Chapter 135: The Female Medium Who Walks the Underworld (Part I)

Anyone who has gone to see the stone statue of the maiden begins to experience petrification on their body.

Wen Dalong is the village chief of Qiaohou Village, so it is not surprising that he has seen the stone statue.

However, only half of his palm is petrified currently, and he has not turned into a complete stone man like those other people, which indicates that he was not involved in stoning the farmer's wife to death.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Village Chief Wen. I would like to visit the victims who have already turned into stone men. Could you please find a household and lead me there?"

Wen Dalong said, "Actually, there is nothing much to see. They have simply turned into stone statues."

Jiang Fucheng scolded Wen Dalong, "Young Hero Fang is asking you to lead the way, so just lead the way. What is the meaning of all this endless hesitation? Young Hero Fang is an emissary sent from above to deal with the stone statues in your village, so you had better not delay his affairs. Half of your hand has already turned to stone; if you don't cooperate promptly, do you intend to just wait slowly for death?"

Under Jiang Fucheng's threats, Wen Dalong finally agreed to guide Fang Yue to the home of one of the victims.

In front of a low-ceilinged house, an elderly woman saw Wen Dalong and Jiang Fucheng approaching with people, and she blocked the doorway tenaciously, refusing to let anyone enter.

"If you want to smash my son, you will have to step over this old hag's dead body!" The old woman's emotions were highly agitated.

Fang Yue looked at Jiang Fucheng beside him.

Jiang Fucheng whispered, "Emissaries from above have come twice before, and Young Hero, you are the third. Every time they came without figuring out the cause, they would smash a stone man to see what was going on. This old woman is worried that you will smash the stone man her son has become. Young Hero Fang, don't you worry either. Since she's just an old woman, I'll go and chase her away."

With that, Jiang Fucheng made a move to push the old woman blocking the path aside.

"That's enough," Fang Yue called out to stop Jiang Fucheng.

The offerings from White Cloud Palace had already come twice before and failed to resolve the issue. No wonder when Village Chief Wen Dalong met Fang Yue, the expression on his face remained filled with panic and despair, holding no expectations at all.

He probably figured that since the people from the previous two visits couldn't solve the problem, a younger person coming now would be even less capable of solving it.

"When I accepted this Qiaohou Village stone man mission back at White Cloud Palace, it showed that aside from me, someone else had accepted this mission at the same time. That person accepted the mission earlier than I did, so the person who came the second time must have been him."

Thoughts swirled in Fang Yue's mind as his gaze fell upon the elderly woman before him.

With her lingering, candle-in-the-wind old age, given his cultivation realm at the Innate stage, a casual breath from him would be enough to knock her over.

However, given Fang Yue's character, barring absolute necessity, he would never stoop to bullying the weak like this.

"Elderly mother, are you worried that I will smash the stone statue to investigate?" Fang Yue asked gently.

The old woman did not speak, but her expression remained vigilant, clearly thinking precisely that.

Fang Yue turned his head to look around. Several villagers from Qiaohou Village, having heard the news and come to watch the spectacle, were standing far off in the distance.

The expressions on their faces were all ones of panic and despair, yet as they looked at Fang Yue, a faint, meager trace of hope lingered within them.

Clearly, these people had also seen the stone statue of the maiden and were now plagued by petrification, constantly watching their own flesh and blood turn into stone bit by bit.

Although there was no pain, they were subjected to the torment of immense terror.

Fang Yue said loudly, "Everyone can bear witness. I am merely inspecting the situation and will never smash the stone statue."

Jiang Fucheng said to the old woman, "Young Hero Fang has made a guarantee in front of so many people, what else do you have to worry about? Do you think the young hero's reputation is worthless, and that he would break his word?

Alright, step aside. If he truly wanted to force his way in, could an old hag like you stop him? As for the people from the previous two visits, they didn't waste words with you lot at all...

Ahem, anyway, your son has already turned into a stone man, and I'm afraid he can't be changed back. Come to think of it, your son participated in stoning someone to death, so he got what he deserved. On the other hand, the rest of the villagers who are now turning to stone are truly innocent.

Let Young Hero Fang go in and take a look. Perhaps once Young Hero Fang sees it, he will find a way, and then your entire village will be saved."

The old woman wept and said, "My son was bewitched by that vixen's stone statue; he would never have done such a thing on his own. It's a pity he has ended up like this, and his wife has run off with the child, leaving only this old hag behind."

As she spoke, she suddenly knelt down before Fang Yue and pleaded, "I beg you to save my son. You are different from them; perhaps you can save my son."

Fang Yue reached out and lifted the old woman to her feet, saying, "Let me take a look first. I cannot make any guarantees about this."

Based on the information gleaned from his clairvoyant divine ability, the entity wreaking havoc behind the Qiaohou Village stone man incident possessed terrifyingly formidable power, surpassing that of Fang Yue.

Had Fang Yue not possessed a few trump cards of his own, he truly would not have dared to meddle in this affair.

However, whether it could be resolved remained uncertain.

...

Walking into the low-ceilinged house and entering the inner room, Fang Yue saw a stone man lying on a bed improvised from wooden planks.

This stone man had been transformed through the petrification of a living person, making it look remarkably lifelike. Had it not been devoid of flesh and blood, it would have been nearly indistinguishable from a real human being.

The expression on its face still retained the dynamic moment when it turned into a stone man—filled with panic and despair, its mouth wide open as if wanting to say something, but frozen in place.

"My son! My son!" Seeing her son in this state, the old woman could not help bursting into tears once more.

An expression of desolation clouded Wen Dalong's face. If the problem could not be resolved and his petrification continued, this very fate awaited him as well.

Jiang Fucheng grew somewhat impatient with the old woman's weeping, but seeing that Fang Yue remained silent, he did not dare to scold her casually.

Serving as a yamen runner, he was well-versed in reading the wind and trimming his sails.

Fang Yue stepped forward, inspecting the stone man on the bed with meticulous care, and used his mental sense to perceive whether any lingering aura remained upon the stone man.

"Village Chief Wen, do these stone men shed bloody tears from their eyes at night? Is that true or not?" Fang Yue asked.

"Yes, it happens every single night," Wen Dalong replied.

The old woman could not help interjecting, "My son must still be alive; otherwise, how could he shed tears?"

Fang Yue cast a glance at the old woman and continued questioning Wen Dalong, "Then why do the bloody tears disappear by daylight?"

"They seep into the stone," Wen Dalong said.

Fang Yue nodded and said, "Very well. Village Chief Wen, please arrange a place for me; I will stay in your village tonight."

Wen Dalong was startled and asked, "Young Hero, do—do you have a way to fix this?"

The people from the previous two visits had both arrived in haste and departed in haste, refusing to stay overnight in such an uncanny place as Qiaohou Village.

For Fang Yue to choose to remain meant he likely held a measure of certainty, which ignited a spark of hope within Wen Dalong's previously despairing heart.

Jiang Fucheng anxiously chimed in, "Young Hero Fang, are you truly planning to stay overnight in this village? You may not know this, but once night falls, this village becomes immensely bizarre. It's not just the stone statues shedding bloody tears; there are other eerie occurrences as well."

Fang Yue gave Jiang Fucheng a deep, meaningful look and said, "Yamen Runner Jiang, your task is already completed. There is no need for you to stay overnight in the village; you may return to the county yamen first."

"This..." Jiang Fucheng pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "Forget it. It's already afternoon with the sun tilting west; I won't make it back to the county seat before dark anyway. I'll stay as well. With Young Hero Fang here, no demons or ghosts will dare to approach."