Five Plagues Ghost

They were very close. As soon as Old Man Zhao lunged, he was right in front of Li Ye.

Thanks to his long-term training, Li Ye tensed his legs and sprang backward, dodging Old Man Zhao's lunge. The latter consequently fell to the ground.

But as soon as he fell, his body twisted strangely. Though he was on his stomach, his upper body shot up ninety degrees. His knees churned wildly on the ground, approaching Li Ye like a swimming snake. Then, he lunged up, his mouth stretched wide, and bit towards Li Ye.

Li Ye could now see the wriggling things in his mouth.

They were black threads, like worms, swimming back and forth in the decaying flesh of his mouth.

His mouth cavity was rotted into a pulp, threaded with these black worms, yet his tongue was a vibrant red. As he got closer, besides the stench of decay, Li Ye even smelled a peculiar sourness, which in turn mixed with a sweet, rotten, bloody odor.

"Holy shit!"

In a flash of lightning, Li Ye saw he couldn't dodge in time. He put force into his legs and delivered a sharp kick straight to Old Man Zhao's chest.

Spring Leg: Kick the Door Nail!

Bang!

With a muffled thud, Old Man Zhao's chest visibly caved in. But Li Ye's expression also changed.

The sensation in his leg felt like something sticky, constantly eroding his force, as if the mud wanted to trap his foot.

This caused Li Ye a moment's hesitation. By then, Old Man Zhao had already brought his head closer, preparing to bite his face.

Li Ye's eyes hardened. With his other foot, he suddenly sprang up, following Old Man Zhao's approaching head, delivering a reverse hook kick to his jaw, kicking him so hard he tilted his head back.

Using the momentum, Li Ye twisted and shook his foot, which was stuck in Old Man Zhao's chest, pushing Old Man Zhao's body away. He himself spun in the air and landed on the ground.

As soon as he touched the ground, Li Ye quickly braced himself with his hands, his legs coming together. He then charged straight into Old Man Zhao's chest.

Spring Leg: Hammer Charge Break Ladder!

Bang!

Like a hammer smashing a wall, this kick produced an even more muffled sound. As Li Ye kicked, his legs also spun and vibrated, shaking off the unique muddy sensation from his foot. He managed to send Old Man Zhao flying back two meters.

"Ah!"

As Old Man Zhao was crawling on the ground, his knees rubbed against the floor. Without any hesitation, he 'swam' towards Li Ye again.

But by this time, Li Ye had already adjusted his stance. He pulled down his backpack, gripped the Salt Bullet Gun in his left hand, and held the Molotov Cocktail steady in his right. He pulled the trigger first, firing the salt water bullet.

Splat!

The high-concentration salt water bullet exploded on Old Man Zhao's forehead, also causing Old Man Zhao's movements to slow down.

Li Ye narrowed his eyes. "Filth Worm."

The earliest recorded ancient text is the Sui Dynasty's "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Diseases," which states in its theory of 'Filth Qi Transforms into Worms': Its qi is like an oily mist, sweet and cloying to the smell. When it enters a person, their skin feels hot, their intestines rumble, and they crave rotten food. Inside the abdomen, it feels like thread-like objects are coiling and writhing; this is Filth Qi congealing into worms.

Simply put, it's a parasite.

It is born in dirty and unsanitary environments, parasitizes a host, causing fever and diarrhea.

In the early stages, it's not a big deal. But if left untreated, the infected person will gradually crave rotten, spoiled, extremely filthy food.

If it drags on further, the infected person's skin will become moldy, greasy, and the dirt will be impossible to wash off. They will also emit a strange, sweet, rotten, bloody odor.

At this stage, a large number of black thread worms will appear inside the host's body, filling it like meridians, and they will also become a source of contamination.

At this point, the demon has completely transformed the host itself.

The breath exhaled, the scent emitted, and anything touched will spawn new parasites.

But that's it.

It only pollutes everything it can, and after polluting, it goes about its business. It doesn't have the characteristic of killing people.

Even if Li Ye were infected, it would be an early stage. A trip to the hospital and a deworming pill would solve it.

A typical minor demon.

High-concentration salt water has an inhibitory effect on Filth Worms. After firing a shot and making Old Man Zhao stop moving, Li Ye became even more certain.

He picked up the phone that had fallen on the ground and dialed the emergency number.

Of course, he'd call the police!

Was he supposed to take it down himself?

Salt water only inhibits Filth Worms, it doesn't kill them. It's still a demon, and even a newly born demon is a demon.

His previous attacks would have easily kicked a non-martial artist to death, but this thing was unfazed.

For ordinary people, the best way to deal with demons is to find a way to counter them, and that's assuming you don't get contaminated.

The way to deal with Filth Worms is with a large amount of potent, highly effective insecticide.

Li Ye couldn't buy such a thing, nor did he ever consider preparing for this kind of demon.

If calling the police can solve it, why go through so much trouble?

"Don't move!!"

But just as his thumb hovered over the screen, a loud shout came from the distance.

Bang!

With a sudden, firecracker-like bang, Li Ye only caught a glimpse of a flash of fire before seeing a hole appear in Old Man Zhao's forehead.

With a whoosh, a figure blurred past at incredible speed, trailing streaks of light like a net. It slammed into the Filth Worm, instantly tearing its body into countless gashes, sending the entire creature flying backward.

A person in uniform appeared next to Li Ye, holding a gun in their left hand and a sword in their right. Li Ye couldn't get a clear look at their face before they rushed into the stairwell, leaving behind only a single sentence:

"That was a Filth Worm, or at least some kind of demon. Get the others to check you over, be careful of contamination!"

People arrived quickly.

Li Ye blinked, then smiled.

So, Shenzhou is truly safe.

It's just a little strange, though. Do Filth Worms run away when they get injured?

As soon as Li Ye had this thought, his head began to feel inexplicably heavy.

His head felt dizzy and swollen, his throat tickled, and he felt an urge to cough.

A cold?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, his stomach rumbled. A sense of hunger surged through him.

Hunger?

Is the contamination appearing?

No!

Filth Worms don't cause colds!

Li Ye's eyes widened, and instantly, the details about Old Man Zhao replayed in his mind.

"The green chitinous layer on the surface is mold, but besides a Filth Worm infestation, there's another thing that causes mold."

"There's a sweet scent, but also a sour aroma, and it makes me feel hungry."

His mouth was rotted into mush, like it was scalded, and his tongue was bright red.

"And there were black threadworms, only appearing in the mouth."

"The texture I felt wasn't dirt, it was sugary liquid, which is why it felt like sinking into mud."

"High-concentration saltwater can not only inhibit parasites but also inhibit bacteria!"

Li Ye remembered something and took out his flashlight from his backpack, shining it towards the fourth floor. By the window, he saw a large number of mold spots!

Ancient nursery rhyme: Little ghosts climb the beams, moldy rain beats the window!

It's not a Filth Worm!

The environment, messy and dirty, could breed many types of demons, but each had its own unique characteristics, making them easy to distinguish. However, some demons could cause confusion.

He recalled a case that was discussed alongside the Filth Worm.

"It's a Five Plagues Ghost!"

Li Ye's hair stood on end. He gritted his teeth and let out a muffled roar, charging straight into the stairwell.

As he ran, his symptoms began to worsen: fever, headache, cough, hunger, an intense craving for greasy and sweet foods.

The Five Plagues Ghost, the only demon that could be confused with a Filth Worm, because their manifestations were so similar that one wouldn't notice without careful analysis.

Also a demon that manifested in stages, the initial symptoms of the Five Plagues Ghost were what Li Ye was experiencing now: fever, headache, and hunger.

In the next stage, the host's perception of food would change, developing a craving for sugar and oil. That sour, vinegary smell would stimulate the appetite, making them eat voraciously without regard for the quality of the food.

Then, a complete mutation would occur, turning them into something that only knew hunger and constantly ate, consuming even food from garbage heaps.

In terms of manifestation, it was very similar to the Filth Worm. If the former was a parasite, the latter was a bacterium!

The only way to differentiate was to look at its characteristics: the sweet stickiness and the dirt were different, as was the sour aroma. Especially the bright red tongue.

Like the Filth Worm, it was a minor demon, but it was very special!

It was rare, seldom seen in modern times, only appearing a few times in that place called Bharata.

It was essentially a demon born from food, also appearing in dirty and messy environments, usually related to food.

But it was the only demon that could not be killed by the wrong methods!

If the Five Plagues Ghost wasn't killed, at most it would drain a person's vitality, causing contamination and making people sick.

But if the Five Plagues Ghost was killed using the wrong method, it would spread into the air and engulf an area!

The surrounding region would then become a place of rotting food, leading to famine and plague!

This was a minor demon with the power to transform disaster!

That person just now was also talking about a Filth Worm; the intelligence was flawed!

With the skills he displayed, killing a demon wouldn't be too difficult.

But it would definitely not be the correct method!

Once it died, the mildest outcome would be everyone getting seriously ill, and the severe cases would end up in the ICU.

The more serious outcome would be this entire residential area turning into a land of great plague and famine, and all the contaminated people would become pitiful ghosts dying from illness or starvation!

His parents lived in the building next door!

"You son of a bitch, Old Man Zhao! Fine, scavenging and piling up trash, but what were you thinking eating unclean food?!"

Li Ye's eyes turned red. He leaped up, landing precisely on the fourth floor.

He didn't even dare to take the elevator!