Fang Ming reached the vicinity of the ancestral hall unhindered and was puzzled by the large section of the hall that had been burnt down. He found it almost unbelievable.
Had his single act of arson destroyed nearly a tenth of the ancestral hall? He hadn't even expected his fire to achieve anything significant; his original plan was merely to cause some disruption in Bai Mu Village.
Of course, if Fang Ming knew about the series of events that had transpired during the day, he would understand why so much of the ancestral hall had been reduced to ashes.
Bai Po was currently hovering at the boundary between the front and back courtyards of the ancestral hall. The iron gate in the middle stood wide open, and she indifferently watched the group of煞种 villagers below her enter the dark space.
Today, she intended to replace all the villagers in this generation, including the village chief whose authority had waned. She had even planned to ensure that this batch of villagers would never be rotated out again!
"Hurry up and get in!" Bai Po roared. The monsters beneath her formed a frightened queue, one after another stepping through the iron gate.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. She saw a four-armed 煞种 hesitantly entering the iron gate. A familiar aura caused a cruel smile to spread across her face. It was the very individual who had humiliated her earlier that day!
"Come here!" Bai Po clenched her right hand in the air, lifting the four-armed 煞种 from the group of monsters.
The four-armed monster struggled in terror, but it was futile. Bai Po, in the darkness, was at her full strength, her power comparable to that of an ordinary fierce 煞, far beyond what a mere 煞种 could contend with.
"Die!" Bai Po squeezed with all her might. The four-armed monster's struggles ceased abruptly. Then, with a bang, it disintegrated into a shower of bloody fragments that rained down onto the ground. The monsters below excitedly scrambled for the flesh and blood, devouring it with gusto.
Fang Ming hid in the shadows, quietly observing everything. As for how he entered, the ancestral hall's courtyard wall had a large section burnt away. He had bypassed the main gate and slipped in through the gap in the wall without any issue.
"This Bai Po is indeed not simple," Fang Ming thought, inwardly astonished. From her current actions, could she be the mastermind behind everything? No wonder she, a woman, had been able to live safely in Bai Mu Village for so long. She was an old woman and still alive. In Bai Mu Village, women who couldn't give birth to male infants were typically discarded like trash, their lives ending in the well. How could they let an old woman survive this long?
The dark space beyond the iron gate was inaccessible for now. Fang Ming carefully concealed himself and left the ancestral hall.
"Should I start another fire in the village?"
Fang Ming jogged away from the ancestral hall, fiddling with a box of matches. He considered whether to set fire to other places to distract Bai Po, then sneak into the dark space.
"No, something in the dark space has been watching me. Even if I lure Bai Po away, it will be difficult for me to enter and then escape," Fang Ming lamented, his gums aching with frustration. He didn't know where his diary was, and by the time he explored the dark space, Bai Po could have circumnavigated the globe. Furthermore, he didn't have much firewood hidden, and carrying it around the village would be too dangerous.
Trying to repeat his previous tactic of stealing firewood from villagers' homes to start a fire wouldn't work at night – most of the firewood was in the woodpiles, and he couldn't access them in the dark.
"It seems my plan to enter the dark space today has to be put on hold for now. The plan to burn the ancestral hall also can't be executed."
Was he going to return empty-handed tonight?
"Right, Bai Po!" Fang Ming suddenly remembered. If Bai Po was the mastermind of all this, perhaps her home might hold some clues. Since Bai Po was currently at the ancestral hall, Fang Ming decided to act immediately. However, the difficulty was that he didn't remember her exact address clearly and would have to search for it. When he had transformed into Zhao Xue, he hadn't bothered to memorize the way to Bai Po's house. Back then, he had no idea Bai Po would turn out to be the ultimate boss; he had thought she was just an ordinary old woman.
Fortunately, the village wasn't large, and based on his vague memory, Bai Po's house was by the main road. By following the main road and checking each house, he should find it quickly.
Fang Ming began to cautiously examine the appearance of the gateposts along the main road, as he had some recollection of Bai Po's gate.
Twenty minutes later.
"Is it near the ancestral hall?" Fang Ming looked at the ancestral hall not far away, feeling a pang of nervousness. Would Bai Po discover him if he went to her house like this? The distance was quite close.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"
Fang Ming gritted his teeth and began checking the yards near the ancestral hall.
Indeed, after inspecting just two yards, Fang Ming recognized the familiar gate. Bai Po's house!
Fang Ming's heart pounded. He glanced around nervously. The distance to the ancestral hall was only about a hundred meters. He prayed Bai Po wouldn't return.
Skillfully climbing over the wall, Fang Ming began searching the courtyard for clues, hoping to find something of value.
"What is this..." A pile of familiar thatch caught his eye.
Fang Ming suddenly realized that the thatch he had stolen was from Bai Po's house! Cold sweat broke out all over his back. He was so reckless! Thankfully, Bai Po hadn't been home at the time, or he would have been finished. A wave of relief washed over him, his heart racing, feeling closer to death than ever before.
Calming himself, Fang Ming continued his search of the courtyard. Apart from a few strange straw figures tied next to the thatch, there was nothing of value in the yard.
Fang Ming dared not touch the straw figures, fearing that if Bai Po discovered someone had been there, she would immediately suspect him.
Fang Ming felt a sense of unwillingness. Was he going to return empty-handed?
With this thought, Fang Ming approached the door of Bai Po's residence. Peering through the crack in the door, he saw a small living room with a few tables and stools, nothing out of the ordinary. Bai Po's bedroom was behind the living room and not visible from the outside.
What to do? Fang Ming felt that Bai Po's bedroom must hold some secrets, and the feeling was like a cat scratching at his heart. He instinctively wanted to push the door open.
"Hmm? What's going on?" There was no rune backlash? Fang Ming was surprised and quickly moved closer to the door in the moonlight to examine it.
There were truly no runes! Bai Po's house had no defenses against monsters! But Fang Ming soon had a realization. She herself was a sentient, terrifying monster. Would she draw runes on all her doors to defend against herself?
"Since that's the case, it's my lucky day." Fang Ming grinned, his right arm transforming into a tentacle. He gripped the iron lock and applied force!
"Crack!" A crisp sound echoed as the iron lock became a twisted piece of scrap metal.
Fang Ming cautiously pushed the door open and entered. He walked past the living room and went straight towards the bedroom.
"!" The sight before him sent Fang Ming into a panic. Bai Po was in the bedroom! He immediately turned to flee, not daring to hesitate for a moment.
"Hmm? She's not chasing me?" Fang Ming found himself in the courtyard, noticing that Bai Po wasn't pursuing him, which made him feel confused.
"Should I go back and take another look?" Fang Ming's eyes darted around. Fortune favors the bold.
Fang Ming turned and cautiously returned to the house, peeking into Bai Po's bedroom. Bai Po was currently sitting cross-legged on the bed, completely still.
Fang Ming cautiously used his tentacle to pick up a water cup from the living room table and hurled it towards her.
"Bang!" The cup accurately hit Bai Po's forehead, but she remained motionless.
"Strange." Seeing this, Fang Ming boldly entered the bedroom, wanting to see what this "Bai Po" was all about.
Suddenly, a familiar cloth bundle appeared before his eyes, resting quietly beside Bai Po.
"Holy crap! My cloth bag?!" Fang Ming rejoiced. He never expected to find the cloth bag he had lost in the dark space here. Was the diary still inside?
With this thought, Fang Ming no longer cared what kind of creature this "Bai Po" was. He strode to the bedside, picked up the cloth bag, and rummaged through it.
"Excellent! I finally found you." Fang Ming was overjoyed and almost wept with relief. The diary was intact inside the cloth bag, unharmed. With it, his future actions would be secured.
Opening it.
"I have rediscovered my diary. Then I observed Bai Po's body and found that she was merely a corpse, emitting a decaying odor. I surmised that she must have some connection to the Bai Po at the ancestral hall. I then destroyed the corpse and left quickly, hiding nearby to observe. The Bai Po at the ancestral hall immediately sensed the anomaly and returned home in a rage."
New content appeared on the diary, precisely concerning Bai Po!
Since the diary stated this, Fang Ming had no hesitation. This corpse must have some purpose, even if he didn't understand it yet.
"Pfft!" Fang Ming's tentacle swept across, a cold glint appearing. Bai Po's corpse was instantly split into two, foul-smelling blood splattering everywhere.
"Swish, swish, swish!" To eliminate any future trouble, Fang Ming swung his tentacles a few more times, cutting the corpse into pieces. Then, slinging the cloth bag over his shoulder, he quickly fled the scene. The diary had stated that the Bai Po from the ancestral hall would return soon. Why would he wait around to die?
Meanwhile, Bai Po, who was directing the villagers and monsters into the iron gate, suddenly sensed that the body she had left at home had been destroyed. Her heart leaped in alarm, and she immediately flew towards her house.
"Damn it! It's you, the outsider, again!" Bai Po roared in fury. In Bai Mu Village, the only human who could move freely was Fang Ming.
Upon returning home and seeing the tragic scene, Bai Po immediately guessed it was him! Furthermore, the cloth bag she kept there had also been taken, which further confirmed Fang Ming as the culprit!
Suddenly, Bai Po's lips curled into a sinister grin. "So you were hiding here! You're not even running, just watching the show from nearby!" With that, she took flight again, heading towards Fang Ming's location.
Fang Ming, who was hiding nearby and watching the Bai Po from the ancestral hall furiously return home, found her enraged expression hilarious. However, a sense of being watched soon enveloped him, and his heart sank in alarm!
"I'm such an idiot, I forgot about this!" Fang Ming slapped his thigh. He had gotten too carried away. Why was he still watching? The diary hadn't mentioned this part!
Fang Ming suddenly thought of something, his pupils constricting. If it wasn't mentioned, it meant one thing: he was going to die!
Run quickly! Fang Ming nimbly sprang from his hiding spot and sprinted towards the white mist at the edge of the village.
"Where do you think you're going! Stay here!" Bai Po's enraged voice echoed from behind. Fang Ming gritted his teeth and increased his speed, rushing towards the white mist.