"Do we really have to follow him all the time?"
By this point, Ding Ding no longer cared if the mission was completed. She just wanted to leave this eerie place as quickly as possible and return to the comfortable Mirror City.
"How did you become one of the Apostle's subordinates?"
Tu Feiyuan said with a disgusted look, almost rolling his eyes at Ding Ding.
Ding Ding retorted with equal disgust, "Can you not stare at Jia Rengui's lewd face when you talk to me?"
"Meow meow meow! I want a new head!"
"Quiet."
Hill grabbed him and began to rub him.
"Your friend is quite active."
The young man turned around, and everyone was genuinely startled.
Blood began to flow from his gaping mouth, more and more, staining his clean shirt and shorts.
The young man paid it no mind and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Ling Yong, Ling from 'lingering,' Yong from 'brave'."
He suddenly remembered to introduce himself. After speaking, he didn't ask Duan Chen and the others their names, chuckled, and turned to continue leading the way.
If one ignored his terrifying face, Duan Chen thought this fellow would look rather simple and honest when he smiled.
The sharing of ancient texts had not ended. In the eyes of the group, Moon Ridge Village remained a scene of horror and bloodshed. This bloodshed was not directed at humans but specifically at Sun Xiaoxiao and the others.
They had already transformed into sea demons, and their minds were gradually becoming more like those of sea demons. The scenes in Moon Ridge Village had a profound impact on them.
"So disgusting..." Tian Qi frowned, as if she could smell the foul odor floating in the air.
Of course, there was no smell here.
The deeper they went, the more villagers they encountered. Most of these villagers had strange appearances: some were missing an arm, others a leg, and blood still gurgled from the injured areas, dripping onto the ground and quickly evaporating, disappearing without a trace.
"Could they be ghosts?"
"You talk too much," Jun Ci glared at the captives.
"There are no ghosts in this world. All terrifying scenes are merely tricks played by the uncanny or the heretical," Duan Chen glanced at Sun Xiaoxiao and said calmly.
"Tch."
"I'll let you eat! I'll let you eat!"
From a corner not far away, a ragged child ran out, followed by a limping woman holding a dagger, chasing after the child.
"Captain." Yuan Yuan's heart tightened.
"Look at that child. Look closely."
When Yuan Yuan looked, he almost lost his soul from fright.
The child had no eyes; his eye sockets were dark, like two black holes. He giggled, holding a steamed bun in his hand.
"Sister Wei, educating your child again? It's just a steamed bun." Ling Yong chuckled, stopped the little boy, and snatched the bun from his hand.
"What child abuse! Not even letting him eat a steamed bun."
Ding Ding couldn't help but complain.
Du Qingyi tilted her head, as if she had discovered something.
"Eating fewer steamed buns is not good for your health."
Ling Yong's words were astounding. He scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground and put it into the child's mouth. The child actually chewed it with a crunch, his expression as if he were eating a delicacy.
"Ah, I understand."
"Indeed, the more uncanny, the more normal it is."
"What are you talking about?" Yuan Yuan looked bewildered.
"This child... Ah Yong, I'll trouble you."
The limping woman caught up, grabbed her son by the neck, and plunged the gleaming dagger directly into the child's abdomen, splattering blood everywhere!
"Ah—!"
Sun Xiaoxiao jumped up. Through Duan Chen's Eye of Truth, everyone saw the blood splattering at her feet transform into small worms, trying to crawl upwards.
"Duan Chen! You can't abuse prisoners! Save me quickly!"
Sun Xiaoxiao, being a girl, was afraid of worms.
Duan Chen bent down and pinched the worm in his hand.
"Snap!"
With a slight squeeze, the worm burst, leaving only a tiny eyeball between his fingers. It couldn't be crushed no matter how he squeezed.
"You..."
Ling Yong could clearly see the worm, and his and the limping woman's expressions suddenly turned grim. They stared menacingly at Sun Xiaoxiao.
Du Qingyi suddenly realized something.
She crunched the fruit candy in her mouth, leaving only a thin plastic stick. She offered the stick to the child, who tilted his head and was about to take it.
Du Qingyi suddenly withdrew her hand.
"Why didn't you give it to him?"
"I'm not the right person."
Du Qingyi said faintly. She pulled open Hill's white coat and, as expected, saw six arms.
Duan Chen noticed that Ling Yong and the woman's expressions gradually softened.
"You give it to him."
Hill looked at Duan Chen.
"Go ahead."
"Alright."
Hill stepped forward and offered the plastic stick of the lollipop to the little boy. He beamed, his small face flushed with excitement.
"Good person, good person."
The limping woman smiled, took the boy, and left.
Ling Yong stared intently at Hill. After a long moment, he scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"You are very beautiful."
Beautiful? Duan Chen had to admit that Hill was indeed beautiful. However, Ling Yong didn't seem to be captivated by her beauty but by her "abnormality."
After this series of observations, he realized that normal was abnormal here.
In the outside world, which mother would chase her child with a knife for eating a steamed bun? The kind older brother next door wouldn't put dirt in a child's mouth, nor would he consider Hill, with her six arms, and Tu Feiyuan, the cat with a human head, to be normal.
In Moon Ridge Village, only normalcy was abnormal.
But that worm...
Duan Chen's gaze flickered towards Sun Xiaoxiao.
At that time, when the woman stabbed the child's abdomen, blood splattered everywhere, not just near Sun Xiaoxiao's feet.
Near his feet, including Jun Ci, Yuan Yuan, and even Du Qingyi's skirt, blood had splattered. Yet, only when it approached Sun Xiaoxiao did the blood turn into worms.
It was at that moment that Ling Yong and the woman's expressions turned grim.
What was that?
Was it the locals' method of distinguishing sea demons?
"You noticed it too?"
Du Qingyi leaned closer.
"You, me, Jun Ci, and Yuan Yuan, plus the woman who wields the whip, are all normal people. Hill, Tu Feiyuan, and Wilbenya are not. As for the three sea demons, they are Sun Xiaoxiao and the other two."
"Our peculiar group is divided into three tiers in the eyes of the villagers."
"Hill and the other two are the first tier. The four of us, plus the woman with the whip, are the second tier. And the three sea demons are ranked last."
Du Qingyi's analysis was clear and logical. Duan Chen nodded in agreement.
"Did you read their minds?"
"Guess."
Du Qingyi smiled slyly.