The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 230p2

Chapter 230: What’s This About Marrying First and Loving Later? 15(2)

The resentment of soldiers, possessing the village chief and controlling Lingxiu Village for many years, was surprised: “You even know about me?”

Tao Ning flicked the hilt of her sword, chuckling: “I’ve killed more people than you’ve ever seen, is it so hard to recognize a mere resentment of soldiers?”

The resentment choked. Having stayed in this remote place for so long, possessing a rare treasure, it had become narrow-minded.

But to die like this was too unwilling.

With a thought, a commotion arose from the depths of the forest on the other side of the mountain. Walking corpses and skeletons, gathered from who knows where, emerged from the ground, howling and rushing towards them, determined to stall for time.

Tao Ning didn’t even glance at these weak soldiers, waving her wide sleeve.

A stack of talismans flew out from her gold-embroidered sleeve. Upon closer inspection, they were all drawn with pencil, but their power was undiminished, carrying a destructive force as they floated towards the enemy.

A few flimsy pieces of paper, what harm could they do to beings filled with resentment?

In an instant, the easily torn paper flew before them, arranging themselves and suddenly erupting with a blinding golden light.

By the time the leading walking corpse reacted, it was too late. Unable to even let out a final scream, it died directly under the combined attack of several talismans.

In just a few breaths, the vast and terrifying army of walking corpses and skeletons vanished, the resentment of soldiers greatly weakened.

It couldn’t withstand three moves. The last talisman was placed on its forehead, and Tao Ning’s red lips parted slightly: “Bind.”

The soul-binding talisman instantly took effect. The resentment shuddered, forcibly pulled out of the village chief’s body and bound before the talisman, still clutching the core.

The village chief, his eyes returning to their normal color, collapsed on the ground, unconscious, looking even older, appearing no different from a dying old man despite being in his prime.

The sword wound on his shoulder and other injuries disappeared.

It wasn’t that Tao Ning didn’t want to kill him, but the village chief had been possessed by the resentment for so long that the two had almost become one, half-human, half-ghost.

There were few living people in Lingxiu Village, all half-human, half-ghost. It wasn’t difficult for the resentment, hidden among them, to avoid being discovered if it was careful.

That was how it had evaded Tao Ning’s suspicions until its true face was revealed today.

Without the resentment, the village chief was not far from death, or rather, he should have died long ago, only kept alive by the resentment’s energy.

After extracting the resentment from the village chief’s body, Tao Ning unexpectedly tore the soul-binding talisman, releasing it.

A black figure, as thick as ink, appeared before Tao Ning. The moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted.

It didn’t understand, but instinctively tried to escape.

But the ubiquitous, lightning-fast sword blocked its path.

As its consciousness faded, it only saw the two characters engraved on the sword—Poheng.

Far from Lingxiu Village was an ancient battlefield.

Several wars had been fought there, the dense forest hiding several mass graves, filled with countless unclaimed bodies, their resentment reaching the heavens.

The resentment of soldiers was born there.

Born from the resentment of the fallen soldiers, after the war ended, there was no more resentment to nourish it, leaving it weak for many years.

And with a prosperous Mountain God just across the river, within her jurisdiction, the resentment had to keep a low profile.

But outside, ghosts and monsters ran rampant, the strong preying on the weak. It, a mere shrimp, was constantly targeted by small fish. After much deliberation, it found that the Mountain God’s territory was the safest.

At that time, Lingxiu Village still worshipped Xuan Miao Yuanjun. Afraid of the Mountain God’s power, it didn’t dare approach the village, only daring to go up the mountain to hide under the cover of night.

It had hidden on Lingxiu Mountain for over a hundred years, startled by the commotion one day, finding many people entering its hiding place.

There were villagers, Taoist priests, a Daoist boy lighting candles, and surviving women tying red threads at the cave entrance.

The Mountain God it had always feared was being smashed and thrown into the cold pool, the white cocoon shattered and thrown in piece by piece, the splashing sound echoing.

Under the dim light, it quietly appeared among the crowd, witnessing the demise of the Mountain God it had always feared.

For the first time, it felt that even the most powerful Mountain God was nothing more than this.

A bead rolled out, and the resentment instinctively felt that it was a good thing, picking it up in a daze and transforming into a human form.

It was dark inside, and everyone couldn’t see each other’s faces clearly, so it actually managed to blend in.

The Taoist priest was also a half-baked practitioner, not noticing the resentment among the villagers, letting it follow them down the mountain.

But the resentment was born from the resentment of many deceased, chaotic and formless, only daring to roam at night, unable to even move freely.

So it chose to possess a human. Humans could walk around during the day, and Lingxiu Village, having lost the Mountain God’s protection, was like a feast laid out on the street, free for the taking.

From then on, every village chief had the shadow of the resentment within them.

It also wanted to be worshipped, so the destroyed Mountain God was reinstated, the main hall of the ancestral hall cleared and a proper statue placed inside, the dust wiped away, and the missing murals repainted.

It felt that it could become even more powerful, so when a villager died unnaturally, it used its resentment to resurrect the body.

The family of the resurrected child wept with joy, and the village chief, possessed by the resentment, took the opportunity to proclaim that the Mountain God had manifested.

Gradually, it gained almost the entire village as its living corpse followers, who spontaneously expressed their gratitude to the Mountain God.

So the resentment, possessing the village chief, knelt before the statue wrapped in red threads, solemnly seeking the Mountain God’s opinion.

It knew that the real Mountain God was in the depths of the bamboo forest, shattered into pieces, and no one would answer it.

After the long ritual, the resentment, possessing the third village chief, stood up and announced its third wish—”The Mountain God is too lonely, she wants a bride to serve by her side and protect everyone.”

A pale, slender hand reached out, instantly crushing the remnants of the resentment.

The grayish-black aura completely dissipated, turning into dust.

Just like at the beginning, a glowing core fell out, caught steadily by Tao Ning.

Tao Ning held the white core with streaks of red in her other hand, a look of understanding flashing in her eyes: “So that’s how it is.”

—

The feast down the mountain was lively. The villagers, mostly full, shared the remaining food with those around them.

New people joined in one after another. These were the people who had died before the Mountain God Festival, being greeted by the villagers and invited to sit down and share the food.

The tourists waited anxiously at the side, watching as the dead were resurrected, greeting people as if they were normal. They felt uneasy.

But seeing the scene of joyful reunion, Liang Chun inexplicably felt like she understood the villagers’ wishes.

Deceased relatives resurrected, their memories intact, interacting just like before…

A cold, sweaty hand grabbed Liang Chun’s wrist, startling her. She almost shook it off before realizing it was Yan Wenruo’s hand.

Yan Wenruo’s eyes reflected the eerie scene, a chill running down her spine: “Killing a person, resurrecting a corpse, but do they still have human emotions? Or is it just a facade, pretending to fit in?”

Liang Chun: “…”

As they were talking, Liang Chun saw a recently resurrected young man, not full, becoming impatient while waiting for another basin of meat, looking at his mother with a hungry gaze.

His mother, however, held the lantern tightly, the dim light enveloping them both.

The thought quickly vanished. It was clear that if it weren’t for the lantern, not only would the meat in the pot become the main course of the feast tonight, but the living villagers sitting beside him would also become dishes.

The feast was coming to an end, almost midnight, and everyone would soon disperse.

The Mountain God Festival would end today, until next year.

A sudden change occurred at this moment. The first to collapse were the recently resurrected villagers, their bodies rapidly decaying.

Their families were so shocked they couldn’t move, then one group after another, countless villagers fell.

Some decayed rapidly beyond recognition, others even more completely, turning directly into skeletons, only identifiable by the clothes on their bones.

“What’s happening?! Why is my wife dead?”

“My son!”

“Dad! Mom! What’s wrong with you?!”

In the blink of an eye, few people remained standing in front of the ancestral hall.

The young man carried a bucket to get more meat, but the middle-aged man standing in front of the large pot suddenly shuddered, something being pulled out of him, then collapsed, his bones scattering.

“Sixth Uncle?!” The young man dropped the bucket and went out to look, but the scene outside was no different.

Bodies everywhere, cries of mourning everywhere. Looking back at the main seat of the feast, the village chief, their pillar of support, still hadn’t returned.

The young man was shocked: “What’s going on? Why isn’t the Mountain God manifesting?”

There was still some time before midnight. The tourists, worried about being targeted by the grieving villagers, hid themselves even deeper.

The scene of the villagers, who had just been feasting, turning into corpses, left a deep impression on them.

A little bit of relief, along with the psychological trauma of a three-bedroom apartment.

Even though their courage had been tempered these past few days, they were still almost nauseated by this scene. They had known that there weren’t many living people in the village, but they hadn’t expected it to be this few.

Now, there were less than twenty people still standing.

Lin Lu: “Why did this suddenly happen, does this happen every year after the Mountain God Festival?”

Lin Lu, still a novice, hadn’t fully grasped the rules of the game world, thinking that the instances were always the same.

Liang Chun, also traumatized, shook her head: “No.”

At least it hadn’t been like this last time. Before logging out, she and her brother had seen the villagers slowly dispersing.

This meant that there was a change on the mountain, the only variable being—

Yan Wenruo sighed: “I knew she was strong, but I didn’t expect her to be stronger than the final boss.”

Liang Chun: “Now you don’t think she’s the final boss?”

Yan Wenruo shook her head repeatedly: “Which final boss would kill their own minions? They would definitely want more and more, wanting to conquer the whole world.”

Liang Chun agreed deeply and started to desperately recall whether watching the strongest NPC’s roof being smashed, and spending a night at her house, would incur any retaliation.

Lin Lu was confused: “Who are you talking about? What final boss?”

Tao Ning didn’t have time to retaliate against Liang Chun now, she had almost forgotten about it.

In the depths of the bamboo forest, someone was pacing, holding another person in her arms. The person leaned against Tao Ning, only half of her profile visible.

Tao Ning’s previous guess was correct. The closer it got to the Mountain God Festival, the weaker Xuan Miao became. Since leaving the sedan chair, Xuan Miao had been staying in Tao Ning’s sleeve.

After everything was over, she appeared before Tao Ning, her face still as white as snow, her lips as red as blood, ethereal like a fairy in a painting.

Tao Ning offered the core in her palm: “I got it, take it and refine it.”

Xuan Miao remained silent for a while, not moving, then collapsed, caught by the anxious Tao Ning.

“How did she faint?” Tao Ning knelt on one knee, half-holding Xuan Miao, and quickly checked her.

The conclusion she reached was that Xuan Miao’s spirit had been too tense, and after relaxing, she had injured herself, causing her to faint.

This conclusion was both ridiculous and somewhat sad. If Xuan Miao woke up and heard this, she would definitely say, “A dignified Ghost King…”

Without time to think, Tao Ning fed Xuan Miao her core and carried her down the mountain.

She was going to settle Xuan Miao in the house down the mountain and wait for her to wake up after fully refining her core.

And there were some things she needed to deal with down the mountain.

The discarded Poheng sword hummed, flying up from the ground and transforming into a platform Tao Ning could step on.

Carrying Xuan Miao, Tao Ning stepped onto the flying sword, speeding down the mountain.

Down the mountain, the villagers were plunged into grief by the sudden deaths of their relatives. There were forty minutes left until midnight.

The three tourists started to relocate, seeking a safer hiding place.