CHAPTER 329: CHAPTER 8: RATTLE DRUM (PART 2)

Sun Hang always felt that worshiping this thing was not as good as worshiping the three monkeys...

In his view, among all the known forbidden objects, none seemed to possess the ability to rival the three monkeys.

He even once suspected that his ability to "have his wishes come true" came from the three monkeys.

It’s a power comparable to a causality weapon, referred to in "professional terms" in fantasy novels as the "Power of Laws."

Such high-level Power of Laws generally doesn’t appear early on; it only emerges in the later stages during the final confrontation between the protagonist and the ultimate BOSS, creating famous scenes like "even the Great Tao is obliterated."

For ordinary characters, not to mention acquiring Power of Laws, just witnessing the use of Power of Laws by experts can provide insights sufficient to make them rulers in their own domain.

However, regarding the disappearance of his power, Sun Hang wasn’t disappointed; instead, he felt a sense of elation—a rare feeling of freedom. Before, he always felt as though three pairs of eyes were incessantly watching him.

It was like being voyeuristically observed.

And now, those three sets of gazes were completely gone.

Nothing could be more joyous than this.

Sun Hang raised his phone and aimed it at the statue on the table.

He had recently discovered that the phone’s camera had the capability to "reveal the essence of forbidden objects" like a mirror, but considering the limited battery life, he tried to use the mirror whenever possible instead of the phone’s camera.

But the current situation was special; the room was dimly lit, greatly affecting the mirror’s effectiveness. In comparison, the phone’s built-in low-light camera offered a clearer view.

In the camera’s view, the statue no longer appeared as a statue but as a skeleton seated on the table; this skeleton had also been struck by Kasaya Slash, with the upper body neatly sliced from the left shoulder to the right rib.

Sun Hang lowered the camera, and other items revealed their true forms—the bait turned into familiar rotting flesh, and the three sticks in the incense burner transformed into three blood-stained fingers.

The fingers were thin, almost skeletal, with the root end inserted in the soil, while the other end showed clear burn marks on the nails.

Were these three fingers really used as incense?

Could this thing be lit? Sun Hang couldn’t help but doubt.

There were nothing else on the offering table, so Sun Hang turned the camera to the darkness curled in the room’s corner.

The darkness remained just as dark, pitch-black in the camera, with nothing discernible.

"If I steal the offerings, will I face divine retribution?" Sun Hang walked to the offering table and picked up the "bait."

The moment the bait left the plate, he vaguely saw the "statue" on the table seemed to move slightly.

"Rushed?" Sun Hang stared at the statue and asked half-jokingly.

The statue moved again, this time more clearly, meaning Sun Hang hadn’t just imagined it before.

"If you want the offering, then come and get it." Sun Hang tossed the "bait" in his hand. "A great man once said: ’Do it yourself, and you will be well-fed and clothed.’ You won’t even move a buttock; waiting for others to offer you tribute? This offering, even feeding it to a dog would be better than giving it to you!"

Sun Hang was attempting to provoke the opponent... Since the shopkeeper, the shadow, and those two eerie little girls didn’t dare take any action themselves, he wanted to see what capabilities the statue that received offerings from the shopkeeper had.

Although his power had vanished, his keen intuition remained intact—his intuition hadn’t sensed any threat, even when those dark substances tried to spread toward the door; all Sun Hang felt was a slight chill.

This chill was far from being a threat, at most akin to turning back while walking on a night path and seeing a small black cat staring intently at you from the beam.

The statue shook violently, raised its last arm, seemingly intending to lunge at Sun Hang, but after hesitating for a moment, it returned to its original position and posture.

"So timid?" Now it was Sun Hang’s turn to be surprised... He thought he’d already pushed his limits, yet the opponent could still endure?

Sun Hang drew his pistol and aimed at the statue’s torso.

The same way marksmanship and trajectory are paths, Amitabha Buddha, the natural way of things.

Sun Hang pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was absorbed by the surrounding darkness instantly, just like the scream of the "middle-aged woman" dragged into the room.

The struck statue instantly fell apart, prompting Sun Hang to quickly raise his phone and activate the camera.

What remained of the skeleton was now even more fragmented, though it hadn’t "died" yet; those bones scattered afar were still writhing toward the offering table, seemingly trying to regroup together.

Unfortunately, with their crawling speed, it would take ages for them to gather again.

At that moment, Sun Hang seemed to sense something and turned his head—he saw the pipe used to prop the door was gone, and in the room’s corner, a familiar flame flickered.

A slightly choking smell of smoke wafted into Sun Hang’s nostrils.

"Owner? You’re alive?" Sun Hang stared at the flame and asked, "Since you’re alive, why remain silent?"

From the beginning, Sun Hang suspected those dark substances were the "shopkeeper’s" true form... now it appeared he might be right.

"Don’t you feel... hungry?" The shopkeeper’s voice drifted from the corner, weak like a half-buried old man.

"I’m not hungry." Sun Hang touched his belly; the strong feeling of fullness from the compressed biscuit still present.

"I’m so hungry... so hungry..." the shopkeeper said feebly.

"Since you’re hungry, why not eat the hard-earned food instead of offering it to this broken statue?" Sun Hang tossed the "bait" toward the flame, "I thought you were dead... but since you’re still alive, let the thing return to its owner."

With a "pop," the bait fell to the ground.

"Th-thank you..." the darkness dashed forth, and a chilling sound of chewing filled the room.

This chewing sound resembled not consuming a bait-like pastry but gnawing on some tough meat.

After all, the "true form" of this bait was a piece of rot, making such sounds unsurprising to Sun Hang.

"Can you tell me what’re the origins of those two little girls?" Sun Hang asked.

Just now, those two little girls left so quickly that Sun Hang didn’t have time to use the mirror on them.

"They... they are sustenance kept by the mayor’s family." The chewing stopped, "Do not... take an interest... in them... or else..."

"Or else what?"

"Or else... you’ll become... like me..."

The shopkeeper’s voice abruptly ended.

The darkness retreated like a tide; the candles at the table’s corners lit up automatically, casting dim light over the entire room.

In the corner where the sound came from, lay a barely recognizable "human" form; its facial features completely twisted, hardly discernible beyond a mouth, while eyes, nose, and ears were all merged, like a latte art pattern stirred forcefully with a spoon.

It had eaten less than half of the "bait"—that’s inaccurate actually, for there was a fist-sized hole in its throat through which the chewed bait directly seeped out onto the floor.

The crumbed bait, mingled with dark red blood.

"Owner?" Sun Hang approached and lightly kicked him.

No response, no breath.

It was dead... or it "ceased to exist."

Sun Hang noticed something seemed pressed on the corpse’s chest. He flipped the body over with his toe, revealing what was pressed.

It was an earless drum.