WBICDPH Chapter 62 Part 2

Had its head tilted?

Lin Jin was momentarily stunned. Then he realized—it wasn’t the creature’s head that had shifted, but its headpiece.

Sure enough, the “bull-headed monster” shakily lifted its headpiece, revealing a human face beneath.

It was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. His complexion had a faint gray cast. Clutching the black bull mask, he trembled for a long time without speaking.

“You’re human?!” Hua Nanzhi finally understood why her senior brother had stopped her. If he had reacted a moment slower, she would have committed the grave taboo of harming an innocent person.

But it wasn’t entirely her fault! Who would dress up like that in a place filled with a ghostly aura and jump out to scare people?

“In the future, when something happens, remember—assess first, then act,” Xiao Yunkong reminded her gently.

Hua Nanzhi responded with a reluctant “Oh,” wiped the frost forming along her blade with her sleeve, and sheathed her saber.

“I… Of course I’m human! What else would I be? The man-eating fiend in the mountains?!” The man was clearly shaken by the near-miss and spoke irritably.

“If you’re human, why put on that weird headpiece and jump out to scare people?” Hua Nanzhi demanded, hands on her hips.

“It was to scare off fools like you who wander in without knowing the danger! You ungrateful girl—there’s a perfectly good road under the sun, yet you insist on going inside to be slaughtered by evil spirits! I’m trying to help you, and you dare accuse me instead! People like you deserve to be caught by that fiend, skinned alive, and devoured whole!”

Something in her words must have struck a nerve. The man suddenly leapt to his feet and began shouting at Hua Nanzhi.

Miss Hua was not one to swallow such insults.

“Excuse me? I only asked a question—why are you overreacting? Why are you yelling? What do you mean by ‘deserve to be skinned and devoured’? How can you speak so viciously? No one dares talk to me like that! Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?!”

Hua Nanzhi had little tact and a fiery temper—once sparked, she’d pour oil on the flames.

Seeing the man growing red-faced and bulging with veins, Lin Jin quickly pulled Hua Nanzhi behind him and bowed to the man before he could say anything worse.

“My sincerest apologies! My little sister has a hot temper and meant no offense. Please don’t take it to heart.”

“Who are you calling—mmph!”

Before Hua Nanzhi could retort, Lin Jin discreetly drew a Silencing Talisman on her back.

Unable to speak, she stomped in frustration—but at least she was quiet.

Lin Jin wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow and continued, “Thank you, sir, for your warning. However, we did not wander here by mistake. We heard that a fierce ghost has been causing trouble in Shuangxi Village, and we’ve come to help resolve the matter.”

Despite his polite explanation, the man remained agitated.

“Resolve my foot! I’ve seen plenty of so-called immortal cultivators like you over the years! All claiming they’ll exorcise demons—then dying without knowing how! Get out! Get out of here! Just seeing you makes me mad!”

While the man ranted, Lin Jin quietly observed him.

His hair was tied carelessly, his clothes plain, his hands calloused—the look of an ordinary farmer.

His skin was dark from years under the sun. Yet there was also a faint grayish tinge to his face—so much so that Lin Jin was reminded of zombies from certain films.

Whenever he got angry, the veins at his temples and neck bulged, making him look even more frightening.

After the man finished venting and stood there panting, Lin Jin spoke again.

“I understand that you’re worried about our safety and don’t wish to see us die at the hands of a ghost. But we did not come without preparation. We’ve already learned something of Shuangxi Village’s situation on our way here. I don’t know how you’ve endured these past years, but surely you wish to return to normal life. Please allow us to enter the village and take a look. Give us a chance to help you. Please—trust us one more time.”

Lin Jin lowered his gaze and bowed once more.

Perhaps because his tone and words were beyond reproach, the man gradually calmed down.

He looked the three of them over carefully, then let out a heavy snort.

“You do seem different from the fools who came here to die before. I hope you actually have some skill. But I warn you—the fiend in our village is far more vicious than you imagine. Once you go in, there’s no turning back. If you’ve got any sense, you’d leave now and retrace your steps. Otherwise, you’ll just end up as nourishment for that monster.”

He tucked the black bull mask under his arm and waved at Lin Jin.

“If you’re determined to throw your lives away, I can’t stop you! Bring whatever immortal trinkets you rely on to eat and survive—and follow me!”