Hurrying to His Death

Skinny Monkey exhausted every argument he had, only to realize he could not stop Kong Wu. He could only grit his teeth and say, "If Constable Kong insists on going, then let's bring more people. I'll go call the constables over one household at a time."

On a rainy day like this, many of the constables had stayed home instead of coming in. There were no more than ten constables still at the county office.

"Us?" Kong Wu froze for a moment before saying, "No need. I can go by myself. You stay here at the county office."

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

Seeing this, Skinny Monkey hesitated for a while before gritting his teeth. He hurriedly strapped on his saber, threw on his straw rain cape, and followed him out.

"Constable Kong! Wait for me!"

At the Qian Family residence, Zhong Wuwei's face was flushed as he held up his wine cup and asked, "He... really... really left? Hic~"

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

"Hahahaha, this... I've never seen anyone so eager to throw his life away."

Zhong Wuwei turned around, laughed, and clinked cups with Old Master Qian, his face brimming with delight.

"Come to think of it..." Zhong Wuwei dug around in his pocket and pulled out some broken silver. After thinking it over, he put the rest back and kept only the smallest piece, tossing it to Tie Zhu. "Take it and buy some wine to drink at home, too. In this damned weather..."

After muttering that, he turned around and began chatting with Old Master Qian again.

Tie Zhu took the broken silver and left the Qian Family residence.

He looked at the less-than-two-tael piece of broken silver in his hand, then recalled Kong Wu's resolute departing back. He could not help sighing.

"But come to think of it, Kong Wu... does have quite a bit of martial strength. Could he actually come back alive?"

Old Master Qian held his liquor well and was still clear-headed at this point.

"Hahaha, Old Master Qian... you... you put it that way... How could a person possibly... beat those monstrous things?"

Zhong Wuwei's eyes were unfocused as he rejected the notion.

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

As Old Master Qian said this, he looked toward Master Zhou on the other side.

"Hmph. He was merely a novice who had just crossed the threshold. How could a cultivator with actual cultivation be defeated by a mortal's strength?"

Master Zhou clearly looked down on that Evil God Cultist. He continued, "Monstrous things like Corpse Hags have bodies as hard as iron and strength beyond measure. Unless one is a mid-Qi-Training cultivator, there is simply no way to break through their defenses."

Seeing that even this cultivator inherited from a renowned sect had spoken, Old Master Qian was visibly more at ease.

"And besides..." Master Zhou wore a meaningful smile as he said, "Monstrous things like Corpse Hags are rarely formed naturally. Most of them are deliberately refined by someone."

"You mean..."

Zhong Wuwei, sitting to the side, was startled when he heard this, and much of the alcohol in his blood seemed to sober up.

Could there be an evil spirit at White Cloud Temple even more formidable than that animated corpse?

Seeing Zhong Wuwei's uneasy expression, Master Zhou smiled and said, "There is no need to worry. Even if there truly are other evil spirits, they will be nothing to fear once my senior brother arrives."

Zhong Wuwei let out a breath of relief, raised his wine cup, and respectfully toasted Master Zhou. "Then, Master Zhou... your senior brother..."

"Not long ago, I used a secret art to send word to my senior brother. His cultivation is profound. At the latest, he will arrive in Qingshan County tomorrow."

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

This time, Zhong Wuwei finally put his mind completely at ease.

Not only had the trouble been resolved, but Kong Wu—the thorn in his eye and the thorn in his flesh—would also be dealt with. In his delight, he drank several more cups.

While cups passed back and forth at the wine table, in the rear courtyard, Qian Zhenghao lay on his bed, staring at his leg suspended in the air and wrapped up tight. He cursed Kong Wu without stopping.

"Young Master, it's time to eat. The master specifically ordered the kitchen to stew ginseng soup. It will be good for your health."

A maid entered carrying a meal.

Qian Zhenghao gave a listless hum and casually asked, "What is Grandfather doing? Why is it so noisy?"

The maid had just finished serving several people in the front hall, and she repeated everything she had heard to Qian Zhenghao.

"Good! Ow, my—"

After hearing what had been arranged for Kong Wu, Qian Zhenghao grew excited and pulled at his broken leg. He let out several howls of pain.

"Hiss... Go get... get that Qian Youcai over here!"

He did not even bother eating. Resentment filled his eyes.

Before long, Qian Youcai, the son of the Qian Family steward, entered.

"That woman from before—the widowed neighbor of Kong Wu's. Bring her to me. Damn it, that shameless slut who doesn't know what's good for her..."

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

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

Qian Youcai could only nod, then turned and left.

Qian Zhenghao picked up the ginseng soup and muttered, "That bastard really thinks that having a bit of strength... Ptooey, ptooey! It's so hot—how is Young Master supposed to drink it? Someone! Someone..."

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

Two hours later, Kong Wu stood in a pavilion, looking somewhat speechless at Skinny Monkey, who was panting heavily.

The road to East Mountain was already difficult to travel, and with the rain, the path had turned muddy. Kong Wu had shown no reaction along the way, his breathing steady and his steps firm. Poor Skinny Monkey, on the other hand, had always been thin and physically weak, with poor stamina.

At that moment, he sat to the side, gasping for breath.

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

Hearing this, Skinny Monkey said somewhat sheepishly, "Constable Kong... I... I just thought I could help carry your saber."

He looked at the Zhanmadao lying to the side and said in confusion, "Why do I feel like this saber is quite a bit heavier than before...?"

This was actually one of the reasons Skinny Monkey could no longer walk.

On the road, as soon as Skinny Monkey caught up, he had insisted on helping Kong Wu carry the saber. As a result, the mutated Zhanmadao really had grown much heavier, leaving him in a sorry state.

Kong Wu did not answer. He merely gazed silently at the increasingly sparse curtain of rain outside.

"Looks like the rain will stop soon."

Having nothing else to say, Skinny Monkey remarked, "Constable Kong, we really can't handle this evil spirit's handiwork. How about we stay here for the night, then go back and say we didn't find anything unusual?"

Kong Wu neither agreed nor disagreed with his idea of slacking off.

If he had not possessed the system, he might have followed Skinny Monkey's suggestion.

But now that he had the system, every evil spirit and demon in his eyes was a moving stat point.

He practically wished he could fly to White Cloud Temple right that instant.

"Judging by the way you look, you've rested enough. Let's continue."

Skinny Monkey watched Kong Wu walk away as soon as he finished speaking. He let out a howl of misery, dragged his heavy legs along, and immediately followed.