Free Web NovelChapter 371: Chapter 351: Perhaps the Entire Village Is Growing Such Bizarre Plants
The Great Xia Empire is much safer now than it used to be.
Although bizarre Evil Spirits still occasionally appear,
they’re generally kept under control.
Right now, we have no choice but to face this crisis together."
Lai Yu Yao’s firm gaze swept over the crowd, her eyes holding an undeniable authority.
It had to be said that at this critical moment,
Lai Yu Yao was displaying extraordinary leadership.
Her words were like a warm spring breeze,
dispelling the gloomy panic that had descended upon them due to the bizarre situation—their phones had no signal, and they couldn’t contact the outside world.
The young people, whose faces had been filled with terror and confusion just moments before, gradually began to calm down.
"That’s right. We should all stick together now. No one should be holding out any false hope."
someone chimed in.
"There are so many of us, and we even have quite a few Martial Arts instructors here today.
Even a bizarre Evil Spirit would be afraid of a crowd this large."
another person added loudly.
"I think we can be pretty sure what’s happening. We learned in class
that many bizarre Evil Spirits generate a natural energy field when they appear. This field can block almost all signals."
a studious-looking young man analyzed.
"We were bound to encounter an Evil Spirit sooner or later. Let’s just treat this as a training opportunity."
They went back and forth, comforting one another,
and surprisingly, their expressions slowly grew calm and much more resolute.
A look of admiration flashed in Chu He’s eyes. ’This Lai Yu Yao is certainly interesting,’ he thought.
’But I’m more curious about the big shot she has backing her.
In the Great Xia Empire, just what kind of person is considered a ’big shot’?’
As the group walked on, they soon found themselves at the entrance to the village.
Lights were on in every house at the village entrance, casting a dim yellow glow from the windows
that spilled onto the ground before the doors. It should have felt warm and welcoming,
but strangely, the door to every house was shut tight, as if to ward off some unknown terror.
"Look! What is that?" someone suddenly shouted.
The straggling group instantly converged as if by Magic,
gathering tightly together.
Many of the more timid students scrambled desperately for the center of the crowd,
feeling it was the safest place to be,
their desperation like that of a drowning person grasping at straws.
Those who had flashlights quickly turned them on,
sending beams of bright light crisscrossing through the darkness.
Those without, turned on their phone flashlights.
For a moment, the village entrance flickered with light, illuminating a small area around them.
One girl suddenly grabbed her companion’s arm with surprising strength.
"Ah! What are you doing? You’re hurting me!"
Her companion, startled by the sudden movement, complained in annoyance.
"Y-you... look."
The girl’s teeth were chattering, her body trembling slightly,
as she shakily raised a finger and pointed toward the small vegetable garden of the first house at the village entrance.
Every head snapped in the direction she was pointing, all eyes focusing on the small vegetable garden.
The night was like a pool of ink, so thick it seemed impossible to disperse,
mysteriously shrouding the small, unassuming vegetable patch.
The moonlight was like a stingy miser, casting down only a few sparse rays of silver light,
and it seemed to fear this place, lingering only at the edges, not daring to venture deeper.
In the garden, an utterly bizarre type of plant grew silently in the deep of the night.
The stems of these plants were as slender as a maiden’s hair,
so fragile it seemed they would snap at the slightest touch, swaying gently in the night wind,
as if telling some ancient and mysterious story.
Atop the stems, there were no vibrant blossoms or rich, tempting fruits.
Instead, there were pale white skulls.
These skulls looked like works of art, meticulously carved by a master craftsman.
Every detail was clearly discernible—
the sunken eye sockets, the prominent cheekbones, the grim teeth—all were unnervingly lifelike,
yet they possessed an eerie, otherworldly aura that was utterly horrifying.
They seemed utterly weightless, swaying gently with every puff of the night wind,
like a troupe of specters from Hell performing a silent dance.
Looking out, the entire garden seemed to be covered in a dense layer of pallor,
a beauty that sent a chill to the bone,
a beauty as cold as the Death God’s scythe,
so beautiful it was suffocating, yet so terrifying it made one shudder.
The skulls’ hollow eye sockets should have been empty, devoid of any tissue,
but within that emptiness, there seemed to be a mysterious gaze.
It was a sinister gaze, like pairs of a Demon’s eyes hidden in the darkness,
silently staring at every single person there,
as if to pierce through their very souls and fill them with terror.
Yet, as if ensnared by a Curse Technique, they couldn’t tear their eyes away.
It was as if an invisible hand had gradually drawn a black curtain over the moon,
causing it to grow ever dimmer. The night became like a ferocious beast,
opening its massive maw to devour the world, growing deeper and heavier.
In this inky blackness, the skulls appeared even more savage and terrifying,
their bone-white surfaces reflecting a chilling light in the faint glow.
