79: Chapter 79: The Festival of Sacrifice (Twenty-Four)

I don't know how much time had passed, but the quiet Fountain of Longevity finally stirred.

Meng Yu and Tai You stared intently at the spring. Suddenly, the water began to bubble and boil, accompanied by white mist rising all around, making it look ethereal.

"Is something else going to crawl out of there?" Tai You took a defensive stance.

Meng Yu didn't speak, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the spring.

With a "bang," something leaped out from inside, and the next second, it slammed hard onto the ground—a large, squishy mass that kept wriggling.

"What the!"

"What is that thing? So disgusting."

Before Tai You could finish his sentence, another figure emerged from the spring. Qian Ye landed gracefully, holding her hong ling umbrella.

She looked like a fairy who had descended into the mortal world.

The next second, she kicked the squishy mass in front of her.

With that kick, the true form of the squishy thing was revealed.

"Whoa, that's a huge bug!"

"This is just too disgusting."

"Ugh..."

"To think something like this was hiding at the bottom of the spring—it's absolutely revolting."

Meng Yu frowned, staring at the Large White Bug before them.

"Could the little bugs wriggling in the chests of those villagers all be its children?"

The bug kept squeaking incessantly; the sound didn't seem loud, but it was piercingly shrill when it reached their ears.

"What's going on?"

"My head hurts so much..."

Tai You clutched his head as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Cover your ears!" Meng Yu commanded sharply.

She hadn't expected this thing to be capable of sonic attacks.

Following its "squeak-squeak-squeak" cries, the next moment, commotion erupted from all around them.

"Oh no!"

"Did it attract that group of villagers?"

As soon as she spoke, several figures burst out from the woods—they were the wandering villagers.

They all gathered together, immediately forming a perimeter.

The Large White Bug in front let out increasingly shrill cries, as if issuing commands, and the villagers became exceptionally agitated.

Their black eye sockets were fixed on Qian Ye and the other two, teeth bared, revealing sharp fangs.

"What do we do?"

"How did so many of them appear?"

Tai You looked around; these mutated villagers were gathering everywhere.

"I've never seen this many people around before!" Tai You couldn't help but complain.

What now?

There were only three of them, and the number of enemies was unknown.

"What do we do?"

"Just fight!" After saying that, Meng Yu threw something into the crowd of villagers. It instantly flared as bright as day, and she charged into the encirclement, knocking one down with every punch.

She wiped away tears while beating them up.

Qian Ye joined the fray as well, her hong ling umbrella reaping through the crowd.

I don't know how much time had passed, but Qian Ye noticed something wrong: the number of people wasn't decreasing; instead, there were more of them.

She stopped to observe the changing situation on the battlefield.

The thin, shrill sound never ceased. The villagers seemed to have been injected with stimulants; they were tireless and wouldn't die.

After being killed, they would reappear in about a minute, and this time, they would double in number.

Just like that, the more people they killed, the more appeared again.

They really were like cockroaches that couldn't be killed.

Soon, the other two noticed the commotion as well; the whole area was becoming crowded.

"What's going on?"

"Why does it feel like the more we fight, the more there are?"

"Am I seeing things? How are there so many people who look exactly the same!"

The two stopped their movements, observed the surroundings, and found the root of the problem.

"What should we do? This thing can't be killed!"

"And more and more keep appearing."

"Could it be related to that?" Tai You pointed at the Large White Bug in front of them.

With a "squelch," the hong ling umbrella sank halfway into its body, and milky-white liquid instantly sprayed out.

Fortunately, they dodged quickly.

"Ugh, this is too disgusting."

"I... ugh... I can't take it."

The next second, the Large White Bug went quiet for a moment before continuing its screeching.

Qian Ye didn't stop her movements; it had almost been stabbed into a sieve, yet the sound only grew shriller.

The villagers' faces underwent another mutation; black veins appeared around their black eye sockets, and as they opened their mouths, their fangs grew longer, their aura becoming even more brutal.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The air was filled with a brutal aura.

"I, I don't think we can beat them!" Tai You watched the villagers in front of him; it seemed as if they had leveled up.

They looked even more brutal, and their aura was even more terrifying.

"If we can't beat them, we run."

Meng Yu withdrew her fists and looked for an escape route.

Because of their recent handiwork, there were now more and more of those eerie villagers, crowding the entire area.

Qian Ye shifted her gaze to the spring behind them.

Meng Yu followed her gaze, and the two exchanged a look.

Right now, this was the only place left.

Meng Yu nodded at her.

The next moment, the two jumped into the water, one after the other.

Tai You, standing to the side, heard two splashes. When he turned around, the people beside him were gone.

Looking at the Fountain of Longevity, which was still rippling, he swallowed hard. You've got to be kidding me.

"You could have at least given me a heads-up!" Tai You made a miserable face.

Turning back to look at the villagers closing in, then at the spring in front of him, he gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, stepped back, ran, and finally leaped.

With a "splash," he also instantly disappeared into the Fountain of Longevity.

The Large White Bug on the bank sensed something, and its piercing cry echoed throughout the entire forest.

The villagers all swarmed toward the Fountain of Longevity.

——

Beneath the spring

Tai You held his breath, struggling wildly with his body, eyes closed, making "mmph, mmph" sounds incessantly.

His shoulder was tapped a few times, but he continued to struggle.

Meng Yu looked at the person in front of her speechlessly. He was a grown man, yet so timid.

She swam a few strokes, aimed her foot directly at his butt, and kicked him.

"Ah!!!"

"That hurts!"

"Who is it!"

"It's your great-auntie here." Meng Yu rolled up her sleeves, rolling her eyes at his idiotic appearance.

Tai You took a few breaths and froze, only then realizing that he could actually breathe.

"I can actually breathe underwater!"

Meng Yu rolled her eyes, patted him, and signaled him to look to the side.

Qian Ye was holding that familiar red umbrella, which was currently emitting a faint red glow.

This red light isolated them from the spring water.

Tai You poked it; it was elastic. The red light seemed to have formed a protective barrier.

In an instant, looking at the umbrella in Qian Ye's hand, the fervor in his eyes grew even more intense.

What kind of item is this? It's just too powerful!

This is simply a devastating weapon that integrates offense and defense.

"Su Ye, which dungeon did you get this umbrella from? It's so amazing!"

"Are there any more?"

It really made his heart itch.

"Hehe, maybe if you take an umbrella and stab ninety-nine couples with it, you'll get one."

Qian Ye grinned.

Looking at the red singer in her hand, she was exceptionally satisfied.

It's just a pity that she hadn't had her fill of being an NPC before it ended.

Sigh.

Every speck of red on it was a testament to her achievements.

She didn't even remember what color the red singer had been before.