Chapter 40: Old Man! Your Stand Is the Most Useless!

"Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha!"

"Thump-rumble~ Thump-rumble~"

In the square, right in front of the wooden plaque.

Two shirtless, robust men each held a blazing torch, executing wild dance routines punctuated by occasional bursts of fire-spitting jugglery. The reddish glow of the setting sun mingled with the sparks, casting a crimson hue over the ground of the entire square and the faces of the villagers.

A fervent atmosphere was thoroughly stirred up.

The deafening sound of gongs and drums echoed from the side.

It was as if they wanted the entire world to know about the existence of this grand sacrificial rite.

The grand ceremony of the Village of Fated Yin was exceptionally spectacular.

After everyone had eaten and drank their fill, the opera troupe hired by the villagers to perform was clanging away nearby.

The massive square, capable of holding thousands of people, was bustling with extraordinary liveliness, resembling a grand, large-scale temple fair.

This clearly showed that the Village of Fated Yin was indeed free from worries about food and clothing, exactly as described in the dungeon briefing.

One could even say it was quite prosperous.

Wu Wang and the elderly village chief sat side by side on the highest viewing platform.

Wu Wang occasionally peeled the melon seeds on the table to savor them carefully, and whenever the performance below reached a brilliant climax, he would applaud and cheer loudly.

"Who on earth are you? What have you done with Zhang Sanfeng?" The old village chief's voice was not loud, completely drowned out by the surrounding hustle and bustle.

Wu Wang, who theoretically shouldn't have heard it at all, turned his head, squeezed out a brilliant smile at him, and said, "Who do you think I should be? And why do you need Zhang Sanfeng in the first place?"

Earlier, after he had used the bone spike to retaliate against the old village chief, the other party had found it difficult to throw a tantrum under the intense gaze of the crowd.

Yet, he could not simply let Wu Wang run off like that.

After all, the skeleton ghost knew very well that he could alter his appearance and physique; the moment he blended into the crowd, he could vanish without a trace, especially today when the entire village was gathered here—it was simply far too chaotic.

Therefore, the chief had arranged a seat for him on the viewing platform.

Seemingly driven by a desire to communicate.

The villagers in their immediate vicinity had all been shooed away to attend the banquet of the grand ceremony, precisely to prevent others from overhearing their conversation.

"It does no harm to tell you," the old village chief picked up the wine cup on the table, took a gentle sip, and said, "Zhang Sanfeng is the sinful spawn born to a certain generation of the Fated Yin Saintess before the grand ceremony. His life can be used by the village to repay a debt."

"A debt? Loan sharks are illegal these days, you know," Wu Wang scoffed.

Of course, he knew the debt the other party spoke of was not mundane material wealth such as money.

It was something far more esoteric and mysterious.

The old village chief explained in detail, "All things in the universe are relative. The Fated Yin Great Deity has bestowed prosperity and flourishing upon the village, and in return, we must offer a satisfactory reward. The deity has always favored maidens of extreme Yin energy, demanding one to be presented every year."

"However, an accident happened last year; the Fated Yin Saintess hanged herself on the eve of the grand ceremony."

"We owe the deity a saintess. If we fail to make the offering this year as well, the fortune of the Village of Fated Yin will come to an end."

"Although Zhang Sanfeng is not a maiden, he carries the blood of the Fated Yin Saintess, which can appease the wrath of the Fated Yin Great Deity."

Hearing this, Wu Wang couldn't help but let out a snicker.

While cracking melon seeds in his mouth, he asked unclearly, "Then what kind of monster are you?"

In truth, his original intention after retaliating against the old village chief was to drive the other party into a rage, forcing him to reveal his true form.

Thus destroying the villagers' trust in him.

Never had he expected this skeleton ghost to possess such extraordinary endurance, showing no intention of exposing himself despite being subjected to such humiliation.

He even intended to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

What kind of scheme was this old fox plotting?

"Me? I am also a villager of the Village of Fated Yin," the old village chief grinned, speaking slowly. "Or rather, I built this village myself. I am the first village chief."

"?"

Wu Wang was momentarily stunned.

When he was disguised as a villager during the day, he had also inquired about the history of the village.

The villagers basically all had family genealogies recorded in their homes, so the history had not been lost.

This place was founded roughly two hundred years ago.

It had been called the Village of Fated Yin right from the start, though back then it was desolate and dilapidated.

It belonged to a group of desperate refugees fleeing from disasters who gathered together to find a place to settle down.

Worshiping the Fated Yin Great Deity was just a matter of burning joss paper and offering incense like in any other place.

Where on earth was there ever any Fated Yin Saintess?

However, starting from the second village chief, worshiping the Fated Yin Great Deity required human sacrifices.

And from that time on, the village grew better day by day.

Until it developed into what it was now.

Not only were they free from worries about food and clothing, but they could even send some of their most intelligent children to study outside.

If he was the first village chief...

Could this skeleton ghost be an entity from two hundred years ago?

"Didn't you want to eat me during the day? Why the sudden change of heart, wanting to become my sworn brother? Don't forget I just stabbed you with a knife," Wu Wang sneered sarcastically.

The shift in the other party's attitude between day and night was simply too drastic.

So drastic that anyone without a brain could tell there must be something fishy going on.

"That's because I didn't know at first that you had a way to absorb this..."

With that, the old village chief tremblingly reached out a hand.

He pointed at the large wooden plaque covered with a black cloth.

Hidden beneath it was precisely the eye-shaped mark of the Abyss Deity.

He turned his head to look at Wu Wang, his deeply sunken, hollow-like eye sockets blazing with intense desire.

Trembling, he said, "How about a trade? You teach me how to absorb the aura of that entity, and I can give you everything you want!"

"?"

Wu Wang's head was full of question marks.

What on earth kind of existence was this Abyss Deity?

Dungeons tainted by it would all become twisted and bizarre, yet even stranger fellows kept trying to absorb the aura of the Abyss Deity.

Headmaster Wang from Truant Heroes was like that.

And now this old village chief was the same.

What possible benefit could there be in absorbing this aura? Why the hell couldn't he feel any of it?

Aside from altering his tasks and trying to turn his brain into mush.

What else could it do?

Sometimes Wu Wang really wanted to take a red marker and draw a mouth right beneath the red vertical pupil on his wrist.

So he could make the Abyss Deity properly answer his doubts.

"Tell me first, what do you plan to do once you obtain the Abyss Deity... that aura?" Wu Wang stuffed some candies and melon seeds into his pockets; never leave empty-handed whether eating or taking!

The old village chief's expression turned solemn.

He spoke word by word: "I will replace the Fated Yin Great Deity and become the new guardian deity of the village."

Pfft—

Wu Wang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sometimes he truly couldn't understand these guys.

Or rather, he couldn't comprehend their absurdity.

Headmaster Wang fancied himself righteous.

Under the guise of acting in the students' best interests, he attempted to strip away their humanity.

The old village chief called the Fated Yin Great Deity a guardian deity.

Yet the price was paid in living, breathing human lives.

And he himself even wished to become this kind of man-eating guardian deity.

What the hell, exactly what kind of damned thing was being guarded here?

What a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites.

"In the first year I became the village chief, I met the Fated Yin Great Deity." The old village chief's gaze turned wistful.

"It made a deal with me, granting me the ability of immortality. But the price was becoming non-human; every thirty years, I must change into a new suit of clothing, and from then on I must wear these clothes whenever I see the villagers. Only inside the ancestral hall can I take off the clothes to catch my breath."

"This kind of life is far too agonizing."

"Fortunately, thirty years ago when I was listening to music on the radio at home, I heard the call coming from that entity."

At this point, the old village chief patted the wooden plaque.

A flash of ambition appeared in his eyes as he said, "The existence of that entity is far more powerful than the Fated Yin Great Deity! Even a mere wisp of its aura left here is enough for me to see hope of breaking free!"

"Name whatever you want! As long as you lend me a hand, I can satisfy you!"

Looking at the other party's slightly frantic demeanor.

Wu Wang rubbed his ash-stained hand—dirtied from cracking melon seeds—onto the chief's clothes.

He finally understood what those human skins displayed inside the ancestral hall were.

Those were simply the newly chosen village chiefs from each generation!

The village chief of the Village of Fated Yin was replaced every thirty years.

The chosen individual would enter the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors.

Then they would be skinned and murdered by the skeleton ghost, who would slip into their skins and assume their identities.

This old bastard had constantly been taking someone else's place!

No wonder earlier, after he had disguised himself as the village chief's grandson, that kid had almost been beaten to death.

Yet the old village chief hadn't felt a shred of heartache.

Turns out the brat wasn't his own grandson at all.

Subsequently, Wu Wang mockingly said, "Buddy, oh no, old bastard, I need to correct you on two things."

"First, those things are called human skins—living, breathing human skin peeled right off their bodies. No matter whether you call them clothes or whatever, no matter how nicely you phrase it, they are still human-blood buns."

"Second, you aren't immortal; you've simply turned into a ghost, and ghosts can die too."

"You haven't even witnessed true immortality yet."

"Old bastard, your substitute identity is the most useless piece of trash!"

At this, Wu Wang's smile grew increasingly brilliant.

No one understood the Abyss Deity better than he did!

And no one understood immortality better than he did!