They left the town and arrived at Shennan Village as dusk fell.
Chen Shi looked around, only to see that although Shennan Village was located in the Death Valley, not a single evil spirit was in sight all around. It was eerily quiet.
Unlike other villages where people returned inside early at night, the villagers of Shennan Village wandered about everywhere outside the village, leisurely and carefree.
There were even a few people who had beaten a roe deer and were roasting it outside the village.
Zhuge Jian said, "With Tie Chi in Shennan Village, evil spirits wouldn't dare to come near. The goddess of the village has also completely lost her purpose, living a leisurely life every single day."
Chen Shi looked toward the village and indeed saw that wisteria vine. It was extremely ancient, roughly several hundred years old, with branches resembling coiled dragons.
This vine was thicker than ordinary trees. Without climbing onto any trees, it still grew straight upward, reaching a height of about ten-odd zhang.
A young woman lived in the tree, dressed in purple robes, yet she appeared sallow and emaciated. Presumably, ever since Tie Chi was born, Shennan Village had been free from the threat of evil spirits, resulting in laxity toward the village's goddess. With much fewer offerings of incense and fire, she had been starved into a sickly complexion.
Zhuge Jian said to the others, "Let's wait a little longer. When the hour of hai arrives, everyone in the village will be asleep. Only then will Tie Chi become active."
Chen Shi and the others waited until the hour of hai, and Zhuge Jian said, "Everyone wait a moment, I'll go and return shortly."
He hurried away, and after a short while, the clatter of iron chains rang out. Following the