Chapter 37: You Have No Choice

Wu Chang’s original intention was merely to find leverage on Liu Wu, hoping to use it to coerce him into revealing some intelligence.

He never expected that this move would result in hooking a big fish.

Liu Wu, who had gone in looking clean and like an ordinary villager, came out having changed his attire, with seventeen or eighteen pale red resentful spirits now clinging to his back.

The owners of these resentful spirits were all players.

The final scene they experienced before death was being dragged into the Ghost Cry Forest by Liu Wei and Liu Wu, where they were tortured by various cruel methods until they perished.

Given such an encounter, their resentment should have been firmly bound to Liu Wei and Liu Wu, yet while in the village, Wu Chang had never seen a shred of resentment on them.

The reason they were able to escape the resentment must be related to the attire on Liu Wu’s body.

What surprised him even more was that the red, fleshy ball of resentment he encountered when retrieving Liu Ning’s living soul earlier was not the main evil spirit of the Year-End Festival, but something from the Ghost Cry Forest.

No wonder the symptoms of the villagers he treated the next day were so different from Liu Ning’s.

There were two "evil spirits," one of which was an imitator; that explained it.

Wu Chang’s eyes became exceptionally keen; Liu Wu, oh Liu Wu, you have truly delivered a great surprise to me.

"How are you here!" Seeing Wu Chang, who should have been on his way to Chen Family Village, suddenly appear before him, Liu Wu was terrified.

Wu Chang pointed his gun barrel at Liu Wu’s forehead and kindly reminded him: "Brother Liu Wu, hidden weapons have no eyes; do not act rashly and throw your life away for nothing."

The Silver Dawn took too long to condense silver bullets and was very wasteful when dealing with non-spiritual entities and monsters.

To achieve the freedom of firing at will, he had purchased one hundred armor-piercing rounds before entering the dungeon.

Each bullet cost 10 decayed silver coins; buying 100 at once gave a 15% discount, making each one equivalent to 8,500 in reality.

The price was expensive, but it had the advantage of being able to be brought into the dungeon regardless of the world’s setting.

The power of the bullets was only slightly stronger than real-world pistol armor-piercing rounds, but it was more than enough to pierce through Liu Wu in a C-rank dungeon.

Liu Wu did not know what kind of hidden weapon the short rod in Wu Chang’s hand was, but the threat of death emanating from it was exceptionally clear, making him afraid to act rashly.

Abandon the blade to be a commoner; hold the blade to be a bandit.

The cunning peculiar to mountain bandits made Liu Wu immediately change his face, and he questioned righteously: "Hero Wu, our village has treated you as an honored guest from top to bottom, entertaining you without the slightest neglect; why do you ambush me?"

Wu Chang pressed the gun barrel against Liu Wu’s forehead and asked while frisking him:

"Does 'entertaining' mean dragging me off to save people before I’d even finished dinner, keeping me busy until late at night? Then waking me up early the next morning, treating me like a free physician while they lined up for treatment? And after that, without letting me rest, not even giving me lunch, you chased me out to run errands?"

"Uh..." The momentum Liu Wu had managed to build up deflated, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

No, everyone was just saying polite things, why did you have to take it so seriously? Where is your heroic demeanor?

"At least our intentions were sincere," Liu Wu said stubbornly.

Wu Chang asked with a half-smile: "Sincere intentions? Does that mean after I had just saved the village chief’s granddaughter, you and Liu Wei discussed how to deal with me?"

Hearing this, Liu Wu’s whole body shook, the ferocity in his eyes surged, and he immediately tried to get up to fight to the death.

Wu Chang pulled the trigger, the bullet grazing Liu Wu’s cheekbone, gifting him an ear just like the President’s.

Liu Wu’s eyes instantly cleared, and he lay back on the ground. "How did you know?"

Wu Chang ignored Liu Wu; following the Village Guardian’s instructions, he took away all the weapons hidden on Liu Wu’s body, and feeling that wasn't safe enough, he tied Liu Wu up tightly with thick rope.

He looked up and down at Liu Wu, who was bundled like a rice dumpling, and muttered: "So troublesome, maybe I should just kill him and perform soul-searching."

Seeing panic appear on Liu Wu’s face, he laughed: "Don’t worry, I’m just joking to lighten the mood."

Liu Wu laughed along with him.

Wu Chang: "I’ll get serious when you stop cooperating."

Liu Wu’s smiling face instantly froze.

Seeing Liu Wu’s expression become increasingly uneasy, Wu Chang knew his goal had been achieved.

Mountain bandits were already in a trade where they carried their heads on their belts; those who could make a name for themselves were all fierce men who didn't fear death.

Threats of life and death were painless and itchy to them; if he wanted to really ask something, he had to attack the heart first.

Only when they were afraid would they cooperate and tell the truth.

Wu Chang nodded toward Liu Wu’s back, then turned around expressionlessly and said: "I ask, you answer. Don’t think about lying to me; there are those who can help me distinguish truth from falsehood."

Liu Wu turned his head to look back, gazing at the empty forest, his spine feeling a bit cold.

"Don’t look, you can’t see them. A forest full of wronged souls is standing behind you, waiting to help me testify. First question: why do you attack so many passing players... passing heroes, and bring them to this forest to torture?"

"Let me count, there are eighteen wronged souls raising their hands, saying you killed them."

As soon as these words were out, Liu Wu’s pupils contracted sharply, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

After a brief shock, he seemed to think of something and feigned composure: "What else could it be for? Of course, to torture out cultivation methods and obtain a stroke of fortune. It’s just that the little madman’s count is low; I killed more than eighteen, I killed thirty-two!"

Regarding Liu Wu’s probing, Wu Chang snorted through his nose and continued to ask: "Those eighteen say you took something from their bodies and were shouting for you to return it to them. What did you take?"

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

The previous question could have been the little fool of a Village Guardian leaking secrets, telling Wu Chang the secrets he had stolen glimpses of over the years.

But Wu Chang’s second question was something the little fool could never know; that was their greatest secret!

Wu Chang said as a matter of course: "Even if Liu Wei didn't tell you, you should have heard the rumors in the village. The night before last, I was the one who dragged Liu Ning’s living soul back from the underworld."

A fierce look appeared in Liu Wu’s eyes, and he shouted: "Kill him!"

As soon as these words were out, the Ghost Cry Forest around them erupted in wailing, and the pale red resentment on Liu Wu’s mask began to stir.

Wu Chang took out the Soul-Cleansing Command Flag and tapped it against Liu Wu’s mask, suppressing the resentment.

He sneered: "You think you can still command wronged souls in front of me?"

Liu Wu knew that if he kept asking, things would spiral out of control, so he closed his eyes and stiffened his neck.

"I don’t know anything. Kill me or carve me up as you please. If your grandfather here lets out a single sound of pain, then—mph..."

Wu Chang reached out and pinched Liu Wu’s lips together, pulling upward, forcibly interrupting the spellcasting and preventing Liu Wu from saying the most imposing part.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to talk about dying. I’m just a passerby; I have no deep hatred for you, nor do I care what you’ve done. I’m just curious about your actions and want to verify them against my own cultivation methods, which is why I’m asking a few questions."

"If you understand, blink your eyes, and we’ll continue our chat."

Seeing Liu Wu blink, Wu Chang released his fingers, letting Liu Wu’s lips, which had been pinched into a duck bill, snap back.

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

"Ambushing me in the dark and crippling my hands and feet first—and you call that having no malice? I’m truly curious what counts as malice in the eyes of you young heroes from famous sects."

Wu Chang shrugged and said nonchalantly: "If I remember correctly, Liu Wei’s wife and child are both in Huai Valley Village, and little Sanzi was just born half a month ago, right?"

Liu Wu gave a disdainful snort. "Using family as a threat? Is that all you’ve got?"

"No, I’m just reminding you to think more from their perspective."

"For example, if I tell the villagers that the evil spirit that attacked Liu Ning that night was actually a ghost-servant raised by you brothers, and that it was Liu Wei who laid a hand on Liu Ning to usurp the position of village chief, how would Liu Wei’s family fare then?"

Liu Wu retorted: "That day’s matter was my own decision; it has nothing to do with my big brother."

"You care so much about Liu Wei; truly a deep brotherhood."

The young Village Guardian had said that Liu Wei and Liu Wu had an excellent relationship. Last year, when the hunters went into the mountains and encountered a monster, it was Liu Wu who used his own body as a shield, sacrificing himself to block the monster’s attack and saving Liu Wei’s life.

The leg that Liu Wu limped on was the lingering ailment left after his broken limb was reattached.

Wu Chang continued: "Since that’s the case, then I’ll just say you were actually innocent and were controlled by Liu Wei. Not only was the evil spirit a disaster brought on by Liu Wei, but the two failures of the Year-End Festival were also entirely caused by Liu Wei."

Liu Wu said angrily: "My big brother is loyal to the village! Do you think Uncle Shan would believe such ghost stories?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

Wu Chang stood up, patted the dirt off his body, and said slowly:

"I am a famous hero who just happened to pass by, chivalrous and righteous, not afraid to risk my own life. You brothers are the evil cultists hiding in the shadows, raising monsters."

"I only need to bring the villagers here, and I have my own ways to prove you are raising monsters. When that time comes, will the villagers believe me or Liu Wei?"

Liu Wu was so anxious his eyes were about to split. "You!"

Wu Chang: "Let’s make a deal. As long as you tell me everything honestly, I’ll pretend I know nothing. Not only will I let you go, but I won’t tell the villagers about the Ghost Cry Forest, and I’ll leave directly after the Year-End Festival ends."

"How about it?"

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

Wu Chang had long considered Liu Wu’s predicament, and he revealed an understanding smile, answering: "You have no choice."

(End of chapter)