Qi Yu, under circumstances that allowed it, disliked fighting.
Life, after all.
Even though she was the Heavenly Dao now, the Heavenly Dao was compassionate.
The young couple, already on high alert, became even more wary at Qi Yu's words. They retreated repeatedly, attempting to break through the barrier, but after several failed attempts, they were forced to reveal their true forms.
A giant nine-tailed demon fox and a burly bear spirit appeared before everyone.
The old woman was so terrified she was stunned, completely unable to comprehend what she had done to provoke these two powerful beings into revealing their true forms. She backed away repeatedly, fearing they might devour her if they lost control.
The elder brother and second brother stood by with numb expressions. While somewhat startled, they were clearly accustomed to such events.
The fox spirit's voice was extremely sharp. Seeing Qi Yu standing before her expressionlessly, with Si Qing and the others surrounding her, she bared her sharp fangs, let out a hysterical roar, and lunged at Qi Yu with a fierce claw!
Qi Yu barely moved, simply extending her hand towards the fox spirit from where she stood.
Before the fox spirit could react.
Qi Yu's figure flickered, and she firmly grasped the fox spirit's neck.
Si Qing, meanwhile, held the bear spirit's shoulder and calmly addressed the others, "Let's depart. We'll send these three humans to the Underworld. Those who have not committed evil deeds will be repatriated to the mortal realm. As for those who have, don't expect to return to Yang County; they'll suffer in hell."
Yan Hua responded with an affirmative, raised his hand, and the souls of the old woman, the elder brother, and the second brother were confined within his grasp.
Then, he vanished, heading towards the Underworld.
In the Underworld.
The Ten Kings of Hell and a judge stood together.
They welcomed Yan Hua.
Yan Hua presented the three prisoners before them, his voice steady, "Investigate the situations of these three yourselves. Their names are written on their clothes. The one from the 13th Heaven has instructed you to investigate and judge them strictly, without error."
The Fifth King of Hell, among the Ten Kings, nodded lightly and then struck his gavel, "State the names of these three."
The old woman, the elder brother, and the second brother were all terrified. Their souls trembled and huddled together, daring not to move.
The Black and White Impermanence stepped forward, pulled the old woman's clothes, glanced at them, announced their names, and then whispered something into the Fifth King of Hell's ear.
The Fifth King of Hell opened the judge's Book of Life and Death and examined it carefully. After a while, he descended from his platform and said to Yan Hua, "This person is actually from Luo Family Village. I am aware of the situation in Luo Family Village. Not only this old woman, but many others have committed murder."
"We have been compiling the crimes committed by the people of Luo Family Village for some time. Among them, this old woman's crimes are the most severe. Because she actively sought refuge with the fox spirit and the bear spirit, she has not only lost the opportunity to reincarnate as a human but also faces severe punishment. As for the two women behind the old woman, they were both abducted. During this period, these two women suffered greatly, but they did not commit any heinous acts and can therefore return to the mortal realm."
Yan Hua had merely been following orders for this task. Hearing the King of Hell speak, he became curious, "Meaning you already knew what was happening in Luo Family Village, and with the black bear spirit and fox spirit firmly in control, you remained silent, waiting for the villagers to die off?"
"Oh, Lord Yan Hua, you mustn't speak like that. How could we possibly wait for the villagers to die off? In normal circumstances, we would intervene, but the situation in their village is truly exceptional." As the Fifth King of Hell spoke, he produced a secret manual from his hand, "The previous Heavenly Dao placed a curse on this village, stipulating that its population would gradually dwindle until none remained."
Wu Ding Yuan Luo continued with some hesitation, "It's not that I haven't considered reporting it to higher authorities; I have, but no one above has paid any attention. Most importantly, the divine officials originally responsible for managing this area would be affected by the curse, their primordial spirits dissipating, whenever two of them descended."
"Later, coupled with the extensive reconstruction needed in the mortal realm and the influx of a large number of souls, we gradually became too busy to attend to this matter."
Yan Hua could see that these were all excuses. The true reason was that the curse on Luo Family Village could not be removed. It was likely that only the current Heavenly Dao could lift it. However, he had circled the perimeter of Luo Family Village earlier and had not sensed any power of a curse. He wondered if it was because their magic was too strong that they couldn't feel it.
With this thought in mind, Yan Hua handed the three individuals over to the Underworld for judgment and punishment, then turned back to the mortal realm, heading towards the 13th Heaven, and informed Qi Yu about the curse on Luo Family Village.
Qi Yu had initially thought the matter was mostly resolved. She hadn't expected that after dealing with the fox spirit and the black bear spirit, there would still be a curse to contend with.
She looked at Yan Hua, "But I was in that village for so long, and I didn't sense the so-called curse from the previous Heavenly Dao at all. If it truly existed, how could I not feel it? Did any of you sense it?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Si Qing also shook his head gently, "There is no record on my end, and when I went down to investigate just now, I didn't sense any trace of a curse."
Chen Xi shrugged indifferently, "The previous Heavenly Dao wreaked havoc for so long, and it took us so much effort to eradicate his influence. His methods should still linger. It's impossible to resolve everything in just a few days, so I'm not surprised at all. If you ask me, we should go to Luo Family Village again. Although the village is under a curse, most of the people in the village have committed murder and aided demons, which is still problematic."
Qi Yu listened to him and, after careful consideration, found it very reasonable. She nodded and strode out, "In that case, let's go to Luo Family Village and take another look. This time, we'll examine every corner, inside and out, to see if we've missed anything. Barriers or talismans can also conceal the aura of a curse."
If such things truly existed, it would not be surprising that they were not discovered before. After all, at that time, she was only focused on the investigation and hadn't considered these possibilities.