Why haven't the assassins arrived yet?

Run! Run! Run!

Can't look back!

Absolutely cannot look back!

Leopard Five's heart pounded like thunder, almost deafening its own eardrums.

It ran like the wind for an unknown distance before daring to slow down and catch its breath.

Immediately, it felt a mouthful of coppery sweetness surge into its throat.

Then came the excruciating pain in its internal organs and Dantian.

And its limp right arm—its entire right arm must have been pulverized into dust.

What it feared most, however, was the injury to its Dantian.

It didn't dare to check, but it already had a vague feeling.

Its Demon Core must have cracked.

A shattered Demon Core, displaced internal organs, bones shattered on one side of the body—in simple terms, this meant...

Death.

For a Demon that had taken human form for many years, death wasn't a simple matter.

Especially for Leopard Five, with its agile movements, explosive strength, and incredible speed. These were the guarantees that allowed it to kill countless people over the years and always retreat unscathed.

Those who could catch up to it couldn't defeat it; those who could defeat it couldn't catch up to it.

But it never expected to die in such a ridiculous situation.

When its full-power punch, the Heaven Collapsing Earth Shattering Purple Gold Hammer, landed on the Little Daoist Priest, it felt no sensation of flesh tearing. The opponent hadn't even moved an inch, and it already sensed something was wrong.

Could this Little Daoist Priest have a body forged from Vajra? Even if it were a mountain, this punch should have made it tremble, right?

What it couldn't fathom even more was.

Just an instant later, the power it had unleashed rebounded back with double the force!

Boom! It was utterly destructive.

This punch unleashed immense terror!

Leopard Five was instantly scared out of its wits.

It turned and fled, but even as it ran, it could feel the rebound force ravaging its body.

"Ah--"

After a long time, it finally stopped amidst a patch of lush green woods, leaning against a tree and panting heavily.

Since death was unavoidable, it might as well save some strength and do something useful.

That Little Daoist Priest hadn't pursued it at all—in fact, Leopard Five felt that from beginning to end, he hadn't even glanced at it.

Indeed, to him, a minor demon like itself was probably just an ant.

If an ant provokes, it can be killed with just the recoil force; why bother to chase?

But...

Why would a human possess such a terrifying physical body?

Why would such a Great God suddenly appear in this Jiangnan Town?

If he had such cultivation, why didn't he reveal it earlier?

Ah...

To die like this, truly unwilling.

But there was nothing it could do.

Against such an enemy, it couldn't even muster the will to hate.

Right!

It quickly took out an Azure Bird Statue, about the size of a palm, from its embrace. It looked colorful and lifelike.

The statue held a paper scroll in its beak. It pulled it out, opened it, and wrote a few words with its blood.

"Daoist Priest is terrifying, do not come."

Afterward, Leopard Five stuffed the scroll back into the statue's beak and injected its last wisp of Demonic Power into it.

Whoosh--

After being infused with Demonic Power, the statue actually spread its wings in the wind, transforming into a real, colorful azure bird, and quickly flew high into the sky.

"Hoo."

Seeing the azure bird fly away, Leopard Five finally let out a sigh of relief.

If its sworn brothers and Sisters knew it had died here, they would definitely come back for revenge. The final outcome would surely be the complete annihilation of their group.

It absolutely couldn't let that happen!

Leopard Five stared blankly in the direction the blue bird flew away, his eyes remaining open for a long time.

Now the blue bird had become a living creature.

Instead, it was Leopard Five's turn to be lifelike.

At the end of its life, it seemed to see the running under the setting sun that day; that was its lost youth.

Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, summer was already nearing its end.

Li Chu had been staying in the Yamen for some time.

These days, everything was calm and peaceful in Yuhang Town.

For those with deep resentful qi, the Yamen constables would handle it overnight. They wouldn't stop until the dispute was resolved; justice never arrived late.

Ghosts had not appeared again, making Li Chu even suspect if there really was only that one ghost stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

The only change was the soup Gongsun Rou sent over.

She changed the recipes daily to make soup for Li Chu: Soft-shelled Turtle Goji Lily Soup, Lingzhi Honey Date Old Duck Soup, Lamb Cordyceps Soup...

Li Chu also wondered, "Why do the soups sound like they're all for kidney health?"

Gongsun Rou replied with a blush, "It never hurts to supplement more."

Li Chu thought about it.

Indeed.

There was another matter: he had been in the Yamen these days with little contact with the outside world.

He didn't know yet that he had already become famous.

Before, when he performed exorcisms, he relied on repeat customers like Zhou Dafu, Wang Longqi, etc.; his reputation hadn't spread.

But this time at Spring Full Pavilion, his heroic posture slaying the infant spirit under everyone's gaze was all seen by the good girls.

In this era, the hubs for information flow were basically large restaurants, teahouses, entertainment venues, and other places with dense crowds.

And brothels were a more upscale existence among these places.

The literati and esteemed scholars who gathered at brothels, whenever they discussed topics involving weird cases, couldn't help but be recommended by the good girls the deeds of Little Daoist Priest Li... and his appearance.

Soon, these matters spread throughout the streets and alleys of Yuhang Town.

That day, Gongsun Zhe went out to a banquet. The banquet was held in a restaurant in town, and Li Chu accompanied him.

In the restaurant, there was a separate stage specifically for storytellers.

The storyteller clapped his wooden clapper and began:

"The saddest is the late autumn chill, a haggard soul beyond pity."

"Invited wine burns the gut, three cups of drunkenness; seeking fragrance startles dreams, five watches of cold."

"Chai Tou Feng slants, the lady has tears; Tumi Flowers, I have no fate."

"The small building is lonely, heart and moon; both hard to hook, and hard to be round!"

Slap!

"Everyone, today we won't speak of kings and generals, nor of talented scholars and beautiful ladies. We will specifically tell the tale of a remarkable person in our Yuhang Town. This remarkable person lives on Ten Li Slope outside the town, at Virtuous Cloud Temple. It is a little Daoist priest from Virtuous Cloud Temple, named Li Chu."

"This Little Daoist Priest Li..."

In the private room, Li Chu's face instantly turned red.

Usually, the ones who listened to these ghost stories were mostly men. But today, the storyteller was telling Li Chu's story, and most of the audience below were girls.

And they clearly knew Li Chu's deeds well. Every time they heard an exciting part, they would cheer in advance.

Besides shouting "Little Daoist Priest Li," some shouted "Husband" or "I love you." Some even shouted, "Mother loves you."

This made Li Chu fidget restlessly.

After the old man finished Li Chu's story, they immediately dispersed, their purpose very clear. But in this short time, the tips left were more than a whole day's worth usually.

The old storyteller chuckled, a smile full of joy at discovering a goldmine appearing on his wrinkled face.

Li Chu waited until they had all left before daring to leave the private room.

Cautiously.

Recently, the flow of visitors to Virtuous Cloud Temple has also surged dramatically.

Yu Qi'an had been holding on for many days under the siege of women of all ages.

In the beginning, when the pilgrims suddenly increased, he was so happy he couldn't close his legs.

But as the pilgrims grew more numerous and kept coming, the old Daoist Priest gradually couldn't take it anymore.

Every evening, he would be so tired he had to pound his lower back. Holding a teacup filled with goji berries, he would look tremblingly in the direction of Yuhang Town, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Disciple, when will you return?"

"Master misses you."

Actually, Li Chu had been wondering within the Yamen.

Why hadn't the Azure Wing Tower's assassins come yet?

Could its plan be to let Gongsun Zhe live to a ripe old age?

Hmm?