Chapter 82: The Baixin Chong

Grandmaster Qin stepped out, and several subordinates were already prepared; they once again disguised themselves as a merchant caravan, hitching horses and loading carts—each cart was large and heavy, with tall cabins entirely covered by thick, light-blocking cloth, concealing whatever “cargo” lay inside.

They left the city gate and followed the Purification Office.

The group consisted of thirteen men; when they reached a desolate stretch of road, Grandmaster Qin casually ordered, “Ceng Si, distribute the Righteous Pill to everyone.”

Ceng Si was the man who had been watching at the city gate—he was a Pill Cultivator.

The first few men swallowed the “Righteous Pill” without hesitation, but one Artisan Cultivator hesitated.

Grandmaster Qin pulled open his chest garment, and everyone saw a grotesque evil worm calmly resting beneath the skin over his heart.

Everyone recognized the worm—it was the “Wu Hui Wu,” also known as the Baoxin Chong.

Sacrifice something you cherish, and feed it to the worm.

The worm will burrow under the skin, clutching the heart; if the mission fails, it will instantly bite through the heart and devour the soul!

Implanting this vile worm within oneself signifies absolute, ninefold-death-no-regret commitment—no turning back!

“The importance of this mission doesn’t need me, Qin, to reiterate.”

“I’ve already severed my own escape route!”

“If we succeed, we gain wealth for generations; if we fail, don’t drag your families down with you!”

The Artisan Cultivator finally swallowed the “Righteous Pill.”

But Grandmaster Qin stepped forward, pried open his mouth, and inspected it closely, personally confirming he had swallowed it.

The caravan continued onward; halfway through the journey, the scout rushed back: “Sir, they turned into the nearby village.”

Ceng Si said, “Ahead is Miaopoe Village, but… why would they go there?”

Grandmaster Qin remained unmoved: “Keep watching them. The rest of you, rest here.”

The scout headed forward again, stopped at the village’s edge, dared not approach, and hid behind a small earthen mound, occasionally peering out to spy.

The Purification Office’s group was strange—one cart, parked beside the main road.

Over thirty men mostly stayed by the road, guarding the cart.

Only one old man and one young man, accompanied by two Captains, entered the village—no one knew why.

Xu Yuan did not wake Fu Jingyu; he simply asked Yan Lao to accompany him into the village with a few others.

Xu Yuan had always known this “Miaopoe Village,” because Erliang was from Miaopoe Village.

Erliang had once told Xu Yuan that the village got its name because there used to be a small temple on the slope at the village entrance.

Supposedly, during Erliang’s grandfather’s time, that temple still stood.

But the temple once worshipped some local deity of Jiaozhi; after the Ming Dynasty arrived, people gradually stopped paying homage.

Decades ago, the temple collapsed; in recent years, it was overgrown with wild grass, its foundation invisible.

The village wasn’t large; Xu Yuan hadn’t walked far inside when he met an old man returning with his ox and plow. Seeing the Purification Office uniforms on Yan Lao and the others, the old man immediately flinched, lowered his head, pulled his ox to the roadside, and stood aside, bowing to let the “nobles” pass.

Xu Yuan stepped forward and bowed: “Old man, I’m looking for Wang Laoshi…”

The old man’s eyes filled with terror: “I don’t know any Wang Laoshi…” and he swiftly whipped his ox with the reins: “You beast, move faster!”

Xu Yuan: “Huh?”

The old man waved his hands without looking back: “I don’t know, I know nothing!”

The man and his ox sped away.

Xu Yuan frowned; Yan Lao chuckled: “To make neighbors fear you like snakes and scorpions—this Wang Laoshi you’re seeking is no ordinary man.”

Neither of them assumed Wang Laoshi was a villain simply because of the old man’s reaction.

Villagers have little knowledge; many cultivation methods of the Seven Gates seem terrifyingly unnatural to them.

For instance, if Xu Yuan were an Eater Cultivator, he could swallow the old man’s ox in one bite.

To the old man’s eyes, wouldn’t that seem just as monstrous as a demon?

Xu Yuan changed tactics and knocked on a door: “Auntie, we’re Purification Office officers—where does the village chief live?”

The old woman pointed to the village chief’s house.

Xu Yuan found him and adopted a stern tone: “Old village chief, the Purification Office seeks Wang Laoshi for official business—no questions, lead us there immediately!”

The village chief, in his forties or fifties, paled at the name “Wang Laoshi,” dropped to his knees, and banged his head on the ground repeatedly: “My lord, today is the River Ban—who dares go near Wang Laoshi?”

“How can the River Ban stop us from finding him… he lives by the river?!” Xu Yuan was startled; upon entering the village, he’d heard faint water sounds—the village must lie behind a river.

“Yes!” The village chief raised both hands above his head, shaking them toward a direction: “She lives over there—you five can see her house after walking five li.”

Xu Yuan didn’t force the village chief to lead them.

As soon as they left, the village chief slammed and barred his door, then sighed with relief.

Yan Lao frowned: “Daring to live by the river… this person you’re seeking is truly extraordinary.”

Xu Yuan thought for a moment and said: “Let’s go see.”

The four followed the direction the village chief pointed and climbed a dirt ridge; sure enough, several li away, a small river wound its way.

It wasn’t that villagers wanted to avoid the riverbank—they couldn’t, for the area had too many rivers.

There was also a river outside Qihetai.

Because of today’s River Ban, even in daylight, a hazy black mist still hung over the river’s surface.

The black mist writhed and struggled at times, like a monstrous dragon about to surge into the sky.

Yet right beside the river stood a house.

The house was built with great grandeur—its walls whitewashed, twelve feet high, thirty feet wide, a three-room tiled mansion.

The entire river’s black mist was severed here, split into two parts by the house.

Even the river’s flow grew calmer in this stretch.

Living by the river—and suppressing it!

Yan Lao marveled: “This person… is truly extraordinary!”

For some reason, Xu Yuan thought of the villagers of Wangxiang Village.

Yan Lao called her “this person,” but Xu Yuan wasn’t convinced—given this display… whether she was even human was debatable.

Xu Yuan descended from the ridge: “Let’s go take a look.”

The four gradually neared the small river when a middle-aged woman descended from upstream, walking quickly, her expression anxious: “You must not go any further!”

“That house eats people!”

“It grew this large because in recent years it has devoured over a hundred people! Beneath its walls lie nothing but bones!”

“The master inside has long become a monstrous thing—think about it, how else could she live here?!”

Yan Lao’s expression hardened; in truth, upon hearing Wang Laoshi lived by the river, he had already suspected something.

The middle-aged woman stepped closer, swaying, and hurried on: “Come with me quickly—I’ll lead you away from here!”

“You’ve already been marked by the evil within the house—without a local guide, you won’t escape!”

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(End of Chapter)