Chapter 196: The Tree and the Well (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

The squad under Wan Yun's command watched helplessly as Xu Yuan and his men galloped past them.

"My lord..." the brothers called out to Wan Yun, aggrieved.

Wan Yun, seething with anger, roared: "Shut up!"

Then he suddenly whipped his horse's hindquarters, and the steed beneath him let out a neigh and bolted.

Wan Yun whipped it several more times, then suddenly remembered Qin Ze had just mocked him to "whip more diligently"...

For a moment, his raised arm froze there; for the next few lashes, he couldn't bring himself to strike, nor could he hold back.

The brothers under his command began to murmur complaints.

"The Northern Capital's Artisan Bureau's guns and cannons aren't for us, and the Shanhe Office's calligraphy copies aren't for us either?"

"You are a legitimate Patrol Captain."

"That Xu Yuan is only a deputy."

"He can secure so many benefits for his men, while you only vent your anger on them."

They dared not voice their dissatisfaction, but everyone's resolve in following Wan Yun began to waver.

Yu Jing Village is seventy li from the Grand Canal and roughly seventy li from Zhan City.

With the calligraphy copy attached, they spurred their horses and arrived in less than an hour.

Wan Yun's squad, even without the calligraphy copy, likely wouldn't have been much later, but their hearts were far from pleased.

Xu Yuan's squad and the Shanhe Office arrived at Yu Jing Village first.

The village has several dozen households; twenty li further north lies Little Yu Shan.

At the village entrance stands an old elm tree.

Six or seven zhang tall, requiring two people to embrace it.

Unknown to what year or month it suffered lightning fire; half was burned to death, while the other half remains full of vitality.

It is also a wonder of the village.

Several dozen paces from the old elm tree lies an old well; the well mouth is built two chi high with rough hemp stone, and a windlass is mounted above it.

The hemp rope on the windlass has broken several times and been tied together with knots.

This tree and well are the origin of the village's name.

It is just past noon, and the yang energy is vigorous.

In the fields outside the village, villagers are working in small groups.

On the small path within the village, several earth dogs lie lazily, their tails swishing in the sunlight.

An earthworm crawled out from beneath a pile of cow dung nearby and brazenly crossed the village road.

The lazy dog pressed against the ground, merely wriggling its body to scratch an itch on its back, paying no attention to the writhing little creature.

This village looks quiet and peaceful, not like a place plagued by evil spirits.

Xu Yuan opened "Gaze at Fate" and took a quiet glance.

The "fate" of every villager was perfectly normal.

Xu Yuan closed "Gaze at Fate" and quietly gripped the Yin-Yang Guillotine.

The village was clean, with no yin creatures in sight.

Xu Yuan approached the carriage and asked in confusion: "My lord, your Shanhe Office stated in the official document that this village is the nest of evil spirits. Where are the evil spirits? Why are there still so many living people?"

Lady Fu Shuanghui's voice came out: "The evil spirit hides in the well; it is a dead root of that old elm tree!"

"A dead tree root? How could it be in the well?"

"That evil spirit must have already gained power back then, so it was struck by a heavenly thunderbolt. But after the thunderbolt struck it down, it did not truly die!"

After an unknown time, it revived and spread itself into the well.

Do not think that because the village is full of living people, the villagers have drawn water from the well for generations, and the well water was long ago polluted by it.

Although the villagers are still alive, they have long been controlled by that evil spirit.

Every eye in this village that sees, the evil spirit sees.

Every ear in this village that hears, the evil spirit hears.

Every mouth that speaks, speaks what the evil spirit wants spoken!"

Xu Yuan seemed frightened, his face changing drastically as he said: "That thing is actually so terrifying! My lord, what is your countermeasure?"

"Hmph!" Lady Fu Shuanghui sneered: "Rest assured, we will not let the people of your Spirit-Dispelling Office go to their deaths for nothing. Liang Yan, take them outside the village, find a place to set up camp; the rest of you, work together and dig open that well for me!"

"Obeying orders!"

The Shanhe Office was clearly prepared; they retrieved various tools and rushed toward that ancient well.

Liang Yan pointed to an open space not far away and said to Xu Yuan: "Captain Xu, right there."

Xu Yuan was full of questions but hesitated only briefly before following Liang Yan to the open space.

This spot is two hundred zhang from the old elm tree at the village entrance; the ground is covered in wild grass, yet for some reason, the villagers have not reclaimed it as farmland.

Liang Yan said: "We have brought Gate Gods. Divide your men into several squads; each goes to chop trees and dig earth. You need not build too well; just make it sturdy enough to live in."

This evil spirit is no trivial matter; half a day is clearly insufficient to resolve it, so we must spend the night in the village.

The houses in the village are clearly too dangerous to inhabit.

We can only build temporarily.

Xu Yuan gave orders, selecting the artisan cultivators from the squad, each leading a team to begin work immediately.

Xu Yuan kept watching the ancient well over there.

The men of the Shanhe Office dismantled the windlass and pried open the well curb; several elders immediately rushed out of the village, crying and kneeling on the ground to beg them, saying this is the village's only well.

If the well is dug up, the villagers will have no water to drink.

The Captains of the Shanhe Office were like wolves and tigers; they kicked the old men aside with a few kicks and dug open the well mouth.

Soon, the villagers gathered, but seeing the Captain of Shanhe Office gripping their blades, they dared not approach, and the village was filled with wailing.

Xu Yuan frowned—if what Lady Fu Shuanghui said was true, the entire village had long been controlled by malevolent spirits, and was not worth pitying.

"My lord," Lang Xiao Ba suddenly called from behind: "We've dug up something strange. Come take a look."

Xu Yuan turned and followed Lang Xiao Ba over.

The weeds and small trees on the open ground had been mostly cleared; the Craft Xiu had drawn a large circle on the ground, and along this circle, wooden stakes formed the "outer wall" of the encampment.

Twelve deep pits had been dug along the circle, meant for planting the stakes.

Xu Yuan walked to one of the stake pits; it had been dug five chi deep, and beneath it lay piles of white bones!

Lang Xiao Ba whispered: "Beneath every stake pit is like this."

Xu Yuan swiftly inspected every stake pit—indeed, once dug to five chi deep, each revealed a sea of white bones!

"Did Shanhe Office lead us to a mass grave of ten thousand?!" Lang Xiao Ba's first suspicion fell on Liang Yan.

Liang Yan was no longer here—he had returned to Lady Fu Shuanghui's side after work began.

Xu Yuan jumped into the pit, picked up a tool, and probed among the bones, then lifted up a skull.

But it was clearly not a human skull.

The skull was elongated and flattened, with several long, curved fangs growing from the upper jaw.

"Snake!"

Yet this snake skull was larger than a human skull!

Xu Yuan looked again at the countless ribs beneath his feet: "If it's a snake, it's a giant python!"

Xu Yuan climbed out of the stake pit and waved his hand: "Immediately move to another location."

Everyone immediately relocated two hundred steps away—Shanhe Office had clearly noticed the Qi Society Office's movement; Liang Yan glanced over, but showed no intention to stop them.

Xu Yuan frowned and said: "Dig a test pit first."

"Alright." Qin Ze rolled up his sleeves and began digging himself.

The Wu Xiu had great strength; in moments, he reached five chi deep, and one shovel struck something.

Qin Ze's face changed—he flipped it over and saw another pile of white bones!

Lang Xiao Ba suddenly said: "My lord, is it my eyes failing? I feel it's growing darker all around."

Di Youzhi sniffed: "Not only darker—it's growing increasingly foul and stinking."

(End of Chapter)