[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-385":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310770,4514,"Chapter 385: Come In, Please","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-385",385,"\u003Cp>Shiyang Village lies on the east bank of the river, stretching north-south along that small stream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head led Xu Yuan to the northern end of the village, before a humble courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The courtyard wall was only half a man’s height; inside stood three earthen houses, with a small kitchen to the west of the main hall, and the eastern room clearly added later—much newer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head introduced to Master Xu: “Chen Bao is the same age as me; he raised one son and two daughters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The daughters married into other villages and rarely return. His son married a wife and lives in the eastern room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His daughter-in-law was diligent—she bore two grandsons. Who would have thought such a thing would happen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head pointed toward a small hill in the northwest, covered in banyan trees, and whispered: “My lord, my grandfather told me that the boy and his family were hanged from that very spot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan estimated the distance—it was only two hundred zhang from Chen Bao’s house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that place, Xu Yuan found familiar—he had gone upstream along the river last night, trying to escape the village by water, and reached the foot of that small hill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head brought it up deliberately, clearly suspecting that the village’s current horrors were linked to the massacre a century ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guimen Village has always been this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though terrifying and eerie, they never arise without cause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan said nothing, gesturing for the old village head to open the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The courtyard gate was not locked, but when the old village head pushed, it wouldn’t budge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head circled to the low wall beside it and saw the gate was barred from inside with a wooden pole as thick as an arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A glimmer of hope flashed in the old village head’s eyes: “Could it be… the two children haven’t become malevolent spirits!?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan suspected the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because last night, Xu Yuan had not seen two lone children among the golden figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden figures came in family units; after becoming malevolent spirits, they would not accept two children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan deduced the two children were still hiding somewhere in the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, the most likely place was their own home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head climbed over the wall and called out: “A’niu, A’Sheng?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, there was suddenly some movement, then silence—seemingly the two children had hastily hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head said: “Don’t be afraid, Uncle hasn’t become a malevolent spirit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the house remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan climbed over the wall, followed by Lang XiaoBa and Ji Shuangqiu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan waved to Ji Shuangqiu: “You go, take the two children to the ancestral hall, calm them down, then notify me—I have questions for them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Xu Yuan tapped the old village head, signaling they should leave first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two children were surely terrified last night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Ji Shuangqiu, being female, was clearly easier for children to approach than three men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Ji Shuangqiu was broad-shouldered and muscular.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head was out of the question—last night, all the malevolent spirits were villagers; the children feared him most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving, Xu Yuan went to examine the small hill again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village head had confidently claimed his grandfather had pointed out the exact tree where the family was hanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swore he could recognize it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, at the spot… he scratched his head, looking at one tree that seemed right, then another that also looked similar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan had no faith in the old man’s memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every Guimen Village has one or a single core of malevolence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be found and destroyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, even if Xu Yuan killed every visible malevolence in the village, he would still struggle to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there was another way: Xu Yuan could ascend to the Fourth Tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the village’s level, Fourth Tier strength alone should forcibly break all restrictions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan began meticulously searching the small hill, leaving no suspicious spot unexamined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He activated “Wang Ming” and secretly used the Yin-Yang Guillotine’s vision to scan everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unwilling to give up, Xu Yuan told Lang XiaoBa to summon Zhou Leizi: “Look at these banyan trees, wild grasses, wild flowers—any anomalies?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Leizi perked up—this was a golden chance to earn merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Leizi believed he was no worse than Lang XiaoBa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even thought that before Master Xu arrived, he had far surpassed Lang XiaoBa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now he was falling behind!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could earn merit this time and win the Master’s praise, he might at least narrow the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Zhou Leizi gave it his all… and still found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, there’s truly nothing wrong here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan waved him off in disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Xu Yuan released several Yin Soldiers via Six-Eyed Ghost Moths to search beneath the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, no discovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, Xu Yuan was eighty percent certain: it wasn’t that he hadn’t found it—it was simply that everything here was perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go back—Ji Shuangqiu has already calmed the two children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the ancestral hall, two six- or seven-year-old children hid behind a female Captain, each holding a dried apricot, nibbling slowly, unwilling to swallow it whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female Captain was not Ji Shuangqiu, but the most conventionally attractive among Xu Yuan’s female Captains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she couldn’t compare to Zhu Zhanmei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes Xu Yuan sighed: as female cultivators, Zhu Zhanmei was delicate and beautiful—why were all his subordinates so…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xu Yuan return, the female Captain groaned: “My lord, why did you entrust comforting children to Ji Shuangqiu?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as you left, she smashed the door open, snatched each child under an armpit, and dragged them back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You didn’t see it—those poor children turned pale with terror, too frightened to even cry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to soothe them for a long time, even gave them my own dried fruit, before they calmed down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan turned to look at Ji Shuangqiu—the female warrior avoided his gaze, her copper-bell eyes fixed on the birds on the window tree, counting them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like… a two-hundred-pound girl who loved arithmetic problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was wrong—I should never have thought Ji Shuangqiu was a woman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan was about to question the two children when a Captain rushed in: “My lord, the River Office has sent more people—they insist on entering the village, and we’re barely holding them back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan snapped: “Didn’t you tell them this is a Guimen Village?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We did, but they don’t believe us. They demand to see Zhao Xian—they won’t believe unless Master Zhao tells them himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan said: “Didn’t you tell them that Master Zhao died at the hands of malevolent spirits last night?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We did. They believe it even less.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Qinghuai silently cursed—told you not to act rashly! You killed Zhao Xian and felt satisfied, but now what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan suddenly laughed—and laughed for a long time, leaving Xiang Qinghuai utterly baffled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan waved his hand: “Come, let’s go to the village gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan had assigned four men to guard the village gate; one returned to report, and the remaining three were earnestly explaining to the outsiders: “We would never deceive you, my lords.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You truly cannot enter—if you do, you won’t be able to leave!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guimen Villages always appear normal from the outside to lure people in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as those inside don’t try to leave, they won’t encounter ghostly mazes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in most Guimen Villages, those inside cannot directly communicate with those outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shiyang Village must have just become a Guimen Village—some “rules” haven’t fully solidified yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outsiders, the Assistant Regional Commander and the Master of Discipline, refused to believe, shouting: “Make Zhao Xian come out and face us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xu Yuan dares to defy orders and murder the River Inspector!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Truly heinous—death is too good for him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan strode out. The three Captains sighed in relief—finally, someone in charge: “My lord, please explain to them—no matter what we say, they won’t believe!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Explain what?” Xu Yuan glared: “If they don’t believe, let them come in!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone inside and outside fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan cursed inwardly—I’m saving your lives! You’re ungrateful and falsely accuse me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine. Come in, then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please, come right in!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan suddenly spotted Zhu Zhanmei standing nearby and added: “If you trust me, Zhu Inspector, stay outside with your people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1414,"2026-06-20T12:07:24.624Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bd19616a1b924f8c87d5dd081d8bf40835f3809f7695ff296c3a2b8fcb981ac0","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-386","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-384",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]