Chapter 139: Bizarre Occurrences

Hu Xiaoyu came to my side. I pointed to a crack and said, "Look at these marks; they are clearly sword marks. They couldn't be more than six months old, and Pearl Town hasn't been haunted for that long, has it?"

Hu Xiaoyu examined them carefully and nodded. "You’re right. That suggests someone did this deliberately."

"How should I put it? Perhaps 'deliberate' isn't quite the word; it might just be a coincidence. Someone discovered this ghost tower, broke through the outer barriers that were already damaged, and opened a small gap inside. But things might have gone beyond their expectations—either that person is already dead, or they realized they couldn't handle the tower on their own and fled," I speculated.

Hu Xiaoyu was stunned, finding my reasoning sound. The level of detail in this man’s thinking made her feel a bit ashamed of her own.

For a ghost tower like this, to what extent would one have to understand it to intentionally open a gap and cause Pearl Town to be haunted?

We burst out of the sea surface. The sky was just beginning to brighten, with a fiery red morning glow appearing at the edge of the horizon, looking like a sheet of flame burning across the sea.

"What else is really going on with Pearl Town?" Hu Xiaoyu couldn't help but ask.

"Didn't I tell you about the Sea Maiden earlier? I went to her uncle's house last night. Guess what I found?" I said, half-squinting my eyes.

"Don't keep me in suspense, just tell me," Hu Xiaoyu retorted, glaring at me.

I took out a cloth bundle and opened it, revealing three tiny black needles to Hu Xiaoyu.

"Such heavy malevolent energy!" Yun Ruoxue’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"These are very likely Eastern-style cursed artifacts. I found them on the Sea Maiden's uncle's corpse. Once I forced them out, his body began to rot immediately. My guess is that he has been dead for at least a year," I said solemnly.

Hu Xiaoyu was shocked. "I remember you saying that the Sea Maiden’s uncle visited her house half a year ago. If he has been dead for a year, that means he was already a corpse when he visited her."

"That’s not even the creepiest part. What’s truly strange is that last night, I heard a couple in a neighboring house... well, engaging in the act of intimacy... I took a peek..." I said, winking at her.

Hu Xiaoyu’s face flushed slightly as she rolled her eyes at me. "How can you be so vulgar? Peeking at people doing... doing that."

I shrugged. "Just listen to me, okay? Guess what I saw?"

"What else could there be? If you don't get to the point, I'm not listening anymore. I don't want to soil my ears," Hu Xiaoyu snapped.

"I’m getting to the point. When I looked, their movements were so intense—it was like the earth was shattering, and the bed felt like it was about to fall apart," I said with a wicked grin.

Hu Xiaoyu narrowed her eyes, turned around, and began to walk away.

"But they were both wearing thick, heavy clothes," I added.

Hu Xiaoyu stopped in her tracks and turned back around.

"Putting on an act?" she asked.

"Not an act. It was like mechanical motions and dialogue that had been pre-programmed," I said, my gaze drifting into the distance.

"Are you suspecting that they are dead too?" Hu Xiaoyu asked.

"Exactly. Perhaps more people in this town are nothing but walking corpses," I said in a low voice.

"It’s light out now. Why don't we go back to Pearl Town for another look?" Hu Xiaoyu suggested after a moment of thought.

By now, Pearl Town had awakened from its slumber. Pedestrians began to appear on the two main streets.

At a breakfast shop in town, many customers were already seated, eating their meals and exchanging warm, friendly greetings.

"Old Liu, I heard your daughter-in-law is pregnant. Congratulations!"

"Haha, yes, I hope this time it’ll be a big, healthy grandson."

"Old He, your wife actually allowed you to come out for breakfast today? That’s a rarity."

"What kind of talk is that? Do I need her permission to do anything? One glare from me and she wouldn't dare say a word."

Hu Xiaoyu and I listened to the chatter in the breakfast shop. There was indeed nothing amiss. The expressions on these people were different from the couple I had seen the night before; those two had empty, vacant eyes, while these people seemed full of life.

Hu Xiaoyu glanced at me and whispered, "Do you think there’s a problem?"

I shook my head, but in my heart, I still felt something was off.

We walked down the main street, watching the townspeople come and go. Everything indicated that the town was perfectly normal and vibrant, nothing like the deathly stillness of the night.

Just then, I stopped in my tracks, lost in thought.

Hu Xiaoyu walked a few steps ahead, turned back to look at me, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Don't you find it strange? Strangers like us—the man dashing, the woman beautiful—and yet, not a single person is even glancing at us," I said suddenly.

Hu Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at me, though she felt a little pleased, perhaps because I had called her beautiful. But once I pointed it out, she also felt something was wrong. Objectively speaking, we were both striking figures, especially among ordinary people; there was no reason for everyone to treat us like thin air.

I suddenly walked up to a middle-aged woman and asked with a smile, "Ma'am, do you know where Lin Huogen lives?"

The woman pointed to Lin Huogen’s luxury villa and said, "See that? That villa right there."

I was stunned. It wasn't what I had expected; the woman had actually reacted to my question. Could I have been wrong?

"Why are you looking for Lin Huogen? He probably isn't home right now," the woman added.

My heart skipped a beat. Squinting, I said, "He isn't home? Isn't he dead?"

"You're a young man, why such a cruel heart? Wishing death on someone who is perfectly fine—truly shameful," the woman glared at me and walked away.

A chill rose from the bottom of my heart. Hu Xiaoyu came to my side and asked, "Who is Lin Huogen?"

"The Sea Maiden's uncle," I said in a deep voice.

Hu Xiaoyu was shocked. We locked eyes, both feeling a deep, bone-chilling dread.

"Let's go back to that breakfast shop," I said grimly.

We returned to the shop. Old He had finished his breakfast and was sauntering toward his home. We followed him through an alleyway until he entered a house with a courtyard.

In the courtyard, a pregnant woman with a large belly was hanging out laundry. Looking at her stomach, she was clearly near her due date.

"Xiao Hui, you’re pregnant. Didn't I tell you not to do these chores?" Old He said nervously upon seeing her.

"Dad, it's fine. Washing a few clothes isn't hard work," the woman laughed.

"No, no, put it down. Wait for your mother to do it later. Don't tire out my grandson," Old He said.

I narrowed my eyes. I hadn't misheard; Old He had said, "You just got pregnant," but the woman's belly clearly showed she was about to give birth. If there wasn't a problem here, I’d cut my own head off.

"Everyone in this town is living in the past," I said slowly.

"How could this be?" Hu Xiaoyu asked in shock.

Just then, Hu Xiaoyu’s gaze sharpened. "Look at that pregnant woman. Her water broke."

I looked over. The woman's skirt was soaked, but she felt absolutely nothing. A moment later, her stomach began to ripple and churn, yet she still showed no reaction.

Soon, her skirt was stained red with blood, and suddenly, an infant dropped out.

The baby was pitch black, radiating thick, malevolent energy, and was squirming on the ground. A moment later, it extended its delicate arm, grabbed the umbilical cord, and opened its mouth to reveal a full set of teeth, biting the cord clean off.

Hu Xiaoyu and I were both left with our scalps tingling at the sight.

Just then, the infant grabbed the woman’s skirt with both hands, let out a low growl from its throat, and suddenly sprang up, biting directly at the woman’s throat.

I arched my brow and reached out, grabbing the bloody, malevolent infant out of mid-air.

The woman, her skirt covered in blood, acted as if nothing had happened and continued hanging the laundry.

The evil infant growled, struggling incessantly. Hu Xiaoyu flicked her hand, a flash of dharma light cutting through the air, and the infant was minced into a pile of flesh.

"Go check the woman's back and see if she also has three evil needles," I said to Hu Xiaoyu.

Hu Xiaoyu nodded and vanished, reappearing behind the woman, who remained as still as a statue. Hu Xiaoyu pulled aside the woman's clothing, her eyes narrowing. Sure enough, there were three small black holes in her back.