Chapter 34: Aversion and Fear

Chapter 34: Dread

After walking for a while, the shaman’s apprentice could no longer hold back his question: “Master, didn’t you once say that the token of Dread is immensely powerful? Why did you give it away so easily?”

“This object does have power, but it harms its user. It might take only a few uses before one’s body and spirit are utterly destroyed. It’s unbearable to use, and not worth regretting to abandon.”

“But Master, doesn’t that demon priest…”

“Silence. That’s not your concern. You only need to know that it’s not yet time to fall out completely with them.”

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Just now, the Grand Shaman pointed at Zhang Sanlu, declaring that an evil spirit was attached to him. Before the eyes of all, the Grand Shaman performed his sorcery, driving the evil spirit out of Zhang Sanlu and devouring it in an instant. This scene left the villagers in terror—they had never witnessed such a direct and horrifying demonstration of witchcraft. Zhang Sanlu, with his skull-headed mace and exorcism arts, terrified them as well.

Now the Grand Shaman had made it clear he would no longer concern himself with these affairs. Were it not for Zhang Sanlu’s gruesome weapon—a hammer made from a human head—the crowd would have already swarmed him.

The Grand Shaman’s sudden announcement that he would no longer perform his protective rites for the villagers meant they would be defenseless against evil influences in the future. This decision enraged the villagers.

Like a clap of thunder on a clear day, the news left many villagers’ faces painted with disbelief and fury. The shaman’s blessings were their last defense against the unspeakable evils. Without the Grand Shaman’s protection, how would they face those lurking horrors? Their hearts filled with fear and unease, and their eyes turned upon Zhang Sanlu.

The angry villagers began to close in, not daring to approach too closely, but their voices grew louder and their emotions more agitated.

“It’s all your fault!” An elder pointed at Zhang Sanlu, his voice trembling. “You’re the one who angered the Grand Shaman—what are we supposed to do now?”

“What will happen to us? Without the Grand Shaman’s protection, if something happens in the future, what then?” a woman cried, her voice choked with tears.

“Make him pay! Only then will the Grand Shaman forgive us!” a burly man roared, shaking his fist in anger.

“Look at him wielding a human head as a weapon—he’s a fiend who uses people for dark rituals!”

“His exorcism arts have already been sealed by the Grand Shaman—he’s powerless now, this is our chance!”

“Wasn’t it him who summoned the evil in the back hills?!”

“Report him to the authorities! Demon priests must be put to death!”

The clamor grew ever more chaotic and indistinct. Zhang Sanlu suddenly could not tell whether what he saw and heard was real or hallucination. His heart pounded faster, his breath quickened.

“It was him—he killed his own mother!”

“He’s a jinx, stay away from him!”

“So what if he got good grades? Do you need to take a test to get into an asylum? Hahaha…”

“Get away, lunatic! Your mother was insane, and so are you!”

“You should have died long ago! What’s the point of you being alive?”

The crowd pressed in, and their words echoed in Zhang Sanlu’s mind. His breathing became rapid, his heart raced. Hallucinations began to blur his vision—memories he had desperately tried to forget came flooding back. He felt himself falling into hell, countless ghastly pale arms reaching for him from all sides. He tried to dodge, but they were everywhere, leaving him no escape.

Zhang Sanlu’s body began to tremble, as if by shaking he could lessen the assault of their voices. His lips moved, silently repeating, “Stop!” and “Enough!” but still the voices grew no quieter. His gaze became unfocused, the scene before him more and more indistinct.

In this narrow space, he felt abandoned by the world and misunderstood by all. Deep within, a voice began to cry out, faint at first but growing louder and clearer amidst the cacophony of accusation—resounding like a great bell.

“Kill them!”

“They are illusions!”

“Kill them!”

“Kill them and the illusions will disappear!”

Zhang Sanlu gripped the bronze handle attached to the skull’s spine, veins bulging on his hands like writhing snakes beneath his skin. His palm turned pale from the force of his grip, his knuckles creaking faintly. Even the bronze seemed to tremble in his grasp.

Suddenly, a child’s sharp voice rang out above the crowd: “How can you all be like this? The Immortal came here out of kindness to help us—if you won’t thank him, how can you turn on him like this?!”

Another voice chimed in, “I saw the Daoist subdue demons with my own eyes—he saved my life at the old graveyard and drove away the man-eating monster there. Who knows how many would have died otherwise?” A figure squeezed through the crowd—it was Zheng Ji, holding Hui Niang in his arms.

Seeing this, a woman hurried to reach for Hui Niang. “Come here, Hui Niang, you don’t understand.”

“I do!” Hui Niang retorted. “Last night, you all promised my father you’d look after my mother and me, but as soon as night fell, you all ran away in fear. When trouble broke out, I went to the village gate to find the Daoist and Uncle Zheng Ji, and they came to rescue my mother. She lost only a single tooth to the demon—otherwise that old demon woman would have eaten her alive!” Her words were clear and reasoned—remarkable for a child not yet ten—which left several women and men silent and looking down.

Guo Wang also pushed his way in and shouted, “Fellow villagers, I just checked on my wife—she’s truly missing a tooth. As for last night, let’s not speak of it anymore. I know everyone is afraid. On this Mourning Mountain, how many have gone missing over the years, how many have lost their souls? This Daoist saved my wife—he is our family’s savior.”

At that moment, Hui Niang threw herself before Zhang Sanlu, sheltering him behind her. In this tense and hostile atmosphere, her small frame seemed exceptionally resolute and brave.

Though her body was frail and slight before the villagers’ angry flames, her actions were decisive and strong. As she dashed to shield Zhang Sanlu, her head barely reached his chest, yet her shoulders seemed to bear the weight of protecting him.

Fragile as she appeared, in that instant she was like a mother hen shielding her chicks, spreading her wings without hesitation to defend Zhang Sanlu from the villagers’ accusations and wrath.

A determined light shone in her eyes. Though her tiny hands trembled, she stood unyielding. Her voice, though soft, rang out with unusual clarity amid the chaos, like a warm current that suddenly pierced through Zhang Sanlu’s rage and confusion.