Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Chapter 113 How can you sleep at your age?

There really are drought demons?

Zhang Wei looked completely stunned.

As a type of zombie that emerged during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Drought Demon, being a relatively powerful variant of zombies, does indeed have the ability to cause droughts, that's true.

The timing of his descent from the mountain marks the beginning of Ding Shuqihuang's true power.

However, this silhouette itself was under the shadow of the desolate Dingshu, and the area near Taihang was already shrouded in scattered droughts for two years before the major drought even began.

At this point in time, it was normal for the fields to have no harvest after two years of severe drought. He initially just wanted to appease the villagers, but he never expected to actually see a grave with dripping water, which seemed to be the burial place of a drought demon.

However, now that he's seen them, he won't keep them around.

His inner power surged, and he activated his earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape into the ground), pointing a finger at the ground!

The next instant, the soil in the sunken ditch suddenly trembled, and the damp, low mound of earth trembled violently, with clods of soil rolling off the mound.

Within minutes, the burial mound (burial chamber) left from the excavation of the original tomb was revealed.

Apart from a relatively intact coffin, there were no other burial objects in the grave. Judging from this, the deceased's family was not well-off during his lifetime, and he may not even have had a permanent residence.

Otherwise, even villagers who have lived in the village for generations would at least be buried on a sunny hillside after they die. Although there is no such thing as wealth and honor associated with burial sites, maintaining the balance of yin and yang and not affecting future generations is the limit that ordinary people can achieve.

It was at this moment that the villagers who couldn't keep up with Zhang Wei finally came running over, panting.

They glanced at Zhang Wei, who stood in mid-air riding the Crimson Wind (Blood Fiend), then looked at the separated tomb in the ravine. The newly turned soil carried traces of dampness that shouldn't exist in a drought. The demons, who had been holding back their emotions, exclaimed excitedly, their sallow faces flushed with a sickly red: "Little immortal, this is a little immortal!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei turned to look at the villagers.

His gaze swept over the sickles, hoes, and shovels in their hands, finally settling on their faces, which were a mixture of excitement and slight embarrassment: "What's going on here, everyone?"

Looking at Zhang Wei, the villagers embarrassedly hid their tools behind their backs, but their thin bodies, starved for two years, could not hide these weapons.

Meanwhile, some of the more astute villagers were already chuckling and trying to brush it off: "Heh heh, we were just trying to help the little deity dig up the drought-stricken grave, weren't we? But we didn't expect you wouldn't need us farmers; you just waved your hand and dug it up!"

Fine!

That's one explanation.

The practice of "driving away drought spirits," which originated in the Qing Dynasty, involved finding a tomb nearby where a drought spirit might exist, and then, before the spirit could become powerful, digging open the tomb in broad daylight, dragging out the remains, destroying them, and then burning them with yang wood and intense fire.

This process of destroying mutated corpses is called "dried bone stake driving".

However, since it was not always possible to pinpoint the exact location, and not every drought was caused by a drought demon, the Qing government generally prohibited people from driving drought-related graves to preserve the remains of their ancestors, given the frequent occurrence of similar incidents.

However, now that he has taken over, there is no need for these ordinary people to take the risk of digging up graves.

It's true that Zhang Wei, and indeed most people in the world, looked down on the Qing Dynasty, but he didn't hold any prejudice against ordinary people living in those times.

"You can watch if you want, but try to stay away. You might hurt someone later. I can heal injuries, but you'll be the ones suffering!"

Following Zhang Wei's instructions, the villagers, who had been hesitant after their anger subsided and they saw the graves with real problems, hurriedly ran back several hundred meters.

Once they had almost left, Zhang Wei's gaze returned to the coffin in the pit.

Through his Yazi Fayan (a magical eye), he could see that a dark red aura was restlessly swaying inside the coffin lying alone in the tomb. It tried several times to push open the nailed coffin, but he didn't know whether it was because it lacked strength or was afraid of the sunlight.

But once you dig it up, you'll know.

Zhang Wei took a deep breath, and with a light flick of his left sleeve, two talismans inscribed with cinnabar floated out from his sleeve. He activated the talismans with his magic power, and in an instant, the talisman paper spontaneously combusted. Scattered lights flickered among the talisman ash that drifted from the sky, and then the lights quickly grew larger, transforming into three-inch-long golden knives that shot straight down at the coffin with a whistling sound as they cut through the air.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Crack! Snap!"

The hundreds of golden knives that the two talismans transformed into rained down and pierced the coffin lid like a hedgehog in the blink of an eye.

The coffin, which had been buried in a damp environment for many years and barely retained its shape, was torn to pieces by external forces.

Broken pieces of coffin wood, along with some burial goods, were scattered around the graveyard, jingling and clanging.

But the terrifying, dried-up corpse that was expected to suddenly stand up did not appear.

At the bottom of the coffin, a deep passage, large enough for one person to sleep in, disappeared after turning a corner underground.

Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow, but wasn't particularly surprised.

While the formation of monsters like drought demons, or zombies, relies more on the influence of mountains, rivers, and terrain, each transformation after they are fully formed requires a large amount of blood.

But before they've consumed a certain amount, they, like normal grotesque corpse demons, fear sunlight and need tombs to ensure their safety during the day.

Drilling a hole under the grave became the zombie's preferred method of access.

With a regretful shake of his head, Zhang Wei's robe tore in two with a tearing sound.

The scattered fabric transformed into a crimson mist in an instant, then turned into a bright red torrent that plunged directly into the pit below the tomb.

A few seconds later, a muffled roar came from the southeast, about a mile below the ground.

According to the senses provided by Blood Fiend, a gaunt, humanoid monster with sharp teeth and armor was roaring angrily in an underground tunnel large enough for multiple people to pass through.

Its claws, sharp as a beast's, lashed out in all directions, trying to tear apart the red mist that was gnawing at it. But the mist was just a condensation of ethereal malevolent energy; it could be dispersed, but how could it be annihilated?

It waved its arms a few times, but instead of dispelling the vicious blood mist, the huge movement exposed its chest and abdomen, allowing the blood demon to directly penetrate the wide-open central gate and wreak havoc.

The pain that spread throughout its body made the not-so-bright drought demon somewhat frightened, but it was mostly annoyed!

anger!

It stayed underground just fine, sleeping soundly during the day to avoid the sun, and going out through the back door left by the house at night to enjoy the scenery and look for food. Although its life wasn't fancy, it was leisurely and content.

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