Zhong Kui

Qinggu County Yamen.

Blood splashed across the walls, and arrows lay scattered like grass.

A burly figure in a scarlet official robe sat atop the county magistrate's desk, head lowered and arms folded, seemingly taking a midday nap.

"Phew!"

"Phew!"

His thunderous snores were like those of a slumbering behemoth, shaking even the blood-spattered plaque above his head until it hummed and trembled.

Upright and Bright, every character dripping blood.

The dense stench of blood filled the entire yamen, enough to make hearts quail and souls scatter.

Yet that figure slept so peacefully, as though he had been born loving the smell of blood.

Drip. Drip.

Blood from the plaque fell directly onto the ancient sword at his side, still sheathed. Like cinnabar, it dyed the pitch-black hilt crimson.

Mosquitoes and flies, drawn by the bloody aura, stopped before the deeply sleeping figure like a coiled dragon, not daring to come a step closer.

It was as if an invisible Killing Intent was brewing, startling all insects and suppressing ten thousand evils.

No one knew how long passed. The blazing sun slowly moved westward, and the Yang Fire boiling between heaven and earth gradually weakened.

Suddenly, a howling Yin wind swept through like a raging gale, bending great trees and sending cicadas into panic.

For a moment, flying sand and rolling stones filled the air, and heaven and earth seemed to darken.

The Guardian Soldiers had arrived!

In an instant, the already dense bloody aura within the yamen seemed like hot oil poured onto flames, erupting with a thunderous blast.

Bloody footprints emerged across the floor, racing straight toward the sleeping figure.

The furious roars of battlefield warriors echoed all around.

Clang!

The metallic sound of a sword leaving its sheath rang through the air. Terrifying killing intent surged like floodwaters bursting through opened gates. As those bloody footprints advanced, the tables, chairs, and vases around them were all cleanly severed in two.

The cuts were smooth as mirrors.

Even the solid beams and walls bore sharp sword marks, with stone chips flying everywhere.

At that moment, the scarlet-robed figure seemed to awaken, and his snores ceased.

But that terrifying sword strike was about to fall upon his head.

Among the underworld's forces, the Guardian Soldiers were the fiercest and most tyrannical. Wherever they went, even lone ghosts and wandering spirits within a hundred miles would be forcefully slain, leaving not a blade of grass standing!

The great figure of the underworld had sent this Guardian Soldier to protect County Magistrate Zhu Zong, which showed just how much importance He placed on him.

It also showed His confidence in the Guardian Soldier's strength.

If this sword came down, not only would his head roll to the ground, but even his soul would be beheaded. In the Nine Springs below, he would become a headless ghost.

Even if he reincarnated, in his next life he would be an idiot, unable to speak, see, hear, or smell.

At that critical moment, the figure treated the sword hanging above his head as though it were nothing and fiercely slammed his hand down.

In his palm was a pitch-black, heavy ironwood block. Cracks crisscrossed its surface like flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder.

It was none other than the Startling Hall Wood used by Kaifeng Prefecture's Bao Longtu to judge cases and distinguish injustice!

Smack!!!

As the block struck, the Killing Intent, like mountains of corpses and seas of blood, shuddered violently and was torn open with rents like cloth.

The righteous qi of ages erupted forth like a volcano splitting the earth!

With one strike of the hall wood, thunder sounded a thousandfold; evil was executed and driven back, and ten thousand ghosts could not invade!

In a daze, Qinggu County's yamen seemed to become Kaifeng Prefecture. Beneath the plaque bearing the words Upright and Bright sat a figure with an unwavering gaze and an unbending bearing, the crescent moon on his forehead illuminating vengeful spirits in every direction.

Bang!!

In the air, an invisible figure seemed to be blasted away by the thunderous sound of the hall wood, its Yin energy scattering in great quantities.

At last, a figure slowly emerged.

It was a towering giant of a man, broad-backed and bear-waisted, clad in heavy armor. The armor was covered in cracks, bronze rust, and mottled bloodstains that could never be washed away.

Most horrifying were the Guardian Soldier's eyes, burning with blue ghostfire, as though they could see through the three souls and burn the seven spirits.

Yet at this moment, those tyrannical ghostfire eyes flickered and swayed like lamp flames in wind and rain.

Before Lord Bao's Startling Hall Wood, even the Five Guardian Soldiers, renowned for their ferocity, had their Yin energy greatly scattered and fell into a brief daze.

But it was, after all, a fierce underworld soldier. It regained its senses after just one breath, and the phosphorescent fire in its eyes steadied once more.

But in the next instant, the ghostfire leaped sharply, revealing a trace of terror carved into its very bones...

Because the man in the scarlet official robe finally raised his face.

Fire surged from his forehead toward the heavens, a butterfly pattern lay across his single straight brow.

Iron face, curled beard, crimson heart split; he slew ghosts and seized evil, hailed as Holy Lord!

The Face Paint of Zhong Kui, Blessing and House-Protecting Holy Lord!

Legend had it that after Zhong Kui died, he was appointed the great god of exorcism. King Yama personally bestowed the Ghost-Slaying Sword upon him and ordered him to sweep away the myriad ghosts of the mortal realm and purge the demons of the Nine Provinces.

When Emperor Ming of Tang dreamed of a little ghost clinging to him, Zhong Kui appeared and swallowed the ghost in a single bite. Thus came the legend of Zhong Kui chewing ghosts.

Among the common folk, he was also called the Celestial Master—the Celestial Master who specialized in catching and killing ghosts!

If one asked which person ghosts feared most under heaven, it was not the judges of the underworld, nor King Yama, but Zhong Kui, who loved nothing more than killing and eating ghosts.

No matter whether it was a vicious ghost, Fierce Ghost, evil ghost, savage ghost, or even a ghost king, to Zhong Kui, they were merely delicious morsels to go with wine.

The fiercer you were, the more authentic the flavor!

Thus, when the Guardian Soldier saw the Zhong Kui Face Paint painted by Zhou Sheng, its entire body shuddered, and it instinctively revealed terror.

But a Guardian Soldier was still a Guardian Soldier. Its incomparably savage nature quickly overcame its instinctive fear. Its ghostfire flickered as it recognized that this was merely Zhong Kui from an opera.

It roared furiously, its Killing Intent boiling, and charged forward with sword in hand once more.

But Zhou Sheng struck the Startling Hall Wood again.

Rumble!!

Thunderous sound shook the ninth heaven, exploding in every corner.

Another crack appeared on the Startling Hall Wood, but the Guardian Soldier's body froze in an instant as though struck by lightning, its Yin energy rapidly dissipating.

The next moment, a sword cry rang out.

The clear sound of a sword being drawn was like jade chimes being struck, lingering throughout the government hall.

Zhong Kui had arrived to kill!

"Yi—ya—!!"

The moment the operatic voice rose, it was like a tiger's roar and dragon's chant, shaking all directions. Every strand of his halberd-like curled beard stood upright, and his baleful eyes glared like bronze bells.

A fiendish visage, as if he were about to chew ghosts up and eat them!

Clang!!

The ancient sword engraved with the Supreme Ghost-Slaying Incantation struck the Guardian Soldier's armor, throwing up a blazing spark with a sizzling explosion.

Drops of blood condensed from Yin energy splattered outward, then turned into black mist and dispersed in the air.

This sword was named the Ghost-Slaying Sword, sharing the same name as the ritual sword in Zhong Kui's hand. It had once belonged to a famous general of the previous dynasty, following him through decades of campaigns and beheading countless foes, its Killing Intent surging like a tide.

Later, the ancient sword became vicious. After grave robbers dug it up, it killed seventeen people within three days!

His Master, Yu Zhensheng, had subdued the sword and invited Daoists from Longhu Mountain to engrave the Supreme Ghost-Slaying Incantation upon it. Only then had it become a divine weapon that specially restrained ghosts.

Folklore said that even a butcher's knife that had seen blood could restrain ghosts, let alone a vicious sword that had slain countless people and borne the Supreme Ghost-Slaying Incantation?

With only one strike, the Guardian Soldier was sent flying back, crying out in pain.

Zheng!!

The forty-nine-jin Ghost-Slaying Sword dragged across the ground, scraping out dazzling sparks and a ringing cry like clashing golden spears and iron steeds.

Zhou Sheng moved with the sword, not pausing for even a moment as he charged forward once again. His bronze-bell eyes brimmed with Killing Intent and a kind of... hunger, like that of a hunter who had spotted prey.

With one sword strike, he threw back his head and laughed wildly.

"Fine ghost! Fine ghost!"

"My belly is starving like thunder!"

Thanks to Guaili Luandiao for the three-thousand reward, heart gesture!