Darkness enveloped the village.
In this place, far from bustling cities, the village seemed to melt into the darkness. All the streetlights were off, every house had its doors firmly shut, and not a soul could be seen on the streets.
Everyone sat around the dinner table, noticing Xie Guilan's peculiar expression as she uttered the warning, "After dark, don't go out."
"Gulp!"
Long Feicheng swallowed, then smiled and said, "Sister Xie, don't try to scare us. We're all seasoned individuals. We're not afraid of any darkness or ghosts!"
Xie Guilan suddenly stood up, leaning forward until her face was almost in front of Long Feicheng's across the table. She sneered,
"If the village were only haunted by ghosts, that would be simple enough!"
"Ahem, let's talk properly. Please don't startle us like that..." Long Feicheng was beginning to feel uneasy.
As for Meng Te and Kong Xuan, who were like "young girls" with little worldly experience, they were already pale with fear, regretting having followed them to this strange village.
Everyone looked out the window again. Outside, it was pitch black, and they couldn't see anything. It was as if the darkness was filled with ghosts and monsters, and if they dared to step outside their homes, they might be dragged into the darkness and torn apart by those creatures in the most brutal manner.
Trying to leave now, to return to the bustling city, was probably no longer that simple.
Yan Shouyi said calmly, "Sister Xie, it's dark now. Shouldn't you tell us what's happening in the village?"
Xie Guilan nodded, sat back down, and sighed,
"As you can see, all the young people in our village have gone to the city to work. Most of the young people who remain in the village are idlers who just drift through life. Among them, our village has a bully and a scoundrel named Xie Dazhi. This Xie Dazhi doesn't farm his land or raise his pigs. His family is so poor they can barely afford to eat, yet he constantly gangs up with others, gambling obsessively. Later, a few NEETs from the village followed him, and these people became overbearing in the village. Things like peeping at widows bathing, stealing old people's welfare money, and stealing other people's chickens and ducks were common occurrences."
"Although I am the village head, I can do nothing to him because they only engage in petty theft. Even when they commit more serious offenses, they are caught and imprisoned for a short time, and then released, only to return to their old ways, showing no remorse."
"At some point, rumors began to circulate in the village that a group of strange people had appeared nearby. They only came out at night, moving in packs with bizarre postures, and were elusive. The well-informed elders in the village said they were ghosts, some said they were monsters, and others said they were followers of the earth deity. But no matter what those things were, the villagers were very afraid and dared not go out at night."
"When Xie Dazhi learned about this, he insisted on investigating, under the guise of eliminating harm for the people. So, he took his lackeys, stole a chicken at dusk to roast and eat, and everyone drank quite a bit. The scoundrels slept by the small river near the village until past midnight. When they sobered up, it was already early morning. Fueled by the alcohol, they began searching for traces of those monsters near the village."
"The next morning, the families of Xie Dazhi's lackeys had not seen them return for a long time. They searched near the village, and everyone else was missing. Only Xie Dazhi was found by the river. When he was found, his body was submerged in the water, frozen and unconscious, his mouth stuffed with stones. Fortunately, he was still breathing. Everyone rushed him to the hospital. After they finally managed to revive him, the first thing Xie Dazhi said was that he had encountered a ghost!"
"Unfortunately, Xie Dazhi went mad after that, speaking incoherently. I visited him several times and managed to piece together what happened that night from his words."
"That night, emboldened by alcohol, Xie Dazhi and his group patrolled around the village and indeed encountered the rumored strange people. Those strange people seemed to be two different groups. One group looked like corpses, with gruesome and varied wounds. Some were missing limbs, some had crushed heads, and some were simply reduced to half their bodies!"
"The other group consisted of spirits that were semi-transparent, floating in mid-air. That group of spirits had people beating gongs, carrying flags, and holding sedan chairs—oh, right! That group of spirits was also carrying a sedan chair, and the chair was very high, with a monster at least three meters tall sitting inside!"
"Xie Dazhi and his men were very drunk at the time, unable to even stand steadily. They stumbled and fell on their bottoms. When Xie Dazhi looked up again, he saw both groups of monsters facing him, showing very cold and eerie smiles! One of the corpses actually spoke, pointed at Xie Dazhi and his men, and laughed, saying they were looking for them, and they had delivered themselves right to their doorstep! Then, all the corpses moved, terrifying Xie Dazhi to the point of losing his soul. Everyone turned and ran!"
"Xie Dazhi was relatively fast, but his lackeys were quickly captured without even a chance to scream. Xie Dazhi knew their fate would likely be tragic, so he exerted all his strength and ran frantically. He kept running until he reached the small river. Seeing a local earth god temple by the river, he scrambled into it. The monsters chased them to the outside of the earth god temple but dared not come closer. Xie Dazhi thought he was saved and actually began to mock the ghosts outside from within the temple!"
"Those ghosts were not to be trifled with either. One strange figure emerged from the group and simply beckoned to Xie Dazhi with a finger, and Xie Dazhi's body moved uncontrollably outwards!"
"When Xie Dazhi walked out of the earth god temple, he was immediately picked up by several corpses and carried to the lakeside. They stuffed stones into his mouth and pushed his head into the water, trying to drown him. But at this moment, dawn was breaking, and the roosters crowed. The group of monsters suddenly vanished."
From that night on, Xie Dazhi became increasingly erratic, and Xie Guilan could do nothing. She sent him to a mental hospital and didn't bother with him anymore.
As for Xie Dazhi's lackeys, they have never been found to this day. Their families weep every day, posting countless missing person flyers nearby. The police also came, but due to a lack of clues, there has been no progress. As for Xie Dazhi's account, the police do not acknowledge it, as Xie Dazhi is already mad, and the words of a madman cannot be used as clues.
Later, Xie Guilan also invited several sorcerers, but half of them were tricksters, and the other half shook their heads upon arrival, saying they could not handle such matters.
The last sorcerer spent a night in the village and then hurriedly packed his belongings to leave, leaving only these words: "The matters of your village involve too much. I am incapable of handling them, and no one in the entire Qiantang can help! If you wish to resolve this trouble, you must find some renowned sects... Find Maoshan, Maoshan can definitely resolve this matter!"
It was from that sorcerer that Xie Guilan obtained Maoshan's contact information, which led to the current scene of Yan Shouyi, Han San, and others arriving at the village.
After recounting the strange events of the village, Xie Guilan sighed again,
"I thought the people sent by the Maoshan sect would be powerful Great Sorcerers, but instead, it turned out to be you few young kids. Alas, never mind. Don't get involved in our village's affairs. I will find another expert myself..."
Xie Guilan did not trust Yan Shouyi and his companions, nor did she wish for them to wade into these muddy waters. Her condescension was mixed with goodwill.
However, Han San said sternly, "Sister Xie, we cultivators have always made it our duty to expel demons and uphold righteousness. How can we retreat out of fear? But speaking of which, you've been talking for so long, the chicken soup must have gone cold. Could you trouble us to reheat it? We need to eat well before we work."