough to defeat her!”
Li Xingdao had witnessed many injustices before becoming a disciple and was surprisingly the most mature among them. He spoke calmly, “Even though she said that, she was born from a grudge. It’s hard to avoid emotional turmoil and losing control in the end. By then, how could she remember the promise she made? She might very well slaughter the entire village in a frenzy.”
As soon as his words fell, “A Cui” stopped laughing. Her current state was indeed somewhat deranged, just as Li Xingdao had described. She listened intently to the commotion outside the ancestral hall and laughed, “Perfect. Tonight, everyone has gathered here. I want everyone to know about the filthy deeds you’ve committed.”
Those hanging in the ancestral hall widened their eyes in shock. Yang Dafu struggled, wanting to say something, but everything was swallowed back into his stomach.
With a wave of “A Cui’s” hand, the two large doors swung open with a loud “bang.” The villagers gathered outside grew restless at the sight of the scene inside the ancestral hall.
“A Cui” plucked a leaf dancing in the air. As her fingertips twisted it, the leaf shattered into fragments and scattered. Many people, seeing their own relatives either hanging from the eaves or lying on the ground, hurriedly tried to squeeze into the courtyard. “A Cui” raised her hand again, and a transparent, rippling barrier rose at the courtyard gate, blocking both the villagers’ bodies and their voices.
“I’ll give you a chance. Those who voluntarily confess what they’ve done will die more easily,” “A Cui” said, turning to face the group.
The invisible restraint on Yang Dafu’s mouth finally vanished. He glanced around at his accomplices. These people, who usually obeyed his commands and cowered before him, now mostly wore expressions of hatred and regret. Yang Dafu knew this hatred was directed at him—they resented him for leading them down this crooked path, which had brought them to such an end.
Yang Dafu had always been sinister and ruthless. Seeing that his former lackeys were clearly about to betray him and gauging the expressions of Jinshu and the others, he concluded that these righteous disciples probably had no intention of saving him. He immediately decided that even if he died, he would drag these lackeys down with him.
Gritting his teeth, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “I’ll talk! I’ll say everything! All of this is my fault. I admit to all of it!”
“It was I who listened to that Li Dao’s nonsense and held this ritual, it was I who harmed those young girls. I shouldn’t have thrown them into the well, I shouldn’t have deceived the villagers. But I was also deceived by that man surnamed Li! I did all this for the sake of our village’s incense offerings and lineage! Though I did profit from it, that was just a momentary lapse of judgment!”
“I truly know my wrongs now. If I could start over, I would surely drive that man surnamed Li out of the village with clubs!”
Jinshu had anticipated that Yang Dafu would be cowardly and cling to life, so she wasn’t surprised by his words. She looked outside the courtyard—the villagers were hearing such secrets for the first time, their expressions varied. Meanwhile, “A Cui’s” face grew eerily calm upon hearing this.
Bu Quegan’s heart pounded nervously as he whispered, “Do you think she’ll make it quick for them as she said she would?”
Jinshu, having long decided not to save those people, had already relaxed her guard. Leaning lazily against the side with her magical instrument in her arms, she watched the scene in the courtyard like a spectator and replied, “Who knows? Villains’ thought processes are usually different from ordinary people’s.”
Yan Lin said, “Regardless, if she intends to harm innocent people, we must do everything in our power to stop her. This whole situation arose because we of the Xuanqing Sect failed in our duties. We absolutely cannot allow an even greater tragedy to unfold.”
“A Cui” said, “Very well. Since you have confessed, let us now settle your crimes one by one. First count: you harmed young children.”
Yang Dafu let out a sharp “Ah!” Everyone focused their gaze and saw a bloody wound appear on his body, running from his chest all the way down to his thigh. He felt not just an ordinary tearing sensation, but also a corrosive feeling that seemed to devour his flesh and bones.
“You… you said you’d make it quick for me!” Even now, he asked unwillingly.
“A Cui” casually admired the man’s suffering: “You’re a villain yourself—how can you not understand me? When Yang Gui begged you to spare his daughter, weren’t you also thinking in your heart about secretly stealing her away to sacrifice to the Child-Giving Goddess, so your family could have another son? I learned this from you. Why can’t you understand my good intentions? No matter—let’s continue. Perhaps by the end, you’ll understand.”
“Second count: blinded by greed, insatiably avaricious.” Another intense scream followed as another wound appeared on his body. Yang Dafu felt as if his internal organs were being meticulously scraped into fragments by a knife. The agony twisted his body into a strange shape even while hanging, so that anyone seeing it from afar would hardly believe the grotesque, massive thing suspended from the eaves was actually a human being.
Yang Dafu, his expression wretched and fierce, resolved to end his torment and immediately tried to bite off his tongue to commit suicide. But with a mere wave of her arm, “A Cui” rendered him as immobile as a puppet.
“The judgment isn’t over yet. How could I let you descend to the underworld so easily to enjoy peace? Rest assured, I will use every means to drag the souls of you people into an endless abyss, ensuring you never attain reincarnation and suffer torment day after day. Third count: you are cruel and merciless, unrepentant.”
As soon as the words fell, Yang Dafu began bleeding from all seven orifices, his entire body swelling up like a balloon. The few people closest to him were so terrified that their pants were soaked, yet they were still under “A Cui’s” control, unable to live or die.
Jinshu gasped, “This is too horrifying. But it looks like Yang Dafu still has a breath left.”
Li Xingdao frowned deeply, his expression grave. “Judging from what she said earlier, she probably intends to use an utterly insane method—first letting these people’s bodies die, then burning the primordial power gathered from their resentful souls to slowly scorch the souls of Yang Dafu and the others. Once this evil art begins, no one will be able to stop it. Yang Dafu and his ilk will never be able to reincarnate, and these deceased young girls will also lose any chance of rebirth.”
Jinshu said anxiously, “Yang Dafu and these people have done so many evil deeds—they deserve this punishment! But these children were innocent victims, suffering enough in life. How can they be denied rebirth after death? That makes no sense!”
As they spoke, “A Cui” had already begun targeting the others. “If that Li Daoist hadn’t been lucky and died early, I would have made him taste the agony of physical torment too. Fortunately, when he died, I had just gained a sliver of consciousness and had already used most of my magical power to imprison his soul inside this divine statue of the Child-Giving Goddess. Soon, you will all share in our resentment.”
A Cui raised her hand and slowly stepped forward.
At that moment, a voice rang out from afar: “Stop!”