Chapter 293

"Change the environment, and the water ghost will jump out on its own…"

Wu Xian's eyes gleamed; Jian Lingyu's words were like a sudden awakening, instantly giving him a way to break the deadlock.

"That's right! This method is good!"

"Wuzang Village is full of filth—some elders even eat and defecate in the same place. If we clean every latrine and room, then dump several buckets of filth into the well, the evil spirit won't be able to bear it and will jump out."

He finished speaking.

Everyone fell utterly silent.

At first they thought the plan was absurd, but upon closer thought, it was strangely sound—if they could overcome their own revulsion, capturing the water ghost would be easy.

Jian Lingyu's smile froze; she awkwardly pulled her hat lower: "Uh… I meant… changing the environment means poisoning the well."

After she said "poisoning,"

The atmosphere instantly became lighter and more cheerful.

Li Juxian let out a long breath of relief; if he had a choice, he truly didn't want to poke shit with his fishing rod.

Du E moved away from Wu Xian with disdain; Wen Chao's gaze was meaningfully deep.

Wu Xian's face flushed slightly.

He silently cursed Shi Ji—having braved two Blessing Grounds with that bastard had polluted his own character.

…

After the meeting ended,

Everyone immediately got busy.

From yesterday's experience, everyone knew it was nearly impossible to find statues or incense during the day, so they didn't bother searching for them today.

First, they boiled a large pot of pork soup using yesterday's leftover pork, serving it as breakfast.

Then, together, they spent two hours thoroughly cleaning Wuzang Village—just the accumulated filth from the elders filled several full buckets.

This wasn't meant to be dumped into the well.

It was purely to improve their living conditions.

During the cleaning,

Wei Hengbo suggested ignoring the old men and women, letting them die naturally.

Accurate funeral information could only be obtained by burying the dead; improving the elders' living conditions merely delayed their deaths and brought no benefit—on the contrary, killing them faster maximized gains.

As soon as this suggestion was voiced, everyone rejected it.

Some among them may have been tempted.

But publicly, no one wanted to be the villain.

As for Wu Xian,

He simply felt that sending these elders off peacefully might yield greater rewards…

After cleaning was done, everyone went their separate ways.

The Wei siblings went hunting again.

Wen Chao took the White Collar sisters and one dog to search for useful plants; thanks to Jian Lingyu's instruction, their goal today was far clearer.

Su Xuan found a quiet spot to begin training to restore his condition; Jian Lingyu locked herself in her room, apparently brewing poison.

Du E hugged a set of pottery jars, mysteriously doing something unknown.

As for Wu Xian, he went alone to an open area.

With a flick of his hand, a playing card burned, and a V-shaped boomerang appeared in his grip—he needed to practice using it in advance.

The boomerang, also called a returning boomerang, is commonly seen as a toy—usually made of wood or plastic, polished smooth, safe to catch bare-handed. Another variant, made of sturdier material with a deep V-shape, is genuinely lethal, but cannot be caught by hand—it would injure the user.

The bloodstained boomerang Wu Xian obtained was carved entirely from stone, its hardness and sharpness equal to any metal blade, with only one side wrapped in a bloodstained cloth as a handle.

Holding the cloth, one could use the boomerang as a melee weapon.

But logically, catching it mid-flight by gripping the cloth required years of practice.

Yet when Wu Xian nervously tried it once, he was stunned to discover its flight path defied all physical laws.

When thrown, it flew nearly in a straight line, only turning back upon reaching its maximum distance or striking a target—and it always returned directly to Wu Xian's position.

Even if Wu Xian sprinted sideways immediately after throwing it, the boomerang still landed precisely in his hand.

No.

It wasn't so much that Wu Xian caught it—it was as if the boomerang flew itself into his palm.

Wu Xian tried over a dozen times—never once did it fail. He grew addicted, until the grass in the open area was shredded by its passes…

…

Noon.

Everyone who had gone out returned.

Wen Chao's trio dug up several plant tubers, which would provide ample carbohydrates; Wei Qinglan returned with a grin, holding a rat bigger than a cat…

Everyone had gathered something; no need to list it all.

They all returned precisely at this hour because noon, with its strongest sunlight, exerted the greatest suppression over ghostly entities—the perfect moment to confront the water ghost in the well.

Amid everyone's expectant gazes,

Jian Lingyu carried a pottery bowl carefully to the well's edge; inside was a thick, dark-purple liquid, brewed from toxic plants she'd gathered nearby.

Her Blessing came from the Medicine King, named "Knows a Hundred Herbs."

It allowed her to instantly discern a plant's basic properties by touch—what was edible, what stopped bleeding, what could neutralize poison, and which were deadly toxic…

At first glance, this Blessing sounded immensely powerful.

But it heavily depended on luck: in this Blessing Ground, surrounded by vast wilderness, it could be extraordinarily useful.

Yet in some Blessing Grounds—concrete cities or barren wastelands where not even birds would land…

In that place, her blessing was effectively nullified.

But at this moment, no one had moved yet; everyone merely gathered around the well.

Just now, Wu Xian had tested it—he felt an overwhelming urge to jump in even when he approached Jingkou, as if a stunningly beautiful woman inside the well was calling to him.

Wen Chao placed a small stick on the ground and observed the direction of the sunlight; soon, the stick's shadow nearly vanished, and Wen Chao stood up.

"Now it's ready—the light's angle is perfect."

Everyone leaned over Jingkou to look down: the sun was directly overhead, its rays piercing straight into the well. Those crouched at the rim could even see the water's reflection; a chilling coldness rose upward from below, making it feel frigid despite it being noon.

Splash!

Jian Lingyu poured the poison from the clay bowl straight into the well.

The water's surface turned pale purple almost instantly, then began to ripple—as if something was swiftly swimming beneath.

"Ahh… Ahh…"

Finally.

With a piercing scream, a swollen human face surfaced from the water, clutching another corpse that had swollen from prolonged submersion.

It was Aunt Miao!

Swish! Li Juxian seized the opportunity and flung his fishing rod—the hook pierced straight into the water ghost's throat! (End of Chapter)