The detailed situation was roughly like this.
And the beginning of all this was the stone tablet that had been chiseled open.
I was just thinking.
Xia Qiu Xi spoke up beside me.
"Beneath that stone tablet, a malevolent ghost should have been sealed.
The foul-smelling black liquid, I suspect, is brackish water formed from the long-term intermingling of Yin Sha qi and moisture.
Now that the malevolent ghost has escaped its seal, it will surely wreak havoc.
Judging by the speed at which it kills people, it will definitely kill again tonight."
Xia Qiu Xi analyzed meticulously.
The rest of us nodded upon hearing her.
Old Mo chimed in, "The problem now is, how do we deal with that thing?
Do we lie in wait, or take the initiative to attack?"
After Old Mo finished speaking, I paid him no mind.
Instead, I turned to Grandpa Li and asked, "Grandpa Li, how many people are still residing in the village now?"
Grandpa Li paused, then thought for a moment, "There should be about six or seven households left! The rest have gone down the mountain."
I nodded, and then spoke again, "Grandpa Li, the malevolent ghost has not been eliminated.
It might kill again tonight.
Please contact these villagers and, while there is still time, gather them together.
This will best ensure their safety.
Once the ghost emerges, we can act without reservations.
Otherwise, if these malevolent spirits find the villagers first, their lives could be in danger."
At this point, Grandpa Li could only choose to trust us.
He nodded, "Alright, I'll go notify them!"
With that, Grandpa Li was about to leave.
But I said to Old Mo, "Old Mo, go with Grandpa Li. Just in case.
I'll stay in the house and draw some talismans to ward off evil.
Oh, and Grandpa Li, I'll need to kill a yellow chicken for its blood later."
Grandpa Li agreed with a nod, saying nothing more.
Old Mo also called out a greeting and left the room with Grandpa Li to notify the other villagers.
Next, Chen Yao, Xia Qiu Xi, and I divided the tasks.
Xia Qiu Xi and I drew talismans, while Chen Yao handled the chores, grinding, collecting chicken blood, and drying the talismans, etc.
We worked quickly, and in a short while, we had drawn over a dozen yellow talismans.
All of them were made with chicken blood mixed with cinnabar.
Each one was a house-warding talisman.
Later, I planned to arrange the villagers together and protect them with the talismans.
Then, after Li Chun Long and the others arrived, we would deal with the malevolent ghost together.
As for lying in wait or taking the initiative to attack,
that would depend on everyone's opinions and the actual situation.
But, who knew that less than ten minutes after Old Mo left, something had already happened.
I was drawing a talisman when my phone suddenly rang.
Picking it up, I saw it was Old Mo calling.
Without much thought, I answered the call directly.
As soon as I connected, Old Mo said urgently into the phone, "Something's happened to Lao Qin!"
Upon hearing "something's happened," my heart tightened.
Chen Yao, who was drawing and drying talismans, also turned to look at me.
I directly asked, "What happened?"
"Someone's dead!"
Upon hearing "someone's dead," Xia Qiu Xi and I's faces changed drastically, and Chen Yao also looked shocked.
How long had we been in the village?
Less than half an hour, and someone was dead again?
"What exactly is the situation?"
I hurriedly asked.
On the phone, besides Old Mo's voice, there was also sobbing and Grandpa Li's shouting. The situation seemed very urgent.
Old Mo didn't say much more, only shouting into the phone, "We don't know the details yet, but it definitely has something to do with the malevolent entity.
You guys hurry to the village entrance, to the house setting up the mourning hall. Hurry!"
After saying that, Old Mo hung up.
This sudden emergency put all of us on edge.
Without hesitation, I immediately said, "Qiu Xi, Chen Yao, let's hurry and see what's going on!"
After speaking, I led the way out of the house.
Then we ran towards the village entrance.
The sky had already darkened by this time.
The entire village was shrouded in gloom.
The cold wind blew from time to time, making one feel chilly.
Before we even reached the village entrance, we could hear crying from ahead.
And near the entrance of a house not far away, several elderly villagers were standing.
I ran over quickly, "Make way, make way."
The villagers didn't recognize us, but they made a path.
As soon as I squeezed through, I saw an old woman.
She was holding a middle-aged man and crying, "My child!
What happened to you?
Your father is gone, and you left without a word, just like that!
How am I supposed to live without you?"
Beside her, two other old women were comforting her.
The old woman's face was tear-stained, and she was crying bitterly.
On the other side, Grandpa Li was smoking with a dejected expression.
But Old Mo was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Grandpa Li, I hurried and said, "Grandpa Li, what's going on here?"
Upon hearing my voice, Grandpa Li looked over quickly.
Then he said, "When we first arrived, this Niú Wá Zi was still fine.
But in a short while, he just collapsed."
"And Mo Ting, who came with you?"
I quickly pressed for information.
"That young Taoist priest Mo called you and then chased after him.
He told me to wait here for you. I don't know where he went."
Grandpa Li replied.
Meanwhile, Chen Yao hurriedly said, "Senior Brother Qin, he still has a faint pulse. He's not dead."
Chen Yao was definitely a professional when it came to first aid.
Her words startled many people present, and they all looked at her.
I also hurried over.
And Xia Qiu Xi beside me touched the forehead of the middle-aged man.
Frowning slightly, she said to me, "His soul has already been lost..."