Chapter 68: 67, The Unofficial Die

67, The Unofficial Die

The scent of wine erupted!

Amidst this pervasive flow of feasting thoughts, within the wine cellar where the aroma of wine runs wild, even without taking a single sip, one is enough to intoxicate the heart!

Zhou Chang ran wildly up the slope, his gaze sweeping over every rice mound within sight—

The golden light chains formed by the Emperor's decree swayed as they wound their way to behind a rice mound.

Behind that massive rice mound standing with the stone tablet 'Wen Zhao Lin', a rustling sound arose, like chicks pecking rice or dogs scratching earth; on top of the rice mound, fragments of grain slowly rolled down.

In some corner behind the rice mound, a round shadow was rolling.

When Zhou Chang drew near, he suddenly realized that the round black shadow was shockingly a human head!

That head wore a silk melon-skull cap, with a fake rat-tail braid woven from black cotton thread attached to the back of the cap; at this moment, that rat-tail braid was wrapped around the side of its face.

It hid behind the rice mound, its pale face, a pair of slanted eyes staring fixedly at Zhou Chang's eyes—

Zhou Chang stopped his steps on the slope, facing this pale human head.

He saw the features of this human head clearly and recognized its identity.

It was the eldest young master of the Wen family who had married Bai Xiue!

It was Wen Yongsheng!

The Wen family's eldest young master shares the same name as the Wen family ancestor!

"You—"

As this human head saw Zhou Chang's corpse approaching it, it spoke a single word in a sinister and ambiguous tone, and its head suddenly shrank back behind that rice mound.

Behind the rice mound, a clattering sound of wood colliding rang out.

In the next moment, that human head rose high again from the top of the rice mound, and passed over the peak of the rice mound, rising ever higher—

Beneath the head dragging the fake rat-tail braid was not an elongated neck, but a pitch-black tablet inscribed with 'Spirit Tablet of the Venerated Ancestor Wen Yongsheng'; beneath this pitch-black tablet was attached another head whose appearance was quite similar to the topmost head; beneath that head was likewise a tablet—'Spirit Tablet of the Heavenly Ancestor Wen Siming'; beneath Wen Siming's tablet, another head was still attached...

Spirit Tablet of the Heavenly Ancestor Wen Sizu!

Spirit Tablet of the Great-Grandfather Wen Zhao Lin!

Spirit Tablet of the Great-Great-Grandfather Wen Xingren!

Heads attached to tablets, tablets attached to heads, winding and twisting within the wine cellar, forming a dragon-snake of human heads and tablets!

This human-head-and-tablet dragon-snake, apart from the topmost head of 'Wen Yongsheng', had all other heads with tightly stretched pale faces, eyes tightly shut; only 'Wen Yongsheng' spoke a single word in a sinister and ambiguous tone: "You—"

After this, the heads below opened their eyes one by one, staring fixedly at Zhou Chang, and spoke one by one—

"You, a mere commoner, also dare to covet the woman favored by the gods?!"

It calls itself a god; it is the master of the 'Grass-Head Dragon Chang Wen Yongsheng Divine Banner Altar' on the main hall's offering table of the Wen family!

It is a vulgar god—Grass-Head Dragon Chang!

The topmost head of Grass-Head Dragon Chang opened its eyes, staring fixedly at Zhou Chang.

After asking Zhou Chang the first question, its expression became wooden and cold, and it asked Zhou Chang again: "Do you... have an official body?"

The instant the vulgar god asked Zhou Chang this question, a sudden warning arose in Zhou Chang's heart!

A strong burning sensation arose in his right palm; threads of thought swam across his right palm; in the blink of an eye, the red robe with golden scales and four-clawed pythons was already worn upon his body!

"Buzz!"

On the robe, the python dragon seemed to move for an instant, then returned to its original position.

The warning existing in Zhou Chang's mind suddenly ceased afterward.

He realized that if he had not put on this python robe in time, after asking whether he had an official body, Grass-Head Dragon Chang would certainly have imposed another 'Death Omen' upon him!

The taboo of Grass-Head Dragon Chang is precisely 'Those without an official body may be killed'!

This python robe, gifted by Emperor Shizong's golden head, secretly contains the Emperor's restraint upon Zhou Chang, but at certain times, it can indeed function.

For instance, right now, this python robe worn on Zhou Chang is equivalent to granting Zhou Chang a rank greater than 'official body', causing the Death Omen taboo of Grass-Head Dragon Chang to be unable to take effect upon Zhou Chang!

"Do you... have an official body?"

"Do you... have an official body?"

Grass-Head Dragon Chang, with a wooden face, asked again and again.

Zhou Chang felt that its questioning at this moment was no longer directed at himself.

When it previously met Zhou Chang and questioned Zhou Chang for stealing Bai Xiue, Zhou Chang distinctly felt that this 'Grass-Head Dragon Chang' still retained some trace of consciousness, but as for now, it seems to have completely become the vulgar god itself, with no emotion or intelligence whatsoever.

Heads topping tablets, tablets connecting heads, the Grass-Head Dragon Chang covered in mycelium, led by the first head 'Wen Yongsheng', swayed upward, passing through layers of the wine cellar.

The questioning voice, like demonic music, continuously issued from its mouth: "Do you... have an official body?"

Outside this questioning voice, occasionally mixed with the sound of it chanting secret spells and true words:

"Om! Be Ye! Sa Wa Na Ye! Suo Ha!"

Grass-Head Dragon Chang unconsciously chanted the secret spell involving the God of Wealth; beneath the head at the 'body's' tail, a golden light chain formed by the Emperor's decree was attached; that chain dragged the headless body of Wen Yongsheng, swaying and floating upward together toward the top layer of the wine cellar.

Whether or not the secret spell and true words took effect, Zhou Chang saw that on the golden light chain formed by the Emperor's decree, square holes resembling copper coins gradually appeared.

In the next moment, the outlines of copper coins spread around those square holes.

One by one, copper coins were truly embedded upon the Emperor's decree, corroding the Emperor's decree.

The lock rings began to crack!

"Crash!"

From the living spring eye at the bottom of the cellar pool, more and more wine surged forth, as if endless!

This spring water overflowing with the scent of wine flooded the bottom of the cellar pool, flooded the second-to-last layer of the cellar pool, and continuously raised the water level!

At the same time, the entire wine cellar trembled!

On those cellar pools, the mycelium-covered rice mounds cracked open one by one amidst violent shaking!

Grain poured down, the rice mounds collapsed.

One by one, human heads flew out from the crumbling graves, drifting unsteadily as they caught up with the Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy ascending straight to the top of the wine cellar, joining its body and becoming part of the Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy's form.

Beneath each head hung a memorial tablet.

The names on the tablets were all of the Wen clan.

"Do you... hold an official rank?"

The wooden, numb, and cold voice of the Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy still echoed throughout the entire wine cellar.

Zhou Chang looked at the headless corpses revealed within the collapsed rice mounds; a chill rose in his heart, and he immediately realized—

The Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy had distributed Death Portents to the people lying in the cellar pools, who had originally been alive, causing their instant death, with even their heads becoming part of the Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy's body!

The Death Portent of the Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy was different from Feng Si's!

When Feng Si imposed a Death Portent on Zhou Chang, Zhou Chang still had ten days of lifespan remaining.

But the Death Portent of the Grass-Headed Dragon Frenzy meant instant death!

"Tread, tread, tread!"

Zhou Chang sprinted along the slope, chasing the long dragon of swaying human heads and memorial tablets, rushing to the top of the wine cellar.

On the top floor of the wine cellar, on either side of the pitch-black wooden door, two figures cowered, trembling uncontrollably.