The winds wept a mournful tune, laden with a harrowing chill.
Clothed in black attire, Li Che wore a douli, his expression extraordinarily grave.
He was accompanied by his great uncle’s family.
Bracing against increasingly ferocious snow and winds, they had no time to panic about the conflict that had just erupted in the courtyard; the family only thought to flee to Xu’s Wood Carving Shop.
Treading on the bluestone street, due to the snowy weather, there were few pedestrians, most of whom hurried along with their heads down.
Along the way, everyone remained silent, no one spoke.
Suddenly.
Li Che halted in his steps; the snow was pushed into a small mound by the abrupt stop of his foot.
In the hazy blizzard, trails of smoke lingered.
Sounds of clinking, drums, and reed pipes, along with reverent chanting, wove into a bone-chilling, eerie symphony from the other end of the street.
“The Holy Spirit teaches, cleansing the mundane, rebirth without worries, wisdom untaught and spontaneously attained…”
The ethereal sound carried through the snow.
Topless strongmen wearing child masks carried a shrine.
Atop the shrine was a Three-Headed Six-Armed Spirit Baby Statue, its three heads displaying anger, sorrow, and laughter… Its eyes lively, as if real eyeballs were embedded.
Lined up neatly, there were dozens of participants—members of the sect on a procession, the Spirit Baby parading down the street!
Women with the bodies of graceful young girls wore female child masks, carrying baskets of flowers, scattering petals with the music, competing with the snowstorm.
Li Che furrowed his brows, instructing his great uncle’s family behind him not to look too much, and to keep moving forward.
However, unlike previous encounters where Li Che and the Spirit Baby street parade passed by each other without incident, this time was different.
Amid the flying snow, these Spirit Babies noticed his great uncle’s family and saw Li Chengzhou in the arms of his aunt Liu Chunming, which seemed to excite them.
They danced bizarre steps, wearing child masks, tilting their heads and twisting their bodies, like claw-wielding demons from hell, closing in step by step.
A profound sense of oppression filled the space between heaven and earth, enveloping the snowstorm and rushing toward them!
Great Uncle Li Liang was sweating profusely, shaking in fear.
Cousin Li Zhengran’s eyes were wide with fury, clutching a firewood knife.
The great aunt and aunt Liu Chunming were terrified, having never seen such a spectacle before, almost crying out loud, tightly holding the frightened Li Chengzhou in their arms.
Li Che took a step forward, his blood surging, skin flushing, displaying the Perfection of Skin Refinement in his cultivation.
“In broad daylight, what are you trying to do? Kidnap a child?!”
“Do you still recognize the Imperial Court’s authority, the law of the land!”
Li Che bellowed angrily, his voice filled with a powerful qi that somewhat intimidated the members of the sect.
But as the sounds of gongs and reed pipes resumed, those masked members of the sect once again closed in, continuously approaching, the eyes beneath the child masks flickering with greedy and sinister light.
Li Che clenched his fists.
He thought… they were wearing masks!
As the members of the sect drew nearer, a unique aura permeated the air, disturbing the mind and affecting emotions!
Li Che’s heart chilled… Divinity?
Not strong, just a trace, but deadly enough for ordinary people!
Suddenly.
The blizzard exploded, and a figure dashed from afar, crashing down fiercely in front of Li Che and his great uncle’s family like a cannonball.
Powerful vital energy surged wildly, Inner Strength gushing, creating strong winds and waves, scattering the approaching Spirit Baby street parade members.
“I am… Third Shopkeeper Xu You from Xu’s Wood Carving Shop.”
“Gentlemen, pressing like this in broad daylight is a bit excessive, Fei Lei City… isn’t at the beck and call of the Spirit Infant Sect yet.”
The figure, draped in a fox fur cloak, dressed in white as the driven snow with flowing black hair, spoke indifferently.
Li Che was startled, not expecting the arrival to be the long-lost Third Shopkeeper Xu You, who had disappeared after they left the city to hunt demons, and now appeared in such a circumstance.
Xu You, with vital energy fiery as blood, Inner Strength raging, stood his ground, the force of his burst fearsome.
The Spirit Baby street parade members dispersed, the fleeting divinity also vanishing with the snow into oblivion.
No words were exchanged, no speech was made.
The street parade members, carrying the spirit shrine, marching to the beat, scattering petals, with the sound of drums and reed pipes receding, gradually disappeared into the snowstorm.
The evil influence seemed to go away with them.
The great uncle’s family finally heaved a long sigh of relief, the great aunt feeling a sense of survival from a grave danger, couldn’t help but sob quietly.
Li Che bowed his fists, sincerely saying, “Thank you, Third Shopkeeper.”
Xu You turned around, his appearance more weathered than before, his scholarly handsome face now marked by a scar.
He glanced at Li Che, smiling, “I just returned from dealing with the evil from the Mysterious Temple outside the city, and then I encountered this situation…”
“Seeing it was you, I stepped out. Xu’s wood carving shop still holds some respect for the Spirit Infant Sect.”
Li Che expressed his thanks once more, and after explaining about his great uncle’s family, Xu You sighed, “The Spirit Infant Sect… has become more and more lawless.”
“However, if you wish to destroy them, you must first let them go mad. Eventually, someone will eradicate them.”
“Well then, let your great uncle’s family move into Xu’s Courtyard, find a secluded residence for them, but… they will have to pay rent separately.”
A Wood Carver living in the courtyard need not pay rent, but although the great uncle’s family had Li Che’s support, they were not qualified to reside in Xu’s Courtyard. Xu You had relaxed the conditions, but the rent could not be waived.
“Don’t worry. In consideration of you being a talented Wood Carver, the rent will be cheap.”
Xu You smiled.
“I won’t return to the courtyard with you. I am going to have a look at the crime scene you mentioned… a Quenched-Bone Warrior killed while wearing a Bull Demon mask… that Bull Demon, interesting indeed.”
With that brief statement, Xu You took his leave, stepping out and disappearing into the distance with hands behind his back.
Watching Xu You’s retreating figure, Li Che exhaled, allowing the great uncle’s family to stay in Xu’s Courtyard should indicate Xu You’s intention to foster goodwill toward him…
After all, he had the potential to become a Woodcarving Master.
Courting favor… quite typical.
…
…
Anping Alley.
In the midst of snow and wind.
Several figures hurried forward, their robust vitality intermingling in the air.
Xu You, wearing a fox fur cloak, walked with his hands behind his back; more than one figure was already in the courtyard.
Zhao Chuanxiong, with a side knife strapped to his waist, looked with an ugly expression at the dead Bagua Staff martial artist, his knuckles white with tension and veins bulging out, his eyes displaying a mixture of ferocity and… fear.
Apart from Zhao Chuanxiong, there were three other figures; all of them were strong and evidently skilled Martial Artists.
Xu You recognized them; they managed the properties in the Outer City for the Noble Families and Clans of the Inner City.
Just like Xu You, they were not favored within their clans, but in the Outer City, their status was prestigious.
The Noble Families of the Inner City comprised four major families: the Yang Family, the Xu Family, the An Family, and the Si Family.
Aside from Zhao Chuanxiong, the three present hailed from the Yang Family, the An Family, and the Si Family, respectively.
“Killed outright by immense strength, a full Bone Tempering Completion’s enormous force, combined with the release of a martial technique, crushed his ribcage and all internal organs… completely overpowered, no chance to resist…”
“Judging by the manner of death, it’s impossible to deduce which martial technique the assassin used…”
“This household spared someone alive. If we find and question them, we will know the assassin’s appearance.”
“But historically, in the Outer City, those capable of killing a Bone-Tempered individual are most likely that wanted criminal, Bull Demon, beyond doubt.”
“This Bull Demon, just after committing a crime in the Inner City, killing a disciple valued by the Dharma Master of the Spirit Infant Sect, is now here in the Outer City, having killed a Deputy Incense Master in the Bone Tempering Realm of the Spirit Infant Sect… truly audacious.”
The person in charge from Si Family in the Outer City looked at Xu You and smiled, “Third Master Xu, interested in joining forces to capture this Bull Demon?”
“Si Liuxian… Your Si Family mingles with the Spirit Infant Sect, unlike my Xu Family. This Bull Demon… evidently targets the Spirit Infant Sect, and the people he kills are those villains from the Sect who harm innocent children. In my eyes, his acts are righteous.”
“He has done what we dare not do… I would rather applaud him, if anything, I wish to drink with him, calling him a hero. Why would we capture him?”
Xu You glanced coldly at Si Liuxian from the Si Family and scoffed.
Si Liuxian’s face instantly darkened.
Xu You glanced over the corpse of the Bagua Staff martial artist, riddled with cracks and smashed by brute force, his eyes narrowing with a flicker of suspicion, then he turned and left.
Zhao Chuanxiong, with his head lowered, dared not speak further.
These scions of the Noble Families, although not valued by the Inner City and distant from the center of power, were nonetheless descendants of major families.
He, Zhao Chuanxiong, had no right to boast in their presence.
Moreover, it was because Zhao Chuanxiong was currently extremely anxious…
He had once hunted the Bull Demon alongside the Bagua Staff martial artist…
And now, the Bagua Staff had been retaliated against and killed.
The next one…
Would it be him?
This Bull Demon criminal… in just one month, advanced from the initial stage of Bone Tempering to Bone Tempering Completion, powerful enough to kill the Bagua Staff with sheer force.
Horrible, terribly horrible…
The more he thought about it, the more terror he felt.
Zhao Chuanxiong’s forehead was covered in fine sweat, his back drenched in nervous perspiration.
What should he do?