Reversing the Heavenly Dipper

"You repaired Li Shang's corpse, rated D, and gained 10 energy points."

Upon hearing that his repair result was only rated D, Xiao Ran was immediately disappointed and couldn't help but feel confused.

He already had Master-level Suturing Technique, so why was the rating only D? How were higher-level ratings achieved?

Before he could figure out the reason, the second prompt followed closely.

"Calamity Suppressing Token privilege successfully seized spirit, you have gained Li Shang's ability 'Tiger Fist'."

Along with the prompt, a series of memories flashed in Xiao Ran's mind. Unlike the previous reading mode, these memories seemed to be embedded directly into his consciousness.

From learning the fist technique to the process of practicing it, and even the first time he injured someone with Tiger Fist – everything was vivid, as if it were from another lifetime.

These were Li Shang's memories, but stripped of personal emotions and thoughts, they were simply integrated into Xiao Ran's memory as a segment of experience.

In a moment, when Xiao Ran opened his eyes again, his gaze flashed. He raised his hand and punched the coffin.

"Bang!!"

The coffin lid in front of him let out a dull, heavy boom, even accompanied by the sound of splintering wood. Upon closer inspection, a fist print was actually left on the coffin.

This startled Xiao Ran himself. He had only gained the ability of Tiger Fist, but his body was still flesh and blood. Where did such immense strength come from?

However, in the next moment, Xiao Ran understood. It must be the enhancement from the Curse Mark.

Physique +5, Strength +5

Combined with the self-inflicted wound from before and the enhancement from Evil God Xing Xie, he had gained a total of 6 points of strength enhancement.

Xiao Ran couldn't easily compare the extent of this enhancement, but judging from the coffin lid he cracked with a single punch, it was at least far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Just as Xiao Ran was pondering, a voice suddenly came from outside the coffin, Brother Tao's voice.

"Big Brother, is that you??"

Xiao Ran was taken aback and then realized that the people outside mistook him for Li Shang.

"Perfect. They want to usurp the nest, I'll put on a show for them and turn their plan against them!"

With that thought, Xiao Ran coughed lightly and then, imitating Li Shang's usual arrogant and overbearing demeanor, cursed, "Nonsense, if it's not me, who else could it be? Hurry up and open this coffin for me. Are you trying to suffocate me, you bunch of idiots!!"

As he spoke, Xiao Ran also kicked the coffin lid hard twice.

This explosive temper instantly delighted Brother Tao and the others outside the coffin. They felt a sense of familiarity.

"It's Big Brother, quickly, open the coffin!!"

"Damn it, I told you not to hammer the nails! Who the hell hammered the coffin nails?! Go get a crowbar!!"

Outside, a group of people scrambled in a panic. After a while, the sound of the coffin lid creaking was heard, and then it was pushed open.

Before anyone could peek inside, Xiao Ran had already stood up from the coffin. He scanned the surroundings with his eyes, then raised his hand and slapped Brother Tao across the face.

"Slap!!"

Brother Tao felt his face twist and half of it flew off. When he looked up, he saw rotten flesh oozing yellow fluid beneath his torn face.

This sudden change caught Xiao Ran off guard. He had forgotten that these people's faces were mostly made of paper.

Seeing Xiao Ran stunned, Brother Tao, fearing he had scared Li Shang, quickly covered his face and explained, "Big Brother, don't be afraid, we are alive, not ghosts!"

"Compared to you, ghosts are kind."

Xiao Ran cursed inwardly, then curled his lip in disdain, "Don't say you're not ghosts. Even if you were, I could beat you into gloomy ghosts."

"Where is that slut? And why do you all look like this?"

Xiao Ran, mimicking Li Shang's tone and drawing on Li Shang's memories, asked.

Hearing Xiao Ran's question, Brother Tao immediately explained, "Big Brother, that was a long time ago. You should come out first. Old Madam is probably waiting for you."

"Where's my mother!"

As he spoke, he looked around blankly but couldn't see the trace of that old witch.

"Old Madam was tired and didn't know when you would wake up, so she went back to rest early. But don't worry, I've already sent someone to notify her."

Saying this, Brother Tao winked at the people beside him. They immediately crowded around and led Xiao Ran towards the village.

They walked towards the village, and along the way, Brother Tao told him, "After that slut harmed you, Old Madam used a copper coin to seal your last breath in time. To revive you, Big Brother, Old Madam even slaughtered half the village and performed a ritual. However, something went wrong in the end, and it trapped us here too..."

Brother Tao vividly recounted the events that followed to Xiao Ran.

Although he spoke lightly, Xiao Ran listened with a pounding heart. He knew that old witch was no good, but he didn't expect her to be so ruthless.

At the same time, he felt a sense of relief.

No wonder the prompt said the villagers here could be trusted. Clearly, the villagers in the prompt were not these people like Brother Tao, but the villagers they had killed.

And his true main quest was to find a way to free these villagers.

This reminded Xiao Ran of Li Ji's words and the Golden Toad in the old witch's hand.

Just as Xiao Ran was pondering how to kill the Golden Toad in the old witch's hand, he suddenly noticed that Brother Tao and the others had, at some unknown time, moved closer to him.

Instantly, Xiao Ran felt a sense of alarm, and his muscles tensed up.

"Attack!!"

With a roar from Brother Tao, the four people around him drew axes from their waists and swung them at Xiao Ran.

In that instant, Xiao Ran slammed backward. The two men behind him were caught off guard, unable to even raise their axes before being violently shoved. Before they could regain their footing, Xiao Ran swept out with a "Tiger Tail" kick, sending one of them flying.

The other man had just snapped back to attention when he saw Xiao Ran's hands form claws, lunging straight for his face. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly raised his hands to block. But Xiao Ran transformed his palm into a fist, bringing it down with a chilling wind, like an eighty-pound hammer swung with full force, smashing onto the man's arms. He directly batted the blocking arms aside, followed by a punch to the face that cracked the man's skull open.

Before Xiao Ran could catch his breath, he heard the sound of wind breaking behind him. With no time to dodge, he reacted instinctively, rolling sideways to evade.

"Screech!"

A searing pain shot across his back. Xiao Ran touched it, finding a gash. Fortunately, he had dodged quickly; otherwise, a direct hit from that axe would have likely split his spine.

Looking up, he saw Brother Tao holding his axe, staring at him with a ferocious expression.

"Are you crazy? You dare attack me!!"

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Ran's mind: Did I expose myself??

Facing Xiao Ran's question, Brother Tao's face grew even more contorted. His cheek, already shattered by Xiao Ran's slap, now looked like that of a demon crawling from hell.

"Crazy??"

Brother Tao and the others exchanged glances, their smiles growing more sinister, their eyes filled with hatred. "We've been crazy for a long time. For you, that damned Old Woman trapped us here, watching us rot and fester. We're neither human nor ghost, trapped here, we were already going mad!!"

"If you act like this, aren't you afraid of my mother..."

Before Xiao Ran could finish, Brother Tao interrupted, "Afraid? We're terrified of her in our dreams. She put a string of money on each of us. With just a flick of her finger, she can make us wish we were dead. But if we capture you alive now, she'll have no choice but to comply."

Xiao Ran knew firsthand how powerful that old hag's money was, so he understood why Brother Tao and the others dared not resist.

"Enough nonsense, grab him and force that old crone to hand over the Golden Toad. Then we'll all be free!"

With that, they charged at Xiao Ran, axes in hand.

Xiao Ran's heart tightened, and he quickly retreated, dodging the swinging axes. At the same time, he lunged forward, closing the distance with the man on his left. His entire body erupted with power, launching him like a cannonball toward the enemy. He landed a punch on the man's chest, sending him flying and creating an opening. Xiao Ran burst through and ran.

Two fists are no match for four hands. Although he had Li Shang's Tiger Fist, it was essentially just a few tricks. Brother Tao and the others were clearly seeing red; one axe blow would leave him severely injured.

As for negotiating with Brother Tao and the others? Revealing his identity? That thought was extinguished as soon as it surfaced.

What a complete fool that would be.

Putting aside whether Brother Tao and the others would believe him, simply placing his life in their hands was a non-starter.

In the narrow alley, flanked by tall brick walls, the burning pain on his back intensified. Xiao Ran could already smell the thick scent of blood.

The curses of Brother Tao and their pursuing footsteps seemed to be right beside him, allowing him no room for relaxation.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a sound of wind breaking split the air. Xiao Ran spun around, only to see a burly figure burst out of a nearby alley, swinging a thick wooden club at him.

Xiao Ran skidded to a halt and then leaped, dodging the attack.

The man clearly hadn't expected Xiao Ran to be so agile. Missing his strike, the club swung through empty air, leaving his body momentarily stiff. Xiao Ran seized the opportunity, kicking the man's knee.

His body, already close to decay, was covered in a layer of paper. It couldn't withstand Xiao Ran's kick. A "crack" echoed as the knee bent into an L-shape. The man screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Unfortunately, there was no time to finish him off. Two more men emerged from the corner, one wielding a cleaver, the other a club, charging straight at Xiao Ran.

"Damn it! Is Li Shang really that unpopular?"

Xiao Ran cursed inwardly and turned into another alley. While everyone was distracted, he scaled the wall and hid in a courtyard.

A moment later, he heard the sounds of chaotic footsteps quickly passing by outside the courtyard.

"Phew!!"

Xiao Ran let out a long sigh of relief as the footsteps faded into the distance. But when he looked up, he saw a middle-aged man emerging from a nearby house, carrying a washbasin. Upon seeing Xiao Ran, both of them froze.

In the second after their eyes met, the man slammed the washbasin to the ground. "He's here!!"

Xiao Ran's expression changed drastically. Without bothering to settle the score with the man, he immediately scrambled up and bolted out.

Seeing Xiao Ran rush out, the man glanced around and then picked up a hoe, chasing after him.

The commotion quickly grew. It started with just Brother Tao and a few others, but soon grew to over a dozen people.

Some of these people had never dared to act before, while others were observing. Even Brother Tao wasn't sure if they would follow him. In fact, they had been so afraid of leaks that they hadn't dared to act at the ancestral graves.

After all, if the Old Woman found out, the consequences they faced... were unimaginable.

But now, more and more people were joining, and the situation was exceeding Brother Tao's expectations.

Some of these people didn't know why they had gotten involved so confusedly, but every face was filled with excitement. They felt the pent-up frustration in their chests finally surging forth.

The village wasn't large, with only a few alleys. Xiao Ran hadn't run far before he suddenly stopped, his face darkening as he looked at the dead-end alley ahead. Turning back, he saw Brother Tao and the others leading a crowd in pursuit.

"Catch him and take him to that old witch!!"

This time, Brother Tao didn't waste words with Xiao Ran. He raised his axe and charged forward with his men.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran's mouth twitched. He pulled a fruit knife from his pocket.

Brother Tao's smile widened as he looked at the small fruit knife. He waved his axe, intending to chop off the bastard's limbs first.

However, Xiao Ran's fruit knife wasn't aimed at them. With a flip of the blade, Xiao Ran plunged it fiercely into his own abdomen.

The moment the cold blade pierced flesh, an intense pain shot through his entire body like lightning.

Accompanying it was a cold system prompt.

Gained [Power of the Evil God] buff, Strength +1

Gained [Power of the Evil God] buff, Strength +1

Gained [Power of the Evil God] buff, Strength +1

Gained [Power of the Evil God] buff, Strength +1

"The Evil God Xing Xie senses your sincerity. If you wish to gain greater power, please complete a more impressive sacrifice."