That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

As Old Zhou spoke, he sighed deeply, looking quite regretful.

"What use are these things if you're dead!"

The old woman sat down beside him, her tone reproachful, but she quietly wiped away a tear.

"Now I understand, the living must not touch the things of the dead!"

After saying this, Old Zhou's eyes widened as if he had seen something terrifying again, and it took him a long time to recover.

The old woman held his hand and murmured:

"Could it be that all those ghost stories about Cuiwei Mountain were true?"

"Ghostly matters?"

Jiang Jingming frowned slightly and asked in return.

They have a hard time finding out news like this; they can only hear about it from nearby residents.

"Young heroes, I'll tell you in secret."

The old woman glanced towards the door and lowered her voice:

"Years ago, there were rumors in the village that there were ghosts on Cuiwei Mountain!"

"Huh?! Why do you say that?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunqi stopped eating and quickly switched to defensive mode, shielding Jiang Jingming and A Qing in front of him.

“There was once a homeless child in our village named Xiao Pi. He had no parents to take care of him and just ran around all day. Later, he went to Cuiwei Mountain during the day to play, saying that he wanted to pick some fruit to sell.”

"But he accidentally got lost and spent the night in the mountains. When he returned to the village the next day, his face was ashen, as if he were possessed. As soon as he saw people, he said there were corpses and ghosts in the mountains!"

The old woman wrung her hands tightly as she spoke, revealing her subconscious avoidance and worry about mentioning these evil things.

"He also said that those ghouls walked in a line, and from a distance they looked just like humans, but they had blue faces and fangs, and were definitely not human!"

Chapter Ninety-One: Little Pi

The blue-faced, fanged ghouls walked in a line at night, just like humans.

A Night Parade of One Hundred Demons?

These four words suddenly popped into Jiang Jingming's mind.

Legend has it that on dark nights, travelers may occasionally encounter a procession of ghosts in the wilderness.

They walked in rows, gathering from all directions to hold a feast of demons and monsters drinking blood and flesh together.

If a stranger accidentally enters, he will be drawn into it and never be able to return to the human world.

However, it now seems that what Xiao Pi saw was not the real Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, because he at least returned to the human world.

"Xiao Pi went crazy in the village every day. The village chief was at his wit's end, so he asked a shaman to take a look, but it was no use. Then, Xiao Pi disappeared. Everyone said that he was taken away by a corpse demon."

“I’ve always remembered this. I watched Xiao Pi grow up. Although he lost his parents when he was young, he’s an honest child and would never deliberately make up such ghost stories to scare people.”

As the old woman spoke, she couldn't help but shiver.

Compared to those ghost stories passed down by word of mouth, Little Pi's real-life example is obviously more terrifying.

Children without parents are heartbreaking. They live under the open sky, always smiling and saying they're tough and won't die.

The old lady would always leave him some hot food. Although he would eat in silence and rarely thank her, he would secretly go up the mountain to collect firewood and pile it up at his doorstep whenever he had a spare moment.

The reason I went to Cuiwei Mountain to pick fruit was to earn more money so I could build myself a thatched house to shelter me from the wind and rain.

The old woman still remembers how the child looked after returning from Cuiwei Mountain; it was as if a ghost had stolen his soul, and he would have been blown away by the wind.

Thinking of this, the old woman clutched her chest, and a long-forgotten fear and sorrow surged up again.

"That's why I've always thought Cuiwei Mountain was an eerie place. Now look, even big shots like the Shun family have run into trouble! We ordinary folks should definitely stay away from it."

Hearing the old woman's tearful words, Jiang Jingming lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

The legend of the corpse demon, the infected Gu worms, the massacre of a family—are all these things connected?

"So, Lao Zhou, what exactly happened that night?"

After a long while, he looked up and asked.

The old lady brought over a cup of hot water, which Old Zhou took and drank slowly, as if trying to drive away the chill in his heart.

"That night, Tiezhu, a few other young men and I made an appointment, took torches, and rushed to Cuiwei Mountain overnight. On the way, they said that it was because I was old and knew the mountain paths that I was chosen; otherwise, how could such a good opportunity have come to me?"

"Hearing them say that actually made me feel a little more at ease. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch, so why would I tell others how to make money? As a result, we ran into a patrol of the Divine Capital Guards as soon as we arrived at the foot of Cuiwei Mountain. Fortunately, I knew of a ravine nearby, so I led them to jump in and hide."

"We waited until that group of Imperial Guards had gone far away before we lit our torches again and continued up the mountain path. Tiezhu was a fearless person who was willing to risk his life for money, so he always walked at the front."

"As we approached the summit, we suddenly smelled a floral fragrance! The flowers were truly fragrant; I had never smelled such a scent at the Hundred Flowers Festival in Fengling City..."

Old Zhou stopped abruptly at this point.

The scent of flowers?

Jiang Jingming paused slightly and looked at Lu Zhao, who also looked puzzled.

"According to the case file of the family annihilation, there should only be residual stench of corpses at the scene, so how could there be a floral scent?"

Lu Zhao frowned, a hint of doubt in his eyes:

"Old Zhou, are you too scared, so you remembered it wrong?"

Or perhaps you're hallucinating.

“My benefactor, I’m sure I haven’t misremembered.”

Old Zhou shook his head, remaining extremely firm on this point.

"Besides me, Tiezhu and the others also smelled it. Tiezhu was very happy at the time, thinking that the flowers must be a treasure, so he picked more and sold them for a good price in the city."

"The closer we got to Tingpu Villa, the stronger the fragrance of the flowers became, and gradually we could see the villa's walls. The sound of the waterfall on the mountain was like a torrential downpour, so loud that we couldn't hear the people next to us talking."

"Finally, we arrived. I reached out to pull Tiezhu, wanting to tell him to be careful, in case the Divine Capital Guards were watching him. But as soon as my hand touched him, he fell straight down."

As Old Zhou spoke, his hand holding the bowl of water trembled uncontrollably.

"I called to the people behind me to shine torches on his face. His whole face was blue, and there were only two bloody holes left around his eyes... I suddenly remembered what Xiao Pi had said about the ghouls, so I dropped the torches and ran down the mountain for my life."

“At first, there were other people following behind me, but later, there were none left, and I was all alone. I had helped deliver goods to the Shun family before, and I never thought that mountain road was so difficult to walk.”

“I was so scared that my pants got wet. I kept screaming for help the whole way. I wasn’t afraid of being caught by the Imperial Guards. I just wanted to see a living person. I think Xiao Pi probably ran down the mountain screaming like that back then, but no one saved him.”

Old Zhou lowered his head, cold sweat mixed with tears, dripping down his face.

"That morning, as soon as you got home, you covered your head and went to sleep without saying a word. I just assumed you were unhappy because you didn't get anything..."

The old woman gripped Old Zhou's hand tightly, her hands trembling.

"So, everyone except you died that night?"

Jiang Jingming repeatedly pondered the events described by Lao Zhou.

"I guess so, but I didn't dare look back the whole way. I don't know if they died in the same way as Tiezhu."

Old Zhou gripped the rim of the bowl with both hands and sighed.

"So many people have gone missing in the village, isn't anyone taking care of it?"

Lu Zhao sat on the other side, holding his sword, and asked with a frown.

The local government is far too unreliable.

The old woman shook her head and explained to him:

"Tiezhu and his brothers from outside are all idle hooligans who steal chickens and dogs. Even if the villagers find that they are missing, they will think that they have gone off to fool around somewhere again and will not take it seriously, so no one reports it to the police."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing the sentence:

"So when Little Pi went missing back then, nobody went looking for him either..."

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Old Zhou was infected with a curse and was on the verge of death when he met Fang Zhiyi, which allowed him to survive.

So it's possible that Xiao Pi was under some kind of spell, lived in a daze for a few days, and finally died quietly in a corner where no one knew about it.

He desperately tried to spread the news of the ghouls before he died, but no one believed him.

People will always remember the legend of the ghouls, but perhaps only the old woman in the world still remembers the honest boy, Little Pi, who had no parents.

Jiang Jingming silently raised his head and looked at the night sky.

Dark clouds covered the sky, obscuring the stars and moon.

It's probably really going to rain tonight.

Chapter Ninety-Two: A Rainy Night

Considering that it might rain at night, the ground of the loess mound would become damp, making it unsuitable for sleeping.

Lu Zhao and Jiang Jingming built a simple communal bed with firewood and a dining table, and they slept in the main room.

The three girls slept in the bedroom, and despite Old Zhou and the old woman's attempts to persuade them, they moved to the woodshed, which was closer to the front door, to sleep.

The old lady specially brought out the newly made cotton quilts for the New Year and made them thick, comfortable quilts for the three of them.

“These gentlemen are our saviors, so please don’t stand on ceremony with us here! Otherwise, our conscience will not be at peace and we won’t be able to close our eyes in peace!”

So the group had no choice but to go to sleep.

The wooden door to the main room was blocked by a simple wooden board, and when the night wind blew, it made a faint creaking sound as if it were about to collapse.

Lu Zhao put on an outer robe and covered himself with it. He had only said two words when he started snoring.

There were no more whispers from the girls inside; after so many changes today, everyone was probably exhausted.

Jiang Jingming rested his head on his arm, staring at the ceiling, but he was not sleepy at all.

There were just too many questions weighing on my mind.

Hearing Lao Zhou's story not only failed to answer any of his questions, but also brought up new ones.

Where did the eerie floral scent come from? Was Tie Zhu's tragic death also due to being poisoned by a curse?

In addition, the musician's words, "Heaven's mandate is like a spring, washing away my sword heart," still echoed in his ears.

When they arrived in Shulan City, the person in charge still viewed him as the young master of the Duyue Sect.

However, upon arriving in Fengling City, the musician confirmed that he was connected to the Xiquan Sword Sect.

Perhaps the organization behind them already knows that he is the young sect leader who died in the war.

This identity is like a sword hanging over his head.

The moment he is beheaded, all his pretense will be exposed, and he will instantly become a traitor who has defected to the enemy and is condemned by everyone.

However, this does not seem to be the goal that organization wanted to achieve.

Otherwise, they could have simply and discreetly informed Chen Sha of this matter.

So, what exactly do they want?

Jiang Jingming closed his eyes, feeling that this was a question with no answer.

So I turned my thoughts back to the case of the massacre of the entire family.

Gu worms, floral fragrance, the murderer's methods, and corpse demons.

Jiang Jingming had a vague feeling that there must be some connection between them, but he couldn't figure it out for the time being.

We'll have to wait until we go to the site to investigate before we can get any further clues.

The Divine Capital Guards didn't seem to care much about sealing off the scene; even Old Zhou and a group of thugs managed to sneak up the mountain.

Moreover, they only encountered the patrolling Divine Capital Guards at the foot of the mountain, and never saw them again after they went up the mountain.

Given Chen Sha's personality, it's impossible for him to be so careless.

The only answer is that he believes there are no clues worth paying attention to at the scene.

Moreover, he basically adopted a passive attitude towards investigating the case, because he was focused on using this opportunity to launch a war against the Duyue Cult.

In this way, if by some twist of fate the real culprit is discovered, the outcome might not be what he wanted.