Chapter 101: A Sudden Turn for the Worse

Outside the ancestral hall, the sudden sound of gongs and drums rang out, piercingly loud and harsh in the darkness. Everyone inside the hall instantly grew tense and uneasy.

Song Mu and the others stood up at once, urging everyone to remain within the ancestral hall.

Outside, the entire village had now awakened. Shouts and the beating of drums continued without pause, and amid them, several men could be heard loudly calling for the villagers to gather at the ancestral hall.

Song Mu’s expression grew grave as he gazed toward the hall’s entrance. Outside, only the faint glow of scattered torches flickered, and from the distant mountains, an impenetrable darkness stretched out.

At this moment, Master Xun’s whereabouts were unknown, even as many villagers made their way toward the hall.

“Brother Song, you should come in quickly,” Kong Zong called out from the entrance, guiding several villagers toward the hall.

Song Mu glanced around and saw a short, sturdy figure approaching from the side, carrying someone on his back. He immediately recognized this man as the villager known as Lao San from earlier that day and hurried over to help support him, asking, “Third Brother, did the monster really appear? Where is it now?”

The burly man recognized Song Mu instantly. While carrying the person on his back toward the hall, he panted heavily and said, “I don’t know. It was Master Fan who said so, and then the village dogs started barking. Brother Fan and that gentleman have already gone out to check. We still don’t know what’s going on.”

The “gentleman” mentioned was naturally Master Xun. Song Mu scanned the area and suddenly heard a fierce shout from a mountain pass not far away.

“What sort of monster is this?!”

Light surged rapidly there, followed by a tremendous commotion.

The villagers inside the ancestral hall couldn’t help but let out a few frightened gasps, while the boat passengers became visibly agitated, clamoring to return to their ship.

Even the scholars, seasoned though they were, clenched their fists tightly in response.

Everyone had only come to this village seeking temporary shelter, never imagining such events would unfold.

Song Mu’s heart trembled, but he could do nothing but obediently return to the hall.

It seemed Master Xun had found the monster. Given his years of experience and scholarly prowess, there should be no real danger.

Meanwhile, several men carried an elderly man into the hall. Upon seeing him, the villagers finally calmed somewhat, their faces anxious as they looked toward the old man.

The elder, his hair white as snow, remained motionless as the men placed his bamboo chair in the center of the hall, directly facing the black inscribed stone tablet.

A hoarse cough erupted, and the villagers called out respectfully, “Old Master!”

The old man extended his wrinkled hand, pressing it against the stone tablet.

Moments later, white steam began to rise where his hand touched—the manifestation of literary energy.

The literary energy flowed into the tablet, and the characters inscribed on it began to glow one by one. When every character lit up, the stone tablet suddenly emitted a fierce ripple.

The ripple spread outward, eliciting gasps from the crowd, though they soon settled down.

Standing beside them, Song Mu observed quietly. The purpose of this inscribed tablet was to amplify the power of the literary energy, relying on the “Ode to Exorcise Demons” composed by the great scholar Zhang Ce to intimidate nearby evils and provide protection for the village.

With Master Xun’s blessing today, the tablet’s power had grown stronger; ordinary monsters would surely flee upon seeing it.

Yet the old man looked unwell, coughing repeatedly. Several village women hurried to tend to him, while some men adjusted his chair.

It was clear this elder was the village’s only scholar, the venerable Old Master Fan.

With the situation stabilizing, the villagers finally exhaled in relief. Song Mu and Kong Zong exchanged a glance and eased their tension slightly.

Outside, disturbances still arose intermittently, though the sounds and lights had diminished somewhat.

“It should be fine now,” one scholar remarked, and everyone nodded in agreement. The villagers of Xiao Yang Village remained wary.

“If that gentleman kills the monster, then there will be no future troubles,” someone said, and others nodded in agreement.

But a few voices raised concerns.

“That monster had only dared to appear around our village before, but this time it seems to have charged straight in.”

“Who knows? Maybe it has grown stronger and hungers for human flesh again.”

“What a calamity! How are we supposed to live like this?”

Voices rose in anxious chatter. Though some spoke casually, others listened with deep concern. Song Mu’s heart tightened.

The monster’s behavior today was indeed abnormal. Normally, with the literary energy Master Xun had released earlier, the monster should have kept its distance.

So why had it charged forward as if mad?

“Master, do you think there’s any danger?” Kong Zong seemed to sense something wrong and asked Song Mu.

Song Mu pressed his lips together, uneasy, and glanced toward the door.

Soon, the noises outside ceased entirely.

Song Mu and several scholars rose to cautiously peer outside.

At that moment, a figure came running toward the ancestral hall’s gates.

It was the gaunt man from before. Seeing this, Song Mu hurried forward; the man was still panting heavily.

“Brother Fan, what’s the situation now?”

Song Mu asked first. The gaunt man grimaced in pain but quickly replied, “That monster is too powerful. The gentleman has pursued it, but I couldn’t see what happened, so I returned.”

“Pursued it? Where did it go?” Kong Zong asked anxiously.

The gaunt man merely shook his head, clearly uninformed.

Song Mu’s heart sank as he recalled what this man had told him earlier—that even the soldiers chasing the monster had been outwitted repeatedly.

Could the monster be employing a bait-and-switch tactic?

Turning swiftly, Song Mu questioned the villagers, “Ask your ancestors if the inscribed tablet can do anything more.”

The villagers, unaccustomed to Song Mu’s urgent tone, exchanged uneasy looks but shook their heads. “There’s nothing we can do. The tablet only emits a deterrent pressure to frighten monsters. It can’t do anything else.”

“Can the tablet’s power be increased?” Song Mu pressed on.

Old Master Fan responded softly, “Yes, as long as more literary energy is infused.”

At once, the newly minted scholars stepped forward.

Though unfit for battle, they still possessed literary energy within their bodies, and aiding the tablet was well within their ability.

“We’ll do it!” one scholar declared, moving toward the tablet, followed by the others.

Song Mu turned his gaze toward the pitch-black surroundings outside the hall and murmured, “I hope nothing bad happens.”

As if in response to his words, just as the group began strengthening the tablet’s power, a sudden, intense chorus of chirping noises erupted from a nearby farmhouse outside the hall.

…