Chapter Sixty-Two: The Weeping Bride (Part 32)

Su Man did not doubt the truth of her words, but continued to ask, “Then how did you end up like this?”

According to what Huang Meilun had said before, she ought to be formidable, yet now Su Man was confident she could kill her with a single blow—Huang Meilun’s strength was no greater than that of an average ghost.

“Because I resurrected Miao Sheng, using all my accumulated virtue,” Huang Meilun replied. “The village chief didn’t just want to exploit my corpse; he also wanted to use Miao Sheng’s body. To prevent Miao Sheng’s corpse from being abused after his death, I brought him back to life.”

She had no regrets about spending her virtue, but she deeply lamented that she would never meet Miao Sheng again.

“After I used up that virtue, I was still alive, but Miao Sheng could no longer see me. No, to be precise, no one could see me—until I met you.

“I don’t expect Miao Sheng to forgive me, nor do I hope for him to see me. I only wish for you to help me, to save him.”

The village chief was far more evil than anyone knew. All these years, she had been watching him as he copied the evil arts onto her corpse and used it for his own purposes, always hiding his true strength.

“The village chief means to use the lives of the entire village to activate the resurrection array.”

Her figure suddenly trembled, as if she might vanish any second, and her voice became urgent. “Miao Sheng knows nothing of this. The rituals he’s tampered with won’t change anything—his every move is under the chief’s control. He doesn’t stand a chance!”

The evil arts the chief wielded were terrifying, for they had been left behind fifty years ago by the Celestial Master who made a pact with her. At the time, the Celestial Master intended for these arts to be used to protect the village only in the face of unprecedented disaster.

No one knew when or how the village chief learned of this secret.

Her image flickered again, as if she were about to dissipate.

“What’s wrong with you?” This wasn’t the first time she’d shown signs of instability, so Su Man asked.

Before Huang Meilun could answer, Huang Mei suddenly woke up, her face ashen as she cried, “I still hear the wailing, Su Man…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, turning her head to vomit a mouthful of blood.

The chaotic, anguished screams were rattling her heart.

Huang Meilun seized the moment to speak quickly, “The chief has started targeting the villagers. Once the moment is ripe, the final killing array will activate—everyone will die…”

Her figure disintegrated and vanished into thin air, yet her voice lingered on, echoing in the air: “You must stop him!”

Everyone will die? That was truly a terrible ending.

Su Man grabbed Lin Qi, who was gnawing on the table leg, by the head and tossed it to Sun Li, then opened the door and stepped out.

The moment she opened the door, she saw a crowd gathered, all wearing anxious expressions.

At their head was the talkative uncle, who cautiously asked, “Is it true? Will we all die?”

He hastily explained, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

He’d only grown worried after seeing Su Man’s grave expression. Passing by the room by chance, he overheard the conversation inside. The rest had come over out of curiosity, and upon hearing the revelation, were left stunned and frozen. They had thought this trip might take some strange turns, but never imagined it would end in death.

Now, they all looked at her with pleading eyes, like lambs waiting to be fed, desperate for an answer.

But Su Man couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. “Get out of the way, unless you want to handle this yourselves.”

That, in itself, was a tacit admission. Some of the more fragile among them began to sob.

Su Man ignored them, leading Sun Li and Zhang Gui outside. Huang Mei had fainted again and could only stay behind to rest. There was no way she could search for the chief now—who knew how long that would take—and Su Man had no time to comfort these weak-willed people.

“Are you going to look for the chief?” the uncle called after them, seeing their hurried departure.

Catching Su Man’s gaze, he quickly added, “I saw the chief heading toward the river not long ago. We’ll pray for you.”

“Su Man, do you really believe that uncle? It could be a trap,” Lin Qi said, his head now the only part of him left, chattering nonstop along the way.

Su Man didn’t even turn her head. “If you doubt, don’t use; if you use, don’t doubt.”

Lin Qi fell silent. He had to admit that he lacked Su Man’s decisiveness.

When they reached the riverbank, there was no sign of the village chief.

Lin Qi began to grumble, “See? I told you—”

“Shut up, or I’ll make sure your head loses its tongue,” Su Man cut him off, then moved closer to the river.

The river’s surface rippled gently, appearing fierce yet soft at the same time.

“I told you—there are a lot of bones down there. Don’t get so close. This place is cursed,” Sun Li warned, holding Lin Qi’s head, who squeezed his eyes shut in fear.

Su Man ignored them, crouching to search the riverbank carefully. Zhang Gui seemed to have noticed something as well, his brow deeply furrowed as he scraped at the ground with his fingers.

Su Man soon discovered a patch of disturbed soil at her feet. When she dug it up, she found a freshly severed head, its expression still twisted in despair.

Zhang Gui uncovered another head nearby, his frown deepening. He quickly moved to another spot and dug again.

Sure enough, he unearthed yet another head.

His expression changed, and he turned to run.

But Su Man grabbed him easily. “What did you find? Where are you going?”

“There’s no time—I have to stop the chief!” Zhang Gui tried to shake her off, but Su Man was strong, and Sun Li was even stronger.

Sun Li landed a heavy fist on his forehead, stunning him instantly.

“Su Man asked you a question. You should answer her—she’s really smart,” Sun Li said, his admiration plain. He had a natural respect for intelligence, and Su Man was not only a good person but brilliantly clever. In his eyes, she was almost divine.

“It’s the Killing Array!” Zhang Gui said helplessly as he scrambled up. “The entire river is laced with the chief’s formations. All those heads are keys—the array has already begun. Soon, all the dead here will be awakened and turned into his puppets!

“We have to kill the chief before his puppets rise! We must stop him! And my second uncle has to know—he’s one of the villagers, too!”