It seemed like everyone from the town had arrived, but Nan Yue still noticed that about ten people were missing.
She had been wandering around the town every day for the past few days, so she had a general impression of the residents.
It made sense; with so many people moving together, noise was inevitable, not to mention that encountering ghosts formed from their own children would likely lead to deaths.
But even so, they were willing to risk coming here for the sacrificial rite, which meant it was truly important.
The few scavengers still present exchanged looks; if these people were merely ignorant, they wouldn't have willingly risked their lives to come here.
Eating their own children alive and even going so far as to imprison women to breed children for consumption—they must have gained some immense benefit from such actions.
But looking at the people of this town, their living conditions were modest and they rarely even left the area; what kind of benefit could they possibly get?
Aggressive townspeople surged in, and everyone tensed up, fearing they might be beaten to death by humans before being eaten by ghosts.
The atmosphere in the cave was incredibly strained, and in that deathly silence, Nan Yue spoke softly, "Multi-fortune Town... Many children, many fortunes."
Someone in the crowd looked over; it was Xu Defu.
"It was no wonder the town never changed its name; you truly prayed for many children, didn't you? After all, for you, more children means more food."
Xu Defu's face broke into a refined smile, as if Nan Yue weren't saying something horrifying but was merely offering a casual greeting.
"I imagine the one who thought of this was that scholar from hundreds of years ago, leading the entire town down a path that is neither human nor ghost."
Xu Defu's expression soured, as did those of the other townspeople; the anger and greed in their eyes were mixed with a hint of despair and sorrow, which was baffling to behold.
"I just didn't expect that such a beautiful woman would also do such things."
Nan Yue toyed with a thin photograph between her fingers—the same photo of the woman she had found in the room.
Standing beside her, Dongfang Yuelai's eyes narrowed; she had indeed been beaten to the clue.
Xu Defu's gaze shifted, and though the movement was minute, Nan Yue caught it.
Because of this, Nan Yue completely understood the secret of this town.
"Xu Defu."
Nan Yue's gaze was as cold as a blade as she looked at the man. "Or should I call you... Xu Zhengqing?"
Xu Zhengqing's face changed drastically, his refined aura vanishing in an instant as he gritted his teeth like a common thug.
"How... how do you know that!"
"Xu Zhengqing?"
While Dongfang Yuelai looked thoughtful, Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning were completely bewildered.
"He is that scholar from hundreds of years ago."
Nan Yue looked at the man and the townspeople, a cold smile touching her lips. "Feeding on children to prolong your life—you actually did such a thing for a bit of longevity?"
"Your own children were the first you laid hands on, weren't they?"
Nan Yue remembered the exquisite children's ceremonial outfits in the chest; they looked to be less than two years old when they died.
The prompt had been giving them hints all along, but until they reached this point, no one could be sure that the answer had been revealed so blatantly.
Xu Zhengqing was seething with rage, his eyes bloodshot, looking as if he might pounce at any moment.
"It's just that I haven't seen your wife? Did she not realize her husband was such a beast?"
"She didn't eat them, did she? Did she kill herself? Is this the only thing she left behind?"
Nan Yue lit the lighter and held it toward the photo; Xu Zhengqing immediately made a gesture to restrain the restless townspeople.
"What do you want? I can let you go."
Xu Zhengqing's face was ashen, his eyes fixed on the photograph in Nan Yue's hand.
Nan Yue tilted her head, looking somewhat puzzled.
Xu Zhengqing's worried expression didn't seem faked; he truly cared about his late wife, and Nan Yue could even see a sense of remorse in him.
And yet, a man like this could eat his own children alive without hesitation, no different from a malevolent ghost.
"I will do as I promised; I'll let you go right now."
There was still a little time left; as long as they left now and kept their noise to a minimum, they could reach the meeting point with the driver before midnight.
But Nan Yue only shook her head, and with a flick of her hand, the lighter fell to the floor.
In an instant, the eyeballs in the cave were ignited, spreading into a sea of fire.
The crying of infants outside the cave intensified instantly, accompanied by the continuous sound of friction and crawling.
Those things... were coming in.
Xu Zhengqing's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he lunged at Nan Yue, but she shifted her body to dodge him and delivered a kick to his lumbar spine.
Everyone present heard the clear sound of bone cracking, and Zhu Xi Ning laughed gloatingly from the side.
The fire spread incredibly fast, and the townspeople were stunned, caught between the fire in front and the ghosts behind, not knowing where to run.
Soon, screams erupted from those at the back; the infant ghosts had already entered the cave.
The infant ghosts were even faster than the child ghosts, swarming into the cave like insects, crawling over the walls on all fours.
Eyeballs had grown in their sockets, but since the time hadn't yet come, Nan Yue knew it was because the eyeballs had been destroyed by fire, thus breaking their restraints.
They hadn't been able to enter this cave because this was where they had died.
Only on the few nights before the annual sacrifice could they reclaim their eyes.
Now, they could have their revenge to their heart's content.
The people here had lived for hundreds of years, and the number of children they had eaten was far more than ten or twenty; in no time, the townspeople were surrounded by countless infant ghosts.
The sounds of screams, tearing flesh, and chewing made one's heart tremble.
Xu Zhengqing screamed as he fell into the fire, the smell of charred flesh wafting through the air.
Many child ghosts didn't avoid the flames at all, jumping into the fire one after another to feast on the culprit.
The group didn't look back as they turned and ran outside.
The ghosts were still feasting on their enemies for now, but no one could guarantee they wouldn't chase the scavengers once the townspeople were all dead.
They had already become ghosts with no sanity, and they had attacked them before.
The group ran like mad; there were hardly any people left standing around them, as all the townspeople were being pinned down by the child ghosts and screaming in agony.
At this moment, no one had the luxury to care about a few outsiders.
Nan Yue and the others rushed out of the tunnel, the crackling of the fire and a sickening charred smell still drifting from behind them.
Chang'an ran at the very front; this man had an incredibly low presence and acted alone in everything he did, but no one dared to underestimate him.
The path was littered with severed limbs and mangled corpses, but no one dared to stop and look closely; too many children had been eaten, and the townspeople wouldn't be enough to delay them for long.
Zhu Xi Ning ran beside Nan Yue when her gaze suddenly froze, and she reached out to pull on Nan Yue's sleeve.
An outer garment lay on the ground; it was the one Lu Jiao always wore.
However, there were no bodies nearby, and the women who had been rescued were nowhere to be seen.
It was unclear what the two had encountered, but at this moment, no one had the time to be distracted by other thoughts.
The group kept running, leaving Multi-fortune Town by crossing the same bridge they had arrived on.
The stone tablet still stood there, like an old man who had weathered many storms and remained silent.
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