I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 52 Changes in the Town
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier.

The rain plunged the world into darkness, and Pei Ju could only see a small area in front of the door, but the door was blocked. Behind this person, more people appeared, all carrying farm tools, their eyes fierce as they stared at Pei Ju inside the thatched hut.

"Heh, so they're all ghosts and monsters." Pei Ju slowly drew his sword and said, "That's right, this place was originally a spiritual field formed around Him, so everything here shouldn't exist in the first place."

Pei Ju drew his sword; since emerging from that 'Mount Hua' scene, his swordsmanship had undergone a qualitative leap.

Having internal energy and not having internal energy are completely different. Swordsmanship with internal energy and swordsmanship that only relies on physical strength are also completely different.

Sometimes opportunities are fleeting, and only swordsmanship enhanced by internal energy can be fast enough, allowing the body to move nimbly and lightly to keep up.

He slowly drew his sword, but the instant it was drawn, he thrust it out, striking the opponent directly between the eyebrows.

His sword strike was different from ordinary sword techniques because he had also learned the Ghost-Slaying Sword Technique.

The Demon-Slaying Sword Technique uses a deep-seated, unwavering will to kill to slay demons.

The Demon-Slaying Sword Technique can be said to directly cultivate sword intent; there's no need to actually strike. Once the intent is there, the strike is complete.

The Demon-Slaying Sword Technique had long been integrated into his swordsmanship; if it were considered a separate ability, it could be called the Demon-Slaying Will.

This will to kill ghosts can be integrated into every sword strike, but it is impossible to truly integrate the will to kill ghosts into every sword strike, because that would be very tiring. If the true energy is not dry before the will dissipates, it is also a kind of fatigue.

The sword landed on the old man's brow, but it didn't penetrate very deep; the old man fell to the ground as a result.

Black smoke was billowing out from between his eyebrows.

The moment the old man fell, he had already dove out. It was pouring rain outside, and he couldn't see very well. Just as he darted out, a dark shadow came crashing down on him.

But his body moved too fast, and the dark shadow crashed down behind him, landing at his heels.

It was a hoe, the blade pointing downwards into the ground. If Pei Ju were dug right into the ground, he would surely die, even if he had internal energy.

However, with his inner energy, he was not so easily hit. His figure was as agile as a goose, dodging the first hoe. When another hoe came crashing down in front of him, his body twisted and turned towards the first person who hit him, while his sword thrust out diagonally at the same time.

It was almost instinctive of him; the sword had already pierced the man's forehead.

The space between the eyebrows is where the spirit resides. Where the sword falls, the intent follows the sword, and others fall in response.

He drew his sword with incredible speed; the man was only falling backward when he had already darted past him.

He charged toward another man wielding a sickle in the rain. The man held the sickle high, its center wide open, and a flash of sword light pierced through it before quickly withdrawing it. He turned and charged toward the other farmers.

He was invincible under his sword.

They went back and forth, using only one move: 'thrust,' but the methods of stabbing were quite different.

After everyone in the rain had fallen, he stood there, not physically tired, but feeling weary in his heart.

The Demon-Slaying Sword Intent is too taxing on the mind.

Normally, these things wouldn't be harmed by ordinary weapons. Just now, he stabbed the opponent between the eyebrows with a sword without gathering the will to kill ghosts. However, the opponent was only forced back by the sword and did not fall down and die. Instead, he continued to charge towards Pei Ju.

He stood in the rain, leaning on his sword, looking towards a small town in the distance, but he couldn't see anything clearly.

"Why did this change suddenly happen? Is it because I killed that paper figure?"

Rainwater trickled from his hair and neck into his body, soaking him completely.

He looked in the direction of the town, wondering what was happening there, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

If a sudden and significant change occurs in the spiritual realm that is not understood, one must not wander in recklessly, but should retreat immediately.

This is the secret knowledge that Teacher Han taught us.

He returned to the thatched hut, closed the door, and lay down on the thatched bed. Although it was already a little damp, he remained on it, holding his sword to his chest, closing his eyes, and concentrating his mind.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

A hint of surprise and a hint of panic appeared in his eyes.

Because he realized that he had not escaped the world.

He took another deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly exhaled.

Normally, if he intentionally tried to fall asleep, he would fall asleep quickly and return to reality when he opened his eyes again. However, as time passed, he opened his eyes once more.

In the dimly lit thatched hut, Pei Ju's eyes flickered.

He sat up from the thatched bed, stepped onto the muddy ground, opened the thatched door, and saw that the people outside were still lying there, not gone.

Seeing that the rain showed no signs of stopping, he looked down at his feet and paced back and forth in the thatched hut, unsure of what to do.

Because in Teacher Han's course, it was said that in this situation, the best course of action is not to move around and to wait for rescue.

If you are strong enough and there is really no other way, then go and explore.

He didn't know if his grandfather outside could save him. This spiritual realm was originally very stable, but it had suddenly changed. He didn't know if his grandfather knew about it.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, but then rushed into the rain. He wanted to go to that town and see what had happened there.

Because of the heavy rain, what should have been daytime now felt like night.

The heavy rain obscured his vision, making it impossible for him to even look up. The rain lashed his face, making it difficult for him to breathe, so he could only walk with his head down. The muddy road was full of potholes and puddles, with mud and water reaching above his ankles.

He walked along, carrying his sword, his steps uneven.

After walking for about half an hour, we finally reached the entrance to the town. Looking up, the town was completely dark.

Pei Ju saw a large shrine, as tall as a person, at the entrance of the town, where the local earth god was enshrined. He wondered if it was because of the heavy rain that there was no incense burning inside, or if there had never been any incense burning to begin with.

He glanced at it only once, then continued walking forward.

With his senses, he did not detect any special aura from this shrine; there were no gods or ghosts.

Shortly after he left, the statue in the earth god temple suddenly cracked open, and there was something inside the clay statue.

It was still a person, as if someone was trapped alive in the mud and was being worshipped with incense.

His eyes began to move, and his previously stiff mouth revealed a strange smile.

Pei Ju entered the town step by step.

He had been to the town once before, with his third uncle.

At that time, the town gave him a feeling that, although it was deserted, it was also normal.

Once inside the town, there wasn't a single main road; the roads crisscrossed in all directions. As he passed a house, he noticed the door was open, lights were on, and there was movement inside. He cautiously approached the doorway and peered inside. He saw a man kneeling on the ground, praying, and a child lying on the ground in front of him.

The child's chest had already been cut open, and his internal organs had been removed. There were several plates on the table containing his internal organs.

On a higher wall was a shrine, inside which sat a statue. The statue had its arms outstretched, its head tilted back to look at the sky, and an unusually large mouth, almost larger than its entire body, as if it were catching something falling from the sky.

The man kneeling on the ground was in the same posture, with his hands raised to the sky and his head tilted back, mouth open, as if he were about to receive something to eat, exactly the same as the strange priest.

When Pei Ju looked at the child lying on the ground again, he found that the child's head had turned around at some point, and the child's eyes were actually looking at him.

At that moment, Pei Ju felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"He's actually still alive." This thought flashed through Pei Ju's mind.

Suddenly, he didn't know who was performing the sacrifice or who was profiting.

For a moment, he was confused about the situation, so he quietly retreated.

However, he heard a child's voice in his ear: "Save me, please, save me."

Pei Ju ignored it and quickly retreated, but he could still hear the voice in his ears.

"Please, please, save me."

"please……"

"help me……"

At first, the child's voice was pleading, then it turned shrill, and then it became vicious.

Pei Ju didn't turn around. He continued walking inside until he came to a house with a vegetable garden. He heard someone digging in the rain.

"Pfft, pfft..."

He approached quietly and, through the rain curtain, could vaguely see someone digging a hole.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man. But what surprised him even more was that he discovered several people buried in the vegetable garden.

Upon closer inspection, there were indeed three: two elderly people and a young woman.

The heads of the three people were sticking out, with the soil covering their necks. Pei Ju knew very well that they couldn't survive being buried like that.

But he saw that the buried person had opened their mouth, as if they were eating rainwater.

Moreover, Pei Ju also heard the young man say while digging the hole: "Bear with it, it will be fine in a while. Once you take root, you will no longer be in pain. The gods said that those who take root in the earth will have eternal life."

Beside him lay a child, whose hands and feet were bound and whose mouth was gagged.

“Son, don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt. The gods say that all living beings are dead, and we need to change our way of living.”

Pei Ju didn't know who this deity was, but he didn't want to disturb him, so he tried to quietly slip away. But just then, he noticed that the child who had been tied up had turned around at some point.

Those eyes were staring at him.

"Help me, help me..."

Pei Ju ignored him and continued to back away, but he could still hear the child's cries for help.

"Please, save me..."

"I don't want to die, save me..."

“My father went mad. He killed my grandparents and mother, and planted them in the ground, saying that they would take root, sprout, flower, and bear fruit. After the fruit was ripe, he could pick it and eat it, and then he would become an immortal.”

"Please, save me."

"help me……"

The child's voice, which started as a plea, gradually turned into a shrill cry, and finally into a venomous resentment.

Pei Ju's heart had become heavy without him realizing it, as if some negative emotion had seeped into it; his heart was like a sponge that had absorbed a lot of water.

He continued walking toward the next house, but after only a few steps, he heard a voice say, "The deacon's Eye of Truth is truly powerful; this town has finally revealed its true colors."

It was a slightly rough sound.

"Keep your voice down. This town is eerie. There are bewitched people inside. Be careful." It was a woman's voice.

Pei Ju had no idea whether the woman's voice belonged to the so-called butler.

Furthermore, who exactly are they? Outsiders? Was it the arrival of outsiders that caused the changes here?
With nowhere to hide, he slipped into a house.

As soon as he entered the house, the noise of rain stopped and the surroundings became much quieter. Just then, he heard a voice say, "Remember, never enter these houses unless absolutely necessary."

"Yes, Deacon."

The speaker was an old man, and this old man was the deacon.

However, Pei Ju felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this. He suddenly sensed something behind him, turned around, and saw a person standing behind him.

The man, wielding an axe, lunged forward the instant he turned, bringing the axe down on the man's head. The man immediately ducked, and as the axe passed him, his sword was drawn. As they passed each other, the sword thrust backward, striking the man squarely in the back of the head.

The man fell to the ground with a thud.

The people walking outside immediately stopped in their tracks.

Pei Ju stood in the darkness, no longer moving.

"Did you hear that? What was that sound?" the rough voice asked.

"It sounded like something fell to the ground," the woman's voice said.

"Should we go take a look?" the rough voice asked.

"Let's just forget about it. Didn't the steward say not to come into the house casually? Let's just pretend we didn't hear that," the woman's voice said.

However, at that moment, a soft laugh rang in Pei Ju's ears.

"So there really is someone here."

Pei Ju felt a chill run down his spine. The voice belonged to the steward; he had somehow gotten to him.

He tried to move, but found himself trapped in the darkness, as if he were sinking into a quagmire.

(End of this chapter)