After listening to Yue'er's explanation, my head buzzed as if struck by lightning, unable to process or think for a long time. How could a person be so wicked?
For his own benefit, Hu Sixi had caused the deaths of so many people, even sparing the two Taoist priests from Longhu Mountain and Maoshan. Wasn't he afraid that the two thousand-year-old sects would uproot the Hu family?
"You're overthinking it. If the Hu family possesses the Half Yin Realm, it's like having a small underworld. With this as a foundation, they can have anything they want. I even suspect that Hu Yuan's death was a trap set by Hu Sixi." Zhang Dabiao, sensing my confusion, gave a different answer with a curl of his lip.
"A trap? Hu Yuan was Hu Dejin's son, the designated next head of the Hu family. To just kill him? Not only is it illogical, but the price is too high, isn't it?"
Whether it's a large family or a thousand-year-old sect, sometimes they can sacrifice some people for their benefit, but these are always unimportant outer disciples. Never have I heard of them killing a direct descendant of a sect or family. This is too outrageous.
"I'm just guessing. Back then, the Hu family sacrificed many of their own people to deal with the Japanese Onmyoji. It wasn't until Hu Erye, the second master of the Hu family, lured all the Onmyoji to the northeast and annihilated them in one fell swoop. You must know that among the sacrifices back then was Hu Erye's own daughter and son-in-law. So, sacrificing a son to obtain the Half Yin Realm now isn't impossible." Zhang Dabiao said it so casually, but it made my hair stand on end.
I couldn't help but ask him how he knew this, as what he said were all the Hu family's secret teachings. Even if some people knew, they wouldn't easily spread this information.
"Heh heh... My family hunts demons. Sometimes, for their own survival, some evil spirits reveal things that are not commonly known. This includes the ruthlessness of the Hu family. Otherwise, why do you think the Hu family is the only one in the Yin business in the northeast?"
I shook my head, indicating I didn't know.
"Doesn't that just show the arrogance of the Hu family? Do you remember Huang San?"
I nodded. How could I forget? His disappearance was also related to Hu Sixi.
"He wanted to set up a hall back then. Why didn't he? Wasn't it because he was persecuted by the Hu family? So, nothing the Hu family does is surprising. It's not impossible for the old man to kill his own descendants."
I remained silent, my heart filled with mixed emotions. The Half Yin Realm was a phantom realm. Even if it offered a form of longevity, it wasn't true immortality. Living the same life repeatedly for hundreds, thousands, or even longer. Wouldn't they get tired of it?
To reincarnate and be reborn was even more unthinkable. Those who resided permanently in the Half Yin Realm had no registered names in the underworld. In other words, when a person dies, their name appears on the Book of Life and Death in the underworld, which is like having a household registration in the mortal world.
This "household registration" is not permanent. It has a time limit. If you don't report to the underworld after this period, your name will be struck from the Book of Life and Death, and you will become an unregistered ghost, a lonely soul. If such a soul is caught by the underworld, the lightest punishment is being sent to the eighteenth level of hell, and more often, they are directly annihilated.
Seeing my silence, Zhang Dabiao nudged me and said, "Are you angry? Because we lied to you?"
I shook my head and said, "I know you did it for my own good. I just can't understand why they would sacrifice human lives for a fleeting longevity. Is it worth it?"
"Whether it's worth it or not is not something we small figures can decide. All we can do is prevent them from obtaining the Half Yin Realm, otherwise, the world will fall into chaos."
I nodded in agreement with Zhang Dabiao's words. The Half Yin Realm could completely change the succession of dynasties. A person's wisdom is limited, and their lifespan is also limited. But when a person has an unlimited lifespan, they will have unlimited possibilities.
If this time is extended indefinitely, the consequences would be too terrifying.
"We must not let them get the Half Yin Realm."
"We absolutely must not."
As we swore softly, there was a knock on the car window. We were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't even notice someone approaching the car. Fortunately, the car window had soundproofing, and our voices were not loud, so the sound did not carry outside.
As soon as the car window opened, Wang Defa's voice came in: "All the old guys have gone up the mountain. Only you and I are left at the camp. Come down and eat something, and we can chat."
Wang Defa's voice was friendly, like a neighborly uncle, but I heard another meaning in his words. It was that the old guys were gone, and we should discuss a strategy for entering the mountain.
Perhaps it was because of Zhang Dabiao and Yue'er's influence, or perhaps I was overthinking. This thought kept lingering in my mind. It took a lot of effort to dismiss it, and then as I got out of the car, I asked.
"What are they going into the mountain for now? To find the Mountain Ghoul Ghost King? Can they find it?"
Wang Defa gave me a disdainful look and said, "Do you think only you can avoid danger and find Yin? Those old guys can too. Their methods might not be worse than yours. You should worry about yourself first!" Without waiting for my reply, he turned and left.
"What does he mean by that?" I asked Yue'er, who was also getting out of the car.
"I think he knows something."
The bonfire was not large, with simple steel tables arranged around it, holding food and drinks. Wang Defa held a bottle of drink, his gaze fixed on the bonfire, looking somewhat lost and preoccupied.
As soon as I sat down, Wang Defa suddenly asked, "Song Qingyun, what are your thoughts on this mountain ghoul night attack?"
"Thoughts? What thoughts?" I pretended not to understand his meaning.
Wang Defa was not surprised by my feigned ignorance. He continued in his unhurried tone, "So many people died, don't you have anything to say? Or do something for them?"
"This..."
"We can donate some money to them, or buy some paper to burn for them, Captain Wang. What do you think?" Zhang Dabiao took my words, his face filled with sorrow.
"Donate money, burn paper? Will that bring them back to life? They were living people, not weeds by the roadside or the cats and dogs we keep at home." Wang Defa's voice rose a notch. He crushed the drink bottle in his hand with his bare hands, and the drink mixed with blood flowed from his palm, falling to the ground with a splattering sound.
At this moment, it was evident that Wang Defa was in great pain, even feeling guilty. If he had listened to me earlier and let them leave when the deaths occurred, there wouldn't have been the subsequent mountain ghoul night attack. It was too late now. There was no medicine for regret in the world.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Enter the mountain, find the tomb, kill people!"
"Kill... kill people? Who?" Looking at Wang Defa, whose eyes seemed to be spitting fire, my voice trembled slightly.
"Hu... Si... Xi." Wang Defa said, word by word.
"What are you talking about killing Hu Sixi? Are you crazy?"
If Hu Sixi were that easy to kill, I would have found a way to get rid of him long ago. How could I have let him live until now?
"Whether I'm crazy or not, you know. When my team brings the weapons back tomorrow, I hope you'll give me an answer." He then left, a figure of slight dejection, got into a car, and closed the door tightly, leaving the three of us staring at each other.
"Is he crazy, or is he an idiot? How could he say something like that?"