Volume One, Chapter 116: Pingshui Town (4)

As Duck Egg listened, she felt the voice was unfamiliar and eyed the black ball beneath her warily. “Who are you?”

It was clearly the face of a five- or six-year-old child, yet her guardedness was heart-wrenching.

Mu Ling’s heart tightened with sympathy.

For once, Mu Ling’s voice softened considerably. “Don’t be afraid, little one. Uncle is a good person.”

In response, Duck Egg spat at him.

“Pah! Is this another new trick to torment us? The adults may fear you, but I, Duck Egg, am not afraid!”

Mu Ling’s face darkened further. He looked at Duck Egg’s stubborn expression and grinned, showing his teeth. “Hey, kid, have you ever heard of the Magic of Love Spinning Round and Round?”

Before Duck Egg could figure out what was happening, she started lashing her black tail furiously.

Seeing stars dancing before her eyes, Mu Ling’s resolve finally softened, though he threatened fiercely, “Behave, or you’ll be sorry!”

Duck Egg’s face remained defiant, but she wisely restrained herself.

—

No sooner had Mu Ling set Duck Egg down from his tail than she doubled over and vomited.

She was already thin and sallow; now, after vomiting, even her lips took on a pale, ashen tint.

When she was done, Qin Yu handed her a tissue.

But Duck Egg didn’t reach for it. She simply stared blankly at the mess on the ground.

Mu Ling’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. “Hey, hey, hey, you’re not thinking of picking that up and eating it, are you?”

Just imagining it made Mu Ling’s stomach churn.

Duck Egg glared at him, furious. “If it weren’t for you, would I have thrown up?”

Throwing up meant hunger, and when she was hungry, what was there for her to eat?

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Qin Yu hastily stepped in and handed Duck Egg a cornbread roll.

Duck Egg’s eyes lit up when she saw it.

She looked uncertainly at Qin Yu.

—

Qin Yu twirled her hand. “You don’t want it?”

This time, Duck Egg didn’t hesitate. Like a starving wolf, she snatched the cornbread roll.

She sniffed it carefully, then swiftly stuffed it into her pocket, as if afraid she’d regret it if she waited even a second longer.

“Alright, what do you want to know from me?” Duck Egg asked, sitting with her arms crossed in front of her chest, sounding far older than her years.

Clearly, Qin Yu wasn’t the first to offer her food.

“What exactly happened in this village?” Qin Yu inquired.

Duck Egg shot Mu Ling a contemptuous and resentful look before answering Qin Yu. “You raise these harmful things—aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”

Harmful things?

Mu Ling looked left and right, realizing she was talking about him.

He rolled up his sleeves and darted to Duck Egg’s side. “Who are you calling a harmful thing, little girl?”

Mu Ling, a shadowy black ball, planted himself on Duck Egg’s back, radiating menace.

But Duck Egg was unafraid. She reached out, opened her mouth, and bit down hard on Mu Ling’s tail!

A blood-curdling scream pierced the air.

In that brief, electric flash of a moment, Qin Yu caught a glimpse of an uncanny, faint purple aura swirling around Duck Egg.

Though subtle, Qin Yu saw it clearly.

“Mu Ling!” she called authoritatively.

Mu Ling, on the verge of retaliating, sullenly slunk back to Qin Yu’s side.

Duck Egg ran her hand through her messy hair. “I won’t take your cornbread for nothing. Since you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

—

Pingshui Town was remote and isolated, its transportation underdeveloped.

The villagers were self-sufficient, rarely interacting with the outside world.

Moreover, there was a local legend: the town was under the protection of a divine maiden, and if anyone left, that protection would vanish.

Yet, inevitably, some didn’t believe and left despite all warnings.

Most of those people died outside the town; those few who managed to return were all stricken with cancer to varying degrees.

To survive, the villagers simply stopped leaving.

And so, life went on peacefully for centuries.

Five years ago, however, outsiders came to visit. They revered the town’s divine maiden and rebuilt her temple, founding the Anxin Sect in her honor.

To become a follower, one had to pay a fee. If you couldn’t afford it, recruiting acquaintances to join would suffice.

Gradually, nearly the entire town became followers of the Anxin Sect.

Had it ended there, it might have been harmless. But over time, the sect’s true nature was revealed—

They persuaded parents to offer up their children to the divine maiden.

Serving at her side would supposedly bring peace and happiness to the whole family.

—

“So, those bottle people are the children of the village?” Mu Ling’s brow furrowed tightly.

Duck Egg, seeing his surprise, merely nodded with numb indifference. “They break their limbs and stuff them into jars. Every so often, the Buddha orders people to pour all kinds of poisonous insects into the jars.”

“The insects gnaw at their bodies. Some children die from the poison, and those who survive are kept like that.”

Just hearing it made Mu Ling’s features tighten in horror.

While he was appalled by the cruelty, he couldn’t help but ask, “Then how is it that you’re unharmed?”