Chapter 17: The Thing on the Stick

“That one.” Qian Cangyi pointed with his right hand at the head he had spotted.

Ning Jing and Xiao Tian followed his finger and saw the woman’s head as well.

At that moment, the woman’s head was looking back at them. A smile appeared on her peaceful face. Far from reassuring Qian Cangyi, however, it made the sight even more horrifying.

“What... should we do?” Ning Jing’s voice trembled slightly.

“Whatever happens, we have to keep moving. Otherwise, we’ll certainly die.” The Wise Man pushed up his glasses with the middle finger of his right hand and began walking forward.

He had taken only a few steps when the heads lining both sides of the road suddenly opened their eyes in unison, as if some mechanism had been triggered.

Among the heads on the left was that of a middle-aged man with a sharp mouth, beady eyes, and a lecherous expression. After seeing the four of them, he gave a hideous chuckle.

“Heh heh heh heh, four more...”

His voice was shrill and grating.

“Why can they still talk?” Qian Cangyi stared at the middle-aged man’s head.

“You’ll have to ask them.” The Wise Man did not stop walking.

The four continued onward. Ning Jing stayed close to Xiao Tian. Of the three male actors, Xiao Tian was by far the one who made her feel safest.

A large-headed man with fat cheeks and oversized ears on the right noticed this. He began to chuckle.

“Heh heh heh. What a pretty little girl. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Let Uncle have a lick—I guarantee you’ll like it.”

As he spoke, the head strained to extend its tongue.

Ning Jing could not help retching at the sight.

“Are you all right? Ignore them.” Qian Cangyi offered her a word of comfort.

“Hey, Cangyi, want to kick it?” The Wise Man stopped.

“You mean...” Qian Cangyi tapped his right foot against the ground several times.

“These things can probably only use their mouths. Give it a few kicks and it’ll behave.” The Wise Man pointed at the head that had just harassed Ning Jing.

Qian Cangyi nodded. Together, he and the Wise Man walked over to the fat-headed man.

They took up positions on either side of it, Qian Cangyi on the left and the Wise Man on the right.

“I’ll count to three.” As he spoke, the Wise Man hopped in place a few times.

“One.” The two men began loosening up their legs.

By then, the fat-headed man understood what was about to happen. It cried out repeatedly.

“No! Please, let me go! Let me go!”

“Two.” The Wise Man ignored it. “Three!”

As the word left his mouth, Qian Cangyi raised his left foot and kicked the side of the head with all his strength. At the same time, the Wise Man kicked it from the other side.

The head began to howl in agony. The other heads burst into laughter, their mocking voices rising and falling without end.

Writhing in pain, the fat-headed head spun around the wooden stake. Blood flowed from the cleanly severed neck and stained the stake an even deeper red.

Qian Cangyi and the Wise Man returned to the middle of the road.

Then the head they had kicked shouted:

“You’ll become just like us! You’ll become just like us!”

“Hahahahahaha!”

The laughter was tinged with madness.

The sound traveled into the distance. Farther away, heads that had not yet opened their eyes began to do so, one wave after another.

In an instant, the four found themselves watched by countless pairs of eyes. It was as though the heads were looking at prey—or perhaps at their own kind.

“Maybe we should keep moving,” Xiao Tian said, swallowing.

“Indeed. Come on, everyone. We need to find the Moon God Altar. We can probably break the curse only after we find it.” The Wise Man nodded.

Just as the four were about to continue, the unusual head spoke:

“If you are truly clever, you should leave He Fang Island immediately.”

This head differed from the others, and the greatest difference lay in her eyes.

There was no fanaticism or madness in them. Instead, they held a trace of pity.

She still possessed her reason.

Qian Cangyi walked up to the woman’s head and said softly:

“We’ve already been cursed. Even if we leave, we’ll still die. Finding the Moon God Altar is our only way out.”

Since the other party was sane, Qian Cangyi intended to question her further. In their present circumstances, any clue could prove useful.

The woman’s head looked at Qian Cangyi’s shadow and replied:

“You have been afflicted by the Moonshadow Curse. To remove it, you must understand its origin. Only those who have made a wish to the Moon God can be afflicted by the Moonshadow Curse. Do you still remember what you wished for?”

A wish...

Qian Cangyi could not help recalling what Yan Ruoxuan had said.

Judging from the head’s words, they had already found the Moon God Altar and made their wishes there. Yet the characters they played were still on He Fang Island.

What had actually happened differed greatly from what they had expected.

“What are you talking about? If we made wishes, why are we still here?” Ning Jing asked, her face filled with confusion.

The woman’s head smiled. She was not angry in the slightest as she explained:

“The wish the Moon God hears is not necessarily the one you speak aloud. It hears the true wish in your heart, and that is the wish it fulfills.”

“I don’t know what you wished for, but one thing is certain: the Moon God has already granted your wishes. That is why you have been afflicted by the Moonshadow Curse.”

After hearing this, the Wise Man stepped forward and asked:

“Then where is the Moon God Altar? Do you know?”

The moment he finished speaking, a commotion arose around them.

“Don’t tell them!”

“Exactly! Let them become like us. Let them stay and enjoy it with us!”

“What we look like now is what you will look like in the future!”

“Come on, come on! Isn’t this great?”

The heads around them called out one after another, either trying to persuade the four to give up or threatening the woman’s head.

The woman chose to remain silent. She did not answer the Wise Man’s question, and she turned her gaze away, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Do you want something in return?” Qian Cangyi asked tentatively.

At those words, the woman’s head blinked and turned her gaze back to him.

“That’s right. I want you to find me a body. Any body will do.”

“Once you find one, come back to me.”

A body.

Confusion appeared on Qian Cangyi’s face. The request was far too abnormal.

“What do you need a body for?” Ning Jing asked softly.

“That has nothing to do with you. This is a transaction. Give me a body, and I will tell you where the Moonshadow Altar is.” The woman’s tone was firm.

The four exchanged glances.

The conversation ended there.

No matter what else they said, the woman’s head refused to speak again. As for the other heads, most had already gone mad. Even the few that remained sane hoped the four would meet the same fate as they had.

“I think we should keep moving,” Qian Cangyi said, gazing into the distance.

The road ahead grew darker and darker. He could not see what lay beyond it at all. Yet this was the only path they could take.

“That makes sense. Let’s go!” The Wise Man led the way forward.