"What's the matter?" Ku Lamei asked.
Suddenly, Fatty pointed at me, startling me. He said sinisterly, "As long as you hand him over to me, I guarantee I won't bother Hongqi Village anymore. My target is only him! Of course, if you don't hand him over to me, I will continue killing people until Hongqi Village is razed to the ground!"
Fatty's words were chilling, like knives stabbing at our chests, one after another.
Although his words were full of naked threats, I had no doubt about "Fatty's" ability.
Liu Qingqing had said that once Yin Hongyi became a demon, she would slaughter everything within a radius of ten miles, let alone a mere Hongqi Village?
I also understood why Yin Hongyi targeted me because I was the Yin Bone Child, and she desperately wanted the Yin Bone at the back of my head. If the Yin Bone fell into Yin Hongyi's hands, she would definitely become a demon.
So, faced with Yin Hongyi's demand, Ku Lamei flatly refused, "I know what you want, and I can't hand Yang Cheng over to you!"
Fatty angrily said, "Do you want to exchange the lives of the entire village for his life?"
Ku Lamei's face was cold as ice, "I hate being threatened by others the most in my life, especially by women!"
Ku Lamei's words were full of determination, and at that moment, I felt he became towering and stalwart in my heart.
Fatty's tone was particularly gloomy, "I'll give you one last chance. Think carefully before you answer me. Do you want to hand Yang Cheng over to me or not?"
"Get lost!" Ku Lamei squeezed out a word from his teeth.
"What did you say?" Fatty was about to explode with anger.
"Get lost!" Ku Lamei's eyes were like arrows, shooting out beams of light.
Fatty stomped his foot fiercely, "Old man, you'll pay for your decision tonight!"
Ku Lamei turned his hand over and took a step forward to Fatty, with an ancient coin inverted in his palm, and slapped it fiercely on Fatty's head.
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"Woo—"
A wisp of black gas flew out from the top of Fatty's head and disappeared into the night sky.
The dark clouds in the sky quickly dissipated, revealing the crescent moon. The bright moonlight scattered on the ground, and the surroundings of the ancestral hall became bright again.
Fatty lay on the ground, his eyes tightly closed, as if dead.
Ku Lamei glanced at the broken ancient coin in his palm, feeling somewhat distressed. "Dead Fatty, you wasted another Five Emperors' coin on me!"
I looked at the unconscious Fatty, feeling scared and worried. I asked Ku Lamei, "Master Ku, is Fatty... alright?"
Ku Lamei said, "He's fine, just the ghost possession has hurt his vitality, he needs to rest quietly for a while."
I nodded, feeling relieved.
Ku Lamei clapped his hands and told everyone that it was all over, and asked the villagers to go home and rest.
But the villagers didn't leave; instead, they gathered together, blocking the entrance of the ancestral hall.
"Is there something else?" Ku Lamei asked in confusion.
A middle-aged man stepped forward, "Great deity, can you truly guarantee that everything is fine? We all heard it clearly just now. If we don't hand over that Yang lad, that woman will slaughter the entire village!"
Ku Quan looked at the man, "That's correct, that's what she said."
The middle-aged man took a deep breath, biting his lip as he said, "I know, it's not honorable to hand over Yang Cheng, and we can't bring ourselves to do it. But if we don't, that woman will come and slaughter the village, and then everyone will die. So... let's hand over Yang Cheng, at least we can save the lives of the entire village!"
The middle-aged man's words resonated with others:
"Yeah, let's hand over Yang Cheng! Sacrificing one life is better than putting the whole village at risk!"
"Yang Cheng's fate is sealed, and we can't change it!"
"After Yang Cheng dies, we will bury him with dignity!"
I stood behind Ku Quan, feeling numb all over, ice-cold.
People are inherently selfish, everyone wants to survive, and I have no right to blame or complain about them. As someone said, this is my fate, and unfortunately, Yin Hongyi has targeted me.
The entire Red Flag Village has hundreds of people, and if sacrificing my life can save everyone, I'm willing. I can't let hundreds of people die for me.
But these villagers don't understand, Yin Hongyi's promise is just a trap. If she gets my Yin bone, she will become a fiend, and then even Ku Quan won't be able to stop her. Not to mention Red Flag Village, the surrounding area will also suffer a catastrophe.
Emotions ran high among the crowd, and Ku Quan raised his palm to signal for silence.
He said, "Do you know why I didn't agree to Yin Hongyi's request? Because things are not as simple as they seem! Yang Cheng is not an ordinary person; his fate is different, he was born as a Yin bone child. Yin Hongyi wants to obtain the Yin bone, so she targeted Yang Cheng. Once Yin Hongyi obtains the Yin bone, she will become a fiend. Who can resist her then? Do you really believe Yin Hongyi's promise? When she becomes a fiend, will she spare you?"
Ku Quan made it clear, and the crowd fell silent.
He sighed, "So, no matter what, I can't hand over Yang Cheng to her, otherwise, it would be aiding and abetting evil!"
The middle-aged man stepped forward again, "Ku deity, we are just ordinary folks. We don't understand what you're saying. We only know that if we hand over Yang Cheng, everyone can survive, right?"
The middle-aged man's words resonated with others:
"That's right, kill Yang Cheng! Yang Cheng must die! Kill him!"
The shouts grew louder and louder, like an invisible wave engulfing me.
Those familiar faces now seemed extremely unfamiliar.
Those usually kind and simple villagers now had red eyes, like demons crawling out of hell.
I looked at them indifferently, feeling as desolate as death.
"Stop!" Ku Quan's voice thundered, suppressing all other sounds instantly.
He said angrily, "Do you take my words as a mere whisper? Let me say it again, if you kill Yang Cheng, no one in the Red Flag Village will survive. Don't fall into Yin Hongyi's trap! From now on, whoever dares to harm Yang Cheng will be my enemy!"
I was moved to tears by his courage, in such a situation, he could still act justly and do his best to protect me. I wished I could kneel down and call him "godfather" right then and there.
"Clear the way for me!" Ku Quan grabbed my hand and walked out of the crowd in large strides, and no one dared to stop us.