Chapter 56: Curse of Resentment

"Creaaak..."

The old wooden door let out a harsh scraping sound as it was pushed open. Immediately after, the interior of Cell Ding came into Wang Ping's view.

It was just as he expected.

In a dim corner of the room sat a fire pit. Inside were chunks of thoroughly charred bone, surrounded by scattered spatters of dried brown blood.

Clearly, Lin Sheng had been very successful at being human.

At least when it came to that unpardonable sinner in Cell Ding, he hadn't wasted a single morsel, nor had he unhygienically eaten him raw. He had even started a fire.

Using the other man's bones.

It was the truest definition of taking from a person and using it on a person. The vast majority of the room's resentful aura was concentrated on that burned-out fire pit.

"This changes things..."

Wang Ping's expression turned serious. Simply having one's food stolen and starving to death brought absolute despair and generated a resentful aura, but that still fell within normal parameters.

Being eaten alive, however, was a completely different story. It wasn't just horrifying for the victim; it was also an immense torment for the perpetrator, Lin Sheng. This meant that after Lin Sheng died, he too would generate a resentful aura, and the total amount would likely be several times larger than Wang Ping's initial estimates.

In other words... there's enough here to birth a fiend.

Within the Immortal Gate, fiends were merely tools for cultivators. They weren't considered particularly powerful and usually had to be deployed in swarms alongside formations to possess any real might.

However, things were different in Great Shun.

After all, formless and intangible fiends had no fear of blades or spears. Their attacks targeted the soul, dealing true damage against martial artists, who had absolutely no way to defend against them.

Is this the goal of Xu Bingzheng and the National Academy?

Wang Ping frowned deeply. There were definitely many other places facing the same situation as the Lin Family Mansion. Did Xu Bingzheng want to use this to breed an army of fiends?

To use against martial artists?

It sounded plausible enough, but Wang Ping still felt something was off. The reason was simple—compared to such a grand goal, the National Academy's methods were far too crude.

At the very least, if it were him, he definitely wouldn't concentrate everything in a mere Longxing County. It was too conspicuous and easily discovered. If they scattered this across Great Shun's eight circuits, twenty-four prefectures, three hundred and sixty provinces, and thousands of counties, who would ever notice anything amiss?

Thinking up to this point, Wang Ping came to a conclusion:

Breeding fiends is likely just a prelude, a part of their preliminary preparations. The National Academy must need these fiends to achieve some far more important goal.

Which brought up another question.

After expending so much effort, would the National Academy really entrust their ultimate goal to a mere county magistrate like Xu Bingzheng, a Titled Martial Master?

Something was wrong!

Putting himself in their shoes, Wang Ping felt that if they were truly planning something massive, they would need at least a Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank expert holding down the fort to be reliable. A Titled Martial Master simply lacked the required standing.

Furthermore, even among Titled Martial Masters, both Xu Bingzheng and Li Yiran were severely lacking in strength. They couldn't suppress any unexpected variables.

Therefore, there were only two possibilities.

Either his guess was wrong and this matter wasn't actually that important to the National Academy, or the person truly orchestrating this had yet to make their move...

...This is bad!

In an instant, alarm bells rang wildly in Wang Ping's mind. I've interfered so much already. If the real mastermind finds out, they'll definitely view me as a thorn in their side.

They will definitely kill me!

............

Outside Longxing County City.

Deep within a mountain forest, hidden beneath heavy layers of foliage, a crude, temporary ritual altar was faintly visible. A straw doll stood atop it.

Below the altar, the commander of the Tabai Camp, Yan Weichuan, felt his scalp go numb. Even though the weather had warmed up over the last two days, a chill now pierced straight to his bones. A cold wind rustled past his ears. Although he couldn't see a single thing in the empty space around him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was floating nearby.

This is too bizarre!

No wonder the higher-ups said to avoid contact with these extraordinary persons as much as possible.

Yan Weichuan swallowed hard. He then looked up at the altar, where two deathly pale figures were deeply kowtowing before the straw doll.

At first glance, the two appeared to be living, breathing humans of flesh and blood.

However, in the eyes of a true martial arts expert, neither of them had a pulse, nor was there any sound of flowing blood. Their deathly pale skin also carried a frail, paper-thin quality.

This was especially true of their facial expressions. Though lifelike and capable of shifting like a living person's, their expressions were incredibly stiff in the finer details. They were like flawless paintings—capable of passing for the real thing, but ultimately lifeless, inanimate objects.

Life and death. Movement and stillness.

This extreme sense of contradiction and juxtaposition made Yan Weichuan feel physically sick. He couldn't help but put a little more distance between himself and those two.

Resurrecting paper dolls could be considered a peerless miracle art... yet looking at the two of them, Yan Weichuan couldn't help but doubt: Are they really Xu Bingzheng and Li Yiran?

Was my staying here right or wrong?

Thinking of this, Yan Weichuan finally felt a pang of regret. But with things having reached this point, he couldn't turn back now; he could only persist in walking down a single road until dark.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Three kneelings and nine kowtows. After the grand ceremony concluded, one figure took up a hammer and the other a nail. They struck the nail hard into the top of the straw doll's head, producing a loud clang.

Almost simultaneously.

"...Hm?"

At the entrance of the Lin Family Mansion in Longxing County, Wang Ping's main body suddenly swayed. An inexplicable drowsiness surfaced in his mind, only to vanish into nothingness an instant later.

It all happened too fast.

So fast that Wang Ping merely felt like he had zoned out for a brief second without noticing anything amiss. If this had been the past, he likely wouldn't have harbored the slightest suspicion.

Now, however, he instantly grew alert. I've long since cultivated Telepathic Spiritual Perception and possess a martial artist's Divine Intent. How could I suddenly lose focus?

There was a problem! Something was wrong!

At that thought, Wang Ping immediately circulated his spiritual sense to the limit, inspecting his own condition. But to his horror, he found absolutely nothing.

Shit. Wang Ping secretly gritted his teeth.

Being unable to find the problem only proved that the problem was extraordinarily severe!

Could it be some kind of extraordinary art?

Wang Ping took a deep breath, quickly burying the panic in his eyes. His consciousness sank into the Great Peace Mortuary. The brightly lit [Outer Heavenly Demon] was his greatest source of confidence.

It's fine. Even if I die, I can resurrect.

In a flash of insight, Wang Ping sorted out his thoughts. I might lose this life, but I can't give it up for nothing. I must maximize its utility.

First, I have to figure out their methods.

He couldn't fall into the same trap twice. Before he died, he had to uncover exactly what this extraordinary art was, what its effects were, and how to defend against it.

Second, I need to keep investigating.

Based on his past experiences, his next resurrection would likely still involve Longxing County. Since that was the case, investigating further held great significance.

The secrets of the Lin Family Mansion still haven't been fully uncovered, and they tie into the National Academy's grand scheme in Longxing County. If I can figure them out, it will provide me with new ideas and directions for my next resurrection. Otherwise, I'll just be crossing the river by feeling the stones—easily running in circles and struggling to make a breakthrough.

Finally, there's my martial arts.

Wang Ping opened and closed his hands, feeling the magnificent surge of tremendous power circulating within his body. This was the Art of War reinforcement from his fully consummated [Thirteen Grand Protectors Hard Qigong].

He had borrowed it using [a promise worth a thousand gold].

I need to try and pay off this debt before I die. Otherwise, with it hanging over my head, I won't be able to borrow anything new, which will seriously hinder my talent as a peerless debt prodigy.

At that thought, Wang Ping immediately turned around.

With his goals set, the next step was action. He could leave the investigation to his paper double, but the remaining two tasks required his main body to handle them personally.

.............

The Lin Family Mansion.

After shutting down for a brief moment, the paper Wang Ping opened his eyes again. He didn't know when the crisis would strike, so he had to race against the clock.

"This room..."

Looking around Cell Ding, Wang Ping began searching for clues—though calling it a search was an overstatement. Clues were everywhere, carved directly into the walls of the room.

They were densely packed personal accounts, laments, and sighs of sorrow.

The strokes were rigid and forceful. Wang Ping recognized this handwriting.

"It's Lin Sheng."

It was a different form of diary. Judging by the fluidity of the carvings, the tool he had used was likely a precious blade capable of slicing through iron like mud.

Soon, Wang Ping found the very first carved words.

They were located at the entrance to Cell Ding, right beneath the threshold. One could easily picture Lin Sheng sitting on the threshold as he carved this line.

[I'm hungry.]

[That death row prisoner... what was his name again? Oh, right, Zhu Wu. He's hiding in the corner, staring at me in sheer terror. How utterly laughable.]

[When I threw that case file in his face, he vehemently denied it at first. After I exposed his lies, he flew into a rage from humiliation and actually tried to attack me. Once I beat him to a pulp, he dropped to his knees, weeping bitterly and begging for mercy. So he was afraid of death too, even though he'd already murdered three people.]

[He doesn't deserve to live.]

At this point, the handwriting became a bit frantic and messy: [Fine... I admit I'm looking for excuses. I'm getting hungrier and hungrier. I'm even starting to smell something.]

[That death row prisoner... he smells so good.]

[I really want to take a bite. I can even hear the blood flowing through his body like a babbling brook, making me want to drink my fill.]

[But this is wrong.]

[He might deserve to die, maybe even by death of a thousand cuts, but he shouldn't die like this.]

[Xu Bingzheng, that dog official, just wants to see this exact outcome. I can't give him what he wants. I have to hold on. I definitely can hold on...]

[But I'm truly so hungry.]

[So hungry.]

[So hungry.]

[So hungry!]

The further along it went, the messier the handwriting became.

At the same time, the locations of the carvings changed. From beneath the threshold, to near the table and chairs, to the center of the room—inching closer and closer to a certain spot in the corner.

Toward the very end, they devolved into a stretch of meaningless scribbles.

Wang Ping frowned. Following the trail of text, he finally stopped in front of the burned-out pile of bones in the fire pit. He let out a soft sigh, then completely swept the ashes and bones aside.

Beneath the fire pit was the final line of text Lin Sheng had left in this room. The writing had become legible once more, but it no longer possessed its initial rigid strength. Instead, the strokes were fragmented and unbelievably feeble. The hands of the person writing this had likely been shaking uncontrollably, which was reflected in the penmanship:

[I couldn't hold back.]

Looking at those few words beneath the fire pit, Wang Ping shook his head. He didn't find it surprising; after all, he had personally experienced a similar sensation of starvation before.

[Life-Stealing Thief].

This bizarre cultivation method obtained from the Immortal Gate caused him to frequently crave the life force and vital essence of others. Thus, he knew full well that this wasn't something one could resist just by willing it.

That resistance became even harder when one was supplied with an adequate excuse.

"A death row prisoner, an unpardonable murderer—that is as perfect an excuse as one could get. If anything, it's completely normal that Lin Sheng failed to resist."

The real issue was what happened afterward.

"Cell Ding was only the first step in pushing Lin Sheng past his moral bottom line. After all, if a murderer can be eaten, what about a human trafficker? And what about a swindler?"

Bottom lines were lowered step by step, exactly like this.

"That's why those four rooms held four different types of people..." A bone-deep chill washed over Wang Ping as he acutely realized the true intent of Xu Bingzheng, the man who had laid this trap.

Vicious, shrewd, and thoroughly cruel.

What was even more horrifying was that none of this stemmed from some deep-seated blood feud between Xu Bingzheng and Lin Sheng. It was driven by a far more straightforward purpose.

He needs a fiend.

And so, to incubate this fiend, both Lin Sheng and the people locked in those four rooms were treated as nothing but tools, their value as human livestock fully utilized.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping couldn't help but sigh softly.

Stepping out of Cell Ding, he arrived in front of Cell Bing. Wang Ping lowered his gaze and immediately spotted another messy string of characters carved into the floor tiles by the door.

[I am ridding the people of a menace.]

[Zhu Wu was a death row prisoner to begin with, absolutely unpardonable. Even as I struggled to hold back, he actually tried to take my life. It's clear his wicked nature remained unchanged.]

[Even death is too good for him!]

[Regardless, I'm not hungry anymore. This ends here...]

"......"

Wang Ping shook his head, reading the wavering hesitation hidden within these chaotic words. Lin Sheng had already broken his taboo, and the feeling of having his hunger satisfied was now permanently etched into his memory.

Once someone had eaten their fill, enduring starvation would only become infinitely harder.

This ends here?

Impossible. The only outcome would be a worsening escalation.

"Creaaak..."

Pushing open the second door, the interior of Cell Bing entered Wang Ping's line of sight. The very first thing to greet his eyes was a line of text carved onto the doorframe:

[I'm hungry again.]