Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 431: Chapter 369: The Patriarch Urges You to Set Off Quicker

After returning to their room in the ancestral home, they repeated these events to Tong Han and Mi Shu, and everyone’s reaction was much the same: as for the fate of the people in Du Family Village, it could only be said that they brought it upon themselves.

Tonight was their final opportunity, and they had to give it their all. Yang Xiao made sure to keep the joint-heart lock close at hand, knowing that in a critical moment, it might prove to be very useful.

The Du Family Patriarch had not provided the details of the mission, as he had been helped away, claiming he wanted to see the housekeeper one last time. It was assumed that, as before, someone would come to inform them of their tasks for the night and provide the specific details before dusk fell.

In the afternoon, they had their last meal, yes, the last meal in this village. If all went well, they would leave; if not, they would be forever stuck here, if not killed by ghosts, then by the Du Family people taking over their bodies.

At dusk, as Yang Xiao sat with his eyes closed in meditation, he finally heard a somewhat dragging set of footsteps outside, seeming to belong to an old person on the brink of death. As the door opened, the face that was revealed belonged to none other than the Old Clan Leader.

"Clan Leader, why have you come yourself?" Cheng Cha invited the visitor inside and glanced into the courtyard, noticing the absence of other villagers—it was just the Old Clan Leader on his own.

Leaning on his cane, the Old Clan Leader seemed over ten years older than when they had first met. By this time, Mi Shu had "awoken," her insane demeanor from before completely gone. Now her eyes were empty, her head lowered, silent throughout.

The Old Clan Leader looked at Mi Shu with eyes full of sympathy and love. His lips trembled for a while before he could produce a hoarse voice: "Is Miss Mi... is she doing well?"

"Not very well. She seems to be in shock. Since waking up, she’s been like this, not saying anything in response to questions, not showing any reaction." Tong Han gently stroked the back of Mi Shu’s hand, her lips pressed tightly, and her eyes started to redden, her acting reaching new heights at that moment.

"Miss Mi has become like this for our Du Family Village. We will be forever grateful for her kindness. And... and also to you all, esteemed guests." The Old Clan Leader, with snot and tears, outdid even Tong Han in acting, suddenly threw aside his walking stick and knelt down toward Mi Shu and Tong Han.

"Old Clan Leader, you must not do this to us younger ones!" Yang Xiao and Cheng Cha immediately stood to help him up, but the Old Clan Leader seemed to have made up his mind; no amount of persuasion would work.

"This is the debt we, Du Family Village, owe you. It’s our fault for not being able to save Mangjia Village. I regret it, I... I regret it so much!!" The Old Clan Leader cried bitterly, in great agony, "How vain to think we were once Buddhist practitioners, with compassionate hearts!"

Yang Xiao and Cheng Cha, Tong Han: "...Old drama king."

"Old Clan Leader, is there an urgent matter that brings you here now?" Yang Xiao inquired, no longer able to stand the drama and decided to move on to the next part.

Wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, the Old Clan Leader managed to stand up shakily with everyone’s help. "I just wanted to come and see you all. I’m old and I can’t bear to see you wonderful children suffer. If... if only my old bones could take your place."

"That must have been hard on you, Old Clan Leader." Yang Xiao firmly grasped the Old Clan Leader’s hand, his expression even more genuine, tears welling up in his eyes instantly.

The Old Clan Leader was taken aback and, with great effort, finally shook free from Yang Xiao’s grasp, heaving a deep sigh. "It won’t do, I’m old and useless now. Besides, as cursed beings bearing guilt, my visit tonight serves two purposes: one is to check in on you all, and the other is to put forward a small request I hope you can fulfill."

As he said this, the Old Clan Leader didn’t stop to breathe, not giving Yang Xiao and the others any chance to refuse. "After you retrieve that jar of wine, I hope two of you can return to the ancestral home to pray for blessings for my two children, at the same place, in my young daughter’s boudoir."

"I think Miss Tong and Miss Mi would be suitable. Later at night, I will bring the family doctor to check on Miss Mi. Praying for blessings and a medical checkup, kill two birds with one stone."

"I’m afraid that’s not going to work." Yang Xiao flatly refused. "Tonight is the last chance to break the curse, and we must go all out. The more people we have, the more strength we have."

The situation was clear: whoever stayed behind tonight had no way out. Last night, Mi Shu was lucky to escape with her life, but such luck wasn’t a daily occurrence.

But the Old Clan Leader was adamant, leaving no room for negotiation. Finally, Cheng Cha suddenly spoke up, "Clan Leader, what if we agree to leave just one person behind?"

"No, it must be two." The Old Clan Leader sat upright with an air of authority, as befits the leader of a clan, unwavering in his decision.

With no other choice, they reluctantly agreed to his demands. Only after this matter was settled did the Old Clan Leader begin to discuss the details of the night’s tasks, but to Yang Xiao and the others’ surprise, not only the five of them but also people from Du Family Village would be involved in tonight’s mission.

"Also, bear this in mind, you are all benefactors of our Du Family Village. If there is no chance tonight, run, just get back to this house and you’ll be safe. We’ll figure out the rest later. After all, you are our Du Family Village’s benefactors, and we will not treat you poorly."

The Old Clan Leader didn’t plan to waste words with them. After stating his demands, he left with his cane, leaving behind a message that the person he sent would arrive later, carrying a White Lantern, and would inform them of what needed to be done. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Once the Old Clan Leader’s figure had completely disappeared, Wuma Haoming couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out, "They’re sending someone to watch us? What is this, a battle supervision team?"

"Looks like they think we don’t stand a chance at completing the task and are preparing to kick us while we’re down." Cheng Cha turned her head to look at Tong Han and Mi Shu, "You two, don’t get me wrong, when I asked if only one person could stay behind, I was testing him, not trying to abandon anyone."

Tong Han nodded, "I understand. It seems they need two corpses tonight to resurrect two women in the village."

"It’s the Clan Leader’s two daughters!" Mi Shu realized.

Yang Xiao shook his head, "No, Xiao Zui’s head was smashed, Cheng Cha and I saw it, with such an injury, she definitely wouldn’t survive."

"It’s the Clan Leader’s two women, the female steward, and the Clan Leader’s Wife." Cheng Cha analyzed, "The female steward is the ghost’s target tonight. By all logic, her body will certainly be taken, and last time, the Clan Leader’s Wife didn’t get Mi Shu’s body, so two bodies are missing."

After analyzing, everyone agreed it was highly probable, and judging from the attitude of the Clan Leader and the other villagers towards them, it seemed they had lost hope in them. Now, all they wanted was to repurpose their useless bodies, to wring every last drop of value from them, maximizing benefit.

Just like the Old Clan Leader’s final instruction, to run away if they couldn’t make it, it wasn’t out of kindness or hope for their survival, but simply not to waste their bodies.

Facing their last chance, those left quickly agreed they wouldn’t abandon anyone tonight. Only by uniting could they have a glimmer of hope. Quan Doufeng’s actions the previous night served as a lesson: without his misdirection and fabricated clues, Sui Chengguo might have succeeded, and perhaps even Lu Youcheng wouldn’t have died, and their task would already be over.

Truly sacrificing Tong Han and Mi Shu would be a significant reduction of their strength. Yang Xiao was well aware of Tong Han’s capabilities, and that Mi Shu had survived was also no fluke. Counting Yang Xiao and Cheng Cha, if everyone united tonight, they would still stand a chance.

Nightfall came quickly, and Yang Xiao and his companions had made their preparations, but they waited a long time with no commotion in the courtyard. Wuma Haoming even yawned. After what seemed like an eternity, a dull sound of a wooden clapper suddenly came from a distance.

Unlike before, the sound was moving, and rapidly at that. It didn’t take long to reach outside of the courtyard, followed by a knock at the door.

"Bang."

"Bang."

"Bang."

The knocking sound was oppressively ominous, but what truly frightened Yang Xiao and the others was that they hadn’t heard the slightest footstep of whoever was approaching.

After a few knocks, the person stopped and just stood outside the door waiting. Yang Xiao tiptoed over, crouched down, and peeked through the crack beneath the door. He only saw a tall man holding a White Lantern, eyes vacant, skin deathly pale, sporting a huge belly as if pregnant with a ten-month child. This obviously wasn’t a person, it was definitely a ghost!

"Bang."

"Bang."

"Bang."

"Gentlemen, the Clan Leader urges you to hit the road quickly."

"Bang."

"Bang."

"Bang."

"Gentlemen, the Clan Leader urges you to hit the road quickly."

The voice was monotonous, like a looped recording, the cold indifference in the tone evident to anyone.

As the knocking grew fiercer, the door trembled ceaselessly.