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墨書 Inktalez
Walking under the dim streetlights, with hardly anyone around, even the shadow behind me seemed particularly frightening, like an Evil Spirit trailing closely behind, prompting me to quicken my pace.
As I hurried along, I soon spotted the bustling vegetable market not far ahead. Compared to the previous hardware market, this place was much livelier, filled with a variety of people carrying meat and vegetables, creating a bit of a commotion.
Entering the market, I wandered among the colorful Vegetable Stalls. Unsure of what to cook for them, I decided to buy some vegetables and meat for Hu Fang to prepare.
With that thought in mind, I stopped at a Meat Stall. The owner noticed my presence and quickly approached with a gleaming cleaver in hand, smiling as he asked, "Hey there, looking to buy some meat?"
I replied, "Yes, please cut me two pounds of pork chops and one pound of beef. I want the tenderloin for the beef."
"Sure thing! Just give me a moment," he said cheerfully before grabbing his knife and getting to work.
While waiting for him to cut the meat, I idly watched the passersby around me. At that moment, I overheard a middle-aged woman at a nearby Vegetable Stall speaking mysteriously to an elderly man beside her. "Old Wang, have you heard? It seems there's a Blood Farmer in the neighboring village."
The old man scoffed while fiddling with the vegetables in his basket. "Blood Farmer? What nonsense! Don't fall for those superstitions; it's just old wives' tales from the previous generation."
Seeing that he didn't believe her, the woman quickly explained, "No, really! We all saw it; that Blood Farmer doesn't grow vegetables but people! You can often hear screams at night—it's terrifying!"
The old man waved his hand dismissively, slightly annoyed. "Don't listen to them. You're not from that village; how would you know if someone screamed? It could just be cats or dogs making noise—you're hearing things."
The middle-aged woman frowned at his disbelief and pouted. "Hmph! Just wait until that Blood Farmer comes for you."
I felt a chill run down my spine at her words. Could there really be farmers who harvested people instead of crops? Intrigued, I wanted to ask her more about this Blood Farmer.
Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the Meat Stall owner interrupted me. "Hey, sorry about that, buddy! I just realized we're out of tenderloin. Would you like shank instead?"
Since I was eager to inquire about the Blood Farmer, I barely paid attention to what kind of meat it was and casually replied, "Sure, that's fine. Just cut whatever you think is best."
I walked up to the Vegetable Stall, and the middle-aged woman noticed me approaching. She quickly said, "Looking to buy some vegetables? The cabbage and green onions are fresh today. Want to buy some?"
"Ah, no, I just wanted to ask you about that Blood Farmer you mentioned earlier," I replied. The woman's expression showed a hint of disappointment at my lack of interest in buying vegetables, but when she realized I was curious about the Blood Farmer, her demeanor brightened.
Before she could start explaining, an old man nearby sighed in resignation and said, "Oh, Buddy, don't listen to her nonsense. There's no such thing as a Blood Farmer; it's just a scare tactic used by the older folks to frighten the lazy young people who don't want to work the land."
I smiled and replied, "It's alright, sir. I'm not taking it too seriously; I'm just interested in these strange stories. Let this lady tell me."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman ignored the old man and leaned in closer, speaking mysteriously. "Since you're interested, I'll tell you. The Blood Farmer is a legend from our area. Most of the young people there are lazy and gluttonous, so the elders often use this story to scare them into working."
"This tactic initially frightened some of the young ones, but over time, everyone started to treat it as a joke. However, recently there have been rumors in the village that someone has seen the Blood Farmer. It supposedly plants certain people it takes a liking to in strange soil, and those who are planted cannot move at all and gradually rot away over time."
"And then?" I pressed for more details.
"Then," she continued, "once the person planted in the ground has completely rotted away, after some time a thin branch will grow out from where they were buried. This branch is as red as blood and will bear blood-red fruits that even ooze fresh blood. The legend says that the Blood Farmer survives by eating these fruits."
After pondering this for a moment, I asked, "So if one person only grows one branch and it takes a long time to bear fruit, wouldn't they need to plant many people just to have enough to eat?"
The middle-aged woman shook her head vigorously at my interpretation. "It's not like that! Although one person only grows one branch and it's thin, it doesn't need to flower before bearing fruit, and it can bear fruit regardless of the season. A few can produce one or two fruits; planting seven or eight people would be enough."
She spoke with such vivid detail that it felt as if she had witnessed those fruits herself.
At that moment, the owner of the Meat Stall approached me with two bags of meat in hand. "Hey there, handsome! Your meat."
Seeing him reminded me that I had been buying meat earlier. I hurriedly took the bags from him and paid. Just then, the middle-aged woman said to me, "Look at how much I've shared with you; you should at least buy some vegetables as a token of appreciation..." She smiled at me warmly.
Seeing her like this, I felt embarrassed to refuse. Besides, I had originally planned to buy some vegetables. So, I bought some nearby and then left.
On the way home, the story about the Blood Farmer that the middle-aged woman told me kept replaying in my mind. I wasn't sure if it was because I had been in contact with people from Yang Master recently or if it was due to my constant dealings with matters related to Yin-Yang Technique, but subconsciously, I began to associate the Blood Farmer with Yang Master.
Moreover, I couldn't help but start doubting Yang Master; perhaps this incident was somehow connected to them...
Lost in thought, I arrived at my doorstep without realizing it. As soon as I got home, before I could even set down what I was holding, I hurriedly asked Li Zhisheng and the others, who were sitting on the sofa watching TV, "Have any of you heard about a Blood Farmer?!"
Upon seeing me return, Yao Long and Li Zhisheng quickly got up and approached me. They took the glass and vegetables from my hands while looking puzzled. "Blood Farmer? What is that? Did you hear something while you were out?"
As they placed the items I bought on the dining table, I turned around and closed the door. With a serious expression, I said, "I did hear something, but I'm not sure if this matter is related to Yang Master or Onizuka..."
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