NOVPUB"These ghost babies, we don't know when they will be born."
Senior Brother Changxue turned around at this moment and asked this question.
Tian Lin shook his head and said:
"I know very little about ghost babies—but if truly these ghost babies are caused by some unknown Evil God, it is apparent that the women of Yu Family Village were all suddenly in labor overnight."
Zhang Rou touched her own stomach and said, "We cannot stay in this Array, we need to find a way out and go find Elder Gao." 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
Senior Brother Changxue then looked towards the male disciples: "Fellow disciples, who is willing to go with me to the Goddess Temple?"
No one present was heroically noble, unlikely to risk their lives for others.
This was different from when everyone joined together to resist the Undead; previously, everyone acted mostly out of self-preservation, and thus, they could unite against a common enemy.
Moreover, this time, the lives at risk were those of the female disciples; what did it have to do with them, the male disciples?
Everyone fell silent for a moment until Zhou Jin suddenly said, "Little sister, what are you doing?"
When everyone looked in the direction of the sound, they only saw him holding a sharp blade in his palm.
The blade was double-edged, causing Zhou Jin's hand to continuously bleed.
At this moment, Zhou Mengjiao's face was somber, and with a cry in her voice, she said: "Brother, don't worry about me, let me cut open my stomach and remove the damned thing inside."
"The ghost fetus is already connected with you, forcefully removing it might endanger your life,"
Senior Brother Changxue said, then asked Zhou Jin: "I am going to the Goddess Temple to find Elder Gao, what is your plan, Junior Brother Zhou?"
Zhou Jin's face turned from red to white, and finally, he said helplessly:
"I can't just watch my sister die like this, so count me in. But how can just the two of us break through those Undead outside the Array?"
The Undead outside were currently blocked by the Array and could not enter for a while.
Similarly, those inside the Array could not safely leave the formation.
Seeing this, Tian Lin said: "My cultivation is too low, although I cannot join the two senior brothers to the Goddess Temple. However, I can still help you make part of the journey."
After saying this, he turned his head to the female disciples and said:
"Ladies, it's understandable to avoid going to the Goddess Temple and confronting that Evil God while carrying ghost fetuses. But despite carrying ghost fetuses, surely you can still move?"
The female disciples naturally hoped for Zhou Jin and Senior Brother Changxue to reach the Goddess Temple safely.
Zhang Rou stepped forward and said:
"Actually, it's our own issue, how can we bother Junior Brother Zhou and Senior Brother Changxue? But just as Tian mentioned, the Goddess Temple is close to the Evil God, I'm afraid the ghost babies might emerge immediately if I go.
I dare not go to the Goddess Temple, but it's proper for me to help send the two senior brothers on their way."
Several female disciples all stood up, and the male disciples could no longer just stand by and watch.
The group left the Array, some wielding swords, others using talismans.
Bravely, they made a way out amid a group of Undead.
But when all the disciples returned, Tian Lin did not return.
Among the crowd of corpses, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a walking corpse.
But that Undead couldn't deceive Tian Lin's eyes, Tian Lin not only recognized him as Elder Ran but also knew that this "Elder Ran" was a living person disguised as an Undead.
"What are you doing, Junior Brother Tian?"
Inside the Array, 'Sister Xu' shouted.
But by this time, Tian Lin had already chased after Elder Ran, leading a group of Undead towards the west.
Elder Ran, with his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, was trying to escape, and Tian Lin could not catch up for a while.
The two arrived behind a broken house in the west, where Elder Ran finally stopped.
Tian Lin stood in the courtyard, looking at Elder Ran and said, "Fellow Daoist, why hide and use guile, could it be that you also have a hand in these evil doings of Yu Family Village?"
Elder Ran removed the talisman paper from his forehead, bitterly smiled, and said: "Why would you say such things, Tian? Even if I were audacious, I wouldn't have the capability to cause such a big commotion. It's truly that I myself have fallen into a trap."
Tian Lin remained silent, he had been chasing Elder Ran but had not chosen this moment to move forward and kill Elder Ran.
Not for anything else, simply because Tian Lin might not be able to defeat him given the difference in their cultivation levels.
"When Yu Family Village invited the deity that day, Lady Qian's sedan was switched unbeknownst to others. Does this have anything to do with you, Fellow Daoist Ran?"
Elder Ran said, "I have no involvement in this matter, nor was I aware of it."
Tian Lin then asked him: "Then why do you hide your identity? Pretending to be among the Undead."
Their conversation was very rapid, then suddenly, a series of footsteps were heard.
The two of them didn't need to look outside the door to know that there was already a large group of Undead pursuing them on the street.
"Daoist friend, do you suspect why these Undead do not attack me? Could it be that you have forgotten the mourning attire that my uncle gave you?"
Tian Lin glanced at the mourning attire on Elder Ran's body, reached into his Storage Bag, and found that the mourning attire given by Elder Yu was still on him.
"At that time, when something happened in Yu Family Village, I forgot to return this mourning attire to Daoist Yu. Could it be, this mourning attire has some special significance?"
"This is the mourning attire of the deceased, and also of the villagers of Yu Family Village. Daoist Tian, if you wear it, any Evil Spirit will treat you as one of their own. Daoist Tian, you might as well try it."
Tian Lin hesitated no more, as the footsteps of the Undead were getting closer.
He quickly put on the mourning attire that he had worn once before, and the charging Undead then treated the two of them as if they were invisible, searching around them before leaving.
At this point, Tian Lin barely started to believe Elder Ran's words.
"Elder Ran, why exactly were you in Yu Family Village and why were you mingling among the Undead? You should give an explanation, right?"
Elder Ran sighed: "After Daoist Tian left, my uncle came looking for me."
Tian Lin frowned upon hearing this since he had seen Elder Yu's corpse.
Moreover, Tian Lin remembered that the people of Yu Family Village had died overnight.
And when he and Zhou Jin left Elder Ran's house, it was already the next day in the afternoon. Logically speaking, Elder Yu would have already been dead, how could he still come looking for Elder Ran?
"Lucky for me, I was quick-witted and recognized that it wasn't really my uncle."
Elder Ran said: "Also thanks to my uncle's mourning attire, I was not killed by that Evil Spirit."
Tian Lin nodded, then shook his head:
"If it was a regular Evil Spirit, it would have attacked you outside, why would it need to trick you into returning to Yu Family Village? If it's the Evil Spirit of Yu Family Village, then it would only be Lady Qianshi and that Evil God.
Why would they trick you into coming to Yu Family Village?"
Elder Ran's face showed regret: "All things considered, I thought about that bowl of ginseng soup. That bowl of ginseng soup, it was brewed with Lady Qianshi's corpse water."
Tian Lin remembered that thick soup, which to others seemed fragrant, but to him, it looked like thousands of twisted human faces.
Hearing Elder Ran say so, he couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Thinking about the scene from that day and the smell of the soup made Tian Lin feel nauseous.
He endured it and said: "Daoist friend, did you know it was corpse water and still drank it?"
Elder Ran, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears, said: "I only knew it after I entered Lady Qianshi's dream.
Initially, the people from Yu Family Village said this was divine water granted by Lady Qianshi because it flowed from within Lady Qianshi's palanquin. At that time, the people of Yu Family Village did not know that the stone statue inside the palanquin actually contained a corpse.
This water flowed out from the stone statue just because the palanquin had sunk into the pond, and the pond water entered the stone statue and soaked inside for a day and a night.
After being carried out, water from the pond slowly flowed out. The villagers didn't know, so they thought the stone statue produced the divine water themselves, not realizing it was corpse water."
Tian Lin was speechless for a while; he didn't dwell on how that corpse water was formed, only asking Elder Ran:
"According to Daoist friend, this ginseng soup is Lady Qianshi's corpse water. Whoever drank this corpse water is cursed by Lady Qianshi. And even though you are not from Yu Family Village nor a villager there, did they still deceive you from Huilong Village because you drank this water?"
Seeing Elder Ran nod, Tian Lin frowned and said: "Since you are also a victim, why act so sneakily? What's your purpose?"
Elder Ran said: "Daoist Tian, please don't blame me, I was reluctant to show myself, firstly for fear of not being able to clarify the misunderstanding. Secondly, I was seeking a way to leave Yu Family Village."
Tian Lin remained silent.
It was well known that Yu Family Village was blocked by Elder Gao and Elder Fang with an Array.
The only way out of the village was to ask Elder Gao and Elder Fang to remove the Array.
But clearly, Elder Ran was not trying to find Elder Gao and Elder Fang, so this suggested there was another way to leave Yu Family Village.
"Elder Ran boldly speculates that Lady Qianshi was swapped out over a thousand years ago."
Tian Lin was startled and said to Elder Ran: "Daoist friend, you said you also entered Lady Qianshi's dream, if Lady Qianshi was swapped out a thousand years ago, then who is drawing us into this dream?"
"The Lady Qianshi in the palanquin today is not the same person as the Lady Qianshi from a thousand years ago."
Elder Ran said: "I only learned after entering the dream that Lady Qianshi is related to Zhang Sheng. However, even before entering the dream, I knew of a powerful individual named Zhang Sheng in the land of mass burial.
This powerful individual also worked in the Demon Hunting Bureau of the Da Qi Dynasty and had the same experiences as the Zhang Sheng in the dream. If they are the same person, with his old strength, how could he possibly allow his sister to be sealed inside a stone statue?"
Elder Ran said: "Therefore, I suspect that Lady Qianshi was already taken away by this powerful individual. And the reason he doesn't exist in the dream is simply that the current Lady Qianshi dares not dream of him in the dream."
Tian Lin nodded; if Zhang Sheng really became a powerful being, he indeed wouldn't allow his sister to suffer inside a stone statue.
Similarly, if Zhang Sheng is a powerful being, this Evil Spirit deity, once daring to transform Zhang Sheng in the dream, the real Zhang Sheng might appear just like Nine-Life True Man by tracking down the source.
At that time, it will no longer be the Evil Spirit torturing others, but Zhang Sheng tormenting the Evil Spirit.
"If Lady Qianshi was replaced by Zhang Sheng, then who is the current Lady Qianshi? Who is drawing us into the dream?"
