I Grind to Martial Saint

”What does this downpour have to do with Sanshui Village again?”

”Zhang Cang, you’re not having some kind of fit, are you?”

Huang Xian’Er asked with a frown.

”No... Just trust me. It’s all because of this village.”

Zhang Cang said in a low voice.

With that, he walked straight into the crumbling ruins of Sanshui Village.

Han Yuan and Huang Xian’Er exchanged a glance, but they had no choice but to follow.

Before long,

Zhang Cang led Han Yuan and Huang Xian’Er to a set of ruins.

The downpour had thoroughly drenched their hair and clothes.

CRACK!!!

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck down.

The ghastly white light of the bolt illuminated the ruins for a fleeting moment.

Han Yuan got a clear look at the ruins.

A long time ago, this must have been a wooden house.

Now, the walls had mostly collapsed, and it was overgrown with weeds, littered with rotting wood and shattered tiles.

It looked as if it had been abandoned for a very long time.

”This is the place...”

Zhang Cang muttered strangely, as if he had Fallen into a Demon.

”Zhang Cang, are you ready to tell me what this is all about?”

Han Yuan asked softly.

”Let’s find somewhere to get out of the rain first.”

Zhang Cang didn’t think this was the right place to talk.

The village had been abandoned for far too long. The roofs of all the buildings had collapsed long ago, leaving nowhere to take shelter from the rain.

The three had no choice but to leave Sanshui Village and return to the Lingcang Medical Hall in Cangshui County Town.

”I can’t believe I went along with your crazy idea.”

Huang Xian’Er said helplessly as she shook the rain from her hair.

”My apologies for troubling you, Miss Huang.”

Zhang Cang seemed to be back to his normal self as he spoke apologetically.

He went into the inner hall and brought out a clean towel for Huang Xian’Er.

Han Yuan asked, ”So, can you tell us now?”

Zhang Cang took a deep breath. ”Let me gather my thoughts first.”

Han Yuan nodded, waiting in silence.

Seeing this, Huang Xian’Er also fell silent.

After a moment, Zhang Cang let out a long breath and began to speak slowly. ”This story begins more than a hundred years ago.”

Han Yuan and Huang Xian’Er listened intently.

But a moment later, Zhang Cang suddenly asked, ”Han Yuan, you know I had a nightmare, right?”

”Yes, yes, Huang Xian’Er told me all about it.”

”Just get on with it. Stop keeping me in suspense.”

Han Yuan said, exasperated.

”Alright... Over a hundred years ago in Sanshui Village, there lived a family by the name of Luo.”

”The family consisted of just three people: the husband, Luo Bing; his wife, Wu Lian; and Luo Bing’s elderly mother.”

”Luo Bing and Wu Lian had been married for many years but remained childless, which caused a great deal of tension between Wu Lian and her mother-in-law.”

”Besides, in a small village like that, being childless was bound to attract gossip.”

”Then one day, Wu Lian mysteriously vanished. No one ever found out where she went.”

”It was as if she had vanished into thin air... Wu Lian’s older brother suspected that Luo Bing had murdered his sister, so he went to the Government Office to report it.”

”But in the end, the Government Office found nothing, and the case was dropped.”

”Not long after... Luo Bing spent some money and took a new wife.”

”On the night of the wedding... a torrential downpour began.”

Zhang Cang’s voice was calm and deep, easily drawing his listeners in, as if transporting them back over a hundred years.

RATTLE~~~

A violent storm, with howling winds and torrential rain, engulfed all of Sanshui Village.

The red ”double happiness” paper-cuts pasted on the Luo Family’s doors and windows were ripped away by a sudden gust of wind.

Since this was Luo Bing’s second marriage, the celebration was small. They invited no guests, only a wedding matron to preside over the ceremony. After paying their respects, the couple was sent directly to the bridal chamber.

”Son, this wife I’ve found for you is sure to be fertile.”

”You’d better get to it.”

Madam Luo admonished from the main hall.

”Don’t you worry, Mother!”

”I’ll give you a big, healthy grandson to hold very soon!”

Luo Bing was a typical farmer, lean and wiry with sun-darkened skin.

”Yes, now hurry off to the bridal chamber.”

”Don’t delay the hour.”

Madam Luo urged.

Luo Bing nodded and headed for his room.

Red candles were lit in the room, casting a ghostly red glow into the pitch-black, rainy night.

Luo Bing’s mind began to race with anticipation, and he quickened his pace toward the room.

Madam Luo sat in the main hall, muttering to herself, ’This time, we’ll surely add an heir to the Luo Family.’

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~~

Just then,

a knock came from the door.

Despite the heavy rain, the sound of knocking carried through with startling clarity.

Madam Luo was startled.

’Who would be visiting at this time of night?’

’But then a thought struck her, and she realized what it must be. The storm is probably too strong. The wedding matron can’t get home, so she’s come back to wait it out.’

With this in mind, she picked up an Oil Paper Umbrella, walked out of the main hall, and pushed the door open.

”AHH!”

The moment Madam Luo pushed the door open, her face turned deathly pale. The Oil Paper Umbrella dropped from her hand as she let out a horrified scream!

BOOM~~~

Just then, a clap of thunder crashed down, drowning out her scream.

......

After being intimate with his new bride, Luo Bing fell into a deep sleep.

But sometime after midnight, a sinister chill jolted him awake.

”In the middle of the night... why is it so cold...”

Luo Bing rolled over, only to find his new bride wasn’t beside him.

’Where did she go?’

Groggy, Luo Bing got out of bed. He saw a figure in a red wedding dress sitting at the table, her back to him.

There was something terribly familiar about her silhouette.

”My dear.. why did you put your wedding dress back on?”

Luo Bing walked over and wrapped his arms around the woman in the wedding dress.

’Cold...’

’So cold...’

Luo Bing felt as if he were holding a block of ice.

”My dear, why are you so cold?”

Luo Bing quickly let go.

”Husband... you haven’t held me in so long.”

”Of course I’m cold.”

The woman in the wedding dress said in a mournful voice.

Hearing that voice, Luo Bing was so terrified he collapsed to the floor.

”No... impossible....”

”My dear... don’t scare me!”

At that moment,

the woman in the wedding dress finally stood up and slowly turned around.

A pale woman’s face came into Luo Bing’s view.

Now,

Luo Bing was so terrified that he scrambled backward.

”Impossible.... How can you still be alive?”

The woman in the red wedding dress was none other than his former wife, Wu Lian.

”Because I missed you so much, husband.”

Wu Lian said with a small smile.

But the sight of her smile sent a chill down Luo Bing’s spine.

For he knew exactly what he had done.

”No.... Spare me.”

”Wu Lian.... for the sake of our marriage, I’m begging you, spare me.”

Luo Bing begged, terrified.

”Husband, what are you doing.... I didn’t come here to hurt you.”

Wu Lian seemed puzzled.

”Oh.... That’s good.”

”Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get you something to eat!”

As soon as he said it, Luo Bing scrambled to his feet in a panic and tried to bolt for the door.

But he found the door wouldn’t open.

No matter how hard he pushed and pulled, the wooden door remained firmly shut.

WHOOSH...

Suddenly, a cold, putrid breath ghosted across his ear.

”Husband, let me help you...”