Chapter 24: The Well’s Grievance

“Brother Chu, what are you looking for?” Guo Ming asked with some puzzlement as he watched Chu Danqing scanning the entire Nanshan Temple with the Cold Spring Shadow sniper rifle.

“To eradicate all evil, I’m still missing one more restless spirit,” Chu Danqing replied without hiding anything. Since the natives couldn’t see the treasure chests, there was no harm in telling.

Guo Ming thought for a moment, then said, “Could the one you’re missing be the Hermit Yinke tied around your waist?”

He truly didn’t understand why Chu Danqing thought one was missing, but they had already searched twice without any results, so Hermit Yinke fit the description well.

Hearing this, Chu Danqing paused, a sheepish smile crossing his face. “Da Bao, you’re back. I found it.”

This was a classic case of “looking for a donkey while riding one.”

Da Bao quickly returned, glanced around, and asked in confusion, “Where is it?”

“Here.” Chu Danqing untied the human skin from his waist, shook it out, and spread it open. “This is it.”

He lifted Hermit Yinke’s skin and took from his storage space a candle, lard, and clean water.

While applying the lard to Hermit Yinke’s skin, he asked, “Since Zhan Ji Hu is dead, and the three corpses are gone, you should tell us what’s down in the well.”

There was no way he could have forgotten the promise the other had made earlier.

“This is a long story, sigh,” Hermit Yinke sighed and continued, “Honored guests, please don’t take action; I will tell you everything.”

“We have time, even until tomorrow,” Chu Danqing said skeptically.

“Perhaps you’ve heard of Nanshan Temple’s reputed efficacy in helping couples conceive,” Hermit Yinke began explaining the reason, then recounted the tale: “It all started with…”

Chu Danqing finished applying the lard, lit the candle, and exchanged a look with Guo Ming.

The two then began roasting the skin while sprinkling water, paying no attention to Hermit Yinke’s detailed story.

He already knew the truth behind the temple’s fertility miracles: the monks carried heavy burdens.

But only a limited number could afford such burdens, and not all monks were willing to bear them.

However, once tempted, they couldn’t stop. Conveniently, there was a hollow beneath a dried-up well in the temple’s backyard.

They kidnapped a group of beautiful women and imprisoned them there.

At first, they were ordinary families, but emboldened, they dared to take women from prominent families.

Over time, the number of dead women increased. Initially, they were buried elsewhere, but eventually, they were disposed of right there.

Then Zhan Ji Hu, implanted with the Three Corpses Curse, used the snowstorm to enter Nanshan Temple.

The bones and vengeful spirits in the well transformed into ghostly monsters and demonic obstacles. Zhan Ji Hu himself had become a spirit, and as a tiger, he was particularly skilled at subduing such creatures for his own use.

He fed on the monks, using their skulls to nourish the ghostly obstacles in the well daily. In just forty-nine days, the process would be complete.

As for how Zhan Ji Hu knew all this, naturally, it was the secret passed down by the mysterious Daoist.

When Zhan Ji Hu’s Three Corpses Curse was perfected, he could devour the ghostly obstacles, gaining power in return.

Zhan Ji Hu was like this; the Unicorner Dragon and the Demonic Human likely had similar schemes.

“Gentlemen, that is the truth. Could you grant this old monk a swift end?” Hermit Yinke asked.

“A swift end? Ha! Your deeds are no better than beasts, yet you ask for a swift end?” Guo Ming’s voice was laced with anger; his expression had soured the moment Hermit Yinke began telling the truth.

Chu Danqing’s face darkened as well but he didn’t immediately act. “How do we calm the vengeful spirits in the well and let them rest in peace?”

The thing in the well had become an unstable bomb.

If he hadn’t encountered it or didn’t know, he could walk away without care.

But now that he had, he had to find a way to deal with it.

He couldn’t save the refugees from the snowstorm, but at least he could prevent this disaster from worsening things.

Hermit Yinke remained silent—he had no idea.

Chu Danqing’s gaze turned to Guo Ming.

“It can’t be calmed. To let them rest, they must be killed,” Guo Ming said grimly.

The injustice was bitter—though victims, they still had to suffer such harsh treatment.

Chu Danqing heard this and did not argue that there might be another solution.

There probably was, but he had none himself; arguing would be pointless.

“How many heads are left to collect out of the forty-nine?” Chu Danqing asked.

“Only this old monk’s head remains,” Hermit Yinke confessed. “If you send me to the afterlife, the ghostly obstacles won’t be complete.”

“They won’t emerge from the well for at least thirty to fifty days. A skilled person can be invited to seal the well, and over time it will dissipate naturally,” Hermit Yinke added.

Chu Danqing didn’t trust his words but looked to Guo Ming. “What do you think?”

He had only been in this trial world a few days, so he couldn’t have much information.

“What he says isn’t untrue, but incompleteness means it can’t be fully swallowed,” Guo Ming hesitated. “Sealing the well might backfire.”

“Letting the obsession remain fully intact, having Da Bao kill it is more beneficial.”

“The bald monk isn’t one for many honest words,” Guo Ming shifted tone. “There must be other abnormalities in the well.”

“If the vengeful spirits and numerous dead could form such ghostly obstacles, then a mass grave should be off-limits to the living.”

“Most likely, there are unknown dangers lurking beneath.”

Chu Danqing pondered briefly. He wasn’t afraid of danger. Usually, risk and reward were balanced—unless it was a scam.

“Where is your head?” Chu Danqing decided to follow Guo Ming’s advice.

He wasn’t foolish enough to ignore his teammate and listen to an enemy.

Hermit Yinke’s face darkened, forced to reveal the location of his head.

Da Bao hurried over and soon returned with a severely decayed skull.

“Brother Chu, you need to think this through,” Guo Ming warned quickly. “The ghostly obstacles aren’t as formidable as Zhan Ji Hu, but I no longer have the enchantments to assist.”

Guo Ming’s curse-breaking charms had been key to their easy victory over Zhan Ji Hu.

“I know. I’ll rest a bit before making a move,” Chu Danqing said, producing a weak healing potion and a basket of medicinal soup dumplings for Da Bao, while waiting for the cooldown on the Divine Machine Battalion’s crossbowman token.

To raise his evaluation, he needed a richer, more dazzling track record.

If he could earn another A-grade rating, along with the “White Crane Immortal’s Notes, Volume One,” he was confident he could raise his two basic skills to level ten.

Coupled with the three millennium-old Hundred-Whisker Ginseng roots he held, he could enable Da Bao to activate a skill that amplified bleeding damage, further boosting his combat power.

Having said that, Chu Danqing lit the Hermit Yinke skin on fire with the candle.

Amidst the wails, Hermit Yinke’s form turned to ash, revealing an ordinary-level treasure chest, which Chu Danqing swiftly secured in his storage space.

“Watch over Da Bao for me. I’ll go boil some water nearby,” Chu Danqing said, then jogged off.

Of course, he wasn’t just being convenient—he was looking for a secluded spot to open the two treasure chests he had obtained.

With Guo Ming around, it wouldn’t be prudent to open them openly.