Chapter 96

Chapter 96

At the foot of the Great Mountain Range, nestled a small village of thirty to forty households.

In a cultivated wheat field, a scattering of low thatched huts emerged. In the heart of this village lay a flat, open space for drying grain.

There stood the village’s sole house with a black-tiled roof, from which the faint scent of incense wafted on the breeze.

A young teenager was preparing a meal at home.

Seeing the food in the pot was cooked, he covered it to keep it warm, then looked out at the scorching sun, his face etched with worry.

You Nan grabbed the only straw hat in the house, placed it on his head, and hurried to fetch a bucket from the corner to draw water from the stream at the mountain’s base.

"Xiao Nan, off to take food to your brother and the others?"

As You Nan stepped out, he heard a neighboring auntie call to him from dozens of meters away.

You Nan smiled in response, "Yes, I am."

He briskly walked to her door, a small, black amulet, its inscriptions and images indistinct, hanging around his neck and hidden beneath his clothes, swaying faintly with his movements.

You Nan wiped the sweat from his forehead, a result of his cooking. "Auntie, do you have a bucket? I can bring water back for you too, since I’m going."

The auntie was delighted and quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I do."

She turned and went inside to fetch a small bucket, returning with a handful of vegetables. "Take these; consider it my payment to you."

You Nan didn’t decline. His eyes crinkled with a smile. "Thank you, Auntie!"

"You’re welcome!"

The auntie replied, watching You Nan depart.

This child was truly handsome—fair-skinned, with a face that grew more beautiful the longer one looked, bright-eyed and lively. No one knew where he had originally come from.

You Nan returned with the water, delivered it to the auntie, then hurried home. He packed lunch for his elder brother and parents, then headed to the fields.

The area at the foot of the Great Mountain Range had abundant uncultivated land, and each household had tilled many plots to meet tax demands. It was now the busy farming season, and though families lived near their fields, the sheer number of plots made traveling back and forth inconvenient.

You Nan also helped with farm work, but being young, his family didn’t allow him to toil under the midday sun, fearing he would fall ill from the heat.

Instead, You Nan prepared lunch and brought water to his family in the fields.

You Nan’s family’s fields were close to the mountain, right against the cliff face.

He carried two buckets to the fields. "Big brother! Mom and Dad, come eat!"

You Nan stood on the field ridge and called out.

Hearing his voice, the laborers in the fields looked up. "Coming!"

The three of them wiped their hands with the damp cloth You Nan had brought before taking their bowls.

Farmers typically ate millet; rice and wheat were only kept after the harvest, once taxes were deducted.

"Xiao Nan’s cooking gets better and better. Later, take a bowl to the ancestral hall, light an incense stick, and ask the deities to bless our village with favorable weather."

You Nan’s father spoke, holding his bowl. You Nan responded with an "Understood!" and agreed.

After they finished eating, You Nan took the dishes back to clean up, then, taking an incense stick, headed to the village ancestral hall.

This ancestral hall not only housed the ancestral tablets of the village elders but also enshrined the deities of their nation. They were accustomed to offering incense daily, praying for divine protection.

You Nan entered the ancestral hall, knelt on the cushion, closed his eyes, and sincerely bowed twice toward the indistinct statue before inserting the incense into the burner.

But suddenly, his chest grew hot, burning so intensely that he shuddered. You Nan immediately pulled open his clothes and saw that the black amulet he had worn since childhood had changed.

Hairline cracks appeared on the black amulet, with golden light faintly visible within.

You Nan gasped in shock. Before he could remove the amulet, he heard screams from outside.

"Ahhh! There’s a monster! Help!"

You Nan’s eyes widened—he recognized that voice. It was the village head’s young granddaughter!

The teenage boy immediately ran outside and saw a seven- or eight-year-old girl stumbling toward the village. Her straw sandals had fallen off, and her face was covered in tears and mud.

Chasing behind her was a shifting black shadow with two red dots of light—seemingly the malevolent spirit’s eyes.

When faced with extreme fear, the mind goes blank for a moment.

You Nan stared blankly, his legs weakening.

The amulet in his hand grew hotter and hotter. You Nan hissed and regained his senses, staring in shock at the object.

He had worn this amulet around his neck since he could remember, and his parents had always told him to keep it safe. Whenever he asked about it, they avoided the topic.

This ordinary little amulet was now showing such a supernatural occurrence for the first time.

The boy seemed to understand why the amulet was heating up now.

It was warning him of the malevolent spirit and urging him to leave quickly.

But You Nan looked at the little girl being chased by the malevolent spirit and recalled how she would sweetly call him "big brother" while following him around.

Gritting his teeth, You Nan scanned the ancestral hall, found a broom in the corner, and grabbed it.

Gathering his courage, he closed his eyes and rushed toward the malevolent spirit, shouting loudly, "Er Ya, quick, behind me!"

You Nan’s voice was trembling and faint.

The little girl, upon seeing Brother You Nan, cried even harder. "Brother Xiao Nan, save me!"

She was at her limit.

You Nan opened his eyes and saw she couldn’t hold on. He threw the broom, but the malevolent spirit easily evaded it.

Enraged by You Nan’s actions, the malevolent spirit immediately abandoned its nearly captured prey and chased after You Nan. "Damn you!"

The malevolent spirit let out a rasping, grating voice.

Seeing it chase him, You Nan panicked and ran toward the edge of the village, not forgetting to shout to Er Ya, "Er Ya, hurry back and tell the village head and everyone to hide!"

Er Ya yelled to stop him from going further. "Brother, there are more outside! Brother!"

You Nan heard her cries but didn’t change direction.

It was lunchtime, and most families were eating at home. If these creatures entered the village, the village would be doomed.

The amulet in You Nan's hand felt like it would blister his palm, and he had an intuition that this object might be able to handle these things.

After You Nan drew the evil spirit away from her, Er Ya was terrified. Remembering You Nan's words, she immediately ran home to find her grandparents.

You Nan ran fast, but he was no match for the speed of the evil spirit, which chased him like a cat playing with a mouse.

Just as Er Ya had said, there were more dark creatures outside the village.

You Nan ran into a group head-on and tried to change direction, but the evil spirit behind him breathed out a black mist, aimed directly at his back.

The air grew thick with a chilling aura, and just as it was about to touch You Nan's body, the black amulet suddenly erupted in golden light. The red string around You Nan's neck snapped, and a small child appeared in his arms.

Before You Nan could comprehend how a child had suddenly appeared beside him, he heard a fierce shout in his ear, "Go!"

The chilling aura chasing him instantly turned to ashes.

The child's chubby white hands wrapped around You Nan's neck, and its short arms quickly formed hand seals behind You Nan's neck toward the pursuing ugly creatures.

Holding the child, You Nan didn't know why, but even though he had never seen this child before and it was so small, his heart instantly calmed down as if he had found an anchor.

With his other hand, You Nan grabbed the amulet. He looked down and saw that the black amulet had somehow turned from black to gold.

The pattern on it was now visible—a cute little child, exactly like the one in his arms.

You Nan thought to himself.

Could this child in his arms be a little deity?

The child couldn't hear You Nan's thoughts, but he hated with a passion these evil spirits that had set their sights on You Nan!

With him here, how dare these creatures covet his father!

He shot out hand seals one after another, and when they landed on these evil spirits, the spirits screeched and dissolved into smoke.

The other evil spirits, seeing this, immediately scattered in panic, trying to escape, while some headed straight into the village.

They intended to capture the villagers and absorb their life force and blood to enhance their own power.

You Nan saw this too. Holding the child with one hand, he picked up the broom from the ground with the other. His heart burned with courage, and he was no longer afraid of them.

He rushed at these evil creatures, shouting, "Don't you dare enter the village!"

At the same time, many evil spirits had also entered the village from the village's edge.

They quickly followed the scent of living people and found them.

A farmer in the field looked up and was horrified to see a dark mass of shadows suddenly appear in the sky. "What are those things!" he cried.

"Ahhh! Help!" Some farmers, taken by surprise, were directly enveloped by the suddenly appearing evil spirits.

Their screams rang out one after another. Some picked up their farming tools to rush and save their families, while others immediately fled toward their homes.

The evil spirits at the village entrance were no match for the child, who used considerable energy to eliminate them all.

You Nan kept a close watch on the child's condition and noticed that the child's face had grown noticeably paler than when he first appeared.

It must have taken a great deal of effort to use such power.

You Nan felt a pang in his heart. He didn't realize that this was only his first day meeting the child; all his attention was focused on the little one.

Now safe, You Nan immediately hugged the child and expressed his gratitude, "You're worn out. Thank you so much. You saved me and Er Ya. Do you want to go back into this little amulet to rest, or..."

You Nan suddenly stopped speaking.

He heard more screams coming from the village.

You Nan's face turned pale. These creatures had actually gotten into the village.

The child heard his father's words and was puzzled why his father seemed not to recognize him.

He had finally managed to escape from the thing that confined him. Why wasn't his father holding him properly?

But before he could ponder further, the child's keen eyes spotted more evil spirits emerging in the distance.

They were like clouds blotting out the sky.

These evil spirits were low-level, mere wandering spirits from the mountains. They couldn't survive in sunlight and were unable to leave the forest.

Yet now they had emerged.

Ordinary people were no match for them. If left unchecked, everyone in the village would be devoured.

If an enlightened master were here, they could resolve this with some effort.

The child's small face was pale, showing signs of exhaustion. He had overexerted himself.

But when the child saw the worried look in his father's eyes as he gazed toward the village, he steeled himself and forgot everything else.

He told his father the method to enhance his power and restore his strength, "Father! Offer incense to me! Toward my little amulet!"

The child struggled to get down after speaking hurriedly. He was like a slippery loach, and You Nan couldn't hold onto him.

As soon as the child's feet touched the ground, he shot a hand seal toward the sky. An evil spirit had grabbed a screaming villager and flown upward, laughing as it prepared to throw the person down, but it was instantly pierced and destroyed by the hand seal.

"Father, if possible, have others offer incense to me too!" The child stood on tiptoe, staring intently up at You Nan.

You Nan felt a sudden tightness in his chest, almost unable to breathe. The feeling was strange and abrupt.

He gasped for air, uncomfortable, and seeing the child so weak yet pushing on, his eyes and nose felt a pang.

Clutching the small amulet tightly, You Nan nodded repeatedly under the child's gaze. "Okay!"

Assured by his father's promise, the child immediately vanished like the wind and rushed toward the village.

You Nan didn't follow the child but instead ran to the ancestral hall as the child had instructed.

He placed the small amulet on the top of the altar, alongside the spirit tablets of the deities worshipped in their country.

He then searched frantically through the ancestral hall, trying to find extra incense.

Incense wasn't cheap, and after searching for a long time, You Nan finally found a small box in the corner where the village chief usually hid his family's incense.

Sweat beaded on You Nan's forehead, but he finally calmed down a little.

"Sorry, Uncle Village Chief. After today, I'll pay you back with five sticks of incense."

As he spoke, You Nan took out the incense, lit it, and reverently offered it to the child.

As he did so, the child, absorbing the scent of the incense, gradually regained some color in his pale face, and even his running speed increased significantly.

He let out a fierce cry, pounced on an evil spirit, and the golden light suddenly emanating from his hands made the spirit scream in agony. "Perish!"

The child roared fiercely, fierce and unrelenting.