Chapter 6 When the Sixth Arrow Flew from the City of Wronged Deaths

When the sixth arrow flew from the City of Wronged Deaths, a manager, a young master, Mr. Wutou, and the four hall masters of the Zhang family had already arrived at a mysterious wild mountain, leading the junior hall masters whom they trusted and could gather in a short time.

From the second arrow onward, the head of the Zhang family had already made a decision. The Zhang family of dignitaries was actually not important. The family reputation was not important, the ancestral home was not important, and even the family members living in the house were not important.

Those human-flesh nails who were taking disasters for the Zhang family and dying one by one were, of course, even less important. He considered the time difference and didn't even send anyone to help.

While entrusting the Meng family to deal with the evil spirit, he sent everyone to this place.

This mountain was extremely strange. The mountain was majestic, the scenery was pleasant, and it stretched for tens of thousands of miles, but it was not as famous as other famous mountains and rivers.

There was no mountain deity here to receive incense, nor any mountain spirits or wild monsters breeding here. Moreover, because there were few roads and thin soil here, no one had gathered here. Only a few villagers lived at the foot of the mountain, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

No one knew the name of this mountain, nor did anyone know its surname. It seemed that this mountain had been forgotten by the world.

Even the Zhang family of dignitaries was careful and would not send people here casually.

Only halfway up the mountain was a stone hut, inhabited by an old man who was blind, deaf, crippled, one-armed, and even had a piece of his tongue bitten off. He lived here year after year, relying only on the villagers at the foot of the mountain to send him some millet to eat.

But whether it was windy or rainy, or something else, if no food was sent for several days, he would go hungry.

When Mr. Wutou and the young master of the Zhang family arrived with their men, the old man was squatting in front of his stone house, eating.

In his only remaining hand, he held a chipped, coarse pottery bowl. In the bowl was some millet porridge with very few grains, a strip of salted radish floating on top, and a few black, round things, which were a few sheep dung pellets picked up from the road by the boy who delivered the food up the mountain.

The old man slurped the porridge, not even bothering to chew, swallowing the porridge and sheep dung pellets together, completely unaware.

The child squatted aside, watching with a happy, excited look.

Because the old man ate slowly, he became bored and picked up small stones, throwing them into the bowl from a distance.

"How dare you..."

When Mr. Wutou and the young master of the Zhang family arrived, seeing this scene, their pupils suddenly constricted, and anger surged up: "We gave those people at the foot of the mountain one hundred taels of silver to support Second Master."

"Are we worried that we gave too much, leaving loopholes? One hundred taels of silver, and they've used it up already? We haven't sent anyone here in three years, and they're feeding Second Master this kind of food?"

In his angry voice, he pinched a nail from his hand and raised his hand to shoot it.

Unexpectedly, this nail was sharp and about to hit the child, but it inexplicably disappeared and flew from behind him instead. He hurriedly turned his head and shot,挟 (xié) the nail between his fingers, surprised and astonished. He looked up.

Just as the old man drinking porridge slowly tilted his head to look over, his empty eye sockets met his, and everyone present was shocked.

The child also looked back and suddenly saw so many people coming. He immediately restrained himself a lot.

He quietly scattered a handful of stones on the ground.

The old man slowly finished his meal, eating every last grain of radish and millet. He put down the pottery bowl, stretched out his only arm, groped for the basket, and put the pottery bowl in it. The child immediately picked up the basket and was about to leave, but suddenly he was stopped.

The child was anxious to go back, seeing that there were strangers nearby. He looked at him impatiently.

The old man sometimes grabbed a handful of jujubes or something else for him to eat, but this time it was not.

He slowly retracted his palm and actually groped in his arms, took out a dark lump of gold, and gestured to him.

The child recognized it. His family had a small piece of gold hidden away, saying it was for him to marry a wife.

But this piece seemed to be even bigger than the one at home.

He excitedly picked up the gold and hopped down the mountain. Those who went up the mountain stood still, not daring to stop him.

Until the child was far away, Mr. Wutou slowly gestured to the young master of the Zhang family. Everyone knelt down in unison and kowtowed to the old man.

And the young master of the Zhang family stood up only after kowtowing and carefully came to the old man, respectfully saying: "Nephew Zhang Huanjue kowtows to Second Uncle. Second Uncle... you have suffered."

"..."

When he said these words, those behind him knelt even deeper, not daring to raise their heads.

The Zhang family of dignitaries did not touch術法 (shù fǎ) (sorcery), but this one was an exception. He was not only an expert in the art of harming the head, but even had amazing supernatural powers, but it was not because the Zhang family forced him, but because he liked it himself.

But it was also obvious that because he liked it himself, he paid an unimaginable price. In the Zhang family, the head of the family was the eldest master, but the one who kept the people in the sect from daring to move was this Second Master.

The old man did not speak, but slowly stretched out his palm to this nephew.

The young master of the Zhang family hurriedly stepped forward and wrote words in his palm.

After writing a few words, the old man suddenly frowned, his expression seemed displeased, and he slowly shook his head.

The young master of the Zhang family hurriedly said: "Yes, Father also said that this may be the enemy's trick."

"People all over the world, including the Nine Surnames, outwardly respect our Zhang family, but secretly they all want to know where this dragon lair is. If this place was not so important, there would be no need for Second Uncle to suffer this hardship..."

"But Father also said that even if it is possible that it is the enemy's trick, wanting to follow us to find this dragon lair, we still have to come. The enemy's nightmare magic is too powerful. Our Zhang family cannot take this risk."

"Moreover, the Mandate of Heaven is approaching, even if it is discovered, it is not that important. At worst, we will find someone to sleep in the dragon lair."

"..."

The old man slowly clenched his palm, seeming to be thinking. After a long time, he suddenly shook his empty eye sockets around.

If he had eyes, it would be like looking at the people who had come with him from left to right.

The young master of the Zhang family hurriedly wrote a few words on his hand again, and then quickly said: "It's not that Father doesn't trust your abilities, Second Uncle, and is afraid that you won't be able to guard the dragon lair, but the matter is of great importance."

"That person's nightmare magic is powerful. He has already destroyed the Zhang family's reputation and summoned the wronged souls of the Du surname under the Town Life Monument... Father said that he has already guessed that person's identity, which is different from what the national teacher said."

"This person is the evil spirit who once cut off the Qi (vital energy) of the previous dynasty!"

"..."

The old man's body, like a withered tree, actually seemed to pause, and suddenly opened his mouth, laughing silently.

Only half of his tongue was trembling non-stop, as if one could see that he was extremely happy.

"Yes..."

Seeing the old man laughing, the young master of the Zhang family also became happy and said loudly: "Congratulations, Second Uncle! Congratulations, Second Uncle!"

"You finally have a chance to fight him..."

"..."

"..."

While they were talking, the child who delivered the food had already returned home with the gold. His parents were discussing: "I just saw some dignitaries with brocade clothes and hats going up the mountain. I don't know if it has anything to do with that old thing."

"We have to send better food tomorrow so that people won't think we're not keeping our word and not supporting him..."

Just as the child presented the gold like a treasure, the couple's eyes lit up immediately. They wiped it and bit it, rejoicing: "Sure enough, the dignitaries are kind-hearted and reward us with gold. They must be giving us money for food again."

"Hurry, hurry, kill the chicken, kill the chicken, slaughter the pig, slaughter the sheep. Tomorrow's meal must be better, with lots of oil and water!"

"..."

The woman was also happy, but also distressed, saying: "The pig hasn't grown up yet. It's a pity to slaughter it now. We can sell it for a lot more money at the end of the year!"

The man said: "Then let's kill the sheep!"

The woman was even more unhappy: "The sheep is still carrying a lamb, it's about to give birth."

The man also stretched his head to take a look, frowned, and said: "Then let's kill the old hen, killing the chicken is always okay."

The woman nodded at first, but hesitated while preparing, saying: "The chicken is still laying eggs, we rely on it to exchange for salt."

"Besides, the dignitaries, can they be short of chicken meat? Maybe they make their own food!"

"..."

The man thought it made sense, thought about it again, and said: "Then fry two eggs, pick some toon sprouts to stir-fry."

"Go to the river to catch some loach and dried shrimp. The dignitaries have eaten too many good things and like this kind of food..."

"..."

While they were talking, they happily hid the gold and hugged the baby, asking him in detail if he had met anyone on the mountain, who gave him the gold, if there was any more, and if they had asked him to pass on any messages.

They just didn't notice that as the gold entered the house, the ancestral tablet enshrined in the hall gradually turned black, and even the handwriting on it could not be seen clearly.

The sky outside seemed to be darkening. The chickens in the coop, the sheep in the yard, and the pigs in the pen were all inexplicably stunned in place. Little by little, their bodies shrank down, dying silently. Even the eggs laid by the chickens made slight noises and black water flowed out.

When they felt that the sky suddenly darkened and they couldn't see clearly, they felt a burst of irritability, panting hard, but unable to catch their breath, and even their eyes began to become wooden.

The man suddenly let go of the baby, stood up straight, walked to the water tank, and plunged his head into it, letting himself drown. The woman, with a straight look in her eyes, grabbed the baby and threw it into the pot, adding water.

As the fire burned in the stove, the child did not struggle or cry, but his eyes were full of horror.

Not only was this family like this.

When a wind passed through their house, the other families in the village also had the same kind of hysteria.

When this wind blew to other villages, those villages that were working or resting at noon gradually became silent.

The scorching sun was shining on the world, but the villages by the mountains no longer had a trace of warmth.