Noon had already passed. This should have been the hottest part of the day, yet the sky was overcast, and fierce winds swept through the entire village, making it give off strange sounds.
Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing followed Wang Ju into the old Village Chief's home.
It certainly deserved its reputation as the best-situated and most expensively decorated home in the village. The stone paths in the courtyard were exquisite and thoughtfully laid out, and the grounds had clearly been professionally designed.
Wang Ju was about ten meters ahead of Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing. Perhaps he was too anxious, because he never noticed that he was being followed.
The two trailed behind him, watching as Wang Ju crossed a long corridor and turned into a sitting room.
Then he went through an entrance on the right side of the sitting room into the rear courtyard.
They followed him into the sitting room. The furnishings here were even more luxurious: sofas, carpets, chandeliers, and paintings and calligraphy that looked expensive at a glance...
The old Village Chief had amassed quite a fortune.
They did not linger in the sitting room, hurrying after Wang Ju.
Wang Ju was indeed beside himself with anxiety.
How could the old Village Chief have died? He shouldn't have died... he couldn't die.
"No way..."
"As long as we have that, we can control the Immortal Sheep. How could anything have happened to the Village Chief...?"
Had something really gone wrong with the ritual that night? If so, wouldn't everyone who took part in it...
Now that he thought about it, quite a few people in the village had already died.
Wang Ju began to tremble.
No...
It's fine.
This has happened before. We just have to let the Immortal Sheep kill enough people. As long as that thing is here... as long as I keep holding it, I won't die. The Immortal Sheep won't come for me...
Wang Ju kept reassuring himself as he hurried toward the Village Chief's room.
This was not his first visit, but the Village Chief never allowed outsiders into his room, not even his own relatives.
That thing has to be in here, too.
Without hesitation, Wang Ju kicked the door, and it flew open.
He pushed his way inside and deliberately propped the door open with a stool. At least this way, it would not be an enclosed space, and he would have a chance to escape if anything happened.
Wang Ju searched the room with his eyes: vases, paintings, calligraphy, and small ornaments that looked quite old...
Where the hell did that old man hide it?
"What's he looking for?"
Outside the rear courtyard, Liu Jingqing hid behind a pillar and whispered the question.
"Look at this courtyard. The reason the people chosen to become the Immortal Sheep in each round couldn't make their own wishes probably lies here. The Village Chief was most likely controlling them. Whatever he used to control them is what Wang Ju is looking for right now."
"Get ready," Qin Manjiang whispered.
"For what?" Liu Jingqing looked a little confused.
"To rob him." Qin Manjiang said something outrageous without the slightest qualm.
"Ah... I... I'll do my best..."
The two watched Wang Ju without blinking as he continued searching the room.
Wang Ju was already sweating with anxiety. The old Village Chief's corpse had fallen from the sky. Even when past Immortal Sheep had gone out of control and killed people, they had never used such violent methods. This made Wang Ju all the more certain that this Immortal Sheep was different from the previous ones. It... was more vicious.
What puzzled him even more was why the Village Chief had been killed by the Immortal Sheep when he clearly possessed a means of controlling it...
Had it stopped working?
No... it couldn't have.
That old man probably hid it away like he always did, and by the time the Immortal Sheep appeared and he tried to get it out, it was already too late.
That had to be it.
Sweating all over from his search, Wang Ju reassured himself for a while and sat down on a chair to rest. Only then did he notice a full-length mirror opposite the chair.
Facing the mirror, Wang Ju wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Suddenly, unease began to creep into his heart.
He was not someone who had never encountered the outside world. He had read plenty of horror stories, too.
Mirrors were usually used as tools to connect two worlds, revealing abnormal presences.
For instance, his reflection might suddenly stop keeping up with his movements, or something extra might appear in the mirror that did not exist in reality.
As soon as he thought of that, he began to grow nervous...
Wang Ju tested it for quite a while. Fortunately, everything in the mirror was normal, and his reflection moved exactly as he did. Only then did he feel a little relieved.
No, I can't waste any more time.
The old bastard's bedroom isn't small, but it isn't hopelessly huge, either. As long as I move fast enough, I'll find where he hid it!
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Wang Ju realized that the full-length mirror did not seem to be merely a mirror. It was a cabinet!
Open the mirror, and there's storage inside. Could it be in there?
Wang Ju rose and walked toward the full-length mirror.
Suddenly!
He saw a figure in the mirror!
Cold sweat broke out over Wang Ju. He turned his head and looked closely, only to discover that it was one of the old Village Chief's garments hanging there.
What the hell... If I stay here much longer, I'm going to have a heart attack.
Wang Ju quickened his pace, walked over, grabbed the handle beside the mirror, and pulled.
A deathly pale head sat inside the cabinet!
Wang Ju's legs buckled in fright, and he nearly screamed! His whole body dropped backward onto the floor.
Then he realized it was only the head of a plastic mannequin.
What kind of sick hobby did that damned old man have? Why would he put something like this in a cabinet?
Wang Ju could not help cursing him inwardly.
But when he looked more closely... shock and delight swept over him.
Beneath the plastic mannequin's head... was a wooden box!
That's it!
Wang Ju had seen it before. That brush, the writing brush that could control the Immortal Sheep, had been kept in this wooden box!
Thank goodness, it's still here!
Without further hesitation, Wang Ju picked up the plastic mannequin's head, tucked it under his arm, and reached out to open the wooden box.
But when he opened the box and looked inside...
It was indeed the box that had held the brush, but now it was completely empty!
Wait... wait.
Why... has this head suddenly gotten heavier?
He lowered his gaze to the plastic mannequin's head tucked under his arm again, only to blanch in horror!
A pair of blood-red eyes brimming with venom stared fixedly at him!
It was Li Rong!
At some point, the plastic head had turned into Li Rong's head!
Wang Ju wet himself in terror and immediately let go. But before he could turn and run far, a pair of grotesque hands emerged from the mouth of Li Rong's discarded head and seized his ankles!
"Let go... please, let go!"
"I'm begging you... it had nothing to do with me. I was only doing what that old man told me..."
"Urgh..."
He was so frightened that he began dry-heaving.
But the vengeful ghost had no intention of communicating with him. She gripped Wang Ju's ankles and slowly opened her mouth. It stretched to an impossibly horrifying size, sharp fangs filling every part of its interior!
Thud-
Wang Ju was dragged to the floor and stuffed into her mouth bit by bit, feet first.
"Help... someone save me!"
"Help!"
Wang Ju cried out in despair, digging both hands desperately into the floor. He did not even feel the pain as his nails tore off, yet he could do nothing to resist the ghost's immense strength.
His calves, knees, thighs, waist, chest...
Li Rong's head had swallowed almost all of Wang Ju!
In his final moments, he spotted Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing!
With his head inside the ghost's gaping mouth, he looked toward them in despair, but he could no longer speak.
Crack-
The enormous mouth snapped shut, spraying a burst of blood. Wang Ju disappeared completely.
A chill ran through Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing. A sudden sense of danger surged through Qin Manjiang, and he whispered, "Run."
Without hesitation, they turned and fled.
I miscalculated... I thought following Wang Ju here would lead us to an item that could subdue the Immortal Sheep. That should have been our way out. But I never expected that thing to be gone, or that the "Immortal Sheep" would be waiting here for people to walk straight into its trap.
But they were a step too late.
Bang-bang-bang-
Every door and window in the Village Chief's enormous residence began closing on its own. Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing rushed into the front courtyard and were about to escape, only to watch helplessly as the main gate slammed shut.
The hideous head of a female ghost appeared in the sitting room, staring fixedly at them.
She said nothing, merely opening her mouth as two horrifying arms slowly stretched out. Inside that mouth, they could also see half of Wang Ju's mangled face...
The overwhelming threat of death was right before them. This ghost was undoubtedly Li Rong, but her way of killing was completely different from the Immortal Sheep's.
What should I do...
Calm down...
Qin Manjiang stared at the female ghost's head, trying to think of a possible solution.
Liu Jingqing was chilled to the bone, every muscle in her body rigid. She could not move at all.
The two long, twisted arms reached them in an instant. With no other options, Qin Manjiang could only prepare for the worst.
"I want to make a wi-"
Before he could finish, a clear ring suddenly sounded from outside the courtyard, on the other side of the gate:
Ding-a-ling-
Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing's vision blurred. It lasted only an instant, but when they could see clearly again, they were no longer in the Village Chief's courtyard!
And standing before them was...
A white shirt and faded jeans... The round glasses she had worn were nowhere to be seen, and her braided hair had come completely undone, falling in waves down her back... In her hand, she held a long Three Pure Ones Bell of the kind commonly used by Taoist priests.
Seeing them looking at her, she winked her left eye at Liu Jingqing and flashed a carefree smile.
"Hi there. My name's Zhong Xueran."
"You're probably more familiar with another name-So Annoying."
Thanks to purej999, Roast Duck, Book Friend 2022, Do Not Disturb, A Late Bowl of Noodles, and Cassia Seeds for the tips. Here's the second update. Please send a few votes my way. Good night!
(End of chapter)
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