Chương 99: The Bell Rings

Fang Cheng and the others continued walking down the village road. The crowd grew thicker and more crowded. These people were all dressed in rags, but their spirits were high and their faces full of excitement. They pulled gold bars from their pockets, their sleeves, and even picked them up off the ground, handing them over to the street vendors in exchange for food, then burst into song and praise.

One man held up a flatbread and declared it was made by the primordial god Pangu himself, who got hungry after splitting heaven and earth and rolled out a pancake shaped like the universe. Another ate noodles and claimed they were the beard of the Grand Supreme Elder, the white hair of the Primordial Heavenly Lord, and the white pubic hair from between the legs of the Jade Pure Heavenly Mother. Even worse, someone was holding a handful of sheep droppings, black little pellets, calling them immortal pills.

Oh my god, my brothers and sisters, what's wrong with you? There's no black energy on your brows, but you're acting just like you're possessed. Wake up! Finally, Fang Cheng couldn't take it anymore. The buns and meat buns earlier had only smelled like shit, but this was real shit. Even if it looked just like a pill, it was still shit. He couldn't just stand by and watch someone eat shit. He rushed over to the man holding the sheep droppings and tried to stop him.

The man thought Fang Cheng was trying to steal his food and shoved the black immortal pill into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it down.

"Spit it out! Spit it out!" Fang Cheng slapped him across the face, sending him to the ground. But the man wasn't angry. He just laughed.

"The immortal pill's already in my stomach! You can't have it! Hahahaha!" He made a face and stuck out his tongue, mocking Fang Cheng.

"Fuck your immortal pill! You're eating shit, man! You're not just disgusting yourself, you're disgusting me too! Right in front of me! Wake the hell up and spit that sheep shit out!" Fang Cheng grabbed the man by the collar and screamed at him, slapping him over and over. But the man didn't care. He just laughed harder.

"Kill me! Come on, kill me! I've got an immortal pill in me now. I'm about to transcend and become an immortal! Hahahaha!" Zhu Old Six and Zhao Old Eight came over, but not to help Fang Cheng. They saw the gold bars that had spilled from the man's pockets, and their eyes lit up. They scrambled to pick them up. Zhu Old Six felt a little guilty.

"Isn't this just stealing?" Zhao Old Eight reassured him, "The guy's eating shit. He's clearly lost his mind. The gold's useless to him. Might as well let us spend it."

"Good point." Zhu Old Six laughed and nodded. The two old men finished picking up the gold bars, and Fang Cheng was done beating the man too. But he still hadn't made him spit anything out. Looking at the man's bruised and swollen face, Fang Cheng sighed helplessly. Whatever. He threw the man far away, out of sight and out of mind. Zhu Old Six and Zhao Old Eight kept walking deeper into the village, and Fang Cheng followed close behind.

Zhu Old Six scanned the distance as he walked and muttered, "Old Eight, the village road seems a lot longer than before. Looks like they built it all the way to that hill northwest of here. What's so special about that hill?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Zhao Old Eight shrugged.

"Are you asking me? I don't know. But I do know that hill used to be the dead pile. Anyone too old to work got thrown up there to die." Zhu Old Six nodded and asked another question.

"We've been walking for a while now, and I haven't seen a single villager. Did they all move to the prefecture city?"

"Probably." Zhao Old Eight agreed. Zhu Old Six lowered his voice.

"Old Eight, we haven't been back in over a decade. I don't know if it's the village that's changed or something else, but ever since I set foot in this place, something's felt off. My heart's beating fast. I've got a bad feeling." Hearing that, Zhao Old Eight stopped walking. He looked around and said quietly, "You're right. Something's wrong. Look at these vendors and customers. They're all acting possessed." The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

"Old Six, I think we should forget about finding those people and getting general agent spots. Let's just find a few more idiots, grab whatever gold they drop, and get the hell out of Zhujia Village. Head to the prefecture city and live it up." Zhu Old Six nodded. They were about to make their move when suddenly, a crisp bell rang through the village. Ding... ding... ding... The noise and bustle died instantly. The village fell silent.

Everyone, from the customers devouring their food to the vendors hawking their wares, straightened up in unison. They dropped their buns, meat buns, flatbreads, and everything else they were holding. Their gazes were pulled by an invisible force, all turning toward the source of the sound. Their eyes were wide, bloodshot, and their lips curled into strange smiles. Ding... ding... ding... Fang Cheng followed their gaze. The sound was coming from the hill northwest of the village. Ding... ding... ding...

The bell rang again, faster and more urgent. Ding... ding... ding... DING! With the final chime, every vendor and customer seemed to receive a command. They formed lines and marched in unison down the village road toward the barren hill to the northwest. Zhu Old Six stared in disbelief.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good." Zhao Old Eight shook his head. The two of them exchanged glances, both seeing the panic in each other's eyes. Zhu Old Six's lips trembled.

"Old Eight, maybe we should leave. This place is too creepy. I'm afraid if we stay, something's going to happen to us."

"Hold on." Zhao Old Eight waved his hand and pointed at the gold bars scattered on the ground.

"Let's grab these first. Gold bars, shiny yellow gold bars. With these, we can live like kings." Zhu Old Six nodded in agreement. Right, with all this gold, they could buy a dozen concubines and have their pick of every girl in the prefecture city. They found a sack and started picking up the gold bars. They even called Fang Cheng over to help. Just then, the bearded team leader who'd led their caravan walked over.

"Brothers, our Association Leader is handing out gold bricks on the sacred mountain. Gold bricks bigger than real bricks. One of those is worth dozens of gold bars. Interested?"

"Interested! Of course I'm interested!" Zhao Old Eight dropped the gold bars in his hands, his eyes lighting up like hundred-watt bulbs. Gold bricks! Haha, he loved gold bricks. Zhu Old Six grabbed his arm.

"Old Eight, that's the dead pile. We can't go there." Zhao Old Eight waved him off.

"What's there to be afraid of? Your daughter used to drag my daughter up there to play all the time. They turned out fine, didn't they?"

"But..." Zhu Old Six tried to argue, but Zhao Old Eight had already shaken him off and was sprinting toward the hill. Zhu Old Six hesitated for a moment, then looked at the bearded man beside him. He got the feeling that if he didn't go, the man would drag him there anyway. Helpless, he cursed under his breath and chased after Old Eight. Fang Cheng followed close behind. He'd been wanting to go there all along. Haha, he could smell the stench of sin. His mouth was watering. Wipe it off, wipe it off.

As a distinguished gourmet, he had to maintain his gentlemanly composure. Hahahaha...