Chapter 1 Nightmare Assault

Unlike Huang Jun, Yao Shunyu had long guessed that these villagers were not human. Li Bai had told him about the grotesque infants hatched from the clay figures underground, and these villagers were clearly the grown-up versions of those infants.

The entire Blackwater Village was a giant nest, the nest of the Zhusheng Niangniang (Birth-Giving Goddess).

Luan Lihui detonated the explosives at the moment of his near-death. He was a man of flesh and blood, unwilling to be killed just like that. Even if he died, he would take the Zhusheng Niangniang and these damned villagers down with him.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the vitality of these things. The Zhusheng Niangniang, who was very close to the center of the explosion, was hardly affected at all. Only a large layer of dry mud covering her body was blasted away, exposing the dark green skin underneath the mud.

The huge red veil, made of some unknown material, remained motionless in the terrifying blast wave.

The nearby villagers also seemed to know that their identities had been exposed. They no longer concealed themselves, standing in place with terrifying appearances, staring at Yao Shunyu and Huang Jun with resentment.

Huang Jun swallowed nervously. In addition to shock, he couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. If... if he had really chosen to be the second one to appear, wouldn't this terrible hanging punishment have fallen on him?

It seemed that the dead infant was not a good thing either, likely only bringing misfortune.

The huge explosion did not affect the Zhusheng Niangniang, but it overturned several boxes of offerings on the large palanquin. Several skinned and gutted corpses rolled out from them.

Although the corpses were a bloody mess, Yao Shunyu could still tell from the tattered pieces of clothing that these were the men who had been imprisoned in Blackwater Village.

Yao Shunyu was now confused. He couldn't understand. Since going first meant losing the dead infant and the right to *de xi* (obtain happiness), and going second, like Luan Lihui, also meant death, because even if they were ruthless to themselves, they were only human, with their own lifespan limits, while their opponents were ghosts.

Was everyone going to die here?

Was there really no chance?

Having come all the way here, Yao Shunyu felt a surge of intense unwillingness in his heart. He stared with bloodshot eyes, scanning every inch of the vicinity, not letting go of any possibility of survival.

At this moment, a person walked over from a distance. It was the strong woman who had come to make trouble earlier. The woman was holding half of a cracked human head in her hand.

The woman raised the head high in front of Yao Shunyu, shaking it boastfully. It was Luan Lihui's head, and Yao Shunyu could clearly see the fragmented features on it.

With a forceful throw, Luan Lihui's head flew over, rolled twice on the ground, and finally stopped in front of Yao Shunyu.

"Ah!"

Seeing this scene, Huang Jun was frightened and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"The bandit Luan Lihui was audacious and dared to offend the Niangniang. He deserves to die!" Grand Elder Sun waved his hand. "Light the fire, punish him with cooking the corpse!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a wooden cart that required four or five people to push was brought up. On it was a large pot filled with boiling water, and people were constantly adding firewood underneath.

An old woman rushed over, grabbed Luan Lihui's head, and threw it into the boiling water.

The moment the head was thrown, several people guarding the pot immediately ran over, but they were still a bit too slow. Some were splashed by a few drops of water, and their bodies instantly emitted white smoke.

The person rolled on the ground in pain, as if it wasn't water, but concentrated acid.

Yao Shunyu's pupils suddenly constricted. "Found it!"

He had found a way to break the situation!

Ten minutes later, the procession stopped again, and the girl who had long been filled with murderous intent towards Yao Shunyu stepped out.

Looking at the burn on the girl's face, combined with the girl's and her mother's hatred for Li Bai, Yao Shunyu roughly guessed the whole story.

Li Bai had mentioned that in the underground tunnel, she and Zhang Yuanchao had once used water to repel a grotesque infant. Water was like concentrated acid to these things, directly burning away half of the infant's face.

This girl was probably that grotesque infant!

He just didn't expect that in such a short time, the infant had grown so quickly!

The village chief's heavy eyelids lifted, seemingly accustomed to the terrifying scene before him. "Who will be the first to *de xi* (obtain happiness)?"

"Me, Yao Shunyu!" Yao Shunyu walked out without fear.

There were whispers among the surrounding villagers, all scolding Yao Shunyu for being a man and daring to speak so loudly, and for not using modifiers like "bandit" or "small man," clearly not taking them, these women, seriously.

But Yao Shunyu didn't care about that. After enduring a solid beating, Yao Shunyu staggered to his feet and spat a mouthful of blood on the ground, with two teeth mixed in.

But Yao Shunyu didn't care anymore. He was laughing. "Are... are there any others... I can... cough cough... I can play with a few of you... by myself."

"Audacious!" The girl shouted loudly at Yao Shunyu, her half-burned face almost cracking with anger.

Yao Shunyu pushed away the scissors and other weapons that Grand Elder Sun handed over. He limped towards the large pot.

With the intense boiling water, Luan Lihui's head rose and fell in the boiling water. His face had been completely cooked.

"Brother Luan, I will avenge you!"

After saying this, Yao Shunyu directly picked up the large ladle used for stirring by the pot, and scooped a full ladle of boiling water. As Yao Shunyu turned around, all the villagers took a step back in unison, including Grand Elder Sun and his opponent, the girl.

Everyone was staring at him with a look of fear. This was the first time Yao Shunyu had seen fear in the eyes of these villagers.

"Come on!" Yao Shunyu roared, "Who wants to try!"

Seeing that Yao Shunyu was already in a state of madness, Grand Elder Sun waved to the four old women beside him, signaling them to put down their weapons and not to provoke Yao Shunyu any further.

"This is a contest between you and her. Don't hurt others." Grand Elder Sun's voice was still considered calm, but his attitude was much better than before.

"Fuck you!" Yao Shunyu spat a mouthful of bloody saliva at Grand Elder Sun.

The next second, Yao Shunyu suddenly stared at the girl, and then, in the girl's despairing gaze, Yao Shunyu raised the ladle and poured a full ladle of boiling water on his own head.

Even though he was trembling all over in pain, with clumps of hair falling out along with his scalp, Yao Shunyu didn't cry out. He dropped the ladle, raised his face, which had been scalded red, and forced out an ugly smile at the girl. "Heh, hehe, go... go to hell!"

The girl was dumbfounded. After a moment, she turned around and ran, but was grabbed by the surrounding villagers and dragged back.

The village chief stared at the girl who was crying and begging for mercy, a hint of anger mixed with shame appearing in his eyes. "The Niangniang's people don't have such cowardice. A bet is a bet, do it!"