After Redeeming the Villain, I Was Obliterated by the System - Chapter 16

The courtyard was littered with wreckage. Three severed heads hung high from a peach tree, their bleeding eyes staring directly at the gate. The expressions on their faces were twisted in agony, and dark red blood dripped steadily onto the soil beneath the tree.

Fortunately, Xiao Qingyan had covered Lin Sui’s eyes. If Lin Sui were to see this scene, he would inevitably be reminded of his own parents. Xiao Qingyan told Lin Sui to stay exactly where he was while he went toward the base of the tree. He took down the heads hanging from the branches and began to piece together the remains scattered across the courtyard.

Each of the three corpses had a fist-sized hole in the left side of the chest; their hearts were missing. Xiao Qingyan could not help but frown. What kind of hatred could lead someone to use such methods against the Scholar’s family? He crouched down to examine the bodies closely. It appeared these three had died from having their hearts ripped out while they were still alive, and their limbs had been torn off while they were still breathing. Xiao Qingyan could not fathom what sort of resentment would cause someone to be so cruel.

Suddenly, he thought of his Shizun. His Shizun had also broken his arms and legs, and on one occasion, had even severed his arm entirely. If he had not been born without the ability to feel pain, or if he could not heal himself, his fate would likely have been the same as theirs. A wave of bitterness surged in Xiao Qingyan’s heart. What grudge or grievance could his Shizun possibly have against him? It seemed he simply enjoyed torturing him for fun.

“Senior Brother Xiao? Are you still there?” Lin Sui asked. He felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine, and the sound of a woman’s silvery laughter echoed in his ears.

Xiao Qingyan heard it too. He stood up, his fingers pinching a peach blossom petal he had retrieved from the hole in a corpse’s chest. When he looked back toward where Lin Sui had been standing, there were only a few fluttering peach petals left. Xiao Qingyan realized something was wrong. He immediately lunged for the drifting petals, and with a flash of his silhouette, he vanished from the courtyard.

The three reassembled corpses in the courtyard exploded into a flurry of peach petals after Xiao Qingyan and the others left.

Xiao Qingyan entered the illusion after Lin Sui. He found himself in the same courtyard, but this time, the three deceased people were still alive. There was also an additional couple present. A man dressed in plain blue cloth held the arm of a pregnant woman whose belly was slightly protruding. They walked slowly over the threshold.

As Xiao Qingyan moved forward, a younger man passed through his body and took the items from the man in blue. “What are we eating tonight, Sister-in-law? I caught a very large fish today. Shall we have fish?”

The woman laughed, covering her mouth. Her peach blossom eyes curved into crescents, appearing as though they might overflow with warmth. “Alright, alright. We will have fish tonight.” Her tone was indulgent as she reached out to pat the youth’s head.

The husband frowned. “You are bothering your sister-in-law again. Have you finished your lessons?”

The youth pouted and replied gloomily, “I finished them, I finished them! Do not ask about my lessons the moment you see me! Am I not allowed to have some fun?”

“Do not listen to your brother. Once lessons are finished, you should rest,” the woman said.

With someone to back him up, the youth straightened his back and acted smugly. “Brother, look! Sister-in-law says it is okay!”

The three of them walked toward the peach tree in the courtyard. Xiao Qingyan saw the man in blue place a talisman on the trunk of the peach tree while his back was turned to the other two. The yellow paper was covered in blood-red incantations. The moment it touched the bark, it sank into the tree.

The three sat down at a stone table under the tree. An older woman brought over several bowls of fermented rice wine. Her eyes were darting around shiftily, and she hesitated behind the younger woman for a long moment, as if she were trying to summon her courage. “Come, come! This is peach rice wine freshly brewed by Mother. Come and try it.” As she spoke, she placed three bowls on the stone table.

When the pregnant woman saw the peach petals floating in the wine, her expression twisted for a brief second. “Qin Niang, drink quickly. Mother’s brewing skills are excellent! Neighbors within ten miles all love my mother’s wine!” The man stood up and used a spoon to bring some to her lips.

The woman gazed fixedly at the man, a look of pain appearing in her eyes. “Zhang Lang, do you love me?”

“Of course,” the man replied quickly, his tone full of urgency. “Qin Niang, try it quickly.”

The woman laughed suddenly, her gaze darkening. She reached past the man’s hand, picked up the bowl of peach rice wine, and drained it in one gulp. The man watched her expression intently. “How is it? How is it?”

The woman’s face suddenly turned pale. A peach blossom mark appeared between her brows, and she clutched her stomach in extreme agony. The youth who had been clamoring for fish earlier produced a dagger as thin as a cicada’s wing. At a signal from the man in blue, he plunged the dagger into the woman’s protruding belly.

“Daoist, we cannot be short a single tael of the five hundred silver taels! After all, my son sacrificed his reputation for this. Once this peach demon is dead, my son will still need to marry a new wife.” The older woman’s eyes shone with greed as she looked at the woman lying in a pool of blood. It was as if she were not looking at a person, but at a pile of silver.

The youth called Daoist was splattered with blood. He let out a sinister smile. “Of course.”

The fully formed fetus was ripped from the woman’s womb while she was still alive. A shrill, piercing scream erupted from her mouth. The scene before Xiao Qingyan’s eyes tore into fragments at the sound of that scream.

A wild wind whipped up the peach blossoms in the courtyard, and the youth’s body instantly grew into the form of an adult. Xiao Qingyan stepped forward, wanting to follow the petals to see the rest of the vision.

“Wah! Senior Brother Xiao, you are finally here!” Zhu Jiayu’s voice rang out from behind him as he ran toward them, crying and shouting. His round eyes were red and swollen from fright. “Senior Brother Xiao! This place is too terrifying! I want to go back to the sect! I do not want to do this mission anymore!” Zhu Jiayu could not stop himself from gagging as he recalled the images he had just seen.

The Scholar’s family had actually been murdered by a peach demon that had cultivated into human form in the courtyard. The peach demon had even threatened him, demanding that he bring Xiao Qingyan to her. But he did not dare! He only wanted to return to the sect as quickly as possible; that peach demon was far too vicious. He did not want his heart to be ripped out.

“Junior Brother Zhu, what did you just see?” Xiao Qingyan asked. He noticed there were still some bloodstains on the tips of Zhu Jiayu’s shoes. He suspected that Zhu Jiayu might be the master of this illusion in disguise. Furthermore, among the three corpses in the courtyard, the man named Zhang Lang was missing. Where had that man gone?

Xiao Qingyan’s scrutinizing gaze fell upon Zhu Jiayu. When Zhu Jiayu looked up at him, Xiao Qingyan withdrew his gaze and asked, “Where is Senior Brother Feng?”

“I do not know. I was alone when I woke up.” Zhu Jiayu thought of the murderous scene he had witnessed upon waking. His face turned pale, and waves of nausea rose in his stomach. He had been scared unconscious at the time. After waking up, he had been threatened by the peach demon to lure Xiao Qingyan there. The demon promised to let him leave once he delivered Xiao Qingyan. Zhu Jiayu did not believe her. When he left home, his mother had repeatedly warned him not to trust others easily, especially bad people. He should not listen to a single word they said.

However, even if they combined their strength, they might not be able to defeat the peach demon, especially since Junior Brother Lin could not see. Xiao Qingyan nodded and asked again, “What did you see in the illusion?”

Zhu Jiayu’s face turned even paler.