The Hanged Bride

"What are everyone's thoughts?"

Li Yunhua swept his gaze over the crowd, naturally treating himself as the leader.

The two lackeys hurriedly echoed, "We'll follow Brother Li's instructions in all things. We have no objections."

After speaking, they even looked up at Lu Changsheng and Yue Shulan, as though provoking them.

Lu Changsheng sneered inwardly but said nothing.

He wanted to see what sort of method Li Yunhua could come up with.

If they could quickly find the Wicked Spirit and kill it, he would benefit as well.

Yue Shulan likewise remained silent. She exchanged a glance with Lu Changsheng, and the two fell quiet.

Seeing this, Li Yunhua smiled faintly, rather pleased with himself.

He continued, "Since we can't question anything out of them, we'll simply cut through the tangled mess with a swift blade. That thing will definitely strike again. We only need to wait by the tree stump for the rabbit. When the time comes, we'll swarm it and kill this evil creature..."

Yue Shulan was deeply disdainful inside.

Anyone with a functioning brain could think of such a method.

The key was whether the Wicked Spirit lurking in the shadows would truly act as he wished and rashly make a move.

As martial artists, their qi and blood were abundant. At night, they were as conspicuous as little suns.

So long as that Wicked Spirit possessed awareness, it definitely would not strike lightly.

Still, she did not point it out. Instead, she spoke with an approving expression, "I have no objections. What about you, Brother Lu?"

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes turned toward Lu Changsheng.

"Then let's do it that way."

Lu Changsheng shrugged, looking indifferent.

Since Li Yunhua wanted to try this simple and brutal method, he had no objections.

Success would naturally be best. If it failed, they could simply think of another way.

Before long, everyone reached an agreement. The five of them would each guard a separate area.

Li Yunhua unhesitatingly chose to station himself in the center of the village.

The others each selected a direction to guard.

Lu Changsheng chose the eastern part of the village.

After dividing their respective patrol areas, they scattered.

By then, the sky was gradually darkening. The lingering glow of the setting sun seemed streaked with blood, falling over the surrounding dead trees and making the scene exceptionally eerie.

After parting from the others, Lu Changsheng followed a small dirt slope and soon arrived before the courtyard of a household in the east of the village.

Several strips of white cloth still hung before the courtyard, fluttering in the wind.

"Creak..."

He pushed open the battered wooden gate and walked inside.

"Who is it...?"

A middle-aged woman in coarse hemp clothing came out, her face full of wariness.

When she saw Lu Changsheng, she froze for a moment, then forced out a smile. "So it's an official from the county seat. Please, come in..."

She had seen Lu Changsheng's group during the day, so she naturally let down her guard.

"I'll be troubling you for a few days."

Lu Changsheng smiled kindly.

Then he entered the house with her.

At that moment, the woman's family was eating dinner. Several bowls of watery porridge sat on the broken wooden table.

There was no other food besides that.

A little girl of five or six was eating with great relish.

Seeing someone arrive, the little girl looked at Lu Changsheng with a face full of curiosity.

Beside the girl sat a weathered middle-aged man.

Once he clearly saw Lu Changsheng's appearance, the man immediately dropped to his knees.

"My lord, please avenge our family."

"Was one of those ten corpses your family member?"

Lu Changsheng's expression shifted slightly, and pity rose in his heart.

The lives of poor commoners were already unimaginably difficult, yet they still had to suffer frequent attacks from demons and evil things. It was worse than death.

"My son. He was killed more than ten days ago."

The middle-aged man choked with sobs.

The woman beside him began to cry as well.

After a while, the two wiped away their tears.

"We have made a spectacle of ourselves before you, my lord."

The husband and wife looked deeply apologetic.

"My lord may stay in the master bedroom. This house is too dilapidated; we have neglected you..."

"No need. I'll stay in the courtyard."

Lu Changsheng declined with a smile. He then walked out of the small house, went into the courtyard, and sat cross-legged.

Night fell, and the chill gradually deepened. Yet with his martial path only just taking shape, he did not feel the slightest cold.

The night swiftly passed, but Lu Changsheng discovered nothing unusual.

Seeing that the demon would not show itself anytime soon, he began to devote a thread of his mind to controlling Pangolin in search of spiritual herbs.

Over the next three days, Lu Changsheng searched for spiritual herbs while guarding the village.

He never discovered anything unusual.

He did find several more spiritual herbs, however, which delighted him greatly.

Another day passed like this, yet no Wicked Spirit appeared.

That morning, Lu Changsheng frowned. This could not go on.

They could not wait forever.

He decided to take the initiative.

At noon, when the middle-aged couple returned after finishing their farmwork, Lu Changsheng rose and entered the house.

Getting straight to the point, he asked, "Brother Yang, before these incidents happened, did anything unusual ever occur in the village?"

As he spoke, he took out a piece of candy and handed it to the little girl beside him.

"Thank you, Uncle Lu."

The little girl thanked him in a crisp voice. Over the past few days, they had become familiar with one another, and she was no longer afraid of Lu Changsheng.

Old Yang thought carefully for a while, then shook his head.

"The village is quite remote, and outsiders rarely come through. Everything has always been peaceful."

"Then did anything strange happen several years ago?"

Lu Changsheng's eyes shifted slightly as he pushed the time frame much further back.

Sure enough, what the two said next stirred ripples in his heart.

At that moment, Madam Yang's eyes suddenly lit up, and she hurriedly spoke first. "Now that you mention it, my lord, I do recall something from years ago."

"Five years ago, a bride died in the village. She was only sixteen or seventeen. At the time, it caused a tremendous uproar in the village and was talked about for a long while, though people gradually forgot about it later."

"They said that bride had someone she loved, but was forced by circumstances to marry Old Zhang, who was already in his thirties. Old Zhang had quite a substantial family fortune, second only to the village chief's..."

"Later, the bride hanged herself. Her beloved went mad a few years later, and Old Zhang died too. It caused quite a commotion back then."

Old Yang beside her nodded repeatedly as well.

"When Old Zhang was buried, I even went to take a look. That death was truly miserable..."

As he spoke, a trace of fear filled his eyes.

"Were Old Zhang's eyes blood-red, bulging out of their sockets...?"

Lu Changsheng asked softly.

Old Yang's pupils contracted, as though he had thought of something.

"Could it be...?"

He could scarcely believe it, and his whole body began to tremble slightly.

At that moment, beyond the wooden window, moon shadows swayed. The courtyard was utterly silent. Two or three night crows perched on the distant dead trees, their dim eyes seeming to brim with malice.

"Is that madman still alive?"

Lu Changsheng pressed on.

"He is, he is..."

Old Yang and Madam Yang nodded again and again like chickens pecking at grain.

"His name is Peng Yuntian. If my lord wishes to find him, just leave the courtyard and go east for one li. There's a large locust tree in front of his ruined courtyard."

Old Yang immediately gave him the address.

"Thank you, Brother Yang."

Lu Changsheng smiled faintly, took out a small piece of broken silver from his robes, and placed it on the wooden table.

Though it was less than one tael of silver, it was enough for them to live on for several months.

It was not that he did not want to give more. If he gave them several taels of silver, he would likely be harming the family.

They could not protect it.

"My lord, this... we cannot accept it."

Old Yang and Madam Yang hurriedly waved their hands in refusal, their faces full of alarm.

To the two of them, an official like Lu Changsheng was no different from a god descending from the heavens. How could they dare accept his silver?

"Use it to buy the child something good to eat."

Lu Changsheng smiled. Without waiting for them to refuse again, he headed outside. Taking three steps in two, he quickly vanished from their sight.

Once Old Yang and Madam Yang came back to their senses, they stared blankly at Lu Changsheng's departing back, their faces full of gratitude.

"Lord Lu is a good official."