Little did we know that the Old Village Chief was the very same vine monster!
Could he really put on such a convincing act?
He had duped each and every one of us with his sanctimonious and kind facade, only to reveal his true nature in the end…
The villagers' emotions surged with anger and indignation. Particularly the families who had lost their children; they couldn't contain their rage and began to kick and punch the Old Village Chief.
Lu Zheng intervened and pushed the ordinary villagers away, cautioning, "Stay back. This old man is no ordinary foe. Beware of his ghostly claws."
Finally, the villagers could see the Old Village Chief's true form. The countless vine-like ghost claws on his body had been severed, leaving only one long ghostly claw sprouting from his neck, struggling desperately.
"He's a Physical Master," Qiao Mu stated indifferently. "Now, can someone please explain why he was in this underground village?"
An elderly man stepped forward, his expression fluctuating as he implored, "Celestial being, please save us."
"A few years ago, our once peaceful village was terrorized by humanoid monsters that preyed on anyone in their path."
"Many villagers fled, leaving only about a hundred impoverished families behind, too destitute to escape."
"It was then that the Old Village Chief proposed relocating our village underground."
"This plan had two primary objectives: Firstly, it would effectively protect us from the man-eating monsters. Secondly, it would ensure the village's safety."
"At the time, we all believed the Village Chief had the best interests of our community at heart and were immensely grateful to him."
"Who would have guessed? He's nothing but a monster!"
A woman by her side chimed in, "I had thought that once we moved underground, we would no longer provoke those monsters."
lightsnοvεl "But good times didn't last long. It's only been a few months since our relocation to the underground village, and for the past four years, we've seen several boys from our village vanish every year. All taken by that vine monster."
Anger began to simmer among the villagers. "This old man has been deceiving us for years! We treated him as a kind-hearted philanthropist."
Qiao Mu sneered, "His deceptions run deeper than you can imagine."
With that, she moved forward and caught Hu Erhua's gaze. "Lead the way to your hideout."
Hu Erhua trembled and stared at Qiao Mu in disbelief. How did this young girl know about his secret headquarters here?
"It should be near the Icicle Flower Tree," Qiao Mu stated with confidence, having noticed it when she arrived.
The area around the ice tree exuded the densest malevolent energy, so thick that it seemed almost unmeltable.
Qiao Mu glanced at the villagers, who were still wearing their supposed protective talismans. "Remove those charms from your necks."
She usually disliked explanations, but seeing the villagers' ignorant and confused expressions, she pitied their naivety.
Did they think they could blindly trust anyone without question?
They lacked critical thinking, never even suspecting a thing.
"These aren't protective talismans at all," Qiao Mu said matter-of-factly. "They're cursed talismans."
"Wearing them year-round allows harmful yin to infiltrate your bodies, making it easy for you to be controlled."
"Even if your willpower is strong, your body will continue to deteriorate year after year."
In other words, this mystic curse wouldn't benefit an ordinary person at all.
Everyone turned pale with fright upon hearing this. They promptly removed the mystic curse from their necks and threw them onto the ground.
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