The Grove

Chapter 87: The Grove (Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader Ban Mu!!)

Hearing Gouwa’s words, Sun Baolu drew a card from the fan of long, strip-shaped leaf cards in his hand and played it.

“I saw Brother Li go find the village blacksmith. Said something about having something made. Speaking of which, Gouwa, didn’t Brother Li tell you to go gather information? You’re still here playing cards? Not afraid he’ll come back and chew you out?”

“Gouwa, my ass! Call me Cao Cao!” Gouwa slapped a card down, his expression sour.

“This little village is tiny, how much effort does it need? Besides, I took those two brats with me to ask around. Finished in no time. The village elders all said the western grove has a man-eating serpent. Told us absolutely not to go there.”

“You’re heading there? You can’t go, you really can’t. My mother saw a flying serpent coiled in the sky above it ten years ago!” the homeowner, who was watching the game, chimed in.

“Pfft, it’s fine! Brother Li’s tough as nails. Long as he’s here, no serpent’s getting anywhere near us. Hey, hold on—who played that one? I win, hahaha! You owe it. All the eggs in your noodles are mine.”

“Look, Brother Li’s back.”

Someone must have said it. The others all turned to see Li Huowang walking into the courtyard, carrying a large leather package.

Surrounded by the group, Li Huowang set the leather bundle on the table and opened it.

The inside of the leather was fitted with rows of buttoned loops, perfectly arranged to hold the contents upright.

He began to inventory the things hanging inside. A set of brand-new tools, each coated with a thin layer of oil. All custom-made.

Large black iron pliers. A sharp awl. Tiny spatulas the size of fingernails. Long needles with barbed edges.

Just looking at these strange, misshapen implements was deeply unsettling.

Gouwa picked up a spoon with a razor-sharp edge, fiddled with it for a moment. “Brother Li, what is all this stuff? Doesn’t look like weapons. More like torture tools. Take this one—it’s no good for killing, but for gouging out an eye, it sure—”

Gouwa’s words died in his throat. He was frightened by what he had just said.

He immediately thought back to what had happened on Reed Island. The man who had used pliers to pull out his own teeth, to pop his own eyeballs.

Li Huowang reached out and snatched the tool back. “What did you find out?”

“F-Found out. There’s a man-eating serpent in the grove. The locals don’t go there. And the serpent keeps to itself. Never comes out.” Gouwa stared at the tools on the table, his eyes filled with deep, raw terror.

Li Huowang picked up the tiny spatula, mimed scraping at his own fingernail a couple of times, then slung the whole bundle over his back. “Let’s move.”

“But it’s already noon. By the time we walk there, it’ll be dark. Why don’t we stay the night and head out tomorrow?”

Sun Baolu’s suggestion earned him only a cold glare from Li Huowang. “I said, let’s move.”

The cart’s wheels began to turn, rolling slowly toward the man-eating grove.

By the time the moon hung high in the sky, Li Huowang and his group had finally reached their destination.

A dense bamboo forest spread out before them, tiny fireflies flickering in and out of sight within its depths.

A narrow path, coiling like a serpent, twisted its way into the bamboo. Judging by the weeds overgrowing it, the trail had been unused for a very long time.

Li Huowang didn’t charge in recklessly. According to what Jingxin had said, Layue Shiba was a highly mutable evil spirit. No one knew what form it had taken now, or what kind of threat it posed.

He stood at the forest’s edge, quietly observing its depths.

Time passed. Everything inside seemed normal. All the living things that should be there were moving about without any change. He could even see bamboo rats gnawing on stalks.

He didn’t stop observing until the sky began to lighten.

Eating a bowl of noodles, Li Huowang addressed the others. “Looks like the perimeter is clear. After we finish this meal, we head in. Once we’re inside, I don’t need you to do anything else. There’s only one thing I need you to do. If—and I mean if—”

He paused, his expression grim.

“—if my behavior becomes abnormal, you keep a hold of me. Don’t let me run loose.”

Yes. This was why he had brought them all in.

With the Black Tai Sui’s effects fading, Li Huowang could feel the space around him growing unreal. The hallucinations could swallow him at any moment.

As a precaution, he needed these people with him.

Hearing this unusual request, the others exchanged glances, then nodded.

“It shouldn’t take too long. Just wait until I come back.”

Li Huowang finished his sentence and took a sip of broth. A slender, pale hand reached over and gently plucked at his head. He felt a sharp sting on his scalp.

“What are you doing?” Li Huowang glared at the hand’s owner, Bai Lingmiao.

“You had a white hair. I had to pull it out. My mother said if you leave them, you’ll get more and more.”

Li Huowang quickened his pace, burying his face in his bowl as he fished for noodles with his chopsticks.

Bai Lingmiao sat down beside him, her legs pressed together.

Her fingers reached for the red bamboo slip slung across his back. “Brother Li, you’ve been carrying this with you all the time—”

Before she could touch it, Li Huowang stood up abruptly. He drained the last of the broth from his bowl, tossed the empty bowl into the iron pot, and said, “Let’s go. Into the grove.”

Everyone, bellies full, followed Li Huowang down the narrow path.

Even though it was still early morning, the moment they stepped into the grove, the world around them dimmed.

The dense bamboo acted like a barrier, completely blocking the sunlight.

A blue-green fluorescent stone was brought out, and the surroundings brightened a little.

But that sickly light colored the already green bamboo, giving it the tinge of a diseased plant. An unhealthy hue that made the skin crawl.

As the fluorescent light swayed, it seemed as though something was hiding deep within the thick bamboo, watching them from outside.

Li Huowang strained his eyes, trying to see, but he could make out nothing. Just as he was about to turn, that familiar, pricking sensation on the back of his neck returned.

Is this Layue Shiba? Is it watching me from the grove? What has it become now?

It wasn’t just Li Huowang. The others felt it too.

The only sound left was the rustle of shoes crushing bent grass. No one spoke. The air grew thick.

“Brother Li… do… do you feel like the bamboo above our heads is getting closer?”

At those words, everyone slowly looked up.

The bamboo had all bent over. From above, thick clusters of diseased-tipped stalks hung straight down, pointing directly at them like a forest of spears.

Thank you for your support, Ban Mu!!