Otherworldly Merchant

After everything that had happened, two young villagers were now guarding Old Wang's house.

I entered the house and found dead hens and ducks lying everywhere. The animals had collapsed to the ground, their feet already stiff.

I casually grabbed a hen and inspected its body.

However, except for two small holes, I didn't find anything worth noting.

As for those two small holes, had they been left behind by the bite of an animal? I hesitated a little and then asked the village head, "Can you get me some milk? It would be best if it's breast milk."

The village head was stunned. "What do you want to do with that?"

I elaborated, "If you bring me breast milk, I can identify the monster that attacked."

The village head immediately sent someone to look for the breast milk. After a short amount of time, they came back with a bottle full of milk. I opened the bottle and poured the breast milk on the wound of the dead chicken.

Smoke started to rise from the two small holes, and the dead hen started to struggle.

The village head, as well as everyone else there, were scared out of their wits. They retreated slowly with their eyes fixated on me, their complexions pale.

The hen struggled a bit more before it stopped moving.

However, I was even more worried now because these domestic animals had been infected with a poisonous bacteria. If they weren't properly dealt with, a plague would spread throughout the village.

Therefore, I told the village head, "Go fetch some petrol and burn the bodies of these domestic animals. Moreover, you have to burn them thoroughly, only stopping when the bones are left. Next, soak those bones in an earthen jar filled with vinegar, then bury everything underground. For one year, don't let the villagers or the livestock get close to the bones; otherwise, something terrible might happen to your village."

The village head had already been scared out of his wits, and every word I said was like a bolt from the blue.

Soon after, I went to check the bedroom of the Wang couple. The room was a mess, with clear signs of a struggle.

I found the neighbor and asked, "Did you hear anything last night?"

The neighbor said, "I had indeed heard voices last night. At first, it was the barking of dogs and the crowing of hens. Then, Old Wang shouted something like, ‘what's that?!’. Afterward, there was only silence."

Since he was too scared, he didn't come out to take a look.

I nodded and asked the village head, "Have you checked the surrounding areas already? Did you find any traces of the Wang couple?"

The village head replied, "We’ve searched everywhere."

I shook my head. It seemed that the Wang couple had met with disaster...

Then, we headed toward Yama's Execution Ground. Since everything had started from there, perhaps I could find some clues inside.

But, once we arrived at Yama's Execution Ground, the scared villagers refused to go down there with me.

Since there was no other choice, I was forced to tie a rope around my waist and drag Li Mazi down with me. Then, I repeatedly told the village head to pull us out if things got dangerous—in short, don’t stop until we’re out!

The village head nodded in agreement.

Honestly, I was also scared to enter such a place. As for Li Mazi, he was even more afraid than me. He clung to me so tightly that I could even hear his heartbeat.

The execution grounds were as scary as always. The gloomy ambiance, the iron hooks, cauldrons, and straw cutters made it ten times more terrifying.

Once I recalled that a worker’s corpse was found hanging on one of the iron hooks just a couple of days ago, I didn't dare to raise my head and look in that direction.

Moreover, ever since we’d entered, I felt as though something was staring at us and following us like a shadow. Even after some time had passed, the feeling lingered. From the looks of it, the spirit sword was hiding in the basement, watching our every action with playful eyes...

Unfortunately, we failed to find any clues even after strolling through the execution grounds for a while. I felt somewhat disappointed and was preparing to leave the place with Li Mazi when I subconsciously glanced toward the entrance.

There, I saw something refracting the light.

I rushed over and discovered that it was a puddle of water. The thing refracting the light was actually water.

However, I found that puddle of water rather strange. As such, I switched on my flashlight and observed it carefully.

What surprised me was that I found two scales in the water. The scales were damaged, but they should be the scales of a snake.

Was it possible that the spirit sword had taken the shape of a snake?

But, where did this water come from...?

I stood up and told Li Mazi, "I know where the Wang couple is."

Then, I crawled out of the hole and asked the village head, "Are there any rivers nearby?"

The village head nodded and said, “There’s indeed a small river in the area.”

Since time was of the essence, I urged him to lead the way and bring me to the small river.

Li Mazi's sworn brother volunteered. "That river is a little far from here. How about we take my car?"

I nodded and headed toward the river by car, alongside the village head and Li Mazi. At the same time, we urged the remaining villagers to find some means of transportation and reach the small river as soon as possible.

The river wasn't big, but it was very deep. Based on the tall concrete on both sides, it was probably a man-made waterway.

The village head explained, "The stream of the Yangtze River deviates here to deal with the water shortage in the village."

I asked, "Since this is a man-made waterway, there must be a large dam, right? As such, if something falls into the river, the dam should block it, correct?"

While the village head was in deep thought, Li Mazi's sworn brother added, "That's correct. There’s a large dam downstream. Are you saying that the bodies of the Wang couple are there?"

I immediately had Li Mazi's sworn brother bring us to the dam to take a look.

When we arrived at the large dam, we discovered that it was closed. Although the river was wide, the surface was filled with domestic waste and waterweeds. Even if there was a corpse here, it wouldn't be easy to find.

I said to the village head, "The bodies of the Wang couple should be underneath the waterweeds.”

The village head had a headache. "I'll call over a specialist and have them fish out the bodies."

However, I immediately stopped him. Since the bodies were here, the spirit sword should be here as well. If that thing ended up injuring someone in the water, things were going to get troublesome.

Therefore, I quickly thought of a solution. "Village head, is it possible to open this large dam? No need to open it completely. It's fine as long as you let some of the water out. Since the bodies are hidden beneath the waterweeds, they’ll become noticeable if the water flows out."

The village head made a phone call.

Before long, the dam was opened, and the river water started to noisily leak out.

I gazed at the surface of the water without blinking, waiting for the bodies to become visible.

Sure enough, five minutes later, I heard Li Mazi shout, "There they are!"

I looked ahead and saw that two white bodies had resurfaced, looking like rubber balls.

But, even if we’d managed to discover these bodies earlier, we wouldn’t have been able to tell if they were the Wang couple.

Their faces had decomposed, and their limbs were bloated. As if that wasn't enough, they were covered with mucus. The scene was utterly disgusting, and some of the villagers even started puking.

The village head was baffled. "How did the bodies of the Wang couple deteriorate to this point in a single night? It doesn't make any sense!"

I was also baffled. Nevertheless, I put on some gloves and went over to inspect the mucus covering the bodies.

After a long while, I said, "This is gastric juice..."

The village head looked at me with a strange expression. He had no idea what I meant.

I explained, "Something swallowed the Wang couple whole, melted them with gastric juices, and then spit them out. That's why the two bodies became like this."

The people at the site gasped.

Li Mazi hurriedly asked, "What kind of creature has the ability to swallow them down at once, and then spit them out like that?"

I pondered for a moment. "Do you remember the scales I found at the entrance of Yama's Execution Ground? If I'm not mistaken, those should be the scales of a python."

"A python?" Li Mazi was confused. "Are we really getting led around by the nose by a python?"

I forced a smile. "It's a very special python."

I turned around and asked the village head, "Village head, has a large python appeared in your village before?"

The village head shook his head. "No, never."

I said, "It seems that we'll be very busy tonight! Village head, send a few youngsters out to go and catch snakes. The more they can catch, the better. Also, it would be best to prepare a pile of rats as well."

The village head asked, "Why do you need snakes and rats?"

I replied, "I can't explain it in just a few words. You'll know tonight."

The village head brought along a bunch of youngsters and went to catch snakes.

As for me, I went back to the house of Li Mazi's sworn brother. After returning, I decided to rest and told Li Mazi's sworn brother to buy as much realgar powder as possible.

Li Mazi sat right beside me, worried sick. I was unable to sleep because of his uneasiness. But, to preserve as much energy as possible, I closed my eyes.

After some time, Li Mazi woke me up. "The sky is dark, and the village head and the others are waiting for you outside the villa."

I said, "Very well. Let's go to the river bank to hunt monsters!"