The Gu Family's Ghost
The smell of blood, the pungent aroma of burning fat, and the smell of fire—
A variety of smells filled Zhou Yang's nostrils.
In the chaotic flames, all he could see were faces with holes in them and a look of suppressed terror.
Two more people were killed in the crowd.
Their lingering images, left behind after their deaths, lingered at Zhou Yang's feet.
Zhou Yang hid behind Zhou Baigou, his eyes scanning back and forth in the crowd. At this moment, he could no longer find Cui Zhu and Cui He, those two living people!
Even though it was the first hour of the night, Zhou Yang still saw the two of them sitting in a corner.
But now those two have vanished without a trace!
Cui Zhu, the second son of the Cui Family, plays a villager from Guan Village, but his portrayal is merely superficial.
But his third brother Cui He, was actually quite good.
Zhou Yang had met him before and was pestered by him, almost mistaking him for a real Guan Village!
Logically speaking, a living person who can portray their Manifestation Body so profoundly must have some understanding of Guan Village Guan Village.
In many dangerous situations, knowing Guan Village can greatly increase one's chances of survival.
Therefore, putting aside Cui Zhu 'Zhou Yang opinion that at least Cui He shouldn't have been killed by a ghost in the first two hours of the night, the two brothers have now vanished without a trace.
Did they accidentally stumble outside the area illuminated by the firelight?
Zhou Yang glanced at the churning darkness not far away and felt a chill run down his spine.
Just then, a gust of wind blew past the fire tower.
The tower's fiery glow, like a tree in the night, was instantly whipped up by the wind, sending up a shower of sparks!
Most of the sparks vanished into the darkness, but a few drifted in the wind, plunging into the crowd. As soon as they touched the human skin on the ghosts, the sound of hot fire licking the grease was incessant!
"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle----"
The ghosts, their bodies stained with sparks, exuded an even stronger eerie Ghost Rhyme!
They surrounded the two figures.
Surrounded by the horde of ghosts, the two were trembling and completely lost!
The two men introduced themselves before dark.
Zhou Yang remembered that the slightly chubby boy on the left called himself "Lian Dafu," while the trembling young man next to Lian Dafu on the right called himself "Zhang Erheng."
Lian Dafu and Zhang Erheng had no connection whatsoever in Guan Village.
But now the two of them are together.
These two people may have known each other before they even set foot in Guan Village.
They may have gotten to know each other after setting foot in Guan Village.
Regardless of the circumstances, at least for now, they are all in the same boat, facing the fate of being killed by the ghost!
"I am Lian Dafu!"
"Don't you recognize me? I'm Lian Dafu, I'm Lian Dafu ----"
Lian Dafu kept repeating his name and identity in Guan Village like a mantra, hoping that this name could protect him like a talisman.
But the ghosts gathering around him continued to get closer and closer, staring at him with eerie expressions, their eyes fixed on him.
He didn't know when these ghosts would make their move, or when he would die, but he became increasingly clear that his fate was sealed and he was doomed.
Beside Lian Dafu, Zhang Erheng trembled all over and reached out to tug hard at Lian Dafu.
With tears streaming down his face, Lian Dafu turned to look at him and saw Zhang Erheng point to the spot beside them—a dark place that the firelight could not illuminate.
Zhang Erheng remained silent.
But his meaning was clear. "Those who remain in this fire-shrouded land will inevitably be killed by ghosts."
"Why not take the risk and venture into the darkness!"
"Although the dark is not necessarily safe, what if there are still survivors inside?"
They were at their wits' end.
Lian Dafu looked fearfully at the darkness, but ultimately nodded and followed Zhang Erheng. After a few steps, seeing that the darkness was already a few steps away, he suddenly shouted, "Erheng!"
Zhang Erheng suddenly turned around and looked at Lian Dafu with surprise in his eyes.
Soon, the surprise in Erheng's eyes turned into disbelief. At this moment, Lian Dafu was holding a dagger in his hand.
The blade of that dagger had completely sunk into Zhang Erheng's stomach!
Fresh blood trickled down the grooves on the dagger, quickly staining Zhang Erheng's clothes red around his abdomen!
"Qiao Zhuang! Qiao Zhuang! Qiao Zhuang!"
Zhang Erheng Da Le wide-eyed at Lian Dafu, but called out a different name!
He suddenly grabbed Lian Dafu's wrist, which was holding the dagger, with one hand, his face contorted with rage, and tried to drag Lian Dafu into the darkness behind him!
This Zhang Erheng knew exactly what Lian Dafu's real name was.
The two of them clearly knew each other inside and out!
But they've come to this point of mutual destruction!
"I want to live, I want to live, Brother Zhao Qi ----" Looking at Zhang Erheng's hideous face, Lian Dafu's eyes welled up with tears, and he pleaded with Zhang Erheng in a low voice.
Seeing that Zhang Erheng was still dragging him into the darkness without any regard for his safety, he became fierce, baring his yellow teeth and shouting, "I want to live!"
I have to live, I don't want to die!
"Go ahead and die, die, die!" Lian Dafu gripped the dagger and twisted it violently, tearing apart several of Zhang Erheng's intestines.
The strength Zhang Erheng exerted due to his burning rage was completely drained along with the blood from the hole in his stomach as Lian Dafu spun the dagger in his hand!
He staggered and released his grip on Lian Dafu's wrist.
But Lian Dafu was still relentless. He spun around and pulled out a dagger, then stabbed Zhang Erheng several times in the chest!
Warm blood splattered on his face, but he was completely unaware!
After stabbing him several times, Lian Dafu suddenly looked up at the ghosts surrounding him, his face showing the same fearful and cowardly expression. "Eat him!"
He's a living person!
"No, I'm Lian Dafu! I'm Lian Dafu!"
Lian Dafu's voice was quickly drowned out by the crowd.
Where the ghosts gathered, two more splashes of blood erupted.
Whether it was Zhang Erheng or Lian Dafu, they could not escape death in the end.
Lian Dafu thought that by stabbing his friend and causing him to bleed, he would reveal his identity as a living person and thus draw the attention of the ghosts to his friend.
He could use this opportunity to escape temporarily.
He deliberately ignored the fact that their identities had already been exposed the moment the ghost set its sights on them.
All the struggles were ultimately in vain.
As Zhou Yang watched two more figures emerge from the crowd and linger at his feet, his heart felt heavy.
Every moment now is agonizing for the living, let alone enduring several hours here.
Here, every living person is at risk of being killed at any moment.
Even though Zhou Yang has the Baigou protecting him, the Baigou is not omnipotent.
Once those ghosts suddenly attacked, even the Baigou couldn't withstand them.
By then, its human skin will be severely damaged, and it may very well turn around and reach out to Zhou Yang.
With Zhou Yang's current strength, he is simply no match for any of the ghosts here!
Once one has cultivated and perfected a Upright Heart Upright Heart, perhaps one can restrain demons and use the demons one has bound to resist external demons?
Such thoughts swirled in Zhou Yang's mind.
Time moved forward little by little.
People kept being dragged out and killed by the ghost.
The ground around the fire tower was covered in blood.
The atmosphere here was so lively that it made the heavy darkness surrounding the firelight seem quiet and safe.
Zhou Yang knew in his heart that everyone who died before him had actually bought him time.
This allowed him to endure the agonizing night, bit by bit.
Looking at the pockmarked human skin on the Baigou, Zhou Yang couldn't help but think about how every half month, villagers from Guan Village needed to guard the fire tower.
This rule has been passed down in Guan Village for a long time.
Almost every ghost in Guan Village has guarded the fire tower.
Zhou Baigou has already defended the fire tower three to five times.
The flames emitted by the fire tower will burn through the human skin on these ghosts.
Over time, even if they consume fat every day, some of the ghosts' human skin will eventually become tattered and torn.
Zhou Yang had walked so many roads in Guan Village and greeted so many villagers, yet he had never seen a Guan Village villager with tattered skin.
Not a single villager had skin as pockmarked and uneven as Zhou Baigou's current skin.
How do they maintain their skin so perfectly?
Or perhaps, who is secretly helping them repair the damage to their human skin?
Zhou Yang's mind raced, but he didn't forget to observe his surroundings.
At this point, the number of villagers whose identities as living people were revealed gradually decreased.
The villagers of Guan Village stood guard around the fire tower and began throwing firewood into it again.
The fire on the fire tower is unlikely to be extinguished anytime soon; it is still raging fiercely.
But the surrounding darkness pressed in ever closer, shrinking the area illuminated by the firelight, until one moment—from the churning darkness, a pitch-black arm suddenly stretched out and grabbed Xiao Fei, who was not far from Zhou Yang!
Black mist swirled around the jet-black arm.
It grabbed Xiao Fei's head and yanked it sharply.
Zhou Yang heard a "rip" sound, Xiao Fei's entire human skin was ripped off the ghost's body!
The dark arm dragged the skin back into the darkness!
In the firelight, only the ghost, not covered by human skin, remained, trembling in place!
This ghost has pale, swollen skin.
His hair clung to his skin like seaweed, and his entire body was constantly oozing foul-smelling liquid.
Judging by its appearance, it's clearly a river drifter!
Its Ghost Rhyme slowly emanated from it, and within that Ghost Rhyme was the heavy, foul smell of river water!
Beneath its feet, a puddle of water silently spread outwards, and in the blink of an eye, the dark puddle covered Zhou Yang's feet!
Zhou Yang's pupils constricted, and his hair stood on end!
Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed Zhou Baigou and pulled him in front of him to shield him!
Immediately afterwards, layers of Supernatural Ripple emanated from his body!
The handprint-like ripples expanded three feet beyond Zhou Yang's body, then could not penetrate any further. Beyond Zhou Yang's body, various Ghost Rhyme emanated from the Guan Village. After his Handprint Ripple extended three feet outward, they touched these turbulent Ghost Rhyme...
If seawater hits a reef, it cannot move the reef even an inch!
But in that instant, Zhou Yang had already captured Zhou Baigou's Ghost Rhyme with ripples!
The Handprint Ripple transformed into a fist print, shrinking into a bright dot that disappeared beneath the skin of Zhou Yang's hands.
On the skin of his hands, countless Ghost Mouth suddenly opened, spewing out an aura similar to that of Zhou Baigou's Ghost Rhyme!
This aura obscured Zhou Yang's own vitality!
The river drifter suddenly turned around, from facing Zhou Yang to having his back to him!
The pool of black water on the ground propelled the river floats, sending them hurtling towards the other side of the fire tower!
But then, from the darkness, a series of giggling sounds rang out again!
With that burst of laughter, a rope swung out from the darkness!
The rope was deathly white.
Upon closer inspection, it was not a rope at all, but a pale white rope made from a twisted arm's leather tube. The wispy ends of the rope were clearly five finger-shaped leather tubes!
The leather tube suddenly unfolded as it swung, snatching the river drifter's neck and dragging the ghost into the darkness!
"The Guo Family Ghost have come to claim our lives!"
The crowd in front of the fire tower was in an uproar upon seeing this scene!
"Xiao Fei is dead!"
Zhou Baigou also gasped in horror!
The area in front of the fire tower was filled with noise and screams. The ghosts who were busy hunting the living seemed to be frightened by the Guo Family Ghost in the darkness. They stopped distinguishing the living people around them and huddled under the fire tower, fearing that the Guo Family Ghost would throw the rope down from the darkness again!