Volume One, Chapter 19: The True Culprit

At the time, he had thought she meant to torment him with poison, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all. Was she secretly helping him? But wasn’t she planning to eat him? His gaze returned to the ginseng spirit, whose face twisted in pain and struggle, stirring a pang of pity in his heart.

Memories of their time together surfaced unbidden in his mind.

“Good grandson, look at what wonderful things Grandpa brought you.”

“Good grandson, it's getting cold—you should wear more clothes.”

“Good grandson, Grandpa wants to go to school too. Will you take Grandpa with you?”

“Good grandson, this is Grandpa’s birthday gift to you. Don’t tell anyone, alright?”

…

This little old man and Meng Tiantian had been Montage’s only companions in childhood. Every year on his birthday, the ginseng spirit would prepare him some strange concoction to eat. He remembered one time he was given a colorful mushroom, which made him vomit and have diarrhea, burning with fever so badly he nearly died.

After that, his ‘grandmother’ beat him half to death, and since then the old man had seemed a little mad, a little deranged.

Sighing deeply as the memories washed over him, Montage strode over and lifted the ginseng spirit from the ground.

“Good… grandson… sob… I… never meant… to harm you… never… sob…”

By now, the ginseng spirit was nearly delirious from the flames. Seeing Montage as his rescuer, he couldn’t help but weep.

“I know. I know everything,” Montage murmured, holding him close, hoping the spider silk around him would shield him from the fire.

“Then… do you still acknowledge me as your grandfather?” the ginseng spirit looked at him with hope.

“I do! You’ll always be my grandfather!” Montage’s tears fell, unbidden.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. You’re a good child, just like Tiantian,” the ginseng spirit said, his face suddenly flushed, his speech clearer as if he’d regained strength in a final burst of vitality.

“Good grandson, I can’t hold on much longer. Can you help me untie the red scarf around my neck?” he pleaded.

“Yes!” Montage nodded emphatically.

He’d noticed it long ago—under such conditions, any ordinary cloth would have been reduced to ashes. Yet the red scarf remained perfectly intact. It was clearly no ordinary item.

The moment he untied the red scarf, a wisp of black smoke escaped from the ginseng spirit’s body. His body quickly blackened, and soon he was nothing but a jet-black ginseng root.

Montage stared in shock at the black ginseng—wasn’t this the same kind of black stick the old man had once tried to make him eat?

Could it be…

“I was once a ten-thousand-year-old black ginseng. When spiritual energy returned to the world, I gradually gained consciousness. Then, during my travels, I encountered that serpent demon. She caught me, intending to make me into a pill and eat me, but the energy in me was too concentrated. If she ate me recklessly, she’d burst apart.

“She wasn’t willing to let me go, so she cast a spell on me and kept me by her side, tying me with this red thread you hold. No matter where I escaped, she could always retrieve me.

“Later, she brought you back from somewhere—I don’t know where. Back then, you were just a month-old infant, but the spiritual aura emanating from you was terrifyingly dense. Even standing near you, our cultivation advanced tenfold.

“The serpent demon wanted to eat you, but couldn’t bear to lose the boost you gave her, so she kept you close, looking for a way to steal your essence while using you to aid her cultivation.

“One time, the snail let you slip away, and you happened to meet Tiantian, who’d just learned to take human form. It was fate, really—Tiantian’s true form is a ferocious black widow, but for some reason, she didn’t harm you. Instead, she became your friend.

“Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. The serpent demon discovered what happened. She caught Tiantian and sealed your memories.

“Back then, we’d just arrived here. With so many people around, hiding in monster form was risky. So I suggested we take human form and rent a little house. After all, you’re human—a child at that. Living in the wild with us monsters wouldn’t do; what if you got sick and died?

“I thought the serpent demon would refuse, but she agreed at once. At first, I thought she’d softened and wanted to spare you. Only later did I realize how wrong I was—how terribly wrong.

“Do you remember when you once asked her why her belly was so big? Do you remember what she said?” The ginseng spirit looked at Montage with a pained expression.

“I remember you said my parents were gravely ill and wouldn’t live long, so you wanted another child,” Montage recalled.

“And do you remember when that was?” the ginseng spirit pressed.

“About… ten years ago?” Montage’s pupils contracted, and a chill ran down his spine.

Such an obvious flaw—why had he never noticed before?

“She tampered with your memories, making you unconsciously ignore it. But the neighbors around us wouldn’t!

“That’s why they all died!

“Bird Street used to be lively, one of the rare bustling areas of the outer city. Because of her, she secretly devoured the ordinary people, turning the entire street into a forbidden zone.

“What she carried in her belly wasn’t a child, but the undigested humans she’d swallowed!

“And that’s not all; after she wiped out the street, she used Tiantian to lure men, bringing them back to be eaten. Day after day, year after year—it never stopped!

“When the Security Bureau came to investigate, she ate all of them. When the Guardians’ squad came, she hid.

“People here grew fewer and fewer. Weaker monsters poured in, and she gathered them as her followers, feeding them the remaining humans.

“Bird Street became their hunting ground. Over time, it gained its fearsome reputation. Eventually, the Security Bureau put out a notice, and the survivors moved away.”

As the ginseng spirit spoke, his whole body trembled—anger, helplessness, but above all, terror.

For he knew that sooner or later, he would meet the same end.

But his words left Montage cold as ice.

So this was why Bird Street became an abandoned district—because of her?

How many people had she devoured over the years to turn this place into a forbidden zone?

No wonder he couldn’t recall the faces of his childhood neighbors—the answer was here.

Thinking about it, Nine-Face must also be one of her subordinates; that would explain his swift rise.

He remembered what Yue Shan had once said: for every new face an Unfaced One grew, they had to devour at least ten people.

Nine-Face had nine faces; to grow so strong, there was nowhere else he could have done it but here.

Anywhere else, disappearances would have drawn the Guardians’ attention—but Bird Street was different. It was a forbidden zone, and too many people had vanished.

“Good grandson, I’ve told you all this to let you know—the true culprit behind everything is the serpent demon. Tiantian is innocent.

“If you ever get the chance to leave, treat her well. She’s done so much for you,” the ginseng spirit urged, his voice hurried.

“Leave? Do you have a way out of here?” Montage caught the implication in his tone.