Chapter 112 - 105: Using Humans as Bait

Chapter 112: Chapter 105: Using Humans as Bait"After passing the Tangkou, how is this discerned?" Zhou Xuan turned his head only to discover that Lv Mingkun was holding four eyeballs in his hand. It turned out that during the conversation just now, Lv Kunming, with a swift move of his Bamboo Leaf Blade, had gouged out the left eyes of four people in the wall. His knife work was incredibly clean, and he had an all-too familiar grasp of human anatomy, making it seem less like he’d gouged out the eyes and more like he’d "peeled them away." The swiftness of his movement meant that the six external muscles attached to the eyeball were intricately cut, creating smooth, refined edges at the incisions. Now, the four eyeballs were calmly held in Lv Mingkun’s palm, giving Zhou Xuan the illusion that Lv Mingkun was "cracking open walnuts." For a moment, he thought of his fifth senior brother as a macabre artist. "Little junior brother, take a look. Behind these eyes, there’s a gleaming quality. Only the eyes of those who have worshipped at the incense hall would undergo such a strange alteration." "Fifth senior brother, your research on corpses seems a bit... in-depth," Zhou Xuan said, sensing that Lv Kunming could not have reached such a level of expertise without dissecting many corpses of ghosts and Divine People. Some things, without practical experience, you don’t speak with confidence. Lv Mingkun appeared a bit embarrassed as he said, "In my Silence Hall, I’m always sewing up and examining corpses, and I’ve glimpsed a bit of the secrets..." "If, as you say, these people have all worshipped at the incense hall, then the matter becomes all the more complicated..." A female movie star, sealing fifteen people who had worshipped at the incense hall into the walls—could she still be called a movie star? Even big sister would find it difficult, wouldn’t she? Zhou Xuan gestured with his chin towards Lv Mingkun and tentatively asked, "You are a corpse speaker; can you learn what happened at the time of their deaths through these corpses?" "Yes!" Really? "The time of their deaths is somewhat long ago; it’s not easy to use Corpse Language to restore what happened before they died, but fortunately, the corpses were well preserved in the wall, so it should be possible to use Corpse Language. However, with so many deaths involved, my Perception isn’t really sufficient. So please, little junior brother, use your Perception to help me connect!" "No problem!" Zhou Xuan agreed. Lv Mingkun began the guiding ritual for the Corpse Language. He dripped Corpse Oil from the wine pot onto the center of each face’s forehead twice, then spread it evenly... Zhou Xuan paced around the room; looking at the faces embedded in the wall, he was reminded of the Blood Well— —the faces on the well’s wall, embedded into the masonry. "Little junior brother, I’m ready. Connect all of your Perception with mine." After he finished speaking, Lv Mingkun sat cross-legged at the center of the basement, with the open wine pot placed before him. Zhou Xuan also sat down, released his Perception, and struggled to concentrate and gather it into a line, flowing into the back of his fifth senior brother. "Hisss... no... no!" Lv Mingkun suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, like a student facing a tough problem, hastily raising his right hand: "Stop... stop quickly." "What’s wrong?" Zhou Xuan asked. "Your Perception is too strong, I can hardly withstand it." When Zhou Xuan’s Perception connected with him, Lv Mingkun clearly felt mentally overwhelmed as all kinds of bizarre thoughts rushed into his head, like being pummeled by hundreds of bricks... The Blood Well Spirit Communicator’s Perception was utterly terrifying. The ghost from the Four Pillars incense was nearly driven insane by Zhou Xuan’s double incense worth! Lv Kunming finally understood why so many crazy Great Divine Men were always unwilling to give up researching Blood Well Spirit Communicators, Once they comprehended it and could mass-produce Blood Well Spirit Communicators, the order among the various Great Halls might completely overturn. Even without such lofty ambitions, just understanding the method of Blood Well spiritual connection would be obviously beneficial to the rise of their own incense... "Little junior brother, you need to hold back a bit. I can’t devote energy to guard against your overflowing Perception when I’m listening to the Corpse Language." If facing an enemy, Lv Mingkun felt he could spare some energy to withstand Zhou Xuan’s strong Perception, But with his defenses wide open and actively receiving all of Zhou Xuan’s Perception, it was like a small temple unable to accommodate a Great Buddha. "Then I shall connect my Perception with you bit by bit. If you feel discomfort, just hook your middle finger, and if I see it, naturally, I will no longer connect the excess Perception with you." "Good idea." Lv Mingkun repositioned himself, closed his eyes, and commenced the Corpse Language. Zhou Xuan first released a small amount of Perception, noticing Lv Mingkun showed no reaction, he gradually increased it, only stopping when Lv Mingkun hooked his middle finger. The overall released Perception was less than a third of the normal state. But even this third was at Lv Kunming’s limit. He raised his arms, and the wine pot in front of him began to bubble and emit a yellow mist. The mist enveloped Lv Kunming, and patches of purple lividity appeared on his skin. The faces within the wall moved their mouths as if to mutter something, and as the livor mortis on Lv Kunming grew, the corpses’ mouth muttering sped up. The muttering entered Lv Kunming’s ears, a peculiar language that Zhou Xuan could not understand. But it didn’t matter that he couldn’t understand; Lv Kunming translated the sounds into visuals in his mind, picturing the moments shortly before the fifteen people died. And Zhou Xuan, connected by Perception to Lv Kunming, also saw those images... [In the images, inside the basement] A dozen men waited inside the basement, each looking relaxed. Someone started inquiring, "When will Zhou Family’s Troupe’s Young Master arrive?" "He should be here soon. Is that woman under control?" "She is, upstairs. Lao Jia is watching her, she can’t run." "Have you guys installed the Iron Chain?" "Yes, Brother Yu, take a look." A lackey pulled the Iron Chain that hung from the ceiling up and down several times. At the lowest end of the chain were two sharp hooks. "We just wait now. Has the altar been set up properly? Incense Master Li made it very clear that the altar cannot have any mistakes; if so, our heads will be on the line when we step out." "Could there be a mistake?" The lackey walked around the altar twice. It was called an altar, but in reality, it was just two female corpses laid out. Around them, following a certain pattern, were twelve white candles placed. The candles were not yet lit, their wicks pale white. Soon after, Zhou Xuan entered the basement, and the surrounding men all greeted him. Brother Yu bowed to Zhou Xuan and said, "Young Master, may you be auspicious." Zhou Xuan, after listening, was furiously inflamed and went straight up to deliver a slap, "Lucky my ass, if I get that thing, I’ll be the Class Leader, I’ll kill Zhou Lingyi!" "Yes, yes, yes!" Brother Yu took two steps back, but with his head bowed, a sinister and vicious smile peeked through. "Where’s Zhang Yihua?" Zhou Xuan glanced around the room and asked. "Upstairs, we’ll bring her down soon." "You’d better be quick. Not a single one of you actors is reliable! Such a big event and neither Li Jintang nor Li Lisheng showed up." Zhou Xuan was somewhat impatient. Finally, The door to the basement was opened, and a few underlings brought Zhang Yihua into the basement. Zhang Yihua no longer had the elegance of a movie star and was truly in a disheveled state; her clothes were in disarray, half her face swollen from a beating. Upon entering, she spat at Zhou Xuan, "Even if you get that thing, you won’t become the Class Leader!" "Dammit!" Zhou Xuan retaliated with a backhanded slap and signaled the actors to begin. Candles beside the female corpse on the ground were lit. The actors, they attached the end of the pulley’s iron chain with a hook into Zhang Yihua’s collarbone. Two iron hooks penetrated her scapula, suspending her in the air. "Actors, Zhou Xuan, you sons of bitches!" Zhang Yihua cursed in pain. "What right do you, a rotten bait, have to talk so much?" Zhou Xuan gestured for the actors to lower her down. Originally hanging in mid-air, Zhang Yihua was lowered by the pulley till her feet touched the female corpse on the ground. On the female corpse’s body, many profound symbols had been carved with the tip of a knife, in that instant when she made contact with Zhang Yihua. A strange noise emanated from the room, sounding like a fierce torrent striking against hard ramparts. On the floor around the female corpse, blood began to bubble forth. The blood quickly pooled together, and then, from the pool, two bloodied hands emerged, wrapping around the female corpse and pulling her into the water. Until the female corpse was completely dragged down into the pool of blood, which also touched Zhang Yihua’s feet, and the flow of blood on the floor accelerated. An ancient and mottled well rose from the ground. The mouth of the well was built of bluestone, filled with thick, viscous blood. "Release, release, release!" Seeing this, Zhou Xuan knew the altar had opened the Blood Well, so he had the actors lower the iron chain, suspending Zhang Yihua into the well. This movie star turned into pitiful bait, sinking into the well. Zhou Xuan fixed his gaze on the changing iron chain. At first, aside from a slight wobble, the chain showed no significant reaction. After three or four minutes, the entire chain was released, still no movement. Zhou Xuan paced restlessly in the basement, Suddenly, The iron chain jangled sharply. "The fish has bitten the bait." Zhou Xuan let out a sigh of relief and kept his eyes on the chain, which started thrashing about more violently. "Pull, pull, pull it up quick, the fish is biting down hard!" Zhou Xuan, with a wild look, slapped his thigh. As the iron chain was pulled up, Zhang Yihua was dragged out of the Blood Well, her body covered in blood. A blood-soaked pregnant woman was holding onto her legs, crazily gnawing inside her abdominal cavity. The bloodied pregnant woman with a swollen belly was also bulging with a blood sac on her back, which shook with every bite she took. Zhou Xuan stepped forward and reached for the blood sac; as soon as he touched it, the blood-soaked pregnant woman screamed frantically, abandoning her gnawing on Zhang Yihua, attempting to protect the blood sac on her back. But Zhou Xuan acted swiftly, taking out a knife inscribed with runes with his left hand and sliced at the blood sac. A diary stained with blood appeared in his hand. Actor Brother Yu took out the Magic Artifact given by the incense master, a Dao Bell, and shook it fiercely. The blood-soaked pregnant woman immediately screamed in agony, covered her ears, and fell back into the Blood Well. After another clattering of the iron chain, Zhang Yihua was also pulled back into the well waters. Thus, the Blood Well Fishing was completed. "Why is it a diary?" Zhou Xuan pulled out a bag he had prepared in advance, wrapped up the diary, and turned to leave. Actor Brother Yu sneered, blocking the entrance to the basement, staring at Zhou Xuan, "You’ve got the thing, now play nice and hand it over, and you can live to go back, otherwise..." "Who do you think you are? I’m like brothers with Li Jintang." "Heh, it’s Li Xiangzhu who tasked me to do this, Master Li also wants your item." Brother Yu moved closer to Zhou Xuan, Unexpectedly, A heart-wrenching scream suddenly came from the Blood Well. "Taking my thing, none of you will get away... not a single one." The voice grew more agonizing, and the blood in the Blood Well burst forth like a flood, the dazzling red blood enveloping the entire basement. The entire basement became part of the Blood Well. The walls turned into loose soil, possessing a powerful suction force, pulling in the actors until they were all embedded into the wall. As for Zhou Xuan, the suction from the Blood Well wasn’t as strong for him; he was like a person trudging through mud, each step difficult, but he was at least making progress. Plus, his position was originally close to the basement door; after about a dozen steps, he exited the basement. After Zhou Xuan successfully escaped, Mournful crying came from the Blood Well, then the blood receded. The basement was left completely empty. Only the rust-covered pulley and iron chain, which had endured intense corrosion, remained. The hooks beneath the chain were also gone. The female corpse, the traces of the altar, all vanished without a trace. ... "So this is how these actors died?" Lv Kunming slowly opened his eyes. Zhou Xuan thought further, even feeling a deeper sense of crisis... ps: First two updates, hey, another update is being written, will be posted a little later.