This Damned Thirst for Survival
chapter-48

Chapter 48

Jiang Luo took the stolen heart of the idol and quickly ran back to Shen Tucun.

Shen Tucun has taken on a new look, with the village being filled with figures, but they are not people, but paper figures dressed in human clothes.

The paper figures are so realistic that they almost look like living people. As far as the eye can see, the whole of Shen Tucun is filled with such paper figures, and there are not many living people.

Jiang Luo runs quickly through the paper figures as Yu Guang sweeps past them.

All the villagers we had met before were transformed into paper figures, including the village headman, the parents of the little girl in red, and even two contestants who had been replaced by paper figures at some point.

After Jiang Luo had burnt the paper figures underground, the paper figures on the ground seemed to have lost their vitality and turned back to their original form in a flash. A village of over 300 people was left with only a few dozens of living people, and the suddenness of the event took the participants by surprise.

Jiang Luo took a quick look around and ran up the mountain to find Wen Renlian and a few others.

Apart from Kuang Zheng, who had carried Lu Youyi to the hospital, the rest of the group waited by the entrance to the cave, counting the hour, and almost resisting the urge to jump into the hole. Fortunately, Jiang Luo arrived just in time, not bothering to explain, “Let’s find a rock and plug up the hole.”

Jiang Luo wiped his sweat and looked up as the group carried a boulder to block off the hole, and the eyes of the crowd were on his leg.

“What’s happened to you?” Ge Zhu pointed to his trousers, “They’re ripped.”

Jiang Luo looked down and saw that half of his trouser leg was still left, so he simply tore off half of the other side of his trouser leg and changed his overalls into knee-length shorts, “I’ve met a lot of things, I’ll talk about these when I get down the mountain, there’s something going on in the village.”

Without further delay, the group descended the hill at a brisk pace.

At the bottom of the hill, staff and police have entered Shen Tucun.

The village was full of paper figures that made Ge Zhu’s body shiver, “Why are all these people …… turning into paper figures?”

Jiang Luo told them briefly what had happened.

Zhuo Zhongqiu shuddered, “So the people we’re talking to are all paper people?”

Ge Zhu grimaced, “The meal we ate …… was also made by paper people.”

The staff were dealing with Shen Tucun and their faces were serious, this was clearly more than the event organisers had expected and even the staff were too busy to manage the remaining participants and once they had ascertained the number of participants left, they and the police started searching Shen Tucun extensively.

Jiang Luo and several others went up to help, taking small notebooks to register the list of Shen Tucun’s remaining survivors.

The little girl in red whom he and Lu Youyi had met was on this list.

There were 311 people at Shen Tucun, and only 36 were counted alive at the end. Of these, the beautiful girls who were used as sacrifices to the gods made up the vast majority, the rest, all of them, were paper figures that had been replaced.

The mayor’s son, Wang Qian, is also a living person. At the moment when the mayor turned into a paper figure, he was eating with his parents. When he looked up from his bowl, he saw two paper figures in red and green looking at him with a strange smile on their faces.

Wang Qian’s heart lurched, he could not speak, and on instinct he let out a scream and ran out of the house in a heap.

When I went out of my house to take a look, all the villagers coming and going in the street turned into lifelike paper figures.

When Jiang Luo went to tally up Wang Qian’s information, he was already somewhat disoriented, holding the hot water the staff had poured for him, his lips trembling and his eyes dull, repeating over and over, “They’ve turned into paper people, they’ve turned into paper people ……”

Jiang Luo twirls his pen and nods his chin, “What about this?”

“Let’s ask Master Chengde to come and calm these people’s spirits later,” the staff member said with a sombre look of worry, “this level is already more difficult than we expected.”

Jiang Luo said to himself, “You do not yet know that there is a living idol under the earth.

He touched the oval stone heart on his body without a trace.

After being separated from Chi You, the stone heart has never beaten again. But Jiang Luo is certain that the heartbeat he felt and the images he saw before were never his hallucinations.

Jiang Luo did not intend to reveal the existence of the heart to anyone, and he decided to keep it private.

If this heart can really show him Chi You’s past, there is nothing Jiang Luo can say to let it go. More than anyone else, he wants to know what happened to Chi You, wants to know Chi You’s secrets, and Chi You’s weaknesses.

Such a thought was enough to make him risk ignoring the heart.

Later on, the judges arrived. Jiang Luo spotted Feng Li in the crowd at first glance, and Feng Li’s eyes scanned the crowd, and when he saw him, he scanned Jiang Luo up and down before looking slightly more relaxed.

It has to be said that the reassurance these judges and teachers brought to the participants and staff was incomparable to that of the next person. After they arrived, the scene gradually calmed down. Soon, the participants were gathered and prepared to focus on their answers.

Jiang Luo has organized his thoughts and put Shen Tucun’s experience on paper after omitting the part where Chi You was involved.

Shen Tucun is located in a remote area, with acacia trees in front of the village, surrounded by hills on both sides, and with many barren cemeteries, a so-called place of gathering yin.

The statue of a god is worshipped here, but the statue has become self-aware. The statue wants to change from dead to living, so it compels the villagers to come and worship it, weaving a false dream of immortality for them.

But the idol needs more than the sacrifices of young girls; he also needs the spirits of the underworld. At the statue’s direction, the villagers either hang themselves or drown themselves, and the souls that cannot be reincarnated become the sustenance that feeds the statue to come to life.

The ghostly figure Jiang Luo saw hanging on the large acacia tree in front of the village was also one of the villagers who was coaxed into hanging himself by the idol.

Jiang Luo wrote three large pages to get it all out.

After the contestants had filled in their answers, there was nothing more to do. Jiang Luo and Wen Renlian squatted together for a cigarette, and on their way to smoke, they saw the judge from the Chi family come out in a fury to find the staff.

The Ikea judges were full of anger, and their image as respected seniors in the circle shattered in a roar.

Jiang Luo turned to Wen Renlian, who was beside him, and asked, “Why did he lose his temper so much?”

“Two of the contestants in this tournament turned into paper people,” Wen Renlian shook the ashes of his cigarette, “one was He Zhi and the other was a member of the Chi family.”

Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow, ” Chi You’s side line?”

Wen Renlian nodded and sighed, “This is the first time I’ve seen a Chi You sidekick die.”

Jiang Luo didn’t expect the death to be of a member of the Chi You family’s side line. He looked towards the chaotic scene and vaguely wondered if the death of the Chi You side line had anything to do with Chi You.

In the vision, the words of the young Chi You ring in his ears: the Chi family is dead, the curse is gone, and the world of occultism is sinking together.

The bright and shiny Daemon script.

Is he trying to be a tyrant of the metaphysical world?

The Ikea judges’ teacher didn’t make a scene for long before returning to the judging room with a black face.

The other five judges are looking at the contestants’ answers.

Each answer needs to be scored by each of the six teachers. In order to make the results fair, all six teachers have the same criteria for judging, and there is no difference between the teachers’ scores of more than three points.

After seeing the Chi family enter, the Qi family’s judge teacher was the first to express his concern, “Brother Zhongye, how is it, did you find your child?”

Chi Zhongye’s face clouded over, “Something has happened to him.”

The QI judge said in surprise, “Something happened?”

Chi Zhongye sat down with a sullen face and the Qi judges wanted to ask more questions when Feng Li frowned and tapped his finger bones twice on the table, “First things first.”

The Qi family judge responded with a good word and whispered, “Old Brother Zhongye, there are many examples of participants having accidents during the competition, it’s hard for you to feel bad, but don’t make a mess now or you won’t look good on your face.”

If words could be carved on his face, Chi Zhongye would have the words ‘bullying the weak and fearing the tough’ on his head. He didn’t need to be persuaded by the Qi judges, but after Feng Li’s words, he perked up and forced a smile, “Don’t worry, let’s go through these scripts first.”

Half an hour later, the results of the participants were tallied.

But surprisingly, there were two top finishers in this class with the same score.

One is Jiang Luo, and the other is Liao Si, a descendant of the Liao family of corpse hunters from western Hunan.

Zhuo Zhengyu said, “What about this?”

“Both answers were clear and articulate,” Master Chengde murmured, “Call these two students over to have a look?”

“Why bother,” Chi Zhongye interjected, “isn’t this boy Jiang Luo a disciple of Tian Shi Feng? A disciple of such a powerful figure as the Heavenly Master must be deeply hidden, so let’s settle on him for first place.”

Master Chengde looked to Feng Li, “What does the Master of Heaven think?”

Feng Li’s face was unmoving as he looked down at the two answer sheets of Jiang Luo and Liao Si on the table, his fingers pinching them without a trace, and only after the result was good did he say slowly, “Go and call them in.”

Jiang Luo and Liao Si soon arrived in the jury room.

Jiang Luo glanced at Liao Si after learning that the scores were the same.

He had learned the secrets of Shen Tucun’s underground because he had explored them himself, and he wondered how Liao Si knew about them.

The judges happened to ask the same question, and Liao Si smiled faintly, “As you teachers know, I am a descendant of the Xiangxi necrophiles, and I drove Shen Tucun’s dead body to find out these clues for me.”

This is indeed a flawless reason.

Liao Si coughed and weakly continued, “I’m not well, so I can only use such means, and luckily I was lucky to get such a good result.”

Zhuo Zhengyu felt that this was a bit difficult and simply handed the problem to them, “You are now equal in marks, but there can only be one person in first place. Can you name any extra points that are not written on the answer sheet? As long as you add one more point than the other, you’ll be considered the winner.”

Jiang Luo pondered for a moment, but Liao Si had already spoken warmly, “I found two other guardians around the idol, one a living dead man and the other a man in a fox mask.”

Jiang Luo immediately turned his head and looked coldly at Liao Si.

Liao Si noticed his gaze and smiled shyly at Jiang Luo and whispered, ” Jiang Luo , that living dead man also came to you and Lu Youyi, have you forgotten?”

Jiang Luo did not write in his answer sheet about the left and right guardians of the idol, nor did anyone else at Bai Hua University. They did not reveal the existence of the dead ghosts in their scripts, but Jiang Luo could not have imagined that Liao Si would have made this statement here.

“The living dead?” Zhuo Zhengyu frowned, slightly stern, ” Jiang Luo , is there such a thing?”

Jiang Luo looked steadily at Liao Si and suddenly smiled slowly.

Liao Si Suddenly a bad feeling rises.

The corners of Jiang Luo’s lips were tilted, untouched by gloom, and the infectiousness of his smile made others relax and want to laugh along with him, ” Liao Si, what does it mean to be a living dead person?”

He pursed his lips in the same embarrassed way, “Sorry, you know I used to be a bit of a jerk …… not much of a student and hadn’t heard the term ‘living dead’.”

“If a living dead person came to Lu Youyi and me, why didn’t Liao tell me,” he sighed regretfully, pity all over his brow and eyes, “I haven’t seen what a living dead person looks like.”

Liao Si’s eyebrows twitch at the corners.

There was a subtle change in the atmosphere in the jury room, with Zhuo Zhengyu looking at Liao Si with a slightly suspicious look.

Liao Si was curious about Jiang Luo because of Chi You’s comment “Jiang Luo can’t” and wanted to test Jiang Luo, but instead of getting screwed, he got into trouble.

But Liao Si was no ordinary man, and he said without changing his face, “It must have been a late night and I misread it.”

“No, I trust the judgment of the descendants of the corpse-catcher,” Jiang Luo said, “Liao, were Lu Youyi and I really there when the living dead came for us? What about the others, were they there? Maybe I didn’t recognise which one was the living dead, but it’s unlikely that everyone else didn’t recognise them too.”

But of course the people at Bai Hua University wouldn’t say they’d seen the living dead, and Liao Si wiped the sweat from his forehead and suddenly coughed with a shock.

With this cough, Jiang Luo couldn’t ask him any more questions. He said in a measured manner, “Forget it, it’s just a small matter. You should take care of your health, Mr. Liao.”

Liao Si said breathlessly, “Thank you, Jiang, for your concern.”

People who are not well always attract sympathy, but after this, the judges, who are soft on Liao Si, have hardened their hearts. Zhuo Zhengyu looked at Jiang Luo, “Jiang Luo, do you have any extra points that you haven’t written yet?”

Jiang Luo thought for a moment, “There are two more items that I haven’t written out.”

Master Chengde kindly encouraged, “Good boy, what is it?”

Jiang Luo smiled restrainedly, “The village would turn into paper people because I burned down a forest of paper people under the ground. Apart from that, I found a pond of female poisonous-tailed scorpion’s blood and water under the ground.”

Liao Si stared at Jiang Luo in disbelief.

It was the master’s stuff, how dare he just say it!

Luckily, the judges’ expressions were just as shocked as his, so Liao Si was not exposed. Zhuo Zhengyu even took a breath and asked, “What? A pond of female poisonous scorpion blood?”

Jiang Luo nodded affirmatively.

The judges and teachers looked at each other, and Master Chengde said in a warm voice, “Good, you may go out first.”

Jiang Luo and Liao Si walked out of the room side by side and Liao Si said with a bitter smile, “Jiang Luo, birds die for food and people die for money. Sorry, I want Yuan Tianzhu too.”

“It’s okay,” Jiang Luo smiled instead, his attitude seemingly no different from before, “I understand.”

Ten minutes later, the results were in. Jiang Luo came first, no surprise, and after four hours of bumps and bruises, the group boarded the bus and settled in a modest hotel in the town.

By this time, it was already dark and night was drawing in. Jiang Luo was sweating and took advantage of the hot water to have a good shower to wash off the dust of the previous two days. When he got out of the shower, Feng Li sent for him.

Jiang Luo casually put on a shirt and went to Feng Li, wrapped in wetness.

A knock on the door and Feng Li’s cool voice rang out, “Come in.”

Jiang Luo pushes the door open and walks in. As soon as he entered, he felt a coolness coming over him, more comfortable than the air conditioning. Jiang Luo squinted in comfort and looked around the room when he saw a white porcelain bowl lying upside down in the corner.

At the bottom of the white porcelain bowl rests a chopstick placed horizontally, and where the mouth of the bowl meets the floor, a white mist of cold air spills out of it, like a constant stream of cooling ice.

Since he came to this world, Jiang Luo had been used to such unscientific methods, but it was still a novelty to see them now. Feng Li saw the look in his eyes and said indifferently, “Is your room hot?”

Jiang Luo nodded, “Not only is it hot, it’s also dry and dry.”

“Ask your brother to get you a bowl of ice water in your room later,” Feng Li said, “come and sit down and talk.”

Jiang Luo was sitting at his desk and Feng Li was about to speak when he saw his dripping wet hair and frowned, “Why didn’t you dry your hair?”

“I came to see you before it was too late,” Jiang Luo said indifferently, “it will dry after a while.”

Jiang Luo pulled the towel over his shoulder and looked sideways to see Feng Li still standing beside him.

Jiang Luo wondered, “Master?”

Feng Li ignored his wet hair and reached out with a long, slender hand to Jiang Luo’s collar.

A finger gently pulled down the collar, the dark-haired youth’s collarbone revealed, and Feng Li looked down, “I’m surprised the life saving charm wasn’t used.”

Jiang Luo sniffed and tied the black hair around his shoulders to the other side so that Feng Li could study the amulet on his body, “It was dangerous, but it came through safely, not in a close call.”

Feng Li let go of his hand and returned to his seat thoughtfully.

Jiang Luo yawned, “Master, what do you want from me?”

Feng Li looked back and took a box out of the drawer and placed it in front of Jiang Luo, “This is the prize for the competition, Yuan Tianzhu.”

Jiang Luo was no longer sleepy. He took the box into his hands and opened it to reveal precisely a transparent bead in the middle of the box, faintly emitting a cold aura.

This familiar feeling is exactly the same as that of the Yuan Tianzhu in the funeral shop owner’s hand.

When Jiang Luo holds the bead in his hand, it feels as if he is touching a block of ice. The texture is as delicate as jade, and the silvery white light makes it seem as if it will dissipate into the air at any moment.

Jiang Luo eyed the bead and took a bit of a liking to the colour, “Master, what exactly is Yuan Tianzhu?”

Feng Li said, “I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

Jiang Luo returned to his senses, put Yuan Tianzhu back in the box and smiled towards Feng Li, “Good.”

Feng Li looked at the tiredness on his face and said, “Come on, go back.”

Jiang Luo rises to take his leave, and as the door is about to close, he looks up through the crack. Feng Li is sitting at his desk, his whole body in shadow.

His eyes are deep, his tang, nose and side lines slightly sunken in darkness, like a statue made of plaster, motionless and swallowed by the floating dust of time.

There is an essential, soul-level aloofness and coldness that leaks from his body.

For a moment, Jiang Luo thought that it was not Feng Li but Chi You who was sitting there.

“There was a click and the door was closed.

Jiang Luo stands in place for a moment, slowly turns around and walks towards his room.

After a few steps, a thin layer of false sweat emerged from the tip of his nose.

He wanted to.

In the original book, why did Feng Li help Chi You cultivate revenge?

If Chi You’s biggest goal is to sink the metaphysical community, how could Feng Li, as the new Master of Heaven, help him?

Unless.

Feng Li has also become a puppet of Chi You.

Or Chi You’s new body.

*

With such a big suspicion on his mind, Jiang Luo thought he would be tossing and turning with chills in his heart. Instead, he ate and slept and went to see Lu Youyi with his companions the next day when he could visit the hospital.

Lu Youyi was fine, but was kept in hospital for a day. A day passed and he was alive and well again.

Jiang Luo joked, ” Lu Youyi, you’ve recovered well.”

Lu Youyi said, “How can you beat a dead ghost?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he looked around and cautiously approached Jiang Luo and asked, “Jiang Luo, did you get the dead ghost out?”

Jiang Luo said, “He’s now called Teng Bi.”

When Lu Youyi heard this, he understood what it meant. It was the dead ghosts who were friendly to them and treated them as friends, not the living dead, Teng Bi. And now that the dead ghosts had become Teng Bi, they were naturally not their friends.

Lu Youyi was down all the way, and it was not until he had unpacked his bags and boarded the plane that he slowed down and let out a long sigh, “It’s fate but no luck.”

Jiang Luo sleeps with his eyes closed, “All right, go to sleep.”

*

In the remote Shen Tucun.

In the middle of a deep, deserted mountain, a boulder suddenly trembles twice, and after two seconds of stillness, the boulder trembles violently again.

“With a loud bang, the boulder was finally shuddered to the ground, revealing a black hole in the blockage.

The man, wrapped in a tattered fabric and covered in dust and mud, crawled out of the hole.

With his large sword in his hand, he looked to his left and right in slight confusion as he climbed to the ground.

“Friends ……”

His nose, however, could no longer smell any stranger.