They hadn't run far when the red Daolao ghost behind them reacted.
It took a few steps to chase after them. When it saw the green corpse on the ground, the red monster hesitated for a moment.
It actually bent down on its knees, hugged the corpse, and let out a mournful whimper.
Then came a howl that could burst one's eardrums.
It was like the wailing of thousands of ghosts, terrifying and chilling.
The old Taoist priest led Niannian and ran like the wind. Despite being around eighty years old, he ran as nimbly as a thirty - or forty - year - old youth. His body was extremely strong.
But after the red Daolao let out that deafening wail, no matter how strong his physical constitution was, he couldn't bear it.
Scarlet blood oozed from his ears. Seeing this, Niannian quickly threw a sound - insulating talisman behind them, which prevented the old Taoist priest from being knocked unconscious by the sound and collapsing on the ground.
The wild god only took one or two seconds.
While the Daolao ghost hadn't reacted yet, it was urgent to run away.
The feeling of being targeted by that thing was anything but pleasant.
They wound their way through the village, and when they saw a relatively intact house, they dashed inside in a flash.
They closed the broken door and pasted several talismans on it before they finally had time to catch their breath.
"Why are there Daolao ghosts in this place?"
Niannian knew about Daolao ghosts. It was precisely because she knew what they were that she was extremely surprised.
The books recorded that there were monsters in the mountains around Linchuan. They often appeared during strong winds and rains, making a sound like howling and were able to shoot at people.
Wherever their attacks hit, the victim would soon swell up, suffering from a great deal of poison.
They came in male and female. The male was more aggressive, while the female was milder.
The effect of the male's poison would show up within half a day, while the female's might take overnight. People nearby would often try to save the victims, but if the rescue was a bit late, the victim would die.
They were commonly known as Daolao ghosts.
This kind of thing was rare. In fact, it had disappeared for a hundred years.
The last rumored sighting of a Daolao ghost could be traced back two hundred years ago.
How could a creature that had disappeared for so long suddenly appear in front of people?
"Who knows? Although I've never seen a real Daolao ghost, those two monsters were exactly the same as the ones described in the books. The red one that was chasing us was a female. I didn't react at first. It was only after I saw the male one you killed that I was sure."
The old Taoist priest frowned tightly. After saying this, he felt something was off.
At this moment, a light bulb seemed to go off in Niannian's head. "Ah! I know. Is it because there was no wind or rain?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Reminded by Niannian, the old Taoist priest nodded repeatedly.
It had to be said that sometimes children would pay special attention to details and be very particular when doing certain things.
According to the records, when Daolao ghosts appeared, there would be wind and rain. Their voices were like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves, and their whole bodies were highly poisonous.
They could spit out poisonous arrows to shoot at people, and those who were hit by the poisonous arrows would die soon.
The two Daolao ghosts they saw matched the rumors in other aspects.
It was just that there was no wind or rain.
Was the record about the Daolao ghost wrong?
Niannian and the old Taoist priest thought it was unlikely.
That thing had appeared several times, and each record was very detailed and consistent.
Moreover, the record clearly stated that it was when the Daolao ghosts appeared that there would be wind and rain, not that the Daolao ghosts appeared during wind and rain.
That meant this creature itself had the ability to affect the weather.
But the two they encountered didn't have this characteristic.
This was enough to show that the Daolao ghosts in the records had truly disappeared, and the ones they were encountering now were new ones.
"They should have appeared in the village after it was destroyed. The poison on the Daolao ghosts spreads out uncontrollably. If they had lived near here before the village caught fire, there would definitely have been traces."
"But before, the villagers lived very comfortably here. There were no relevant rumors, not even any stories about ghosts. The real rumor about ghosts started a few years after the village was burned down. That ghost - crying and wolf - howling sound was probably made by the Daolao ghosts."
The more they speculated, the more questions arose in their minds.
Why did this monster that hadn't appeared for a hundred years suddenly come to this village, and why did it stay here without leaving?
Daolao ghosts were monsters with extremely low intelligence. They could be regarded as single - celled organisms.
Although they had their own emotions, their thought processes were extremely simple. They had no purpose in their actions. They attacked anything they encountered. They were simply exclusive and didn't like any other creatures getting close to them.
What could attract such a monster?
It was really strange.
Niannian propped her chin with both hands. The questions in her mind were so confusing that she couldn't figure anything out.
Shen Weixun saw how entangled she was. He stroked the little girl's head and said with a soft smile, "Why think so much? Daolao ghosts are not good things. Wherever they go, they are a hazard, and they will actively attack people. Instead of thinking about why they appeared here, it's better to just kill them on the spot and get rid of all the trouble."
Hearing the third senior brother's advice, Niannian's eyes lit up. Her drooping head immediately lifted, and she regained her energetic and full - of - vitality self.
Right!
Daolao ghosts were like psychopathic killers who killed without discrimination or evil ghosts who had lost their senses.
They couldn't understand human words and couldn't be communicated with. They only knew how to kill.
Such a thing that was all hazard and no benefit was naturally on the opposite side of them, the Taoists.
When they met, they should just fight. There was no need to care about the reason.
Why be so entangled?
No matter why these two Daolao ghosts appeared here, as long as they were killed, all the conspiracies and purposes would come to nothing.
She didn't want to waste her brain cells anymore.
Children really weren't suitable for thinking about such complicated things.
The male Daolao ghost they had killed before didn't seem very strong. It was just a bit troublesome.
One Thunder Talisman was enough to deal with it.
It wasn't as terrifying as the rumors said.
So they just needed to repeat the same method and kill the red Daolao ghost, and they would have no more worries.
Moreover, according to the rumors, the female Daolao ghost was much weaker than the male.
It should be easier to kill than the green one.
"Hmm... In that case, the red Daolao ghost is no match for me. Then why did we run?"
Niannian blinked in confusion. When she was being dragged away and running, her mind was in a daze.
Now that she thought about it, she felt something was wrong.
She had directly killed the most powerful male Daolao ghost. Why should she run when she encountered a weaker one?
Now that they had run away, not only had the red Daolao ghost that wanted to take revenge lost its target, but they had also lost theirs.
Now they didn't even know where the ghost was hiding in the village.
It would be not only labor - intensive to find it but also necessary to be on guard at all times in case of a sneak attack.
It was more troublesome than facing it directly.
As soon as Niannian said this, everyone's eyes fell on the old Taoist priest.
Three pairs of eyes stared at him in unison. The old Taoist priest's eyes were blank, and he finally realized his mistake.
He opened his mouth to explain something, but he felt he had no defense.
Had he really done something stupid?
He stood there stunned for a long time. Finally, he only managed to mutter three words: "Sorry..."
"Hey, Master, when will you ever change your impulsive nature?"
The young Taoist priest, as his disciple, also complained about his master.
The old Taoist priest blew his beard and glared, then let out a cold snort.
Humph!
Could he say that he had run away subconsciously because of his lack of strength?
He couldn't say that! He would never admit it!