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Chapter 371 The Big Pot
As the cast iron pot grew its appearance, a peculiar aroma began to waft out.

In a daze, Zhou You was no longer in the cave.

The sun shines brightly outside the window, the trees are lush and green, and there are crowds of pedestrians and herds of cattle and horses.

We are now living in a rare era of peace and prosperity.

There was no war, no famine, no invaders, and no heavy taxes. The emperor was wise, the officials were honest, and the lives of ordinary people, though simple, were quite prosperous.

Then he saw the lives of those villagers.

The life of a leatherworker is always tiring and arduous, but whenever he returns home, seeing his lovely children and virtuous wife who are waiting for him, and smelling the aroma of the food, all his fatigue disappears.

As an ordinary citizen, this is all I could hope for.

But why can't even this small expectation be fulfilled now?

Okay, this is also a beautiful wish that 'it' once made. As long as we follow its wishes, then...
"Travel around, travel around!"

A shout abruptly pulled Zhou You out of the illusion.

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was Hanlu's worried face.

Zhou You shook his head, clearing away the last bit of confusion, and then said.

"What happened just now?"

But Hanlu didn't answer immediately; instead, she first stuffed a strip of cloth soaked in wine into the cloth.

"Don't say anything, just bring this with you first."

Hearing the anxiety in his voice, Zhou You didn't say a word, not even asking "why." Instead, he put it on cleanly and neatly, then tilted his head back.

As expected, the cave was still the same cave.

However, unlike before, this place has now become colorful, even vibrant.

Looking around, all you can see are all sorts of fungi growing in clusters—red, green, white, gray, and purple, both known and unknown colonies are scattered throughout the field of vision, and many of them are growing on the fleshy mass. Whenever the roots go deeper into them, they bring a spasm that seems to be in great pain.

All sorts of spores flew everywhere, trying their best to cling to anything they could. If they hadn't given each other a bunch of buffs beforehand, they probably wouldn't be much better off than that chunk of flesh.

But it's still not the most severe.

The most serious problem is that, under this strange change, the villagers not only did not lose their fighting ability, but the growths on their bodies were growing rapidly, to the point that they soon lost their original physical forms.

Now they look like giant lumps of flesh, with several pairs of eyes, several arms, countless floating fleshy buds, and one or more exceptionally large mouths.

then.

—And so the mass of flesh began its charge.

The funeral procession tried to stop them as before, but the hardness and speed of the fleshy mass were now vastly different. In the blink of an eye, a group of paper figures were knocked down—but at that moment, Old Man Li's voice rang out.

"The time has come; let us proceed with the funeral of our deceased family!"

Zhou You was taken aback.

—Didn't you say it would be a while? Why is it starting now?

However, the body has already begun to act before the thought even begins.

He opened his mouth and began reciting the words that Old Li had taught him beforehand.

"—Holding a stick of incense, the smoke rises to the heavens; New Year's paper hangs on the main gate, and white sails adorn the second gate."

The funeral procession changed its formation this time, with the surviving soldiers at the front, and then the paper figures behind them began to scatter paper flowers.

A flurry of white flowers began to drift down, and when they landed on the fleshy clumps and fungal carpets, they seemed to compete for space just like real plants. The paper flowers and mushrooms bloomed together, slowing down the pace of the villagers.

But that's still not enough.

According to Zhou You's understanding, his master was using a "spirit-summoning" melody, which was a rather troublesome method in the Bai family. It was divided into three parts. In the first part, one person acted as the funeral master, leading the procession through the streets. In the second part, Old Man Li took over, leading the procession to separate the villagers who were about to turn into ghosts. In the third part, they tried to persuade the surviving underworld officials to drag this thing in.

Anyway, the underworld has already become a chaotic battleground for demons and monsters, so one more or one less won't make a difference.

However, the timing was wrong.

Normally, the old man needs the time it takes for two incense sticks to complete the ritual, but now it's only been about one and a half sticks. How could he...?
Zhou You understood immediately after thinking about it.

The old man is afraid something might happen to him.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, and this person certainly had ulterior motives, he genuinely treated this imposter as his apprentice.

"."

Zhou You remained silent for a long time, and finally just raised the white banner and continued singing the funeral hymns.

"Cry for nine long, wrap nine packets, nine packets nine, nine packets wrapped, nine packets round, nine packets filled with gold and silver money."

Their funeral rites are divided into several categories: a banner bearer to preside over the ceremony, wailing singers to provide accompaniment, a band to play instruments, and pallbearers to escort the coffin. However, due to the decline of the tradition, these people can only be replaced by paper effigies. These effigies are already far inferior to normal living people, let alone now that the funeral has been arranged ahead of schedule.
As expected, the funeral procession had only gone halfway when it reached a stalemate with the local residents.

The villagers, now turned into lumps of flesh, could not break through the layers of paper figures, but the flowers scattered by the paper figures could not advance an inch either—the face on the large pot wandered around, its features changing up and down, while at the same time the entire cave began to deteriorate further.

Seven or eight fleshy roots slid down from above, all of which gathered on the pot—then each root suddenly split open, and human tissue was vomited into the pot as if it were being vomited. The grayish liquid began to boil again, and the fungi and lumps that covered the entire cave began to resound as if in a carnival.

That's right, it's playing.

—In just a few seconds, mouths for pleasure had already grown on those things!

Zhou You only paused for a second before figuring out where the corpses came from.

They had previously discovered more than one pair of male and female ghosts in Zhangping.

And these vengeful spirits have been supplying the 'ingredients' for this big pot of stew!
"Damn, no wonder this thing got to C-level—turns out all those refugees up there were feeding it all!"

Old Li cursed aloud from the shadows—normally, the government would have discovered the disappearance of so many people long ago, but now…
He just wanted to kill those good-for-nothing bastards!

Fortunately, he is not fighting alone now.

Beside him, the woman had already set up her zither, and with a gentle touch of her slender fingers, a familiar tune, "Wuxi Scenery," began to play.

As before, although the villagers had long lost their human form, their faces flushed a hazy pink as the music entered their ears. Then, as the music reached its climax, several of the fleshy lumps stretched out their short legs and gave up trying to break through the array of paper figures. Judging from their comical appearance, it seemed that they wanted to unconsciously walk towards the place where the moonlight rang.

Taking advantage of this brief gap, Hanlu rushed out.

The peach blossom fan unfolded silently. If Lady Flower entertained with music, then Hanlu was simply a dancer. Her figure moved with the grace of flowing clouds and water, her toes lightly touching the ground, as if she were performing a bewitching dance.

However, this is still not enough. Inviting the underworld messengers is different from inviting the funeral officiants when inviting a coffin; they must be allowed to come only if they see concrete evidence—meaning the entire funeral procession must be pushed under the pot for it to be considered acceptable.

but now.
Zhou You took a deep breath and sang the last lyrics.

"A golden boy and jade maiden lead the way, weeping bitterly before your spirit—"

With that, his work was considered complete.

Immediately, he roared at a paper figure next to him.

"master!"

Although Old Man Li wasn't by his side, as the true flag bearer of the ceremony, he should at least have sufficient control over the procession.

Sure enough, less than a few breaths later, the paper figure turned its head, its sinister face staring at Zhou You, and then uttered a sentence.

"What is it, apprentice?"

"It seems like things are at a stalemate. Should I lend a hand?"

Old Man Li instinctively wanted to deny it.

"You? With your build? And all those injuries you're covered in?"

"The injury has almost healed, and I am, after all, a martial artist. I have some skill in fists, feet, and weapons, to say the least. Besides, I have discovered an opportunity. If possible, I might be able to send the team down directly."

Old Li pondered for a long time, but looking at the big pot that was about to start moving again, he finally gritted his teeth.

"Okay, be careful!"

Zhou You didn't even have time to reply before he slid out his short sword and leaped out of the group!

Hanlu, who was fighting fiercely, glanced at him with some surprise, but Zhou You only returned a calm look before brushing past him.

He wasn't dealing with these townspeople.

It was the pot.

Or rather, it's the iron chain that holds the pot.

Zhou You had figured it out: the thing cooking in that pot was causing all the strange changes in the cave. Although he didn't have a way to kill it right now, he could make it boil over to a certain extent.
That would cause the entire pot of soup to spill out!

The living pot also saw Zhou You and realized his thoughts—its crooked features changed in a series of ways, eventually forming a crying face.

A mournful cry rang out, and several of the fleshy lumps, as if receiving some command, immediately abandoned the paper figures and tried to return to defend—but at that moment, the music suddenly became urgent, and several deep bloody gashes burst open on these lumps. Then, Old Man Li, who took over the group, shook the white banner vigorously, and several pairs of boys and girls suddenly hugged the fleshy lumps, and then with a 'bang,' they exploded into a sky full of white paper.

Even so, two escaped and rushed over.

Zhou You took a deep breath and did not choose to fight head-on. Instead, he moved to the side, using his height advantage to dodge the body that was crashing into him. Then he bent down and drew his knife, slicing through the short legs of the little fleshy creature.

The massive body instantly lost its balance and collapsed into the remaining fire pit. Zhou You used its back as a stepping stone and, in a few leaps, got onto the iron chain that suspended the large pot.

The strange smell seemed to materialize here, and there seemed to be countless voices whispering around me. These words did not pass through my ears, but went straight into my brain through my skull.

Zhou You frowned, ignoring the seductive music, then inserted his short knife into the rope connecting the chains and twisted it to the side.

The rope was probably made of cowhide, and it didn't break after that first cut, but just as he was about to make a second cut...

A fleshy growth on the cave ceiling.
Suddenly it cracked open.

A human body covered in blood vessels and growths slid out of it, but the moment Zhou You saw it, he paused for a second.

He knows this man.

Although we weren't exactly familiar with each other, we had at least met once.

This is the guy who met with Old Man Li at the tavern and had a bottle of good wine stolen from him.

Now, his lower body has been completely digested by the tumor, and although his upper body has survived, he is no different from the other residents.

At that moment, the poor fellow opened his mouth, seemingly to scream—but what came out was a shriek beyond the frequency of human hearing.

Zhou You's mind went completely blank for a moment, and he couldn't even hold onto the chains. He was about to fall downwards.

—And right under the pot, the two lumps of meat had already split open their mouths, staring menacingly.

Is it all going to end in failure?
Go to hell, are you kidding me!
Jing Shen used the "Food Offering Song" to squeeze out the last bit of magic power from his body, forcibly clearing his chaotic mind. Zhou You steadied himself and then gripped the short sword tightly once more.

The expression on the pot changed again, this time finally revealing a look of terror.

But Zhou You had already turned the blade and cut through that last bit of obstruction.

The large pot fell instantly, spilling out everything inside.

Immediately, all the residents began to kneel on the ground and wail.

At this moment, the road parted, and under Old Man Li's command, the paper figure procession accelerated as if running wildly, and in an instant, it lifted the coffin under the pot.

The ritual to summon the spirit was thus completed, and the temperature in the cave instantly dropped several degrees. Several dark shadows appeared around Old Man Li and transformed into two blurry human figures in the blink of an eye.

"The Bai family descendant humbly begs the two lords of the Underworld to help rid the world of this evil spirit that plagues it."

However, the two figures did not move.

Old Man Li immediately became anxious.

"My lord, this is no time to dawdle. My apprentice is still over there; if we wait any longer, he might be gone."

Upon hearing this, the figures remained silent, but one of them reached out and probed.

This time, Old Man Li wasn't in a hurry anymore; instead, his face suddenly became quite interesting.

"You want travel expenses? No, sir, where would I get the money for you? How about paper money? What's the use of paper money if the underworld doesn't even exist? I don't have any gold or silver on hand either. Never mind, Miss Hua, I'll consider it a favor and lend me some."

After getting some money from the Flower Maiden and giving it to her, the two figures began to move. One of them gracefully walked to the coffin, while the other threw out a hook and hooked it onto the large pot.

The pot also sensed the danger. Although the ash inside had spilled out, it still forcibly drove the surrounding fleshy balls—but no matter what those movements were, all the attacks passed lightly through the figures, as if passing through a cloud of mist.

Then, pull hard with the hook.

From the enormous cauldron, a phantom was drawn out—it was a twisted tumor. The figure then tossed it into the coffin, closed the lid, and hoisted it onto their shoulders.

In the blink of an eye, they all vanished like smoke.

(End of this chapter)