FVN Chapter 95 Evil Pig
Chapter 95 Evil Pig
People were prepared, and the floods did not cause much of a ripple.
However, the new shop opened by the original owner of Tangfang has not been opened since the flood, and no one knows why.
……
One day in the human world is equivalent to one year in the underworld.
The flood in Qiantang lasted four days, but the underworld has been inhabited for four years.
The underworld, Meishan.
Song Quyou sat cross-legged under the ancient pine tree in the Pot Heaven, with a rippling stream flowing around him, emitting an intimate hum.
In these four years, the flying sword embryo has grown into a fully-fledged creature, radiating light. Whenever Song Quyou returned to the Pot Heaven, it would pester him for Qi.
Song Quyou reached out and channeled his Qi. The invisible Qi within his body steamed in his hand, and the stream that had been winding around him suddenly contracted, turning into a three-foot-long stream that flowed quietly over his hand, playfully rolling up a wave.
A lark nestled in the meadow, its wings outstretched, while two paper figures helped it preen its feathers.
Both of these paper figures were cut from the cloud-patterned black paper that Song Quyou brought back. As long as the paper is not destroyed, they can exist indefinitely.
Yun Que was living a very comfortable life. She was very good at using the "Paper Cutting Soldiers" technique. Now, there were paper figures everywhere to help her. Some helped her take care of her herbs, some served her, and there were even Yun Que's spies everywhere outside the Pot Heaven.
The well-fed flying sword slowly rose from Song Quyou's hand and landed drunkenly in the sword box on the desk.
Yun Que suddenly stood up and looked at Song Quyou beside her, saying, "The old woman who gets medicine down the mountain is here. The medicine prepared for her is on the table inside the house. Take it to her when you go out."
Song Quyou turned to look at Yun Que, who had gained some weight: "Eat fewer jujubes, you've gotten quite fat."
The lark, who couldn't stand such words, suddenly jumped up and transformed into a young girl. She first ran to the edge of the pond, looked at her reflection, pinched her chubby cheeks, and stomped her feet in anger.
Upon seeing this, Song Quyou quickly left the Emerald Pine Heaven and went to his residence.
He carried a packet of medicine from the table, pushed open the door, and just then met the gray-haired old woman coming to the courtyard.
"Mr. Song, I'm here to pick up my medicine."
Song Quyou did not wear a Taoist robe in the underworld, because Mei Yingxue said that the underworld was full of fierce gods and evil ghosts, and wearing a Taoist robe would attract ghosts. So she prepared a blue robe for Song Quyou.
Song Quyou quickly stepped forward and handed the medicine to the old woman.
The old woman, withered and trembling, stiffly accepted the medicine packet and said, "Thank you, Mr. Song."
As he spoke, he handed over some amber-colored fragments, which were fragments of longevity pills, used as money in this underworld.
"No need, there's still money left over from the last consultation fee."
The old woman's eyes were cloudy. She looked at Song Quyou, responded, and put the broken longevity pills into her patched money bag.
Song Quyou shook his head and said, "Grandma, if you want to recover from this illness, you need to stay away from the River of Oblivion and eat more incense offerings."
The old woman, her eyes vacant, nodded in agreement: "Thank you, Mr. Song."
Not all ghosts in the underworld can be reincarnated. They need to accumulate enough incense offerings from their descendants or earn enough longevity pills in the underworld before they can go to the underworld and enter the cycle of reincarnation.
This old woman was a ghost from the foot of the mountain who had no descendants to burn incense for her, nor enough longevity pills for reincarnation. She could only earn a meager living by helping other ghosts by washing clothes in front of the River of Oblivion and collecting fragments of pills.
She took the medicine and left with profuse thanks. Song Quyou stood at the courtyard gate for a moment, watching her staggering figure disappear into the thick fog at the foot of Meishan Mountain, unsure of what to say.
This medicine is not a rare delicacy; it is simply the dried and rotten dates that the lark picked off when thinning the fruit of the jujube tree, as well as the leaves that naturally fell from the tree.
Cut these into small pieces and add them to this medicine; this will replenish the souls of these ghosts who have been eroded by the River of Oblivion for years.
After all, the cause of these ghosts' illnesses is simply that their souls lack nourishment, and the constant depletion leads to pain.
……
Song Quyou's residence in Meishan was not large; it consisted of a main room and a small courtyard that stretched for five steps. It was a place of refuge provided by Mei Yingxue.
He turned and went back into the house, gently closing the door behind him, returning to the verdant pine forest.
The lark was still squatting by the pool, looking at its reflection on the water from left to right, looking unhappy.
Seeing Song Quyou return, she snorted, "Did that old woman leave?"
"I'm gone."
Song Quyou came to the desk and ran his fingers over the sword case.
A lazy hum came from the sword box; the flying sword, having absorbed its energy, was dozing inside.
Song Quyou slung his sword case over his shoulder, picked up the azure longsword leaning against the ancient pine tree, and shouted at the lark who was running around the pine tree to lose weight:
"I've accepted the bounty from the underworld for eliminating evil. You leave a few paper figures here to guard the house and get the medicine."
……
All geared up and ready to go, Song Quyou pushed open the courtyard gate. The mountain mist was hidden in the tall grass on both sides, and occasionally, some bolder people would wander across the mountain path to visit relatives and friends.
Meishan is called a mountain, but it is actually just a low ridge on the south bank of the River of Oblivion. It is called Meishan because there is a plum forest on the top of the mountain, which blooms all year round and is as red as fire.
Meishan Mountain has been occupied by Mei Yingxue, and those who can find refuge here are mostly wandering ghosts with nowhere else to go. With her protecting it, no evil spirits in the vicinity dare to cause trouble here.
The bounty that Song Quyou accepted this time wasn't too troublesome. Forty miles west of Meishan, there was a vicious boar that devoured souls and occupied a deserted village, preying on weak ghosts that passed by.
Strangely, no one dared to accept the bounty after the underworld issued it three times. The reward kept rising to twenty longevity pills, which really moved Song Quyou, who was short of longevity pills.
The road wound its way westward until Song Quyou came to a withered peach grove. The peach trees were twisted, dry, and hollow, and a cold wind blew through them, making a faint whistling sound.
Song Quyou paused, his eyes gleaming with a deep light that spilled from the corners of his eyes.
This is his rapidly improving ability to communicate with spirits in recent years; no hidden ghost can escape his eyes.
"come out!"
Song Quyou shouted coldly.
Deep in the peach grove, withered leaves rustled down, and from the hollow peach branches, three black boars with tusks, bloodshot eyes, drool dripping from their tusks, hissed and grunted.
Song Quyou stood quietly, his right hand forming a sword incantation. The long sword from the sword box on his back rang out with a clang, and a clear light pierced through the air and forest.
A flash of light, and the three pig heads rolled off, without a drop of blood gushing out.
Black smoke billowed from the severed necks, yet the three corpses did not disintegrate, continuing to emerge from the branches and fall to the ground.
After landing, the three monstrous pigs, completely disregarding their empty necks, squeezed out another wet head from their abdominal cavities.
Song Quyou raised an eyebrow, astonished by the ability of this wicked boar to be reborn. No wonder the underworld had offered a reward three times, but no one dared to accept it.
He changed his sword gesture with his right hand, and the flying sword spun in the air. The clear light transformed into a leaping stream, winding through the forest, soaring into the sky, and then falling again.
Three newborn heads, dripping wet, looked up at the sky and at the stream flowing from the horizon.
This time, the light from the flying sword did not directly behead the creature, but instead transformed into waves that crashed against it, causing the vicious boar to let out a mournful howl.
Beneath the waves, the flesh and skin of the three monstrous pigs, formed from black smoke, melted away layer by layer, their bodies convulsing as they tried to regenerate new flesh and skin. However, the "water vapor" transformed from the waves had already seeped into their entire bodies, permeating every inch of their flesh and blood.
puff!……
The water shimmered brightly, and the sword energy surged forth.
The three evil boars were chopped into a pool of black water, which seeped into the withered leaves on the ground, leaving behind three fragments of luminous green jade, which floated in the air and swayed gently up and down.
The flying sword hummed softly in the air, gliding past like a swallow, taking the three jade fragments into its blade, and the sword light around it became even more solid.
Song Quyou raised his hand to recall the flying sword. The clear light faded, and the sword returned to its sheath.
Seeing the broken jade being consumed, Song Quyou shook his head and sighed softly, "This soul core is worth two years' worth of longevity pills. You really are a money-devouring beast."
Upon hearing Song Quyou's complaint, the sword case suddenly hummed, indicating its dissatisfaction with his earlier remarks.
"Alright, that's enough. Eat if you want. The more you eat, the stronger you'll become. Once we have longevity pills, you can eat your fill and grow your sword light to the size of a river..."
After forging the flying sword and using it to kill several evil spirits, he discovered that the soul cores produced by evil spirits in the underworld could increase the sword energy and spirituality of the flying sword.
Song Quyou patted the sword case and was about to continue westward when a sound came from behind him.
"Young man, don't go any further. There are vicious boars in the village ahead. They are gluttonous and bloodthirsty, and they have already devoured several underworld officials. You are no match for them. Go back quickly."
Song Quyou paused, turning back to look.
At the edge of the withered peach grove, a hunched old ghost peeked out from behind a tree trunk, his official robe tattered, and a broken Yin Commander's plaque hanging from his waist.
His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, and his spirit was as thin as a veil of mist, about to dissipate with a gust of wind.
"Are you from the underworld?" Song Quyou examined the token.
Old Ghost smiled bitterly, "Once upon a time, there was a team of five constables, and I was the only one who managed to escape."
"What exactly are the abilities of that wicked pig that it can even devour the underworld officials?"
The old ghost's cloudy eyes were filled with fear:
"That wicked boar is no ordinary beast; it is a remnant of human souls that escaped from the Blood Prison of the Underworld. It delights in devouring souls and grows stronger with each bite."
When the five of us brothers surrounded it, it had already devoured more than a hundred wandering souls in the village. It was as fat as a mountain and rampaged wildly.
My four colleagues were no match for it and were torn apart and devoured alive.
Before the old ghost could finish speaking, a low hissing sound came from the direction of the deserted village, making the withered peach branches tremble.
Song Quyou's gaze sharpened. With the help of his Netherworld Technique, he saw the Yin energy surging like boiling water ahead, and a thick, impenetrable black mist slowly writhing.
At the same time, the old ghost also suddenly underwent a strange change. His thin soul suddenly swelled up, and thick black smoke was squeezed out of his seven orifices.
He screamed and fell to the ground, his back arching high. His official robe ripped with a tearing sound, revealing a wet, pig-like face squeezed out from his back.
"save……"
The old ghost's face was contorted, and he had barely uttered a single word when it was swallowed whole by the pig-faced man.
Song Quyou's pupils contracted sharply, and he took three quick steps back, the flying sword in the scabbard humming as a warning.
The old ghost's body had completely transformed into a half-human, half-pig monster, with all four limbs on the ground and its body shrouded in black smoke, more than twice the size of the previous three.
Song Quyou pressed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and the green blade was drawn from its sheath. The blade was simple and unadorned, and it gleamed with a faint green light in the cold wind.
The half-human, half-pig monster let out a deafening roar, its four hooves pawing the ground, black smoke billowing and condensing into a glossy, hard armor on its body, transforming into a streak of black light that hurtled straight at Song Quyou's face.
Song Quyou wanted to test the monster's abilities, so he didn't use his internal energy, but instead swept his azure longsword horizontally.
Clang! ...
The longsword, which could normally cut through metal and stone, only left a shallow white mark when it struck the monster's hard shoulder armor.
The longsword fell, and the monster, seeing an opening, thrust its fangs forward. Song Quyou hurriedly withdrew his sword to parry.
Sparks flew.
A tremendous force struck, and Song Quyou staggered back several steps, his back slamming into a withered peach tree, causing the dry branches to fall in a rustling sound.
Once he had regained his footing, Song Quyou channeled his Qi into his sword, and a hazy blue rainbow appeared on it.
As the blue rainbow slashed down, the monster's glossy black armor on its shoulder snapped cleanly, and black smoke billowed out.
The monster cried out in pain and staggered back several steps, its four hooves carving four deep furrows in the dead leaves.
Before Song Quyou could catch his breath, he took a step and in a flash, he was already at the monster's side.
With a slanted upward thrust of his azure longsword, the tip pierced the gap in the hard armor, and with a twist, half a pig's leg, along with a plume of black smoke, was ripped off.
Severely injured, the monster suddenly lost its balance and flipped over with a bang. Black smoke gushed out from the severed leg like a spring, with no flesh or blood visible, but new limbs slowly emerged.
Song Quyou did not immediately finish the job. His eyes shone brightly with a dark light. With his Netherworld Technique, he saw the flow of Yin energy around the monster fully exposed. It turned out that the reason why the monster was able to repair its broken body was because of the special nature of the soul core inside its body. The stone was tearing at the souls of the underworld ghost messengers, burning and producing smoke, which kept drifting towards the wound and forming the severed limbs.
"I see……"
Knowing its secrets, Song Quyou no longer held back. With a flick of his left hand, he drew his sword, and the flying sword in the box was unsheathed.
A flash of clear light appeared, like a stream flowing over withered leaves, circling around the monster. It then transformed into a misty fog, completely enveloping the monster.
Moisture seeped into every crevice of the glossy, hard armor, and into the mouths, noses, and eye sockets of those distorted pig faces.
The monster shuddered violently and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The black smoke dissolved layer by layer in the shimmering water, the hard armor peeled off, the flesh disintegrated, and the enormous body collapsed inch by inch like snow meeting boiling water, turning into a piece of luminous green jade.
Song Quyou sheathed his sword, stepped forward, and was about to reach for the luminous jade fragment when a beam of light flew past first, swirled around the jade fragment, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Song Quyou shook his head helplessly, letting it be.
The flying sword swallowed the soul core, its blade gleaming with a hazy, clear light. It swayed drunkenly for a couple of moments before slowly returning to its sheath, emitting a satisfied hum.
……
Passing through the peach grove, a village came into view.
The village was not as desolate and lonely as the bounty offered by the underworld had described.
The atmosphere was surprisingly festive at this moment.
The village was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and every household hung up large yellow lanterns. Countless men, women, and children gathered at the village entrance and set up a pot the size of a house.
The steaming white mist from the large pot, accompanied by an enticing aroma, reached Song Quyou's nose, three miles away from the village, making his stomach rumble with hunger.
Song Quyou continued walking and soon arrived at the village.
Everyone in the village was busy. Children were chasing and playing, women were picking vegetables and cutting meat, and men were chopping wood and removing bones.
Song Quyou stood at the village entrance, looking at the mountain of skeletons beside him. The white bones gleamed with an oily sheen, with bits of pale red flesh still clinging to them.
The men nearby worked together to remove a bone as thick as an adult. Just as they split it open with an axe, a group of children who were playing and chasing each other surrounded them, eagerly reaching out to dig out the fresh, pinkish-white marrow and smearing it into their mouths, swallowing it with relish.
"The bone marrow smells delicious! Young man, would you like to try some?"
A plump woman wearing an apron appeared behind Song Quyou at some point, holding a rough earthenware bowl in her hand. Steam rose from the bowl of white bone marrow, and the aroma was incredibly tempting.
Song Quyou's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, but he still shook his head and said, "No need, thank you."
"Since you're from out of town, and we're slaughtering a pig in our village today, why don't you join us for a meal before you leave?"
"Young man, eat in our village before you leave. Look how fat this pig is."
The one speaking was a man stirring the soup by the pot. He had bulging muscles and a ruddy complexion. He scooped a pig's head, the size of a calf, out of the pot.
The pig's head was lifted high with a fork, its skin torn and flesh ripped open, steaming hot.