CHAPTER 89: A DISTURBANCE!

No matter how they looked at it, Zhang Hai’s death was bizarre. If he had truly died over three days ago, then who was the Zhang Hai that returned to Wei City? And why, of all times, did his soul return to Longmen Village today?

Li Yanchu’s eyes narrowed. The elderly, white-haired man with the cane had vanished again. But this time, he didn’t reappear from the shadowy depths of the Lin ancestral shrine.

Instead...

Bang!

With a thunderous sound, the doors of the Lin family shrine slammed shut.

Li Yanchu said in a low voice, “At this point, our only option is to head to Lady Zhou’s place and see if Zhang Hai is really there. If he is, we ask him why he came back, and what in the world is happening in Longmen Village.”

Bai Hongtu suddenly said, “Didn’t you say earlier we shouldn’t go knocking on a widow’s door in the middle of the night?”

Li Yanchu froze for a second, then straightened up and replied seriously, “Right now we don’t even know if that Lady Zhou is a person or a ghost. You’re still worried about that? Why are you so sensitive?”

Bai Hongtu’s mouth twitched. He was so stunned he couldn’t come up with a retort.

Soon, the two arrived at Lady Zhou’s house. The woman who had been drawing water by the well earlier was now nowhere to be seen.

Not only that, even the eerie cries of hunger that had echoed throughout the village had completely vanished. Only the blood-red moon in the sky remained, its color even more intense than before, brightening as if soaked in fresh blood.

The two slipped in quietly, creeping around to the back of the house. The lights in the room had already been extinguished, and it was pitch dark inside.

Just as they crouched down outside the house, they suddenly heard the sound of a man and woman gasping for breath right by their ears, along with the seductive, teasing voice of a woman. “Mr. Zhang, you're getting more and more incredible...”

Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu exchanged a glance. Though the voice was low and breathy, they could still vaguely make out that it belonged to Lady Zhou.

Mr. Zhang!? So Zhang Hai really is here.

Li Yanchu frowned, then quietly leaned in to peek through the crack in the door and saw nothing but pitch black inside.

But then, he spotted a pair of glowing crimson eyes in the darkness. Those eyes looked wild, greedy, and utterly insane. Just looking at them sent chills down the spine.

The red light from those eyes shone right onto the man lying opposite. The man’s face was filled with pleasure, but his eyes revealed a deep, sorrowful despair. It was Zhang Hai!

Li Yanchu’s heart tensed now that he had finally gotten a clear look at the man’s face and clearly saw who those glowing red eyes belonged to, as well as what she was doing in that moment.

That face, twisted in satisfied ecstasy... those ghastly pale teeth... the whole person radiating an eerie, unnatural aura... It was none other than Lady Zhou, the same woman they had seen earlier washing her face by the well.

Li Yanchu’s eyes turned cold, and an intense malevolent qi surged from him.

Divine Astral Hands!

Boom...!

The entire wall exploded inward with a thunderous crash, dust billowing into the air. Light from outside poured in, illuminating Lady Zhou’s once plain, seductive face, which was now twisted with malice and madness.

“It’s you two outsiders!” Lady Zhou shrieked as she was caught mid-act. Her voice turned sharp and piercing.

Her hair flew wildly behind her, her fingernails grew at a terrifying pace, and her entire body became shrouded in killing intent.

Li Yanchu’s gaze was razor-sharp as he struck with a single palm. A blast of scalding qi and blood surged out, forming a massive shockwave.

Divine Astral Hands!

The blow struck Lady Zhou square in the chest, shattering her ribcage and causing blood to gush everywhere.

But she seemed to feel no pain at all. Her crimson eyes burned with hunger, and from her mouth came a sound like a ghost’s wail.

“I’m so hungry... I want to eat you both!” She lunged at Li Yanchu with a crazed expression, as wild and frenzied as the white-haired elder in the ancestral shrine.

“You think you can stop me!?” Li Yanchu's voice roared like thunder. He grabbed Lady Zhou by the head and slammed her down into the ground with a deafening crash.

The surrounding earth cracked cun by cun, spiderweb-like fissures spreading across the surface. At the center of the crater lay a headless, broken body. But in the next instant, Lady Zhou’s corpse began to twitch unnaturally, struggling to rise again.

“Flying Sword, exorcize evil!” Bai Hongtu’s crisp voice rang out as a flash of sword light streaked across the air, nailing Lady Zhou’s headless body to the ground in one clean strike.

Li Yanchu rushed to Zhang Hai’s side and helped him up. “Zhang Hai, what in the world is going on here?”

Zhang Hai’s face still wore a twisted expression of pleasure, but in his eyes, the despair had only deepened. He looked utterly helpless.

“Run... run... Leave... leave this village...” Zhang Hai forced out the words stiffly and mechanically, as if using every last bit of strength he had. As he spoke, two streams of blood-tears flowed from his eyes.

What a horrifying sight. Even with Li Yanchu’s calm and firm temperament, a chill still crept into his heart.

“Let’s go. We’re getting him out of here!” Li Yanchu barked coldly.

The commotion in Lady Zhou’s house had long since alarmed the village. From next door, out came Guizi and his wife, the same sharp-tongued middle-aged woman they’d seen earlier.

Bai Hongtu’s expression was cold and sharp. Forming a sword seal with his fingers, he directly controlled his Flying Sword to meet the enemy head-on! Meanwhile, Li Yanchu lifted Zhang Hai into his arms, preparing to make a break for it.

But just then, the scene before his eyes blurred, and the surroundings rippled like water and shifted in an instant.

Li Yanchu realized that he and Hongtu were once again crouching outside Lady Zhou’s door, peeking inside.

They were back.

Realizing this, Li Yanchu’s expression darkened. He cautiously looked through the crack again.

The scene inside was almost identical to before. In the darkness, Lady Zhou’s crimson eyes gleamed as she clung to Zhang Hai’s leg, gnawing at it.

But this time, Li Yanchu noticed something different: Zhang Hai’s eyes were filled with a pleading look. In the faint light, Li Yanchu could clearly see that his lips were moving.

“Run... run...” He was speaking to Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu, outside the door.

Li Yanchu’s heart sank instantly. Zhang Hai was still conscious inside this endless loop!?

A wave of uncontrollable fury surged in his chest. If that was the case, then Zhang Hai had been fully aware every time his flesh was being torn apart and devoured.

“Demonic filth!”

Just then, a burst of blazing pure yang qi exploded from Li Yanchu’s body!

Boom!

With even faster movement than before, he burst into the house like a wild beast from the wilderness.

He snatched up Zhang Hai and, in a flash, carried him out into the courtyard.

If these villagers revived after being killed, and everything reset to the beginning, then there was no point in fighting them. He just wouldn't kill them.

At this time, Bai Hongtu followed close behind, swiftly forming hand seals. With a flick of his fingers, several talismans shot out, instantly forming a wall of flames to block pursuit. The wall of flames blocked off Lady Zhou, Guizi, and his sharp-tongued wife, keeping them outside.

Li Yanchu hoisted Zhang Hai in one arm, grabbed Bai Hongtu with the other, and lightly pressed off with his foot.

Boom!

The ground beneath him caved in, forming a deep crater from the force! He shot forward like a cannonball, charging straight for the outskirts of Longmen Village.

But just as they began to flee, the once silent and lifeless Longmen Village suddenly... awoke. In the pitch-black night, dozens of flickering lanterns lit up all at once, floating erratically in the darkness.

One by one, the villagers emerged from their homes. Their eyes were glowing blood-red as they rushed out with hoes, axes, cleavers, and all kinds of sharp tools. They charged toward Li Yanchu, roaring and howling like wild beasts.

But even with two people in tow, Li Yanchu’s speed never slowed. He didn’t pause for even a second as he blazed a path forward.

He had only one goal, to break through the edge of Longmen Village and get them out.