Chapter 11: Thicket Village (Part 11)

The village head chatted with the old monk, though Yun Xueqing couldn’t make out their words. Both men wore smiles, but it was unclear how genuine they were.

Moments later, the village head beckoned, and a little monk in similar gray cloth robes ran over with a phone, ready to snap a photo of the two. The old monk, however, seemed averse to being photographed and politely refused several times.

Unable to press the issue, the village head ended up taking a solo photo in front of the temple.

Yun Xueqing frowned.

This temple actually had other monks?

After taking the photo, the little monk handed the phone back to the village head. As he turned away, Yun Xueqing finally got a clear look at his face—it was identical to the village head’s son.

The scene cut off abruptly there, and Yun Xueqing’s vision suddenly brightened.

“You’re finally awake!”

Yun Xueqing rubbed his aching head and turned to see a “pig head” staring at him.

He jolted in fright, but the “pig head” grinned. “Bro, as long as you’re okay.”

Only then did Yun Xueqing recognize the bruised and swollen face of Li Yulin.

His tone complex, he asked, “What happened to your face?”

“This?” Li Yulin sounded a bit guilty. “Bandage Guy beat me up.”

Yun Xueqing didn’t press for details and instead looked around, realizing they were still in the meditation room.

“Where is he?”

“Uh…”

Before Li Yulin could answer, Fu Wuxuan pushed the door open. “You’re awake. I went to ask the old monk again, and he gave us some clues.”

Yun Xueqing blurted out, “You didn’t beat him up too, did you?”

“Of course not,” Fu Wuxuan said with a kindly smile. “I could never raise a hand against an elder.”

Li Yulin shivered at the “kindly” smile.

“What did he say?”

“The Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue was indeed given to the village head by him,” Fu Wuxuan explained. “I tried it—Oracle powers have no effect on the Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue. We need something else to kill It.”

“What thing?”

“The Bodhidharma Sword.”

He slowly recounted a story.

Legend had it there were two Six-Armed Bodhisattvas: one yang and one yin. The yang one brought blessings and warded off misfortune when worshipped. The yin one, however, exploited human desires and devoured people’s lifespan.

The yin Six-Armed Bodhisattva committed countless evils, so Dharma Bodhisattva, unable to bear the suffering of the masses, used the Bodhidharma Sword to sever its yin soul and seal it beneath Thicket Mountain.

Yun Xueqing came to a sudden realization. “So we need to find the Bodhidharma Sword?”

The word “find the sword” struck a chord, reminding him painfully that he still hadn’t recovered the Tianquan Sword.

Yet in this Weird Domain, he had sensed the Tianquan Sword’s presence. To kill the Weird, though, they absolutely needed the Bodhidharma Sword. Perhaps the two swords were connected somehow?

He even harbored a faint hope that the Bodhidharma Sword they needed was actually his lost Tianquan Sword—one stone killing two birds.

Yun Xueqing steadied his mind and, without mentioning the Tianquan Sword to Fu Wuxuan, described what he’d seen in the dream.

Fu Wuxuan pondered. “In that case, the village head’s son might be a key figure.”

Yun Xueqing nodded. “Let’s head down the mountain first.”

In the story, the Bodhidharma Sword had appeared on Thicket Mountain—perhaps it was connected to Thicket Village.

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “Right, let’s go down and interrogate the village head’s son.”

The descent wasn’t smooth. Sure enough, they ran into the Ghost Wall again.

A Weird on the mountain was preventing them from leaving.

No surprise—it was that Six-Armed Bodhisattva Statue.

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “It’s not letting us down the mountain. The Bodhidharma Sword might really be in the village.”

Li Yulin grew anxious. “No way. How long will we loop this time?”

His face throbbed with pain; he needed to see the village doctor soon, or he might be permanently disfigured.

He shot Fu Wuxuan a resentful glance, then quickly looked away and asked Yun Xueqing, “Bro, can you fly with two people this time?”

“Fly?” Fu Wuxuan looked puzzled but said, “It’s just a little Weird trick. No need to worry.”

He assumed a casual posture and said offhandedly, “Oracle: Barrier Breaker.”

Oracle: Barrier Breaker was a simple technique to dispel Weird moves, but its effects were extremely limited. Nearly every Oracle knew it; there was no threshold.

Li Yulin eyed him skeptically. “That’ll work? Big shot, you’re not just pretending because you can’t crack it, are you?”

After getting thoroughly thrashed, he harbored deep resentment and no longer spoke politely.

“It won’t work if you use it,” Fu Wuxuan sneered. “But it might if I do.”

Afraid of another beating if he kept talking, Li Yulin shut his mouth.

The three descended in silence and smoothly reached the gates of Thicket Village.

Li Yulin asked, both envious and jealous, “Big shot, what rank Oracle are you anyway?”

Fu Wuxuan ignored him.

This time, no bald, burly gatekeeper demanded human flesh. They entered without issue.

Back at the village head’s house, Yun Xueqing spotted an Oracle lounging on a bamboo chair in the courtyard, using a straw hat to shield his face as he sunned himself.

He approached and asked, “Have you seen the village head?”

The man on the chair didn’t respond.

A faint metallic tang of blood filled the air, and Yun Xueqing had a bad premonition. He lifted the straw hat.

The Oracle on the chair had long been dead, his facial skin peeled off alive, exposing raw flesh. His eyeballs had been gouged out, leaving two black sockets that seemed to stare vacantly at Yun Xueqing.

Yun Xueqing frowned. Fu Wuxuan approached and declared, “Done by a human.”

“How can you tell?”

“This one’s fresh—still warm,” Fu Wuxuan said leisurely, though cold intent lurked deep in his eyes, imperceptible to others. “The only Weird in the village capable of moving in daylight right now is the Man-Eating Ghost.”

If it had been the Man-Eating Ghost, nothing would have been left.

Yun Xueqing’s expression grew graver as Fu Wuxuan continued, “Some Oracle techniques require sacrifices to activate.”

He pointed at the corpse. “This one was probably used as a sacrifice.”

Yun Xueqing’s brows furrowed tightly. “How can they kill people so casually?”

Fu Wuxuan didn’t argue, merely sighing in a world-weary tone. “With the apocalypse come, the legal system has collapsed. It barely holds in the present world, but in a Weird Domain? Who can enforce it when people die by the thousands every day—more dead than alive?”

Yun Xueqing wasn’t convinced. “Our path forbids slaying the innocent. Those who do are villains, and if we encounter them, we must eliminate them.”

Fu Wuxuan looked stunned, then chuckled lightly. “With a body that folds after one hit from the Man-Eating Ghost, how do you plan to…”

Before he finished, a noisy crowd approached—about four or five people, all wounded, some missing limbs, supporting each other as they shuffled over.

“Damn, that Man-Eating Ghost is too strong.”

“Yeah, I thought Its power would weaken a lot in daylight, but no—still brutal!”

“Luckily Hongye bro pulled out his big move, or we’d all be done for!”

Fu Wuxuan saw their battered state and blocked their path. “You went to gang up on the Man-Eating Ghost?”

They looked more like they’d been gang-beaten.

The red-haired youth at the front averted his eyes slightly, while his companions stammered, “N-No, the Man-Eating Ghost suddenly appeared near the village head’s courtyard. We fought just to defend ourselves.”

Fu Wuxuan didn’t buy it. Scanning the group and noting Wu Xue’s absence, he stated confidently, “You’ve already figured out the Man-Eating Ghost’s true identity. You ditched Wu Xue to ambush It, planning to hog the Spirit Energy and Its skills after killing It.”

They’d just gotten their asses handed to them instead.

The red-haired youth’s face darkened.

They’d thought ten-plus people guaranteed success, but the Man-Eating Ghost’s Weird Power was terrifying. If he hadn’t repeatedly sacrificed teammates, he’d be dead too.

Yun Xueqing stepped forward. “Where’s the Man-Eating Ghost now?”

“What, you wanna swoop in for scraps?” The red-haired youth straightened up disdainfully. “Weaklings like you trying to kill the Man-Eating Ghost? You’d just be dessert.”

Yun Xueqing’s face remained impassive. Like a breeze rustling willows, his fingertip lightly pressed against the red-haired youth’s neck.

“A weakling like me could easily kill you.”