Chapter 84: The Woman Inside the Dog Skin
Chapter 84: The Woman Inside the Dog Skin
In the pitch-black night, a fierce and bloodthirst dog, but with a human face, Wu He's fair and tender face was now splattered with fresh blood and white flesh, forming a stark contrast with the body of the big black dog.
Elder Brother Hu Ma just glanced at this scene, and was even more shocked than when he faced the strange Auntie Tan.
"I……"
Meeting Elder Brother Hu Ma's gaze, Wu He Sister also reacted. Her face turned ashen ashen, her expression showing a mix of shame and fear, her lips quivered as if she wanted to say something.
But she couldn't utter a word, and suddenly burst into a sob, covering herself with the dog skin, and plunging into the roadside darkness.
"Shopkeeper, this……"
This shocking and unexpected scene left Hu Ma stunned on the spot. It took him a while to react, forcibly suppressing the pounding of his heart, and he turned to the Old Shopkeeper, who was also watching the direction the big black dog ran, his eyes filled with pity and unwillingness.
After a long while, he turned back, seeing Hu Ma's face still shocked, and slowly waved his hand, saying, "Don't ask."
"Also, under no circumstances can you tell anyone. Take these dolls back to the village, and collect everything that fell here, not a single thing can be left behind."
"After everything is arranged properly, come to my courtyard. I have something to discuss with you."
"……"
"Yes."
Hu Ma forcibly suppressed his questions and responded softly.
Seeing the Old Shopkeeper lift the body of the hawker, already mutilated, and stride into the trees by the roadside, as if he was worried about something, like the big black dog, not taking the road, but crossing the fields to return.
Hu ma watched until the Old Shopkeeper's figure disappeared, then he let out a low sigh, stroked Little Red Apricot's head, praised her for coming in time, and then went over to check on the confused children.
the hawker was dead, the rattle drum was crushed by the Old Shopkeeper, and the soul-binding technique should have been broken.
But these children were still somewhat dazed, as if in a dream.
Perhaps they needed to go back to sleep, and call their souls back, but they were saved without any trouble, which was quite good.
Let Little Red Apricot watch over them, don't let them wander off and lose one or two. Hu ma then turned, and began to clean up the tipped-over cart and the various items that had spilled out, including bottles, jars, and the fragments of the vat.
He was very meticulous, both worried about any harmful things being left behind and concerned that the evil hawker might have left something harmful, and if not careful, it could cause trouble if picked up by the villagers.
The Old Shopkeeper had him collect everything and take it back, also worried about this point.
Any evil person left behind could be harmful if picked up by the villagers and cause trouble.
After not long, he heard a loud noise from not far away, which turned out to be Zhou Datong and others with torches.
Little Red Apricot went back to report, first slapping Zhou Datong awake, then telling him what happened, and then going to inform the Old Shopkeeper. although Zhou Datong saw the Old Shopkeeper, he was still worried, calling everyone to help, but the distance was still far.
"You've come just in time, the matter is already resolved."
Hu ma turned to see, and saw the torches, Zhou Datong carrying a stick, Zhao Zhu holding a pitchfork, and others with brooms and kitchen knives.
A helpless smile, if these apprentices had truly come earlier, it might have been worse.
The strange techniques of the hawker were not something ordinary apprentices could handle.
It was good they took over here to clean up, and he carefully instructed them, absolutely no mistakes, and not to be clumsy and get cut by the fragments, then they took the confused children back to the village.
But just as they approached the village, they heard the chaotic shouts and footsteps, as someone in the village had risen at night, discovering the children were missing, causing a great commotion.
"It was the hawker who came into the village during the day, and has already been dealt with."
Hu Ma brought the children back to the village, and was met by people far away. He coldly faced the Old clan leader and said, "Quickly have everyone in the village check if their children are all here. After they return, raise the thresholds of their homes, prevent outsiders, and also prevent the children from running out."
The village had thresholds for preventing zombies during famine years, but Hu Ma had them raise the thresholds higher, to prevent the children from running out in such situations.
"Great gratitude to the management, sir……"
Seeing their own children, they quickly took them back, and the village head directly led the way to bow to Hu Ma, and called out, "Light the lamps,,lay the seats, quickly lay the seats……"
"……"
"No need, I'll head back quickly."
Hu Ma directly declined, thinking about seeing the Old shopkeeper, and forcibly helped the village head and others up.
Without much delay, he truly turned and left the village, soon found Zhou Datong and others, returned his waist knife, though the blade had several nicks, but it was still in the sheath.
Together, they pushed and pulled the horse cart back to the village, and directly set fire to the broken vat and its strange contents.
Upon reaching the village, Hu Ma had people place the cart by the wall, instructed them to watch, and not to move it, then quickly entered the inner courtyard.
The courtyard was empty, but the main hall was lit by an oil lamp, with the door wide open.
Hu Ma walked in and saw a hook hanging from the beam in the main hall, with the hawker's body dangling from it.
Beneath the body, there were traces of incense and paper being burned.
The innkeeper was sitting beside the Eight Immortals table, sipping tea, his face dark and his mood clearly foul.
Upon seeing Hu Ma enter, he put down his teacup and whispered, “How did you discover him?”
“During the day, I went to Ganzhuang Village to see the woodcutter who was bewitched by peach blossoms. When I came out, I saw him.”
Hu Ma hurriedly added, “He didn’t take money, but gave candy to the children, and seemed to secretly pull out their hair. I grew suspicious.”
“However, I wasn’t sure at the time, so I didn’t dare to alarm you. I went back at night to take a look and saw him using a rattle drum to lure the children out. That’s when I confirmed something was wrong. I was worried I wouldn’t be a match for him, so I sent a little servant ghost back to report.”
“...”
He deliberately mentioned Little Red Apricot.
After being here for so long, he had already understood that little servant ghosts weren’t considered overly strange in this world. Even keeping one around wasn’t considered disrespectful to the Red Lantern Goddess, let alone his ancestral practice.
By mentioning it now, he was essentially giving Little Red Apricot a form of recognition.
“You did well.”
The innkeeper didn’t seem to mind the mention of Little Red Apricot at all. His voice was low and his face looked somewhat sinister: “These scum from the Vat Sect, they all deserve to be exterminated.”
Hu Ma’s heart stirred slightly as he asked, “The Vat Sect?”
“A bunch of low-life scoundrels...”
The innkeeper snorted coldly, “They’re adept at trickery and deceit, using demonic techniques to harm people. The itinerant hawker is just a front, used for reconnaissance. In reality, they’re in the business of trafficking children.”
“The Auntie Tan he kept is one of the Vat Sect’s signature tricks. I’m glad you didn’t act rashly; otherwise, you might not have been a match for this evil practitioner.”
“Hmm?”
Hu Ma was a bit puzzled. How did the innkeeper know so much? He didn’t seem to have had time to question the hawker when he first acted.
“Heh heh...”
Seeming to notice Hu Ma’s curiosity, the innkeeper gave a cold laugh and glanced at the dead body hanging from the beam: “I just interrogated him.”
“He wouldn’t talk when alive, but he had to give me answers when dead.”
“Technically, this isn’t a proper cultivation technique, but for these people, no means are too extreme!”
“...”
Hu Ma was taken aback. It seemed the innkeeper had returned early and had already done something to the hawker.
The traces of incense and candles on the ground likely came from that.
“Heaven didn’t forsake me...”
The innkeeper, after letting out a few harsh words in a venting manner, sighed softly and said, “I finally waited for them.”
Hu Ma looked up, “Do you have a grudge with them?”
He remembered that the innkeeper had been quite ruthless when dealing with the hawker earlier. Given the innkeeper’s usual indifferent nature, there must have been more to it than just righteous indignation.
“I have no grudge with this hawker, but with the people of the Vat Sect...”
The innkeeper slowly raised his head, his voice cold and fierce, his eyes almost burning with anger: “I would grind their bones to dust and scatter them to the wind.”
Hu Ma could tell from the innkeeper’s tone that he was not joking. His heart sank slightly.
He wanted to ask but hesitated, choosing to remain silent and wait for the innkeeper to speak.
The innkeeper seemed hesitant as well, and the main hall fell into a moment of dead silence.
“Elder Brother, tell him...”
At that moment, a voice came from the side room. It was Wu He Sister, her voice tinged with sorrow.
Hu Ma immediately thought of the big dog, wondering about Wu He Sister’s condition.
The innkeeper’s expression softened, and after a long pause, he slowly raised his hand and said to Hu Ma, “Go in and see your junior sister.”
“I...”
Hu Ma couldn’t say he wasn’t curious, but he had restrained himself from asking.
Now that the old innkeeper had spoken, he hesitated for a moment before slowly walking to the side room and lifting the curtain.
Inside, a large dog skin was hanging on the wall. The side room was dark, lit only by a bit of light from the main hall, making it hard to see clearly. He could only make out Wu He Sister sitting in a large jar in the corner, the smell of blood, herbs, and a faint odor of decay filling the air.
“Elder Brother Hu Ma...”
Wu He Sister’s voice was tinged with sobs, accompanied by a splashing sound as she slowly stood up from the jar: “You... don’t laugh at me...”
“...”
Hu Ma thought he shouldn’t look, but his eyes widened in shock when he glanced over. By the light of the oil lamp from the outer room, he saw Wu He Sister’s body, which made his scalp tingle.
“This...”
When he opened his mouth, he realized his voice was hoarse: “What is this?”
The old innkeeper’s voice came from behind him, low and slow, yet filled with boundless anger: “Livestock Creation.”
(End of Chapter)
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