Fleshing Alive

The village was filled with people, a swarm like ants.

Xia Qi'an, afraid Bata would be overwhelmed and meet an unfortunate end, charged into the crowd after him.

The Dragon Claw Hand cultivation method was incredibly destructive, like a storm, perfectly suited for such chaotic situations.

With a single claw strike, the young, strong villagers around Xia Qi'an, along with their farming tools, were severed into pieces.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere, screams erupting one after another.

However, these villagers, bewitched by the fox spirit, feared no death. They paid no mind to their comrades' gruesome demise and rushed towards the two in a frenzied wave.

For a time, they managed to delay the two from pursuing the fox spirit.

Fortunately, Xia Qi'an possessed the Crimson Pupils. The fox spirit would inevitably leave traces as it fled, making it impossible for Xia Qi'an to lose its trail.

About fifteen minutes later, Bata was covered in blood, looking as if he had just been pulled from a pool of it.

The ground around them was littered with severed limbs and broken bones. Flesh seemed to cling to the outer walls of houses and doorposts, with internal organs strewn everywhere. The scene resembled a hellish Asura realm.

A warm, foul-smelling odor, like a wave of heat, permeated the village.

This kind of situation, where mortals were bewitched by spirits and watched Wei Dao Si martial artists, was not uncommon for Wei Dao Si.

Because of this, Wei Dao Si even had specific regulations: if a spirit's bewitchment could not be broken and the mortals could not be restored to their senses, then they could be killed at discretion.

This was the straightforward operating style of Wei Dao Si.

"Abba..."

Bata roared, and not a single living villager remained around him.

"Alright... everyone's dead... calm down..."

"Abba..."

Hearing this, Bata immediately turned, looking at Xia Qi'an with an innocent expression.

In contrast, Xia Qi'an, protected by blood flames condensed from Blood Essence, was completely untouched by blood.

Seeing that Bata's eyes were obscured by blood, Xia Qi'an led him to the village well and drew several buckets of water to help him wash.

Bata sat obediently on a large rock by the well, hands resting on his knees, looking very happy.

"Abba... Abba... Abba..."

Xia Qi'an could understand him.

Bata was saying he liked taking cold showers...!

After cleaning Bata thoroughly.

Xia Qi'an, following the traces left by the fox spirit, led him along the trail.

It seemed this fox spirit was reluctant to leave this place.

Here, there was food and drink, people to serve it, and even blood food cut and served on plates directly to its mouth. For that fox spirit, it was simply a heavenly life.

Having tasted such delights, how could it bear to return to the harsh mountains for arduous cultivation?

According to the traces left behind, the fox spirit did not immediately flee Li Family Village.

Instead, it hid nearby, secretly observing the battle.

If Xia Qi'an and his companion were losing, it would have reappeared.

Seeing that Xia Qi'an had killed all its thralls, it fled towards the back mountain, attempting to conceal itself.

But unfortunately, it encountered Xia Qi'an. Even escaping to the ends of the earth would be useless.

Xia Qi'an led it back to the forest behind the mountain where they had first arrived.

The trees here were covered with dried corpses. The fox spirit, capable of possessing human bodies, intended to hide among them.

Once Xia Qi'an couldn't find it, it would leave.

Little did it know, the Turbid Qi it emitted was like a beacon in the darkness.

It was difficult for Xia Qi'an not to see it.

And this time, Xia Qi'an would not let it escape again.

Xia Qi'an remained still at first, pretending to search around.

After searching fruitlessly, he led Bata towards the outside of the village.

When the fox spirit let down its guard, secretly rejoicing.

A pair of crimson blood-red eyes suddenly appeared behind the fox spirit.

Instantly, the fox spirit felt as if its neck had been locked by an iron gate.

In a flash, the fox revealed its true form.

Xia Qi'an was seen tightly gripping a fox with a pointed snout, furry cheeks, and gray-white fur.

This fox demon held its front paws to its chest, walking on two legs like a human, as it usually imitated. It had consumed many people. Although it had not fully transformed into a human, it could display various human expressions, be it mournful, joyful, charming, or resentful.

The white-furred fox, its throat gripped by Xia Qi'an, couldn't breathe, its furry paws flailing wildly against his arm.

However, Xia Qi'an's arm was as solid as rock, unmoving no matter how much it struggled.

"A mutt fox dares to be so arrogant..."

As Xia Qi'an spoke, he thrust his left hand's two fingers fiercely into its eye sockets.

Then, below the fox's brow, he tore open a gash in its fur.

Next, with both hands moving in unison, he swiftly skinned the fox as if tearing apart a rag.

Throughout the entire process, Xia Qi'an deliberately prolonged its suffering, wanting to feel satisfied only after it had endured enough pain.

Yet, the fox demon struggled for only a few moments before going still, dying from the agony.

It died quickly, but Xia Qi'an still wasn't satisfied.

So, he tied the skinned corpse of the white-furred fox with a rope and hung it outside the carriage.

He planned to bring it back to Jinling City like this.

Letting it experience the taste of being wind-dried and made into cured meat.

Although this mission had some twists and turns, it was generally smooth.

On the way back, Xia Qi'an kept contemplating whether he should get a spirit beast to be his mount.

Otherwise, making these round trips was not only exhausting but also extremely inefficient.

The black steed he had at home was good, but ultimately a mortal horse. Making it travel continuously for two or three days was really asking too much of it.

However, transportation efficiency in this world was just that low, and he had no better solution.

But if he got a spirit beast as a mount, it would be different, like upgrading from a bicycle to a car.

And if he got a flying spirit beast, it would be like owning a private jet.

Spirit beasts, to put it simply, were no different from the monsters in the mountains.

But there were also some monsters in this world that were naturally gentle. Most of them were timid, feeding on spiritual fruits and herbs in the mountains, and drinking the dew from mountain springs to cultivate.

In human territories, such monsters were truly rare.

These types of monsters didn't emit the foul Turbid Qi, but rather fresh and pure White Qi.

If mortals were fortunate enough to come into contact with such monsters and inhale the Pure Qi they emitted, they would be free from all illness and live longer.

In the era when spiritual energy was abundant, spirit beasts were as common as carp in a river, found everywhere in the mountains.

But now, most of these spirit beasts cultivated by consuming Turbid Qi, transforming into malevolent beasts, while those that cultivated properly had become increasingly rare.

Thus, to distinguish them from the man-eating, rampaging monsters, martial artists called these harmless monsters spirit beasts.

On the return journey, the carriage traveled through a desolate plain.

At this moment, Xia Qi'an lifted the carriage curtain and poked his head out, looking into the distance.

Beside the official road ahead of the carriage, a man in black, wearing a conical hat, was sitting by a campfire, roasting a golden-brown wild chicken.

The aroma of the meat, like a spring breeze, stretched for miles.

Seeing Xia Qi'an peek out, the man also looked towards him.

Xia Qi'an cupped his fists slightly in greeting from across the carriage. In the martial arts world, staring at others was considered an offense.

The man, seeing this, did not return the salute but boomed, "Esteemed official... why not come down and join me?"

Hearing this, Xia Qi'an had Bata stop the carriage and got up to walk towards the man.

"Brother... what kind of business are you in?" Xia Qi'an asked proactively, seeing that the man had a deep aura and a steady demeanor, clearly not an ordinary person, but a martial arts master.

The man laughed heartily, his voice booming like thunder, "To be honest, official... I'm actually an assassin..."

Xia Qi'an was inexplicably infected by the man's laughter and couldn't help but laugh along, "An assassin? Hahaha..."

"...The person you're supposed to kill isn't named Xia Qi'an, is it?" Xia Qi'an said with a smile.

"Oh my... what a coincidence... it is indeed him!" The man slapped his thigh, laughing uncontrollably.

The man chuckled, then asked, "You're not Xia Qi'an, are you...?"

"Heh! What a coincidence... it is I...!" Xia Qi'an echoed the man's tone, slapping his own palm.

"Hahaha..."

"Haha... haha..."

Immediately after, the laughter abruptly stopped.