Chapter 262: The Painter Targeted by the Devil, Scandal in the Village (6000)

Currently, Cao Xing still doesn't know what the use of [Advanced Painting Mastery] is.

But there is no harm in bringing such talents into the territory first.

After hearing this, the young man asked tentatively: "What do I need to do after joining your territory?"

Cao Xing smiled and said, "Just do what you are good at, painting. My territory can guarantee your safety and provide you with a warm shelter and food."

“That way, you can also have a better creative environment.”

After hearing the latter sentence, the young man's eyes lit up!
As a poor painter, he was exhausted from living a precarious life with hunger every day.

Like all ordinary people in this world, their greatest wish is to have a stable home.

The young man was about to agree, but seemed to have something to hide.

"Do you have anything to say?" Cao Xing asked.

He hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "My Lord, I am very glad that you invited me, and I am also honored to receive your recognition..."

"But there is something I must tell you first. I have a mental problem..."

Cao Xing asked in confusion: "Something is wrong with my mind. What is it?"

The young man seemed to recall something, with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

He took a deep breath and mustered up his courage.

"Since half a year ago, all kinds of monsters have appeared in my dreams whenever I fall asleep..."

"Those monsters looked grotesque, some were covered in intestines, and blood was all over the ground!"

"Some of them are covered with eyeballs and scales, and are still oozing pus!"

"They even said in my dream that they wanted to get into my body!"

"At first I thought it was just because I didn't get enough rest and that I could get better with more sleep, but as time went on, the symptoms became more and more severe."

"Even now, whenever I start to close my eyes, I can see the figures of those monsters!"

"I can no longer think, and I can't calm down to paint. I can only paint all the images of these monsters in my mind!"

At this point, his voice began to tremble.

Even Cao Xing and others found it a little weird.

After all, it was a bit too scary to see those monsters just by closing your eyes.

"However, this is not the worst!"

The young man said excitedly: "In the past two months, my temper has become more and more irritable, and I can't control my anger from time to time!"

"Even when I'm sleepwalking, I'll still attack others crazily!"

"So I was driven out of my original village and have been living a wandering life ever since."

Cao Xing frowned, then asked, "Have you seen those doctors?"

"seen it already."

The young man said helplessly: "I have seen many famous doctors and taken many medicines, but they are all helpless against my symptoms!"

"Later, a doctor told me that I might not be sick, but have another more bizarre symptom, and I need to see the clergy."

"So I went to the priests, and they told me that I was being targeted by the devil!"

"They said that any demon is extremely rare and difficult to deal with. Apart from going to those big cities to find those famous exorcists, ordinary methods are simply not enough to deal with demons."

"Even if they do, there is nothing they can do..."

When he said this, his tone became somewhat desperate.

After hearing this, Cao Xing seemed to be thinking about something.

Are you being targeted by the devil?
That's really miserable.

Come to think of it, he had dealt with a demon before.

That is in the underground palace of Ascalon.

And after killing it, you will gain the powerful skill [Demon Transformation].

In addition, there is a [Demon-Devouring Box] in his backpack, which contains a demon sealed inside.

This monster is indeed very strange. Not only does it know some strange tricks, it is also good at bewitching people.

They even have the ability to be immortal.

According to this world, only demons can completely kill demons!
However, Cao Xing was not afraid of these monsters.

After all, he had already killed a demon before, and every time they were killed, they could not be resurrected with full health, but would be reduced by 5 levels, and their strength would be greatly reduced.

If this demon wasn't too powerful, Cao Xing could even capture it and study it carefully.

He said directly: "It doesn't matter. There are hundreds of strong soldiers in my territory. If you sleepwalk or go crazy, the soldiers will subdue you."

"As for what you said, a demon is haunting you..."

"It would be fine if it doesn't come out, but if it dares to come out..."

At this moment, Assam and Renis next to them suddenly burst out with the aura of a fourth-order leader!

This is the first time they have shown their full strength in front of a crowd!
Under their full force, the faces of the villagers in the entire [Annuohe Village] changed!
It was as if some terrifying existence had descended. Under this aura, ordinary people seemed as small as ants!
The young man in front of him faced the crowd with such aura that he was immediately surprised and delighted!
What was surprising was that the lord's men were so powerful!

The good thing is that I live under such a powerful lord. It seems that I really don’t have to be afraid of any demons?

At this moment, Assam and Renis had already restrained their aura.

Cao Xing chuckled and said, "Now, are you still worried?"

The young man shook his head excitedly and said, "Don't worry, lord. Your subordinates have a powerful force that will make people tremble with fear!"

“Edward Degas, it’s an honor to join your territory!”

Cao Xing also laughed, "Lord Cao Xing, welcome to join us."

Then he threw a recruitment invitation to him.

[Recruitment successful: Edward Degas has joined your territory, territory population +1...]

...

The corners of Cao Xing's mouth curved up again.

"Not bad."

“This time, not only did I successfully complete a generosity trial, but I also gained a talent with advanced life skills!”

Cao Xing was in a good mood, and then he looked at Yaskin next to him and said, "Take our new member to the tavern and wait for a while."

"After the fishing competition is over, we will take him back to the territory."

After hearing this, Yaskin said respectfully: "As you command, Lord."

After saying that, the painter Edward, with an excited look on his face, was taken to the tavern by Yaskin.

...

Next, Cao Xing led everyone to continue searching in the village to see if they could encounter any incidents.

However, the population of Annuohe Village is large and mixed.

Cao Xing also tried to help a few people, but did not receive any prompt from the system that the task was completed.

Half an hour later, they had almost finished visiting the entire Anno River Village.

There was a look of doubt in his eyes.

"That's weird. How do I complete the last trial?"

"Do we have to try our luck in another village?"

At this moment, Cao Xing suddenly saw four villagers walking towards him on the street ahead.

They were divided into four groups, carrying a simple wooden stretcher that seemed to be carrying something.

When the villagers on the road saw what was on the stretchers of the four people, their expressions suddenly changed and they retreated as if they were avoiding snakes and scorpions.

However, Cao Xing could faintly smell the stench of a rotting corpse coming from the front...

Before he could go forward and check it out.

There were four villagers carrying a stretcher. One of them was a white-haired, hunchbacked old man. He seemed to be exhausted and the burden on his shoulders slipped and he fell down instantly.

At the same time, the stretcher tipped over.

"Wow!"

A swollen man, whose entire body was pale and looked like he had been soaked in water for a long time, rolled down.

In an instant, the surrounding villagers seemed to have seen something terrifying and quickly retreated ten meters!
The other three middle-aged men looked at the old man with resentment in their eyes.

"Old Oru, what are you doing?"

"We told you that if you're not feeling well, you should just ask your son to come over, but you wouldn't listen!"

"it's good now?"

Faced with the accusations, the old man kept apologizing with apology in his eyes.

Another middle-aged man nearby said, "Okay, stop talking and get down to business. Let's carry the body away."

After saying that, the four men moved the body back to the stretcher.

Cao Xing led his men straight over.

The three middle-aged men were about to drive them away, but they noticed the tall Assam next to them and stopped where they were for a moment.

"My Lords, what can I do for you?"

Cao Xing asked directly: "I want to ask what happened to this corpse?"

One of the younger beings said, "Sir, this is our Annuohe Village's internal affairs. It's not convenient to tell you..."

After hearing this, Cao Xing thought for a moment and took out 400 crowns from his backpack.

Seeing so many crowns at once, the three middle-aged men's eyes suddenly lit up!
Divided equally among the four people, they each got 100 kronor, which was almost half a month's salary for them.

Cao Xing saw their excitement and directly stuffed the crown into their hands. He then chuckled and said, "Please do me a favor. I am personally very interested in this kind of thing."

The villagers looked at each other, and one of the middle-aged men said.

"That's right, my Lord."

"The deceased is a child of the Caesar family."

"Two nights ago, this kid had a drink at the Lavia Tavern. He wanted to prove his bravery and broke into the forbidden area in the middle of the night."

"We have already issued a notice in our village that no one should step into that forbidden area, but he refused to listen."

"Then he drowned there... His body was only found today, lying on the side of the road..."

Cao Xing noticed a word: 'forbidden area'.

He asked, "Is there anything in the forbidden area of ​​Annuo River Village that you mentioned?"

The three middle-aged men in front of him showed hesitation in their eyes again.

It seems that some secret has been touched upon regarding that forbidden area.

Cao Xing smiled and took out another 400 kronor from his backpack.

He now has a huge amount of money and doesn't need these few hundred kronor at all!
No matter in which world, money plays a big role.

Then he stuffed it directly into their hands.

After receiving the crown, the three young men were moved again.

The slightly younger middle-aged man looked around and then spoke in a low voice.

"It is said that there is a demon spirit in that forbidden area..."

"Demon spirit?" Cao Xing was puzzled.

"Yes, that evil spirit has existed for many years and is extremely resentful. She will kill anyone who approaches that place and drag them into the ancient well to drown them!"

"It will not be until a few days later that their bodies will be thrown out of the ancient well..."

"Over the years, the number of villagers who died at the hands of that evil spirit has reached hundreds!"

"It's too powerful. We spent a lot of money to hire a witcher."

"However, when this witcher approached the forbidden area, he ran away in fear without even asking for reward!"

"After that, no one of us dared to go near there."

Hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

A powerful demon spirit that has existed for hundreds of years.

Could this also be some kind of special event?

At this time, the hunchbacked old man next to him sighed and said, "The evil spirit in the ancient well is not killing innocent people indiscriminately."

"She is also a poor person..." Upon hearing this, the faces of several middle-aged men nearby changed.

"Old Oru, don't say anything you shouldn't say!"

However, when Cao Xing heard the old man's words, his eyes lit up.

"Let him speak."

The faces of these middle-aged men froze, and they seemed very unwilling.

However, faced with the powerful aura emanating from Cao Xing and the others, they all shut their mouths.

The old man looked at Cao Xing, then at the corpse on the ground, and seemed to have made some kind of decision.

He said slowly: "When I was very young, there were hundreds of families living in Annohe Village."

"At that time, everyone was very simple. Hunters went to the mountains to hunt and fishermen fished in the river every day. Life was manageable."

"Among them, the kind and beautiful Jenny and her daughter Jenna also live here."

"Sister Jenna is very nice to me. I often play with her."

"That year, there was heavy snow, which lasted for several months..."

"Hundreds of people in the village are trapped at home and unable to go out. Every household is running out of food!"

"Some of the villagers were so hungry that they took advantage of Jenny's lack of men and rushed into her house."

"Not only did this group of people steal all their food, they also humiliated the wife and daughter!"

Speaking of this, there was some anger and a hint of regret in the old man's eyes!
"Mrs. Jenny couldn't stand the humiliation and committed suicide at home."

"Afterwards, Mrs. Jenny's daughter Jenna held the cold body at home and waited for her father to come back..."

"But she kept waiting... until the fire in the stove went out and all the food in the house was gone..."

"With nowhere else to turn, Sister Jenna jumped into the ancient well..."

"At that time, I was too young to watch it all happen, but I couldn't do anything!"

"If I could go back to that time, I would never let Jenna go through this, even if it cost me my life!"

The old man's tone became more and more excited.

However, the three middle-aged men next to them had stiff expressions.

Cao Xing listened thoughtfully.

He continued to ask: "What happened next, old man?"

After hearing this, the old man calmed down.

"Later, because Jenna's resentment before her death was too great, she turned into a vengeful spirit and began to seek revenge on those who had hurt her and her mother!"

"During those years, we could hear screams coming from a certain villager's home almost every once in a while. When we went to check, we found that the whole family had died suddenly. Their deaths were extremely tragic."

"For a while, the whole village was in a panic..."

"It was not until she killed all the dozens of families who bullied her and her daughter that her anger gradually subsided."

"Almost a hundred years have passed..."

"Janna's vengeful spirit still remains in that ancient well. After so many years, her resentment has grown stronger..."

“Whoever approaches that area will be attacked by Jenna.”

After listening to the old man, the villagers of Annuohe Village all lowered their heads.

This is a scandal in their village.

Even though nearly a hundred years had passed, no one on the field seemed willing to face it.

Moreover, the vengeful spirit still kills some people from time to time, constantly reminding those people of the evil things they did in the past!
The old man in front of him bent over and suddenly came to Cao Xing.

Then he fell heavily to his knees.

"Sir, if you are able..."

"Please help Miss Jenna and free her vengeful spirit!"

"She is so pitiful..."

"To go through such cruel things when alive, and to live with hatred after death, staying in the same place for so many years!"

"This is too cruel for a little girl who is only a few years old!"

When the old man said this, his eyes were filled with tears, and then he pressed his forehead against Cao Xing's boots.

Cao Xing seemed to be thinking about something.

Obviously, this is a special event.

Although I don’t know if it has anything to do with the Trial of Generosity, events like this usually have some unexpected gains.

So Cao Xing helped the old man in front of him up, and then said solemnly: "I understand, old man."

"I'll go take a look at the forbidden place you mentioned."

Hearing this, the old man in front of him burst into tears of gratitude and thanked Cao Xing profusely.

Under the gaze of everyone.

The four of them put the swollen male body back on the stretcher and quickly left.

...

...

When the crowd dispersed.

Liu Muxue asked softly beside him: "Are we going to that forbidden area?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Well, let's go and take a look."

"But... the old man said that the vengeful spirit has existed for hundreds of years and is becoming increasingly powerful. Is there any danger?"

I have to say that Liu Muxue's analysis makes sense.

Although Cao Xing is confident in his own abilities, he prefers to be cautious.

"You're right. I'll call Bron and the others over."

After hearing this, Liu Muxue showed a faint smile.

He pressed the communication device on his ear and said, "Bron, call Andrew and Rune over. There is action to be taken."

There was a noisy sound on the other end of the line.

"Gulu...Gulu..."

"Okay...Okay Lord, Bron will be here soon!"

Cao Xing told Bron his location.

soon.

Several big guys including Bron, Andrew, Rune and others came over.

The three of them had such strong bodies that they were like a door panel. They walked side by side and occupied the entire street.

When the nearby villagers saw them, they avoided them from a distance.

He feels like a village bully.

"My Lord, here we come!"

"Bron didn't drink much, I really only had one drink!"

He blew on his mustache and smiled proudly.

Andrew next to him also said: "My Lord, Mr. Bron did only drink one glass."

Hearing this, Cao Xing also laughed.

"Come with me, I'll take you somewhere."

After saying that, he led Assam, Rune and others forward.

The so-called forbidden area in Annuohe Village is actually very easy to find.

After all, it's just a village and the area is not that big.

As long as you see any uninhabited places, they are basically the so-called "forbidden areas".

Cao Xing and others walked directly along a deserted street. The further they went in, the fewer people there were.

Soon, they came to a desolate area.

There are only a few simple wooden houses here, and the roads are lined with weeds.

Compared with the bustling Anno River Village, this area seems extremely desolate.

At this time, Cao Xing noticed that among the small houses, there seemed to be a small house that seemed to be cleaner.

There was no grass left around the house, as if even plants dared not approach it.

In front of the house, there is an abandoned courtyard surrounded by a simple wooden fence.

There is also a well in the middle of the courtyard.

Liu Muxue pointed to the entrance of the courtyard and said, "Axing, there seems to be words on that wooden board."

After hearing this, Cao Xing also looked over.

The font above said.

[There is a demon ahead, please do not approach...]

...

When Cao Xing saw the above content, he knew that he had found the location.

Instead of going in right away, he called out, "Sarah."

A shadow emerged, "My Lord, I am here."

Cao Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

Sarah has been in stealth mode since she left the territory, and her presence is completely undetectable.

But as long as Sarah is there, he has confidence.

Then, Cao Xing said, "Let's go in and take a look."

As everyone stepped into the courtyard, Cao Xing clearly felt an extremely cold breath coming.

The aura was so strange that even the heat from the cloud yak clothes on his body could not dispel it.

It seems to be drilling into my body.

If an ordinary person comes in, even if nothing happens, he will get seriously ill when he goes back.

Fortunately, they all had strong enough physiques to ignore this cold aura.

After Cao Xing came in, he did not go to explore the ancient well in the middle of the courtyard first.

Instead, he first entered the abandoned house next door to investigate.

"Crench!"

As the old wooden door was pushed open, a smell of rotting wood suddenly came from inside.

It has been abandoned for a long time and the roof beams have collapsed.

The room was full of dust.

Cao Xing looked around but found no clues.

He then went to the kitchen area and opened the cupboards.

There was nothing inside, not even a jar.

Then he came to the bedroom area.

The scene inside suddenly made his eyes light up!
On the wall of the bedroom, he saw a dark portrait.

Due to the invasion of time, the portrait has become very blurred.

But from the outline above, you can vaguely see that this is a family portrait.

A man with two women, with a forest in the background.

This was almost exactly the same as the family portrait he saw in the witch castle!
...

...

　Thank you so much for the monthly tickets from many book friends!!!
　　Thank you so much for your recommendation and subscription!!!

　　Thanks to: 百孳光隂一夢蝶 for the 5000 points reward!!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)