CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 22: LURING THE TIGER AWAY FROM THE MOUNTAIN

Early the next morning, the roosters crowed and dogs barked.

Sang Que was awakened. She had a rare good night’s sleep, didn’t enter the Nine Netherworld, and didn’t have any strange dreams, so her exhausted spirit had recovered quite a bit.

She lifted the thin quilt and sat up, checking her right palm once again. Under the influence of thoughts, the mark of the Yansheng coin appeared, with just a little bit left to complete the Geng Trigram.

Sang Que clenched her fist, filled with determination, got off the kang bed, moved chairs aside, and practiced a set of the Eight Pieces of Brocade in the room to stretch her muscles.

Today, she planned to wait for a chance when Yan Daozi left the small courtyard before dark, then sneak into his house to get the item Gui Chou needed, escape to the deserted forest at the edge of the village, and kill a suicide rope before returning home!

"Yu Niang."

Kou Yushan’s voice came from outside, and Sang Que opened the door and went out.

"How did you sleep last night? Everything okay? I brought you something to eat."

Kou Yushan, like an elder, asked with concern and handed Sang Que two soft cornbread buns.

"No problem." Sang Que finished one bun in a few bites.

"Eat slowly. If you don’t have anything to do this morning, follow me. I’ll take you around the village to get familiar with it."

Kou Yushan opened the new bamboo tube he was holding and handed it to Sang Que. Inside was water heated and then cooled.

After thinking for a moment, Sang Que agreed. It’s still early, and she couldn’t keep staring at Yan Daozi’s side all day, so she might as well find something to do.

Following Kou Yushan, Sang Que met the Black Mountain Village patrol team, which totaled twelve people, all young and strong men from the village.

They had a lukewarm attitude towards Sang Que, wary only of Yan Daozi, and gave Kou Yushan some face, but their eyes watching her couldn’t hide their caution.

If it weren’t for Kou Yushan saying Sang Que was following him this morning, others might have voiced their opinions immediately.

Back when Ming Zhang was here, they were willing to let Ming Zhang join them, after all, Ming Zhang had real skills, but unfortunately, Ming Zhang wasn’t willing, and they couldn’t persuade him.

When there’s no farm work to do, the village patrol team splits into four groups every morning as soon as the sun rises, with the village’s black dogs, to patrol around the outskirts of the village.

Evil spirits don’t refrain from appearing during the day. There may still be unknown evil spirits lurking in places where sunlight doesn’t reach.

Besides this, there are some bodies of victims exposed in the wilderness, which might be eroded by special evil spirits, leading to corpse transformations and wandering near the village.

The patrol team needs to be vigilant against these dangers to protect the villagers’ safety.

Now that the Wheat Evil has appeared in the wheat field, Kou Yushan, along with a black dog, Skinny, and He Baosheng, focuses patrol around the wheat field, deserted forest, and the broken temple nearby.

On the way to the wheat field, He Baosheng secretly gave Sang Que two mountain plums, saying they were brought for her by He Shou’an.

Skinny was unconsciously humming, "Eighteen men, eighteen women," a child’s rhyme when Kou Yushan slapped him on the back of his head to interrupt him, and Skinny called out, claiming he wasn’t singing.

Under the morning light, the wheat waves rolled, golden and bright. Sang Que didn’t see the eerie scarecrow that had appeared at night before.

Woof woof! Woof woof!

The black dog suddenly barked and led the group towards the wheat field by the mountain. Nearby, Sang Que saw a large area of wheat fallen, with a blood-red wild boar carcass inside.

"Don’t go near." Kou Yushan stretched an arm to protect Sang Que.

Skinny sighed in regret, "If this had crashed into a tree, we could have taken it back to eat. But crashing into the wheat field, I dare not touch it."

From a distance, Sang Que could still clearly see that the wild boar carcass was densely covered with layers and layers of slender wheat awns emerging from the flesh, appearing blood-red, contracting as if alive.

Kou Yushan explained to Sang Que, "This is the Wheat Evil. Anything that touches the wheat will have awns like needles grow from the body until the person dies of pain. Even if a person dies, the Wheat Evil on the body will still spread."

Skinny complained, "In past years, the Wheat Evil only appeared when the wheat was almost harvested. Since that Yan Daozi came to Black Mountain Village, he hasn’t done many good deeds, but trouble seems to follow him endlessly."

Kou Yushan and He Baosheng patrolled around the wheat field, giving Sang Que a chance to ask Skinny, "Where does Master Yan usually... usually roam?"

Skinny grunted, "He’s quite protective of his life, stays in the courtyard every day. Used to send Ming Zhang on errands for everything. If he keeps this up, he’ll start ordering you around soon."

Sang Que furrowed her brows. She had promised Gui Chou the time frame would be up by tonight. If Yan Daozi didn’t leave today, she couldn’t just barge in openly.

The whole morning of patrolling, Sang Que was distracted. Skinny’s chatter in her ear barely registered.

At noon, the group returned to the village to plan lunch. Sang Que still went to eat at He Baosheng’s house, while Skinny appreciated Kou Yushan for lending him glutinous rice, constantly inviting Kou Yushan to his house for meals recently.

"Captain, haven’t you noticed your Yu Niang seems distracted all morning? She seems to have something on her mind."

In Skinny’s house, only he and his elderly mother lived together. While preparing lunch, he asked Kou Yushan.

Kou Yushan squatted under the stove, striking the fire flint to kindle a flame, "Didn’t notice, what did she say? What did she tell you?"

Skinny scratched his head, "I don’t know, she kept looking towards Master Yan’s courtyard, and even asked me where Master Yan usually goes and why he went out the last few times."

Kou Yushan’s hand paused while striking the fire flint, frowning in thought. After a moment, a glint of understanding flashed in his eyes. He quickly struck the flint, stuffed the lit kindling into the stove, and stood up, dusting off his hands.

"Skinny, I won’t be having lunch. I need to go out for a bit. After half an hour, I need you to do something for me."

"No worries, just tell me what to do."

...

After lunch, Sang Que went back to the Liu Family Courtyard for a nap. Outside, the scorching sun blazed, and the sound of cicadas was deafening, making her head throb.

She indeed felt a bit anxious this time, not expecting Yan Daozi to be a homebody who wouldn’t even step out of his courtyard.

However, by staying in one place like this and reducing interaction with the outside world, he surely encounters fewer evil spirits, which is also a survival method.

The only way she could think of to get Yan Daozi out was to tell him that Liu Caifeng wasn’t dead and was controlling the Yin Child to seek revenge on him, urging him to go dig up Liu Caifeng’s grave in the back mountains.

If she adds some characteristics of the Yin Child, there might be a chance Yan Daozi would take the bait. But since he’s so cunning, it might easily expose her as well.

No matter, as long as the plan succeeds and she can go home, exposure is worth it. She would find a way to dissociate herself from Kou Yushan and the others, ensuring they aren’t implicated.

Now, at the peak of Yang energy at noon, Yan Daozi is more likely to go out. Last time, when she followed Kou Yushan to the ruined temple to capture her, it was also at noon.

With her mind made up, Sang Que hung a bamboo tube filled with black dog blood and a small bag of glutinous rice at her waist, placed the book and two Exorcism Talismans Yan Daozi gave her in her jacket, picked up a machete, and went to find Yan Daozi.

If all went well, she would take the item and leave immediately, never to return.

Borrowing a piece of red cloth and a length of red string from He Shouhui, Sang Que arrived at Yan Daozi’s courtyard, glanced at the window on the left that was boarded shut, and went over to knock on the door.

Knock knock!

"Who is it?"

"It’s me..."

"Come in."

Sang Que pushed the door open and entered. Yan Daozi emerged from the room on the right, wiping his hands with a damp cloth.

"I-I saw..."

"Master Yan! Something terrible has happened!!" Sang Que hadn’t finished speaking when Skinny rushed in from outside, breathlessly pointing shakily towards the direction of the Deserted Forest, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Yan Daozi squinted his eyes, "What terrible thing has happened?"

Skinny gasped a few times before speaking, "Something happened at the Witch Temple, the Witch Lady... has come back to life!"

"Impossible!" Yan Daozi exclaimed in denial, his eyes showing shock.

Sang Que’s heart also skipped a beat, such a coincidence?

"If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself! I even saw that Xia Chan girl there, with blood all over the place and ghost talismans. Do you think she’s performing a ritual to the Witch Lady?"

"Yes! I suddenly remembered that He Family’s Fourth said he saw the Witch Lady that night, mentioning that she brought him back. The Witch Lady must have come back to life! If the Evil Suppression Bureau discovers this, the entire village could be implicated, and Master Yan, you wouldn’t survive either!"

Yan Daozi’s hand visibly trembled. Holding illicit sacrifices and worshiping Evil Gods was a major taboo for the court, with too many examples of entire clans being exterminated.

Yan Daozi glanced at the sun outside, hesitated for a moment, and then went back inside his room to fetch his iron sword, Dao Bell, ink bucket, and other items.

Locking the door, Yan Daozi instructed Sang Que, "Stay here, and do not let anyone in until I return, or do not blame me for being impolite!"

Sang Que nodded silently, displaying a fearful demeanor. Yan Daozi gave her a threatening look before leaving with Skinny.

"You go grab the two black dogs from the village."

"Alright!"

Sang Que followed to the courtyard gate, ensuring they wouldn’t suddenly return, and immediately went back to the main house, bolting the door from inside.

Turning to look at the room on the left, affixed with talisman paper and locked, Sang Que’s heart raced wildly.

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