However, although Feng Yang felt that something was strange, he didn't intend to meddle.
Ghosts and monsters existed in this world, and it was best to avoid such things.
"As an honest guy, it's better to stay away from strange things."
Thinking this, Feng Yang closed his eyes and ignored the strange sound.
About half an hour passed.
Suddenly, something seemed to push against Feng Yang's door.
The push was extremely slow, and the door wasn't opened very wide, so no sound came from inside the room.
But Feng Yang still woke with a start, just in case, he had tied a thin rope around his waist before going to sleep, with the other end fastened to the door.
This way, if the door was pushed open, the rope would pull taut around his waist, and he would react immediately.
Awakened by the tension, Feng Yang reflexively sat up and reached for the long knife beside his bed.
By the moonlight, he saw an extremely thin, dark shadow at the door.
Judging from its size, the shadowy figure appeared to be a snake.
Seeing this, Feng Yang held his breath and silently crouched on the bed, his focus fixed on the small black snake on the ground.
Unable to ascertain the snake's origin, he didn't want to provoke it.
As Feng Yang watched the black snake, he could sense that it was also watching him.
After a long standoff, the small snake seemed to grow frightened.
It began to retract its body and slowly retreated, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
By the time Feng Yang gave chase, it was already gone. The thing moved incredibly fast.
Feng Yang guessed that the shadowy figure might not be a small black snake, as snakes couldn't move that fast.
As the shadow disappeared, a commotion arose from a nearby courtyard. Feng Yang could see scattered lights there.
Clearly, something had happened at the Zhu residence.
Feng Yang guessed that the commotion was likely related to the dark figure from earlier.
If that were the case, he needed to go and investigate. After all, the dark figure that had appeared in his room had clearly intended to attack him.
Following the noise, Feng Yang headed towards the Zhu family compound.
But before he even reached the entrance, he stopped.
There, two small, snake-like black shadows were hovering. These were the same monsters that had infiltrated his room earlier.
Feng Yang climbed onto the roof of a nearby building, lay prone, and moved carefully towards the Zhu family compound.
For some reason, he discovered that the courtyard below was now filled with the people of the Zhu family. He roughly estimated at least a hundred individuals, the entire household.
And at the edge of the compound, near the wall, were countless small, snake-like black shadows. It was obvious that the people in the courtyard were surrounded.
What puzzled Feng Yang even more was that, standing among a small group of the shadowy monsters, there was a woman.
The woman spoke, "Zhu Second, I'll ask you one last time, are you going to hand over that 'egg' or not?"
Zhu Hao was the second son in the family, so the servants usually called him "Second Master Zhu." The woman was likely addressing him.
Sure enough, as soon as the woman finished speaking, Zhu Hao's voice came from the crowd: "Auntie, I really don't know what that 'egg' you're talking about is. If I knew where it was, I would have given it to you long ago."
Hiding on the roof, Feng Yang had already figured out the gist of the situation. If he wasn't mistaken, those black shadows were probably controlled by Zhu Hao's "auntie."
Her purpose was to force him to reveal the whereabouts of the 'egg.' As for what the 'egg' was, Feng Yang had no idea. He continued to observe.
After hearing Zhu Hao's answer, the aunt sneered. "Hmph, don't try to fool me. Your father was such a shrewd man; he must have told you the location of the 'egg' before he died, right?"
After saying this, the woman suddenly let out a strange, shrill shriek. Seemingly affected by it, the black shadows in the corner of the mansion began to stir restlessly.
Seeing this, Zhu Hao seemed frightened. He tried his best to explain, "Auntie, I've already told you, my father was killed on the road. He didn't have a chance to tell me any of this. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
Faced with his explanation, the woman sneered again.
Then, she turned her gaze to a middle-aged man, her tone carrying a hint of threat. "Fine, you won't tell, huh?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she let out another strange cry.
The next second, several black shadows in the corner of the courtyard darted out like lightning, slamming the middle-aged man to the ground.
Because it was night, torches were lit in the Zhu family's courtyard.
In the firelight, Feng Yang finally realized that the black shadows, which looked like small snakes, were actually worms magnified countless times, resembling earthworms!
After slamming the man down, these earthworms opened their mouths, revealing spiral-shaped serrated teeth like those of a lamprey.
Under their tearing bites, the man was completely devoured in just ten seconds. Not even a bone was left.
As the earthworms chewed, they made swallowing sounds, just like a human.
Feng Yang was all too familiar with this sound. The swallowing noise he had heard while resting in his room was almost identical to the sound these earthworms made when they ate people.
Realizing this, Feng Yang couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. If he hadn't tied the rope around his waist beforehand, he might already be the excrement of these insects.
…
The bloody scene of the middle-aged man being devoured caused everyone present to step back in unison. They were utterly terrified of these insects.
The sight was indeed disgusting. Even Zhu Hao's aunt showed a flicker of pity on her face, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness.
The woman continued addressing the crowd, "Listen up, all of you! If anyone can tell me where that 'egg' is, I'll not only release you all, but I'll also take that person to the 'Immortal Sect'!"
Hearing the words "Immortal Sect," Feng Yang on the rooftop was somewhat surprised. He never imagined that Zhu Hao's aunt was actually a member of the 'Immortal Sect.'
It is known that the term that in this world, 'aunt' is also used for one's father's concubine. In other words, this woman, suspected to be from the 'Immortal Sect,' had willingly married into the Zhu family as a concubine in her search for the 'egg.'