Fierce Evil

It had just rained, and the wooden cross was soaked in water, making it a darker color than when it was dry.

This scene was completely unexpected. A dark light flashed in Nightmare's eyes, and then he shook his head. "This is not an illusion; the grave mound is real."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xing took a few steps, and as soon as he stepped onto the ground, he couldn't help but frown, almost collapsing in the knees.

Because he could sense that each of these raised mounds was emanating an aura of curse upon him—

The cursed object that could cause the cold, ghostly energy within him to surge instantly was like the mysterious black coffin in Coffin Village.

In an instant, his face paled further, and he felt a tightness in his chest. Clearly, he couldn't stay here any longer, or things would get complicated.

Any investigation needs to be conducted as quickly as possible.

Taking advantage of her long legs, Yu Xing stepped onto the nearest grave mound and reached out to touch the cross.

The wood was rough and uncarved; it was simply two rectangular strips of wood of different lengths nailed together with iron nails and then stuck into the ground.

The cross is covered in splinters; if someone accidentally touches it, they're likely to get a splinter embedded in their skin.

At the intersection of the cross and the vertical lines, there was a very familiar noose. Yu Xing recognized it at a glance as the same noose that had hung down from the tree earlier, enticing people to hang themselves.

In contrast, the ropes around the cross here... are stained with blood.

"How could there be man-made objects here?" Carlos had also explored the open area, and the most puzzling thing was the traces of human intervention.

It's important to understand that the coastline, caves, ravines, and tall trees are all natural features. Moreover, the attack methods are either purely based on illusions or utilize the islander's own features, such as reflections, to kill.

So at first they all thought that no one had ever been to this Dead Spirit Island.

Nightmare stood on a grave mound, carefully examining the blood-stained noose in his hand. The blood had seeped deep into the rope, and a foul stench could be smelled from close up.

Because the rope was wet from the rain, the blood was slowly flowing, which was obviously abnormal, because if there was blood on the surface, the rain would wash it away, not let the blood flow on the rope.

She asked, "Is this the first time we've found any signs of human intervention on the island? Could it be that someone lives in the center of the island?"

"No, it's not the first time." Yu Xing, leaning on the cross, seemed a little weak, and he breathed almost imperceptibly. "Strictly speaking, those corpses hanging from the trees are also examples. Didn't the Magician say that dying face up isn't necessarily hanging, but rather similar to strangulation?"

"Yes, if it's hanging, then it's indeed an act only humans would commit." Carlos paused, sensing Yu Xing, but instead of asking directly, he continued along the line of conversation, "So there were indeed people on the island, or at least there used to be."

Nightmare lowered the rope, wary of the blood on it, making sure not a single drop touched it. "... Actually, I guess even if there were people on the island before, there aren't anymore, because this island can't be self-sufficient, the food supply is insufficient, and besides, if there were any people, they wouldn't let us land on the island and conduct research."

"What you're saying makes sense," Yu Xing said calmly. "So who lived on this island in the past isn't important to us. What's truly relevant to us now are these graves."

Carlos looked at him. "I know you know a lot, tell me?"

Yu Xing suppressed the waves of pain coursing through her body, sweat beading on her forehead. "... Let's leave here first."

Nightmare. "?"

She then realized that Xing seemed a little uncomfortable.

Are you alright?

"Something's up." Yu Xing didn't hide it. The other two had eyes and could tell his condition with a little attention, so there was no need to lie. He lifted his leg and walked towards the center of the island.

This area isn't large; you can see the end of it at a glance. Whatever you want to say, let's wait until he steps out of this area and steadys himself before we talk about it.

Carlos recalled that Shi Xing from Coffin Village had also been in the same situation. His condition inexplicably worsened outside the ancestral hall, and he was almost fainting... No, it felt like he was about to die, and Xiao Xuechen killed him with a dagger. Only after he was resurrected did his condition improve.

Could this be a side effect of resurrection sacrifices?

Thinking about it this way, Carlos became even more certain—it would be reasonable for such an overpowered sacrificial ability to have negative side effects!

He gave Yan a look that signaled not to ask any more questions, and then followed Yu Xing with Yan. Only after they left the graveyard did Yu Xing feel the invisible curse power around them dissipate.

"Call..."

Yu Xing's muscles, hidden beneath his clothes, were aching. He paused for a moment, glanced back, and then said, "These burial mounds contain people."

"There should have been people buried in the grave mound anyway..." Nightmare smirked.

Yu Xing: So love can disappear, right? You promised you liked me, but you didn't even bother to pretend anymore, did you?

As he sat down to rest, he said, "What I mean is... there's a corpse in the grave, a wooden cross on the grave, and a bloodstained noose on the cross. Don't you think there's something similar?"

Upon hearing this, Carlos and Nightmare recalled the events.

Then Carlos said, "Oh, there are corpses, pieces of wood, and blood over there by the big tree?"

"That's right, trees grow from the soil, and crosses are planted on earthen graves. This is wood born from the earth, life goes on and on." Yu Xing squinted, his voice becoming calm, and it inexplicably possessed a convincing power.

"Strictly speaking, blood belongs to water, and wood thrives when it encounters water. However, blood is a major source of evil, reversing the entire cycle of life and death into a malevolent force. What will happen to a corpse if it is buried or hung in such an environment?"

"Although I don't understand feng shui..." Yan hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say something but then swallowed it back, "But I suspect the corpse can mutate?"

"It's not just mutation; the person who set this up is raising corpses. Eventually, the corpses will become extremely malevolent beings, which can be used to control or sacrifice—it's quite profitable." Yu Xing raised his eyes, calmly gazing in the direction of the graveyard. "Of course, this isn't enough. Even raising them for a hundred years won't be enough. I think the follow-up wasn't done. It's very likely that something happened to the people here, and they left. These arrangements were abandoned and merged with the illusionary abilities of the Dead Spirit Island."

"No wonder he claims to know everything, he even knows this kind of thing." Carlos shook his head with a sigh, but because Doctor A Bai's image didn't have that cocky vibe, this gesture failed to convey the teasing Carlos wanted to express.

"You look pretty tired. Let's not move. Let's just wait here for the Ghoul. We can explore the story over the next three days," Nightmare suggested.

Yu Xing and Carlos had no objections, so they stayed put to rest and kept reporting their positions to the Group Four that were rushing over via walkie-talkie.