When everyone realized that Ruan Huang had deceived them, it was already too late.

　　They had become the village's most ruthless executioners.

　　Their hands were stained with blood that could never be washed away.

　　No villager dared to collect Guangxiu’s body.

　　He lay in his own courtyard, his body smashed beyond recognition by tools like hoes and sickles.

　　Blood and bits of flesh splattered across most of the yard.

　　His caved-in skull had only one eye left, staring blankly into the sky.

　　In his gaze, apart from fear, there was only… confusion.

　　He truly didn’t understand.

　　Why did the villagers he had spent nearly all his wealth to help, turn around and kill him?

　　Of course, no one knew why, but on the night Guangxiu died… the drought in the village ended.

　　A rainstorm fell.

　　This blessed rain was something the entire village had longed for.

　　They cheered, cried, and shouted...

　　They forgot the crime they had just committed.

　　They forgot what they had done to their former savior.

　　Guangxiu was dead, and the drought was over.

　　Somehow, a rumor began to spread in the village.

　　 People said that Guangxiu had secretly done many bad deeds behind people's backs.

　　He had built the Misty Rain Temple to worship the land gods, but in reality, he used the temple to hoard grain and wealth.

　　This, they said, angered the gods and caused the drought!

　　Naturally, this rumor was started by Ruan Huang.

　　He needed to destroy Guangxiu's influence over the villagers quickly.

　　In the end, he succeeded.

　　The villagers seemed to really believe him, and he got what he wanted: he became the village chief.

　　Later,

　　Ruan Huang burned Guangxiu’s son Guang alive in the Misty Rain Temple and secretly kidnapped Guangxiu’s wife, Zhu, planning to make her his captive.

　　Zhu was beautiful. Even after giving birth, her looks and figure hadn’t changed much.

　　Her gentle, fragile demeanor as a wife made her a renowned beauty in the region.

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　　Ruan Huang, however, was the opposite.

　　He was born ugly, with unattractive features and crooked teeth.

　　His parents had worried he would never marry, so they searched everywhere for a bride.

　　But when the girls saw Ruan Huang’s face, they either shook their heads and left immediately or reluctantly agreed,.

　　Over time, even his parents gave up.

　　After Guangxiu's death, Ruan Huang was deeply drawn to Zhu’s tear-streaked face as she wept over her husband’s body in the courtyard.

　　For the next few nights, he couldn’t sleep, constantly thinking of her face.

　　Unable to resist his desires, Ruan Huang devised a plan: he would claim the gods were angry and send down lightning to burn the Misty Rain Temple, killing Zhu and Guang in the fire.

　　But in reality, only Guang was burned to death.

　　Zhu was secretly kidnapped and hidden in Ruan Huang’s underground cellar.

　　For the following months, Zhu suffered unspeakable torture and abuse.

　　No matter what Ruan Huang did, she refused to submit, always cursing him until she passed out from the torment.

　　One day, Ruan Huang grew bored.

　　Or maybe, after venting all his frustrations on her, he realized women weren’t as special as he thought.

　　When she cursed him again, Ruan Huang finally snapped.

　　All his bottled-up anger exploded.

　　First, he cut out Zhu’s tongue and poisoned her so she couldn’t speak.

　　After crudely stopping the bleeding with ashes, Ruan Huang, whose mind had grown twisted, came up with a new way to torment her!

　　He spent money to build a special pond for Zhu and summoned the village’s best butcher.

　　They chained her arms and legs to keep her from moving, then began slowly stripping her bones.

　　As he watched Zhu’s beautiful face twist in agony, her mouth wide open but unable to make a sound, Ruan Huang laughed with satisfaction.

　　He had never felt such pleasure.

　　Zhu's body soaked in the icy water, and after having most of her bones removed, she finally bled to death.

　　But even after her death, the punishment didn’t end.

　　Ruan Huang had the butcher complete his work, stripping Zhu’s skin from her body.

　　Gazing at the pool of bright red blood, Ruan Huang tossed a piece of gold to the butcher and walked away.

　　About half a month later, while searching for a new wife, Ruan Huang heard that the butcher who had helped him skin and dismember Zhu... was dead.

　　And he had died horribly.

　　At first, Ruan Huang thought it was just an accident.

　　But later, he began having terrifying nightmares, and strange events started happening around the village.

　　Ruan Huang finally realized... they were in deep trouble!

　　The dead had returned as vengeful spirits seeking revenge!

　　People in the village began dying.

　　Each corpse was left in a terrifying state, their eyes bulging out, veins popping with blood, and faces frozen in unimaginable horror as if they had seen something extremely frightening before death!

　　As more and more people died, a strange atmosphere settled over the village.

　　Ruan Huang knew that if this continued, it would be his turn soon!

　　But he refused to give up the power and respect he had worked so hard to gain!

　　In the end, Ruan Huang paid a large sum to a villager who traveled far away to a famous monastery, seeking help from the monks there.

　　The monks refused the money.

　　A young monk named Fahui followed the villager back to the village.

　　Upon entering, he told the villagers:

　　"The dead are filled with too much anger. It cannot be easily resolved."

　　"Either the villagers leave, or you will all die here!"

　　Hearing this, the villager wasted no time and immediately brought the young monk to Ruan Huang.

　　"Master, is there really no way?"

　　Ruan Huang, pale-faced, poured out his sorrows to the monk, telling him that the Ruan family had been village chiefs for generations, and that he couldn’t allow the village to be overrun by evil spirits!

　　Perhaps the monk was too naive, or maybe Ruan Huang was a convincing actor, but the monk believed him and was moved by Ruan’s apparent willingness to sacrifice himself to protect the villagers.

　　The monk loudly proclaimed:

　　"Amitabha! If I do not go to hell, who will?"

　　The monk then told Ruan Huang that there was one way to protect the village, besides resolving the ghosts' anger.

　　The method was to behead the monk, reattach his head using a special ritual, and place his body alongside the corpses of the vengeful spirits.

　　They would then build a temple over them and have monks chant prayers for seven days and nights.

　　Through the power of the Buddha, the monk’s spirit would suppress the evil ghosts.

　　However, there was one crucial condition: the monk’s head must never be separated from his body...