Infiltration

Wenren Lian smiled gently, but to Jiang Luo, that smile looked full of ill intent. 'No need to wear women's clothes. I see the village girls' outfits are just long robes — the difference between men's and women's clothing isn't that big.'

'Impossible,' Jiang Luo said flatly.

'But if I go alone, we won't have enough hands,' Wenren Lian said pitifully.

Jiang Luo lifted a hand and pointed at Zhuo Zhongqiu, who had retreated with him. 'What about Zhuo Zhongqiu?'

Zhuo Zhongqiu's expression twisted. 'Jiang Luo, there's no need for that.'

'Zhongqiu could do it too,' Wenren Lian said softly, 'but they only select girls to enter the Ancestral Hall. I'm afraid Zhongqiu would be in danger if he went in. It's safer for boys.'

Jiang Luo: '…'

Whenever he was unhappy, he had to drag Chi You out for a good cursing.

That fucking Chi You.

……

The others were herded outside.

Dead Ghost stood next to Lu You, holding his knife, staring at the room. He asked expressionlessly, 'What are they doing?'

'They're doing something very painful,' Lu You said. 'Mainly, Jiang Luo will be in pain.'

Dead Ghost frowned and was about to charge into the room when Lu You promptly grabbed him. 'Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?'

'I want to protect my friend,' Dead Ghost said, looking back at him. 'You don't want to leave me? That's fine, you can come in with me to rescue them. I'll protect you.'

Lu You: '…I really couldn't tell you were this kind of person.'

'What kind of person? Chatty or loyal?' Dead Ghost tried to smile, but his paralyzed face only allowed the corner of his mouth to twitch stiffly. He frowned strangely, forcing out a distorted grin. 'I also love to laugh.'

Liao Si, eavesdropping nearby: '…'

This was absolutely not the Teng Bi he knew.

Lu You shuddered. 'Dead Ghost, I beg you, stop smiling! They're doing serious business right now, you can't go in and disturb them!'

'What serious business?' Dead Ghost said. 'I can't just stand by and watch my friend suffer like this.'

Lu You's expression turned odd. 'You want to take Jiang Luo's place in suffering?'

He seemed to be holding back laughter.

Dead Ghost nodded, as if it were obvious. 'We're all his friends. Friends share hardships.'

Zhuo Zhongqiu and Ge Zhu, standing nearby, immediately applauded. 'Well said!'

They pushed Dead Ghost and Lu You into the room. Ge Zhu sighed with admiration. 'You truly are good friends. The task of exploring the Ancestral Hall is now entrusted to the four of you. Leave the rest to us; we'll wait outside to support you.'

Lu You questioned his life choices. 'No, no, I didn't say that, that's not what I meant!'

They were shoved directly into the room.

Wenren Lian, who was in the middle of touching up Jiang Luo's face, looked up at the sound. A gratified smile appeared on his lips. 'Welcome to the mission.'

He shook his hand, scattering powder into the air. Wenren Lian looked at Lu You and Dead Ghost's tall, robust builds and said sincerely, 'I'll do my best to turn you into pretty girls.'

Jiang Luo opened one eye to look at them and snorted, amused. 'Good buddies.'

Making up three people to the point of passing as real girls was a truly time-consuming task. Only Jiang Luo was quick and easy. His looks were outstanding, his features beautiful. Once the increasingly pronounced masculine aura between his brows was concealed, the goal of blurring gender was achieved.

Ge Zhu and Zhuo Zhongqiu borrowed four sets of local clothing for them. Luckily, as Wenren Lian had said, the outfits were fairly neutral — a top plus a robe, with little difference between men's and women's attire.

By five in the afternoon, everything was finally finished. When Jiang Luo and his group emerged from the room, Ge Zhu and the others had been waiting, utterly bored.

Seeing the effect on Jiang Luo, they felt a refreshing sense of awe. 'Jiang Luo, you're really too much.'

The black-haired young man's hair was loosely braided and draped casually over his left shoulder. His crimson lips curved slightly, radiant and alluring, his gaze sparkling.

Enough to make others unconsciously overlook the gender characteristics he had deliberately concealed.

The clothes fit surprisingly well, cinched lightly at the waist, creating a curve that could make one's heart race.

Jiang Luo curved his lips into a smile, then cheerfully revealed Lu You and Dead Ghost standing behind him.

The others: '…Pfft.'

Lu You, once dressed in women's clothing, actually became quite relaxed. He asked suspiciously, 'What kind of looks are those? Aren't we pretty?'

Ge Zhu struggled to hold back laughter, his face twitching. 'Pretty, very pretty.'

Lu You's looks leaned toward handsome, and he was tall. Dressed like this, the result could only be called incongruous. But compared to the living corpse beside him, he became somewhat acceptable.

The living corpse's features were heavy with malevolent aura, cold and ruthless. Yet now he was dressed in women's clothes and wore heavy makeup. The lines of his face hadn't softened much; instead, he looked comical and ridiculous, making it hard not to laugh.

Amid the laughter, Wenren Lian said helplessly, 'I did my best.'

It was almost time. They concealed some self-defense tools on their persons and quietly left the house.

Every household's door was tightly shut. Only young girls walked through the village. Each soft, beautiful face wore a shy, bashful smile. Their eyes sparkled with excitement, cheeks rosy.

The four of them blended in without attracting much attention. Because the girls no longer had the mind to notice others; their breathing was slightly hurried, tension and anticipation occupying their entire being.

By six in the afternoon, the front of the Ancestral Hall was already crowded with young girls.

Though there were many young girls, there were only a few dozen in total. To avoid being discovered, Jiang Luo and the others deliberately stood in a remote corner.

The Village Head hurried over and stood at the very front, waiting with them for the Ancestral Hall doors to open.

He seemed even more nervous than the girls, pacing back and forth incessantly. Cold sweat kept beading on his forehead, which he wiped away roughly.

The sky was suddenly covered by thick clouds, dark and overcast.

The doors of the Ancestral Hall slowly opened. A man in black robes — the Divine Lord — walked out. The Village Head hurried forward and invited the Divine Lord to sit in a seat at the front.

The Divine Lord's black hood concealed his face. His voice was very low, his throat dry and hoarse as if damaged. 'Have them come forward one by one and state their birth dates.'

The Village Head nodded hastily and walked before the group of girls. 'Go before the Divine Lord one by one and state your birth dates. Answer whatever the Divine Lord asks. This opportunity is rare — treasure it!'

The girls in the front row stepped forward one by one, passing before the Divine Lord.

The Divine Lord kept his head bowed, making one wonder if he was even looking at the girls. Occasionally, he would speak, instructing a few girls to stand on his left side, then say nothing more.

The front row of girls soon finished. Jiang Luo noticed that the girls left standing on the Divine Lord's left side were all beaming with joy, while those not chosen already had tears in their eyes, swaying on the verge of collapse.

And without exception, the girls who were kept had given birth dates heavy with yin qi.

There was definitely something strange going on.

Jiang Luo understood. When it was his turn, he kept his head down to avoid the Village Head's gaze and lowered his voice to give a birth date extremely heavy with yin qi.

Normally, he should have been kept as well. But the Divine Lord didn't play by the rules. He asked in a raspy voice, 'What's your name?'

Jiang Luo paused, then chose a common name in the village. 'Cuihua.'

The Divine Lord said, 'There was already a girl named Cuihua just now.'

The Village Head looked at Jiang Luo suspiciously. These girls who had pledged themselves to the god usually didn't go out much and rarely interacted with other men. He truly couldn't remember how many girls in the village were named Cuihua, but the Village Head didn't doubt it and explained on Jiang Luo's behalf, 'Divine Lord, as you know, our village has several girls with that name every year.'

The Divine Lord: 'Is that so?'

He leaned on his cane and stood up, walking slowly to stand before Jiang Luo.

A pair of feet appeared before Jiang Luo's lowered gaze.

Black cloth shoes, black robes — the Divine Lord was wrapped up tightly. What was even more peculiar was that Jiang Luo was already one meter eighty tall, but this Divine Lord leaning on a cane was half a head taller than him.

The Divine Lord extended a hand wrapped in black cloth from within his robe and lifted Jiang Luo's chin, seemingly examining him. 'But why do I feel this person looks unfamiliar?'

Jiang Luo's heart skipped a beat. He lifted his eyes and saw a glimpse of a pale chin revealed beneath the Divine Lord's black hood.

The chin appeared even more deathly pale against the black hood, its line sharp and perfect.

It faintly gave Jiang Luo a sense of familiarity.

The Divine Lord's hand moved down, gripping Jiang Luo's cheeks from below. His voice was unpleasant and hoarse. 'Are you really from Shentu Village?'

Jiang Luo showed a harmless smile. 'Divine Lord, of course I'm from Shentu Village.'

'Then what can you do?' The Divine Lord's hand moved to Jiang Luo's shoulder and pressed down hard. 'Can you perform the duties of serving the god?'

Jiang Luo's shoulder ached sharply, as if the bones were about to be crushed. Cold sweat beaded on the tip of his nose. He said calmly, 'I can.'

The Village Head said anxiously, 'Divine Lord, rest assured, all the girls in our village have learned how to serve the god. They all can do it, every single one, and each does it better than the last.'

'I trust the Village Head's work,' the Divine Lord said slowly. 'After all, there have never been any mistakes in previous years.'

A violent surge of joy suddenly erupted on the Village Head's face, as if he had been granted a new life, beaming with delight. 'There definitely won't be any problems this year either.'

The Divine Lord nodded, glanced at Jiang Luo again, thought for a moment, then said, 'Him, then. The others can go back.'

As soon as these words were spoken, the girls who hadn't been chosen looked despairing. More than half of them even had their eyes rolling back, collapsing weakly to the ground.

Jiang Luo looked back at his companions. Wenren Lian silently mouthed to him: Be at ease.

He nodded calmly and followed the Divine Lord and the Village Head into the Ancestral Hall.

He wasn't particularly afraid, mainly curious — what secret was hidden inside this village's Ancestral Hall?

The Ancestral Hall door opened a crack. Inside was pitch black. After Jiang Luo and the other two walked in one by one, the heavy sound of the door closing echoed, and the last sliver of light was blocked outside.

The Divine Lord walked in front to lead the way, Jiang Luo was in the middle, and the Village Head followed behind. After stepping into the darkness, Jiang Luo's eyes adjusted after a while, allowing him to see the Ancestral Hall's interior clearly in the dark.

The Ancestral Hall was divided into inner and outer sections. The outer section was empty, containing nothing but an altar. Strangely, the altar held only incense burners and candles — there was no Divine Statue sculpture or painting.

They walked from the outer section to the inner section. The inner section held a few dim candles. The Divine Lord picked up a candlestick, pulled open a hidden door in the floor, and turned his head to say eerily, 'Follow me.'

The candlelight cast flickering shadows on his face. The room was gloomy and terrifying. Even the Village Head's voice trembled as he replied, 'Alright.'

The hidden passage was a long, continuously descending stone staircase.

Jiang Luo didn't know how long he walked downward, only that the candle in the Divine Lord's hand had burned a third of the way. Footsteps echoed in the empty passage; though there were only three people's footsteps, it sounded as noisy as a dozen.

Finally, they stepped onto level ground.

Once on level ground, there was finally light on both sides of the walls. The Divine Lord blew out the candle in his hand and placed it aside, then leaned on his cane and continued forward unhurriedly.

Jiang Luo looked at him with suspicion.

The black robe concealed the Divine Lord's appearance. If the Divine Lord had always dressed like this, did that mean no one in Shentu Village had ever seen his true face?

Did it mean that anyone wearing such a black robe could impersonate the Divine Lord?

Lost in thought, Jiang Luo heard the faint sound of flowing water. There was actually an Underground River hidden down here. As they walked deeper, the Underground River revealed its true form.

Under the dim light, a river channel at least two meters wide became clear. The water in the channel was turbulent and fierce, some of the churning waves soaking the muddy banks on both sides, turning them into a swampy texture.

It was impossible to tell how deep the river channel was, and there was no bridge here. The Divine Lord walking ahead suddenly stepped aside to make way and said softly, 'Bride of the God, please go first.'

The address made Jiang Luo's eyelid twitch. He ignored this unpleasant little detail and asked, 'How do I go?'

But it seemed he had said something foolish, because the Divine Lord immediately laughed. The laughter was dry and eerie, chillingly sinister. 'Of course, walk with your feet.'

Jiang Luo's teeth instantly itched.

This kind of sarcastic, passive-aggressive person who could stir up all his fury with just a laugh — there was only one such motherfucker in the entire world.

— Chi You.

Since Chi You's inexplicable outburst at the Hotel last time, this was Jiang Luo's first encounter with him.

He hadn't finished settling the score from last time.

Jiang Luo let out a short, cold laugh. 'You're the Divine Lord — that means you're a servant of the god, right?'

The Village Head said furiously, 'Cuihua, how can you say that!'

'Isn't that the case?' Jiang Luo raised his eyes to look at Chi You, malice pouring out unabashedly. He said lightly, 'Do you deny being a servant of the god?'

The Divine Lord twirled his cane and said slowly, 'I am.'

'In that case, you're telling me to just walk into the water?' Jiang Luo frowned, not holding back. 'Is that what a servant should do?'

More importantly, Jiang Luo had spotted many Ghost shadows in this river.

One after another, Ghost shadows were swept away by the current, only to be replaced by new ones. Beneath the dark, oppressive river water, these Ghosts of various shapes struggled to reach out, trying to climb up, but were trapped by the water, despairingly falling back in.

These were all drowned Ghosts, also called water Ghosts.

Drowned Ghosts and hanged Ghosts cannot undergo Reincarnation; they must pull someone in as a substitute to free themselves. If Jiang Luo stepped a foot into the water, he'd likely be dragged down by these dozens or hundreds of water Ghosts to become their replacement.

The Divine Lord faced him; his hooded face seemed able to see Jiang Luo through the robe. 'What do you want?'

'You jump in,' Jiang Luo said, chin slightly raised, expression cold and stern. 'Be my stepping stone across the river.'

The Village Head sucked in a sharp breath. He forgot everything he was going to say, looking at Jiang Luo almost in horror.

The Divine Lord slowly clenched his cane, then gently released it. The slender cane became a plaything in his hands. Though his hands were wrapped in black cloth, his every movement was so casual it was hard to look away.

'You are right,' the Divine Lord said after a long while, using an honorific. He seemed to smile. 'Someone of your status indeed should not step into the water personally.'

With that, under the Village Head's disbelieving gaze, the Divine Lord stepped into the river channel.

Jiang Luo saw clearly: the moment the Divine Lord stepped into the water, those water Ghosts, like beasts starved for years finally smelling blood, pounced on him. But the instant numerous Ghost hands touched the Divine Lord, they suddenly retreated as if swept by a tide. They seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying; the water Ghosts closest to the Divine Lord even frantically scrambled backward.

In an instant, the water around the Divine Lord became completely clear.

The Divine Lord straightened his arm and thrust his cane into the soil on the other side. He said humbly, 'Please.'

Jiang Luo gave him a meaningful look, then strode forward, stepping directly onto the Divine Lord's shoulder.

The Divine Lord stood straight, not wavering in the slightest. This 'bridge' was even steadier than some Suspension Bridges.

Jiang Luo was about to continue stepping on him to move forward when several pairs of pale Ghost hands suddenly grabbed his ankles.

The water Ghosts, who had been terrified moments ago, now swarmed over again. They ignored the Divine Lord beneath Jiang Luo's feet, greedily and eagerly trying to drag Jiang Luo into the water.

Jiang Luo was pulled, unable to move half a step.

He glanced at the Divine Lord, sneered, and forcibly pulled his leg free from the many Ghost claws, leaping in one step to the opposite bank.

The Divine Lord and the Village Head came ashore one after the other. Jiang Luo noticed that when the Village Head entered the water, those water Ghosts didn't touch him either. But it wasn't out of fear like with the Divine Lord — they simply had no reaction, as if the Village Head was already… a dead man.

The three walked forward a while longer and arrived at another Ancestral Hall.

The underground Ancestral Hall was two or three times larger than the one above ground.

Inside the Ancestral Hall, candle flames flickered, casting uneven shadows on the ground and illuminating some murals on the walls. But more eye-catching than the murals was a Divine Statue sitting cross-legged inside the hall.

No, rather than a Divine Statue, it looked more like an evil god statue.

The statue was carved from stone, its crude face bearing the same rigid smile as the Masks. Its left hand held a lotus blossom upright before its chest, its eyes closed, curved as if smiling. At a glance, its features seemed kind and benevolent, yet an eerie feeling clung to it like a shadow. Its lips, as if stained with blood, drooped downward with several dried blood streaks.

The colors on the statue were also extremely strange. Overall, it seemed like a painted statue, but its feet were distinctly black and white. At the junction between the colored and black-and-white parts, there was also a blood-red mark.

But the Village Head didn't seem to sense the strangeness. His eyes burned as he looked at the statue, immediately kneeling and kowtowing three times, muttering incessantly under his breath.

'O god…'

The Divine Lord ignored his actions, walked forward directly, and lit three sticks of incense for the statue. The incense smoke drifted upward. He said flatly, 'Tie him up.'

Tie up who?

Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow, sensing something. He glanced sideways and saw the Village Head pulling a coil of rope from his chest, walking toward him with a vicious look in his eyes.