034 The God of Happiness

Li Huowang felt the encroaching darkness of unconsciousness. Desperately, he reached for his waist and yanked. The moment the ear - splitting peal of the bell rang out, the unbearable discomfort ebbed away rapidly.

With a resounding "bang", Li Huowang's head slammed into the ground, making his head ring like a gong.

Ignoring the searing pain in his head, he gritted his teeth and furiously shook the copper bell in his hand. He'd almost been ensnared by this malevolent thing!

The edges of the square table, the bamboo poles of the stage, and the rims of the Hu family ancestors' memorial tablets—all the lines began to twist and contort, quickly coalescing into a grotesque mass.

With a splitting headache, Li Huowang pointed, and Lord You lunged towards the retreating fake Scholar Lu.

Seeing the arrival of a helper, the thing tried to flee, but it was too late. Lord You was already upon it.

Rather than approaching Scholar Lu's form, it burrowed straight into the black shadow cast by the lantern on the ground.

When the lines on Lord You's body sliced through the shadow of the bound - footed woman like a barrage of sharp knives, the thing let out a bestial scream and crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony.

"So, its true form is the shadow on the ground? No wonder cutting its body in half was useless," flashed through Li Huowang's mind.

Under Lord You's onslaught, the fake Scholar Lu, transformed by that thing, deflated like a punctured balloon. The human - shaped shadow on the ground spread rapidly and finally turned into a pool of stinking, viscous black liquid.

Just when Li Huowang thought it was all over,

With a swift "swish", Lord You darted back and started whirling around him.

"What's going on? Are there more?" Li Huowang, who had just planned to ease up on the bell - ringing, resumed shaking it with all his might. He warily surveyed the spinning, distorted world around him.

Realizing hiding was futile, the bound - footed woman emerged from a writhing line in the distance and stood there, glaring malevolently this way.

"The one that transformed into Scholar Lu wasn't this one. There are two of them," Li Huowang thought. And just then, another bound - footed woman split from it, and then more and more appeared, getting tinier with each split.

It wasn't just one or two. Several bound - footed women sprang from the distorted lines around, also shrinking in size.

With a wave of his hand, Li Huowang sent Lord You charging forward to attack the palm - sized bound - footed women around.

But no matter how fast Lord You attacked, they split even faster. These identical bound - footed women surrounded Li Huowang. As they split, they slightly parted their blood - red cherry - like mouths, contorted their grotesque bodies, and began to sing in their ear - piercing voices.

"The God of Happiness is merry, the God of Happiness smiles, in polite bows and salutations, kind and dear."

"The God of Happiness jumps, the God of Happiness makes a ruckus, the red paper pasted on the door has fresh ink."

"The God of Happiness is angry, the God of Happiness is sad, with a fragrant skull holding a lantern, the light is like the sea."

"The God of Happiness is hungry, the God of Happiness is famished, with a heart in the left hand and an intestine in the right, come to greet the God of Happiness at the village entrance!"

The moment they finished singing, their entire bodies exploded. A black substance splashed out, drenching the writhing, distorted space around them in darkness.

Although he was unsure what the other side was up to, Li Huowang sensed impending doom. He stopped shaking the bell and prepared to retreat.

But in the next second, his feet were nailed to the ground as if by an invisible force. A hazy, faint, and mysterious pull made Li Huowang raise his head and stare straight up at the sky.

It was pitch - black up there, seemingly empty. But Li Huowang could sense it. There was something colossal moving in the darkness.

"The God of Happiness?"

As this thought crossed his mind, large and small outlines emerged in the darkness. "No, it sensed my thoughts! I have to get out of here now," he thought.

But his body refused to cooperate. His body quivered with excitement, his breathing grew rapid, the veins on his face bulged, and he tore open his Taoist robe with both hands, raising them high to welcome the thing in the darkness.

The black outlines became clearer and more distorted. Li Huowang could see it! The blood vessels in his eyes burst from excitement, and two streams of blood - tears slowly trickled down his cheeks.

"Can't look anymore! Absolutely can't look anymore!! Close your eyes quickly!!" Li Huowang struggled with all his might, but it was in vain.

He could already see the head of the God of Happiness, if that long, chaotic, and sticky mass could even be called a head.

Just as the thing was about to fully emerge from the darkness, a strange "click - click" sound suddenly rang out.

Then the thing in the darkness halted abruptly and quickly retreated deep into the pitch - black sky, as if being yanked by an unseen hand.

Suddenly, an ear - splitting rooster crowed, and the darkness in the sky cracked like a shattered mirror.

Accompanied by the sound of cracking bones, Li Huowang, who had been staring up, regained consciousness. He suddenly lowered his head, propped himself up on the ground with both hands, and gasped for air, his eyes fixed on the stone bricks.

"What on earth did those bound - footed women summon? What just happened?!" A barrage of unanswerable questions raced through his mind.

Supporting himself on the square table beside him, Li Huowang struggled to sit up. He looked up, and the air was empty, as if the entire ordeal had been a nightmare.

It was growing dimly light. The fifth watch had passed, and the Hu family would soon come to retrieve their ancestors.

In the distance, the stage was still abuzz. Scholar Lu and the others had truly sung all night. Despite being wobbly from the bell's influence and their voices hoarse, they didn't dare stop for a second.

Looking at the various black memorial tablets beside him, Li Huowang suddenly recalled that the "click - click" sound had seemed to be the tablets hitting the table simultaneously.

He stared at the Hu family ancestors' memorial tablets in front of him in astonishment. "Could it be that they helped me just now?"

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He quickly stood up straight and performed a Taoist salute of Qingfeng Temple to the half - immortal table where the tablets were placed. "Thank you all for your help."

Just as he finished the salute, the memorial tablets began to tremble slightly, and the trembling grew louder and louder. "Click - click - click - click - click"

Eyeing this spine - chilling scene warily, Li Huowang tightened his grip on the Taoist bell and took a half - step back.

"What's going on? Did my thanks cause trouble? It's almost dawn. Why aren't you going back? What are you waiting for?"

Just as these thoughts swirled in his mind, with a "scratch" sound, all the memorial tablets on the square table in front of him suddenly toppled backward.

Then a familiar voice sounded beside Li Huowang's ear, making him feel as if he'd been plunged into an ice - cold abyss. "Boy..."