Chapter 249: Fierce Young Girl

The moment they stepped into South Corner Village, the air was thick with a foul, bloody stench. Walking down the main street toward the village center, the dried, blackened bloodstains on the ground grew denser and more frequent.

Among the four villages, if any place fit the stereotypical image of a haunt infested with evil, South Corner Village would be the second. The other three wouldn’t even dare claim first place.

At this moment, a butcher wielding two pig-slaughtering knives was “diligently” carving up an unresisting fat pig.

Not far from him, a large crowd of villagers had gathered. Compared to last night, there seemed to be even more people present.

Liu Feng and Qiao Min stopped a short distance from the crowd.

Liu Feng raised his iron shield, positioning himself protectively in front of Qiao Min.

Even though Temple Keeper Huang had said that Qiao Min was highly capable and could easily handle a chang ghost, she still looked like a ten-year-old girl.

So Liu Feng instinctively acted as her shield.

The presence of outsiders immediately drew the villagers’ attention.

The moment they laid eyes on the tall and sturdy man, their murky pupils all sharpened at once.

Under the weight of so many eerie, gleaming gazes, Liu Feng instinctively took a step back.

A strange feeling crept over him—these villagers’ eyes… were just like those of starving beasts!

The moment he stepped back, the villagers who had been watching him also moved forward a few steps.

Strange gurgling noises rumbled from their stomachs, accompanied by the sound of teeth grinding and bones cracking.

“Meat… such fragrant meat…”

“Officer, we’re so hungry… Have mercy, let us have a bite!”

The one closest to Liu Feng was a tall, gaunt man.

His clothes were tattered and stained with dark, dried blood. Barefoot, with shriveled feet, he staggered toward Liu Feng as he spoke.

“You’re hungry? I’ll find you some food. Come with me!” Liu Feng’s grip on his iron shield tightened.

“Officer… what I want to eat is… meat…”

“Please, officer, just one bite of meat…”

Tap. Tap.

The skeletal man took two more steps forward.

“He wants to eat your flesh.”

Qiao Min’s crisp voice sent a chill down Liu Feng’s spine.

He had already sensed their overwhelming desire from the way they looked at him.

But… could a single night really turn people into cannibalistic monsters?

Watching the gaunt man draw closer, Liu Feng frowned and asked, “Qiao Min, what do we do?”

“Kill them.”

Kill?

Hearing that icy tone, Liu Feng’s brow furrowed into a deep crease.

Yes, these villagers were no longer truly human. But they could still talk. They weren’t outright attacking yet, which meant they still had a sliver of human reason left.

If they started killing right away, wouldn’t that just play into the hands of those four chang ghosts?

Clang!

The sword left its sheath with a dragon’s cry!

Liu Feng’s face changed drastically—he hadn’t expected the young girl behind him to be so decisive. The moment she said “kill,” she drew her sword without hesitation!

A powerful gust of wind swept past him!

As his peripheral vision caught the scene, he saw Qiao Min, gripping an iron sword, turning into a blur as she charged straight toward the butcher who was carving up the pig!

In that instant, he understood!

Qiao Min wasn’t targeting the villagers—she was after the chang ghost butcher!

But… that wasn’t the plan!

Hadn’t Temple Keeper Huang specifically instructed them to avoid direct confrontations with the chang ghosts whenever possible?!

Before he could react further, Qiao Min had already closed the two-foot gap between herself and the butcher.

The butcher, still focused on dismembering the pig, had his head lowered.

Qiao Min leaped into the air, gripping her sword with both hands, and brought it down on the butcher with tremendous force!

Clang!

At the last possible moment, the butcher raised his two butcher knives, crossing them to block the heavy blow!

The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the muddy ground beneath his feet, stretching all the way to Liu Feng’s position!

Hiss—

This little girl was unbelievably strong!

Even as he marveled at her power, Liu Feng sprang into action, rushing forward to join the fight!

“Heh! For such a tiny girl, you’ve got quite the strength!” the butcher sneered, raising a knife and swinging it diagonally at Qiao Min.

She remained composed, barely shifting her weight as she gracefully evaded the strike like a phantom.

Meanwhile, Liu Feng charged in like a cannonball, ramming his shield into the butcher, who had yet to recover his stance!

Boom!

The impact was solid, crashing into the butcher’s broad left arm!

Yet, contrary to expectations, the butcher didn’t budge—not even an inch!

“Heh… kid, you’ve got less strength than that little girl!” The butcher grinned eerily before shifting his stance. With a single movement, he sent Liu Feng flying backward, shield and all!

As he hurtled through the air, pain wracked Liu Feng’s entire body, making it feel as if he were falling apart.

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he suddenly felt the shadow of death looming over him.

The butcher had merely leaned into him—and that alone had nearly crushed him through his iron shield!

And this wasn’t just any shield—it had been reinforced with Daoist enchantments!

If it had been an ordinary shield, wouldn’t he have been smashed into pulp already?

Tap. Tap.

Light footsteps approached.

Qiao Min quickly caught up to Liu Feng’s tumbling form, bracing her sword horizontally to absorb the remaining force before steadying him.

“Go! Knock those villagers aside! Knock them out or restrain them—I’ll handle the butcher!” she commanded.

Without waiting for his response, she slashed three times through the air!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A sudden burst of compressed energy rang through the air!

Three crimson sword beams shot toward the butcher in parallel!

The butcher squinted, clicking his tongue. “Hah, little girl, now this is an interesting sword technique!”

Instead of dodging, he swung his massive butcher knives, forcibly cleaving through the incoming sword energy!

“Who taught you that swordplay, little girl…? It’s actually pretty impressive!” he mused.

As he spoke, he swept his knife across the table, flinging the neatly carved pork toward the frenzied crowd before lunging at Qiao Min with his weapons raised!

“Don’t let them eat the meat!” Qiao Min shouted before locking blades with the butcher!

In an instant, dust erupted, and the clash of weapons rang out continuously.

The two figures—one in black, one in red—moved like blurs, colliding with explosive force as they fought fiercely!

Despite the searing pain wracking his body, Liu Feng gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand.

He took one look at the battle unfolding nearby before charging straight toward the frenzied crowd!

By now, the villagers had fully devolved into ravenous beasts, wrestling over the scattered meat, tearing at it with both hands and teeth.

But as Liu Feng got closer, he saw something horrifyingly clear—

Not all of them were tearing into pork.