Chapter 38: The Unseen Threat of Mud Head Village

A pallor instantly spread across Lu Hongzhuang’s face.

She gazed at the sodden, pulpy mass of paper in Su Qinghan’s hand, then at Su Qinghan’s own face, more contorted than one in tears; her lips trembled, unable to form a single word.

Never in her life had she felt so utterly useless, so… inept.

Had she not recklessly used her sword energy to blast fish in the creek, Su Qinghan would not have gotten drenched.

If Su Qinghan hadn’t been soaked, these life-saving talismans would not have dissolved into useless pulp.

Now, they were trapped amidst a horde of half-human, half-ghost monstrosities, and their only means of defense had been ruined by her own hands!

An overwhelming wave of guilt and remorse instantly engulfed her.

“I…” Lu Hongzhuang’s voice quivered, “I’m so sorry…”

“Enough, enough,” Su Qinghan waved her hand dismissively, a frustrated sigh escaping her as she tossed the pulpy mess aside. “What good is saying sorry now? We need to figure out how to survive tonight first. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain her composure.

What was done was done; anger would solve nothing.

The sky had completely darkened, not even a sliver of moonlight piercing through the window, leaving the room in absolute darkness, where one couldn’t see their own hand before their face.

“Light the lamp first,” Su Qinghan’s voice cut through the oppressive darkness.

As if granted a great pardon, Lu Hongzhuang fumbled for a fire starter, blowing it alight, and brought it to the dilapidated oil lamp on the table.

With a soft ‘puff,’ a dim, yellow flame flickered into life, barely illuminating the small room.

The light dispelled some of the pervasive chill.

However, just as the lamp was lit, Su Qinghan, who had been silent until now, suddenly propelled her wheelchair forward, rushing to the table.

She extended two slender fingers, aimed for the tiny flame, and extinguished it with lightning speed!

“Hiss—”

The flame died instantly.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Su Qinghan rapidly shook her hand, grimacing in pain, pinching her earlobe, and sucking in sharp breaths of cool air. “So hot, so hot…”

Lu Hongzhuang was utterly bewildered by this sudden action.

“What are you doing? It took so much effort to light it…”

“This oil lamp is problematic!” Su Qinghan glared at her with irritation, lowering her voice. “That lamp oil has corpse oil and soul-bewitching incense mixed in. If it burned too long, the two of us would be processed into something similar, just like those things outside, becoming mindless walking corpses!”

Lu Hongzhuang’s face paled even further.

She abruptly drew her longsword, a cold gleam dancing along its blade.

“I’ll go out and slaughter them all!”

She had a belly full of rage and guilt and was desperate for an outlet.

But just as she took a step.

“Click.”

A faint yet distinct click of a lock echoed from outside the door.

Lu Hongzhuang’s expression hardened. She immediately rushed to push the door.

It didn’t budge!

The door was locked from the outside!

She turned to push the window, only to discover it wasn’t designed to open. The window frame and wall seemed to be cast together, seamlessly sealed.

“Swish—”

Just then, outside the window, a series of numb, rigid faces pressed against the glass without warning.

Startled, Lu Hongzhuang recoiled. They were the villagers!

They had silently surrounded the small hut, each holding an oil lamp, their pallid faces appearing even more grotesque in the dim, yellow light.

They neither pounded on the door nor rattled the windows.

Instead, they merely opened their mouths and slowly exhaled towards the gaps in the window.

A faint, sweet, and metallic-smelling gas began to seep in wisps through the cracks in the doors and windows.

Accompanying the gas came a series of low, eerie, dream-like murmurs.

“Become one of us…”

“Join us…”

“Gain new life, and enjoy everlasting peace…”

The voices seemed to possess a demonic charm, burrowing into one’s ears, then into their very mind.

Lu Hongzhuang inhaled only a trace and immediately felt her head spin; even hallucinations flickered before her eyes.

She quickly held her breath, covering her mouth and nose, retreating repeatedly until she stood beside Su Qinghan.

“What do we do? We’re trapped!” A hint of panic, which she herself hadn’t noticed, laced her voice.

Su Qinghan, however, let out a soft chuckle.

“It won’t be that easy to kill me, the Iron-Legged Water Strider!”

Lu Hongzhuang was taken aback. She instinctively glanced at Su Qinghan’s two uselessly dangling legs.

“You… what ‘iron legs’ are you talking about? At a time like this, how can you still joke!”

“The fact that I can joke means I have other tricks up my sleeve, you fool.”

As Su Qinghan spoke, she rummaged for a moment in the large bundle filled with her treasured items.

Then, she retrieved a palm-sized small sword, formed from dozens of copper coins strung on a red cord.

A copper coin sword.

Su Qinghan held the copper coin sword in her left hand, while her right hand, with fingers pressed together like a sword, chanted an incantation, formed a peculiar hand seal, and sharply pointed towards the window!

“By my decree!”

A soft shout!

The small copper coin sword in her hand instantly erupted with a brilliant red light!

The red cord strung with copper coins seemed to come alive, disintegrating on its own.

“Swish, swish, swish—”

Dozens of copper coins, imbued with spiritual power, like bullets fired from a barrel, transformed into streaks of light, passing through the window’s cracks, and accurately shot towards the outside!

Their targets were not the villagers, but the oil lamps held in their hands!

“Clink! Clang! Crash!”

A series of sharp shattering sounds echoed!

Outside, the oil lamps in the villagers’ hands were all struck down by the copper coins!

The lamp oil spilled out and ignited upon contact with fire!

“Boom—”

Flames roared skyward!

The formerly lifeless villagers were instantly engulfed by the inferno, transforming into blazing figures!

Piercing screams of agony finally shattered the village’s deathly silence!

Illuminated by the firelight, Lu Hongzhuang could clearly see those ‘people’ contorting and struggling in the flames, their bodies rapidly charring and carbonizing, emitting a pungent, burnt stench.

Lu Hongzhuang stared, utterly mesmerized.

‘This is… Daoist magic?’

‘To kill without even making contact?’

“What are you gawking for!” Su Qinghan urged, pushing her wheelchair with exasperation. “Kick down the door! Run!”

Lu Hongzhuang snapped out of her daze, feeling a touch of bewilderment.

“But haven’t they… already been dealt with by you?”

“Dealt with, my foot!” Su Qinghan’s expression was graver than ever before. “These are merely controlled puppets! The real main course is still below us!”

In the very instant she had unleashed her spiritual power, she had clearly sensed it.

Beneath the entire village pulsed a vast, chilling, evil aura, like a beating heart.

That entity was the source controlling these villagers!

Now, it had discovered that the insidious ‘soul-bewitching incense’ was ineffective, and was preparing to overturn the board, to make a personal appearance!

“No time to explain!” Su Qinghan’s voice grew urgent. “This room is too small; we can’t properly maneuver here! Quick! Break down the door! Get to the open ground outside!”

Seeing her genuine urgency, alarm bells blared in Lu Hongzhuang’s mind.

She no longer hesitated. Taking a deep breath, she channeled her qi to her dantian.

“Hah!”

She abruptly retreated a few steps, then lunged forward like an arrow, delivering a kick imbued with all her strength, smashing it fiercely against the locked wooden door!

“Bang—!”

A deafening crash!

The door panel shook violently, the bolt groaning under the immense pressure. Yet, it remained stubbornly shut!

“Again!”

“Bang!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Lu Hongzhuang put her full might into it, delivering kick after kick!

Finally, as the seventh kick landed!

“CRACK!—”

The entire wooden door, along with its frame, was forcefully kicked outwards by an immense power!

“Go!”

Lu Hongzhuang grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and pushed Su Qinghan, bursting out of the suffocating hut, into the central street of the village.

The street was utterly deserted.

Only a few piles of smoldering black ash remained, bearing silent witness to the recent events.

The villagers who had been burned to death had left no corpses behind.

However, in the very next second, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.

The ground, composed of earth, began to ripple like the surface of water.

The remaining ashes from the fire were slowly swallowed by the ground, vanishing from sight.

Immediately afterwards.

“Gurgle… gurgle…”

Piles of wet, putrid mud began to emerge from beneath the earth, rapidly congealing and taking shape.

In the blink of an eye, brand new humanoid mud figures appeared on the street.

Their forms were identical to the villagers from before.

Even more unsettling, in their hands, intact oil lamps reappeared.

Dozens of hollow eyes simultaneously swiveled to focus on Su Qinghan and Lu Hongzhuang in the center of the street.

Dozens of mud-sculpted mouths simultaneously opened and closed, emitting uniform, emotionless voices.

“Outsiders, welcome to… Mud Head Village.”

Su Qinghan’s scalp tingled.

‘They can’t be killed…’

‘As long as these things stand on this land, they are immortal!’

She rubbed her temples, a headache brewing.

‘This monster hiding underground is even more cautious and troublesome than I imagined!’