As I was recalling my childhood "painful" memories, I found myself unknowingly standing before Widow Ma's house.
As soon as I approached the courtyard gate, I sensed something was amiss. While dogs barked at every house I passed in the village, at her house, not only were there no dog barks, but not even insects chirped.
"Yin energy?"
As a Yin Gua Master, I am most sensitive to Yin energy and malevolent spirits. Thus, my first thought was that Widow Ma had been harmed. This made me anxious. Widow Ma knew the clues to why Wang Mazi's family had died. If something happened to her, that clue would be lost.
Therefore, without a second thought, I kicked open the courtyard gate with a 'clang' and rushed into the house.
I had visited Widow Ma's house often in my childhood, mainly for the candy she gave me, so I was very familiar with her home's layout.
The house was designed in a typical northern style, with the main door in the center. Upon entering, the kitchen was the first thing I saw. Divided by the kitchen, there were two rooms on each side, east and west.
Generally, the elderly lived in the east rooms, and newly married children lived in the west rooms, with the kitchen as the dividing line.
My mother's parents passed away two or three years after Old Ma's death, so Widow Ma should have been living in the west room. The villagers said she had jinxed her husband to death, so she was never favored by her in-laws.
Except for the wedding day when she lived in the west room and the main house, she usually stayed in the west side room after passing the kitchen.
So, without thinking, I bypassed the kitchen and stepped into the small room.
"No one?"
The small room was empty. The bedding was messily thrown on the kang, and there was an unknown liquid on the floor, emitting a strange odor.
Did she know I was coming and deliberately hide? Thinking this, I said to Bai Ling'er, "Ling'er, find Widow Ma for me."
Although Bai Ling'er didn't always listen to me, it had never failed me in critical moments. However, after I spoke, it gave me no response.
"Ling'er..."
I called out again, still no response. Then I reached up to my head and my heart chilled. Where was the snake?
Bai Ling'er, which had always coiled around my head, had left at some point. As I was trying to recall when it had left, a sound came from the west room.
The sound was not loud, it sounded like a mouse gnawing on something. This made me vigilant.
Although mice are considered one of the four pests and everyone wants to get rid of them, they also have animal instincts, otherwise, they wouldn't be one of the five wild immortals. Widow Ma's house had a faint Yin energy; not to mention mice, not even flies or mosquitoes were present.
This was an animal's instinct, subconsciously avoiding danger. Therefore, there couldn't be mice in the house.
Moreover, I had just come from the west room. Given the timid nature of mice, how could they come out to gnaw right after I left, startled by my presence?
Could it be Widow Ma? I tried calling out, "Sister Ma," but she didn't respond. The gnawing sound stopped, but in a blink of an eye, it resumed, and the sound grew louder.
I drew out the Yin Iron Wood Ruler I carried and pushed open the door, carefully moving towards the west room. I didn't turn on my flashlight because there was a faint moon outside today, so it wasn't very dark inside, allowing me to see the situation clearly.
The closer I got to the west room, the louder the gnawing sound became. At the same time, the Yin energy grew thicker, and a pungent stench entered my nostrils, making me feel like sneezing.
Damn it, how could there be the smell of decay?
This smell is only found on grave robbers. I had entered the west room once earlier and found nothing unusual. How could the smell of decay suddenly emanate from the room?
The west room had no windows, but the door opened inward. As long as I pushed it open a crack, I could see most of the scene inside. To see the situation inside clearly, I carefully pushed it open a crack.
"Holy cow... this..."
By the moonlight outside, I saw the scene inside, and my first feeling was to vomit.
A dark figure was squatting on the kang. Judging by its size, it was a person. Her hair was like a bird's nest, covering her face. Her two hands were as black as chicken claws, holding a pale, half-severed human arm and gnawing on it.
Widow Ma?
I was a little unsure. The village chief said Widow Ma had gone mad. While mad people might exhibit strange behavior, they would never eat human flesh. Only malevolent spirits would consider human flesh a delicacy.
Her actions and movements were identical to a mouse's – she would gnaw a couple of times, then look around. When she looked towards the window, my heart skipped a beat, because by the moonlight, I could confirm it was Widow Ma.
This made me feel breathless. Widow Ma was known for her fiery temper, but she was also the cleanest and most proud. Although Old Ma died from sudden death during intercourse, Widow Ma never found fault with her in-laws, even though they always called her a jinx...
After gnawing a couple more times, her body involuntarily stopped. Her eyes emitted a faint glow in the darkness, and her nose sniffed around. When my gaze met hers, she let out a piercing shriek.
The sound was incredibly sharp, as if someone was poking my eardrums with a needle, causing immense pain. This was not a sound a human could make.
Along with her scream, she pushed off with her legs, her hands turning into claws, and lunged towards my face.
Although it was only for a few breaths, I had already confirmed that the Widow Ma in front of me could no longer be called "human." Thus, I immediately closed the door and retreated quickly.
In the hands of Widow Ma, the solid wooden door of the rural house was like paper. Fragments of the wooden door scattered like a blooming flower. Although I tried my best to dodge, I still sustained several cuts on my body.
"What exactly are you?"
Roar—
My answer was a strange cry, and then she leaped into the air, her mouth split open to her ears, lunging to bite my neck.
Seeing this, I knew it was serious. If she had bitten me, she would have bitten off my neck.
"Sky Speed Seal..."
I quickly cast the Sky Speed Seal on myself. Just as she was about to bite me, I thrust the Yin Iron Wood Ruler into her mouth.
I thought this would force her back, but Widow Ma did not retreat. Instead, she bit down on the Yin Iron Wood Ruler with her teeth, and simultaneously, her hands clawed at my eyes.
I wanted to pull out the Yin Iron Wood Ruler to defend myself, but she held it so tightly with her teeth that I couldn't budge it. Helpless, I could only defend myself, barely dodging her claw attacks.
This made my expression contort, because I realized she was not a demon or a malevolent spirit, but a living person.
The Yin Iron Wood Ruler has the effect of restraining Yin souls and also reacts to demons. However, when I inserted the Yin Iron Wood Ruler into her mouth, she did not show any signs of pain, and could even bite down on it. This was enough to prove that she was not possessed by an evil spirit or had become one.
But if she wasn't an evil spirit, how could I explain what I had just seen – eating a human arm raw?
As I was momentarily stunned, Widow Ma shook her head, and the Yin Iron Wood Ruler was nailed to the wall, trembling.
At this moment, she changed again. Originally, her legs were on the ground, like a frog. But now, her hands were also on the ground, her backside raised high, swaying from time to time, looking like a cat.
This made it impossible for me to figure out what was happening to her.
If she were possessed or had become an evil spirit, it would be manageable, and I could deal with her. But now, she was clearly still a living person, only her actions and movements were different from those of a living person.
No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to harm her. I didn't want to become a murderer. Su Dan Novel Network.
Just as I didn't know how to resolve the situation, Bai Ling'er's voice echoed in my ear.
"Idiot, she's been cursed and has become a living dead person. Even if you want to save her, you can't. It's better to give her a quick end..."