I Killed Gods and Demons in Song Dynasty

Chapter 169 Fengcun Rules

In the west of the village, Min Shuyang, one of the “Four Elders of the Min Family”, jumped lightly, climbed over the ten-foot-high wall, and landed silently in a large courtyard.

The courtyard is vast, gloomy and quiet, as if isolated from the world.

In the center is an old poplar tree with a crooked neck, its bare branches pointing towards the gray sky like dead bones, and its mottled bark seeming to record the erosion of wind and rain over countless years.

Under the tree, an old woman dressed in red and green was turning an ancient spinning wheel. The strips of cloth she wove were as white as frost, and they flickered with a strange luster in the dim light.

Beside her, seven or eight children were playing Cuju excitedly around a ball.

They occasionally let out crisp laughter, which made the empty courtyard seem even more creepy.

The moment Min Shuyang came in, everyone froze in an instant. They all raised their heads and stared at him. Their eyes were like cold nails, nailing him firmly.

Min Shuyang felt an inexplicable tightness in his heart and his steps hesitated for a moment.

But he was a desperate man who had traveled far and wide and had seen many storms. He did not want to be frightened by the looks of a few village children, so he forced an awkward smile, walked up to the old woman, put on a self-proclaimed polite look, and asked in a low voice:
"Auntie, are there any treasures in our village?"

The old woman slowly raised her head, her face full of wrinkles like dry ravines, and looked up at him, and asked in a hoarse voice:

"Ah? Young man, what did you say?"

Min Shuyang felt impatient and frowned, thinking that this person was deaf, so he raised his voice and shouted almost into her ear:
"I say - where is the treasure here?"

However, the old woman still had no reaction, she just smiled and shook her head:

"Young man, I can't hear you clearly, please stop making so much noise and ask someone else..."

Min Shuyang was furious, and suddenly grabbed the old woman's ear, almost putting his mouth on her ear, and used his martial arts inner strength to shout:
"Do you have any treasure here--"

The shout was so loud that it shook the mountains and caused blood to flow from the old woman's ear holes.

But the strange thing was that there was no expression of pain on her face. Instead, she remained calm as usual, like a puppet without feeling pain. She stared at Min Shuyang blankly, and her tone was so calm that it was creepy:
"Young man, I told you not to make loud noises, why don't you know the rules?"

Min Shuyang's heart shuddered, and a chill instantly ran down his spine. Just as he was about to open his mouth to explain, he suddenly felt something lightly touching his ankle.

He subconsciously lowered his head and saw the children all pointing at the ground and talking in unison:

"Uncle, please kick the ball over here!"

Min Shuyang was getting very annoyed and was about to kick the ball away, but he stopped suddenly the moment he raised his foot.

How could this be a ball? It was clearly a bloody human head!
What was even more terrifying was that the face on the head looked exactly like him! And the eyes were wide open, staring at him intently.

His whole body stiffened, and the coldness instantly spread throughout his body, his scalp numbed, and his legs became weak.

The next moment, the perspective suddenly distorted and the surrounding scene spun around.

When Min Shuyang opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the ground, looking up at the sky, and in his field of vision stood a headless corpse, wearing the same clothes as himself.

"My head...when did it fall off?"

His consciousness instantly fell into incredible confusion and fear, but the children around him didn't seem to care at all. Instead, they giggled and continued to play.

"Hehe... since the uncle won't help us, we'll have to pick up the ball ourselves..."

As the children's laughter spread, Min Shuyang's consciousness gradually blurred. He only felt his head being kicked up and down again and again, rolling on the ground...

Every dull sound of it hitting the ground was like the death knell of fate ringing in his ears.

After a while, the children seemed to have finally gotten tired of the game and threw Min Shuyang's bloody and broken head under the old crooked poplar tree.

The roots of the tree began to wriggle, as if they were living things, devouring the flesh and blood bit by bit.

Min Shuyang's headless body had already turned into a pool of pus and blood, slowly flowing into the old woman's spinning wheel.

The originally pale cloth turned into scarlet yarn, as bright as blood...

The old woman looked at the new cloth she had woven, her mouth wide open, revealing a happy smile...

……

As night fell, the lights in Feng Village went out one by one, and darkness silently swallowed the entire village like a tide.

The cold wind hummed between the eaves. The whole village was shrouded in deathly silence. Even the common sounds of dogs barking and insects chirping disappeared without a trace.

Min Boyang, the eldest brother of the "Four Elders of the Min Family", climbed over walls and houses and had quietly searched the houses of more than a dozen villagers.

At first he was a little nervous, and he carefully used his light body skills to move quietly between the houses, crouching and searching through boxes and cabinets. But after going through several houses, he found that the villagers had no reaction, as if they were completely unaware of his intrusion.

The people in the village were indeed just as the Taoist priest from Mount Longhu said, all of them were mortals and had no ability to resist.

Gradually, Min Boyang became more and more courageous. He no longer cared about anything and just broke into the house. No matter what noise he made, even if it caused chaos in the house, the villagers did not dare to resist at all, and they did not even dare to look at him.

However, Min Boyang was filled with annoyance. Although he had found a large bag of gold and silver jewelry from the homes of more than a dozen villagers, he did not find any trace of the magic weapon.

In this house, Min Boyang still found nothing. He was furious for no reason. He kicked the door violently and was about to leave in anger.

At this moment, a low and hoarse voice suddenly came from behind:

"My dear hero, there is a rule in the village that after the lights are turned off at night, you are not allowed to go out no matter what. You might as well stay for one night."

The sudden sound made Min Boyang's heart tighten. He turned around suddenly and saw a villager standing in the dark corner with a dull expression and empty eyes. The expression on his face was so strange that it looked like a stiff mask.

The other party's tone was neither threatening nor pleading, but instead revealed a strange calmness.

"I am a monk!"

Min Boyang could no longer control his anger, and rushed over angrily, grabbed the villager by the collar, lifted him up, and roared with a ferocious face:
"You are just mortals, stop playing tricks on me! Don't be so mysterious!"

The villager was lifted into the air, but there was still no fear on his face, and even his breathing was not disordered. He just spoke slowly in a polite tone:

"There are no treasures in our village. There are only rules passed down from generation to generation by the older generation. Those who do not follow the rules will be cursed..."

The calm tone and the pair of eyes like dead water made Min Boyang feel a chill and startled.

But he immediately suppressed his fear, threw the villager to the ground roughly, and spat viciously:
"What a bullshit rule! I've been practicing Taoism for decades and never believe in such nonsense!"

Although he cursed fiercely, Min Boyang still had some fear in his heart. He reluctantly did not step out of the door, but found a chair in the house to sit down, took out the dry food from his arms and ate it, as if he was not eating food, but courage.

Not long after, there was a sudden sound of light footsteps outside, which seemed to be there and not there, sometimes far away and sometimes near.

Min Boyang was startled and jumped up from his chair.

It's pitch dark, how could there be anyone here at this time?
He listened carefully, and the footsteps became clearer and clearer. Just when he was full of doubts, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in the white mist at the door.

Feng Yaqin was seen walking towards her slowly and lightly, but she looked extremely embarrassed.

His clothes were torn and the front was covered in blood. The front of his Tai Chi uniform was torn open, revealing a large area of ​​white on his chest.

Her beautiful face was filled with pain, her breathing was weak, and she looked like she would collapse at any moment.

Feng Yaqin looked at Min Boyang silently, her eyes full of pleading, and waved at him weakly.

"Master Feng!" Min Boyang's heart was shocked, and he quickly walked over and asked anxiously:
"what happened to you?"

Feng Yaqin held her heart with her hands, her eyebrows slightly frowned, as if Xi Shi was alive, and she panted and said:

"I encountered a strong enemy. Although I managed to escape, I was hit by a nail in the chest. Not only was my cultivation sealed, but my ribs were also broken. The wound on my chest is extremely painful now. I need someone to help me set the bone and suck out the venom."

Hearing this, Min Boyang's heart suddenly moved.

Feng Yaqin was originally the lofty and inviolable ice beauty of Longhu Mountain, but now she is so weak that she needs her own help?
Moreover, her wound was on her chest... Thinking that he could touch that soft and delicate body with his own hands, his heart was filled with enthusiasm, and passion and desire surged up like a tide, being magnified countless times in an instant, instantly overwhelming all rationality.

He said quickly:
"Master Feng, don't worry. I'll help you right away..."

As he said this, he quickly stepped over the threshold and stretched out his hand impatiently.

However, as soon as he leaned out of the door, he suddenly stopped.

There was no sign of Feng Yaqin outside the door, only a vast expanse of white fog, and the chilling coldness came over her face, piercing her bones.

At that moment, Min Boyang's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He was stunned for a moment, looked around, and found that he was no longer in the familiar house, but in an endless white fog.

There is no up or down, left or right here; the sky and the earth seem to have merged into one, as if one has fallen into a chaotic world.

"This……"

Min Boyang let out a dry whisper from his throat, then took a step forward and tried to retreat back into the house.

But when he looked back, the original house had disappeared, replaced by endless fog.

His legs seemed to be stuck in a quagmire. The more he tried to walk, the heavier they became. Eventually, he was completely submerged in the misty sea.

Just at this moment, a cold wind blew by, and a faint light appeared in the white mist.

The light gradually approached, flickering like a ghost fire, sometimes far away, sometimes near.

A moment later, a human skin lantern, without anyone holding it, floated in the air and suddenly appeared in front of him.

The lantern was waxy yellow all over, and the wrinkles on it were like loose human skin, loosely covering the bracket.

The lanterns emitted a faint red light that flickered from time to time, illuminating distorted shadows, as if countless wronged souls were struggling.

Min Boyang felt his heart and soul broken, his legs went weak, and he wanted to shout for help, but he found that his throat seemed to be stuck by something and he couldn't make any sound.

Immediately, he began to cough violently, and the violent spasms almost suffocated him.

Every time he coughed, large chunks of blood and flesh spurted out of his throat. Once they touched the white mist, they quickly melted into it and disappeared in an instant.

Min Boyang stretched out his hands to grab it, but he couldn't hold the lost flesh and blood, and his limbs became weak and more and more sore.

Fear surged into his heart like a tide, and he could feel his vitality rapidly fading away, his consciousness gradually becoming blurred.

At the last moment before he was about to lose consciousness, he saw his body begin to shrivel and shrink, his skin tightly attached to his bones, gradually turning into an empty skin bag, floating lightly in the air.

At this time, a voice sounded faintly in the air, like a complaint, like a sigh, and it lasted for a long time, penetrating the fog and floating into Min Boyang's dry ears:
"Ah... why don't you listen to my advice? At night... no matter what, don't go out..."

……

Fengcun, on the long street.

Under the setting sun, the old woman's voice in front of Li Qingyun sounded again, deep and with an indescribable weirdness:

"Young Master, very few outsiders can attend the village chief's wedding banquet, so you must not miss it..."

Her voice was like cold ants crawling on the skin, making people extremely uncomfortable.

Li Qingyun raised his head and found that the old woman's stiff smile was like a solidified mask, and her eyes were fixed on him.

He smiled helplessly, nodded and replied:
"Auntie, of course I want to go to the wedding to drink some wine, but it's getting late. Is there any convenient place to stay in the village?"

The old woman's smile suddenly brightened, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone revealed a hint of joy and enthusiasm:

"Yes, yes. There is a 'Five Immortals Temple' at the east end of the village. It's a spacious place. You can go and stay there. But it has been uninhabited for a long time. You will have to clean it up yourself when you get there."

Li Qingyun nodded slightly, and suddenly asked:

"Thank you for your advice, Auntie. I am a foreigner and I don't know what customs your place has. Could you please let me know in advance so that I don't break the rules by being reckless?"

The old woman slowly opened her mouth, revealing her dark yellow teeth, and her hoarse voice sounded particularly harsh in the night wind:
"Young Master is really considerate. We don't have any special rules here, but the villagers are honest. Outsiders are requested not to trespass or make any noise.

"Also, no one can leave the village after dusk..."

She paused for a moment, a hint of ambiguity flashed in her eyes, and her tone became even lower:
"The most important thing is, after nightfall, when all lights in the village are turned off, no matter what noise you hear, don't go out.

"I hope you can keep this in mind and not cause any disaster..."

……

(End of this chapter)