Chapter 144: Witch’s Song
You’ve Got Me saw Wen Leyang drinking its liquor and grew upset. It grew even more upset after seeing him spitting it back out. It lay on the edge of the glass and ululated. It only stopped whining when the two giggling girls re-soaked it with liquor.
Wen Leyang smiled bitterly. He wiped his mouth as he kept an eye on Ji Fei and Shui Jing, who were far away.
Ji Fei and Shui Jing’s expressions appeared terrified and excited. The old monk Ji Fei wiped the sweat in his palms on his pants with some effort. The fat monk Shui Jing gingerly took off his hat and wiped the densely packed beads of sweat on his face. He revealed a smooth and shiny bald head which sparkled under the misted lights.
The waiter came over and led them into an empty booth. A few moments later a thunderous howl erupted. The two monks jumped out of the booth. Wen Leyang turned his head and said to Liu Zheng, “I bet they just heard about the minimum spending…”
Liu Zheng’s gaze was still shifting between the two girls but he spoke to Wen Leyang in a low voice, “The four that came in just now are also cultivators.” He was the disciple of Tian Shu, the supreme leader of Kunlun Sect. He was slightly undependable but his cultivation base was much higher than an average cultivator. He could immediately tell if a normal cultivator was approaching him.
The two girls were studying You’ve Got Me and had no time to entertain the two.
The four cultivators who just came in were middle-aged men. They all had straight backs and bright eyes. However, when they entered, they were shocked. The stared at the slowly boiling air in the smell of alcohol in front of them. Clearly,this was their first time coming to such an establishment. All of them appeared awkward, as they did not know where they should head.
The life-saving waiter finally came and led the four men into the booth. They did not jump out as if their tails were on fire like Ji Fei and Shui Jing. However, Wen Leyang’s widespread spiritual sense could still detect that the four cultivators drew cold breaths after hearing the price.
Liu Zheng moved his head closer, his eyes beaming, “Something big is happening today!” As he said this, he pointed towards the roof, “Quite a few people came. Hehe, looks like we, Kunlun Sect, aren’t the only ones who came to Shanghai!”
Wen Leyang nodded. His spiritual sense could not differentiate between a mortal and a cultivator. However, those who could scamper around the roof while being light on their feet, logically speaking, they were either flying thieves or cultivators, “Do you know who they are?”
Liu Zheng shook his head without saying a word. Suddenly, a rattling noise sounded in his ears. The two girls had finally lost their interest in You’ve Got Me. They raised a dice jar towards the two outstanding youths from the path of true cultivation.
Wen Leyang was slightly dumbstruck. He could handle a cricket fight but this was his first time touching a dice jar. He looked at Liu Zheng in a plea for help. Liu Zheng was also studying the object with a frown, “Are we guessing big and small numbers or odd and even numbers?” The girls giggled and did not speak. The entire nightclub erupted in a blinding white light. Countless of cold fireworks were like the most magnificent aurora in the Poles, painting all dubiousness in a pale white!
The gradually muffled music suddenly erupted in a chain of intensely clear and melodious sounds akin to a shattering glass wall. It was as if millions of knives appearing in everyone’s hearts without warning. It easily roused the restlessness, which was itching for action. Everyone was stunned. The happiness quickly filled their faces as they erupted in a blazing cheer!
Wen Leyang was astonished. He pulled the girl beside him, who had already jumped to her feet, “What happened?”
It was unclear whether it was the alcohol or the euphoria, the girl’s face was flushed red, “Leyang Tian is here!”
Wen Leyang also stood up, “Leyang Tian?” He was asking the girl beside him but his gaze was looking that the also stunned Liu Zheng.
Liu Zheng nodded slightly. There was no one by that name in the cultivation world.
The girl moved her soft lips next to Wen Leyang’s ear in the ruckus, “He’s the boss here, Leyang Tian. His nickname is Tangtang!”
Wen Leyang shamelessly chuckled, “That tickles!”
The frenzied music dulled abruptly. The men and women all tacitly shut their mouths but they could not conceal the excitement in their eyes no matter what. Finally, the sound of beating drums was heard. The sound was low and heavy, fiercely barging into the almost freezing air. Then, all the electric instruments abandoned their melodies and followed the drums in its breath-taking beat. The rhythm was sonorous, every beat of the drum was merciless and strong.
Everybody’s expressions were wild and happy. They jumped and stamped their feet strongly with the rhythm, their mouths chanted, “Tangtang! Tangtang!”
After a moment’s shock, Ji Fei and Shui Jing followed the crowd and jumped. They seemed to be having a good time.
Liquor is an interesting thing. Joy or sadness can spread quickly with its help, becoming contagious. If ten thousand people were drinking liquor together, everyone would laugh loudly when a person starts laughing. When a person cries, then everyone would also cry in unison.
Liu Zheng was slightly flabbergasted. He pulled Wen Leyang who was starting to laugh himself, “Should these people be this happy just because the boss is coming?” After he said that he howled to the rhythm, “Tangtang!”
This was just a game. Nobody cared who Leyang Tian was. The regulars of Painting Town liked to do this. They liked to kick up a stir in their engrossment and engross in the stir they kicked up. It was fun.
Liu Zheng followed the rhythm and yelled ‘Tangtang’. The two youngsters laughed loudly. They had just laughed twice when they were shocked and shut their mouths…
Within the already hoarse but still orderly cheer, a burly dark-skinned fat man appeared. He had afro dreadlocks and was wearing a big T-shirt with a black man’s head. He wore long pants and white sneakers. He raised his arms and looked like a gorilla as the fats on his body shook while he ran down from the second floor. Wen Leyang was secretly worried for the narrow and thin metal stairs.
Tangtang did not look that sweet after all.
After Tangtang ‘dropped down’, he waved his big arms. The DJ immediately announced, “Beer!”
Then the music blasted once again. The cheer of the people was roof-shattering…
Ji Fei and Shui Jing asked about Leyang Tian’s identity from some customers. They moved in and talked to him in hushed tones. Leyang Tian was astonished at first, but he smiled and pointed upstairs.
Ji Fei’s signature expert face re-appeared. He nodded self-righteously, pulled the monk and went upstairs. Leyang Tian brought a few waitresses with him, chuckling as he went from booth to booth. He gave some liquor to every booth. He chatted, played dice and drank a glass of liquor. The four cultivator’s booth and Wen Leyang’s booth were of no exception.
Leyang Tian was dressed in hip-hop fashion. He had big and shiny accessories and sparkling diamond ear studs. When he came in he was astonished at first, then he smiled forthrightly at Wen Leyang, “You two are first-timers right?” As he was saying this he turned and whispered an order to a waitress behind him. A few moments later, a dozen bottles of beer were brought to their table. The bottles were covered in frost and water droplets.
Leyang Tian’s palm was thick and sturdy. There were no calluses or scars. The smile on his face seemed genuine, but his gaze was very muddy and lax. He did not have the clear distinction between black and white of youth. After making some small talk with Wen Leyang and Liu Zheng, he continued on to the next booth.
After Leyang Tian left, Wen Leyang glanced at Liu Zheng.
Liu Zheng shook his head, “He’s a mortal, he had no life vitality, it cannot be mistaken. The cultivators lying in ambush outside had not made their move. They must be waiting for the signal from those four.” He raised his head, gulped down half a bottle of beer and exhaled relaxingly, “This is better! We will wait. The men outside will make their move sooner or later. We’ll see how it goes.”
The two girls shook the dice until it clattered loudly, re-attracting the attention of the two boys.
When the dice clattered, the beer disappeared quickly like snowflakes under the sun…
The more Liu Zheng drank, the more he found the two girls beautiful. He pulled Wen Leyang and asked in a hushed tone, “Do you think… this is real?”
Wen Leyang also discovered something interesting. After mixing beer with green tea, coke and soda water, the beer lost its kick, enabling him to drink more. He wondered as he heard Liu Zheng’s question, “What is real?”
Liu Zheng’s gaze was hooked on the two girls. His face was flushed red and he smiled with sparkles in his eyes. At this moment, the deafening music stopped once more. Leyang Tian, who looked like a black gorilla had occupied the DJ’s station without anyone noticing. His fluent Beijing accent revealed some frivolousness, “Boring!”
After pausing for a while, Leyang Tian’s voice suddenly turned irritable, “This is f*cking boring!”
The crowd quieted down quickly. Even the two girls beside Liu Zheng frowned. They muttered with a low voice, “What’s he trying to pull…”
There was a drunken youngster near the stage. He sharply pointed a finger at Leyang Tian and mimicked his Beijing accent, “Then you try to pull something fun!”
Leyang Tian laughed loudly. He too pointed a finger at the youngster, “If you say so!” His voice barely faded when a long, sharp wolf howl sounded, instantly cutting off all other sounds!
Then, various noises erupted from all directions!
A baby’s cough, the wail of a beast which lost its cub, the angry howl when a strong wind blew past the window… The sounds that terrified people in the world gathered together and formed a devil’s laugh, or maybe it was a cry.
Some people were ghastly pale and could barely stand, but more were cheering!
Leyang Tian seemed to sneer under the flickering lights. He turned and went back upstairs.
Liu Zheng asked the two girls who looked slightly scared, “Is it always like this?”
One of the girls shook her head, “Are you kidding me? If it was always like this, who would want to come here?”
The other girl laughed instead, “I don’t mind if it’s sometimes like this!”
The music, lighting and colorful beer bottles, they were all dubious and indulgent oxygen. Even the mad rhythm was but a hammer that shattered the heart’s shackles, and not a knife that strikes through fear. The endlessly echoing sound now had nothing to do with dubiousness. This was a complete ghost cry and wolf howl.
However, Wen Leyang’s expression changed. He recognized this noise, although it was not exactly the same, its flavor will not change. It was a Witch’s Song!
Little Chi Maojiu had mimicked the Witch’s Song in the Gold-Consuming Lair using ‘spotted-dog’s tongue’ and a series of mind-boggling items. Only when a powerful witchcraft is forming will a strange noise as if hell was breaking loose like this will be produced. Even among the Miao Bujiao who had established themselves using witchcraft, nobody was capable of casting witchcraft that would invoke the Witch’s Song.
Wen Leyang signaled to Liu Zheng and walked hastily towards the four cultivators’ booth. Liu Zheng was about to follow him when the two girls grabbed him piteously.
Liu Zheng was soft-hearted…
The ghost wail and wolf howl did not last long. When Wen Leyang entered the four cultivators’ booth, it had stopped. The DJ had resumed playing the original rhythm.
Wen Leyang’s heart thumped.
Inside the booth, a thick putrid stench permeated in the space. It was as if the smell had substance, enshrouding the place but not dispersing.
The expressions on the four heads were smiling and contented as if engrossed in a joy deep within their hearts. They were on their seats and lightly rolling to the rhythm’s vibration.
Only their somewhat complete heads were left of the four men. Their originally sturdy-built body had been reduced to a complete but soft and shriveled human skin. Their blood, flesh and bones had vanished completely! Wen Leyang carefully picked up a human head, it was unusually heavy as if the inside of the head was completely stuffed with molten iron, easily a few hundred kilograms.
Their hairs had fallen off completely. The skin on their skulls was a faint greenish hue.
It was the Green Head Widow Spell!
Wen Leyang recognized this type of witchcraft. A few years back when he was studying in the Red Leaves Forest, the people of the Death Trademark had carried people who were the victims of the Green Head Widow Spell to see Fourth Elder Wen. Only in the battle of Miao Stockade Village did he find out, that this group of people had been fighting for the fairy grass with the people of the Death Trademark and were killed by the witchcraft cast by the demon lady Third Mother Chi Liang and her men on Nine Peaks Mountain.
Wen Leyang rummaged around their clothes but found nothing other than some small change. It seems that these four men had spent their life’s savings for the minimum spending…
Not only these four cultivators, the footsteps that were on the roof had also vanished without a trace after the ghost wail and wolf howl! Wen Leyang returned to his seat and told Liu Zheng about the four cultivators falling victim to the Green Head Widow Spell in a low voice.
Liu Zheng smiled and played dice with the two girls while he nodded and spoke to Wen Leyang in a low voice, “After that ghost wail and wolf cry, the life vitality of the cultivators who were laying in an ambush outside had all dissipated. They’re all dead! They numbered about a hundred too. This Leyang Tian is some merciless fellow.” As he was saying this, he lifted his eyelids and seemingly glanced at the rooftop absent-mindedly, a faint worry was in his gaze.
A sound of Witch’s Song had made a hundred cultivators lose their lives!
Although Wen Leyang and Liu Zheng were not comparable to Chang Li, Tian Shu and the likes, but in today’s cultivation world, they were undoubtedly the best cultivators of the younger generation. However, they did not even notice how the people of Painting Town made their move.
Even if the cultivators were not highly skilled, if Wen Leyang and Liu Zheng were to make their move, they would have raised a ruckus. They could never be completely wiped out so silently.
Liu Zheng sighed. The blunderbuss and his flying sword were at the checkroom. There was also a security check at Painting Town’s entrance, he could never have brought those items in here.
Wen Leyang stood up again, “I have to go upstairs and take a look. Ji Fei and Shui Jing are still up there.” These two old farts had appeared suddenly with this timing. Wen Leyang and Liu Zheng were both suspicious. But before making sense of the whole situation, Wen Leyang was worried to leave them both in a dangerous place.
‘Painting Town’ might not have elite true cultivators, but they had at least one peerless great witch who wiped out a hundred unidentified cultivators without a sound.
Liu Zheng also made to get up, “I’ll go with you!”
Wen Leyang shook his head, “You stay here. You can back me up if anything happens!”
After he said this he made to leave. However, a girl grabbed him and shoved the dice jar into his hands as she smiled sweetly, “It’s your turn, no running away!”
Wen Leyang had something else on his mind. He simply shook the dice jar on the table and left the booth. He was like an alerted civet cat, he moved in a flash up the stairs when the light flickered.
The girl pouted. She raised the dice jar and was shocked as she bulged her eyes. The dice were shattered.
Liu Zheng smiled bitterly as he tried to explain, “My friend has strong arms…” Then he diverted the conversation. He shook his head along with the two girls and made small talk… Wen Leyang had been up there for at least ten minutes. There was still no movement from upstairs. Just when he was hesitating whether he should go upstairs too, his body stiffened suddenly. He hastily stuck a talisman onto his own chest. He was still worried and he wore the Andy Lau mask again.
The two girls were astonished. They also wore their masks while laughing. Inside the booth, three Andy Laus were playing dice together…
A short and tough elder walked slowly into ‘Painting Town’. Before this man, even the little supreme leader Liu Zheng could only borrow the power of the talisman runes to conceal his life vitality and manage not to be detected by him.
The supreme leader of Eyang Sect, the enlightened person San Wei had arrived.
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