The Villa

36.A Chilling Encounter

　　The sudden appearance of the aged voice caught everyone off guard.

　　Even though it was their first time hearing it, Ning, Bai, and Liu were almost certain that the voice belonged to Granny Ruan, the village shaman.

　　A terrifying pressure emanated from beyond the dilapidated wooden door before the figure even entered, washing over them like a wave.

　　Soon, the door was pushed open.

　　A withered face appeared before them.

　　The moment the middle-aged man in the room saw the face, he collapsed onto the ground as if all his strength had been drained.

　　 Even the light in his eyes seemed to vanish.

　　He knew it was over.

　　He had no idea how long the shaman had been standing outside the house or how much of their conversation she had overheard.

　　If she had heard everything...

　　Fear and despair filled his heart.

　　He knew what the shaman was capable of.

　　He couldn't bear to imagine the horrors that awaited them...

　　"There should be a guest house in the village specifically for visitors. What brings the three of you running into a villager's home?"

　　The plump shaman leaned on a dragon-headed cane.

　　A peculiar wooden tag hung from her thick waist.

　　The trio had seen the tag many times before - it was the Ruan clan's identity tag.

　　"It's nothing serious... We just noticed that the lady serving food in the canteen had changed. We casually inquired about it and heard she wasn't feeling well. I happen to know a bit of medicine, so I came over to take a look," Ning replied calmly, without a hint of nervousness.

　　He wasn't lying. Every word he said was true.

　　The shaman glanced at Ning.

　　Her gaze was chilling, like a hungry wolf in the forest eyeing its prey.

　　Moreover, Ning noticed a red patch on the shaman's neck, near her shoulder.

　　Although her clothes were heavy, he could vaguely discern that it was a sore that circled her entire neck.

　　At first glance, it created the illusion of a bloody mark around the shaman's neck.

　　"There are no doctors in the village, but we have our own ways of treating illnesses. Thank you for your concern," the shaman said as she slowly walked towards the woman lying on the bed.

　　Her eyes held only indifference as she looked at the woman, as if she were looking at a corpse.

　　The shaman slowly extended her right hand toward the woman on the bed.

　　At that moment, the man in the room suddenly lunged at the shaman like a madman, clutching her leg and pleading desperately, "Granny, please, I beg you, spare her life!"

　　"Milana just has a fever, it's just a fever that messed with her head, she, she didn't do anything!"

　　"It's my fault, it's all my fault, please spare her life!" The man kept kowtowing as he pleaded.

　　However, the shaman remained indifferent to his pleas.

　　"I heard from other villagers that outsiders had entered the village, so I came to check. Isn't your wife running a fever? It could be that she's been possessed by an evil spirit. Let me take a look at her... Don't you want your wife to get better soon?" The shaman's aged voice carried a hint of feigned concern.