Chapter 32
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Chapter 32: The Scarecrow
In the deep of night, Wang Chen was crafting a scarecrow.
He bent wood to form a skeleton, tied strings to mimic muscles, and bundled straw into a human shape, finally propping it up with a bamboo pole.
For someone skilled in crafts, completing this task was not difficult at all.
The scarecrow he created was undoubtedly more exquisite than the one made by the previous owner.
Making scarecrows was a fundamental skill for spiritual plant farmers; each year, they crafted a few to place in their spirit fields during the summer and winter harvests to deter birds from stealing the spirit rice.
The effectiveness was remarkably significant.
In folk belief, the Scarecrow, Huang Daxian, and Pan Liangxian are revered as the three guardians of the household.
Among them, the Scarecrow stands as the embodiment of the scarecrow.
After completing the bundling, Wang Chen took out a dagger and made a small incision on his middle finger, applying the blood to the scarecrow’s forehead.
Simultaneously, he silently recited a magical spell: “Heavenly spirits, Earthly spirits, my family’s scarecrow, quickly show your spirit!”
At the moment he finished the incantation, he raised his hand and affixed an Exorcism Talisman to it!
Applying the blood and reciting the spell was intended to imbue the scarecrow with spirituality.
The talisman served to protect it from being invaded by Evil Spirits.
Incidentally, the Exorcism Talisman in Wang Chen’s hand was a trophy obtained from looting a bag.
He carried the scarecrow out of his home and planted it in the spirit fields.
The plot of land Wang Chen rented was only ten acres, so one scarecrow was more than sufficient.
When Wang Chen returned to the edge of the field, he suddenly felt as though something was watching him.
He turned around and saw the scarecrow standing solitary in the moonlight not far away, while the surrounding rice stalks rustled in the night breeze.
Wang Chen gazed for a moment before heading home to rest.
Almost overnight, countless scarecrows were erected in the spirit fields of the Yunyang Spirit Land area.
They stood alone yet loyally, enduring the scorching sun at their posts.
Day after day.
As soon as birds flying in from the mountains approached, they would immediately flee desperately as if they had encountered a natural enemy.
They dared not consider stealing the spirit rice anymore.
At dusk, a group of children ran along the country road.
They were the children of nearby farmers, leaping on homemade bamboo horses, chasing each other playfully, their cheerful laughter echoing along the way.
"Ah!"
One chubby boy, about three or four years old, accidentally tripped over a clump of dirt on the ground.
He nearly fell face-first!
As he scrambled to get up in a flurry, he spotted a scarecrow standing by the edge of the field.
This scarecrow was somewhat unique; its owner had woven a straw hat for it and draped it in a tattered coat, making it resemble a real person from a distance.
The chubby boy, intrigued by the scene, left the bamboo horse lying on the ground and took a few steps toward the Scarecrow.
Rising onto his tiptoes, he extended his muddy, chubby small hand, aiming to peel off the talisman affixed to the Scarecrow’s face.
Smack!
Just then, a hand abruptly struck down, landing heavily on his own.
The chubby boy yelped in pain, bursting into tears, “Wah~”
His hand quickly reddened and swelled.
Yet, the one who struck him showed no trace of pity or remorse. Instead, she glared fiercely and warned, “This is the Scarecrow. If you remove its talisman, it will come for you tonight, to feast on your flesh and drink your blood!”
“Sister…”
Terrified, the chubby boy stifled his sobs and whimpered, “I’m scared.”
“Now you’re scared?”
The girl who had hit him snorted and declared, “I’ve saved your life. From now on, you must give all your rice candy to me as repayment. Do you understand?”
The chubby boy, tears and snot streaming down his face, nodded obediently. “Understood.”
“Good.”
The girl took his hand and picked up the bamboo horse from the ground. “Let’s go home.”
The Scarecrow by the field’s edge watched silently as the siblings walked away.
As night descended, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Though the rain soon ceased, the dark clouds lingered, obscuring the moon and shrouding the land in darkness.
Then the wind began to blow.
It rustled through the rice stalks and lifted the talisman stuck to the Scarecrow’s face.
Boom!
Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the heavens, and in that brief moment, the Scarecrow was bathed in light.
The shadows behind it twisted and writhed violently.
After a long while, the dark clouds in the night sky quietly dissipated, and the moon reclaimed its dominion over the heavens.
Trudging along the muddy path, Chen Si hurried home.
It was already very late.
At this hour, Chen Si would usually be sound asleep at home.
But today, he had gone to Yunshan City to run errands, and while passing through Liuchunfang, his feet had carried him, almost against his will, into the Fragrant Pavilion. There, he had emptied his storage bag before finally managing to leave.
Having missed the cart back to the city, he returned much later than planned.
Along the way, he had been caught in the rain.
Weakened, Chen Si nearly succumbed to a chill.
Yet, as he recalled the encounter with the female cultivator from the Harmony Sect, his heart still burned with a lingering warmth.
Ten spirit fragments were truly worth every bit spent!
Chen Si felt as though the first half of his life had been utterly wasted.
He had toiled like an old ox in the fields, and though he was a cultivator, his life wasn’t much different from that of an ordinary farmer.
But that fleeting encounter with the female cultivator from the Harmony Sect—now that was what it truly meant to ascend to immortality!
Chen Si had made up his mind: once he earned spirit stones from the summer harvest, he would return to the Fragrant Pavilion.
The female cultivators of the Harmony Sect didn’t linger long at the Fragrant Pavilion, and if he missed his chance, regret would be too late!
“Ah!”
Distracted, he stumbled and fell forward.
Chen Si quickly sprang to his feet.
Thankfully, it was dark, and no one saw him; otherwise, a fourth realm of Qi Training cultivator tripping over a stone would have been the joke of the year.
As he steadied himself, he noticed a Scarecrow wearing a hat standing just a few steps away!
Chen Si froze for a moment.
How had the Scarecrow ended up in the middle of the road?
And why didn’t it have an Exorcism Talisman on its face?
Instinctively, Chen Si sensed something was wrong.
He took a step back and placed his right hand on the storage bag at his waist.
Though the spirit stones inside were gone, he still had a few talismans left.
With a quick thought, Chen Si drew out an Exorcism Talisman and clutched it in his hand.
But before he could act, a cold gust of wind swept past, and the Scarecrow vanished instantly.
Chen Si’s hair stood on end.
Fear began to creep into his heart!
He glanced around but saw no trace of the hat-wearing Scarecrow.
This path felt far too sinister to continue.
Licking his lips, Chen Si turned abruptly, intending to retrace his steps and seek shelter at a nearby friend’s house for the night.
Yet, as he turned, he saw the Scarecrow again.
It was right behind him!
Chen Si’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he opened his mouth to scream.
A length of Grass Rope shot into his mouth like lightning, piercing through the back of his head without resistance.
More Grass Ropes followed, piercing his body and wrapping him tightly!
Crimson blood snaked along the ropes.
At that moment, Chen Si was still alive.
But he couldn’t cry out or resist in any way.
He could only watch helplessly as his blood was drained by the Scarecrow, plunging him into an abyss of darkness.
After a long while, a hand woven from straw picked up the Exorcism Talisman that had fallen to the ground.
It placed the talisman on its forehead.
Then, the Scarecrow, now appearing even more robust, walked step by step into the rice fields.
It stood still, unmoving.
