Free Web NovelChapter 465: Chapter 401: Peace of Mind
Upon hearing this, Hu Yanming was terrified, "You... are you crazy? Why would you provoke this thing for no reason? You should hurry back to the village!"
"This is most likely a trap," Sui Chengguo also doubted.
"Trust me," Tong Han took out a cloth bag hidden under the stone table, the bizarre human head inside surprised Yang Xiao and the others, "I might have found a way to survive, I want to try it."
The others slowly dispersed, Tong Han alone with the cloth bag in one hand and a joint-heart lock tied to the other, she took a deep breath and slowly lifted the curtain before her, the next second, everyone’s eyes widened, only to see not a fierce ghost with a green face and sharp teeth behind the curtain, but a headless corpse sitting in meditation.
The corpse was clothed in faded monks’ robes, with a thin body, a wooden fish in front, the right hand raised before the body, and a wooden mallet held in the left hand.
Tong Han knew this was the true body of the Ghost Monk, she slowly approached, subconsciously reaching her hand into the cloth bag, wanting to pull out the head of the Ghost Monk to return it to its owner.
But time and again she came up empty; even now, the mystery of the cloth bag was beyond her comprehension, she subconsciously turned her head, looking for Yang Xiao’s help, but the scene behind her drove her to despair, Yang Xiao and the other eight people stood before the curtain, continuously trying to walk towards her, but in her eyes, they were just treading in place.
This curtain separated two worlds, the worlds of life and death, Tong Han suddenly turned to look at the couplet, one curtain one world, it was nothing but this.
At that moment, Yang Xiao and the others stopped moving, they silently watched Tong Han through the curtain, their gazes complex, Tong Han was clear, with their abilities, they must have guessed they were already dead, and the only one who survived was her.
Looking through the thin curtain, Tong Han could clearly see each person’s face, Liu Haiping, Hu Yanming, and others had tears streaming down their faces, Mi Shu looked at her with eyes full of reluctance, Yang Xiao, Cheng Cha, and Sui Chengguo appeared much calmer, quietly watching her, it was their final farewell. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
The next second, Yang Xiao seemed to suddenly think of something, his mouth opened, and he began talking rapidly, but Tong Han was bewildered, unable to hear anything.
Yang Xiao became anxious, pointing at the corpse of the Ghost Monk with one hand, the other making a plucking motion, Cheng Cha understood instantly, quickly took off his clothes and cooperated with Yang Xiao, shaping the clothes into a bag, where Yang Xiao stuffed what he had plucked off.
Now, Tong Han understood, Yang Xiao and the others were telling her to stuff the joint-heart lock into the cloth bag; only then could she take out the head inside, returning it to its owner.
After doing as instructed, indeed something changed, the joint-heart lock opened the Qiankun Bag, an odd and enormous head that was still dripping water rolled out from the bag, the densely packed stitches on it sent shivers down one’s spine.
But Tong Han could no longer care about these details, she immediately placed the head onto the thin headless body and adjusted its position; the skinny body sporting a head larger than a bull’s looked bizarre, and the next second, the half candle by the corpse’s sideSuddenly, the candle flame flickered oddly and changed color, turning from a warm orange-yellow to a dreary green, at the same time the flame grew with the wind, illuminating the space behind the curtain rapidly, Tong Han stared at the familiar scene before her in shock.
Looking at the Buddha statue and offerings not far away, and the meditation cushions on the floor, surrounded by ornaments, this was a Buddhist Temple, and... and it was the Buddhist Temple of the Du Family Ancestral Home!
They had been here more than once, they could not be mistaken!
The next second, a series of urgent footsteps came from behind, looking along the sound, the wooden door of the temple was knocked open, led by the Du Family Patriarch, a dozen villagers braved the night and rain to rush here, now these people were all stuck outside the door, battered and bruised, as if they had just fought a fierce battle.
The face of the Du Family Patriarch was half torn off, exposing rotting flesh underneath, but at this moment, the look in his eyes towards Tong Han was filled with ecstatic joy, his lips trembling, even his voice was shaking, "It worked, it really... really worked!!"
"It worked!"
"The curse is about to be broken!"
The villagers outside cried tears of joy, blood and tears flowing down their tattered and ferocious faces, the Du Family Patriarch didn’t care why only Tong Han came back, he repeatedly urged her to kneel down immediately, bow to the Ghost Monk, and make a wish to end the curse in the village.
He promised that as long as the curse was lifted, all the village’s gold and silver treasures would be hers for the taking, and the villagers would treat her as a life-saving benefactor.
But upon seeing the coldness in Tong Han’s eyes, the face of the Du Family Patriarch changed immediately, after asking several times without getting a response from Tong Han, he couldn’t help but switch to a threatening tone, warning Tong Han not to play tricks, or they would tear her to pieces.
Tong Han completely ignored them, nor was she afraid, because if they really could do so, they would have rushed in already.
The moment to make a decision had come, now only two paths lay before Tong Han, she could make a wish to end the curse, thus breaking the curse, and a way to survive would appear, allowing her to leave this place, returning to her world, but the cost would be losing everyone, Yang Xiao included.
The second path was to wish to revive everyone, but what would happen then, she did not know, the worst outcome being that although everyone was revived, without the protection of the Ghost Monk, the ghosts outside would immediately rush in and killthem all.
Not only would this fail to save everyone, but it would also cost her her own life; although she wasn’t afraid to die, she couldn’t allow everyone’s efforts to have been in vain.
Turning her head, looking towards these teammates separated by life and death, the scene before her eyes made her pause in shock; her teammates stood in unison behind the curtain, waving goodbye to her, although their faces showed reluctance, they had already indicated the path she should take next.
Tong Han’s gaze lingered on Yang Xiao’s face; Yang Xiao smiled, his lips moved twice, Tong Han understood, he was saying "Take care."
Looking into the distance, the couplet still stuck behind the door was conspicuously visible, its horizontal inscription screaming in bright red, "Tranquility has no second."
It was these teammates who had brought her here step by step at the cost of their lives, and now to abandon them would mean carrying a debt of gratitude for a lifetime.
What a hypocritical "Tranquility has no second" of the Buddhist Temple, it should be said that it’s the demonic path’s heart-striking murder, truly if she walked away now, she would never find peace of mind.
Taking a deep breath, Tong Han had made her decision; she decided to gamble, attempting to carve a path out with this band of battered troops.
With palms pressed together, kneeling in front of the Ghost Monk, Tong Han silently made a wish; she wanted all her deceased teammates to come back to life.
As the wish was made, the world in front of her crumbled into pieces, she couldn’t describe this bizarre sensation—it felt as if her entire being was dissected, throwing her into an incomprehensible state as her consciousness gradually faded away.
The two worlds gradually merged as one, with the curtain that once served as the line between life and death breaking, Yang Xiao and others wearily rose from the ground. Everything prior seemed like a dream, yet they retained their memories, they remembered everything Tong Han had done.
The Ghost Monk before them had vanished, and the group staggered towards Tong Han, passing through where the curtain once hung, and now were greeted with a brutally horrific sight. As the wish-maker, Tong Han suffered the backlash of the curse; her organs were in chaos, completely transforming into a monstrous creature. Her lower legs grew along her shoulders, arms sprouted from her knees, an eyeball was embedded above her belly button, and her nose and ears were strung together, twisted out from her neck.
This scene felt familiar; Yang Xiao immediately thought of Mo Daidai’s sister, who, as the previous wish-maker, also suffered from the curse’s backlash.
At this moment, Du Family Patriarch and others outside the door, realizing there was no change after the wishing, quickly understood they were tricked and burst into a tirade against Yang Xiao and the others—if it were not for the remnants of the barrier at the entrance, they would have charged in and decapitated them in the most brutal manner.
But they would not have their chance, as another door had appeared, whether intentionally or not, it oddly opened behind a Buddha statue.
To be precise, it was that ancient temple door, with the couplet pasted on either side of it, the four blood-red characters of the horizontal inscription also seemed to soften now.
A figure suddenly darted from a corner toward the temple door. Upon recognizing that figure, Yang Xiao roared, "Stop him!"
Sui Chengguo, quick to act, pounced at lightning speed. Just a mere second before the figure could dash through the door, he tackled him to the ground and swung down two fierce punches.
These punches were lethal, causing Quan Doufeng to bleed profusely from his mouth and nose. Indeed, Quan Doufeng had also come back to life, but instead of regrouping with everyone, he had quietly hidden away in an inconspicuous corner.
Witnessing Quan Doufeng, sparks of rage ignited within everyone, surrounding him with a flurry of punches and kicks. If it weren’t for this villain’s interference, they wouldn’t have ended up in such dire straits, many would have survived, and Tong Han wouldn’t have suffered this torment.
"Kill him!" Wuma Haoming kicked Quan Doufeng in the ribs. This guy was utterly despicable, infuriating everyone to the core.
Just as Quan Doufeng was about to be beaten to death, Yang Xiao stopped the crowd, letting him die so easily was too lenient, Yang Xiao decided to leave a parting "gift" for the beasts of Du Family Village before leaving.
"Come on, brothers, lift him up." Under Yang Xiao’s command, the group grabbed Quan Doufeng’s limbs and hoisted him up.
Walking behind the hall of the Buddha statue, maintaining a safe distance of one meter, Yang Xiao, facing the fatigued and resentful Du Family Patriarch, provocatively revealed the Patriarch’s schemes and then attributed everything to Quan Doufeng’s plotting.
Stirring discord and adding fuel to the fire, these were Yang Xiao’s specialties. Especially when mentioning the old affairs of the Du Family Patriarch’s lover and the death of his daughter, which ignited the Patriarch’s fury to its peak. Estimating the right moment, Yang Xiao then ordered Quan Doufeng to be thrown out.
Unexpectedly, the half-dead Quan Doufeng suddenly exploded with a desperate will to survive. He clung to everyone’s clothes, refusing to let go while crying torrents, pleading for mercy. Sui Chengguo, grabbing Quan Doufeng’s hand, squeezed hard, a crisp sound of bones shattering echoed along with Quan Doufeng’s agonizing screams.
"The biggest mistake I made was not killing you the first time I saw you!" Sui Chengguo lifted his hand and delivered a fierce punch, stunning Quan Doufeng, his head buzzing.
Amidst the chanting of the crowd, Quan Doufeng, like a dead dog, was ruthlessly thrown out, and the villagers gathered outside, like wild dogs pouncing on food, immediately captured him. Several people held him down, dragging him towards the courtyard gate, no matter how he pleaded and struggled, it was all in vain.
"Good deeds bring good karma, evil deeds bring evil retribution, it’s not that it will not be repaid, the time just hasn’t come!" Cheng Cha also despised this person, they had the chance to end the mission before, but it was ruined because of him.
With their task done, it was time to part. Yang Xiao and the others carefully lifted up Tong Han, escorted her out of the door first, and then one by one departed.
In the end, only three people were left, Yang Xiao, Sui Chengguo, and Cheng Cha. Yang Xiao had a good impression of these two, and the three exchanged contact details before bidding farewell.
"Take care, brothers," Sui Chengguo clasped his fists.
"Take care," said Cheng Cha with reluctance.
"Until we meet again," Yang Xiao bowed and then stepped through the door.
