Nightmare Assault

Zuo Qing turned to Chen Qiang, “Sister Drum?”

“Yes.” Chen Qiang’s attention was on the painting, so he didn’t mind Zuo Qing’s gaze on him. “According to legends, it is a cruel ancient Tibetan culture. To create the purest rhythm to worship God, they chose to sacrifice young girls. Their skins were removed to be made into drums called Sister Drums.

“Apparently, these kinds of drums can create the most ethereal sound. Whenever something serious happened, the Sister Drums would be played to communicate with God.

“Furthermore, the sacrifices were voluntary. For the girls and the tribespeople, this was a great honour. Only the purest females could have their skins made into drums. In their eyes, death was not scary. Death was a return to nature. As a part of reincarnation, life and death were equals. Only happiness and bliss mattered.” Chen Qiang added, “Perhaps in their eyes, this was not cruel.” Then, he added hesitantly, “Of course, before seeing this drum, I thought that was just a rumour.”

At that moment, an annoyed voice said, “That is such bullshit. That is merely a story used by the rich and powerful to trick the common people. It is an excuse they use to justify their depravity. How come I’ve never heard of any rich and powerful families sacrificing their daughters to be made into drums?” Jiang Cheng scoffed with derision, “Were their daughters not pure?”

Chen Qiang was startled. That was not his intention. He merely relayed some historical records. He didn’t know he’d offend Jiang Cheng. However, he didn’t argue with Jiang Cheng. He merely nodded and said gently, “You’re right.”

Jiang Cheng harrumphed impolitely. Xia Meng was irked. She couldn’t wait for the mission to be over. Then, she’d string Jiang Cheng up in her courtyard to be used as a pinata.

“Those bastards skinned her…” Fatty looked at the painting and was shocked. Other than fear, he also felt indignation.

“Not only that.” Chen Qiang said. The way he looked at the woman in the painting became complicated, “According to the records, the skinning had to be done while the girls were alive to ensure that the skin kept its elasticity.” Chen Qiang had more to say, but after glancing at the others, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

After that, the focus of the discussion was on Sister Drum and Elder Huang. Through some unknown channels, An Xuan had already guessed that Young Master Huang was Elder Huang in disguise. He said he found this clue on the boat the night before. As for what kind of clue it was, he didn’t say.

You Qi was curious and demanded to know everything but no one supported him so it didn’t go anywhere. Chen Qiang was silently thinking after he shared what he knew about the Sister Drum. At this point of the mission, everyone had their own goals. Wishing to have everyone moving on a united front was no longer possible. No one cared about how An Xuan really got the clues. After all, those who survived were not dumb. They saw how things ended for Tang Shirou.

An Xuan rubbed his temples and sighed, “In that case, we can move on our own. However, I suggest we stay away from the people at the Huang Residence.” He added, “If you’re interested in that drum, do not move alone. The copper mirror in the loft can reflect the ghost. Be careful. Do not beat the drum, or the ghost will appear.”

That was a bloody lesson. Technically, Shi Liaozhi’s death was not unreasonable. After all, he did use the drum. The worst thing An Xuan and Jiang Cheng did was not save him. In the nightmare, that should already be considered a kindness. From the looks of things, the two didn’t think they owed Shi Liaozhi anything.

“Doctor,” Walking on the pebbled path, Fatty frowned, “What are we doing here?” The place was desolate. The nearby houses were abandoned. It didn’t look like the clues could be there.

“Waiting for someone.”

Jiang Cheng believed he had found the correct spot. He leaned on a strangely-shaped tree with a lush canopy. Fatty came to his side. Before he could say anything, he heard movement from a nearby wall. Soon, a tiny head poked out. When the head saw Fatty, it shook.

“It’s you!” Fatty was overjoyed. “Come!” he took out the steamed buns from his pocket and waved them at the little beggar. Those were Fatty’s breakfast. He didn’t eat them. He wanted to save them for the kid because he had saved his life even though he was too dumb to understand the clues.

The beggar leapt onto the wall, but he didn’t jump down. His wary eyes fixated on Jiang Cheng.

“Brother, he is a good man.” Fatty explained, “He is the reason why you can still see me now.” The little beggar slid down the wall. He walked around Jiang Cheng and came to Fatty. He didn’t waste time and shoved the bun into his mouth.

“Slow down.” Fatty smiled, “I’ll save the meal in the afternoon for you. Remember to come and take it later.” Then, he added with caution, “Be careful when you do that.”

Tired from standing around, the beggar sat down across from Fatty. Fatty knelt down and smiled at him.

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng thought of something. At the same time, Fatty moved and shielded the child behind him. “Doctor, you promised that you wouldn’t capture him.”

Jiang Cheng ignored him. He pointed at the boy’s waist, “What happened to your pouch?”

Fatty was confused before turning to look at the little beggar. The latter huffed indignantly. He grabbed a branch and started to draw on the ground. Slowly, a person’s features appeared. Fatty thought he looked familiar. Eventually, his pupils shook and gasped audibly, “It’s him?!”

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