"Little Qi did not return that night."
"When I went to find the contractor again, he avoided me, but there were always barking dogs coming from his house."
"That night, I stealthily climbed into his courtyard, and the dogs kept barking, exposing me."
"The contractor came out from one of the rooms, wearing a kind of cloak that could cover his arms and legs, holding a hammer in his hand. The head of the hammer was covered in blood! I saw Xiao Qi... Xiao Qi had only one head left, which was placed on the ground. Many of her flesh had disappeared, and her bones were very white!"
"My heart was aching almost to death, and I was terrified of what the contractor had done."
"He told me that he had always felt something was off about Xiao Qi, and if she hadn't been making money, he would have kicked her out long ago. He never expected that Xiao Qi would dare to take action against him. Who was he? He could cover up any deaths on the construction site and handle things perfectly. Killing a whore was as easy as could be."
"Last night, Xiao Qi tried to stab him, and he was not one to stop halfway. He knocked her unconscious and fed her to the dogs. When she regained consciousness, he struck another blow with the hammer, killing Xiao Qi."
"He said he knew I was coming, and he had prepared to kill me. And for these years, Xiao Qi has made him a lot of money. He will change places and live a leisurely life. We will be reduced to bones to be fed to dogs, and no one will know where we went."
By this point, Mr. Zhou's eyes were bloodshot. He began to laugh, the blood at the corners of his mouth and in his eyes making him look even more chilling and disturbing.
"He swung a hammer at my head!"
"I was in a state of shock, utterly paralyzed, unable to move my legs or escape from him!"
"Xiao Qi stood up! Do you know? She had half of her body's bones missing, yet she stood up like that!"
"She bit the contractor to death in one go, spraying blood for a considerable distance."
"And then, Xiao Qi bit to death the three dogs. After they died, their bodies turned into rotten meat, and Xiao Qi's condition improved..."
"I know, she has become a ghost."
"But I'm not afraid of her. I think ghosts are good. As a ghost, one can take revenge for any grievances or grudges. But why wasn't it me who died? If I died, I could take revenge, but Xiao Qi could still be alive!"
"I was so miserable that I wanted to commit suicide, but she wouldn't let me die. She made me live well."
"She just told me that, actually, after killing the contractor, she couldn't live either. Her illness was very severe and had been incurable for a long time. The reason she obeyed the contractor and did whatever he said was twofold: first, to gain his trust, and second, because she thought all men in the world were terrible and vile."
"What caused her illness? And how should she spread it around?"
"One, two, three... Sometimes, in an hour, she would experience two or three people. At most, in a day, there would be over ten people entering her room."
"She was biding her time, seeking revenge!"
Mr. Zhou's veins stood out, his expression filled with hatred.
My face changed.
Only now did I understand why a woman who had no strength to tie a chicken and had never killed anyone could become a Five Hell Ghost.
Direct killing and harming, like Wei Youming's case, was indeed ruthless.
But what about indirect harm?
Incurable diseases that explode in a crowd, spreading rapidly.
Men who frequent brothels and resorts are undoubtedly not good people, but what about their families? They might not be completely evil.
They contracted the illness from Xiao Qi and then passed it on to their wives.
Or perhaps those who were never married, passing it on to other "partners."
Within just a couple of years, how many people must have suffered from it?!
Just becoming a Five Hell Ghost might be because those people did not die immediately. Otherwise, Xiao Qi could have become a Twenty-Eight Hell Prisoner or an Infamous Ivy Ghost, and it wouldn't be impossible...
After that, Mr. Zhou spoke much more calmly.
The contractor's body was ground into pulp by Xiao Qi, and several dogs emerged from her body. They ate the contractor completely, and the dogs turned into pulp and returned to Xiao Qi's body.
All traces were thoroughly wiped clean, and they found a sum of money in the contractor's house. With that money, they returned to Shepherds' Village.
The old house at home had long collapsed, and Mr. Zhou had no heart to repair it. The City God Temple was a good place to go.
He had heard people say before that if a ghost eats incense all year round and has a body of law (a form of existence recognized by others) that is worshipped, it is no longer considered a wandering spirit. Even if it cannot be reborn, it will have tiles to shield it from the wind and rain, and will not be displaced.
In addition, there was a minor incident in the middle. If they had found that filthy woman, she would definitely have been killed and fed to dogs.
In Shepherds' Village, Xiao Qi only visited the City God Temple. There were a few exceptions, such as when something happened in the village, she would go to solve it.
Over time, the incense at the City God Temple burned well, and more people started to offer incense and make offerings.
Why not allow people to burn incense during the day? The reason is simple. If incense is burned during the day, Xiao Qi would appear too, which would scare people. Then the legend of the temple's manifestation would naturally collapse.
After saying all of this, Mr. Zhou was silent for a long time.
His gaze towards me and YanYing became increasingly cold.
A heavy feeling settled in my chest, like a stone pressing down on me.
Xiao Qi is pitiful, and the contractor was very malicious.
Even if Xiao Qi suffered greatly, others suffered from no cause at all.
The sins are not enough to involve family members, let alone become endless hazards.
Who is right and who is wrong can be easily judged.
But can we easily take Xiao Qi away with us and escape the consequences?
If we did that, we would undoubtedly add another tragic fate to hers.
YanYing bit her lip, and her eyes showed signs of retreat.
I closed my eyes, and the emotions in my heart became more complex.
There is a sense of energy in my chest, that energy should be righteous anger, and it should be righteousness.
It's that energy that's in turmoil. I should take the "person" away, and I feel uneasy. If I don't take her away, it also feels wrong.
"Show your power, and let's go," YanYing said softly.
Mr. Zhou hesitated for a moment, as though somewhat taken aback and bewildered.
YanYing then looked at Mr. Zhou with a serious expression, saying one word at a time: "The suffering of your daughter and yourself is very pitiful. But the people she has hurt are indeed many, some of whom deserve it, while others do not. Staying in Shepherds' Village, you should no longer harm others. Do good deeds to make up for your sins."
"I and Shengshen are also ordinary people. We cannot impartially judge right from wrong between you and your daughter. We cannot say it's a punishment or anything like that."
"We only hope that you will take care of yourselves."
YanYing was too aware, and with her words, my blocked heart felt a little more relaxed.
"Also, try to minimize people coming in to burn incense. While you have helped the people of Shepherds' Village a lot, being exposed to ghost energy for a long time may cause some changes in normal people. The big sister you saw earlier could see ghosts because she was exposed to it for too long. Normal people should not be so easily affected by ghosts." YanYing added another sentence.
She turned to leave.
I followed her, and we exited the City God Temple courtyard.
