Chapter 16: 16 The Blessing of the Drowning Ghost

Song Cheng swept his gaze across, and the highest values he saw were "2~2," with most being "0~0," while his own were "8~8."

This gave him a little bit of confidence.

"Brother Cheng?"

The Village Chief said coldly: "What are you trying to do?"

Song Cheng said: "Ding Jia San Lang colluded with bandits; they have already left the village, and the bandits will arrive at any moment.

A person like that, when he opens his mouth, is naturally full of lies.

His claim that Yun E colluded with a lover and embezzled property is naturally false."

The youth pointed this out now because he still harbored the hope of having the villagers join him to resist the bandits.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the Village Chief said angrily: "Shut up!"

His face flushed red with fury, and he roared sternly: "We all know what those three Ding boys are like on a daily basis! How could he possibly collude with bandits?! You really are Yun E's lover, aren't you? You're trying to save her. Speak! Isn't that right?!"

Others also spoke up.

"Yun E is just an outsider. Ding Jia San Lang is a root of this village!"

"I remember now, Brother Cheng, you are also from the outside. Sure enough, you outsiders are all no good!"

The Village Chief waved his hand violently, and the two men holding the pig cage threw it into the river.

Before Song Cheng's eyes, the red mist in the dark world condensed further, accumulating into a stream and transforming into a vortex.

And at the center of the vortex was the pig cage that had fallen into the water.

Inside the pig cage, that plain, white, and thin figure was submerged by the pitch-black water.

And the favorability rating above her head stepped into 90 at this moment.

Yun E absolutely did not expect that even at a time like this, that little blind boy would still come to save her.

This allowed her to see a glimmer of light in the darkness.

But, is this as far as it goes? Seeing the pig cage fall into the water, Song Cheng roared, "Yes, I am here to save Yun E!", and after roaring, his blood surged, and he rushed forward rapidly; several men came to block his path, but how could a mere "1~1" strength stop Song Cheng? Boom!!

Boom, boom!! The men blocking the path were fiercely knocked aside.

Song Cheng darted forward like a wild beast, his right hand grabbing his Fine Blade, his left hand pushing and shoving, and in a few quick movements, he arrived at the spot where the pig cage had fallen, then leaped down before the shocked eyes of those he had knocked aside.

The water current surged from all directions, and he was falling.

To others, this was just an ordinary river.

But to him, the rumbling sound in his field of vision formed deep-colored water weeds as heavy as mercury and as gloomy as ink, rising up intensely.

Everything in the river was extremely distorted and extremely dark.

The blood color from the moment the Taboo formed turned into a vortex.

And he was crashing toward the center of that twisted vortex.

He kept his eyes fixed on Yun E's data.

The world seemed to have had a "slow-motion button" pressed.

He had learned to swim in his past life; at this moment, his legs kicked rapidly, while his left hand reached forward, grabbing blindly.

He was getting closer and closer to that data—snap.

The blind youth grabbed the bamboo weave of the pig cage, his body twisting agilely, and he brought the Fine Blade down to slash at the thick hemp rope locking the cage.

With a tug and a pull, the hemp rope snapped.

He tore open the pig cage door, reached inside, and grabbed Yun E's hand in one grasp.

Deep underwater, Yun E only saw a black shadow fall toward her, reaching out a hand to her just as she was about to die.

Yet she instinctively knew who this black shadow was.

In Song Cheng's eyes, Yun E's data underwent a strange change; half of the characters turned blood-red, and the others were also slowly changing, while the word "Taboo" on his panel roared as if about to be completely unlocked.

He gripped her tightly.

He did not want the Taboo to form.

He also did not want Yun E to die.

However, he felt a force strike his hand.

Did Yun E push him away? The blood color was almost finished condensing.

The Taboo was about to be completely born.

Perhaps Yun E had experienced so much that she had completely given up hope of living.

Perhaps Yun E had already turned into a Taboo, but she still had a trace of consciousness left, so she hurriedly pushed Song Cheng away, not wanting to harm him.

Or perhaps Yun E had not yet turned into a Taboo, but the Taboo had activated a "defense system" so that the process would not be disturbed. The two separated again, like two bubbles that disperse upon touching.

But the next instant, Song Cheng gritted his teeth fiercely, used all his strength, and like a swimming fish, he did another underwater roll, accelerated, and reached down, hooking directly onto Yun E's waist.

The two were closer than ever; the youth's eyes were half-open, his cloudy, pale pupils along with his anxious frown all emitting a silent cry: "Don't give up! Don't give up!"

Yun E's resentful eyes were also half-open and half-closed, meeting the youth's gaze.

One glance seemed to last for a long time.

Yun E closed her eyes and also hugged the youth tightly, letting him lead her as they floated upward.

Whoosh!!

The sticky sensation vanished, breathing was restored, and the distorted sound through the water became clear.

And from afar came cries of alarm.

"They've floated up!"

"Throw stones!"

"Kill them!"

"Go around to the opposite bank!"

The villagers had gone completely mad.

Song Cheng swept a glance at the many humanoid shapes by the riverbank, then grabbed Yun E tightly and swam toward the other side of the river.

Before long, the two reached the shore.

Song Cheng found Yun E's chest and neck area, avoided the exposed pale, soft skin beneath, and pressed down rhythmically until Yun E spat out a mouthful of water; only then did he let go. "Are you alright?" he asked, panting.

Yun E looked at him weakly, her gaze filled with complexity; she slowly shook her head, but suddenly remembering that the person before her was blind, she said, "I'm fine."

"The villagers are coming; we must leave quickly," Song Cheng said, then crouched down, grabbed Yun E with both hands, and said, "Pardon me."

Having said that, he hoisted Yun E onto his back, then proceeded to move rapidly into the distance while tapping the ground with his saber.

Because he could see other people's data through walls and his physical strength surpassed that of an ordinary person, after an hour of winding about, he finally shook off the villagers until they were nowhere to be seen, and only then did he ask, "Sister-in-law Yun E, help me watch the road; how do we get to the village entrance near Hou Shan?"

"Song Cheng, just call me Yun E."

The beautiful woman on his back said, then began to point the way.

Song Cheng carried her while constantly checking his panel; seeing that "【Taboo: Unlocked】" had not shattered, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A moment later, the two successfully reunited with Tong Jia, and sounds of horse hooves and war cries erupted from the village.

"Run!"

Song Cheng said.

He understood that bandits had entered the village! The three of them did not linger for even a moment longer and ran quickly into the mountains.

After a whole day of turmoil. Late at night.

In a mountain cave, Tong Jia started a campfire, and the three huddled together for warmth.

Fortunately, Song Cheng was blind, so Yun E did not feel embarrassed; she took off her clothes and hung them by the campfire to dry.

Tong Jia was exhausted, yet she still took three coarse grain cakes, toasted them slightly, and shared them with the other two.

The three began to eat.

As Song Cheng ate, he glanced in Yun E's direction and was suddenly stunned.

Half of Yun E's information was still blood-red, and that blood-red suddenly diffused, merging into Yun E's plain white outline, mixing into it, causing that outline to present a bizarre, extreme red-and-white intermingling.

Chaotic, twisted, and ghastly.

This was the consequence of the "process of Taboo-ification being suddenly interrupted," resulting in an "abrupt halt," just like when a program is running fine and the computer suddenly shows a blue screen.

Such a consequence had never happened before, and no one knew what would come of it.

Half human, half Taboo? Or what did it mean? Yun E seemed to sense something; she looked up at the little blind man, but then lowered her head again, not knowing what she was thinking.

And in Song Cheng's eyes, Yun E's data began to undergo strange changes.

【Strength:?】

【Favorability: 100】

Among them, the question mark was blood-red, but the others were normal black.

Song Cheng couldn't help but ask, "Yun E, do you feel anything wrong?"

"No," Yun E replied flatly, her words concise.

After a while longer, the three made a simple floor bed in the cave using weeds and luggage, then went to sleep.

Tong Jia snuggled into Song Cheng's arms; it seemed that the intense fatigue, combined with the changes in her man's body, made the Young Mistress of the house feel stirred, and she kept rubbing him all night long, from top to bottom; if not for the fact that Yun E was there, she might have already transformed into a female knight riding wildly.

Because Yun E was there, Song Cheng also held back.

After becoming a Martial Artist, he discovered he was no longer weak, and his vigorous Qi and blood also gave rise to a certain need.

The night passed, hazy and indistinct, amidst the sound of the wind in the mountain forest.

The next morning, Song Cheng yawned.

He opened his eyes.

【You spent a harmonious night with Tong Jia, gaining 6 spare points】.

His gaze scanned around, and he was suddenly stunned.

"Yun E?"

No one responded.

"Sister-in-law Yun E?!"

Still no one answered.

Song Cheng was startled and was about to get up, but subconsciously scanned his panel.

At some point, the "【Taboo: Unlocked】" on the panel had turned completely blood-red, and the information had also changed: 【Taboo】

1. Blessing of the Drowned Ghost.

Song Cheng:... He was silent for a long time, and a strong sense of powerlessness surged into his heart. He suddenly began to laugh.

He laughed until tears came out.

As expected,

was there nothing that could be changed? The moment the Taboo chose Yun E, the moment Yun E's heart completely died, everything was already beyond what human effort could change at will.

Tanghe Village.

The thick fog was in complete chaos.

Inside, one figure after another ran and bumped around like headless flies, but no matter how they turned, it was as if they were all spinning in place.

Compared to these violently moving figures, the river water appeared incomparably quiet.

Above the river water, the mist was exceptionally thick.

And within the thick fog, a bizarre figure appeared and disappeared.

It was a woman in green.

The woman's face was not pale; she looked like a living person.

And her eyes seemed to possess a shred of reason.

In the river beneath her feet, corpses were sinking one by one, some villagers, others bandits; the woman tilted her head slightly, looking toward the direction of Hou Shan, her eerie pupils revealing an inexplicable tenderness, and she suddenly opened her mouth, as if saying something.

The sound of the wind spread, and one could vaguely hear the two words "thank you," only even these two words were permeated with a sinister terror.

(End of this chapter)