An Empty House

Once the gu poison had been drawn out of Xiang Yu, clarity returned to his eyes. Although he was a spoiled rich kid, he had not entirely lost his conscience.

He had been so obsessed with Yun Zimo, yet unable to win her over no matter what he tried, that after coming into contact with the Night God Church, he had fallen completely under its influence!

One wrong step had led to another until everything spiraled out of control. His conscience had been utterly extinguished, and he had actually tried to harm his own mother.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face. "I've been such an unfilial son. To do something like this to my own mother—I'm worse than an animal.

"But this wasn't what I truly wanted. My mind was bewitched. I hope you can forgive me, Mother, and let me fulfill my duties as your son from now on."

Shan Meirong sighed. "I carried you for ten months before bringing you into this world. Your father died young, and I struggled through countless hardships to raise you. I never expected you to achieve anything great. I only hoped you would grow into a decent person."

"I hope what happened today will bring you to your senses. Help me take care of the business from now on, and let the two of us live out the rest of our lives in peace!"

Meng Huai sighed inwardly. A prodigal son's return was worth more than gold, and this young man had merely been bewitched. It was better to avoid killing if he could.

He stepped forward and said, "I don't want to get involved in your family affairs, but where are those people from the Night God Church? They have no conscience whatsoever. They cannot be allowed to get away with this."

Xiang Yu hurriedly replied, "They're in a villa on the outskirts. Someone introduced me to the Night God Church. She was a tour guide!

"I met her on a trip, and afterward we spent a lot of time together. She even took me to the Lovers' Festival at Butterfly Spring."

Meng Huai was also a Miaojiang native, so naturally he knew what Xiang Yu meant. With so many ethnic groups in Miaojiang, there were plenty of unusual customs.

The most enticing of these was the Lovers' Festival at Butterfly Spring. Those three days were practically a hedonistic extravaganza. Whether two people knew each other or not, as long as they could match each other's love songs, they could enjoy a night together!

Neither the men nor the women minded. Many women who were particularly uninhibited there became exemplary wives and mothers once they returned home. It could be called a special local custom.

But this custom was only for the locals. Visiting tourists had no chance of succeeding, and the people willing to pair up with them—

Were invariably workers in the special-service industry, appearing at eleven or twelve at night in miniskirts, high heels, and blazing red lipstick!

There was one exception, however: being brought along by a local. That naturally made the chances of success much higher, and they would not be shunned.

Even more remarkably, during those three days of the Lovers' Festival at Butterfly Spring, no matter how wildly people carried on, pregnancy was impossible. It was said to be a blessing from heaven!

That meant the tour guide was definitely a local, and she likely held some standing as well. Otherwise, how could she have managed to bring an outsider into the festivities?

Yun Zimo had heard of this custom, too, but had never attended. For one thing, she had no way in; for another, she was far too embarrassed.

Her face flushed as she said, "Men really are all scoundrels. You think about nothing but this sort of thing all day long. What's that tour guide's name, and where exactly is the Villa?"

Xiang Yu hurriedly nodded. "The tour guide's name is He Huaying, but everyone calls her Golden Flower. She works for the Golden Flower Tour Guide Company. As for the Villa on the outskirts, it's at the place where we used to go camping."

Meng Huai nodded. "In that case, you'd better behave yourself from now on. Zimo, with the Silver Snake protecting you, ordinary Gu Arts can't hurt you anymore. Take me to that Villa!"

Yun Zimo had been uneasy about her body becoming a home for the little snake, but those words immediately put her heart at ease.

Her eyes curved into smiling crescents. At the very least, her life was now protected, and she no longer had to worry about being killed.

Women were strange creatures. Once she knew her life was in no danger, her curiosity immediately stirred, and she wanted to find out what was going on.

The two of them went downstairs and had only just started the car when they heard a bang. A figure plummeted from above and slammed into the ground right in front of their car.

They hurried out to look. Xiang Yu lay in a pool of blood. For some unknown reason, he had jumped from upstairs.

It was only the third floor, so the chances of falling to his death should not have been high. But with his skull split open and his brains spilling out, there was clearly no saving him.

Shan Meirong rushed down from upstairs and threw her arms around her son's body. Sitting on the ground, she wailed, her face filled with despair.

Meng Huai's heart tightened. He had truly been careless. He had never expected the Night God Church to possess other spells besides its expertise in Gu Arts.

They had not dared act while he was there, but the moment he left, they had struck. It was also a warning to him!

He drew a deep breath and looked at Yun Zimo. "It seems I underestimated them. Let's go to the Villa right away. Hopefully, we can still make it in time!"

With Yun Zimo guiding him, they soon reached the Villa, but everyone had already cleared out!

Meng Huai had intended to leave Yun Zimo outside while he went in to investigate, but she flatly refused and insisted on going with him.

He hesitated, then decided that was just as well. At least he could look after her if she stayed beside him. If something happened to her outside, he would be too far away to help.

They cautiously entered the Villa. A statue of the Night God stood enshrined in the ground-floor hall. It had a human body and a snake's tail, looking somewhat like the Holy Mother Nuwa.

But whereas Lady Nuwa was female, this statue was male and looked particularly savage. A toad and a spider crouched on its shoulders, one on each side.

The statue held a scorpion in one hand and a centipede in the other. Counting its snake's tail, all five poisonous creatures were represented.

Meng Huai stared at the statue, momentarily taken aback. He felt as though he had seen it somewhere before, but simply could not remember where. The sensation was deeply frustrating.

Yun Zimo had also done some studying over the past two days and naturally knew about the five poisonous creatures. The statue's bizarre appearance sent a quiet chill through her.

Meng Huai shook his head. "These people certainly have some nerve, pretending to be descendants of Lady Nuwa. But Lady Nuwa's descendants are all women. I've never heard of a male one."

Seeing nothing else in the hall, he immediately led Yun Zimo toward the second floor.