Chapter 11 Slaughter

With a flick of Wang the Butcher's hand, two fingers shot out like hidden weapons, aimed directly at two figures.

The fingers, flying through the air, stopped abruptly just before hitting their targets, as if controlled by an unseen force, and pointed at the center of their foreheads.

The two figures paused only slightly before the fingers suddenly accelerated, piercing the figures' foreheads like sharp arrows.

With a "噗" sound, the two human shapes covered in white cloth flew backward several meters and fell to the ground. Wang the Butcher quickened his pace and turned into a small path in the village.

While Wang the Butcher sprinted through the village, he kept glancing at the gates along the roadside. Every yard with a light on had couplets and the character "Fu" (good fortune) on the doors that had turned a ghastly white, like funeral banners loosely hanging.

As he passed, the couplets seemed to chase after him, fluttering outward as if someone were reaching out from the doorway, trying to claw at his back.

Wang the Butcher had noticed the movement behind him but showed no intention of stopping. He rushed straight into the village chief's courtyard.

As Wang the Butcher landed, he saw the village chief and his family of three had set up offerings, lit incense, and were kneeling in the yard facing the window.

Inside the house, Ye Yang sat upright on a chair, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes fixed on the window.

From a distance, the flickering lamplight behind Ye Yang made him look like a clay deity in a mountain temple, exuding an air of solemnity mixed with eerie strangeness.

Wang the Butcher saw the village chief's family about to kowtow and immediately shouted, "Get up!"

As he shouted, Wang the Butcher stomped his right foot on the ground. The controlled force from his foot traveled underground for several meters before erupting in front of the three, surging upwards.

The three were thrown back by the rebounding force, but they managed to stay up for only a few seconds before collapsing to the ground again in a kowtowing position.

Seeing this, Wang the Butcher lunged forward, reaching for the collars of two of them.

His fingers hooked onto their collars, and he exerted force, flipping them backward. The two hundred-plus-jin men were tossed like sacks of cotton, slamming heavily into the direction of the courtyard gate.

By the time Wang the Butcher turned to grab the third person, the person's forehead had already struck the ground with a dull thud.

The person didn't get up after that first strike. Blood spread from around his face, instantly staining the ground red.

"Ye Yang…" Wang the Butcher exclaimed in shock.

In the art of術道 (Shu Dao), it was acceptable for a living person to kowtow to another, but not with offerings, oil lamps, and incense set up. Once these things were prepared, kowtowing was akin to sending the person away.

After three grand prostrations, the luck of the living would be shattered, and a deadly tribulation would immediately descend.

Wang the Butcher had tried to stop them twice but failed to prevent the last person from completing the three bows. Especially after the third bow, the person died on the spot, essentially pushing all his misfortune onto Ye Yang.

Wouldn't the tribulation on Ye Yang become even more profound?

While Wang the Butcher was panicking, Ye Yang slowly stood up, walked to the corpse, and used his toe to push the body over onto its back.

Wang the Butcher looked at Ye Yang and asked, "You're okay? Weren't you frozen in place?"

Ye Yang shook his head. "I've been able to move freely all along."

It turned out that after Ye Yang had pretended to be dead to scare the family, he had been secretly observing their movements.

After the village chief went outside, Ye Yang also looked out into the courtyard through the glass.

As the three were busy in the yard, the old woman kept complaining, "Old fool, why did you bring people home? People from the Mo family, dead people entering the village—these are old sayings, don't you know?"

"Not bring them? Could I not bring them?" The village chief retorted, "Didn't you see how strong those two were? Especially that woman. She snapped a lock as thick as my finger with a crack, and they wanted to take me to the old Mo's house."

"If I had gone in with them, would I have come back?"

"Over the years, who has ever come out after going into the old Mo's house? They've all stayed there."

The village chief grew annoyed as his wife kept crying, "Cry? Cry? What's the use of crying? I'm not dead yet! You quickly think, what did Great-Granny say back then?"

The old woman said, "I remember Great-Granny said, if you see a dead person, cover him with white cloth. And then… then what was it…"

The village chief slapped the old woman in anger, "What else can you do? All you do is chatter all day. You can't remember anything useful. What else, quickly think?"

The old woman covered her face and said, "Also, Great-Granny said, if there's no white cloth at home, set up the offerings, hold up the incense, and shout 'Great Immortal, return to your place.' Then he'll leave."

The village chief's son also asked, "Do we have white cloth at home?"

The village chief said angrily, "There are no dead people at home, who would prepare that? Quickly set up the offerings and light the incense."

While the village chief's family was busy setting up offerings and lighting incense, the village chief's son asked, "You said, why is it called Mo Family Village when there's only one family with the surname Mo in our village?"