Beating

Chen Shi didn't know the Iron Brush Old Man was dead. He continued to furiously attack the various talismans, but they were completely impervious to his attacks.

Some of the more sinister talismans, like the Five Ghosts and Six Harms, were so powerful that Chen Shi wouldn't stand a chance against even one of the malevolent spirits within them.

He kept attacking frantically, terrified the Iron Brush Old Man would recover and deliver a fatal blow. But after a long time, he couldn't even break through the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman, and despair began to set in.

The more desperate he became, the more frenzied he grew!

"Woof woof woof woof!"

Black Pot barked loudly at him, but Chen Shi was in a state of extreme excitement and couldn't hear a thing.

By the time Chen Shi tired himself out, the Eight Trigrams Divine Light formed by the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman still hadn't been broken. His hands were already covered in blood, torn and mangled by the impact.

The talismans of this old Talisman Master were terrifyingly powerful!

"Woof woof woof!"

Black Pot bit his trouser leg and pulled backward.

Chen Shi tried to attack again, but his footing was unstable, and he stumbled. Finally, a sliver of clarity returned to his mind. His gaze passed through layers of strange divine light and landed on the Iron Brush Old Man, who was kneeling there, having been dead for a long time.

He froze for a moment.

"Dead?"

Then, he was overjoyed.

"Dead! He's finally dead! I killed him!"

Chen Shi burst into laughter, his knees buckling. He collapsed onto the ground, laughing somewhat maniacally, "All his incredibly powerful talismans, he didn't even get to use them before I killed him! Good riddance, good riddance!"

He couldn't catch his breath and almost fainted. He quickly calmed himself and took deep breaths.

After a moment, Chen Shi staggered to his feet and spat forcefully at the Iron Brush Old Man.

"Serves you right!" Chen Shi said fiercely.

Black Pot's heart pounded, and it followed suit with a spit.

A little later, Chen Shi caught his breath and went to drag the body of Zhao Family steward Zhao Ming. He strained with all his might but found his arms and legs too weak to move the corpse.

Chen Shi had to rest again. Once he regained some strength, he managed to drag Zhao Ming's body to the side of the road.

Not long after, the power of the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman and other talismans dissipated, revealing the Iron Brush Old Man's body. Chen Shi dragged his body to the side of the road as well.

"They are from the Zhao Family. The Zhao Family is investigating the disappearance of the woman in purple. We must dispose of the bodies, otherwise, if the Zhao Family finds out, it will cause more trouble."

Chen Shi looked up at the sky. The two suns had gradually become semicircles, and the sky was flushed with firelight, like red clouds.

Dusk was approaching.

"When night falls, wild beasts will emerge, and malevolent spirits and evils will come out to destroy the evidence."

Chen Shi frowned slightly. It was too late to return to Huangpo Village now. The only place they could avoid the night was Huangyang Village.

"Black Pot, let's go back to Huangyang Village!"

Black Pot blinked and quickly trotted to keep up with him. The man and his dog walked towards Huangyang Village.

As the crimson sea of fire, like a sunset, filled the sky, Chen Shi, with his bloodied hands and accompanied by the Black Dog, stepped onto the scarlet earth and arrived at the entrance of Huangyang Village.

Behind them, the sound of wheels rumbled. A tall, burly old man sat on a wooden cart, holding a compass, also heading towards Huangyang Village.

Grandpa was finally driving the wooden cart to pick them up.

Chen Shi glanced back at the wooden cart but didn't go to meet it. Instead, he strode towards the temple in the center of the village.

Black Pot hesitated for a moment, not going to greet Grandpa, and quickly followed Chen Shi.

The villagers emerged from their houses, their eyes falling on the man and his dog.

Chen Shi, radiating killing intent yet wearing a smile, walked directly to the front of the temple in the ruins of the palace. Without any hesitation, he stepped inside.

The large-headed, big-eared divine manifestation looked up, its gaze flickering with panic as it saw his bloodied hands.

It had been thoroughly frightened by the news that Chen Shi had killed the Talisman Master two miles away.

Chen Shi raised his hand and swept all the offerings from the altar to the ground. He then sat on the altar, staring at the fat man in front of him.

"I killed the Talisman Master who made a deal with you. I assume you saw it all."

Chen Shi stared into the divine manifestation's small eyes. "As my Godmother, you colluded with outsiders and caused the deaths of your three godchildren. You are unworthy of the name Godmother and unworthy of the incense burning before you! When others gossiped about you, you let malevolent spirits into the village and killed an entire family. So, what crime has the Godmother committed, and who will punish me?"

The fat man's face turned ashen, his expression ferocious. He roared like thunder, "Who dares to judge me? Who dares to punish me?"

Behind him, the bronze statue with its green face and fangs shone brightly, its brilliant divine light illuminating the temple as if it were day!

Beams of light shot out from the temple's entrance, startling the villagers of Huangyang Village, who trembled. The timid ones even knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly towards the temple, muttering prayers for the Godmother's forgiveness.

"I dare!"

An angry, yet still youthful voice echoed from within the temple. Those brave enough, like Sanwang, had already come to the front of the temple and were peeking inside. They saw Chen Shi leap onto the altar and kick at a patch of empty air.

Even though he kicked at nothing, it was as if he had kicked something solid. He couldn't see the fat divine manifestation.

But Chen Shi could.

His kick distorted the fat man's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth into a tangled mess, his entire face nearly sinking into his head!

The fat man roared, stood up with a boom, his flabby flesh jiggling all over. His body, condensed from extraordinary power, contained terrifying divine might, ready to erupt!

Just then, the rumbling of wheels could be heard. Grandpa sat on a wooden cart, slowly driving towards them.

The fat man shivered, his small eyes filled with fear.

"You dare fight back?"

Chen Shi grew even angrier. He got up and swept his leg towards the fat man's neck, causing the flesh on his neck and belly to ripple like waves.

The fat man was sent flying by the immense force, toppling to one side. Chen Shi jumped down from the offering table, stepped on his chest, and rained punches down on his face!

The sounds of fists hitting head and face echoed from the temple. The villagers outside widened their eyes, repeatedly peeking into the temple. Some had faces full of terror, while others showed relieved, joyful smiles. Still others knelt on the ground, kowtowing like pounding garlic, begging their Godmother for forgiveness.

"We made you Godmother, but you don't protect the villagers! You let malevolent spirits in to harm people!"

Bang bang bang!

"We made you Godmother, but you threatened villagers in their dreams!"

Bang bang bang!

"We made you Godmother, but you colluded with outsiders and killed the village children!"

Bang bang bang!

More villagers craned their necks to watch. Inside the temple, Chen Shi had picked up the offering table with both hands and was smashing it down repeatedly. Though there was nothing underneath, the sounds of impact were very real.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting!" someone shouted.

Chen Shi continued to smash downwards, breaking the offering table until only the legs remained, which he then used to strike fiercely.

Only after breaking the table legs did he drop them. Spotting the incense burner, he picked it up and smashed it down onto the fat man's divine manifestation!

This time, dull thudding sounds echoed, heavy and muffled.

"We made you Godmother, but you bullied my friend Fugui!"

Thud thud thud!

"We made you Godmother, but you bullied Fugui's friend!"

Thud thud thud!

"And you even planned to eat them!"

The sounds of hammering and smashing continued. Chen Shi fought for a full half hour, finally releasing the anger in his chest. The fat man had already been beaten beyond recognition, lying on the ground, his face swollen like a pig's head.

Chen Shi carried the incense burner to the temple entrance. Outside, a dense crowd of people stood, their eyes fixed on his face. These were the villagers of Huangyang Village.

Chen Shi grinned and threw the flattened incense burner outside the temple door.

He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face. After fighting for half an hour, he was drenched in sweat, but the bloodstains on his hands smeared his face, giving him a rugged appearance.

After the fight, he felt quite hungry, wanting to eat something.

"This fat man..."

Chen Shi hesitated, then extinguished the thought, chuckling inwardly. The fat man is a divine manifestation, not food. I actually felt a desire to eat him. That startled me.

He didn't notice the blue ghost hand on his chest emitting a faint glow, which was now gradually dimming.

Chen Shi raised his foot, about to leave the temple, but suddenly stopped and turned back.

The fat man's divine manifestation lying on the ground trembled upon seeing him return. However, Chen Shi didn't approach him. Instead, he walked directly to the bronze statue with a green face and fangs.

The fat man was a divine manifestation condensed from extraordinary power, while this bronze statue was the Godmother's true form.

Chen Shi reached out, grasped one of the bronze statue's fingers, and slowly applied force, breaking it off.

The fat man on the ground screamed in agony, writhing in pain.

Chen Shi then grabbed another finger and slowly broke it off.

One by one, then another, and another!

Before long, all ten fingers of the bronze statue were broken off!

Chen Shi gripped the ten fingers, twisted them forcefully, turning them into bronze twists, and threw them onto the fat man's divine manifestation.

"My friend Fugui's three friends wanted to leave your broken temple. If you dare to stop them again, I'll twist your head off and use it as a chamber pot!"

Having said that, Chen Shi beckoned to the three children in the corner, his expression softening. He smiled and said, "Come here, you can go home now."

The ghosts of the three children walked over tremblingly, bypassed the fat man's divine manifestation, and came to Chen Shi's side.

Chen Shi led them towards the temple exit. The three children successfully crossed the temple threshold and walked out.

The ghosts of the three children looked at Chen Shi with admiration.

Chen Shi smiled, "Go home now, go see your parents. After the seventh day, if a ghost messenger comes for you, follow him. Don't stay in the human world."

The three children ran towards their respective parents. Although their parents couldn't see them, they seemed to feel their presence beside them.

Chen Shi walked towards the wooden cart. The old man stood beside it, and the dog wagged its tail at him subserviently. The moonlight shone down, casting a quiet and mysterious glow.

"You've grown up, going out to deal with evil spirits on your own."

Grandpa took his hand, clearing the clotted blood from his wounds, and said gruffly, "How much did you earn?"

Chen Shi felt a sense of alarm and shook his head, saying, "I didn't make any money. There's a Talisman Master killing people and using children to refine oil for Life-Extending Lamps. I saw how poor the villagers were, so I didn't charge them."

For some reason, his heart was pounding fiercely, and the silver in his sleeve suddenly felt extremely hot.

Grandpa grunted and didn't press further. He applied medicine to Chen Shi's wounds and said, "Let's go home and take medicine."

Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "The moon has risen now, and it's dangerous to go home. Why don't we stay in this temple for the night?"

Inside the temple, the large, fat divine manifestation almost fainted.

Grandpa shook his head. "You killed someone and beat this big fatty so badly. If you don't take medicine, your illness will easily flare up. Hanging up more peach charms should allow you to return home safely."

Chen Shi recalled how he had been in excruciating pain and couldn't help but feel a chill. He climbed onto the cart.

The wooden cart drove out of the village. Chen Shi suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying fiercely, "You dead fatty, I live in the next village. You'd better behave yourself and be a good Godmother! Otherwise, I'll come over to beat you on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays too!"

The large, fat divine manifestation couldn't help but shudder.

--Still asking for votes and recommendations!!

Recommending my good brother's book, I Don't Cheat, I Use Divination. If your life can't be cheated, then I can teach you to use divination. From the perspective of a numerologist, it interprets the arts of destiny and feng shui, writing novels into reality and bringing reality into novels. Recommended reading.