“Help!” Jiang Cheng screamed without hesitation. The silent atmosphere was shattered. Many footsteps came towards him. The tanned man had just left, so he was the first to arrive. His eyes widened as he stared at the couple beside the pool.
Jiang Cheng slowly turned around to meet Chen Xiaomeng’s hatred-filled eyes. By then, she had pulled back her leg, not at all intending to kick Jiang Cheng into the water.
“What’s going on?” The village head and the rest finally arrived. Seeing the two by the pool, they asked in fear. The village head started to regret bringing them there. The place looked eerie. He prayed that nothing bad would happen.
“It’s nothing.” Jiang Cheng replied calmly, “I saw a woman’s face in the water earlier. But I probably got it wrong.”
Jiang Cheng said it with nonchalance, but it affected the village head greatly. He became nervous, and his lips trembled. “A face…”
“Yes. A woman’s face.” Jiang Cheng turned to look at Chen Xiaomeng. Slowly, his face turned into a grimace, like he had just discovered something. Everyone spotted this, and all turned to look at Chen Xiaomeng. Naturally, they couldn’t see what was wrong with her.
While the latter was stumped, Jiang Cheng screamed, “My God! Her face is the exact same as the one in the water earlier!”
The crowd was silent for a few seconds before exploding.
The tanned man and Jiang Zhongyi, who were closest to Chen Xiaomeng, quickly darted back. The village head reacted even faster. He dropped his cane and ran. He felt better when he was beside Bei Qian.
“Ki… Master!” The village head’s pupils trembled. He quickly asked, “Are you sure that the face in the pool is similar to this girl’s?”
Chen Xiaomeng scoffed, “If you’re willing to trust this madman, be my guest. Where is the stone plaque with the curse? I want to see it.”
Bei Qian knew the strange relationship between Jiang Cheng and Chen Xiaomeng. He didn’t dwell on this and turned to tell the village head to lead the way to the stone plaque.
Due to the moss and lichen, everyone walked carefully. A few minutes later, the group came to the giant tree. The tree was so huge that five people were required to hug it fully. The canopy covered the sky. Only black shadows could be seen under the canopy. Great vines crawled along the tree trunk to form a natural net.
The village head swallowed and walked forward alone. He used his cane to poke around the roots. Then, some of the wilted plants were pushed away to reveal a corner of the plaque. Even though the plaque was shrouded in shadow, it glowed green. Once they got close, a strange feeling wrapped around their hearts. They were not unfamiliar with this feeling. In the previous missions, they had the same feeling whenever they got close to an important clue.
So… they were at the right place.
Zhou Rong’s eyes burned.
They cleaned away the plant on the plaque. The bloody message on the back of the plaque was harrowing. The handwriting was messy. Some of the characters overlapped. This showed that the writer was too weak to care about penmanship. Also, based on what the village head said, by then, Zhao Xiangmei was basically blind.
The bloody message looked brand new. They radiated Zhao Xiangmei’s hatred and despair. One would feel dizzy staring at it for too long.
“In the end, Zhao Xiangmei’s corpse was discovered lying before this thing. When she died, her hand was pressed against the stone plaque…” The village head stood at the side, an inscrutable expression on his face.
Jiang Zhongyi stood alone, far away from the plaque. The heart palpitation hadn’t receded. He reached one hand into his shirt to make a cross in front of his chest. He was a devotee. However, that didn’t happen until half a month ago. Since he escaped the last mission alive, he became very religious. He remembered clearly that the setting of his last mission was a catholic church. When he was chased by the ghost, a giant cross fell from the ceiling to slow the ghost. That was how he survived. It was from then on that his heart found a place called home. He entered God’s sanctuary and received the blessing of the sacred light. Humanity was too weak. Only light could fight against devils.
Chen Xiaomeng knelt before the plaque. She touched it thoroughly. Her expression was devoid of expression. Suddenly, her face shifted.
“Village head,” She turned to ask, “Did the villagers try to destroy the stone plaque before?”
The village head was startled. Then, he admitted, “Yes. When the rumours of the curse started, the men in the village were angry and unwilling. They chose eight strong men and departed on a sunny day, carrying tools, black dog’s blood and cocks to destroy this plaque.
“They thought the curse would stop once the stone was destroyed.” At this point, the village head choked. His eyes rimmed with red. “The leader… was my elder brother.”
“What… happened to them?” Lee Lu asked softly.
“They disappeared.” The village head rubbed his eyes. The wrinkles on his face deepened. “Their bodies were also found around the town. It was a horrid spectacle.”
“Where are their bodies buried?” Jiang Cheng suddenly asked.
Zhou Rong opened his mouth and then closed it. He was thinking about that too. Over the years, the number of people killed by Zhao Xiangmei was astronomical. However, they didn’t see any cemetery near the village.
The village head’s face dropped.
It was the villager who came bearing the news who huffed, “What burial? We just burnt them all.
“If any family dared to conduct a burial, the graves would be dug up the next day, and the bones and corpses would be strewn everywhere. Then…” His face chilled. “Tragedy would befall the other family members.”