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Chapter 314 Destruction
—Where did these people come from in this desolate wilderness?

This was Wu Qi's subconscious thought.

—If there's no one there, then isn't it a ghost?
This was his second thought.

Wu Qi felt every hair on his body stand on end, as if some indescribable sensation was creeping up his spine. His uneasy thoughts reached their peak at this moment, eventually turning into an extreme and trembling fear.

He gripped the knife handle tightly with his hand, then slowly turned his head away.

Fortunately, it wasn't a ghost, but just an ordinary face.

The face appeared very pale in the dim light, suggesting that he was likely a member of the group.

Wu Qi didn't recognize this person—but that was normal, given that there were thousands of people in the army, and he couldn't possibly know everyone. So he simply loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword and muttered in dissatisfaction.

"What kind of weird habit do you have? You walk around without making a sound."

However, the other party did not reply.

Those eyes were staring straight at Wu Qi, seemingly smiling, but revealing no emotion whatsoever. The corners of her mouth were curved upwards, making her appear even more eerie.

Wu Qi felt a chill run down her spine once again.

He stepped forward, waved, and tried to greet the other person—and the face finally responded.

His face held a strange smile, and he tilted it to the side.

Then, the body that had been hidden in the shadows was revealed.

No, where is the body?

Wu Qi felt his whole body stiffen, a surge of heat welled up in his crotch, and he opened his mouth wide, but didn't know what sound he should make.

Right in front of him, right behind that head, was a huge eight-legged monster. Its body, as big as a square table, was covered with dense fur. Its two fangs rubbed back and forth, from which thick venom flowed, making a 'sizzling' sound as it dripped onto the ground.

That was a spider.

It has a human head and looks like a monster—no, it's a spider that's a monster!
A torrent of emotions surged within him, ultimately culminating in a piercing scream.

Wu Qi didn't even have the courage to draw his sword. Before the spider-headed creature could get close, he used the fastest speed he had ever seen to escape through the door.

Outside, the dim yellow sunset spread across the road, dyeing everything a blood-red color. As the window shadows swayed, it seemed as if countless deformed and terrifying things were peering out from within.

Wu Qi practically scrambled back to the group, grabbed someone tightly, and roared.

"Yes, yes, yes, there's a monster! There's a monster! Aa ...

But the person he grabbed did not answer.

No, this person didn't even react at all. He stood there stiffly, like an ancient sculpture or someone so terrified that he couldn't move.

Only then did Wu Qi realize the truth.

Looking up, the sun had already set, casting its last rays, and the moon was rising.

However, it wasn't the silvery-white color we'd grown tired of seeing.

It is red.

Just like fresh blood, a pure and extremely bright red.

—A blood moon hung high in the sky, and for a moment it seemed to reveal a maniacal smiling face.

All the surrounding vegetation withered rapidly, the trees fell, and the grass turned into strange and twisted thorns. The house seemed to materialize, with thousands of tentacles and limbs extending out from it, indiscriminately devouring the living things around it.

Wu Qi knew what this was.

Perhaps he had never seen it before, but he still knew what it was.

Ghost village.

That ghost village that devoured hundreds of their brothers, leaving them nearly extinct.

"But why...didn't that Taoist priest get rid of it?"

Before the murmured words were finished, they turned into dust and dissipated.

At the end of the road, countless deformed monsters emerged under the moonlight, hundreds upon hundreds of smiling faces looking at the mere few hundred soldiers, all with the same meaning.

That's it.

—Let the banquet begin.

Finally, a sharp, inhuman explosion rang out from the position, emanating from their own leader.

"Form ranks! Form ranks! Prepare to meet the enemy!!!"
-
They found themselves in the midst of a bloody battlefield.

General Zuo felt he must be dreaming.

I'm having a deep and desperate nightmare from which I can't wake up.

Just a few days ago, he was a favorite of the prince, a general who had completed the mission of suppressing the rebellion, and a meritorious official who was about to recommend talented people and be rewarded for it.

But now, he is just a 'beast' that has fallen into a deadly situation.

—In just half an hour, more than half of the team of over a hundred people have been killed or wounded.

Admittedly, the men he brought were the elite of the army, his carefully selected personal guards. Even if their discipline was lax, they could usually take on three men at once on the battlefield without much trouble.

But...

They are not facing ordinary people now, and their numbers are not merely two or three times greater—but tens of thousands.

Looking around, one could see deformed monsters surging in like a tidal wave. A soldier had just pierced one of the monsters with his spear when he was immediately trapped by several slimy tongues and then torn to pieces.

Several corporals worked together to hold off a giant beast that used dozens of arms as its restraints. Before they could retaliate, their heads were grabbed by a bunch of broken hands, and then, along with the exploding brain matter and bodily fluids, they were crushed like a rubber ball.

Of course, some people tried to escape, but before they could take more than a few steps, a huge spider pounced on their back, its sharp mandibles piercing their skull. At first, the man could scream, but he quickly stopped, leaving only his face, bleeding from all seven orifices, twitching as if it were a comical smiling face.

I vaguely remember this being one of his subordinates, I think his surname was Wu or something, but that doesn't matter.

Under the dual onslaught of fear and sheer numbers, this resistance was like a small boat in a turbulent wave, constantly at risk of being capsized.

General Zuo shakily pulled a piece of smoked meat from his pocket, put it in his mouth and chewed it unconsciously. The oily sensation exploded in his mouth, but he couldn't taste any aroma at all.

It was like chewing wax.

His adjutant—the same Liu-surnamed man who had previously gesturing with Zhou You—rushed to him, his once-heroic face now filled with fear and panic. He screamed in agony, "Sir, sir, we can't hold on much longer! There are just too many monsters on the other side! What should we do now?!"

However, the Left General, on whom he had placed his hopes, only murmured as if lost in thought.

"What to do? If we don't know what to do, then let's not do it."

".What?"

Hearing these completely nonsensical and abstract words, the adjutant's eyes widened—but before he could say anything, General Zuo suddenly spoke slowly again.

"Lieutenant Liu, how have I treated you all these years?"

—Are you crazy? Why are you saying this now?
Lieutenant Liu looked at him as if he were crazy, but under the weight of years of accumulated power, he suppressed the urge to curse and answered in a muffled voice.

"Sir, you treat us very well."

“I see. That makes sense. I’ve never forgotten you all while I’ve been living the high life. You’ve made a lot of money off me.” Ignoring the extremely anxious look on their faces, General Zuo chewed on the tasteless smoked meat and said slowly, “In that case, shouldn’t you repay me?”

"Sir, what do you mean?"

This time, General Zuo ignored him and instead took off a jade pendant that he wore close to his body.

He had never been without this thing since the leader of the Thick Earth Sect gave it to him when he first joined the sect, and now it was time to put it to use.

Lieutenant Liu finally understood what was happening, but it was too late to stop him—General Zuo crushed the jade pendant with force, and in a blinding white light, he vanished without a trace.

The abandoned soldiers were left staring at each other, their eyes filled with utter despair.

After a dizzying sensation that felt like it was churning my brain, when I opened my eyes again, the scattered limbs and remains on the ground were gone.

The blood moon still hung in the sky, indicating that he hadn't been teleported out of the ghost village. However, the surrounding houses were silent—clearly, all the monsters had been drawn away by the remnants of the enemy, and he was safe.

It's safe, at least for now.

Struggling to his feet, General Zuo took out several expensive pieces of honey from his bag and stuffed them into his mouth. He finally felt that his energy had been restored a little.

Looking around, he still couldn't find any exit, but he wasn't in a hurry—after being stuck in this thing for so many days, he had learned a bit about its characteristics.

Those who die in this ghost village will have their souls trapped there forever, endlessly reliving their nightmares until the end of time. But conversely, if one can survive for six hours until the ghost village moves on its own, then one can save one's life.

As for how to stall for time, although he himself wasn't very capable, thanks to his relationship with the prince, he had managed to acquire some life-saving items over the years. In addition, with those soldiers drawing fire, it was hard to say how far away they would go, but at least this amount of time wouldn't be a problem.

Just as he had been searching for a long time and finally found a secluded spot, dragging his obese body inside to hide for a while, he suddenly heard footsteps.

—No way, there are monsters here?

General Zuo turned away in fear, his fat jiggling, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

It wasn't a monster that came, but a person.

—It was someone I knew.

After a brief moment of relief, General Zuo immediately flew into a rage.

"You damn Taoist priest Zhou, what the hell are you doing?! Didn't you say you'd taken care of this ghost village? How come you've suddenly reappeared here?!"

However, despite the stern rebuke, the newcomer—Zhou You—still wore that unhurried smile.

"I'm really sorry, I really didn't expect this. Even though I cut off the root, this thing still managed to come back to life."

Faced with this submissive attitude, General Zuo's anger burned even more fiercely.

"Sorry?? Do you think an apology can bring back all these men of mine?! They're the foundation of my livelihood, and now I've lost them all! It's all your fault! You just wait, your sect's affairs are all over, and I'm going to report you to the Prince!"

After reprimanding him, General Zuo took out a piece of pork jerky, and while tearing at it with his teeth, he walked along the road toward the hidden place.

But after taking only two steps, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Why didn't the Taoist priest catch up this week?

Turning his head again, he found that the man was still standing there like a bamboo pole. General Zuo frowned and then reprimanded him with great dissatisfaction.

"What are you still standing there for? Don't you know you should make amends and protect me? And aren't you afraid of attracting those monsters?"

But Zhou You remained unmoved, and even his gentle smile didn't change.

He just stared at General Zuo with a calm expression, but for some reason, his eyes seemed to be looking at a dying man, or at an incredibly stupid pig.

General Zuo suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

He swallowed the food in his mouth with great difficulty, then carefully took a step back.

"What are you laughing at?"

However, Zhou You was still smiling.

Just laughing.

The fear in his heart grew stronger and stronger, even making General Zuo's not-so-good brain work at lightning speed.

—Is this guy after money or wealth, or did I say something too harsh and upset him?
Wait, that can't be.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought surfaced in his mind, so terrifying that it even made him feel a dampness in his crotch.

General Zuo swallowed hard, then spoke rapidly in a completely different tone than before.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Master Zhou, I was just flustered and said some nonsense. Please just ignore it and let me go, okay? Here's the deal: I won't change anything I said before. I, I will even give you an extra sum of money, a very large sum of money, to help your sect establish itself in Songzhou. What do you think?"

This wasn't just a drastic change in attitude, or a shift from arrogance to obsequiousness. He was now completely subservient, hoping for a different outcome or that the other party would spare him out of consideration for his sincerity.

But Zhou You still did not answer.

Upon seeing this, General Zuo panicked completely and hurriedly spoke up again.

"Then here's the deal: not only money, but I can also speak to the prefectural government on your behalf. I can pull strings with any connections you have, and I can even swallow my pride and plead with the prince for you, just so you can let me off this time."

Only then did Zhou You speak.

Contrary to what General Zuo had expected, there was no anger or rebuke in his words, only his usual calm.

"General, you have probably misunderstood something. I have never had a sect. The reason I came to you this time is actually for one thing."

Zhou You looked at the blood moon in the sky, and his smile grew even brighter.

"They came to collect a debt."

(End of this chapter)