Beating

Chen Shi did not know that Iron Brush Old Man was already dead, still frantically attacking those talismans of various forms, yet he could not shake the talismans at all.

Even among them, some of the vicious talismans, such as the Five Ghosts, the Six Harms, and others—if any single ghost or sui from them were picked out, Chen Shi was no match for it.

He was still fiercely attacking, terrified that Iron Brush Old Man would catch his breath and deal him a fatal blow, but after striking for a long time and failing to even break through the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman, he could not help but feel despair.

The more desperate he was, the more frantic he became!

"Woof woof woof woof!"

Black Dog barked loudly at him, but Chen Shi was in a state of high agitation and could not hear at all.

By the time Chen Shi had beaten himself to exhaustion, the Eight Trigrams divine light formed by the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman still refused to open, and his hands were already dripping with blood, shockingly battered and torn to shreds by the rebound.

The talismans of this elderly talisman master were truly terrifyingly strong!

"Woof woof woof!"

Black Dog bit his trouser leg and pulled backward.

Chen Shi still intended to strike again, but his footing was unstable and he staggered a bit. Finally, a shred of clarity returned to his sanity, and his gaze passed through layer after layer of bizarre divine light to land on Iron Brush Old Man, only to see that Iron Brush Old Man was kneeling there, having been dead for some time.

He could not help freezing.

"Dead?"

Then came wild joy.

"Dead! He's finally dead! He was beaten to death by me!"

Chen Shi laughed wildly, his knees turning weak, and he slumped heavily onto the ground, laughing somewhat dementedly. "With so many immensely powerful talismans of his, before he even had time to use them, he was beaten to death by me! Served him right, served him right!"

He could not catch his breath in one go and nearly passed out, hastily steadying his emotions and panting in huge gulps.

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

"Deserve it!" Chen Shi said fiercely.

Black Dog's heart thumped with fright, and it followed suit by spitting as well.

After another moment, when Chen Shi had caught his breath, he went forward to drag the corpse of Zhao family steward Zhao Ming. Exerting force with both hands, he found that his arms and legs were weak and sore, making him utterly unable to drag it.

Chen Shi had no choice but to rest a while longer, waiting until he recovered some strength before finally dragging Zhao Ming's corpse to the roadside.

Not long after, the power of the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman and the other talismans dissipated, and the corpse of Iron Brush Old Man was revealed. Chen Shi dragged Iron Brush Old Man's corpse to the roadside as well.

"They are people from the Zhao family. The Zhao family came to investigate the disappearance of the woman in purple, so we must dispose of the bodies. Otherwise, if the Zhao family discovers this, it will breed more trouble."

Chen Shi looked up at the sky. The two suns were gradually turning into semicircles, and the sky was also flushed with fiery light, resembling red clouds.

Night was falling.

"When night comes, wild beasts roam, and ghosts and sui will also come out to destroy the bodies and erase the traces."

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

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

Black Dog started slightly, then quickly hurried to keep up with him, man and dog walking toward Huangyang Village.

By the time the crimson sea of fire filled the sky like evening glow, Chen Shi, with blood-stained hands and leading the Black Dog, stepped upon the scarlet earth and arrived at the entrance of Huangyang Village.

Behind them, the sound of cart wheels creaked and rattled. An elderly man with a robust physique sat on a wooden cart, holding a luopan in his hand as he also drove toward Huangyang Village.

...Grandpa had finally driven the wooden cart to pick them up and take them back.

Chen Shi looked back at the wooden cart without going forward to meet it, instead striding toward the temple in the center of the village.

Black Dog hesitated for a moment, forgoing greeting Grandpa, and hurried to follow Chen Shi.

The villagers emerged from their houses one after another, pairs of eyes falling upon this man and dog.

Chen Shi was full of killing intent, yet wore a smile on his face as he walked straight to the temple amidst the palace ruins. Without the slightest hesitation, he crossed the threshold and walked inside.

The fat-headed divine statue looked up at him with blood-stained hands, its gaze somewhat dodging and panicked.

The matter of Chen Shi beating Iron Brush Old Man to death two miles away had not been kept from it, truly scaring it out of its wits.

Chen Shi raised his hand, sweeping all the offerings on the offering table down onto the ground in a clatter, then hoisted his backside up to sit on the offering table, staring at the fat fellow in front of him.

"I beat that talisman master who traded with you to death, and I reckon you saw all of it."

Chen Shi stared into the divine statue's small eyes. "As a godmother, colluding with outsiders to murder your three foster sons, you are unworthy of the name of godmother, unworthy of the incense burning before you! When people gossiped behind your back, you released evil spirits into the village to murder whole families. So when a godmother does wrong, what crime should she bear, and who shall punish her?"

The fat fellow's face bore a greenish hue and a fierce expression. He let out a roar like thunder, bellowing, "Who dares to judge me? Who dares to punish me?"

Behind him, the green-faced, fanged bronze statue burst into dazzling light, its brilliant divine light illuminating the temple as bright as day!

Puffs of light streamed out from the doors of the temple, frightening the villagers of Huangyang Village so that they shivered all over. The timid ones had even dropped to their knees, kowtowing repeatedly toward the temple while muttering under their breath, praying for the godmother's forgiveness.

"I dare!"

An angry and still childish voice came from within the temple. Someone as bold as Sanwang had already arrived in front of the temple, secretly peeking inside to see Chen Shi erupting on the offering table and kicking fiercely at a cluster of empty air.

Though he was kicking empty air, it sounded as if he were striking a solid object—he could not see the fat-headed divine statue.

Chen Shi, however, could see it.

With this single kick, he distorted the fat fellow's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose into a mess, driving his entire face almost into his head!

The fat fellow let out a furious roar and sprang violently to his feet, his rolls of fat trembling wildly. His body, condensed from extraordinary power, contained terrifying divine might and was about to erupt!

At that moment, the creaking sound of cart wheels arrived, and Grandpa sat on the wooden cart, driving leisurely toward this side.

The fat fellow shuddered, his small eyes filled with terror.

"You dare fight back?"

Chen Shi grew even angrier, getting up and sweeping a kick across the fat fellow's neck, lashing the fat on his neck and belly into continuous rolling waves.

The fat fellow was swept to one side by this immense force. Chen Shi leaped down from the offering table, planted a foot on his chest, and ruthlessly greeted his face with his fists!

The sound of fists pounding against head and face came from inside the temple. Outside the temple, the villagers widened their eyes, peering into the temple again and again. Some faces were full of terror, some revealed expressions of gratification and joy, while others knelt on the ground, kowtowing like pounding garlic and praying for the godmother's forgiveness.

"I'll have you be a godmother, yet you don't protect the villagers and instead let evil spirits in to harm people!"

Thud, thud, thud!

"I'll have you be a godmother, yet you threaten the villagers in their dreams!"

Thud, thud, thud!

"I'll have you be a godmother, yet you collude with outsiders to murder the children of the village!"

Thud, thud, thud!

More villagers craned their necks to watch. Inside the temple, Chen Shi could be seen lifting the offering table with both hands and smashing it down fiercely over the head and face. Clearly nothing was beneath it, yet the impact sounded entirely real.

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me!" a voice cried out.

Chen Shi continued to smash down without stopping, shattering the offering table until only the table legs remained, yet he still raised a table leg and whipped down savagely.

Not until he snapped the table leg did he discard it. Catching sight of the incense burner, he picked it up and smashed it down toward the fat-headed divine statue!

This time it was a thudding sound of impact, very dull and heavy.

"I'll have you be a godmother, yet you bullied my friend Fugui!"

Thump, thump, thump!

"I'll have you be a godmother, yet you bullied Fugui's friends!"

Thump, thump, thump!

"I'll have you still plan to eat them!"

The sound of continuous pounding and smashing rang out. Chen Shi beat him for a full half-hour before venting the pent-up frustration in his chest. By then, the fat fellow had long since been beaten out of human shape, lying on the ground with his face swollen like a pig's head.

Holding the incense burner, Chen Shi came to the temple entrance. A dense crowd of people was outside, pairs of eyes falling upon his face—they were the villagers of Huangyang Village.

Chen Shi grinned broadly and tossed the incense burner outside the temple door; it had already been smashed flat by him.

He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his face. Having fought continuously for half an hour, he was drenched in sweat from head to toe, though the bloodstains on his hands were smeared across his face, making his features look somewhat rugged.

After the beating, he still felt a bit hungry, suddenly craving something to eat.

"This fat fellow..."

Chen Shi hesitated, snuffed out the thought, and laughed at himself inwardly. The fat fellow is a divine statue, not food. To think I'd actually develop an appetite for him—gave me a start.

He failed to notice that the azure ghost hand on his chest, which had been emitting a faint glow, was now gradually dimming.

Lifting his foot as if to walk out of the temple, Chen Shi suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back.

The fat-headed divine statue lying on the ground quivered and trembled at the sight of his return, but Chen Shi did not walk toward it, going instead directly to the green-faced, fanged bronze statue.

The fat fellow was a divine statue condensed from extraordinary power, whereas this bronze statue was the godmother's true body.

Chen Shi reached out, grasped one of the bronze statue's fingers, and slowly exerted force, snapping the finger clean off.

The fat fellow on the ground suffered excruciating pain, his miserable shrieks endlessly echoing.

Chen Shi grasped another finger and slowly snapped it off.

One, then another, and another!

Before long, all ten fingers of the bronze statue had been snapped off by him!

Chen Shi gathered the ten fingers in his grip, twisted them forcefully into a bronze pretzel, and tossed them onto the fat-headed divine statue.

"My friend Fugui's three friends wanted to walk out of your broken temple, and if you motherfuckers dare to stop them again, I'll twist your head off to use as a nightstool!"

Having said that, Chen Shi beckoned to the three children in the corner, his expression turning gentle as he smiled. "Come over, you can go home now."

The three children's ghosts walked over trembling with fright, bypassed the fat-headed divine statue, and arrived at Chen Shi's side.

Chen Shi led them toward the outside of the temple, and the three children smoothly stepped over the temple threshold and walked out just as expected.

The three children's ghosts looked at Chen Shi with faces full of adoration.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Go home now and see your mothers and fathers. After the seventh day following your death, if ghost deputies come looking for you, just go with them. Don't linger in the mortal world."

The three children ran toward their respective parents. Although their parents could not see them, they seemed to sense that they were right beside them.

Chen Shi walked toward the wooden cart. The old man stood beside the wooden cart, and Gouzi wagged its tail ingratiatingly at the old man. Moonlight spilled down, quiet and mysterious.

"You went out to purge evils yourself—growing quite capable, aren't you?"

Grandpa grabbed his hand, cleaning the congealed blood from his wounds, and said in a muffled voice, "How much money did you make?"

Chen Shi grew alert inside, shaking his head. "Didn't make money. A talisman master was killing people, using children to refine life-extending lamp oil. Seeing how poor the villagers were, I didn't collect any money."

For some reason, his heart was beating violently, and the silver in his sleeve instantly became scorching hot.

Grandpa let out a hmm, not pressing further. Applying healing medicine for him, he said, "Go home. Take your medicine."

Chen Shi let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Now that the moon has risen, it's dangerous to go home. We might as well stay the night in this temple."

Inside the temple, the fat-headed divine statue nearly passed out from fright.

Grandpa shook his head. "You killed a man and beat this fat fellow so severely. If you don't take your medicine, your illness will easily flare up. Hanging a few more peachwood talismans should allow us to return home safely."

Recalling the agonizing episodes that made him wish he were dead, Chen Shi could not help feeling a chill, and he climbed onto the cart.

The wooden cart drove out of the village. Remembering something, Chen Shi suddenly turned his head and said fiercely, "Dead fatty, I live in the neighboring village, so you'd better behave yourself and be a good godmother! Otherwise I'll come beat you on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I'll come beat you on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays too!"

The fat-headed divine statue could not help shuddering.

...Do beg for votes and recommendations!!

Recommending a good brother's book, I Don't Hang, I Divine. If your life cannot be "hanged" with cheats, then I can teach you how to divine. From the perspective of a numerologist, it deciphers the arts of destiny and feng shui, writing the novel into reality and bringing reality into the novel. Recommended reading.