Chapter 37

Wu Chang had merely acted out of idle intent, hoping to seize Liu Wu's leverage to coerce him into revealing information.

He never expected this move would net him a big fish.

Liu Wu had entered clean and ordinary, like a village villager, but emerged dressed differently, with seventeen or eighteen faint red strands of resentment clinging to his back.

The owners of these resentments were all players.

Their final moments before death had all been dragged into Ghost Wailing Forest by Liu Wei and Liu Wu, tortured in cruel ways until they died.

Such suffering should have bound their resentments tightly to Liu Wei and Liu Wu, yet in the village, Wu Chang had never seen even a trace of resentment on them.

The reason they escaped the resentment must be tied to the attire Liu Wu was wearing.

Even more surprising to him was that the red fleshy ball resentment he encountered while retrieving Liu Ning's soul was not the main malevolent entity of the Sui Sacrifice, but something from Ghost Wailing Forest.

No wonder the villagers he treated the next day showed symptoms of possession vastly different from Liu Ning's.

There are two malevolent entities—the other is an imitator; that explains it.

Wu Chang's gaze turned intensely eager—Liu Wu, Liu Wu, you've delivered me quite the delightful surprise.

"How are you here!" Liu Wu was stunned to see Wu Chang, who should have gone to Chenjia Village, suddenly appear before him.

Wu Chang pointed his gun at Liu Wu's forehead and kindly warned: "Brother Liu Wu, hidden weapons have no eyes—don't make any sudden moves, or you'll waste your life."

Condensing silver dawn into silver bullets is too slow, a waste against non-spiritual beings and monsters.

To achieve firing freedom, he bought a hundred armor-piercing rounds before entering the dungeon.

Each bullet cost ten rotten silver coins; buying a hundred at once gave a fifteen percent discount, making each equivalent to 8,500 yuan in reality.

Expensive, but they bypassed the world's lore when entering the dungeon.

The bullets' power was only slightly stronger than real-world handgun armor-piercing rounds, yet sufficient to pierce through Liu Wu in a C-rank dungeon.

Liu Wu didn't know what dark weapon Wu Chang held in his short rod, but the death threat emanating from it was unmistakable, making him dare not move.

Lay down your knife and be a villager; pick it up and become a bandit.

The bandit's cunning made Liu Wu instantly switch faces, accusing sternly: "Great Hero Wu, our entire village treated you as an honored guest, spared no effort to host you, never once neglected you—why did you ambush me?"

Wu Chang pressed the gun barrel against Liu Wu's forehead, searching his body as he asked:

"Hosting means you dragged me off to save someone before I'd even finished dinner, kept me up until midnight, then woke me at dawn the next day as if I were a free Physician lined up for patients, and after all that, didn't even let me rest or have lunch before sending me off on errands?"

"Uh…" Liu Wu's bravado collapsed, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Come on, everyone says polite formalities—why are you the only one taking them seriously? Where's your hero's grace?

"At least our intentions were sincere," Liu Wu insisted.

Wu Chang smiled faintly: "Sincere intentions mean that right after I saved the village chief's granddaughter, you and Liu Wei plotted how to deal with me?"

Hearing this, Liu Wu shuddered, his eyes flooding with malice—he immediately tried to rise and fight.

Wu Chang pulled the trigger; the bullet grazed Liu Wu's cheekbone, giving him a presidential-style ear.

Liu Wu's eyes instantly cleared; he dropped back to the ground. "How did you know?"

Wu Chang ignored Liu Wu. Following the village guardian's instructions, he took all weapons hidden on Liu Wu's person, then, still not secure enough, bound him tightly with thick rope.

He studied the bound Liu Wu like a wrapped rice dumpling, muttering softly: "What a nuisance—why not just kill him and extract his soul directly?"

Seeing panic rise on Liu Wu's face, he chuckled: "Don't worry—I was just joking, to lighten the mood."

Liu Wu forced a laugh along with him.

Wu Chang: "I'll take it seriously when you stop cooperating."

Liu Wu's smile froze instantly.

Watching Liu Wu grow increasingly uneasy, Wu Chang knew his goal was achieved.

Bandits are a life-or-death trade—those who rise to prominence are all ruthless men who fear neither death.

Threatening them with death means nothing to them; to extract real information, you must strike at their hearts.

Only when they are truly afraid will they speak the truth.

Wu Chang nodded toward Liu Wu's back, then turned back with a blank expression: "I ask, you answer. Don't try to deceive me—someone will help me discern truth from lies."

Liu Wu turned to look behind him, staring at the empty forest, his spine growing cold.

"Don't look—you can't see them. A whole forest of wronged souls stand behind you, waiting to testify for me. First question: why did you attack so many passing players—passing heroes—and drag them into this forest to torture?"

"Let me count—eighteen spirits raised their hands, saying you killed them."

At these words, Liu Wu's pupils shrank sharply, as if seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

After a brief shock, he seemed to realize something and forced calm: "What else? Of course, to extract cultivation methods, to gain a chance. But that little fool got the number wrong—I didn't kill eighteen, I killed thirty-two!"

At Liu Wu's probing, Wu Chang snorted, then continued: "These eighteen say you took something from their bodies, screaming for you to return it. What did you take?"

"Impossible! Can you really see the dead?!" Liu Wu was genuinely panicked now.

The previous question might have been leaked by the village guardian's idiot—perhaps he'd told Wu Chang secrets he'd secretly witnessed over the years.

But Wu Chang's second question—that the idiot could never have known; it was their greatest secret!

Wu Chang said matter-of-factly: "Even if Liu Wei didn't tell you, you must've heard the village rumors—two nights ago, I pulled Liu Ning's soul back from the Underworld."

Liu Wu's eyes flashed with murderous intent and shouted: "Kill him!"

At those words, the Ghost Wailing Forest erupted in wails; the faint red resentment on Liu Wu's mask stirred.

Wu Chang pulled out the Soul-Cleansing Banner, tapped it once against Liu Wu's mask, and suppressed the resentment.

He sneered: "Do you really think you can command the wronged souls in front of me?"

Liu Wu knew further questioning would spiral out of control—he shut his eyes and stiffened his neck.

"I know nothing. Kill me or cut me up—your choice. If I so much as groan—mm..."

Wu Chang reached out, pinched Liu Wu's lips together, yanked them upward, forcibly interrupting the incantation and stopping him from uttering his most defiant words.

"Don't rush to speak of death—I'm just a passerby, no deep grudge against you, don't care what you've done. I'm merely curious about your actions, seeking to verify them against my own cultivation method, so I came to ask a few questions."

"If you understand, blink twice—we'll keep talking."

Seeing Liu Wu blink, Wu Chang released his fingers, letting the lips he had pinched into a duck's bill spring back.

Liu Wu looked at the puncture wounds all over his body and said mockingly:

"You ambushed me from the shadows and crippled my hands and feet first, and you still call that no ill intent? I'm really curious what you noble young heroes would consider ill intent."

Wu Chang shrugged and said lightly, "If I remember correctly, Liu Wei's wife and children are both in Huai Valley Village. Little Three was just born half a month ago, right?"

Liu Wu gave a contemptuous snort. "Threatening me with my family? Is that all you've got?"

"No, I'm just reminding you to think a little more about their position."

"For instance, if I told the villagers that the evil entity that attacked Liu Ning that night was actually a servant ghost you brothers raised, and that Liu Wei struck at Liu Ning in order to seize the village head's seat — how would Liu Wei's family explain themselves then?"

Liu Wu retorted, "What happened that day was my own decision. It has nothing to do with my big brother."

"You care so much about Liu Wei — true brotherly affection, indeed."

The young village guardian had said that Liu Wei and Liu Wu were extremely close. Last year, when the hunters went into the mountains and ran into a yao beast, it was Liu Wu who used his own body as a shield, throwing himself in front of the attack to save Liu Wei's life.

Liu Wu's limp leg was the lingering damage from a severed limb being reattached.

Wu Chang went on, "In that case, I'll say you were actually innocent — all under Liu Wei's control. Not only was the evil entity a disaster Liu Wei brought in, but both failures of the New Year Exorcism Festival before and after were Liu Wei's doing alone."

Liu Wu raged, "Big brother is absolutely loyal to the village! Do you really think Uncle Shan would believe that kind of nonsense?!"

"Why wouldn't he?"

Wu Chang stood up, brushed the dirt off himself, and said slowly:

"I am a great hero of noble birth who happened to pass by, chivalrous and righteous, willing to brave danger in person. You brothers are the fiends lurking in the shadows, raising yao beasts."

"I only need to bring the villagers here, and I have my own way to prove you've been raising yao beasts. When the time comes, will the villagers believe me or Liu Wei?"

Liu Wu was so frantic his eyes nearly split, "You—!"

Wu Chang: "Let's make a deal. As long as you tell me everything honestly, I'll pretend I never knew a thing. Not only will I let you go, I won't tell the villagers about Ghost Cry Forest. Once the New Year Exorcism Festival is over, I'll leave straight away."

"How about it?"

Liu Wu was silent for a moment, then asked, "How can I possibly trust you?"

Wu Chang had long anticipated Liu Wu's difficulty. He showed an understanding smile and replied, "You don't have a choice."

(End of chapter)