CHAPTER 418: CHAPTER 176: OLD ANTIQUE, KILL OVER (5K)

The newly appeared group exchanged puzzled looks. Somebody wanted to say something, but in the next moment, an Incense Stick Crossbow Arrow whizzed past them.

"If the distance gets a bit farther, I can’t guarantee accuracy, so don’t blame me if someone gets killed. The same rules apply: I won’t ask questions, and you are not to move, speak, or try anything sneaky."

Wen Yan held the Incense Candle Crossbow at a distance, eyeing the newcomers. Thankfully, the Natural Enemy Profession showed no reaction. No reaction was a good sign; it meant his strength was sufficient to handle the situation at hand. But he couldn’t be certain if the individual who possessed the sharp-mouthed Ghost was among them.

Wen Yan thought it over and, not wanting to argue with these people, said directly,

"There’s an individual who, judging by the tone and content of his speech, appears to be an ancient relic from a long time ago.

"He is adept at possession and consumption.

"If the target of possession dies, it probably won’t affect him much.

"Moreover, during the act of possession, he is likely to take many things from his target, including memories.

"Unfortunately, this individual and I aren’t on good terms; I’ve just killed one of his possessed forms.

"I’m not sure who among you might be possessed.

"So, to avoid unnecessary trouble and for your own safety, I suggest you listen to me and stay put.

"If anyone tries to run or makes any other suspicious move that might cause a misunderstanding, don’t blame me if you end up dead—I warned you.

"I’m the most reasonable person around. Once I’ve made myself clear, if you die afterward, don’t blame me."

Hearing Wen Yan’s words, the group became instantly vigilant, exchanging wary glances. Some couldn’t help but discreetly shuffle away from the others.

Clearly, some, recalling Wen Yan’s words and mulling them over, found potential reasons for doubt, becoming less certain whether the people beside them were still the same.

Others didn’t believe Wen Yan, but seeing that he seemed genuinely willing to kill, they dared not move.

Wen Yan took a look around and confirmed that everyone seemed cooperative. No one tried to speak or reason with an NPC.

That was good. Wen Yan found the NPC identity quite useful sometimes. If he had been a player, surely someone would have dared to argue or even threaten him.

Wen Yan sat on a chair, waiting quietly.

During his youth in Guanzhong County, he had interacted with many people—some from Guanzhong County itself, many from the older generation of Central Plains County—and later, he had moved to Nanwu County. He was quite familiar with the different ways people from various regions and eras spoke harshly or cursed, noting significant differences, all of which had their own underlying reasons. The people of Guanzhong County, for instance, would use a fierce tone, perhaps cursing ’You son of a donkey!’, and threaten to drag you behind the mountains and bury you there another day. This was because Guanzhong County is very mountainous, and some people genuinely would do such a thing. The northern regions have countless barren mountains and wild ridges; a body buried under any desolate peak might go undiscovered for decades. In the south, with its abundant lush forests, if an experienced person performed a shallow burial, it wouldn’t take long for the body to decompose, leaving only bones. Those from Central Plains County might talk about throwing someone down a well, burying them in the fields as fertilizer, or chopping them up to feed the pigs. This was because the land there is flat and extensive, a grain-producing area with vast farmlands and, consequently, many irrigation facilities. As for pig farming, in earlier years, almost every rural household raised pigs. And pigs, as everyone knows, are omnivores; they eat anything. People from Nanwu County, with an upward lilt in their voice, might sarcastically wish your entire family ’great fortune.’ The more vicious among them would threaten to dig up your ancestors’ graves or burn down your ancestral hall. This was because that region has many ancestral halls and strong clan ties, and people genuinely believe in the significance of such things. To them, desecrating graves and burning ancestral halls were acts of revenge even more heinous than murder.

As for that sharp-mouthed Ghost, the way he made threats always left Wen Yan stunned; he had truly never heard anything like it before. Calming down and thinking it over carefully, Wen Yan figured that since the entity spoke that way, it must have either committed such acts or witnessed them. In that Ghost’s perception, those must have been the harshest possible threats. Or perhaps they were merely equivalent to crude curses, holding little actual practical significance. Wen Yan tried to recall: Taoists first appeared nearly two thousand years ago. However, for a period after that, the term became somewhat muddled, sometimes encompassing other religious practitioners like Buddhist monks. Overall, Wen Yan suspected that this entity had once been severely beaten by Taoists, suffering a great loss, which was why it harbored such strong resentment towards them. Then, when could this entity have actually *eaten* Taoists without facing severe retaliation? The greatest possibility was during a time of great chaos, when the Taoist Sect itself was in decline. Perhaps during a period when Taoism was actively suppressed? Wen Yan racked his brains, his historical knowledge being somewhat shaky—like a half-filled bucket, prone to sloshing. Besides the rather extreme Northern and Southern Dynasties period, it seemed there weren’t many other such eras, right? But then, the famous rallying cry, "The Azure Heaven is already dead; the Yellow Heaven shall now be established! In this year of Jiazi, may there be great fortune under Heaven!" surfaced in his mind. Ah, he remembered now! That event... it’s generally categorized under ’quelling rebellions,’ isn’t it? Taking all factors into account, Wen Yan conjectured that the entity possessing the sharp-mouthed Ghost must have been active during a chaotic era and had likely been slumbering for the past several hundred years, with no contact with the outside world. Otherwise, none of the fiercest Demons or Ghosts nowadays would dare to boast about eating humans in various ways, let alone eating Taoists. Such brazen, death-courting behavior was definitely not something seen in the current age. Looking further back, to Old Zhu’s time, Old Zhu had caused heads to roll en masse and had even severed the Dragon’s Pulse.