“The power in Zhang Mingli that is related to Dream has been taken away by Immortal Pharma. His memory has been deciphered. The only thing on him that troubles Immortal Pharma is the curses from the deep-level world. The curses are stuck to his soul. Once he is eliminated, the curses will trigger. That is why Immortal Pharma doesn’t dare to kill Zhang Mingli.” Fu Shu said seriously. He looked at the evil spirits that wore the weasels’ skin around Dream Break Town. “The appearance of the curses also means that among the world saviours, there was an Unmentionable who was an expert in curses.”
“Let’s think about that later. We don’t have an actual conflict with Zhang Mingli’s goal.” Gao Ming was never Immortal Pharma’s tester. He was there to save Zhang Mingli. He was happier than anyone to see this.
“What do you know? If Zhang Mingli wishes to target the whole town, there’s no place that is safe!” Fu Shu aged again. “The worst event that I wished to avoid when building this town still happened. Immortal Pharma kept pushing Zhang Mingli. My old friends have been swapped. The current Immortal Pharma is no longer Immortal Pharma.”
“Old people sure like to look towards the past. What you described is a common product of time.” Gao Ming retorted. “A company that performs tests on living humans like Immortal Pharma should be destroyed. I don’t get why the saviours let them be before leaving.” From Gao Ming’s tone, Fu Shu could tell that Gao Ming was different from the saviours. Due to his past, Gao Ming was more direct.
“It was undeniable that Immortal Pharma had contributed a lot when the big tragedy struck.” Fu Shu was stubborn, but he didn’t continue the argument. From Gao Ming’s attitude, he could guess how Gao Ming would deal with the company in the future.
“Such sins.”
Dream Break Town at San Geng was so rotten that even the air reeked of stale blood. Gao Ming and Fu Shu sneaked around until they reached the Xi Residence. The two red lanterns at the gate had turned into two bloodshot eyes. The walls and floor were covered in animal blood. The wedding feast was over. Only the sound of sharpening knives came out of the yard. The butcher, Zhu Ren, finally got his wish and moved into the town’s largest house. However, he still hadn’t found his knife.
“Xi God didn’t return. This place has been turned into a slaughterhouse.” Fu Shu frowned. “The Yong God has taken over the Xi God’s position. No wonder the place is in shambles.” At that moment, the grinding sound suddenly paused. Gao Ming felt a chill run up his spine. He quickly retreated. The sound resumed when he was more than ten meters away from the Xi Residence. “Since when is the butcher that powerful?” Gao Ming felt like someone had a knife over his heart earlier.
“Instead of saying that, it’s more like your current presence is enough to threaten the butcher.” Fu Shu watched Gao Ming grow before his eyes. Before he gained Dream Release, he was a talented tester. However, after he gained Dream Release, he could challenge the Xi God. Gao Ming reached into his sleeves and touched the altar to communicate with the God of Flesh and Blood. The bloody patterns joined. The God of Flesh and Blood used the Minor Xi God’s hearts to slowly confirm the Xi God’s location.
“He’s by the ancestral hall?!”Gao Ming had been there when he joined the night watcher on his patrol. The place unsettled him greatly, more so than the street with the Tu Di God. Gao Ming carried a person on his back, but that didn’t hinder his agility. Of course, it helped that Fu Shu was only half the weight of a normal adult.
The houses along the street grew like trees. They became taller than before. Their negative aura amplified.
“Past San Gengs have never been this scary…” Fu Shu mumbled to himself. He noticed the stone path that led to the ancestral hall was wider than before. Yellow mud oozed out of the stone, turning it into a road that led to the underworld.
The black ancestral hall stood at the end of the road. In front of the hall, a white tent that could house thirty people was set up. It faced the north. The four corners had paintings of water and clouds. The middle was sewn with patches of five bats and a male deer. Outside the tent, several colourless figurines were being worshipped. There were the Dragon King, Lady Houtu, Elder Hei Chi and so on. People offered sacrifices and joss sticks.
Several citizens in silk attire walked around the tent, holding various items of sacrifice.
“They seem to be performing Organ Insertion for one of the figurines.” Fu Shu recognised some of them, “The thin old man with white hair is the ceremony master. He is responsible for looking after the ancestral hall and the joss sticks. He is a widower and has no children. He is a normal person. He poses little threat. The person you should pay attention to is the person in the middle of the tent. They have no face because their face has been taken over by tattoos. You cannot tell their age and gender.”
Gao Ming turned to look. A person who wore embroidered shoes, a silk shawl and a pretty dress danced and sang. They had wide red ribbons and flowers in their hair. They were setting up a performance to entertain the Gods.
“They are Dream Break Town’s Dream Priest. You can see them as the mayor. They handle the town’s religious matters and activities. Normally, the role is taken by the elder with the highest reputation.” Fu Shu said with difficulty. “Or at least that was how I designed it. However, every Dream Priest lost their minds after they took the posts. The citizens ultimately decided to let the Gods decide the candidate. The chosen priest would have their appearance, memory and self erased. They appear crazy and mad, but they are the people closest to Gods among the residents.”
The song ended. The Dream Priest raised their hand and pointed at the colourless figurines outside the tent. A few youngsters walked out with weapons. They seemed to wish to cut open the figurines to take something out of the stomachs.
“Gao Ming, now is a great chance for you.” Fu Shu said. It was unclear if he was really helping Gao Ming or not. “If you go and help those figurines and save them from being destroyed, a mysterious force will protect you. When we designed Dream Break Town, we placed a lot of figurines from unknown zones into it. Some of them do contain mysterious power.”
Gao Ming slowly approached the altar table and got a closer look.
Deep inside the white tent, a figure similar to Bai Feng was tied to Xi God’s mud figurine. A group of people was cutting open Bai Feng’s body to move her internal organs into the mud figurine.