Drawing the lot!

"": 200,

"": "",

"": "In that instant, Zhu Qianqian felt a splitting pain tear through her head and heard a dull thud from her skull. Her vision went black, and she collapsed unconscious...

Chen Xianxian put down the hammer and quickly wrapped a cloth around Zhu Qianqian's head to keep the blood seeping through her skin from staining the floor.

She cautiously opened the door again. Once she confirmed that no one was around, she closed it.

When Luo Bin was woken up, the clock on the wall showed exactly two thirty. The family of three left the courtyard.

People hurried along the road, all heading in the same direction.

Anyone who caught sight of Luo Bin's face gave him a few extra looks and exchanged a few words with their family or friends.

About ten minutes later, they reached an unusually large building, bigger than the Mountain God Temple. Its beams and pillars towered overhead, but the interior was remarkably empty. Only along the walls stood densely packed Spirit Tablets...

There was only one person inside.

No, half a person.

His chest had been torn open. His ribs were stripped clean, with almost no flesh left on them. His abdomen was equally empty, every organ missing.

Worst of all was his face. It had been gnawed away, leaving jagged edges that exposed his ghastly white skull. It was a horrifying, chilling sight.

A crowd had gathered outside, terror showing on every face.

Gu Ya's face was taut, her expression deeply uneasy.

Luo Feng said nothing, his brow furrowing ever more deeply.

Luo Bin swallowed. He had seen corpses like this several times, but he still felt the urge to vomit.

"Why isn't the Village Chief here yet...? He always arrived before two for the drawing..."

"Who's the dead person? How long has he been dead?"

"Who knows...? The Village Chief isn't here, and we don't even know who opened the Ancestral Hall."

"What fucking bad luck. Nothing this serious has happened in the village for ages. Then, in these few days around the Outsiders' arrival, first Gap-Toothed Zhang's family of four, then Zhang Jun trying to hurt someone, and now another death..."

Chaotic chatter filled the air. The villagers were far from calm.

"Wait for the Village Chief! Stop shouting and making a fuss! There'll be a roll call for the drawing. Whoever doesn't answer-that'll tell us who it is!" A shout suddenly rose from the crowd, and a man stepped forward.

It was Old Kong, with his round, freckled face. He waved to Luo Feng and several others in the crowd, signaling for them to come out.

Luo Feng, Gu Ya, and Luo Bin nodded before walking over to Old Kong.

Several sturdy men also stepped forward. Luo Bin had already noticed that these people seemed like an old-fashioned Guard Team, or a Militia. Did they carry out the Village Chief's orders and maintain order?

Sure enough, the crowd quieted considerably.

"Xiao Shan, don't be afraid," Gu Ya said softly. "It's normal for something to happen to people. There's always someone who gets tricked into going outside by an Evil Spirit."

Gu Ya was clearly frightened herself, yet she managed to remain calm in front of Luo Bin.

"It's all right, Mom. I know," Luo Bin answered, drawing a light breath.

Zhong Zhicheng arrived.

The crowd parted of its own accord to make way for him. His expression shifted as soon as he entered the Ancestral Hall.

"Take him to the Morgue first. I'll deal with it after the drawing." Zhong Zhicheng swept his gaze over Luo Feng and the others.

Old Kong and Luo Feng nodded, then went forward to handle the corpse.

Another tall, burly man helped them gather up the remains and carry them out of the Ancestral Hall.

The other men returned to the crowd.

Zhong Zhicheng entered a room on the left side of the Ancestral Hall and brought out a large wooden bucket filled to the brim with Bamboo Lots.

"When your family's name is called, send one person forward to draw. Same rules as always-a black tip means you've been selected." Zhong Zhicheng placed the bucket directly beneath the Spirit Tablets.

Standing beside it, he took out a palm-sized booklet and began calling names.

People stepped forward one after another to draw. At first, they were all trembling with fear, but once they drew an ordinary bamboo lot, their faces broke into smiles.

Before Luo Bin knew it, Luo Feng, Old Kong, and the others had returned.

As it happened, Old Kong's name was called. He went up and drew an ordinary lot, then let out a relieved breath like the others.

Luo Bin heard Zhang Li's name.

The tall, thin Zhang Li emerged from the crowd, a trace of unease on his face.

The villagers whispered among themselves and pointed at him. Some muttered that he was bad luck, while others said he had better draw the black lot.

"You've only just arrived in the village, so you're exempt this time," Zhong Zhicheng said.

Zhang Li immediately relaxed and retreated into the crowd.

Their comments kept his face burning.

Being called bad luck made Zhang Li uncomfortable.

What did the deaths in the village have to do with him?

Zhu Qianqian was another thing weighing on his mind.

He had only gone into the room to tie Gu Yiren up securely. When he came out, he had meant to tell Zhu Qianqian that he had to attend the drawing that afternoon, and that she needed to stay home and keep watch over Gu Yiren.

Yet Zhu Qianqian had vanished?

"Chen Xianxian." Zhong Zhicheng called another name.

A pretty young woman with waist-length hair stepped out of the crowd.

"My sister's at home. I'm Xianxian~" she told Zhong Zhicheng in a soft, delicate voice.

"Mm. Draw a lot." Zhong Zhicheng pointed at the wooden bucket.

Luo Bin gave the young woman another look. She seemed familiar.

Then he remembered. After he had been beaten in the sack, this was the young woman who had pushed the door open and asked whether he was all right, whether he needed medicine, and whether he needed the shamaness to examine him.

Chen Xianxian drew an ordinary lot.

"Luo Feng." Zhong Zhicheng called another name.

"Dad, should I go?" Luo Bin asked quietly, gathering his thoughts.

"Mm, all right." Luo Feng nodded.

Only then did Luo Bin step forward.

As he passed Chen Xianxian, she gave him a surprised look and said, "Oh, you got beaten up again? They're really going too far."

Luo Bin smiled awkwardly.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, he noticed Luo Feng's expression darken again, as black as coal ash.

He walked up to Zhong Zhicheng and did his best to keep any unnecessary emotion off his face as he drew.

Zhong Zhicheng glanced at Luo Bin's face but said nothing else.

Luo Bin pulled out a lot. There happened to be a transparent tile overhead, letting in a shaft of sunlight. As he drew the entire stick out, that light fell on its pitch-black tip, making his heart give a violent jolt.

What the hell?

I got picked?

His thinking had been simple: make his presence felt among more villagers, and he would become more deeply integrated into the village.

With a whole bucket of bamboo lots, several hundred people drawing-perhaps even close to a thousand-and odds of one in a thousand, there was no way it should have been his turn.

"A black lot. Three days from now, on the first day of the month, the Luo family will be responsible for scouting the way into the mountains."

Zhong Zhicheng's tone was cold and grave, his voice heavy and loud.

Luo Bin turned around.

Luo Feng's expression had hardly changed.

Gu Ya, however, was deathly pale, her hands clutching tightly at the hem of her clothes.

Many villagers looked relieved. Then, as they looked at Luo Bin, their eyes held a hint of mockery... and even a trace of delight at his misfortune?

"I still need to call a few more names. If you're all right, answer when called so we can confirm who died earlier." Zhong Zhicheng raised his voice further, then said to Luo Bin, "Take the black lot home with you."

Luo Bin's face was slightly stiff, sweat still beading at his temples. Even his heartbeat felt strangely hollow.

Although Luo Feng appeared very calm...

The expressions of the villagers and Gu Ya told Luo Bin that this was definitely not as simple as it seemed!