Wang Mazi Offered Too Much

"Because Wang Mazi offered too much!"

Faced with the little tailor Zhao Qiang's question, the woman by the river answered bitterly.

The little tailor Zhao Qiang was taken aback. That reason did make sense. This year's severe drought had not only drastically reduced the villagers' harvests; many businesses in town had suffered as well.

After all, Tongxin Town's businesses mainly relied on the surrounding villagers. Now that the villagers had no money and could barely support themselves, how could they have spare cash to buy things?

Under such circumstances, as long as Wang Mazi offered a slightly larger bride price, how many families could refuse?

A parent's command and a matchmaker's words could basically decide most women's marriages, especially under exceptional circumstances like this year's.

The little tailor felt somewhat helpless about this. Now that he had reached the woman by the river, he could make out the contours of her face. They were not the least bit inferior to her figure.

If nothing unexpected happened, she was certainly a beauty with both a first-rate figure and appearance. Unfortunately, she was about to marry that ugly bastard Wang Mazi.

"It's a pity I didn't earn much this year. Otherwise, I would have gone to your family to propose marriage," the little tailor could not help saying, emboldened by the alcohol.

Rather than becoming angry at the little tailor's somewhat improper words, the woman by the river sobbed softly instead. "Young Master's appearance surpasses Wang Mazi's tenfold. If you had come to my family to propose, I would have agreed, and I would not have resisted like this."

"Unfortunately, Young Master and I are fated to meet but not fated to be together. If Young Master does not mind, could you help me dress my hair? It would at least fulfill a small wish of mine."

As she spoke, the woman by the river stood up and tilted her head slightly back, waiting for the little tailor to tend to her hair.

Although the little tailor instinctively felt that something was wrong, under the effects of alcohol and some inexplicable interference, his mind swayed. Unable to resist, he stepped forward and picked up the towel beside him.

"Since you do not disdain me, then I shall be presumptuous."

As he spoke, the little tailor's hands trembled slightly as they grasped the woman's wet black hair. A fragrant scent washed over him, setting his heart and mind adrift. He longed to immediately wrap his arms around this slender, alluring beauty from behind.

Steadying his emotions, the little tailor carefully wiped the woman's hair. By chance, he caught sight of her neck—fair, tender, and smooth, making him want to touch it.

That vulgar little tune he had sung earlier surfaced in his mind for no reason, making the little tailor even more restless.

"Pretty little nemesis, you want to kill me, yet only today have you arrived. All delighted, embracing you even through your clothes—every inch of you is piled with charm."

"Hold you once, and all sorrow scatters; hug you once, and all gloom fades. Even if we cannot share a bed and pillow, having you stand before me is good enough."

Then let her stand before me.

The little tailor took a step forward, nearly pressing himself against the woman by the river. More of that fragrance filled his nostrils, and the little tailor grew hard.

"Mm..."

The woman before him sensed something and could not help crying out, "Young Master, be gentler. There is still plenty of time."

"Alright, alright, I'll be gentler." The little tailor hurriedly lightened his movements, slowly wiping the woman's hair. Perhaps it felt too comfortable, because the woman by the river began to moan softly.

The little tailor's heart itched more and more unbearably. He drew closer and closer to the woman by the river until he gradually pressed against her body.

But just as the little tailor was becoming muddled and entranced, he felt that something seemed wrong. He had been wiping for more than half an hour—why was this slender beauty's hair still soaking wet, without the slightest sign of drying?

Could there be something wrong with the towel?

The little tailor could not help lifting the towel and examining it closely. Then, to his horror, he discovered that at some point, the towel had changed from white to red. Even in the darkness, he could see how intensely red it was, nearly black.

Hadn't he been wiping away water? How had he dyed the towel red?

The little tailor's muddled mind immediately cleared. He could not help looking at the woman's hair, only to see that what dripped from it was not water at all, but thick, bright-red blood.

A ghost!

The little tailor turned to flee, and a cry for help was about to leave his mouth. But at that moment, the woman by the river's hair shot toward him, piercing into his head until it was full of strands. He could no longer make a sound, and then the blood-soaked hair dragged him bit by bit into the river.

Gurgling bloody bubbles rose from the river. Slowly, they drifted away in search of their next target...

Song Ankang of Chaoyun Manor was still drinking merrily, utterly unaware of what was happening in Tongxin Town. Nor did he know that, over the past several days, several people in Tongxin Town had already been dragged into the river by the Head-washing Woman.

To be precise, even before Song Ankang encountered Miss Lilac, people had already begun disappearing from Tongxin Town one after another. The frequency was much higher than before, and it was steadily increasing.

Miss Lilac appearing in broad daylight was a small dividing point. She had dared to appear and kill people even during the day, and so close to the capital. One could well imagine how brazen these Demonic Creatures and Ghosts had become.

After Miss Lilac was killed, the Demonic Creatures and Ghosts in Tongxin Town were quiet for only a few days before becoming even more rampant.

In the past, Tongxin Town residents who traveled at night would only occasionally encounter Demonic Creatures and Ghosts. But recently, any residents who went out at night had basically been unable to escape the misfortune of disappearing, never to be found again.

Tongxin Town had begun to panic. The town garrison had requested reinforcements from above, but unfortunately, the capital had not been peaceful during this period either, and foreign races were stirring restlessly. There was no manpower to spare in the short term.

Moreover, the missing townspeople had all met with trouble while traveling at night. As long as they did not leave home at night, nothing would happen. Incidents like this had occurred many times before.

Though this time it was a little more frequent, everyone would be safe as long as they stayed obediently at home at night. The town's residents were not overly frightened, so it did not draw too much attention.

Even Song Ankang, who lived quite close to Tongxin Town, still knew nothing about it. If he had known, it should have pushed him even harder to study and train with greater diligence.

Yet even without this matter driving him on, Song Ankang was still very diligent. After a small celebration that night, Song Ankang began cultivating diligently again the next day.

The cultivation method and combat techniques of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture worked together effectively. Under the effects of the Heavenly Book of Fate Defiance, an endless stream of side effects fed back to him, causing Song Ankang's strength to rise at an astonishing rate every day.

Although the combat techniques of the Seven Injuries Demonic Scripture did not include the Blood Injury Fist, just like its cultivation method, combining the Skin Injury Fist, Flesh Injury Fist, and Tendon Injury Fist could injure the blood. It could also injure the skin, flesh, and tendons, bringing even greater side-effect feedback.

However, this also had a drawback—a drawback Song Ankang could not tell was good or bad.