Regardless, the whole affair was essentially close to the truth. The village belle and her child had died tragically, provoking the Snake Spirit to seek revenge.

Not only had Tu Xiao'an figured it out, but even Celestial Master Zhang saw the hidden intricacies. He declared, grief-stricken, "If this is karmic retribution, then the tragic deaths of the village belle and her child were the cause. The Evil Snake's revenge is the effect, and you must bear it."

"Celestial Master, what do you mean? Are you saying the Evil Snake Spirit is taking revenge because of the village belle and her child?"

A glint of wisdom flashed in Celestial Master Zhang's eyes. "In this world, there is no love without reason, and certainly no hate without reason. The two events are inextricably linked."

"This humble Daoist wishes to know, who was the first to spread that so-called rumor?"

The rumor was the fuse that led to the tragic deaths of the village belle and her child, but rumors don't just appear out of thin air. They always have a source.

"This..."

The large group of kneeling villagers looked at each other in dismay. They glanced back and forth, but in the end, they all just shook their heads. A rumor is like a plague of locusts; once it spreads, finding its origin becomes nearly impossible.

The people of Ping'an Village were at a loss. No one could truly say who had been the first to utter the rumor.

The Daoist had asked a good question, prompting Tu Xiao'an to ponder it further.

'Thinking about it carefully now, the story of the village belle and her child still feels incomplete,' he thought. 'There must be a hidden, unknown part to it.'

'Just as the Celestial Master asked, why would such a rumor appear out of thin air?'

Since ancient times, rumors have always had someone fanning the flames from behind the scenes, spreading them intentionally.

Many people had died in Ping'an Village, but they had all succumbed to a strange illness—that is, they were poisoned by snake venom.

Only Tie San had received special treatment.

'Why did he get special treatment?'

'He must have done something that no one else did to be so brutally murdered by the Snake Spirit.'

"Celestial Master, for now, the most important thing is for you to set up your altar and perform your rites! Subdue the Demon! Enough people in the village have died. We can't have any more deaths!"

A villager stepped forward, trembling with fear.

"Even if I am to perform the rite, this humble Daoist needs to make preparations. It is not so simple. Besides, the full truth of the matter has not yet come to light, and that will affect my ritual."

"Celestial Master, didn't you just say it? The tragic deaths of the village belle and her child provoked the Evil Snake's revenge. Isn't that the truth?"

Many of the villagers, filled with regret and agitation, cried out, "Celestial Master, it was our ignorance that killed the village belle and her child! But her child really was a monster; we had no choice but to get rid of it! Now we've drawn the Evil Snake's revenge. For the sake of 'saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-storied pagoda,' please save us!"

"No... It has nothing to do with you. The person who spread the rumor is the true culprit who caused this entire tragedy."

"This Celestial Master acts with integrity. I will not act without a clear understanding. The person who spread that rumor must be among you!" At that moment, Celestial Master Zhang's Daoist robes billowed in the wind. With his immortal-like bearing, he looked every bit the part of a lofty expert who despised evil.

The villager who had stepped forward earlier spoke nervously, "If we find the person who spread the rumor, will the Celestial Master perform the rite and subdue the Demon?"

"But of course. With this Celestial Master present, how could I allow an Evil Snake to run rampant?"

Celestial Master Zhang's gaze was profound, his bearing transcendent.

The villager gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. "Celestial Master, the one who spread the rumor... it was Tie San! Tie San is already dead, a gruesome death. He got what he deserved!"

As soon as he spoke, all eyes snapped to him. Someone asked, "Jia Liu, how do you know Tie San was the one who spread the rumor?"

Jia Liu said, "I used to be close with Tie San. I knew he coveted the village belle's beauty. After her father died, he took advantage of the situation and snuck into her house at night several times, trying to have his way with her. But each time, she furiously threw him out and cursed him soundly. The whole affair became public knowledge, and Tie San lost all face. So, he held a grudge and plotted revenge. He just couldn't find an opportunity, until he found out that the village belle's son was a freak, a monster. He seized on the panic during the village's drought and spread the rumor then."

This...

Everyone present had a look of sudden understanding. So it was that animal, Tie San, who had brought ruin to Ping'an Village.

If he hadn't spread the rumor, no one would have known the village belle's son was a monster, and none of this would have happened.

It was good that Tie San died; he deserved it. Because of his own greed, he not only caused the death of the village belle but also doomed the entire village.

"Then how did Tie San find out the village belle's son was a freakish monster?"

This question came from Tu Xiao'an. He had noticed Jia Liu pause and equivocate as he was speaking.

Celestial Master Zhang bellowed, "You are not to hide a single thing! Otherwise, it will certainly affect my ritual. If the Evil Snake cannot be vanquished, all of you will die!"

Jia Liu, trembling with fright, no longer dared to hide anything. He threw himself to his knees and said in terror, "I was the one who told Tie San about the village belle's son!"

At these words, everyone stared at the kneeling Jia Liu with horrified eyes, their expressions a strange mix of confusion, as if they couldn't quite grasp what was happening.

So, after all this time, it was a case of the thief crying 'stop, thief!'

"Things have come to this, and the fate of the entire village is at stake, so I won't hide it anymore. That's right, I also coveted the village belle's beauty. One time, I climbed over the wall to peek at her while she was bathing. Instead, I saw her bathing her young son... and that's when I saw the horrifying sight of that little monster's snake-tail-like tendrils on its head."

Hearing this, Celestial Master Zhang sneered. "No wonder you were so eager for me to perform the rite. It turns out you're also afraid of the Evil Snake's revenge, aren't you?"

"Save me, Celestial Master! I was foolish! I shouldn't have abetted a villain by telling Tie San! That's what led to the village belle throwing herself into the well! I only wanted... I only wanted..."

Jia Liu trailed off, unable to continue, his face a mask of bitter regret. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Tu Xiao'an stepped forward with a cold smile. "You only wanted the young child dead, didn't you? You coveted the village belle's beauty. You saw that Tie San's forceful approach failed multiple times and knew she was fiercely chaste and devoted to her son, so she'd never be with another man. You thought that if she no longer had her son, she would be truly alone and helpless. Then you could use a softer approach, showering her with kindness, and maybe she would eventually give in to you."

Jia Liu stared at Tu Xiao'an in shock. He opened his mouth but was unable to form a rebuttal. He had clearly been exposed.

"You're even worse than Tie San. You're the one who deserves to die most."

Tu Xiao'an truly wanted to smite Jia Liu with a bolt of Thunder, blasting him to bits so that not even a complete corpse would remain.

But he held back. 'This man has to die,' he thought, 'but someone else wants him dead even more—the hidden Snake Spirit. I'll use Jia Liu as bait to lure it out.'

'I don't have much time. I can't be playing hide-and-seek with the Snake Spirit.'

"You truly are a scoundrel."

Celestial Master Zhang's face was ashen with rage. As a Daoist practitioner, he believed that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds bring Evil Fruit. If evil was not punished, would that not defy the Celestial Dao itself?