Corpse Bloat
Li Yichun had turned into a ghost!
The thought flashed through Qian Heng's mind!
Beads of sweat the size of beans crowded Qian Heng's forehead, soaking him to the skin!
The night wind swept over Qian Heng, chilling him inside and out!
A fierce desire to survive drove him to rise and escape the ritual, but just then, Chang Dafeng quickly dropped the sieve and hurried over in a few strides, sitting cross-legged on Qian Heng's other side!
The four sat with their backs facing outward, forming a circle around the five opera plaques.
Chang Dafeng suddenly extended his right fist into the circle, his thumb sticking up.
Qian Heng was still in a daze when Chang Dafeng, sitting beside him, slapped him across the left cheek with the back of his hand. The crisp smack rang out in the dead of night!
"Hurry up!
"What are you dazing off for!"
The troupe leader's stern shout brought Qian Heng back to his senses.
He dared not hesitate any longer. He too reached out, grasped Chang Dafeng's raised thumb, and stuck up his own.
Then Qian Heng stole a glance at Li Yichun from the corner of his eye.
Li Yichun, who had seemed to him just moments ago to look every bit a ghost, now wore a normal expression and reached out to grasp his raised thumb. The slight warmth of his palm told Qian Heng that everything he had seen earlier might well have been a hallucination in a moment of confusion!
Li Yichun was normal.
It was only that Qian Heng had been frightened by his words earlier, leading him to imagine things for no reason.
At that moment, Ding Ling was the last to reach out, gripping Li Yichun's raised thumb.
The four fists were linked by their raised thumbs, standing upright above the five opera plaques. To Zhou Yang, it looked more and more like a game of "pen spirit."
"Ghost Opera Selection, through my hand.
"I take the ghost's form and become the Ghost Opera Selection."
"Honored guests, take your seats in the hall. This performance is sure to please you, sure to delight you..."
Chang Dafeng lowered his eyes and began to murmur.
His face was shrouded in darkness, as though he were possessed by a ghost.
The other three murmured along, their voices drifting:
"Ghost Opera Selection, through my hand...
"Honored guests, take your seats in the hall. This performance is sure to please you, sure to delight you..."
Heaven and earth were black as ink.
The darkness was a grave, and the four were buried beneath its mound.
The light not far away failed to dispel the darkness around them in the slightest.
The faint flames flickered in the wind, all the more mournful and chilling.
Their chanting drifted on the wind like the whispers of wronged souls.
Amid the whispers, the four fists began to sway gently. A force was secretly pulling at the "pen" formed by their linked fists, making it drift slowly toward one of the opera plaques.
Through Ding Ling's eyes, Zhou Yang saw the vermilion characters on the plaque:
"Three Battles with the White Bone Demon."
Was Chang Dafeng planning to have the troupe perform this opera?
With that thought, Zhou Yang glanced over the faces of those present.
Qian Heng was preoccupied, the fear and worry between his brows plain to see.
Ever since he had dropped the stone and returned to the troupe alone, Zhou Yang had found him somewhat strange.
He looked rather like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
But what was the "bow" that had startled Qian Heng?
Li Yichun's expression, on the other hand, was normal.
He looked fairly calm now.
It was hard to connect the Li Yichun before them with the man who had been shouting earlier as though frightened out of his wits.
But that person earlier really had been Li Yichun.
The one here now, though, might not be...
Finally, Zhou Yang looked at Chang Dafeng. When he saw the beads of sweat on Chang Dafeng's face, his pupils contracted!
The back of Chang Dafeng's fist, the lowest of the four, was bulging with veins, and his fist was trembling slightly!
Zhou Yang had originally thought the troupe leader wanted the troupe to perform Three Battles with the White Bone Demon. But seeing Chang Dafeng's expression and the movement of his hand, Zhou Yang suddenly realized:
The one trying to select Three Battles with the White Bone Demon isn't Chang Dafeng, but someone else!
The force pulling their fists toward the Three Battles with the White Bone Demon plaque did not come from Chang Dafeng!
Chang Dafeng was instead fighting that force, desperately pulling their fists—the pen that was the "Ghost Opera Selection"—back and guiding it toward another plaque!
Who wants to select Three Battles with the White Bone Demon?
The force pulling their fists did not come from any of the four fists.
It came from outside the four of them. Zhou Yang suddenly realized this!
At that same moment, Ding Ling called to Zhou Yang in her heart: "Mr. Zhou!"
Her thoughts were somewhat tense.
"Hmm?" The thought Zhou Yang sent back seemed calm by contrast.
"I can smell that stench of a corpse again."
"Where?"
"Behind us."
At those words, Zhou Yang's heart tightened!
They had reached a critical point in the opera selection, and he could not have Ding Ling turn around to see what was behind them.
Fortunately, Ding Ling's next few words allowed Zhou Yang to steady himself for the moment. "But the stench is still faint. It should be some distance away from us... Sir, what should we do?"
"What should we do?" Zhou Yang's response remained even-tempered. He naturally could not pass his panic on to Ding Ling now. "First, let's get through the Ghost Opera Selection.
"Ding Ling, keep an eye on Troupe Leader Chang's wrist. Whichever direction he's pushing, push in that direction too."
"Okay!" Ding Ling answered crisply.
Zhou Yang did not know why Chang Dafeng insisted on contending with that unknown force, but he understood that granting the ghost's wish and selecting Three Battles with the White Bone Demon would likely bring even greater trouble.
By comparison, following Chang Dafeng might not necessarily be good either, but it was the lesser of two evils.
The four shadows overlapped in the lamplight.
Their fists formed a vertical line, swaying as they approached the Three Battles with the White Bone Demon plaque.
Chang Dafeng's face was as hard as iron and covered in sweat.
Each time he jerked his wrist and exerted force, their fists lingered in midair a moment longer.
But those brief pauses could not change the direction in which their fists were moving.
Qian Heng had squeezed his eyes shut and was chanting ceaselessly, "Ghost Opera Selection, through my hand.
"I take the ghost's form and become the Ghost Opera Selection."
"Honored guests, take your seats in the hall. This performance is sure to please you, sure to delight you..."
He could clearly feel two forces pulling his fist in different directions. As they tugged against each other, his nerves grew ever more taut.
Then another force joined the struggle-
Ding Ling's fist gripped Li Yichun's thumb tightly. She sensed the direction in which Chang Dafeng was exerting force through his wrist, and, following Zhou Yang's instructions, pushed her fist in that direction too.
The two forces joined together, instantly breaking the balance between Chang Dafeng and the unknown pulling force!
The four fists swayed in midair for an instant, then suddenly plunged toward another opera plaque:
"Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister!"
*Chang Dafeng wants to perform this opera?
He plays Zhong Kui, and Ding Ling plays Zhong Kui's sister?
The instant he saw the plaque, a thought flashed through Zhou Yang's mind!
The unknown force that had been pulling their fists suddenly swelled and grew stronger!
In an instant, the pulling force became a violent yank, dragging the four linked fists straight toward the Three Battles with the White Bone Demon plaque!
The two forces clashed in an instant, neither giving way!
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Yang caught a fleeting glimpse of a bloated figure standing silently behind Chang Dafeng.
A Corpse Bloat Form in a giant-like state appeared behind Chang Dafeng.
The instant the "Corpse Bloat Form" appeared, the strength in Chang Dafeng's wrist surged. Dragging the other three fists with his, he forced the unknown power back and finally reached the Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister plaque!
His fist struck it, and the plaque promptly toppled onto the white sand!
"Yee-hahaha-"
A burst of laughter like fingernails scraping glass pierced everyone's eardrums!
Drops of blood fell onto the plaque bearing the words "Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister," smearing the characters.
Blood was welling from between the fingers of their four linked fists, dripping steadily down!
The tremendous force Chang Dafeng had just exerted had indeed granted his wish, selecting Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister, but his, Li Yichun's, and Qian Heng's thumbs had all been crushed between the two great forces, their flesh and bones mangled!
Cries of pain and sharp intakes of breath rose all around.
Ding Ling withdrew her hand without betraying any emotion and quietly wiped her bloodstained palm.
When Zhou Yang glanced behind Chang Dafeng again, the terrifying figure in Corpse Bloat Form was nowhere to be seen.