The Headless Master Qian

Shen Bai truly hadn't expected such an awkward situation to arise at such a critical moment.

It was like being caught doing something bad, hastily hiding under the bed, only to find someone else already there.

Super awkward, extremely awkward.

It wasn't just Shen Bai; the figure opposite him seemed to feel the same way, even waving at Shen Bai because of the intense awkwardness.

The moment they waved, it became even more awkward.

Shen Bai felt that, at a time like this, he absolutely had to alleviate the awkwardness.

He gestured, as if to ask, Shall we go down and take a look first?

The figure opposite him pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Both of them simultaneously climbed down from the wall, but maintained a respectful distance from each other.

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes, carefully scrutinizing the figure in front of him.

Judging by their height, they were about 1.6 meters tall, not very tall.

He was wondering about the other person's identity as he walked towards the house ahead.

The layout of houses in Ascending Cloud County was quite standard; one glance was enough to tell where the main house was located.

The yamen had already removed the bodies, but Shen Bai felt he might still find clues.

The black-clad person's thoughts were similar to Shen Bai's, also heading towards the main house.

But there was only one main house.

Their distance gradually closed. When only a few body lengths separated them, both stopped.

At this point, the black-clad person made a gesture, pointing to the house ahead, then pointing to Shen Bai.

Shen Bai spread his hands, indicating he didn't understand.

They weren't teammates; it would be strange if he did understand at a time like this.

However, Shen Bai smelled a strange scent emanating from the black-clad person.

Shen Bai inexplicably thought of a phrase: Brother, you smell good.

But this didn't seem like the time for talking.

Seeing that Shen Bai didn't understand, the black-clad person led the way to the house, skillfully sticking a finger through the paper window.

Shen Bai had only ever seen this kind of scene in TV dramas; this was truly his first time experiencing it firsthand.

He pondered for a moment, then, maintaining a few body lengths' distance, went to another window. Mimicking the black-clad person, he poked a hole in the window and pressed his eye against it.

The room inside was pitch black, but the moonlight revealed something unusual.

A figure was constantly moving inside the room.

The figure was dressed in black.

Using the moonlight, Shen Bai saw the figure's full appearance.

A pale face, blood streaming from all seven orifices, only the whites of the eyes remaining, swaying back and forth with unsteady steps.

The black clothes were stained with blood, and upon closer inspection, they were actually burial shrouds.

"Five hearts facing heaven, free and unfettered..."

"Money, I want to make money, lots of money..."

"With money comes freedom..."

Master Qian swayed continuously, and with every step, blood from his seven orifices splattered everywhere.

Seeing this, Shen Bai frowned slightly.

He was certain that Master Qian's body was definitely at the yamen.

If it had suddenly disappeared, the yamen officials would surely be searching everywhere, and this place would be the first to be checked.

There had been no trace of constables along the way, so the Master Qian in front of him was not the same body as the one at the yamen.

Shen Bai couldn't help but think of the old Daoist priest, and his scalp instantly tingled.

This was his second direct encounter with the bizarre. Although he had the experience from last time, it was still too little.

This kind of thing wasn't something one could get used to after just one or two times.

Shen Bai gripped his Rusty Longsword. Just as he was about to turn, he saw Master Qian inside the house stir.

His eyes, all white, rotated and aimed at Shen Bai's location.

Shen Bai was startled, then saw Master Qian's head suddenly fall off, held in Master Qian's hand.

"Five hearts facing heaven, the first heart..."

That head was thrown out by Master Qian, flying towards Shen Bai. Shen Bai could even see the face with blood flowing from its seven orifices.

In a moment of crisis, Shen Bai quickly retreated.

"Bang!"

The head crashed through the window, rolling several times on the ground.

Meanwhile, Master Qian's body burst through the spot where the black-clad figure had been.

The black-clad figure reacted incredibly fast, rolling on the ground with his small body and moving to the side.

As he got up, the black-clad figure held a pair of short daggers.

A dark aura emanated from the short daggers.

"That dark aura definitely isn't anything good," Shen Bai thought to himself.

He didn't continue that line of thought, because the head on the ground flew up and lunged at him.

Blood Sword Dance!

Shen Bai didn't hesitate, thrusting his longsword forward.

The qi within him circulated, and his blood surged with immense power. As the sword struck, it actually produced a sound like thunder.

"Hiss!"

The longsword pierced Master Qian's head clean through, and the head transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.

On the other side, the black-clad figure was visibly struggling against the headless body.

The dark aura from the short daggers left marks on the headless body, and the dark aura seemed to have a corrosive effect, emitting a continuous hissing sound.

The headless body seemed incredibly strong, both in speed and power, while the black-clad figure skillfully dodged. The headless body, however, was accumulating more and more wounds.

In this situation, although the black-clad figure appeared to be struggling, victory was only a matter of time.

Shen Bai, of course, wouldn't let the black-clad figure kill the headless body.

After dealing with the head earlier, Shen Bai hadn't obtained any Malevolent Qi. He speculated that he also needed to deal with the body.

As for whether he needed to personally strike the final blow to obtain Malevolent Qi, Shen Bai wasn't going to gamble, because this was a rare opportunity.

Shen Bai thought for a moment, then quickly approached, gripping his Rusty Longsword.

The black-clad figure, who had been dealing with the headless body, immediately became alert, backing away with his short daggers raised.

In fact, being wary in this situation was perfectly normal.

Shen Bai said nothing, activating Blood Sword Dance.

He seemed to be dancing with his sword, yet exuding a chilling killing intent.

His surging blood was like thunder, and the brilliant righteous energy broke through evil as if entering an uninhabited land.

With a single thrust, the headless body suddenly stopped moving.

A blood-red line appeared down the middle of the headless body.

The next moment, the headless body split into two halves.

The extra two halves transformed into black smoke, rapidly disappearing.

You have obtained a wisp of Malevolent Qi.

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes, thinking that it was indeed as he had expected.

Killing the anomaly allowed him to obtain Malevolent Qi.

However, in the current situation, Shen Bai didn't dwell on it.

Not far ahead, the black-clad figure had already scaled the wall, seemingly unwilling to exchange another word with Shen Bai, his retreating figure appearing somewhat flustered.

Shen Bai saw a hint of fear in the black-clad figure's eyes, and the source of this fear was himself.

"He seems really afraid of me. Am I that scary?"

"My sword art is so righteous, though."

Shen Bai thought to himself, not pursuing the black-clad figure.

There was no need.

On this trip, he had obtained Malevolent Qi, achieving his goal.

Moreover, he was currently hiding his identity, so there was no need to cause extra trouble.

And the black-clad figure was incredibly fast, seemingly possessing a masterful movement technique.

Shen Bai only knew sword arts, not movement techniques, so even if he wanted to chase, he couldn't catch him.

Therefore, Shen Bai wouldn't engage in such a futile effort.

Of course, these weren't the most important reasons.

The most important reason was that while Shen Bai had been observing the room earlier, he thought he had seen something very good.