I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 58 Hundred Corpse Pool

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

Also.

The people of Honghe County worship the Red Lantern Goddess, regarding her as a deity. Who would dare to wrap the Goddess's lantern?
Chen Mo put aside his thoughts and followed Li Yuanlong into the village.

From the outside, the village didn't look very big, but once inside, it turned out to be much larger than it appeared from the outside. It covered an area of ​​three or four miles in circumference, surrounded by stone walls three zhang high, and contained various stone houses and courtyards, making it resemble a small village.

The village also has vegetable gardens, medicinal herb gardens, and many workers are busy with farm work there.

However, the variety planted is one that cannot be seen elsewhere, and it has a rather unique aroma.

Further on, you can see rows of paper figures displayed outside several houses, with several workers busy making them.

Several houses were filled with coffins, and many carpenters were busy at work.

This environment... it's really weird.

Making a few paper figures or coffins occasionally is fine. But the sheer number of paper figures and coffins is just too much…

Li Yuanlong seemed to see Chen Mo's doubts, so he explained, "My Black Mountain Stronghold supports so many people, and it's a secret branch of the Red Lanterns, so we're responsible for our own profits and losses. We always have to do some business to make a living."

The paper figures and coffins made in our village are especially popular. If someone in a family within a ten-mile radius dies, most villagers, except for the extremely poor or those who don't care about such things, will spend some money to buy them from our village.

Chen Mo understood.

Strangely enough... there are at least eighty or a hundred people in this village, and relying solely on buying paper figures and coffins probably wouldn't be enough to cover their daily expenses.

Although there are many people in the surrounding area, people don't die every day. At most, one person dies per month... that's already quite an exaggeration.

The village must have other means of responding and sources of income.

However, none of this concerned Chen Mo, because of his parents, he never had to worry about money. He was only interested in the knowledge of evil spirits in Black Mountain Village and their exorcism abilities.

Soon, Li Yuanlong led Chen Mo to a dilapidated courtyard. "The people living here are all new recruits to the village. According to the village rules, you have to stay here for a few days. During that time, someone will come to teach you the rules and things to pay attention to. Once you've learned the rules, I'll come and guide you through the basics and teach you some skills."

Chen Mo also knew that once he entered Black Mountain Stronghold, he would no longer be so special and would have to follow the rules of the stronghold in everything.

Chen Mo was prepared for this, so he cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Daoist Master."

Li Yuanlong laughed and said, "There's something I need to remind you. No matter what your previous identity was, now that you've entered Black Mountain Stronghold, you're a servant under the Red Lantern Lady. You must abide by the rules of the stronghold. If you break the rules, I won't protect you."

After giving him some instructions, Li Yuanlong left, leaving Chen Mo alone.

He glanced around.

The courtyard was dilapidated, but it was relatively tidy. A dozen or so boys were gathered there, most of them young, the youngest only ten or so. Perhaps because they had just arrived in the village, they looked bewildered and uneasy. Moreover, most of the boys were wearing tattered coats, indicating that they were poor children from impoverished families and were timid.

Three well-dressed teenagers, however, voluntarily gathered together to play, forming a stark contrast with the dozen or so poor children opposite them.

Chen Mo didn't seem lost or uncomfortable at all; he felt a bit like he was meeting a group of freshmen when he was a senior in college in his previous life.

He smiled and said to everyone, "My name is Chen Mo, and I'm new here. May I ask where I'll be sleeping?"

The group of poor children looked at each other, then at Chen Mo's fine clothes, and feeling ashamed of themselves, none of them dared to answer.

Finally, a wealthy young man dressed in a green brocade robe approached, sized up Chen Mo's attire, and smiled, "I am Li Bing, the son of the Li family, the landlords of Shuideng Town. We paid an extra ten taels of silver for a four-person room, so we don't have to squeeze into those lowly, wretched children's shared dormitories. There's hot water for bathing, and the food is good. We can even keep the lamps burning all night. Young Master Chen, you look like a young master from a wealthy family. Please follow me; there's one bed left."

Chen Mo originally wanted to stay in a four-person room, since it was inconvenient to squeeze into a large dormitory. However, when he heard Li Bing say the words "lowly and despicable poor child," Chen Mo felt displeased.

In my past life, I was just a poor child... How did I become so lowly and despicable?

Since that's the case, there's no need to live together. It would only cause unnecessary unhappiness.

It's okay if the material things are a little lacking.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm more comfortable staying in the dormitory." Chen Mo ignored Li Bing and turned to walk over to the group of poor children. A quick glance revealed that the children were all surrounding a tall boy in a gray cotton-padded jacket.

It seems that this boy in gray is the leader of the poor children.

Chen Mo asked the gray-clad youth, "May I ask, where is the dormitory-style sleeping area?"

The boy in gray seemed surprised that a rich kid like Chen Mo would be sharing a dormitory with them, poor kids. He glanced at Chen Mo a few more times before finally speaking, "It's in the west wing. I'll take you there."

"Thank you."

Chen Mo, carrying his bundle, followed the gray-clad youth into the west wing. The space was small and cramped. Inside was a large communal sleeping area around the corner, covered with worn-out quilts and pillows.

"The bed at the very end is empty, Young Master Chen, you may put your bundle there." The gray-clad youth wanted to take the bundle from Chen Mo's hand to help him out, but worried that there might be valuables inside, so he withdrew his hand halfway through.

Chen Mo saw all of this, threw his bundle onto the empty bed, and asked, "What's your name?"

The gray-clad youth said, “Li Qingniu. I’m from Shuideng Town. My parents suffered a misfortune recently, and I couldn’t make a living, so I came to Black Mountain Village to find a way to survive, thanks to the introduction of the village elder.”

Perhaps thinking Chen Mo was a good person, Li Qingniu added, "Young Master Chen, you really don't need to make do with this dormitory. The environment here is poor, there are too many people, and the snoring is deafening at night. There's not even a hot shower, and the food is a notch worse than what the rich young masters next door eat. Even when the village disciples come to teach us manners, they have little patience for us poor kids in this dormitory, but they're very patient with the rich young masters next door."

Chen Mo shrugged. "The conditions may be poor, but the living conditions are comfortable. Whose family, going back a few generations, wasn't filled with hardship? How is that considered lowly and despicable?" Li Qingniu understood that Chen Mo's words were directed at Li Bing, and was actually quite pleased, even feeling a bit more respect for him. He thought to himself: This rich young master is truly different from the other spoiled young masters.

With a better impression of Chen Mo, Li Qingniu became more talkative, explaining the rules and precautions here in detail.

Chen Mo listened attentively.

When it was time for dinner, the head chef and a few helpers brought in the food and told everyone to go to the yard to get their food.

The boys on the communal sleeping platform ate black steamed buns and thin porridge. Meanwhile, the three wealthy boys next door ate white rice and strips of meat.

The two sides present a stark contrast.

Chen Mo, with his extraordinary six senses, even overheard Li Bing and the others whispering among themselves.

"This Chen Mo is a bit pretentious. He has good opportunities but insists on living with a bunch of lowly crybabies. He really doesn't give the soldier any face."

"Don't bother arguing with him. We'll be assigned places in a few days. We've all been taken care of. When the time comes, we'll learn the craft from the sect leader. If we persevere for three to five years, we might become his formal disciples. His ungratefulness is ruining his future."

"That's right. If he had served us well, we might have been able to introduce him to some good opportunities. But now that things are like this, we can only wait and see him make a fool of himself."

"..."

Chen Mo heard it clearly, but acted as if nothing had happened.

After the meal, the cook and the waiters took away the bowls, chopsticks, and pots, and soon two young men dressed in brocade robes arrived.

One of them was a cylinder, while the other was a year or two older, wearing a dark green robe and hairpins, and looked more mature and composed.

The two first gave an introduction.

Chen Mo then learned that the green-robed youth was named Guo Ziyang, the son of Guo Songyang, the incense master. He and Yuanzhu were responsible for teaching the new recruits the rules.

The so-called rules are actually only three:
Firstly, everyone is required to abide by the village rules, not to fight among fellow villagers, to help each other, to respect teachers and elders, and to be diligent and hardworking, etc.

Secondly, this place is near the Great Yin Mountain, where evil spirits abound, especially at night. If you are not skilled enough, do not go out at night. If you die because of this, we will not be responsible.

Thirdly, they gave everyone some methods to enhance their six senses, urging them to improve their sensitivity as soon as possible so they could be assigned to a good place in the future.

Fourth, every new recruit must accompany a formal disciple on night patrols; those who perform poorly will be sent home.

Chen Mo had long been an internal martial arts master and had even opened the six senses, so he naturally didn't need to enhance the sensitivity of the six senses or anything like that. He wasn't worried about any problems during night patrols either, and was just waiting for the assigned time to arrive.

As for where they were assigned, they were simply to follow the four incense masters.

Chen Mo was new to the area and only knew of two incense masters: Guo Songyang and Li Yuanlong. He had never heard of the other two.

Moreover, Chen Mo doesn't need to worry; he just needs to follow Li Yuanlong when the time comes. After all, it's something his father has arranged.

Chen Mo had assumed that after Yuanzhu finished teaching him the rules, Gao Di would come over and greet him. Unexpectedly… this guy acted as if he didn't know him, walking away with his head held high.

Before leaving, Guo Ziyang chose a rich boy named Sun Li and a poor boy named Sanzhuzi to go on night patrol together.

"Green Ox, is there any custom associated with night patrols?"

After everyone left, Chen Mo approached Li Qingniu and asked.

Li Qingniu was quite enthusiastic. "I arrived a few days earlier and know more about the situation. This place is at the foot of Dayin Mountain, and there are many evil spirits at night. Night patrols involve taking a lantern and patrolling the vicinity to ensure the safety of the area and prevent evil spirits from coming in and causing trouble."

"It's called a night patrol, but it's actually a test from the village leaders. Everyone has to go on a night patrol with their disciple, and the disciple will keep a record of their performance. This will be used as a basis for our future assignments. If we perform well on the night patrol, we can gain the leader's favor and get a good position."

Chen Mo hadn't expected this. "Is there any danger during the night patrol?"

Li Qingniu said, "With a formal disciple guiding you, there is generally no danger. But there are dangerous places too. I've heard of some disciples who died after being possessed by evil spirits while patrolling at night."

Please elaborate.

"I heard that a while ago, some of the men went on night patrol with a disciple to a place called Hundred Corpse Pool, and they all died. Even the formal disciples of the stronghold died."

Chen Mo was taken aback.

A pool of a hundred corpses?
It's one thing for the staff to die, but even a formal disciple has died?
That's a bit of an exaggeration.

Li Qingniu quickly reassured them, "This matter has caused quite a stir in the village. I suppose the higher-ups know how dangerous this place is, and they probably won't send us to patrol Hundred Corpse Pool at night anymore."

Chen Mo nodded, and they all went to sleep on the large communal bed.

The next day, as usual, Guo Ziyang and Yuanzhu explained the rules, and when night fell, it was Yuanzhu's turn to lead the men on night patrol.

Yuanzhu glanced listlessly at Chen Mo and Li Qingniu, "You two, come with me on night patrol."

Li Qingniu was thrilled to finally get his chance to patrol the night. After thanking them, he asked, "Where are we patrolling tonight?"

Yuanzhu glanced at Chen Mo and said, "The Hundred Corpse Pool."

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(End of this chapter)