The Wang house had completely changed by this time.
The former pavilions, towers, covered walkways, rockeries, and exotic flowers now felt haunted and terrifying, shrouded in a thick ghostly aura.
Smashed wine jars were scattered everywhere, with broken porcelain shards mixed with spilled wine puddles on the ground.
The distillery workers were all flushed as if they were drunk, stumbling and falling to the side. Their heads and faces were completely wrapped in black hair.
A dozen or so sturdy men were piled on top of each other, looking strangely comical.
And the source of it all was the pure black wine vat situated right in the center of the clearing—the one the Wang family regarded as the “mother vat.”
It was as if hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of ink-black little snakes were continuously crawling out of the mother vat, and the trend was only increasing.
The “Immortal Brew” displayed outside the distillery had all been overturned. The clear wine, mixed with translucent strands of hair, flowed outward incessantly, strangely reminiscent of salmon during their upstream migration.
The scent of wine filled the air.
Even people like Young Master Wang and Manager Wang, who spent their years in the distillery, could hardly withstand it, stumbling as they were overcome by the fumes.
A prompt appeared before Nan Zhi’s eyes:
【Cultivator is in a tipsy state: Combat Power -10, Constitution -5 (Wine is fine, but do not overindulge.)】
Is this wine something I want to drink?!
Nan Zhi almost cursed out loud.
“Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle...”
“Rustle, rustle, rustle...”
“Rustle...”
Countless tiny strands of hair climbed onto her shoes along with the wine, moving as flexibly as little snakes made of hair.
Nan Zhi was about to chant a lightning curse when she belatedly realized where she was.
These hair snakes had come out with the wine. If even a single spark appeared, the entire distillery would likely go up in flames!
But right now, she didn't have a handy weapon. Nan Zhi had no choice but to pick up a bamboo stick. With a flick and a twist of her wrist, she tossed the hair snakes several yards away.
These hair snakes didn't have much attack power, but they were endless, appearing as if they had no source. Dealing with them became troublesome as their numbers grew.
Nan Zhi’s long stick was agile, and she quickly cleared away the hair snakes that kept approaching her. The two men behind her were not so lucky.
Young Master Wang was attacked by the hair snakes and fell drunk to the ground. His eyes were vacant, yet he still muttered the secret recipe for “Immortal Drunk.”
As for Manager Wang, he disregarded his own safety to desperately tear the hair snakes off Young Master Wang, but he was eventually overwhelmed and fell to the ground.
It seemed these hair snakes did nothing more than cause people to pass out drunk.
Nan Zhi couldn't help but look at the mother vat.
What exactly was inside it?
If it kept spitting them out like this, the entire Dingyuan County would be submerged in hair snakes.
“Hehehe...”
“You are the rock, I am the reed. The rock does not shift, and the reed is also...”
Wanniang began to sing again.
She was still wearing that linen mourning shroud, floating lightly on the eaves, her body as translucent as mist.
As for Wang Fugui, he was wrapped in clumps of black hair and hung upside down from the eaves. His eyes were wide open, his face filled with terror and despair.
He couldn't even open his mouth to call for help.
A cluster of black hair snakes had crawled into his nose, directly covering half of his face.
Seeing her enemy's wretched state, Wanniang was in high spirits, even playfully teasing Nan Zhi:
“It’s rare to see Sister Zhi so disheveled. If you call me ‘dear sister,’ I’ll tell you how to deal with the thing in that vat. How about it?”
Nan Zhi flicked away another bundle of hair snakes spreading toward her. Realization dawned on her, and she shouted:
“Wanniang, what is in that vat?”
Wanniang didn't answer. She only lowered her head, humming a little tune and constantly pushing Wang Fugui back and forth as if he were a swing.
Nan Zhi actually already had a suspicion.
To verify her thoughts, she strode toward the mother vat.
Wang Fugui, hanging from the eaves nearby, suddenly became agitated, struggling desperately and letting out bursts of beast-like growls:
“Mmph! Mmph! No! Mmph!!!”
“No! Mmph! You can't!!”
Wanniang lowered her eyes.
Nan Zhi gave it a violent push.
“Bang!”
“Crack!”
The heavy black wine vat hit the ground with a loud thud.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering, the round wine vat split into pieces, and the thing hidden within the inner layer finally saw the light of day again.
A decayed skull rolled out of the vat.
The flesh on this skull had long since vanished with the passage of time, leaving only a full head of long black hair still attached to it.
Inside the white bone's mouth was a red, jade-like worm surrounded by hair snakes.
The worm seemed to have grown into the bone. It was plump, hairless, and looked like a piece of fine jade, even faintly shimmering with luster.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Wang Fugui closed his eyes.
Young Master Wang felt as if he had just woken from a dream.
Manager Wang was slack-jawed.
Only Wanniang was still gently swinging her legs:
“An immortal's treasure. I wouldn't let a villain like Wang Fugui have it even in death, so I swallowed it before I hanged myself.
Wang Fugui stole my remains but couldn't find the worm, so he guessed most of the truth.
But fate is unpredictable, hahaha! That worm actually made a home in my bones.
He couldn't force the worm out, so he made up some excuse about a secret family recipe and crafted a ‘mother vat,’ then ordered the craftsmen to use the water from this vat to make wine every first and fifteenth of the month.”
To become a superior man, he framed the Qu family and poisoned the common people.
And for the sake of wealth, he soaked Wanniang’s remains in water for decades.
How could a human be so evil?
How could anyone do such a thing to their own kind?
He passed by here every day, saw this vat—was he thinking of Wanniang’s fiery spirit, or was he secretly delighted by his own seamless scheme?
Nan Zhi’s stomach churned, and involuntary tears welled in her eyes.
She ran to the bathroom to vomit profusely.
Seeing Nan Zhi standing still with a stunned expression, Wanniang thought she was frightened. She floated down from the eaves, gently stroked Nan Zhi’s face, and coaxed her:
“It only looks scary. This worm isn't actually dangerous.
Besides, it’s my bones soaking in this wine. Why are you the one crying?”
Nan Zhi came to her senses, her hands trembling as she held Wanniang’s hand.
She looked at Wang Fugui through gritted teeth, wanting to kill someone for the first time in her life:
“He deserves to die.”
Such a beast could no longer be called a ‘human.’
He should be sent to see Yama, to let the Underworld Judge and the Ten Kings of Hell take a good look at the crimes Wang Fugui committed!
“You can't kill me! I am related by marriage to Lord Qi of the Bureau of Military Affairs! My son is a scholar! I don't have to bow to officials!
I have done good deeds in my time! Even the Bodhisattva says one can ‘attain Buddhahood on the spot’!”
Seeing Nan Zhi’s killing intent, Wang Fugui desperately spat out the hair snakes in his mouth and screamed hysterically:
“Mmph!! You can't! You can't kill me! It’s a serious crime for an arrest officer to kill a mortal!
If you dare to watch her kill me, tomorrow you will be accused by a thousand pointing fingers!
Everyone in the Demon Suppression Division will know that you, Nan Zhi, consort with ghosts and side with evil!!”
There were many people present today. If word got out, it would surely affect Sister Zhi.
Wanniang suddenly stopped, her gaze falling on Nan Zhi.
For the past few decades, she had only thought of revenge.
But now that the moment for revenge had truly arrived, Wanniang suddenly hesitated.
“Are you finished?”
Nan Zhi let out a soft breath and slowly turned her back to Wanniang:
“I didn't wear my Demon Suppression Division uniform today.”
So, do it quickly.
Wanniang laughed out loud, a streak of bloody tears flowing from the corner of her eye.
Just now, she really wanted to set a fire and burn down the entire distillery.
Evil men rule while gods and Buddhas close their eyes.
Where is the justice in this world?
But now, Wanniang suddenly felt that the world wasn't entirely filled with rotten people like Wang Fugui.
She released her grip, and the hair snakes binding Wang Fugui struggled, hanging him three inches off the ground from the eaves.
“Wanniang... you... can't... my mistake... help... Wanniang...”
Wang Fugui’s face turned the color of pig liver, and his eyeballs gradually bulged. One could even hear the sound of his throat bones snapping as he struggled.
Slowly, he stopped moving.
Wang Fugui was dead.
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