What a creature, the Little Loach sprang up before it even hit the ground, like a nimble fat snake, gobbling it down swiftly.
Compared to the size of the Little Loach now, this was like a sugar pea, but after swallowing this tortoise shell, Owen Bertram saw the Little Loach shudder all over, and then dozens of gray-black shadows surged out from its body.
Cries of ghosts, howl of wolves, a chilly wind swept across!
Some of these shadows took the form of anguished human figures, some were roaring beasts, and there was even a half-human, half-beast monster!
All kinds of malevolent ghosts were bound by some power, pulled and distorted, but ultimately not a single one managed to escape and cause harm to the human world. They were drawn back into the body of the Little Loach.
Owen Bertram watched in stunned silence: The small tortoise shell actually imprisoned so many malevolent ghosts?!
The Little Loach coiled its body while its two pale golden whiskers gently rested in front of it, its eyes half-closed as it comfortably dozed off.
A particularly gentle and warm current came from the Little Loach, traveled around Owen Bertram's body, and settled in between his eyebrows.
In this warm current, a clear "soul" symbol appeared.
At the same time, there was an addition in Owen Bertram's mind: the Three-part Spirit Technique.
Ghost Binding.
Ghost Absorption.
Ghost Control.
These were three methods, specifically targeting the ghosts and spirits of all races, capturing, nurturing, cultivating, controlling — comprehensive in functionality.
Originally, this was a demonic technique, exuding a sense of wickedness from inside and out. The tortoise shell was derived from this technique. But having passed through the Little Loach, the easily demonic part had been eliminated.
It had turned into a purely utilitarian technique, harnessing the transformative power to strengthen the soul.
This was a very useful technique, far superior to the previous Beast Speech Skill, much to the satisfaction of Owen Bertram.
However, he didn't expect one of the three male and two female cultivators to have such a wicked magical instrument hidden. He wondered what its origin could be.
After Little Loach digested the tortoise shell, it suddenly shook its body and swam into the river. Owen Bertram was curious and attached his soul to observe. The Great River now looked a little different to him.
In the river, there were some floating shadows.
Human and beast forms.
However, some of these shadows were uncomprehending, while others exposed ferocious light in their eyes and were full of dangerous teeth!
The Little Loach swam around, swallowing all of the ferocious ones using the Ghost Absorption technique.
Immediately after, another gentle warm current poured into Owen Bertram's body. Although weaker than the one from the tortoise shell, it also settled between his eyebrows.
As the day ended, both Owen Bertram and the Little Loach were very satisfied.
However, during its entry into the wooden bottle, the Little Loach seemed a bit reluctant, as if urging Owen Bertram to get a gourd next time. Its current "home" was too ugly.
Owen Bertram put it inside: "I will think of a solution."
...
Vanessa Thoughts of Shadow came back empty-handed today.
She summoned a few more villagers from outside the village to inquire, only to find out that the people registered in the household registry no longer lived in their homes. Some homes have even changed hands seven or eight times.
"It seems that due to the danger of the Extinct Village, the officials are unwilling to come here, causing a serious delay in updating the household registration," she surmised.
She was somewhat frustrated. She had initially thought that she had discovered the secrets of the village, but her hopes were dashed.
Then she thought about herself as a prominent gifted young lady from the Waves Prefecture, having to sleep in a dugout for the night. Considering that she dug the hole herself... she almost wanted to turn around and leave.
The suites in the high-class hotels in County Town must have very soft and comfortable beds and pillows.
Ava Bertram's resolve was swaying, but suddenly she remembered another question: Owen Bertram's name was in the household register.
And it stated clearly: His parents had both passed away three years ago.
If the household register was not updated in time, why were the names of Owen Bertram's parents, who died three years ago, already crossed out, while those of the elders who died decades ago were still listed?
Vanessa's eyes sparkled. Humph, she had almost been fooled!
Therefore, the talented first fairy of Waves Prefecture decided not to leave, and dug the pit with renewed vigor.
But to uncover the secrets in the village, where should she start? She must find a breakthrough.
As she was pondering, under the setting sun, a teenager with a wooden bottle hanging from his waist slowly approached from across the river.
"It's him!" Vanessa had a sudden realization: He knew the secrets of the village and was even a participant in these secrets; On top of that, he's simple-minded, easy to deceive.
No, how could she call it deceiving, this was him abandoning the darkness for the light, becoming a witness for her Wood Dynasty Horizon Bureau!
When Owen Bertram saw the beautiful girl at the entrance of the village, digging holes with her flying sword and showing a strange smile while watching him, he immediately stiffened and hurriedly ran home.
This girl sure is beautiful, but...her brain doesn't seem to function that well.
...
That night, when Ava was sleeping in her brother's arms, she kept drooling and mumbling in her sleep several times: "Meat...meat...want to eat meat..."
In the middle of the night, Owen was woken up by a sharp pain. His sister, with her eyes tightly closed, had her tiny teeth tightly biting onto his chest, her saliva wetting half of his shoulder.
...
The day of tax payment had arrived again, bringing worries not only for the villagers.
Early in the morning, a group of yawning officers walked on the rugged path.
Abbott, displaying his unhappiness by randomly hacking at the roadside plants with his waist knife, grumbled, "So far away and so poor, there's nothing to gain, we are indeed terribly unlucky."
The team leader and the others also wore unhappy faces. Nobody wanted to visit the Extinct Village. They liked to act high and mighty in front of the villagers, but they were actually the lowest rank in the County Government Office.
Observing the situation, Abbott sidled up to the team leader with a grin on his face and said, "Boss, hehe, these days…I'm a bit short on cash, you see… hehe…"
The team leader glared at him: "You went to the Dalin Gambling House the night before, and stayed over at Widow Anson's house in Box Alley last night. And you say you're short on cash?"
"Hehe, Boss, you know me, I just like these things."
The team leader snorted coldly: "Alright, take some extras this time."
The clerks were overjoyed: "That's great, thank you boss!"
The sun rose, and they arrived outside the village — the officials never actually entered the Extinct Village, they always waited at the entrance.
Vanessa knew this rule, so she left early to avoid them, not wanting to expose her identity.
The villagers queued up numbly to pay their taxes, in exchange for the food ration for the next half month.
A good number of them still hadn't gathered enough, and had gone to the river early in the morning, hoping for one last chance.
Owen Bertram was at the end of the line.
The team leader was still leading the group of officers, Abbott, Scholar, and others. The villagers in front took their rations, but they found out that this time, they were handed less than half of what they usually got.
When the villagers showed a hint of dissatisfaction, they were threatened by Abbott and his group wielding their weapons.
The villagers were angry but dared not voice their complaints. The loss of that little bit of food meant that in the last few days of the next half month, they and their families could go hungry.
And the result of going hungry might very well be not being able to resurface once they went into the water.