As dusk fell and night enveloped the land, Pingshan Village appeared completely still on the surface. Yet, beneath that calm, earth-shattering changes seemed to be taking place. In the darkness, something was slowly awakening.
Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue remained in the courtyard, in no rush to leave.
“It’s six already. Why did it get dark so fast?” Zhao Mingyue took out her mobile phone to glance at it.
She hadn’t checked her phone all afternoon, mostly fearing the battery would die. She was using an old, second-hand phone, and its battery capacity was very small.
“Wait for me here.”
Bai Yu vanished from the spot, reappearing on the rooftop.
She observed the village from a distance. A place like this only revealed its truest, most terrifying face after dark. The Evil God’s malicious intent would also peak at this time.
The night wind blew, carrying threads of chill, damp, icy cold, and an indescribable stench that stimulated every nerve in one’s brain.
Suddenly, Bai Yu heard something. Someone was speaking in a low whisper. Carried by the wind, it drifted to her ears. Vaguely, she thought she heard this person mention her name. The other words were too unclear; she would have to listen very carefully to make out exactly what this person was saying.
“A curse…” Bai Yu roughly understood what this was. This indistinct voice was the curse. When the power of the curse first drifted over, one could hear a few keywords related to oneself.
It was these keywords that lured a person into listening closely. The more one listened, the more one wanted to listen, feeling as if they were gradually approaching the truth—that this person was speaking of something very important concerning them.
But unknowingly, in the process of listening intently, they had already fallen under the curse.
“Mingyue, no matter what sounds you hear later, just ignore them completely. Don’t listen carefully. If someone calls out to you, absolutely do not answer. That includes my voice. If I call you, it will only be in your mind.”
Bai Yu reminded her, keeping a wary eye out.
The Evil God’s power was strong, but its limitations were also distinct. Since the Evil God here was related to the ears, ignoring these sounds was the best way to avoid getting entangled by the power of the curse.
She suspected this curse accumulated bit by bit. The very instant one heard the sound, one was actually already affected. But at this stage, the curse power hadn’t penetrated deeply; it only bewitched the mind, which was why one could hear their own name.
In reality, the Evil God didn’t know you at all, nor would it know your secrets.
But if one listened carefully at that point, then real trouble would begin.
Zhao Mingyue nodded below. She truly did hear a voice speaking near her ear, very softly, deliberately enticing her to listen closely.
Descending from the rooftop, Bai Yu still wasn’t in a rush to leave. She silently waited for the time.
She held Zhao Mingyue’s phone, glancing at the time from time to time.
Just then, a message from Lu Liangting arrived.
“Mingyue, where are you? I’m coming to find you now.”
“Don’t come find me. I’m safe for the moment.”
Bai Yu glanced at it and quickly replied. Then she turned the phone screen off and didn’t reply further.
She had notified Shen Shuyun, telling her to spread the word. This timing was also planned; she made sure those lunatics would arrive only after Lu Liangting got here. Otherwise, Lu Liangting would be intercepted halfway.
Time ticked by second by second. Zhao Mingyue suddenly tugged on Bai Yu’s sleeve, raising a hand to point inside the house, communicating with Bai Yu mentally.
“There’s a sound. It’s different from that voice earlier.”
The curse’s voice had appeared directly in her ear, but the sound she now heard came from within the room—a constant rustling, like some small animal, or like someone shifting around inside.
It was eerily quiet all around. Any slight disturbance was amplified, with the power of the curse further interfering with one’s nerves. Looking around the courtyard, the small courtyard house was only visible in a patch at the very center under the moonlight.
The surrounding rooms—those previously locked tight but now wide open—held nothing but darkness within.
Zhao Mingyue’s physical abilities had been enhanced, and the improvement in her vision was particularly noticeable.
She had gained the ability of Night Vision, allowing her to at least see her surroundings in the dark.
But as she looked towards the room now, she saw nothing at all—just a mass of pitch-black darkness.
Bai Yu also heard these sounds. She took two steps forward, adjusting her position to glance inside the house. As a Ghost, she could essentially ignore darkness. In her sight, inside the house, someone was rising from the ground with extremely stiff motions.
To be precise, it was a corpse.
This thing could no longer be called a person, nor even a Ghost.
Inside the main hall, the Wax Corpse that had been leaning against the wall slowly stood up. The simple act of straightening its body appeared inexplicably twisted and horrifying, yet for a moment, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was off.
It took a step. Its joints were stiff and difficult to bend. Its legs moved out ramrod-straight as it walked out, step by step.
The sounds within the room grew louder, the rustling turning into clearly audible footsteps.
Zhao Mingyue had just turned her head to look toward her own room when a face suddenly appeared in the lower corner of the glass window, covered in newspapers.
The face was exactly where there was no newspaper. Zhao Mingyue saw it clearly.
It was a child, impossible to tell whether a boy or a girl. Its entire face was sealed with wax. Eyes tightly shut, one could only make out two black slits through the layer of wax. The mouth was the same, sealed shut, leaving only the line of the lips.
Whether dead or alive, as long as decay hadn’t set in too long, the skin texture looked the same, the difference merely in color.
But the Wax Corpse was completely different. It lacked the pallor of a corpse, having a normal flesh tone instead. Yet this flesh tone was utterly wrong—hard to tell if it was the color of wax or skin.
And this layer of color, combined with the unique granular texture of the wax cast over the corpse’s skin, left nothing but sheer horror.
One had to understand: these weren’t wax figures. These were corpses with a layer of wax poured over them.
Time reached exactly 7:00 PM.
Creak~
A wooden door was blown open by the chilling wind, and a Wax Corpse stepped out.
Zhao Mingyue’s gaze shifted over. She watched as that Wax Corpse walked out from the darkness into the moonlight, exposing itself completely to her sight.
Sealed in wax, the difference between a Wax Corpse and an ordinary corpse was immediately obvious.
The hair was also encased in wax, forming a solid block. The wrinkles and tears on their clothes were frozen in place, as if they had been fixed at the exact moment of their death—everything except their facial expression.
The first one appeared, then a second followed closely, then a third, a fourth… until all six had emerged.
Six corpses walked out from the rooms of the house. All were strangers. Their clothes were from different eras—some in attire from twenty years ago, others in trendy new styles from the last couple of years.
Among these six people were men, women, old, and young. The oldest was over fifty. The youngest, that child, was barely ten.
Without exception, they were all Wax Corpses.
Eyes tightly shut and faces expressionless—or rather, it was impossible to see any expression beneath the wax seal.
Zhao Mingyue wanted to speak but hesitated. Among the six bodies, the fashionably dressed man, woman, and child were clearly a family of three. Most likely, they weren’t from this village.
A hole had been opened where the man’s left eye should have been. No blood flowed out, only dark red bodily tissue. The color of years-old cured meat. Taking just the man’s head as an example, it looked like an apple phone icon with a jarring piece missing. It didn’t look like a gunshot wound because the hole was smooth and uniform. What weapon could have caused it, Zhao Mingyue couldn’t imagine.
The woman’s clothes were disheveled, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle. She had probably been strangled or hanged. Even with her face sealed, it was clear she had been quite beautiful in life.
The Wax Corpses moved slowly, all heading simultaneously towards the doorway.
Then, suddenly, their movements halted. In unison, they all swiftly turned to face Zhao Mingyue.
Clang!
The Blood Thread Long Blade coalesced. Bai Yu flicked her wrist, and blood threads flew from the blade’s edge. These threads wove together into a crescent-shaped Blade Aura, bisecting two corpses in a single strike.
She used to be incredibly skilled with Blade Aura, but not anymore. After all, this wasn’t the same body. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t produce it the old way.
But she could use other methods. Like what she just did—by using the motion of the slash to send blood threads flying at the enemy. That could also count as a form of “Blade Aura,” right?
A few slashes later, the Wax Corpses collapsed to the ground. Six heads went rolling.
“It’s very dangerous outside. I’ll possess your body first. Once it’s a bit safer, I’ll come out.”
The blood threads returned to her body. Bai Yu looked at Zhao Mingyue.
Zhao Mingyue nodded without refusal, opening her arms in a pose asking for a hug.
Bai Yu paused, hesitated for half a second, but then went along with it, gently embracing Zhao Mingyue before entering her body.
Zhao Mingyue’s eyes briefly lost focus. When she opened them again, her pupils were pure black. That hint of anticipation on her face was gone, replaced by Bai Yu’s usual expressionless demeanor.
Blood threads spread from Zhao Mingyue’s back, covering her entire body. They slowly condensed into the shape of a black leather trench coat, with leather pants and tall combat boots below.
Blood threads began to emerge on her slender, elegant neck, crawling up to her face and solidifying into a White Mask. The mask had no facial features, only intricate patterns tracing its edges. There were openings just for the eyes—long and narrow like phoenix eyes, the corners tilting up with a subtle, captivating curve, adding a unique, mysterious beauty to the cold mask.
The coat and mask were for protecting Zhao Mingyue’s body, and also to conveniently hide her identity.
After all, this wasn’t her own body, which she could afford to injure randomly and just recuperate afterward. Bai Yu didn’t want any wounds to appear on Zhao Mingyue’s body.
Opening the door, Bai Yu moved to a house in front. With a light leap, she planted one foot on the wall, pushed off, and easily landed on the roof.
Breaking into a short run for speed, she used her blood threads to link the roof of another house to the one beneath her feet. Stepping on this thread of blood, she leaped again, landing on the next house’s roof.
Cloaked in moonlight, Bai Yu controlled Zhao Mingyue’s body to stand atop this household’s chimney, gazing far out towards the east side of the village.
She had three things to do now. First: follow the moving Wax Corpses from West Village to see where they were going and what was drawing them. Second: go to East Village and do the same thing—follow East Village’s Wax Corpses to see their final destination.
Following them was key to finding the two God Statues the quest required.
And the last thing: Zhao Mingyue’s family banquet.
Under the mask, Zhao Mingyue’s face was icy cold. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and glanced down at her chest.
Her frost-cold expression shifted, showing an odd sense of strangeness.
After possessing Zhao Mingyue, she could indeed feel the immense potential of this body. Its physical quality, after enhancement, was quite good. Using her body felt incredibly smooth and comfortable. But… there was one sensation her body had that Bai Yu had never experienced, whether in her past life or this one.
It was this chest…
Why was it so heavy…?
Almost involuntarily, her hand started to rise as if to press and feel it. Bai Yu quickly forced her hand back down.
She couldn’t even be sure if Zhao Mingyue’s consciousness was dormant right now. If it wasn’t, then her pressing and even squeezing… she really wouldn’t be able to wash that stain away no matter what.
Speaking of which, what exactly had this girl Zhao Mingyue been eating to grow such an exaggerated size at her age?
Soon, Bai Yu discovered something that gave her a small shock.
When she lowered her head without bending over, she couldn’t even see the tips of her shoes…
After a long silence, Bai Yu had only one thought.
“This is far too obstructive for combat.”
Now she knew why Zhao Mingyue had so many old, worn-out clothes and undergarments.
And why this girl didn’t like running.
Luckily, her own body wasn’t this size. Although it had its curves, they didn’t affect combat at all.
Bai Yu’s heart now felt a sense of relief.
Anyway, a Ghost’s body wouldn’t continue to develop.
Pushing aside the messy thoughts for the time being, Bai Yu figured she just needed to bind them tighter with blood threads and adapt a little. It wouldn’t affect much.
Continuing on her way, leaping across rooftops, she followed the group of several dozen Wax Corpses from a distance.
Trailing them, Bai Yu noticed something unusual. These Wax Corpses weren’t all people who had died violent deaths. Most were elderly, wearing burial shrouds.
There was a high chance this village had no custom of burial, or at least not of burying the physical body.
These people, after death, were made into Wax Corpses and kept in their homes.
She wondered: were there still living people in these houses? If so, were these people living alongside these Wax Corpses?
“Marriage, funeral.”
Following the Wax Corpses for a while, Bai Yu pretty much knew where this group was heading.
They were going to attend someone’s funeral.
If her guess was right, the Wax Corpses from East Village were attending a wedding.
“What’s the difference?”
“The quest says: marriage requires the living, funerals require the dead.”
“Zhao Mingyue, when she goes to East Village this time, what’s her role? The bride in the wedding?”
Bai Yu looked distantly towards East Village. Her intuition told her things were not that simple. What she could determine was this: if Zhao Mingyue had come back on her own and gone to East Village to attend that family banquet, it would absolutely be a death sentence, no chance of survival.
“Hmph, a family banquet… Let’s see about that.”
Unbeknownst to Bai Yu, Lu Liangting, who was also exploring the village at that very moment and had just discovered a group of Wax Corpses, was knocked unconscious from behind with a club.
Just before losing consciousness, he faintly heard a sentence.
“Found the groom.”
