Chapter 263 The Final Chapter of the Bloodbath

The others also carried out the bodies of the other three girls.

Chen Mu walked over, his gaze sweeping across those three faces as pale as paper. They were all sixteen or seventeen years old—an age when they should have been waiting in their boudoirs, embroidering wedding dresses and shyly dreaming of the days to come. Now, they could only lie at the bottom of this cold, damp cave, never to open their eyes again.

He bent down and picked up the nearest body; it felt incredibly light in his arms.

Those Blood Bats had sucked them dry of blood, and with it, the last trace of weight from their lives.

Feng Qing silently picked up the second body, Zhao Mo picked up the third, and the group walked out in a heavy silence.

The sun was already tilting toward the west, and a dense crowd of people stood at the village entrance.

Wang Laogen stood at the very front, his back hunched and his white beard trembling slightly in the wind. Behind him were the families who had lost their daughters: Carpenter Li, Widow Zhao, Hunter Liu, and the other villagers who had helped fight the fire.

They had been waiting from noon until now, from sunrise to sunset.

Wang Laogen first saw Wan Chongshan leading the way back from a distance, and then he saw the person he was carrying. His body couldn't help but sway, and he was supported by those behind him.

The old village chief opened his mouth, wanting to ask something, but it felt as if his throat were stuffed with cotton; he couldn't utter a single word.

In truth, he didn't need to ask; he already knew the outcome.

Wan Chongshan approached and came to a halt at the village entrance. He looked up, his gaze passing over those familiar faces. His lips trembled as he finally spoke.

"Uncle Wang... I've brought... Xiao Yuan back."

Old tears streamed down Wang Laogen's face. He raised his sleeve to wipe them away, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't dry them.

He walked forward with trembling steps, reaching out a hand to touch Xiao Yuan's face, but he pulled it back halfway, not daring to make contact.

"It's good that she's back... it's good that she's back..."

He murmured, though it was unclear if he was speaking to Wan Chongshan or to himself.

Among the villagers behind him, some began to sob softly, while others turned away, their shoulders shaking rhythmically.

Chen Mu stepped forward and gently placed the body on a pre-prepared door plank. Feng Qing and Zhao Mo followed suit, laying the other three bodies side by side.

Four faces as pale as paper lay side by side under the setting sun, a sight so piercing it made one's eyes ache.

"Cui'er..."

From the crowd, a woman suddenly rushed out and knelt beside one of the bodies. Her hands trembled as she reached out to embrace her, but she didn't dare; she just knelt there, crying heart-wrenchingly.

"Xiu Gu! My Xiu Gu!"

Another woman rushed out, followed by a third, as the sounds of wailing rose one after another.

Chen Mu didn't look. He simply turned his back to the people, his gaze falling on the continuous shadows of the distant mountains.

Shen Suning stood behind him with her eyes downcast, her thoughts unknown. Feng Qing repeatedly stroked his bowstring. Ling Xiaoning squatted at the base of a wall, his face buried in his knees, his shoulders shaking as he wept silently.

After a long, long time, Wang Laogen was helped over. Tears still hung from his beard, but he had stopped crying, though his eyes remained red.

He walked up to Chen Mu and bowed deeply.

"Lord Chen, this old man... on behalf of the parents of these girls and the entire village, kowtows to you."

As he spoke, he prepared to kneel, but Chen Mu caught him.

"There is no need for this."

Chen Mu said nothing more, just standing there quietly.

The village chief directed several young men to step forward and carefully carry the bodies into the village.

Night fell completely. Every household in Kaoshan Village lit their lamps; the village was brightly lit, remaining so throughout the night.

A mourning shed was set up in the village square. Four thin coffins were placed side by side, their lids not yet closed. The four girls lay inside, dressed in clean clothes, their faces wiped clean and their hair neatly combed.

Villagers took turns coming forward to burn paper money and light incense. The sound of weeping drifted through the night air, intermittent and mournful.

Chen Mu and the others stayed at the village chief's house. Wang Laogen had cleared out the best room, laid out freshly sunned bedding, and lit mugwort to drive away mosquitoes, yet no one could sleep.

Ling Xiaoning lay on the heated brick bed, tossing and turning. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw those four bodies in the cave, those pale and shriveled faces. He eventually sat up, hugging his knees and staring blankly at the moonlight outside the window.

Liu Quan wasn't sleeping either. He leaned against his large chest, clutching a Fluorescent Bead in his hand, turning it over and over.

"This thing."

He suddenly spoke, his voice kept very low.

"I originally tinkered with it to help the brothers scout the way. I thought that with it, there would be less danger and a better chance of survival when entering caves to hunt demons."

He paused and gave a bitter laugh.

"But today I realized that this thing can only light up a three-foot radius. Beyond those three feet, the things that are there remain, and the things that are meant to happen cannot be avoided."

Ling Xiaoning glanced at him but didn't speak.

Chen Mu sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed as he regulated his breathing.

The Lifespan plundered by the System had increased significantly. Combined with what remained before, he had now accumulated over three thousand years of Lifespan. With this Lifespan, he should have pushed the third layer of the Hunyuan Wuji Calamity Body one step further, but he did not immediately infuse it.

He was still thinking about the Bat King's final words before it died.

"When Fentian rages, blood will flow and float the pestles."

And then there was Cheng Xiaoqing's secretive private order: collect the blood and hair of the demon, seal them, and bring them back without letting them pass through anyone else's hands.

What secret was hidden within that demon?

Chen Mu slowly opened his eyes and took out a thumb-sized jade vial from his robes. It contained half a vial of black blood, which shimmered with a cold luster under the moonlight.

He looked at it for a moment before tucking the vial back into his robes.

The first crow of a rooster came from outside.

The day was about to break.

...

The next morning, the four thin coffins were carried to the ancestral graves on the back mountain to be laid to rest.

Wan Chongshan personally placed his sister's coffin into the grave, filling it with yellow earth shovel by shovel. He only put down the shovel once the grave mound was high, then knelt before the grave and kowtowed three times.

"Xiao Yuan... Brother will come back to see you often."

He stood up and strode away without looking back.

Chen Mu and the others bid farewell to the village chief and mounted their horses.

Wang Laogen led the villagers to see them off at the village entrance, tears streaming down his face as he bowed repeatedly.

"This kindness from you Lords is something Kaoshan Village will never forget..."

Chen Mu pulled the reins and looked back at him once.

"Take care."

The sound of hooves was crisp as the seven riders galloped away.

It was already afternoon by the time they returned to the Demon Suppression Division.

Inside the main hall, Cheng Xiaoqing sat behind a desk, with Bai Junyi standing to one side. Seeing Chen Mu and the others enter, Bai Junyi nodded slightly.

Chen Mu led the group forward and cupped his fists in salute.

"Your subordinates have come to report our mission."

Cheng Xiaoqing raised a hand in a dismissive gesture, his gaze sweeping over everyone. It lingered for a moment longer on Wan Chongshan's face before he spoke in a heavy voice.

"How went the matter at Kaoshan Village?"

Chen Mu stepped forward and reported the events of the past few days one by one. Cheng Xiaoqing listened quietly, his face showing no emotion. Only after Chen Mu finished his report did he slowly speak.

"Fentian?"