Family

Zhou Heigou no longer thought Zhou Yang was weak and easily bullied, and wouldn't live much longer.

When a plaything transforms into a potential threat, anyone would be tempted to kill!

Zhou Yang sighed inwardly.

He had to act quickly and kill Zhou Heigou.

But he wouldn't let anyone know that he was involved in Zhou Heigou's death.

Zhou Yang had already rehearsed this matter many times in his mind. As long as the timing was right, he could make everything happen naturally, removing himself from the situation and leaving no trace.

"When the Revelation Ceremony is held, Father will prepare enough fat for you."

"I won't let you work for nothing."

Hearing the Heigou's words, a smile appeared on Zhou Laogou's sinister face.

He reached out and patted Zhou Heigou's head, making a promise to Erzi.

As Zhou Heigou thanked him repeatedly, he turned back to Zhou Yang and said, "The Fire Tower is so dangerous, yet you still made it through."

"You're just as capable as the Patrol Team. It's getting dark, and none of us can go out, but you surely can, right?"

"Get out!"

Go find your brother!

Upon hearing the sound, Huang Shaozi looked at Zhou Laogou in horror.

Zhou Yang, his face filled with fear, shook his head repeatedly and said to Zhou Laogou, "Father, I don't have that much ability!"

"I wouldn't have made it through last night either!"

"It was Mother who helped me; Mother gave me this—that's why I was able to get through last night safely. My eldest brother also protected me, which is why I'm alright!"

Having already performed the act once in front of A Fu, Zhou Yang's performance this time was naturally even more skillful.

His eyes Da Le, his face filled with fear.

Then, trembling, he took out the small coffin and showed it to everyone present.

Zhou Laogou glanced at the small coffin, his expression indifferent.

Heigou's eyes lit up, and his smile deepened. He had always thought that Zhou Yang was nothing special and could only be his stepping stone in Guan Village, but he never expected that the other party would actually survive the night of guarding the fire tower!

This suddenly alerted him, and he truly harbored murderous intent towards Zhou Yang!

But now, the thing Zhou Yang took out made Zhou Heigou realize immediately. "This Zhou Yang doesn't really have any real skills."

"It was only by currying favor with the sycophantic Human-Skin Ghost of the Guan Village that I managed to acquire some means of survival and get through last night safely."

The tension in the Heigou's heart eased slightly.

But he couldn't completely relax, so he spoke again, stabbing Zhou Yang with his knife:

Yes, your older brother treats you so well.

"Guarding the fire tower is so dangerous, yet he still wholeheartedly protects you."

"It wasn't dark yet, and I asked you to help look for your older brother, but you refused."

"You're different from the Zhou Family, aren't you?"

"I'm willing to go!" Zhou Yang said, his face filled with terror. "I'll go find my older brother right now!"

After speaking, he put away the small coffin in his hand, turned around, and walked towards the door. He had only taken a few steps when he heard Huang Shaozi shouting in a shrill voice behind him, "Heigou, you're a beast!"

You're not like a piece of my flesh!

"It's getting dark, how could you force your three brothers to go out and look for someone—why don't you go yourself?"

"The Baigou and A-Yang went to guard the fire tower, to guard it for our family!"

Where were you then?!

"I think next time I'll send you to guard the fire tower—and send you alone! If you die there, nobody will care!"

Huang Shaozi's shrill scolding made Zhou Yang's eardrums ache.

He was still walking towards the door when his mother called out to him, "A-Yang, you don't need to go anywhere!"

"Stay here. This is your home. It's getting dark; family should stay home."

Zhou Laogou's chilling voice rang out at that moment. "How could you curse my child to die?"

"The Heigou loves me, Zhou Yang doesn't."

"How could you curse a child who loves me to die?" "Father!" the Heigou cried out in grievance, "Mother has never liked me, I know that in my heart."

"Please don't argue with Mother because of me."

"It's nothing for me to suffer a little injustice..."

The Heigou's words left Zhou Yang momentarily dazed.

He seems to have said something similar to his mother.

"How could you curse a child who loves me to die...?"

Zhou Laogou's voice, seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, rang out once again.

As the chilling voice rang out, Zhou Yang felt a sudden burst of cold air erupt from his back, filling the entire courtyard and freezing his skin until it felt stiff, as if it were about to rot!

It also froze all sound behind it!

The Heigou's cries of injustice were frozen by the chilling, Ghost Rhyme, stuck in its throat, unable to escape!

Zhou Yang suddenly turned his head to look--

In a flash, Zhou Laogou appeared before Huang Shaozi, his dark hand gripping Huang Shaozi 'Huang Shaozi neck tightly, making the already pale skin of his neck even paler. (Search "Deqi" on Bing to see the latest chapter!)

Its pale color instantly reminded people of bloated, dead pig meat soaked in water!

In that instant, Zhou Yang could even smell the putrid odor!

Huang Shaozi was filled with fear. She didn't dare to look Zhou Laogou in the eye, her eyes lowered, and she uttered pleading words in a breathy voice. "I was wrong... hiss... I was wrong, father of my child, please forgive me..."

Tears streamed down Huang Shaozi's face.

Looking at Huang Shaozi in this state, even though he knew in his heart that she was also a ghost, and that the ghost hidden under her skin was fierce and vicious, Zhou Yang still couldn't help but feel pity.

These human skins may very well have once belonged to real, living people.

Everything that happens to them now reflects their experiences when they were alive.

Zhou Heigou stood in the distance, lost in thought, saying nothing.

Zhou Yang rushed over in a few steps, his face still showing fear, but he reached out to pry away Zhou Laogou's arm that was gripping Huang Shaozi's neck. "Dad, don't hit Mom! I'm going to find my older brother right now!"

"Don't hit your mother!"

Zhou Laogou's ashen face suddenly turned towards Zhou Yang. He abruptly released Huang Shaozi's neck, then clenched his fist and punched Zhou Yang hard in the chest!

Thump!

Zhou Yang heard the hollow sound of his own heart pounding violently!

His pupils constricted!

This single moment felt like an eternity to him!

An indescribable pain churned within his consciousness. His Mindfulness met the pain, but quickly receded like a tide, leaving only the pain swirling within his mind.

Even though it faded after a moment, it still left a mark on his mind!

"This is the power of a demon!"

"Unquantifiable and unpredictable!"

Zhou Yang trembled violently, trying to deflect the punch Zhou Laogou had landed on him.

He clutched his chest and took a deep breath.

The terror and pain on his face at that moment were not feigned. What seemed like an ordinary punch from the ghost had caused him excruciating pain!

Huang Shaozi watched as Zhou Yang collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest, his eyes filled with a mixture of heartache and fear.

Her husband was right beside her, but at that moment, she didn't even dare to reach out and help her child.

"Zhou Laogou is much more terrifying than I imagined."

"Sun San from the Patrol Team wasn't even as terrifying as Zhou Laogou."

"The power of the ghost has seeped into his human skin. Even though it retains its human appearance, everything about it has been marinated with the Ghost Rhyme. When it gets angry, even a punch from a father hitting his son would be unbearable for me!"

Is this related to Zhou Heigou frequently feeding it?

"Perhaps it's because Zhou Heigou fed it so frequently that it grew to its current size!"

Zhou Yang's mind raced.

The Laogou looked down at him, his dark complexion gradually returning to normal, but the coldness in his eyes had not yet dissipated. "You, go find your brother."

After saying that, it turned and went into the main room, ignoring Zhou Heigou completely.

As soon as Huang Shaozi saw it go inside, he rushed over and hugged Zhou Yang, tears streaming down his face. "Don't listen to him, don't listen to your father... Your father was just saying that in anger, doesn't he know that going out now means certain death?"

"Just stay home, Mom will protect you, my Little Yang..."

Not far away, Zhou Heigou was unsure whether to sit or stand.

He didn't dare follow Zhou Laogou into the house—his father was too terrifying at this moment; he might be asked for food as soon as he entered.

But he couldn't just stand there in the yard.

Once Huang Shaozi notices him, he'll definitely be in trouble.

Just as he was restless and wished he could become invisible and disappear from Huang Shaozi's sight, his savior returned—a series of footsteps sounded outside the door.

The Baigou's weary voice came from the hallway. "Mother, I'm home..."

The sound of a door closing echoed in the hallway.

Xiao Fei's body has been found; it was dug out of a pond in Houkeng.

"Sigh... He died too young. His family said he hadn't even gotten married yet, and he was gone just like that."

By the time Zhou Baigou finished speaking, he was already standing in the courtyard. The clear blue sky of the day had been abruptly draped in the curtain of night.

Under the cover of darkness, Zhou Baigou looked at the situation in the courtyard and frowned. "What... happened to you all?"

"It's good that you're back."

"Don't stay up so late next time. Your family is worried that you won't get home until after dark."

At this moment, Zhou Laogou poked his head out from the main room again.

A slight smile played on his stiff face, as if the events that had just occurred had nothing to do with him.

"Dinner's served."

Zhou Laogou looked at Huang Shaozi, uttered a sentence, and went back into the main room.

The Baigou glanced at the Huang Shaozi and Zhou Yang, then at the Zhou Heigou not far away. It simply nodded and said, "Food's served, Mother."

Then he followed them into the main room.

A cold and eerie atmosphere permeated the house.

Inside the main room, white candles were lit. Everyone gathered around the long table and began to eat dinner.

The candlelight illuminated the mechanical way people bowed their heads, reached into their bowls to scoop rice, then straightened up, craning their necks to swallow.

The terrifying sounds of chewing echoed throughout the main room.

Before long, the Zhou Family had finished their dinner.

After the meal, Zhou Baigou continued the unfinished topic from before, "Xiao Family's parents said that Xiao Fei can't just go down into the underworld without a wife and become a lonely ghost."

So they brought it home with a wife, a dead woman from the small grave on the west side of the village.

Huang Shaozi looked up at the sound and stared at Zhou Baigou in surprise, "I don't remember the person in that grave being from our village, right?"

"Yes, it's not from our village," Zhou Baigou nodded. "It floated down the river next to the village."

"The Cui Family family says that Xiao Fei has a special connection with water—he used to love fishing, and the dead man who floated down the river near the village was a perfect match for him..."

Zhou Yang listened to the lukewarm remarks of the crowd.

He turned his head and glanced at the dark doorway.

A chill ran through him as it crept in from outside the door! Xiao Fei, paired with a river drifter?!

Isn't this just a name for that human skin, paired with that River Floater Ghost inside?!

"Fifteen days from now, on the day the moon is full, we'll get things done for them!" Zhou Baigou grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, seemingly genuinely happy that his friend's marriage was finally settled!

Huang Shaozi and Zhou Laogou also grinned and laughed.

In their eyes, this funeral has now become a joyous occasion!

Zhou Yang could only laugh along.

It was as if countless transparent holes had grown on his body, and the chilling wind would seep through these holes, freezing his flesh to the bone!