Chapter 41: The Mantis Stalking the Cicada

Observing the chaotic scene before him, Wu Chang asked Liu Shan uncertainly:
"Village Chief, is this also a part of the Year-End Ritual?"

Liu Shan stared blankly at the scene, his lips trembling, before shouting to the villagers:
"Scatter! The evil aura has spiraled out of control!"

Wu Chang: "Uh..."
It seemed the mutation of the "Year-Suppressors" was not on the program for the Year-End Ritual.

The villagers of Huaigu responded quickly, as if they had undergone specific training. Seeing the ghost messengers killed, the onlookers immediately dispersed. The villagers stationed in front of the crowd, responsible for guarding against monster attacks, quickly gathered with their specialized rattan shields and wooden spears.

Most of the villagers responsible for security were hunters from the village; they were skilled in martial arts and familiar with the traits of wild beasts. Working in groups of five or six, they used specific calls and potions to quickly isolate the three huddled Year-Suppressors.

The most eye-catching figure in the field was Liu Wei, the leader of the hunters. In his hand was a broad-bladed hunting knife, fully four feet long, with irregular serrations along the edge, whistling through the air as he swung it. The scales that grew on the skin of the mutated Year-Suppressors were tough, making them difficult to pierce with wood-choppers or wooden spears, but wherever the broad-bladed knife touched, scales shattered and flesh tore. Relying on his superior martial arts, Liu Wei was actually holding off one of the Year-Suppressors one-on-one, showing no signs of falling behind.

Referencing his own attributes, Wu Chang judged that Liu Wei’s strength was likely around 30, his agility near 20, and his vitality no less than 20. As a hunter who ventured into the mountains, his stamina would naturally be high as well. Perhaps his actual attributes were slightly lower, but with the support of his martial arts, his combat effectiveness was even higher. It was no wonder that Liu Wei and Liu Wu could succeed repeatedly when ambushing players; although they lacked the means to resist the monsters' spells, they were formidable against living people and beasts.

The three Year-Suppressors seemed to have been "possessed" by the Mountain-Suppressing Beast. Looking at the villagers surrounding them, they were reminded of the days spent being farmed inside the hollow mountain, and they pulled their mouths wide to let out roars like tigers. Negative emotions—anxiety, unease, and panic—manifested as tangible black ripples, sweeping through the entire valley.

In an instant, a shadow fell over the eyes of the villagers; they felt their minds grow dizzy and their limbs heavy. Moreover, a desire for destruction, hidden deep within their souls, flooded their hearts.

"Liu Lin owes me three jars of wine and hasn't paid me back in three months. I've been wanting to teach him a lesson for a long time; now is the perfect chance..."
"That scumbag Shunzi occupied more of my family's land during this year's farming; maybe I should just..."
"That kid Shitou, relying on his closeness to Brother Liu Wei, has dared to step all over me several times while hunting. So you call yourself Stone-Head, eh? I'd like to see if your head is truly as hard as stone."

The villagers, influenced by the ripples, began to look at their teammates with malice. It was unclear who struck first, but when the first cry of "You bastard, how dare you ambush me!" rang out, it detonated the massive powder keg that was Huaigu Village. Even in the direction where the ordinary villagers were hiding, the sounds of fighting could be heard.

The valley was in complete disarray, and only Wu Chang and Liu Shan, who stood by the four-sided Year-Fire lamps, remained unaffected. Looking at the chaotic valley, Liu Shan said helplessly:
"Great Hero Wu, I fear the evil aura has spread into the village. I must trouble you to check on the situation over there."

Wu Chang nodded in agreement and left along the edge of the chaotic fighting. He made his way to where the villagers lived and discovered that although the evil aura had reached this far, the damage caused was limited. Most of those who had fled the scene of the ritual immediately were the elderly, the weak, women, and children. Even if their evil thoughts were stirred by the aura, they were merely pulling each other's hair or wrestling on the ground, far less dangerous than the life-and-death combat on the other side.

Since the villagers were safe, he did not reveal himself but turned back into the darkness. If he appeared now, he would surely be treated as a savior and mobbed. He was a player here to clear the dungeon, not to act as a babysitter.

He had more important things to do. In a sense, the Year-End Ritual was already over. The welcoming, suppressing, and guarding of the year had been completed safely; although there was a problem with the final "Year-Removal," as long as the three monster-fied Year-Suppressors were killed, it could still be counted as having purged the evil aura.

The three monster-fied Year-Suppressors were formidable, but influenced by the evil aura, they had lost their reason and could only act on instinct. Fighting individually, as long as Liu Wei did not fail, resolving them was only a matter of time and cost.

But no one expected that the village's primary combatant, Liu Wei, would slip away. Relying on his powerful suppression, Liu Wei forced one Year-Suppressor toward the edge of the village, shouting that he could handle it alone and telling others to deal with the other two. When the people around him were gone, he put on a white half-face mask and summoned his "伥鬼" (servant ghosts).

Several ghosts crawled out from the mask, pinning the Year-Suppressor’s limbs. Taking advantage of the monster's distracted struggle, Liu Wei lunged forward and plunged his knife into its heart. As the blade sank halfway in, Liu Wei twisted his wrist, churning and tearing the blade within the chest to pulverize the internal organs, along with the heart of the Mountain-Suppressing Beast that the creature had swallowed. Before the evil aura could dissipate from the host, the servant ghosts swarmed over and devoured it completely.

"So invigorating!" Feeling the surging spiritual power within the mask, Liu Wei let out a satisfied belch for the mask.

Just as Liu Wei was about to take off the mask, he noticed a villager in the distance staring at him blankly.
"Jinfu, did I not tell you all to go back, and that I could handle it alone?" Liu Wei said softly.
Liu Jinfu trembled and said: "I was worried about you and wanted to see if you needed help. Brother Wei, just now..."
Liu Wei shook his head and slowly raised his knife. "We are all brothers of the same village; why must you make things difficult for your brother?"

Liu Jinfu wanted to flee, but his limbs felt heavy; several ghosts dragged his body, making it impossible for him to take a step. Liu Wei approached quickly, his knife falling. He threw Liu Jinfu’s corpse onto the Year-Suppressor; this time, there was truly no one left around him.

He did not return to the ritual site but turned and took a small path out of the village. Unlike Wu Chang, he was a native of this dungeon plane. He didn't care if the ritual was completed; he wanted to use the ritual to weaken the evil, and then find an opportunity to devour it. In his view, the Year-End Ritual was a total failure.

The evil could ignore the ritual formation and the Year-Fire, using its aura to control the Year-Suppressors, which meant it was only a matter of time before it broke free from the seal. Even if they could deal with the Year-Suppressors, what was the point? As the leader of the hunters, Liu Wei was far-sighted; while others were still thinking about how to deal with the Year-Suppressors, he was already studying the opponents he would face after the seal broke.

If Liu Wu were still here, the two of them operating the ghosts together would have made things much less dire. Now, alone, it would take effort to drive the ghosts to devour the evil. The more this was the case, the more he had to preserve his strength.

With things developing this way, he could only hope that "Great Hero Wu" was a hot-headed fool who would fight the evil to a mutual destruction, allowing him to play the role of the oriole snatching the mantis's prey.

As for the people in the village? That was never a concern for him. He appeared righteous, but in truth, he was emotionally detached; he wouldn't blink an eye to eliminate anyone who stood in his way. Even toward his own wife and children, beneath the facade of closeness, there was always a distance. In this world, the only person he truly trusted was his brother, Liu Wu.

Leaving the village, he headed straight for the Ghost-Crying Forest. To seize this opportunity, he had to bring along every ghost he had. Halfway there, he saw a black shadow standing by the forest path. Looking closely, it was a horse tied to the side of the road, and the red reins on it were very familiar. The peace charm hanging from the reins had been personally blessed by the abbot of Longqi Temple, the largest temple in Jingyuan Prefecture.

At first, the abbot had refused; even after he had taken all the monks hostage, the abbot would not yield, insisting that he kill a quarter of them before he would comply. He recognized that special peace charm; it was his brother’s horse. Moreover, the half-mask on his face was trembling slightly, clearly indicating that the other half of the mask was nearby.

Could it be that his brother had calmed down, stopped acting rashly, and had been hiding around the village waiting for a chance? Liu Wei felt a surge of excitement. They had been adventuring together since childhood, two minds with a single thought, moving in perfect coordination. If their twin blades joined forces, they might just have a chance to fight the evil.

He approached Liu Wu’s horse and whispered: "You brat, you always come up with new tricks."
"New? Let me show you something even newer."
"Who's there!"
*Bang!*
The only response was a gunshot that shattered the silence of the night.