Chapter 409: Hanging Ghosts! The Scabby-Headed Monk! Desiccated Corpses! The River Bandits’ Lair!?
Countless corpses hung suspended, half of their bodies submerged in the dark, murky water below.
There were men and women alike among them, some dressed in the robes of the Kingdom of Qian, others in the garb of the Western Regions or the grasslands. It was hard to imagine that in the waters near Wei City, there could be such a ghastly sight, so many hanged corpses swaying silently in the darkness.
These corpses hadn’t swollen up like ordinary bodies that had been soaking in water; instead, they had eerily dried out, shriveled in a strange and unnatural way. It was as though their blood and essence had been completely drained by something unspeakably sinister, leaving behind only shriveled remains.
The air was thick with decay and death. Even the faint lapping of the water felt like a whisper from the dead.
And among those countless corpses, several appeared... new. As though they had only recently been hung there.
“Look, there!” The ferryman, Elder Chen, pointed with a trembling hand, voice tight with fear.
Li Yanchu and Zuo Qian followed his gaze, and both of their expressions darkened.
Among the swaying bodies hung a Buddhist monk clothed in monk’s robes, freshly strung up and left to rot in this hellish place. Judging from the looks of it, this monk hadn’t been dead for long, as the blood and essence in his body hadn’t yet dried up, and his face still retained the features he’d had in life.
“How could it be him!?” Li Yanchu’s brows knit tightly together.
He recognized this monk. Back when he was investigating Miss Dong’s case, this scabby-headed monk had fought fiercely against that kolonok. It was also this very monk who had told him about the White Marsh Demon Kingdom.
He was an Executive Officer from the Court of Judicial Review, the scabby-headed monk from Wenhua Temple. This monk’s cultivation wasn’t weak, yet he had met such a miserable end in this dark cave.
“Damn it, this place is cursed! Let’s get out of here, fast!” The ferryman, Elder Chen, spoke with lingering fear in his voice.