Chapter 236: A Deathly Face! Ominous Signs! The Mysteriously Slaughtered Caravan!

Meng Hai shouted loudly, “Everyone, quiet!”

Then he turned to Gao Zhenbang and said in a deep voice, “Mr. Gao, lead the way up front. Let’s go take a look!”

Gao Zhenbang still felt shaken and a bit hesitant, but he nodded in the end.

A group of people followed Gao Zhenbang and rushed over.

To their surprise, the spot where the Que Mu caravan was slaughtered was actually very close to them, only about thirty zhang away.

There was just a small dirt mound between them, and they had been at the bottom of it, while the Que Mu caravan was right on top. This realization made everyone’s hearts sink instantly.

Although the desert was filled with wind and sand, there was no reason for so many people to die so close by without them hearing a single sound!?

“Could it have been the work of a demon?” That thought sprang up in the minds of the caravan members and could not be suppressed.

Li Yanchu hurried up to the top of the mound and was shocked as well. The dead lay in utterly gruesome states, each with an expression of extreme terror frozen on their faces.

Their chests had been ripped open, and their internal organs completely removed. Many had died while trying to flee, only to be caught and brutally killed.

About thirty people lay dead here; the horrific sight was like a scene from hell itself. Especially the ones with their mouths wide open and arms outstretched for help, just seeing it made one’s scalp crawl.

It was easy to imagine what kind of unspeakable horror they must have encountered the night before.

“Que Mu is right here.” Gao Zhenbang swallowed hard and pointed at a corpse.

Meng Hai strode forward quickly, with Li Yanchu following close behind.

“Eh?! It’s him?” Li Yanchu was a little surprised.

Meng Hai turned around and asked, “Daoist Master Li, you know him?”

Li Yanchu shook his head. “I just saw him once yesterday inside Tianhai Pass. His features had a shadow of yin energy, nothing serious, just a sign of losing money and running into bad luck. I didn’t expect him to end up dead in the desert.”

Hearing this, Meng Hai couldn’t help glancing at Li Yanchu a few more times and asked, “Daoist Master Li, how does my face look to you?”

Li Yanchu froze for a moment, then looked closely. At first, he didn’t notice anything unusual. But upon a second glance, he was suddenly startled, and his expression changed.

Originally, Meng Hai’s face bore the marks of deep fortune, but now it was shrouded in deathly qi, which was a dire omen!

Seeing this, Meng Hai felt his heart sink. He hurriedly asked, “What is it, Daoist Master Li? Is something wrong?”

Li Yanchu said, “Strange... Your face originally showed great blessings, yet right now there is deathly qi gathered between your brows. This is the sign of someone about to die!”

Meng Hai’s expression instantly changed. If some street-roaming Daoist had said this to him, he’d have punched him in the face without a second thought.

But Li Yanchu was traveling with him, not trying to earn his money, why would he lie?

Meng Hai couldn’t help saying, “Daoist Master, don’t scare me like that.”

Li Yanchu shook his head and sighed, while Meng Hai’s face grew even gloomier. The last thing you ever wanted from a monk, a Daoist, or a doctor was for them to sigh at you.

Taking a deep breath, Meng Hai pushed the thought aside and bent down to examine Que Mu’s corpse.

Que Mu was the bearded foreign leader with the curved blade whom Li Yanchu had seen the day before. Now, his face was frozen in terror, and his body was stiff as iron.

After checking the body, Meng Hai’s face suddenly changed.

Liu Lin happened to be standing right beside him. This bold, boisterous middle-aged man couldn’t help asking, “Mr. Meng, what happened?”

Meng Hai pulled some valuables out from Que Mu’s chest, and Liu Lin froze. Then, all the color drained from his face.

“It wasn’t desert bandits?!” He instinctively took a step back.

Meng Hai said gravely, “Check all the bodies, be careful of poisonous scorpions or insects.”

Everyone responded and lowered their heads to inspect the corpses of the Que Mu caravan.

Before long, the group gathered together again, their expressions heavy, and a strange atmosphere settled over the team.

Suddenly, Liu Fang came running over, grinning, with a handful of silver in his hands.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Second Uncle, look! There’s so much silver!”

Liu Lin, who had been lost in thought, saw his nephew acting like this and couldn’t help but get furious.

With one swift kick...

Bang!

Liu Fang was knocked to the ground, and Liu Lin, still not satisfied, kicked his useless nephew several more times. It took several people nearby to pull the enraged Liu Lin away.

Liu Fang, after the beating, sat there looking utterly baffled.

“Second Uncle, why are you so mad? And why are you beating me again?”

Liu Lin roared, “You thick-headed fool who doesn’t know life from death! Since when have desert bandits ever left silver behind after killing people? If these folks weren’t killed by desert bandits, then what in hell

did

kill them?!”

“What’s there to be happy about? That silver belongs to the dead! It’s money that calls for your life!”

Liu Fang finally caught on. Thinking of all the terrifying tales from beyond the Pass, his hand trembled involuntarily, and the silver coins scattered onto the ground.

His neck stiffened, and he slowly turned his head toward the ruins of that ancient city. Didn’t the elders say there were heart-digging evil spirits dwelling in that city? Could it be... that the evil spirits had escaped from the city?!

Li Yanchu used his Qi Sight to inspect the area, but found no lingering traces of baleful energy.

By now, the sky had cleared, and under the glaring sunlight, it was likely nothing could remain. That, in itself, was not surprising.

However, when his Qi Sight swept over the people in the group, his gaze instantly darkened. It wasn’t just Meng Hai, every single person’s face was shrouded in a faint layer of deathly qi! This was an ominous sign of great misfortune!

Meng Hai had been keeping a close eye on Li Yanchu. Seeing his reaction, he leaned in and whispered, “Daoist Master Li, why do you look so grim? Don’t tell me everyone’s got the same problem as me?”

Li Yanchu gave a slight nod. “That’s right.”

The blood drained from Meng Hai’s face, leaving him deathly pale. He felt no relief that everyone was in the same boat; instead, a heavy sense of responsibility settled on him.

He was a man who took charge. Frowning deeply, he asked, “Daoist Master Li, how do we resolve this now?”

Li Yanchu pondered for a moment before saying softly, “Give me a moment to think.”

These people were inexplicably wreathed in deathly qi.

The Que Mu caravan, which had set out early the night before, lay dead on a slope just thirty zhang away, and none survived. Yet the camp below had not heard a single sound. Even he himself hadn’t sensed anything unusual.

What manner of ghostly menace could this be?

“Their deaths were horrific, and their resentment runs deep. There’s a high chance they could rise as corpses. We should burn these bodies first, just in case,” Li Yanchu spoke slowly.

Meng Hai, upon hearing this, immediately took men to carry it out. Although this Daoist Master Li was young and handsome, he gave off an air of steadiness and reliability.

Especially in the face of such terrifying events, Meng Hai found that this Daoist Master Li remained calm and composed. It was oddly reassuring.

They worked efficiently, gathering the corpses together and lighting the torches. Li Yanchu preferred to act cautiously; he had no desire to see a horde of dead faces pressed against their tent at night. Burn them to ashes, and it would be over. At least that way, one kind of ghostly threat would be dealt with.

After a brief rest, the group set out again.

Whoosh!

The wind howled, carrying swirling sand. From beneath the shifting dunes, a corpse, once hidden by the wind and sand, was revealed.

It too had been eviscerated, its internal organs hollowed out.