My exclusive card pool

Chapter 174 The Shadow Ran Away with Someone
Upon hearing this, both mother and daughter's expressions changed.

There's no one left alive in the village...

Either they were killed by that kind of monster, or they became that kind of monster!

"Could it be that my aunt's family also..."

Qiao'er suddenly choked up, and her eyes reddened.

Huo Shenglan looked sorrowful and hugged her daughter tightly, remaining silent.

"Qiao'er, Master's wife," Wang Xi said in a deep voice. "We shouldn't stay here any longer; let's leave quickly."

If he were alone, his strength would be more than enough to handle the danger. But with his master's wife and junior sister by his side, two frail women, he would inevitably be put on the defensive against a powerful enemy.

Huo Shenglan looked up at Maoli Village, feeling extremely uneasy, but she also understood the seriousness of the matter, so she nodded and said, "I'll listen to you, Xizhi."

Immediately afterwards, the three of them turned back the way they came.

But before they had gone far, Wang Xi's expression darkened.

The air suddenly trembled, and a sickening buzzing sound of wings came from behind.

The three of them turned around and looked back—

I felt a chill run down my spine!

Dozens of dark figures rose up from the direction of the village houses. The humanoid bodies, still covered with scraps of cloth, were writhing strangely, with clusters of grape-like growths bulging under their skin.

With a few tearing sounds, the face ripped open like a cicada's molt, revealing a shiny locust-like head beneath the rolled-up skin.

Its compound eyes are pitch black and full of malice.

creak, creak...

The sharp sounds of their mouthparts opening and closing blended together.

The villagers' limbs had transformed into deformed, greenish-blue segmented limbs, covered in barbs and black stripes. Grim-looking scales sprouted from their backs, completely metamorphosing them into terrifying humanoid locust monsters.

They swept across the fields in flocks, like a plague-like cloud engulfing the three of them.

"Let's go!" Wang Xi shouted immediately.

Huo Qiao'er looked terrified, grabbed her mother's hand tightly, and ran forward like a madwoman.

But Huo Shenglan was just an ordinary woman, and she was already exhausted from the long journey. Now her legs were weak.

"Qiao'er, Mother can't run anymore..."

Huo Shenglan was panting heavily, her face pale.

"You and Xizhi, don't worry about me, just run."

"Mother!" Qiao'er cried out in alarm, almost bursting into tears. "Don't talk nonsense, I... how could we abandon you!"

Wang Xi glanced to the side.

Seeing the locust swarm getting closer, he simply turned around and went to meet it.

"Senior brother?!"

Qiao'er noticed Wang Xi's actions and was terrified.

"Don't worry about me, take your master's wife and leave quickly!"

Wang Xi replied without turning his head.

Qiao'er, fighting back tears, almost supported her limp mother as they desperately tried to escape.

hum!
shhhhh!

Two locust monsters swooped down first, their saw-like arms and claws extended, pouncing head-on—

Wang Xi swayed and moved with incredible speed, slipping between the two like a fish through a crack.

He raised his hands and swung them, left fist and right palm.

Bang!Bang!
The two locust monsters missed their target, their heads exploded, and they crashed to the ground, rolling into a muddy mess.

But following closely behind were dozens of locust monsters that swooped down in formation, their mouths emitting a piercing, metallic screeching sound as they opened and closed.

Wang Xi glanced around and saw that his junior sister and master's wife had already run far away. He gave up pretending and threw a punch into the air—

boom! !

A fiery tornado rose up, instantly engulfing the swarm of locust monsters. Amidst the acrid black smoke, only ashes drifted down.

A few locust monsters managed to survive and turned back towards Maoli Village.

Wang Xi was about to unfurl his cloak and launch a mid-air pursuit when he abruptly stopped. His gaze swept across the village houses, where he saw over a hundred dark figures rising into the air like a tide, their dark mass obscuring half the sky.

What's even more chilling is that a tattered sack is clustered in the center of the locust swarm—it's empty, yet it moves strangely in the wind, as if it were alive and suspended in mid-air.

"What the hell is that?"

Wang Xi's pupils contracted slightly; his intuition told him that rashly engaging in combat would be unwise.

Furthermore, the safety of my junior sister and master's wife is of utmost importance.

After only two seconds of thought, he turned and flew away without hesitation, his figure sweeping across the muddy path like a gust of wind, disappearing into the distance in an instant.

...

...

The sun sets in the west.

Wang Xi and his two companions finally made it back to Qingwei Town before nightfall.

The master's wife was already exhausted and collapsed, and Wang Xi carried her the whole way. When they returned to the martial arts school, Huo Mingchuan and a group of disciples were practicing martial arts in the courtyard. They all gathered around when they saw this.

"?!"

Huo Mingchuan's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward.

Wang Xi carefully put his teacher's wife down, and immediately someone brought a chair and served tea and water. Huo Qiao'er's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, her pale face filled with shock.

Huo Mingchuan quickly checked on his wife and daughter, confirming that it was just due to overwork and fright. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to ask in a deep voice, "Xizhi, what happened?"

"Maoli Village is gone." Wang Xi's voice was grave. "The villagers have all turned into monsters..."

The moment the words were spoken, an uproar erupted in the courtyard.

Under his master's persistent questioning, Wang Xi briefly described his experiences on the journey. When they heard that the villagers had transformed into locust monsters, everyone was terrified.

Several disciples who had relatives living in Maoli Village turned pale. Before their master could speak, they rushed out of the martial arts school and ran home to report the news.

That night.

News of the strange occurrences in Maoli Village, with the entire village transforming into monsters, quickly spread throughout Qingwei Town.

The matter escalated further.

The news spread even more wildly the next day, casting a dark shadow over the town and causing widespread panic.

Finally, the local defense bureau was forced into a corner and had no choice but to turn to the Black Eel Army. The leaders of both sides sent people to inquire and found that it was indeed true.

Everyone panicked.

There really is such a strange thing!
Once the telegram was sent to the provincial capital, they quickly received a reply from Master Han. On the third day, the people of Qingwei Town saw an army of several hundred men marching along the street from the direction of their barracks in the north of the town, heading straight south.

After inquiring around, they learned that the Black Eel Army had received orders from their superiors to go to Maoli Village to suppress evil.

Only then did the townspeople feel a little relieved.

Maoli Village is a dozen or so miles from Qingwei Town. It's not too far, but it's not too close either. What if that evil thing spreads to the town?
With a few hundred guns, surely they can accomplish some evil deeds!
However, many cautious local gentry had already made plans. That very day, they packed their valuables and, with their families and relatives, headed straight for the provincial capital to escape the disaster.

Don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens.

In chaotic times, they were more afraid of death than anyone else.

...

...

This evening.

Huo Mingchuan's family was having dinner in the inner courtyard. The atmosphere was a bit tense, and no one was talking much.

Suddenly, Zhang Fuyun walked in, looking dazed, his steps unsteady as if he were walking on cotton wool. His clothes were wrinkled and his eyes were covered in dark circles, as if his soul had been taken away.

Yu Ruiyang stood up first, frowning as he called out, "Fuyun?"

Zhang Fuyun did not answer. He walked to the table and stood there, staring down at the cracks in the blue brick floor.

Huo Mingchuan and Huo Shenglan exchanged a glance.

This child hadn't been to the martial arts school for four or five days, and when he suddenly appeared today, he looked so disheveled.

What exactly happened?
Huo Shenglan put down her chopsticks and said gently, "Fuyun, sit down and have some hot soup first."

Zhang Fuyun then seemed to wake from a dream, his Adam's apple bobbing twice before he suddenly knelt down with a thud: "Master, Mistress, Grandmother, she...she..."

Before she could finish speaking, tears were already falling to the ground, and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

After his intermittent narration, everyone learned that the old lady of the Zhang family had suddenly fallen seriously ill, and the whole family had taken her to the provincial capital overnight to find a famous doctor, but she ultimately could not survive.

Everyone sighed upon hearing this, and Huo Shenglan quickly helped him up, ladled out a full bowl of ham and winter melon soup, and pushed it over to him.

"Fuyun, birth, aging, sickness and death are inevitable, please accept my condolences... Here, drink the soup to warm your stomach, and take good care of your own body."

The teacher's wife comforted her.

Zhang Fuyun held the bowl, tears mingling with the soup, and drank it quickly and fiercely, as if trying to swallow her grief along with the hot soup.

Wang Xi watched this scene and sighed inwardly.

When he had previously delivered the lantern-bearing boy to the peddler, the man had mentioned that Old Madam Zhang was nearing the end of her life. It was precisely because he feared that the lantern-bearing boy would be consumed by grief and turn into a demon that he forcibly took him into the shop.

When one's lifespan is nearing its end, this is inevitable.

Zhang Fuyun would have to go through this sooner or later.

Wait until late at night.

Wang Xi and Huo Qiao'er were enjoying the cool air under the corridor when they suddenly saw Zhang Fuyun standing like a ghost in front of the moon gate.

"Senior brothers and sisters..." His voice was frighteningly hoarse, and he suddenly said, "Fuzhan has left with Young Master Zhao."

Huo Qiao'er's mouth opened slightly, and the palm-leaf fan in her hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"what happened?"

Wang Xi stood up, frowned, and asked.

He was also surprised.

It seems that the death of his grandmother was not the root cause of Zhang Fuyun's despondency.

"We stayed at the Zhao family's house for those two days in the provincial capital, and we even met Miss Zhao Wu..."

The Zhao family of the provincial capital is a family of doctors.

To save Madam Zhang, we must ask someone for help.

However, Miss Zhao's eldest brother, Young Master Zhao, was dressed in a suit and spoke with an air of overseas knowledge. Upon seeing him, Yun Fuzhan refused to give Zhang Fuyun another glance.

“She despises me…” Zhang Fuyun suddenly laughed. “Senior brothers and sisters, isn’t it ridiculous? Even my own shadow despises me.”

Wang Xi and Huo Qiao'er exchanged a glance.

Zhang Fuyun's current condition is truly worrying.

Under the moonlight, the junior brother still had no shadow, but the string of "five-qian duck" coins was still hanging from his waist.

"Junior brother, you..." Huo Qiao'er hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, afraid that he might do something rash.

"Don't worry, Senior Sister." Zhang Fuyun straightened her back, unusually calm. "After experiencing this, I finally understand what Senior Brother told me back then."

"From now on, I, Zhang Fuyun, will definitely become a towering and upright man!"

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply, turned around, and disappeared into the darkness.

"This……"

Huo Qiao'er hesitated for a moment, then quickly ran to Wang Xi and said worriedly:
"Senior brother, will junior brother be alright?"

"Don't worry, he'll have his own destiny."

Wang Xi gently patted his junior sister's shoulder and comforted her softly:

“A man’s transformation sometimes only requires a trigger. This experience may not be a bad thing for him.”

After a while.

After Huo Qiao'er returned to her room to rest, Wang Xi left the martial arts school and headed straight for the crooked tree on the outskirts of the town.

The beginning of Hai hour has just passed.

Wang Xi sat in the thatched cottage courtyard and told the peddler in detail about Zhang Fuyun's lost shadow.

"Sir, my junior brother's shadow leaves with him. Will this harm his body?"

The peddler hesitated for a moment, then lightly tapped the table with his fingertips:
"The movement that nourishes the body is called the soul, and the stillness that calms the form is called the spirit. The shadow is the window of the soul and spirit."

"A window brings fresh air, while the absence of one makes it suffocating. Your junior brother will subsequently become mentally confused, as if trapped in a jar. But—"

The peddler suddenly chuckled.

"This is the opportunity for him to break free from his cocoon. Once he gets through this period, his primordial spirit will grow stronger until he is reborn and embarks on the path of cultivation."

"Losing your shadow has this kind of benefit?"

Wang Xi was surprised.

"Benefits?" The peddler shook his head: "Not blessings, but calamities... Only your junior brother has a special destiny, so he can use calamities as a ladder to rise to the top."

Hearing this, Wang Xi was stunned.

To gain the qualifications for cultivation, he still needs to diligently practice internal arts until his essence, energy, and spirit are perfected. However, Zhang Fuyun is clearly a chosen one, receiving the treatment of a protagonist, which is why he has to undergo this ordeal and transform himself.

"By the way, sir, I have a favor to ask of you."

Finally, the peddler spoke in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)