Head-Devouring Ghost

Standing in the courtyard, Zhou Yi saw that the sky was gradually darkening and light snow had begun to drift down. Following the example of the households outside, he lit two lanterns and hung them before the courtyard gate.

The only regret was that the courtyard was in a somewhat secluded spot—a dead-end alley, as people commonly called it. Yet as he watched the lanterns cast their hazy yellow light over the narrow lane, a warmth inexplicably rose in Zhou Yi's heart.

After closing the courtyard gate, Zhou Yi returned to his bedroom.

The bedroom was small. Zhou Yi's bed stood on the left, while a bookshelf stood on the right. Before the shelf was a long table, with a chair tucked beneath it. A folding screen stood near the right side of the room, separating the bookshelf from the bed.

Looking at the bedroom before him, Zhou Yi could not help thinking of the little wooden hut where he had lived in Green Bamboo Village. Before leaving, he had given that hut to Ling Liang.

Zhou Yi let out a soft sigh and began planning what he needed to do tomorrow.

Suddenly, his stomach growled. Only then did Zhou Yi remember that he had not eaten dinner. Shaking his head, he headed outside. Whatever else happened, he could not let his stomach suffer.

On the street, a peddler looked at the light radiating from the treasure image overhead and was just about to pack up his stall when Zhou Yi approached.

"Uncle, are you closing up?"

"Yeah! If I don't head back soon, it'll be easy to run into something strange at night."

At that moment, Zhou Yi's stomach growled again. Hearing it, the old man laughed and said, "Fine, I'll make you another bowl of noodles."

Zhou Yi smiled awkwardly.

"Uncle, one bowl might not be enough."

"I couldn't tell, but you've got quite an appetite. Fine, tell me how many bowls you want, and I'll cook them." As he spoke, his hands continued working without slowing.

"Ten bowls." Zhou Yi held up two hands toward the man.

Clang~

The uncle dropped his ladle and said, "Young man, you're not here to fool around with me, are you? Ten bowls? Can you even finish that?"

Zhou Yi replied unhurriedly, "Uncle, I practice martial arts. I can eat."

Only then did the uncle behind the stall stretch out his head. When he saw the clothes Zhou Yi was wearing, he froze, then immediately plastered a smile across his face. "So you're an officer from the Provincial Governor's Office! It's dark, and this lowly one's eyes failed him. I didn't see clearly. Please don't hold it against me, sir."

Zhou Yi was startled by the uncle's words. He lowered his head and looked at his clothes. Damn, he had forgotten to change—he was still wearing the Provincial Governor's Office uniform.

Once the uncle recognized Zhou Yi's clothes, his hands and feet moved faster and faster. Before long, ten bowls of noodles were set before Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi took out a tael of silver and handed it to the uncle, but the uncle repeatedly waved it away. Left with no choice, Zhou Yi put on a stern face and forced him to accept the silver.

Only after seeing the uncle tuck the silver away did Zhou Yi sit at a small table nearby, lower his head, and wolf down the noodles.

Looking at the ten empty bowls before him, Zhou Yi let out a satisfied burp and raised his head to look at the sky. By now, night had completely fallen.

Thus, Zhou Yi said to the uncle, who had been waiting beside him all this time, "Uncle, I'll walk you home."

How could the uncle dare let someone from the Provincial Governor's Office escort him? But then he thought about how late it was. If he did not encounter anything strange, that would be fine. But if he did, he would be finished. It did not matter if he died, but he still had two children at home to support.

Thinking this, the uncle gritted his teeth and said to Zhou Yi, "Sorry for the trouble, sir."

"No, I'm the one troubling you. I'm the one who made you stay out this late."

The uncle quickly packed up his stall and led the way ahead, while Zhou Yi followed behind him at an unhurried pace.

Suddenly, a gust of icy wind swept over them. The uncle instinctively pulled his clothes tighter around himself. Snow had already been drifting from the sky, and this cold wind made his body feel even more frozen. It seemed to burrow straight into his bones, yet Zhou Yi felt nothing.

"Heh~ haha, heh~ haha..."

The sounds of children playing drifted over. The uncle beside him was still wondering how children could be playing in the street so late at night when he saw a child appear on the road ahead, seemingly kicking a ball with his head lowered.

The moment Zhou Yi saw it, he thought, Oh, isn't that some performance coming right to my door? He turned to the uncle and said, "Stay here first. I'll go take a look."

The uncle instantly understood. He looked at Zhou Yi with questioning eyes, and Zhou Yi nodded at him. Once he received confirmation, the uncle covered his mouth in terror, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Zhou Yi walked toward the child. Only when he drew close did he realize the child was not lowering his head—it had no head at all. The child turned around, picked up the head beneath its foot, and ran toward Zhou Yi.

The uncle standing nearby was nearly frightened unconscious by the sight.

The child ran up to Zhou Yi while hugging the head. "Big brother, big brother, my head is gone. Can you help me find it?"

So long as Zhou Yi uttered even half a word of refusal, this strange creature would attack at once.

But to its surprise, Zhou Yi nodded at the child. "Sure. I'll help you find it."

Then Zhou Yi reached for the head in the child's arms, snatched it away, and kicked the strange creature's head far into the distance.

The creature reacted at last. A new head rapidly grew from its headless neck. At the same time, a huge bloody maw sprouted from its belly, its sharp teeth making one shudder with fear.

Zhou Yi had already taken out an Evil Warding Talisman, but the instant he did, it rapidly ignited on its own. Clearly, this was a Crimson Grade strange creature.

Zhou Yi did not panic. He merely circulated the Vital Energy throughout his body and extended it outward.

A red glow began to emanate from Zhou Yi's entire body. With one stomp, he shot forward and threw a punch at the creature. Before his fist even arrived, the wind from it had already lashed across the creature's face.

The creature failed to dodge in time and was struck in the face by Zhou Yi's punch. Sizzling sounds rose from where the creature met his fist, followed by a tremendous force. The creature was blasted into the wall, which cracked apart instantly.

The creature shook its head, regaining a little clarity, then opened the huge mouth on its abdomen and roared at Zhou Yi.

Seeing that his punch had not dealt much damage, Zhou Yi grew serious and decided to end the fight quickly. He activated the Indestructible Golden Body, and the muscles across his body rapidly swelled. Fortunately, Zhou Yi deliberately controlled it this time and did not burst his clothes apart. Instead, they clung to his muscles like a skin-tight outfit.

Seeing the person before it suddenly change shape, the creature was somewhat unable to react.

But Zhou Yi had no intention of waiting for it to react. He immediately threw another punch at it, while his left hand formed into a claw, ready to seize the creature.

The creature reacted at this point and avoided clashing head-on with Zhou Yi. Yet it had clearly underestimated his speed. Zhou Yi's left hand suddenly accelerated, reaching the creature even faster than his clenched right fist.

The seized creature bit down on Zhou Yi's left hand. Its sharp teeth actually bit bloody marks into his hand. Pain shooting through him, Zhou Yi hammered its head with punch after punch from his right fist.

Seeing that the creature still refused to release its bite, Zhou Yi bent his legs slightly and stomped two holes into the ground, then leaped into the air.

With the creature beneath him as a cushion, Zhou Yi began to fall. In an instant, the ground was smashed into a massive crater. Looking into it, the creature had already been crushed into several pieces, while its sharp teeth had carved streaks of blood across Zhou Yi's left hand. Some of the wounds were so deep that bone could be seen.

Blood dripped down from his palm.

Yin Energy +500

Hearing the notification from the panel, Zhou Yi finally relaxed. The commotion had also drawn several people from the Provincial Governor's Office, among them Uncle Du.

Uncle Du spotted Zhou Yi and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing. I ran into a strange creature."

Afterward, Zhou Yi picked up the creature's head from the crater and leaped back onto the ground.

Du Wei looked at the head in Zhou Yi's hand, his pupils contracting sharply as he cried out, "A Head-Devouring Ghost!"

Even among those in the Vitality Realm, this kind of strange creature was considered difficult to kill. Du Wei could not help but seriously reassess his nephew. He had not expected his nephew to be hiding such depth.

This Head-Devouring Ghost was worth at least five hundred strange creature points.