The three exchanged glances and slowly walked into the inner residence, where the smell of blood was even stronger, and the ground was covered in bloodstains.
On the square pattern made of pebbles, this time lay Jiang Ningning's body, just as they had previously speculated: the head with its eyes eaten, the skeleton, the internal organs, and the stripped flesh were each placed at a corner.
Once the bizarre sacrificial rite was complete, the child ghosts could freely enter the house.
“If we had been more careful these past few days, and no one had died, would the sacrificial rite not have been completed?”
Zhu Xi Ning asked in a whisper, her eyes not directly looking at the gruesome scene.
“Not necessarily.”
Nan Yue lowered her voice. “I suspect the child’s flesh and blood mixed into our food acts like a tracking device, making the child ghosts and infant ghosts see us as people they need to take revenge on too.”
“But we didn’t eat much, and things only started happening to us earlier because we were staying in the scholar’s old house.”
“I suspect the scholar was the first to devise this method of consuming living children.”
Nan Yue’s thoughts were very clear, and she spoke quickly. “We aren’t the first group of outsiders to come to this town; there have been others before, likely at the same time.”
“If there were no outsiders to ward off disaster, the townspeople would definitely suffer.”
Zhu Xi Ning’s beautiful almond eyes darkened. The town’s disgusting customs filled her with an uncontrollable urge to kill.
This time, Nan Yue didn’t bother with pleasantries with He Jiang. She kicked open the door, a wave of hot, bloody stench assailing them. Inside, scattered organs and bones lay on the floor, and He Jiang sat quietly on the bed.
Hearing the commotion, He Jiang looked up, a somewhat panicked expression on his face.
“Those things… those things ate Bai Jun!”
The corpse on the ground was Bai Jun’s, and the chaos in the room alone showed how tragic his death had been.
But Nan Yue’s eyes were sharper; she noticed a bloodstain on He Jiang’s shoulder. Although He Jiang had put on another layer of clothing, the blood had still seeped through.
Since He Jiang was injured, it meant he had violated a rule. The child ghosts wouldn’t leave someone who broke a rule uneaten.
All three corpses proved it.
There was only one possibility: He Jiang was the first to break the rule, but he only suffered the initial attack, while Bai Jun met a tragic end.
Nan Yue’s expression shifted, then turned incredibly grim. She blocked the way with her arms, leading Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning backward out of the room, step by step.
“What’s wrong? Where are you going?”
He Jiang, looking confused, ran forward a couple of steps, wanting to follow, but stopped when he met Nan Yue’s gaze.
Everyone present felt the intense killing intent emanating from Nan Yue.
It appeared again.
Gu Xiang Kai thought to himself, That strange, powerful oppressive feeling from Nan Yue, so unsuited to her age and experience.
Even standing beside her made one’s legs tremble, let alone He Jiang, who was directly facing her killing intent.
He Jiang finally lowered his head, his face pale, and stopped.
But anyone could see the unwillingness on his face; the slickness and hypocrisy were gone, revealing his vicious true nature.
“Let’s go.”
Nan Yue turned and left. Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning followed her, and as they passed the inner residence, they saw the opposite door open and the room empty.
It seemed Chang’an and his two companions were still alive; they had left even earlier than Nan Yue.
“Lighten your steps. If you see anything, stop and don’t make a sound.”
Nan Yue continued walking, but quietly informed the three of the daytime death rules.
“Where are we going now?”
None of the three were greenhorns; they walked down the mountain at a steady pace, yet no sound could be heard from them, only whispered exchanges.
“To Evermercy Restaurant.”
On the way, the three encountered two groups of child ghosts. Gu Xiang Kai spotted them first, but because they made no sound, the ghosts, unable to see in daylight, passed right by them.
Initially, Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai were nervous, but after seeing that nothing happened as Nan Yue had said, as long as they made no sound, they relaxed.
Zhu Xi Ning subtly glanced at Nan Yue. She had thought Nan Yue was a newcomer, but hadn’t expected her ability to be so strong.
The rules for night and day were contradictory, and in a mission, few dared to test them with their lives; one mistake meant certain death.
But Nan Yue had found a way out.
“Is there something wrong with He Jiang?”
With Evermercy Restaurant not far away, Zhu Xi Ning still asked her question.
“He’s definitely not as foolish as he appears, but no matter how you look at it, he’s just a person with no physical strength, just a bit malicious, willing to push others to die for him.”
Nan Yue agreed with Zhu Xi Ning, adding, “He should have an awakened ability.”
“I suspect his ability is a stand-in ability.”
Zhu Xi Ning froze, and a cold sweat immediately broke out.
Only then did she understand why Nan Yue had pulled them away so quickly.
There were all kinds of scavengers in missions. No matter how upright and self-reliant the methods taught by the academy were, countless near-death experiences would shape a scavenger’s unique mission-completion style.
Zhu Xi Ning had seen many people use companions to test risks or to take a hit, so He Jiang seemed merely disgusting to her, but not particularly unique.
But if He Jiang truly was as Nan Yue described, this wasn’t just a matter of a malicious person and an unprepared one; this was an ability to swap lives.
It meant He Jiang had several extra lives, allowing him to recklessly test rules and, in fatal situations, push completely unaware people to die in his place.
“When Gao Suqi died inexplicably earlier, I suspected He Jiang had checked things out himself and then made Gao Suqi take his place.”
“Seeing the wound on his shoulder just now confirmed it. Last night, he didn’t know the way out, and likely made a sound, drawing an attack. He just reacted quickly and immediately made Bai Jun take his place.”
Bai Jun probably had no idea what happened; he was timid and likely stayed still with his eyes closed and ears covered when it occurred. If not for He Jiang’s strange ability, Bai Jun should have been the one to survive.
“I suspect the condition for He Jiang’s life-swapping is physical contact.”
Zhu Xi Ning suddenly understood, becoming even more wary of He Jiang.
Gu Xiang Kai, on the other hand, felt a chill but not much lingering fear; he was always a bit slow on the uptake, so even fear affected him a little less and later than others.
When the three arrived at Evermercy Restaurant, Xu Youci was playing with his prayer beads and smiled when he saw them.
“What would you like to eat, sirs?”
Gu Xiang Kai walked in front, looking around. “Where are the others?”
Xu Youci’s gaze was a little strange; he rolled his eyes. “They’re probably still asleep. You three are the first guests today.”
Gu Xiang Kai forced a smile. “Perfect then, Boss, lend us your kitchen. The young lady wants to eat my noodles.”
Xu Youci’s smile froze. He stared at Gu Xiang Kai, his gaze somewhat grim.
Gu Xiang Kai was not afraid in the slightest, meeting his gaze openly.
“Inconvenient?”
Xu Youci’s smile faded. “You are guests, how can we let you do the work yourselves?”
Gu Xiang Kai stretched his limbs, clenching his fists and making a cracking sound, but said nothing.
Xu Youci, overshadowed by the tall and burly Gu Xiang Kai, his face twitched. “Alright, I’ll take you.”
Rate on N.U.
