178: Peach Tree

When they reached the boundary between the village entrance and the main road this time, everything seemed to go smoothly. They were about to leave the village entrance when suddenly, their vision blurred, the surroundings changed drastically, and in the next instant, they were back where they started.

"Ping, Brother Ping, it seems like virgin boy's urine isn't working on this ghost wall..."

Sun Yun Sheng said with a tear-streaked face. At this point, he was truly out of ideas.

"Old Chen, what, what else can we do?"

Jia Hao's face was also sallow as he spoke, his expression changing.

"I heard that if a vengeful spirit's resentment is too strong, virgin boy's urine will lose its effect. To deal with deeply resentful dead souls, we Martial Artists need our Qi and blood!"

Chen Ping's face was grim. After a moment of thought, he came up with another idea. He had relatives in the Bureau of Unusual Matters who regularly took on tasks, and he had heard similar information.

He was like a drowning man now; if there was even a slim possibility, he would grasp at it like a life raft!

Chen Ping gritted his teeth and bit down hard.

Pfft!

A mouthful of hot, fresh blood from his tongue, rich with a Martial Artist's Yang Qi, was forcefully spat out by him, sprinkling onto the village entrance.

"Let's go..."

His face was as thin as gold leaf, and he spoke weakly.

The result, however, was still a great disappointment!

As expected, the three of them, in a dizzying flash, returned to their original spot.

At this point, none of the three had any temper left...

'Am I, Chen Ping, destined to die here?'

Chen Ping looked up at the sky. The myriad twinkling stars made him somewhat envious. If only he could be like the stars, soaring freely in the sky...

But, I, Chen Ping, am truly unwilling!

Suddenly, he spoke again: "Old Jia, I heard your wife and children are still waiting for you to go home for the New Year. Are you willing to die here?"

Without waiting for Jia Hao to reply, he continued: "Little Sun, your beloved is still waiting for you to marry her. Are you truly willing to accept this?"

"I know you're unwilling, and I'm unwilling too!"

"Let's go, we'll try a different direction!"

Chen Ping's tone sharpened as he spoke sternly to Sun Yun Sheng and Jia Hao. At this moment, these two were completely at a loss, without any ideas, so they quickly agreed.

"Okay..."

Immediately, they returned the way they came, preparing to exit from the west side of the village.

Peach Blossom Village was located at the foot of the mountain. If they were to exit from the back, it would naturally be a mountain range, and getting back to the main road would require a huge detour.

But now, the three of them couldn't worry about such things!

Soon, they arrived at the center of the village again. Not far away was Tao Wu's residence.

And over there, they could faintly see the figures of Martial Artists fighting, but strangely, no sound came out, as if someone had cast the legendary sound-dampening spell.

"I say, shouldn't we go back and look for Huang Tou... I'm getting nervous just wandering around like this..."

Sun Yun Sheng wiped away a cold sweat, swallowed, and said.

"Are you stupid? You know how strong that monster is. Huang Tou and our Zhe Tie Formation couldn't beat it. Are you hoping for that pretty boy surnamed Han?"

Although he was cautiously walking in the dark, Chen Ping couldn't help but mock him.

In his opinion, after so much time had passed, those who remained in the residence had probably been eaten dry by that monster, mouthful by mouthful!

While there might be danger outside too, at least they were still alive now, weren't they?

Upon hearing this, Sun Yun Sheng and Jia Hao remained silent. The three of them concentrated on observing their surroundings as they moved towards the back of the village.

"Look, isn't that Old Peach Tree a bit strange? I feel like that tree is staring at me..."

However, not long after, Sun Yun Sheng exclaimed again, startled.

In the center of the village, an Old Peach Tree, too large for three people to encircle, stood tall in the deep winter night, as if reaching straight to Yun Xiao, its top out of sight.

The tree was a murky color, with no trace of white snow on its branches. Countless old yet vibrant red ropes were tied to it. Even though there was no wind, they constantly swayed and dangled in the profound night, like countless blood-red eyes staring intently at the few people.

The three immediately stopped, focused their gaze, and listened carefully.

After a long while, there was still no movement.

"You brat, why are you always overthinking things? Has that monster scared you out of your wits?"

Chen Ping spoke reproachfully. He thought Sun Yun Sheng had been frightened by the previous events, which was understandable. After all, even he, an experienced Jianghu veteran, had almost been scared witless at the time, let alone Sun Yun Sheng, a fledgling new to the Jianghu.

Sun Yun Sheng immediately became a little dejected. Being told that, he also thought he had been scared and was overly suspicious, so he became sullen.

"Don't worry, once we're out, I have a cousin who has been involved with the Bureau of Unusual Matters for many years. I'll have him find some Talismans to dispel Yin Qi for us to purify ourselves..."

As they neared the west end of the village, Chen Ping comforted them again. Now, the three of them were in this together; they had to help each other. Besides, once they were out, these two would still be his foundation for competing for status in Black Wind Stronghold...

"But, but..."

Unexpectedly, even with Chen Ping's comfort, Sun Yun Sheng still stammered, seemingly still in a state of inner panic.

"What 'you what you,' 'I what I,' what is it again?!"

Chen Ping's voice rose, impatient, as he turned to look at him.

"Chen, Brother Chen, you, you look outside..."

On the other side, Jia Hao also spoke tremblingly, his voice a little hoarse and dry, like a dying person struggling in a desert due to lack of water.

"Old Jia, I say, you're also an old Jianghu hand. We've known each other for so many years. Last time, didn't you brag to me about sneaking into the Mountain God Temple alone at night? Why are you getting cold feet now?"

Chen Ping's tone was displeased. He turned to look at Jia Hao, only to see Jia Hao's index finger trembling as he pointed outside the village, his eyes wide and blank, his face stunned.

"Let me see, what could possibly... scare you like this? I'm telling you, I heard my cousin say that if you encounter a ghost wall, there's no need to panic, you just need to change direction..."

He said nonchalantly. His cousin had told him about situations like this; a ghost wall was just caused by insignificant minor ghosts. He looked back.

"This..."

The scene outside the village was completely dark, no, not completely dark, there was a faint hint of blood-red, that was...

He saw it, it was an Old Peach Tree... countless branches hanging down from the tree!

And those blood-red hints seemed to be the countless red ropes, symbolizing blessings and wealth, tied to the Old Peach Tree's branches!

Whoosh, whoosh!

Accompanied by the sound of the tree growing, although the sky was completely dark when he looked up, Chen Ping seemed to see the Old Peach Tree's huge canopy continuously growing and expanding, its height soaring invisibly towards Yun Xiao.

Vine-like aerial roots hung down from the canopy, emitting a faint grey mist, completely obscuring the surrounding mountains and the forests within the mountains!

And the small village path leading to the back mountain was tightly blocked by these wriggling, dense aerial roots, like loaches.

An indescribable sense of unease spread through the hearts of everyone who saw it!