She was long dead, her body pale and cold, covered in maggots on her head, face, and body. The white larvae burrowed into her mouth and then slowly crawled out.
Her lower body had vanished, leaving only the upper half.
The severed end, too, was vaguely visible, also swarming with maggots.
No blood flowed from the wound; the blood pooled beneath the woman had congealed into a black mass on the ground.
In the center of the room was a small dining table, and on the floor, a mat and a quilt. It was clear that this was where he slept, facing these corpses.
But this wasn't the most terrifying thing.
On the right side of the house stood a massive wooden rack, usually used for books or wine. Now, however, it was filled with heads.
These disheveled, maggot-infested heads lined almost the entire wall.
Most of their features were no longer visible, the maggots having already devoured their brains along with their skin.
Xu Qian’s temples throbbed, and her stomach churned from the overwhelming stench filling the room.
She was absolutely certain: this man was a lunatic.
Not only did he eat people, but he also collected their heads and displayed them on the wall.
Xu Qian was genuinely disgusted.
"I'm going out first."
Xiang Jintian's eyes softened. "Alright, I'll stay here."
As Xu Qian stepped across the threshold, she felt the intense odor dissipate slightly.
"Hey, pretty girl, you're so beautiful!"
Xu Qian froze, turning to look at the man who was bound tightly.
He was fully awake, his eyes hidden beneath his hair, only his large, bulbous nose and bushy chin visible.
His mouth was no longer discernible.
The man chuckled and asked, "Pretty girl, what's your name?"
Xu Qian's eyes flickered. She chose to sit on the steps furthest from him.
"What's your name?"
The man had expected her to ignore him, but to his surprise, this "pretty girl" was curious about his name.
Did she already fancy him?
Was she captivated by his exceptional charm, hehehe?
His charisma was still as potent as ever!
"Hehehe, pretty girl, my name is Wang Xingde. I'm the son of the village chief of Xiahai Village. My family is very influential; my dad can govern an entire village. Marry me, and I'll ensure you have a lifetime of food and shelter."
Xu Qian's eyes glinted as she began to probe.
"It's no use being the village chief's son. Wasn't your village acquired? How can you, the chief's son, possibly have any say in the matter?"
Hearing this, Wang Xingde's face flushed with indignation, clearly very unhappy.
"This is our land; outsiders have no right to interfere! Don't worry, I'll protect you."
He paused, then chuckled.
"His resort was ruined by me, wasn't it? If another one pops up, I'll ruin that one too."
Xu Qian subtly raised an eyebrow, realizing she had just uncovered a significant amount of information.
She hadn't expected the famous tourist spot to be destroyed by the village chief's family.
"Hmph, what kind of nonsense were they researching here? I poisoned them all. Then, let's see what they can research."
Xu Qian genuinely wanted to give him a thumbs-up.
Indeed, ignorance breeds fearlessness.
"Oh, right. Didn't they want us to deliver food? So I slipped rat poison into it and killed a lot of people, hahahahaha."
"Who told them to drive us away!"
Xu Qian: ...
You are truly something!
Wang Xingde suddenly seemed to recall something, his body trembling slightly. He gritted his teeth and said, "So what if I killed a few people? They arrested everyone in the village for experimentation!"
Xu Qian's eyes shifted. "Everyone was taken?"