Ita Era

Chapter 31 Peach Blossom Village (29)

When they reached the vicinity of the Third Sister Temple, Ding Shi saw the fleeing village chief. The old man was now walking briskly, no longer using a cane, constantly looking back as he weaved through the bamboo forest, finally squatting down in the densest grove of bamboo.

"Hey," Ding Shi greeted the village chief, who was two meters away.

The village chief jumped up and shone his flashlight over: "Little Ding?"

Ding Shi leaned closer and asked, "What's going on?"

The village chief looked outside warily. From here, the main road of the village could be seen. The village chief said, "Master Baiyun has disappeared, and Third Sister has appeared and killed several people."

Ding Shi asked, "Several?"

The village chief replied, "At least three."

Ding Shi asked, "How did they die?"

"How did they die?" the village chief recalled. "One had his neck twisted in his back, one had his heart ripped out, and one..."

Ding Shi interrupted: "I'm asking, what did they do before they died?"

The village chief countered, "Why are you asking that question?"

Ding Shi said, "Master Baiyun told me that the thing has rules for killing. I know one of them. If you, village chief, discover anything, we can exchange information."

The village chief was shocked: "An exchange? Xiao Ding, how could you be this kind of person? I'm so disappointed in you."

Ding Shi said, "Village chief, it's already this late, don't waste any more time."

The village chief glanced at Ding Shi and began to recall, saying, "I know Xiao Yang. She was going to the toilet, and someone tried to scare her. She said she wasn't even afraid of that. Blind Zhao once said, 'Don't talk about people during the day, and don't talk about them at night...' I think she mentioned that word."

The village chief said, "Third Sister suddenly appeared in the room and flew towards Xiao Yang at a very fast speed, twisting Xiao Yang's neck behind his back. There were about ten people in the living room at the time, and everyone was stunned. Some people even wet themselves in fear."

Ding Shi frowned and asked, "You don't mean the person who peed his pants in fear died?"

The village chief nodded: "Third Sister turned around and flew to the man, inserted her hand into his chest, and took out his heart."

The village chief said, "The third one kept shouting 'that one, that one,' and he's already escaped from Haitang's house. Third Sister smashed the glass and caught up with him in an instant. That's all I have to say. What about your information?"

Ding Shi said, "Don't look directly at it."

The village chief said sternly, "Xiao Ding, lying is wrong."

"Ok?"

The village chief said, "Many people saw her when she appeared, but only three people were involved in the accident."

Ding Shi said, "It already had a clear target when it appeared, so this doesn't count as eye contact."

The village chief retorted, "If you can't even see it, how can you make eye contact with it?"

Ding Shiju gave two fingers as assurance, and then revealed another piece of information to the village chief: "There are zombies in the village. They can detect the presence of living people within 15 meters. The only way to avoid them is to hold your breath."

The village chief seemed skeptical, but after a moment's thought, he said, "Xiao Ding, let's go home right now and hide until daytime, then we should be fine, right?"

"It should be better during the day, right?" Ding Shi replied casually, lacking confidence.

The village chief looked around and asked, "Hey? Where's my daughter-in-law?"

Ding Shi honestly replied, "I don't know."

The village chief grasped Ding Shi's hand: "Little Ding, please find my daughter-in-law."

Side quest: Find the village chief's daughter-in-law and take her to the village chief's house.

Ding Shi looked at the village chief and said, "Village chief, are you joking with me?"

The village chief said, "I won't let you work for nothing, I'll pay you 20 cuts." Ding Shi replied, "Two hundred cuts."

The village chief said, "Even if you sold our whole family, we wouldn't be worth this price."

Ding Shi: "Then forget it."

The village chief's eyes darted around: "Do you know there are four abandoned graves on Taoyuan Mountain?"

Ding nodded.

The village chief said, “Twenty years ago, a small landslide occurred on Taoyuan Mountain, which washed out a tomb. At that time, the whole village went to see what was going on, and everyone took a lot of gold and silver treasures to give to the children as toys. These things were subsequently confiscated by the relevant departments. I handed over most of the things, but there was one thing that I really liked, so I secretly kept it and buried it in the backyard.”

Ding Shi asked, "What is it?"

The village chief said, "A few years ago, when Master Baiyun came down the mountain to purchase supplies, I knew he was very knowledgeable, so I asked him to take a look for me."

Ding Shi suddenly felt he had made a huge mistake. On the first day of the dungeon, the three aunts revealed a very important piece of information, arguably the most important information in the dungeon: a large tomb had been discovered in Peach Garden Mountain, and the villagers had all gone to see it, taking some things with them. With so many people in the village, there were bound to be some less conscientious individuals who would secretly hide the items.

Ding Shi asked, "What is it?"

Village Chief: "A demon-revealing mirror."

Ding Shi thought for a moment: "What's the use?"

The village chief said, "You can see things that are normally invisible to the naked eye through a mirror, like that."

Ding Shi: "I couldn't figure out how to make eye contact with it, but it turns out it's here with you." When the demon-revealing mirror shone on him, Ding Shi saw Gui San Niang. They made eye contact, and then Ding Shi turned into Ding Ri Cun.

The village chief repeatedly said, "No, no, Master Baiyun said that the reason this thing is a treasure is because others don't know you're looking at it. The demon-revealing mirror is only the size of a palm. When you hold it in your hand, it becomes invisible and colorless, so others can't see it."

Ding Shi thought for a moment and asked, "This thing isn't equipped with a spell, is it?"

The village chief froze, thinking for a long time: "Perhaps, maybe, there's some kind of spell." He turned his head to look at the sky; the moon was gone.

Ding Shi looked at the village chief with disdain: "Neither you nor Daoist Baiyun know any incantations, do you?"

The village chief said sincerely, "Xiao Ding, neither I nor Daoist Baiyun have ever been to school, so it's normal that we don't understand. But you are a college student, so you should believe that you will discover the incantation sooner or later. Besides, this is the only thing my whole family has that is worth anything."

Ding Shi said, "Add another 50 cuts."

The village chief said, "20 knives, that's all I can offer."

Ding Shi wasn't one to haggle, so after thinking for a moment he agreed and asked, "Where was your daughter-in-law the last time you saw her?"

The village chief replied, "She's at Haitang's house."

……

Ding Shi arrived near Haitang's house in the dark, only to see a figure in red fluttering above it—it was Gui San Niang. Why could he see Gui San Niang? The only answer: Gui San Niang appeared to kill.

Then, Ghost Third Sister gracefully descended and stood in front of Haitang and Zhang San. She reached out and cupped Haitang's cheeks in her hands, saying, "Why were you so foolish as to give yourself to someone who hurt you? Not only did you forgive and accept him, but you also wholeheartedly protected him. How can you do this to those who are good to you?"

Gui San Niang floated up, holding Hai Tang's head, and continued to say to Hai Tang's face, "You're too stupid, you're really too stupid." Gui San Niang and Hai Tang's heads disappeared into the night, leaving only a headless body still standing.

Zhang San was so frightened that his legs trembled and he collapsed to the ground, unable to stand up. He could only crawl. After crawling about ten meters away from Haitang's body, Zhang San leaned against the wall and gasped for breath.

After regaining some of his senses, Zhang San shakily unzipped his pants and began to urinate against the wall. Clearly, the scene he had just witnessed had frightened him so much that he hadn't wet himself. Fortunately, he retained some rationality and didn't wet his pants.

After Zhang San relieved himself, Third Sister did not appear. This is where the problem arises. One possibility is that urination might not be Third Sister's rule for killing. Another possibility is that Third Sister simply didn't see him urinate.

According to the concept of demons, unless they are attacking others, they can monitor the actions of any creature within their territory. Therefore, the third possibility is that San Niang is killing someone.

Of the three possibilities, Ding Shi leans more towards the first one, since San Niang is very beautiful and shouldn't be associated with excrement and urination.

(End of this chapter)