Rushing to Die

Skinny Monkey spent a long time trying to talk Kong Wu down, but realized he couldn't stop him. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Constable Kong, if you really must go, let's bring more people. I'll go call the other constables house to house right away."

On such a rainy day, many constables were at home and hadn't come in. There were fewer than ten constables still at the county office.

"Us?" Kong Wu blinked in surprise. "No need. I'll go alone. You stay at the county office."

With that, Kong Wu put on his straw cape and stepped into the rain.

Seeing this, Skinny Monkey hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, quickly grabbed his long saber, put on his straw cape, and followed him out.

"Constable Kong! Wait for me!"

At the Qian residence, Zhong Wuwei, with a flushed face, held up his wine cup and asked, "He... really... really left? Hic~"

Tie Zhu lowered his head and replied, "Your subordinate personally saw Constable Kong leave with Skinny Monkey."

"Hahahaha, this... I've never seen someone so eager to rush to their death."

Zhong Wuwei turned his head, smiling, and clinked glasses with Old Master Qian, his face beaming with joy.

"Uh..." Zhong Wuwei fumbled in his pocket and pulled out some loose silver. He thought for a moment, then put the rest back, keeping only the smallest piece. He tossed it to Tie Zhu, saying, "Take this and get some wine to drink at home. This darn weather..."

Muttering, he turned back to talk with Old Master Qian.

Tie Zhu took the loose silver and turned to walk out of the Qian residence.

He looked at the less than two taels of silver in his hand and thought of Kong Wu's resolute back. He couldn't help but sigh.

"But speaking of which, Kong Wu... he's got some martial skill. He won't just come back alive from this, will he?"

Old Master Qian had a good tolerance for alcohol and was still clear-headed.

"Hahaha, Old Master Qian... you... you say that... how could anyone... defeat those strange creatures?"

Zhong Wuwei's eyes were hazy as he denied it.

"But didn't Kong Wu kill an Evil God Cultist a while ago? That was a cultivator too, wasn't it?"

Old Master Qian looked at Master Zhou on the side as he said this.

"Hmph, he was just a beginner. How could a cultivator with established cultivation be defeated by mortal strength?"

Clearly, Master Zhou looked down on that Evil God Cultist. He continued, "Strange creatures like Shi Ba have hard bodies and immense strength. Unless it's a cultivator in the middle stages of Qi Condensation, their defenses can't be broken."

Seeing that this cultivator, who inherited his skills from a prestigious sect, had spoken, Old Master Qian was clearly more at ease.

"And..." Master Zhou's face held a knowing smile. "Shi Ba and similar strange creatures are rarely naturally formed; most are actively refined by someone."

"You mean..."

Hearing this, Zhong Wuwei's heart jolted, and he sobered up considerably.

Could it be that the White Cloud Temple had even more powerful Malevolent Spirits than the animated corpse?

Seeing Zhong Wuwei's uneasy expression, Master Zhou smiled. "It's nothing. Even if there are other Malevolent Spirits, they won't be a threat once my senior brother arrives."

Zhong Wuwei breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his wine cup, and respectfully toasted Master Zhou. He asked, "Then, Master Zhou... your senior brother..."

"I already sent a message to my senior brother using a secret technique not long ago. My senior brother has profound cultivation and will arrive in Qingshan County by tomorrow at the latest."

"That's good, that's good!"

Zhong Wuwei was completely relieved now.

Not only had the trouble been resolved, but Kong Wu, that thorn in his side, had also been dealt with. In his joy, he drank even more wine.

As wine cups clinked on the table, in the backyard, Qian Zhenghao lay on his bed, looking at his leg, which was wrapped up tightly and suspended in the air, cursing Kong Wu incessantly.

"Young Master, it's time to eat. Master specifically ordered the kitchen to stew ginseng soup; it's good for your body."

A maidservant brought in the food.

Qian Zhenghao grunted listlessly and casually asked, "What is Grandfather doing? Why is it so noisy?"

The maidservant, having just served the guests in the front hall, relayed everything she had heard to Qian Zhenghao.

"Good! Oh, my..."

Qian Zhenghao cried out in pain as he pulled his broken leg in his excitement after hearing Kong Wu's arrangements.

"Hiss... Go and... and call that Qian Youcai over!"

He didn't even eat and his eyes were filled with resentment.

A moment later, Qian Youcai, the son of the Qian family's steward, walked in.

"That woman from before, Kong Wu's neighbor, the widow. Get her for me. Damn it, that ungrateful bitch..."

Upon hearing this, Qian Youcai hesitated slightly. "Young Master, this... involves Constable Kong. Shouldn't we report it to Master?"

"What are you afraid of? That Kong Wu guy isn't coming back! Just do as I say!"

Qian Youcai could only nod, turn around, and walk out.

Qian Zhenghao picked up the ginseng soup and muttered, "You damn dog, you really think you're strong just because you have a little bit of strength... Ptooey! Ptooey! It's so hot, how can I drink it! Someone! Someone..."

After Kong Wu and Skinny Monkey left the city, they headed straight for the White Cloud Temple.

Two hours later, Kong Wu stood in a pavilion, looking speechlessly at the panting Skinny Monkey.

The road to East Mountain was already difficult to travel, and with the rain, the path had become muddy. Kong Wu showed no reaction along the way, his breathing steady and his steps firm. It was Skinny Monkey, however, who was to be pitied. He was already frail and lacked stamina.

At this moment, he sat to the side, panting heavily.

"I told you not to come, but you insisted on following."

Hearing Kong Wu's words, Skinny Monkey said sheepishly, "Constable Kong... I... I just thought I could help you carry the saber?"

He looked at the zhanmadao placed beside him. He asked with some confusion, "Why do I feel like this saber is much heavier than before..."

Skinny Monkey's inability to walk was partly due to this.

On the road, Skinny Monkey, who had just caught up, insisted on helping Kong Wu carry the saber. As a result, the weight of the mutated zhanmadao had indeed increased considerably, leaving him in a sorry state.

Kong Wu didn't reply, silently watching the increasingly sparse rain curtain outside.

"It looks like the rain will stop soon."

Skinny Monkey made small talk, saying, "Constable Kong, these malevolent spirits are really not something we can handle. How about we just stay here for the night, and then go back and say we didn't find anything unusual?"

Kong Wu remained noncommittal about his idea of slacking off.

If he didn't have the system, he might have gone along with Skinny Monkey's suggestion.

But now that he had the system, any malevolent spirit or demon was just mobile attribute points in his eyes.

He couldn't wait to get to White Cloud Temple right away.

"Seeing as you've rested enough, let's continue our journey."

Seeing Kong Wu walk away as soon as he finished speaking, Skinny Monkey let out a wail and immediately followed, dragging his heavy legs.