Chapter 10 A Man's Nightmare

Before Yao Shunyu and Li Bai could react, rapid knocking sounded on the door. This immediately startled Yao Shunyu, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. He hadn't heard any footsteps approaching, as if the person knocking had been standing outside the door the whole time.

After calming down, Yao Shunyu gave Li Bai a look, then feigned composure and opened the door.

Even though they had prepared themselves mentally, the scene outside the door still made Yao Shunyu and Li Bai shudder.

Three women stood neatly outside the door, the same villagers they had met before. But these three women were too close to them, their faces almost pressed against the door. Even more disturbing was the strange expressions on their faces, their eyes filled with a chilling gloom, as if they were about to pounce on them and devour them alive.

Yao Shunyu, being a man who had seen a lot, regained his composure in just a few breaths. At the same time, a hint of normal dissatisfaction appeared on his face. "What do you mean by this? Are you spying on us?"

Li Bai also stepped forward, standing beside Yao Shunyu. After all, in this strange Blackwater Village, only women's words carried weight. Yao Shunyu, a man, daring to speak to the women like this might cause trouble.

Sure enough, after sensing the dissatisfaction in Yao Shunyu's tone, the face of one of the female villagers turned extremely ugly. She rasped in a hoarse voice, "How dare you speak to us like that? Did you steal a man's heart and liver?" The woman raised her hand, ready to give Yao Shunyu a slap as a warning.

But in the next moment, her wrist was grabbed. Li Bai held the woman's wrist, saying coldly, "He's my man. He doesn't need anyone else to discipline him."

"Besides, he's right. You're standing outside our door like this. Are you spying on us?" Li Bai pressed the point. "I told you, we're not staying in your village for free. We can pay you, and you agreed."

At this moment, the woman standing in the middle, not very tall but rather robust, spoke. Her voice was deep, "That's not the case. We're here to ask who you're sending to participate in tonight's Zhusheng Gathering (Childbirth Blessing Ceremony)."

After a moment, the robust woman added in a muffled voice, "Outsiders, you must remember that this is a rare opportunity."

At Li Bai's prompting, Yao Shunyu stepped back, then retreated to the old square table and picked up the wooden tray on it. The tray was square, with a shallow rim, and neatly arranged inside were eight small plaques.

Last night, there were still nine plaques, each representing one person. Li Bai, in front of everyone, turned over Li Maochun's plaque.

"He's the one." Li Bai handed the plaque to the leading woman.

According to the rules, she and Yao Shunyu had to go tonight. All she needed to do was choose one more person from the remaining ones.

The woman who took the plaque grinned, revealing a mouthful of blackish-yellow teeth. The teeth were crooked and uneven, looking like barbs at first glance.

"Bang!"

"Smash!"

The sudden sounds caught Yao Shunyu and Li Bai off guard. The sounds weren't far from them, sounding like something heavy had fallen to the ground, knocking over tables, chairs, and some porcelain bowls or something like that.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

"Bang!"

Following a series of violent running sounds, in the next second, a half-open door in the large courtyard they were in was kicked open. Then a man with slender limbs but a bloated belly, and a stubbly beard on his face, stumbled out.

Because of his bound feet, the man couldn't run fast at all. He was quickly caught up by a group of fierce-looking women chasing after him.

Yao Shunyu and Li Bai had never seen such a scene. The women were holding long poles used for herding livestock. At the end of the pole was a noose made of coarse hemp rope. At this moment, the noose was tightly around the man's neck. The women chanted in unison, and the big man was dragged backwards on the ground.

The man stared with desperate eyes, blood foam constantly涌现 from his mouth and nose. Just as Yao Shunyu and Li Bai thought the man was about to be tortured to death, the frenzied women finally released the long pole in their hands.

At this moment, the man had been tortured to the point of being on the verge of death. His bloated upper body and tightly bound feet were provoking Yao Shunyu and Li Bai's nerves.

At this moment, one of the women who had come to deliver the message quickly stepped forward and slapped the man twice across the face. "You damned thief, you already have the seed of our Blackwater Village, yet you're still acting crazy!"

"Quick, quick, give him medicine! His death is a small matter, but our Blackwater Village's children can't have any problems!" The woman said loudly.

The women gathered around. Some were responsible for holding down the man's hands and feet, while others went to pry open the man's mouth.

Yao Shunyu and Li Bai stepped forward, seemingly to help. They noticed that one of the women was holding a packet of white powder, and was about to feed the powder into the mouth of the crazed man. But the man clenched his teeth, refusing to comply. At the same time, the man's eyes were fixed on Yao Shunyu, his eyeballs bulging out, looking extremely horrifying.

Yao Shunyu could fully feel the complexity and fear in the man's eyes. The man wasn't crazy. He had something to say to him!

"You thieving bastard, get out of here!"

Before Yao Shunyu could get any closer, he saw a disheveled woman screaming at him. This seemed to trigger a chain reaction, and more and more women stood up, casting hostile glances at Yao Shunyu.

In this village, women's status was far higher than men's. They couldn't tolerate a man daring to approach them without permission. This was tantamount to challenging their authority.

"Yao Shunyu, you go back first." Li Bai stood in front of Yao Shunyu, seemingly scolding him, but in reality, she was helping him shoulder most of the pressure.

As Yao Shunyu left, these women slowly calmed down and began to deal with the man again.

Li Bai stood to the side, pretending to help hold down the man's legs, but in reality, she was observing. But the more she looked, the more shocked she became. The man's struggles seemed so pale and weak. As his mouth was pried open, Li Bai gasped. She saw that all of the man's teeth had been knocked out, and his tongue had been cruelly cut off, leaving only half of it. The wound at the severed end was shocking.

Li Bai suddenly had a bold and terrifying idea. The man at this moment seemed to have completely become a sad tool, who would be forever imprisoned in this Blackwater Village until the end of his life.

And as the mouth was pried open, the woman poured the white powder in. Within a few breaths, the man stopped struggling. Slowly, the man's expression became foolish, his mouth opened, and tears, snot, and disgusting saliva flowed out in a stream. A stinky urine seeped from his lower body.