Harvest and the Monster in the Well

The main hall was a complete mess.

Although the battle had taken place in the courtyard, the shockwaves had still knocked over quite a few tables and chairs.

Yan Kui stepped over the threshold and entered the gloomy hall.

Though the female ghost was dead, the Yin Energy here had yet to disperse. The white silk hanging from the beam still swayed, as though silently recounting something.

Yan Kui paid it no mind. He headed straight for the offering table at the rear of the hall.

Generally speaking, Fierce Ghosts that had developed to this extent would possess some accompanying treasures, or objects left behind from their obsessions in life.

Rotten fruit sat upon the offering table, along with a fallen spirit tablet bearing the words, "Spirit Tablet of Beloved Wife Lin."

Yan Kui casually pushed aside the spirit tablet and discovered an exquisite rosewood box inside a hidden compartment beneath the offering table.

"Found it."

Delighted, he picked up the box.

There were no traps or hidden weapons.

Opening the box, he found three items lying quietly within.

The first was a Jade Pendant.

The Jade Pendant was shaped like a half-moon, blood-red all over and icy cold to the touch.

[High-energy item discovered: Blood Soaked Jade (refined from the essence blood of hundreds of Mortals).]

[Devour it? Origin Power obtainable: 2.0]

"Devour."

Yan Kui did not hesitate. The Jade Pendant instantly turned into a pile of powder, and a stream of pure energy burrowed into his body.

The second item was a stack of silver notes.

Yan Kui counted them. There were roughly five hundred taels. This was an enormous sum! After all, risking one's life for a month in the Black Tiger Gang only earned a few qian of silver. With this money, he would no longer need to worry about buying medicinal herbs and meat in the city.

The third was a yellowed thread-bound book.

There were no words on its cover.

Yan Kui flipped open the first page. A small figure sat cross-legged on it, surrounded by densely marked breathing and circulation routes.

Body Nourishing Technique.

This was not some killing martial art, but an entry-level Daoist Cultivation Technique for preserving one's health.

"Though it isn't an offensive Cultivation Technique, it suits me perfectly."

Yan Kui's eyes lit up.

The Raging Bull Fist and Iron Cloth Shirt he currently practiced both followed a fierce, forceful path and belonged to external martial arts.

The Body Nourishing Technique, on the other hand, focused on nourishing the five viscera and harmonizing yin and yang.

If he could master it, his endurance and recovery abilities would rise to the next level.

"Record it!"

[New Cultivation Technique detected: Body Nourishing Technique. Successfully recorded.]

Having finished all this, Yan Kui was in high spirits.

Not only had he killed a ghost and gained Origin Power, but he had also made a fortune and obtained a Cultivation Technique.

This trip to the Haunted House had been an absolute windfall.

"I wonder what good things that well has in store?"

Yan Kui recalled the "Dragon Locking Well" those people had mentioned earlier.

He left the main hall and entered the rear courtyard.

At this moment, the remaining six cannon fodder were huddled together, staring fearfully at the center of the courtyard.

There stood an octagonal dry well.

Several thick iron chains locked down its mouth, covered in talismans that had long since faded.

"Lord... Lord Yan..."

Upon seeing Yan Kui approach, they looked as though they had seen their savior and hurriedly made way for him.

In their eyes now, Yan Kui was more terrifying than even the gang bosses, yet he also made them feel safer.

Yan Kui walked to the well and leaned over to peer inside.

The well was pitch-black, its depths unfathomable.

Yet he could sense a chill several times more terrifying than that of the Red-clothed Female Ghost slowly seeping out from its bottom.

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

A strange sound suddenly came from the bottom of the well.

It sounded like boiling water, yet also like some enormous creature swallowing saliva.

Crack!

One of the iron chains locking the well mouth suddenly snapped.

Immediately afterward, a pale, swollen giant hand covered in Black Fur violently seized the edge of the well!

The hand was as large as a millstone, its nails sharp as blades and draped with water weeds and rotting chunks of flesh.

Roar—!

A deep roar erupted from the bottom of the well, shaking the entire manor.

That roar alone caused the seven orifices of the cannon fodder present to bleed, and they collapsed limply to the ground on the spot.

Yan Kui's expression changed as well. It felt as if someone had hammered him in the chest.

[Warning! High-risk creature detected: Corpse Fiend (peak Viscera Refining Realm / half-step Blood Change).]

[Danger level: Extremely high. Immediate evacuation recommended.]

The system's warning words flashed frantically in red across the light screen.

"Peak Viscera Refining Realm? Half-step Blood Change?"

Yan Kui's pupils constricted sharply.

With his current strength, relying on the Raging Bull Fist and Iron Cloth Shirt, he could at most be considered at major completion of the Bone Refining Realm.

The martial arts realms were: Skin Refining, Meat Refining, Bone Refining, Viscera Refining, Blood Change.

Half-step Blood Change was practically the peak of a Mortal. This was simply not something he could handle right now!

"This isn't a scouting mission at all. It's a suicide mission!"

Yan Kui understood in an instant.

The Black Tiger Gang, or the Zhao Family behind them, had never intended for anyone to return alive. They had sent people here either to feed this monster or to lure it out!

"Run!"

Yan Kui did not hesitate in the slightest.

Facing an unbeatable enemy head-on was something only an idiot would do.

He spun around and sprinted madly toward the main gate.

"Save... save us..."

The cannon fodder behind him cried out in despair.

But Yan Kui did not even look back. In this situation, he was not even sure he could survive himself—how could he spare the effort to save anyone else? Not killing them for Origin Power was already the last shred of mercy he retained as a modern man who had transmigrated here.

Boom!

Just as he rushed out of the rear courtyard, the dry well behind him exploded completely.

A terrifying black shadow three zhang tall—roughly ten meters—crawled out of the well. Its entire body was wrapped in pitch-black chains, each movement producing a tremendous rattling clang.

It did not pursue Yan Kui. Instead, it grabbed the cannon fodder who had not managed to flee and stuffed them into its mouth like snacks.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of bones being chewed made one's scalp tingle.

Hearing the screams behind him, Yan Kui only ran faster.

He reached the main gate.

The gate remained tightly shut.

"Open for me!"

Yan Kui roared, erupting with all his strength as he slammed his right shoulder violently into the gate.

The thick wooden gate gave a mournful groan, and its bolt snapped.

Yan Kui crashed straight through it, gate and all.

The sky outside remained overcast.

But to Yan Kui, this was an escape from death into life.

He did not dare stop. He ran two li in one breath, only stopping in a patch of woods once that suffocating pressure had completely vanished.

"Ha... ha..."

Yan Kui braced himself against a tree trunk and gasped for breath.

Cold sweat had already soaked through his back.

It was too strong.

A monster of that level could crush his current self with even a single finger.

"Is this how terrifying this world is?"

Yan Kui turned and looked in the direction of the Old Lin Family Manor.

At that moment, the gray fog above the manor had transformed into dense black qi, forming a massive vortex.

Vaguely, he seemed to see that enormous Corpse Fiend standing atop the roof, gazing from afar in the direction of Black Water City.

"It's coming out."

A realization arose in Yan Kui's heart.

That monster had been trapped for so long. Once it broke free, it would surely stir up a bloody storm.

And the Black Tiger Gang would bear the brunt of it.

"This is no place to linger."

Yan Kui touched the silver notes and secret manual in his robes, his eyes flickering.

Originally, he had planned to return to the gang, report back, and collect those fifty taels of silver.

Now, it seemed that going back would be courting death.

The Black Tiger Gang had surely known what was in the well all along. They were using human lives as sacrifices. If he returned alive, they might even silence him forever.

Just then.

The system's voice rang out again:

[High-risk area escaped. Survival achievement attained.]

[Origin Power reward: 1.0]

Yan Kui was stunned for a moment, then broke into a grin.

"Looks like this trip wasn't for nothing."

At this moment, his panel had been completely renewed:

───────────

[Crimson Modifier]

Origin Power: 7.0

(Note: Before the battle, it was 2.5. During the battle, 2.0 was spent upgrading Iron Cloth Shirt, leaving 0.5.

Female ghost killed +3.5 -> 4.0.

Jade Pendant devoured +2.0 -> 6.0.

Escape reward +1.0 -> 7.0.)

───────────

Yan Kui carefully calculated it once more.

Current Origin Power: 7.0

This was an unprecedented fortune!

"Seven points of Origin Power..."

A trace of ambition flashed in Yan Kui's eyes.

"If I invest it all... I wonder if it can give me the foundation to fight that monster?"

"No, it's still too early to fight the Corpse Fiend. But it should at least be enough to slaughter the Black Tiger Gang's upper ranks."

He straightened his torn clothes, his gaze becoming firmer than ever before.

Since this world was so dangerous, then he could only make himself more dangerous than danger itself.

"First, I'll find a place to turn this Origin Power into strength."

Yan Kui's figure flashed, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest.

Within the Old Lin Family Manor, the enormous Corpse Fiend had eaten every last cannon fodder and howled at the sky. Amid the ruins beneath its feet, a bloodstained list drifted down on the wind, bearing the unmistakable words—Sacrifice: Yan Kui...