The Confession

The two lesser ghosts directly attacked Su Er and me. Fortunately, I had learned a few talismans from Grandfather beforehand.

Su Er, using her Yin Yang Eyes, was also able to make one lesser ghost wary, and it dared not advance further.

At this moment, the ghost possessing the village chief glanced at me, gave a sinister smile, and lunged forward.

Grandfather and Fourth Uncle were still battling the remaining three lesser ghosts. At this point, it would be as easy as turning a hand for it to kill me.

It ferociously lunged with sharp claws, but I managed to dodge in time.

It still wouldn't give up on me, continuously pouncing, while Su Er was also blocked by two lesser ghosts.

Seeing it about to pounce, I had no way to dodge, so I closed my eyes, resigned to fate.

Just as its claws were about to reach my heart, an "Ah" sound rang out—it was Su Er's voice.

I was still astonished until Su Er's soft body fell into my arms.

It turned out she had taken the fatal blow for me just now. At this moment, my heart felt like it would leap out of my chest.

Each spasm made it impossible for me to breathe.

Fourth Uncle and Grandfather had also cleared away the lesser ghosts. At this moment, they rushed forward together, swinging their swords at the Ghost Soul within the village chief, causing it to tremble and wail for a while before disappearing without a trace.

My arms held Su Er, my voice whispering amidst sobs:
"Su Er... Su Er, why are you so foolish? Why are you so foolish?"

At this moment, I wanted to say so much, so very much. But for some reason, I could only utter those two sentences.

Su Er grimaced in pain, but still tried to raise her hand to my forehead, stammering each word:
"Chu Ling, you frown so ugly. I still prefer your smile."

I almost lost my composure, continuously shaking my head:
"No, I won't frown anymore. Please don't scare me, okay? Su Er, open your eyes. You mustn't sleep."

She winced slightly, her breath heavy as she said:
"I... I'm not sleeping... but it hurts so much."

Grandfather and Fourth Uncle hurriedly came to check on Su Er.

Blood continuously flowed from the wound in her abdomen, no matter what I did. This moment of powerlessness was incredibly frustrating.

Fourth Uncle put away his Coin Sword, his face serious as he observed:
"The wound seems very deep, but it carries no evil Qi, so there's nothing to worry about. Quickly stop the bleeding, and she'll be fine."

Grandfather took some tree fern hair and placed it on the wound, then wrapped it with cloth, instructing me to quickly take her into the village.

I carried Su Er out of the secret chamber. A Liu, seeing us, immediately panicked and called for a physician.

She finally received treatment, but after half a day of recuperation, she still hadn't woken up.

Grandfather and Fourth Uncle had cleaned up the aftermath and brought the old village chief bound before the villagers, both to interrogate him and to expose his wicked true colors.

Fourth Uncle kicked the village chief's leg, making him fall to his knees, continuously questioning:
"Speak, why did you harm the villagers?"

The village chief knew there was no escape now, so he honestly confessed.

Before coming here, he had once joined a Demonic Cult with a group of people, learning various strange and unorthodox arts. After arriving in the village, out of jealousy towards Old Man Li's family, he worshipped the Five Ghosts to borrow their demonic power to suppress the villagers and expel Old Man Li from the village.

But he became increasingly infatuated with demonic arts, committing many wrongdoings. A prime example was in the seventh month five years ago, when he cast a statue and set up an altar to summon ghosts for the villagers to worship, indirectly using the villagers to nourish the ghosts.

Since worshipping the ghosts, his business indeed prospered, and since the Five Ghosts needed Yang Qi to sustain themselves, he disregarded all morality, directly exploiting hunters to extract Yang Qi.

Three days ago, his servant discovered the secret and was killed in the secret chamber.

The villagers were all astonished, couldn't help but shudder at the evil deeds he had committed.

One person among them stepped forward, crying and cursing endlessly:
"For your own benefit, you made me lose my husband, and my child lose their father. Are you even human? You deserve to die."

Indeed! He bore the appearance of a human but possessed the heart of a devil, committing all sorts of evil deeds merely for personal gain.

The old village chief remained brazen-faced, showing no remorse. He merely curled his lip in a sneer:
"To let you all live peacefully, and even eat well and dress warmly, sacrificing a little Yang Qi—what's wrong with that?"

Fourth Uncle, hearing this, felt his anger surge, and he directly kicked the village chief, sending him tumbling to the ground:
"Do you still think you're a saint? You lunatic!"

He glanced at everyone around, indifferently saying:
"I am not a saint; I just do what I should do."

Fourth Uncle loudly reprimanded:
"Do what you should do? Is harming people what you should do? Man's nature at birth is good; were you taught from a young age to harm others?"

Fourth Uncle, growing agitated, was about to hit him a few times, but Grandfather stopped him in time.

At this point, the old man still hadn't realized his mistake. I couldn't bear it anymore; why was someone so stubborn? All for his own fame and fortune, he harmed so many people. Su Er was still unconscious, and there was the partially decomposed corpse in the secret chamber.

Unable to control my emotions, I stepped forward to reason with him:
"Then who have you protected? Haven't all those who trusted you died now? Do they deserve that?"

He looked up, glanced at me, then said nothing more.

A Liu, looking dejected, said:
"The corpse in your house is Butler Zhang Er Tou, isn't it?"

The people around were stunned by A Liu's words; everyone fell silent. It wasn't that they didn't want to speak, but simply that something was caught in their throats.

I also didn't understand why they were so choked up.

It was only when the old village chief spoke in a cold voice that the silence was broken:
"He knew too much; he deserved to die."

A Liu was stunned to hear the village chief say this. His eyes stung, and his lips trembled:
"How could you do that? He was your benefactor!"

The village chief seemed to have been blinded by evil, harming the villagers, and even Zhang Er Tou—the benefactor who had helped him find refuge and an opportunity to cultivate virtue to become the village chief.

But now, he felt no remorse for his past actions.

Zhang Er Tou, even in death, could not have imagined that his killer was the very person he had once helped.

He remained indifferent, without a single expression on his face.

The villagers all lamented sorrowfully:
"Zhang Er Tou harbored a viper in his bosom."

The scene before us perfectly matched the saying, "Save an animal, it repays your kindness; save a human, they repay with enmity." Zhang Er Tou saved his life, and he repaid that kindness by taking his benefactor's life, ultimately creating a cycle of grievances that should never have existed.