Chapter 42: Deep Night Phantom

The moment the giant snake moved, Qin Mu suddenly leaped up, his Pig-Slaughtering Blade raining down like wind and rain, slashing furiously at the vulnerable point between the snake's head and body!

This was the Pig-Slaughtering Blade Technique: Sun Over the East Sea, Thousand Layered Waves!

This technique, taught by the Butcher, was meant to embody the momentum of the rising sun, with a thousand waves piling up in the East Sea, using an unparalleled blade force to cut through everything!

Qin Mu's mind was clear, focused on a single thought: strike, slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

He had to chop off this head!

*Hiss—*

Snake blood sprayed as the giant snake's triangular head, the size of a tabletop, separated from its body. The head, still with its gaping, bloody maw, continued to lunge at the family of three in front, seemingly unaware that it was already dead.

Just as the massive snake head was about to reach the family of three, Qin Mu suddenly leaped onto it in mid-air. He planted both feet, squatted down, and forced the snake's mouth shut.

The snake's head, with the boy still on it, plunged like a heavy lead block, crashing to the ground with a thud in front of the terrified family of three.

The three people stood frozen, staring blankly at the boy.

Qin Mu bent down and grinned at the little girl, revealing a mouth full of white teeth. "Little sister," he said, "it's alright now."

At that moment, the cry of an infant reached them. A woman rushed out of the house, which had been breached by the giant snake, and exclaimed with a laugh, "Congratulations! Mother and child are safe!"

Qin Mu quickly sheathed his Pig-Slaughtering Blade in the cowhide sheath on his back, then turned and ran back into the courtyard. He saw the man had excitedly rushed into the house, while Granny Si emerged, washed her hands, and looked back at the loving couple and their child inside.

"Mu'er, are you satisfied?" Granny Si asked with a smile.

Qin Mu watched the loving scene of the family of three, nodded gently, and instinctively raised his hand to grasp the jade pendant on his chest.

Seeing his hand, Granny Si sighed inwardly.

The Blind Man walked over, yawning. "Things here are settled," he said. "It's time to sleep. Granny, they don't have many rooms. Why don't we share...?"

Granny Si turned, her gaze chilling. The Blind Man shivered involuntarily, poked his bamboo staff on the ground, and turned to leave. "These days, even a blind man gets glared at," he muttered. "Morals have degenerated. I'll just sleep on the street..."

"Granny, why did the people in this village never discover this giant snake?" Qin Mu asked, watching some villagers pour into the courtyard, laboriously dragging the giant snake's tail out of the tree hole.

He had grown up in Disabled Elder Village, where all the residents had disabilities, even Granny Si was a hunchback. Yet, in his mind, the elders there were all omnipotent, capable of anything.

However, the villagers in this current settlement were mostly ordinary people. While some were martial artists, their cultivation levels weren't particularly high, which added to his confusion.

"In the Great Ruins, there is only one Disabled Elder Village."

Granny Si's gaze became distant. "Most of the people here are ordinary folks," she explained. "They are those who couldn't escape during the Great Ruins catastrophe, and some are people from the outside world who were forced to flee here to avoid harsh taxes and oppressive landlords, hoping to survive."

"The outside world?" Qin Mu's eyes lit up.

"The outside world is even more dangerous than the Great Ruins!"

Granny Si snorted coldly. "Otherwise, the Blind Man and I wouldn't have been forced to hide in the Great Ruins!" she said. "Don't keep thinking about the outside world!"

Qin Mu scratched his head, perplexed as to why Granny Si, usually so kind and amiable, had suddenly lost her temper.

Granny Si lowered her voice. "This giant snake is strange," she whispered. "Normally, strange beasts can't enter villages, but this one managed to hide here for years. Someone probably put it here on purpose... This method of raising snakes seems to be a demonic sect's technique. Heh heh, tonight, there might be some more 'good things' to happen..."

"The giant snake was deliberately put into the village to harm people?"

Qin Mu felt a chill in his heart. Wouldn't doing such a thing accumulate too much negative karma?

That snake had clearly eaten several newborn infants. What benefit could raising snakes with infants possibly bring him?

"Mu'er, tonight some strange things might come for you," Granny Si continued. "If you see them, don't move or make a sound. Just wait until morning for the outcome."

Granny Si chuckled, revealing her few remaining teeth. "He uses snakes to absorb the vital energy and souls of infants, and then he absorbs the snake's vital energy to reverse his congenital state," she explained. "He must have been practicing this for many years; his skill is extraordinary. But if he did this in the outside world, he would surely be targeted by demon slayers, so he came to the Great Ruins to cause trouble. Mu'er, you can't deal with whoever comes tonight; just watch."

Qin Mu nodded, feeling uneasy.

The household bustled for half the day, the family both crying and laughing. It was a long while before they remembered to arrange lodging for Granny Si and Qin Mu. The couple offered their main hall and inner room for them to sleep in. Qin Mu felt it was a bit improper, but Granny Si did not decline, instructing Qin Mu to sleep in the main hall while she took the inner room.

Not long after, both fell asleep. Qin Mu had initially tried to stay awake, but as time passed, his eyelids slowly closed. In the dead of night, with all sounds hushed, Qin Mu suddenly shivered involuntarily. He hastily opened his eyes, only to find that he couldn't move!

The door to the household's main hall suddenly creaked open. Dim light streamed in through the crack, casting a long shadow on the floor.

Qin Mu opened his mouth, but found he couldn't make a sound; he was completely unable to warn Granny Si!

The shadow on the ground swayed, then began to move, crawling from the floor onto the wall. The shadow on the wall twisted, baring its fangs and claws, appearing even more ferocious.

Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead as he watched the shadow crawl, ascending the wall until it reached the ceiling, where it hung upside down, staring fixedly at him.

Qin Mu's eyes widened. What hung down was a shadow, a real shadow, very flat, yet incredibly agile, like a martial artist skilled in bone manipulation!

But this was clearly just a shadow. How could a shadow move freely? And where was its master?

*Whoosh—*

A gust of wind blew in through the door crack, carrying with it a small triangular white banner, which the shadow caught in its hand and waved at Qin Mu.

At that moment, the door to Granny Si's inner room suddenly creaked open a crack. From within, a glittering silver bead floated out, resembling a silver pellet Qin Mu had seen in Granny Si's room. It stopped at Qin Mu's brow, unmoving. The bead silently spun, continuously shooting out almost invisible, hair-thin swords.

The black shadow on the roof waved the white banner, drifting around the room. The banner moved like lightning, repeatedly attacking Qin Mu as he lay on the bed. The bead also suddenly moved, silently colliding with the white banner and consistently blocking it.

Despite these two strange objects fighting fiercely and clashing in the room, no sound was ever emitted. It was eerily quiet, and nothing was damaged.

After a moment, the shadow suddenly trembled, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The white banner flew away with a rustling sound, and the black shadow flowed out of the room like water, disappearing.

The silver bead paused for a moment, then returned to the inner room, disappearing from sight.

Qin Mu could now move. He gasped for air, not understanding what had just happened, but the bloodstains on the floor indicated that it was all real.

Outside the house, all was quiet. After a moment, the sound of a gong echoed; it was the village watchman announcing the time, lest villagers wake up too early and be swallowed by the darkness outside the village.

The watchman struck the gong three times, put it away, and headed home. Just as he reached his house, he saw a blind man passing by on the roadside, leaning on a staff.

"Old brother, find a place to rest for a bit!"

The watchman quickly stopped the blind man and laughed. "It's so late," he warned, "be careful not to walk out of the village and get eaten by demons!"

The blind man smiled, tapped the watchman's shadow with his bamboo staff, and said, "Thank you for the reminder." With that, he tapped his bamboo staff along the way, gradually walking further away.

Two bloody holes exploded in the watchman's chest, clear through from front to back. His body swayed, then he collapsed to the ground.

"Such a fast spear, it broke my magic!" the watchman coughed. "I know you. You're blind, and even stronger..."

The watchman breathed his last and died.

A triangular white banner floated down from the air, settling over his face.