Run! Run! Run!
Don't look back!
Absolutely don't look back!
Leopard Five's heart pounded like thunder, nearly bursting its own eardrums.
It ran like the wind for who knew how far before it dared slow slightly and draw its first breath.
Then a mouthful of fishy sweetness surged up its throat.
After that came the agonizing pain in its organs and Dantian.
And its limp right arm—its entire right arm had probably been crushed into powder, hadn't it?
What it feared most was the injury to its Dantian.
It did not dare inspect it, but it already had a vague feeling.
Its Demon Core had probably cracked.
Its Demon Core was shattered, its five organs displaced, half the bones in its body broken. Simply put, that meant...
Death.
For a demon that had maintained human form for many years, death was not actually such a simple matter.
Especially for Leopard Five. It was nimble, explosively strong, and incredibly fast. Those were the guarantees that had allowed it to roam unchecked for years, killing countless people yet escaping unscathed every time.
Those who could catch it could not beat it, and those who could beat it could not catch it.
But it had never imagined that it would die in such a ridiculous situation.
When its all-out Heaven Collapsing Earth Shattering Purple Gold Hammer had slammed into the Little Daoist Priest, there had been no sensation of flesh tearing. The other party had not even moved. It immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Could this Little Daoist Priest's body be forged from vajra? Even a mountain should have trembled beneath that punch!
What it had not expected even more was this.
Only an instant later, the force it had unleashed rebounded back at double strength!
With a thunderous crash, it swept through everything like dry weeds and rotten wood.
That punch unleashed great terror!
Leopard Five was frightened out of its wits in an instant.
It turned and fled, yet even as it ran, it could feel that rebounding force raging through its body.
"Aah—"
Only after a long while did it stop amid a patch of lush green woods, lean against a tree, and gasp for breath.
Since death was unavoidable, it might as well save some strength to do something useful.
That Little Daoist Priest had not pursued it at all—indeed, Leopard Five could sense that from beginning to end, he had not even spared it a glance.
True enough, a Lesser Demon like it was perhaps nothing more than an ant in his eyes.
When an ant provoked him, the rebounding force alone could shake it to death. Why would he need to chase it?
But...
Why did a human possess such a terrifying physical body?
Why had such a Great God suddenly appeared in this Jiangnan Town?
If he possessed such cultivation, why had he not revealed it sooner?
Ah...
It truly was unwilling to die like this.
But there was nothing it could do.
An enemy like that was not even someone it could bring itself to hate.
That's right!
It hurriedly pulled a palm-sized Azure Bird Statue from its robes. It was brightly colored and lifelike.
A paper scroll was held in the statue's beak. It pulled it out, unfolded it, and wrote several words in blood.
"Daoist terrifying. Do not come."
Afterward, Leopard Five stuffed the scroll back into the statue's beak and poured its last wisp of Demonic Power into it.
Whoosh—
Once infused with Demonic Power, the statue spread with the wind and transformed into a real, brightly colored azure bird, swiftly flying into the high heavens.
"Huff."
Only after seeing the azure bird fly away did Leopard Five finally let out its last breath.
If its sworn brothers and sisters learned that it had died here, they would surely come to avenge it. In the end, they would certainly all be wiped out.
That absolutely could not happen!
Leopard Five stared blankly in the direction the azure bird had flown. After a long while, its eyes still had not closed.
Now the azure bird had become a living creature.
Instead, it was Leopard Five that had become lifelike.
At the end of its life, it seemed to see itself running beneath the sunset that day. That was its lost youth.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, summer was already nearing its end.
Li Chu had been living at the Yamen Office for quite some time.
These days, Yuhang Town had been calm and peaceful.
Whenever someone was steeped in Resentful Qi, the Yamen constables would visit overnight to deal with it. They would not stop until the dispute was resolved. Justice was never late.
The ghosts had not appeared again, making Li Chu wonder whether there had truly been only that one ghost stirring up trouble behind the scenes.
The only change was the soup Gongsun Rou sent.
Every day, she changed things up and simmered soup for Li Chu: Soft-shelled turtle goji lily soup, lingzhi honey date old duck soup, lamb cordyceps soup...
Li Chu had once asked in confusion, "Why do all these soups sound like they nourish the kidneys?"
With flushed cheeks, Gongsun Rou answered, "There's no harm in nourishing yourself more."
Li Chu thought about it.
That was true.
There was one more thing. He had stayed in the Yamen Office these days and had little contact with the outside world.
He did not know that he had already become famous.
In the past, he had relied on returning customers when exorcising evil—Zhou Dafu, Wang Longqi, and the like—so his reputation had not spread.
But this time at Spring Full Pavilion, all the good ladies had witnessed his dashing figure as he slew the Infant Spirit before everyone's eyes.
In this era, the hubs of information circulation were basically places packed with people, such as large taverns, teahouses, and entertainment halls.
And brothels were among the more refined establishments of those places.
Whenever the literati and esteemed scholars gathering at brothels discussed topics involving Weird Cases, the good ladies inevitably took the chance to recommend Little Daoist Priest Li's exploits... and his appearance.
Before long, these stories had spread through every street and alley of Yuhang Town.
That day, Gongsun Zhe went out to attend a banquet held at a tavern in town, and Li Chu accompanied him.
Inside the tavern was a separate stage specially provided for the Storyteller to tell tales.
The Storyteller raised his sounding block and began in a ringing voice:
"Most wounding is the cool of dusk; this haggard soul is too pitiful to behold."
"Three cups of wine wring the guts to drunkenness; seeking fragrance startles dreams with the chill of fifth watch."
"A Chai Tou Feng lies slanting, and you have tears; the tumi flower has faded, and I have no fate."
"The small building is lonely, the heart and moon alike—both hard to hook, both hard to make full!"
Smack!
"Ladies and gentlemen, today we shall not speak of kings, marquises, generals, and ministers, nor of gifted scholars and beautiful ladies. We shall speak specifically of a remarkable man from our Yuhang Town. This remarkable man lives at Ten Li Slope Outside the Town, at Virtuous Cloud Temple atop the slope. He is a Little Daoist Priest of Virtuous Cloud Temple, named Li Chu."
"This Little Daoist Priest Li..."
Inside the private room, Li Chu's face turned scarlet.
Those who usually listened to ghost stories were mostly men. Yet when the Storyteller told stories about Li Chu, most of those seated below were young ladies.
Moreover, they were clearly already thoroughly familiar with Li Chu's deeds. Whenever they reached an exciting part, they would cheer ahead of time.
Besides those calling out "Little Daoist Priest Li," some shouted "husband" or "I love you," and some even shouted, "mother loves you."
It left Li Chu fidgeting uneasily.
Once the old gentleman finished telling Li Chu's story, they immediately dispersed, their purpose extremely clear. Yet in that brief span of time, the reward money left behind exceeded what he usually earned in an entire day.
The old Storyteller chuckled. His wrinkled face revealed the joy of someone who had caught a glimpse of the secret to wealth.
Li Chu only dared leave the private room after they had all dispersed.
Carefully and cautiously.
Recently, the flow of visitors at Virtuous Cloud Temple had also surged dramatically.
Yu Qi'an had persisted through many days of receiving guests while under siege from women of every age.
At first, when the number of Pilgrims suddenly increased, he had been so happy he could not close his legs.
But as more and more Pilgrims came in an unending stream, the Old Daoist Priest gradually could not hold on any longer.
Every evening, he was so exhausted that he would pound his aching lower back, hold a teacup steeped with goji berries, and gaze tremblingly toward Yuhang Town, tears glimmering in his eyes.
"Disciple, when will you return?"
"Master misses you."
In truth, Li Chu had also been wondering inside the Yamen Office.
Why had the Azure Wing Tower Assassin not come yet?
Could its plan be to let Gongsun Zhe die of old age?
Hm?
Before you continue