A cold, booming voice exploded through the dim living room!
The voice was deep and sharp, stabbing painfully at everyone's eardrums. Chen Mo was clearly far away, yet it sounded as though the words had burst right beside their ears.
The people, still immersed in terror and dread, felt as if the voice had sliced through the dark like a ray of light. They quickly came to their senses and turned to look.
Under countless astonished gazes, Chen Mo seemed to become a blur. In an instant, he appeared before Xie Cui and brought his blade down hard!
The blade shrieked, and the earth trembled!
Perhaps Chen Mo's sudden attack had caught her off guard, or perhaps he was simply too fast. Xie Cui let out a startled "Eh!" and instinctively reached out to grab the oncoming blade.
Xie Cui didn't think much of it. She figured Chen Mo was merely a little faster than most.
But the instant her hand closed around the blade, she felt an unimaginably powerful force surge toward her. She was forced to release Li Wenqing, whom she'd been gripping, and staggered backward again and again.
Xie Cui retreated step by step, each footfall shattering the flagstones beneath her. It was enough to show how terrifying the force of Chen Mo's blade was.
If he'd only been strong, Xie Cui wouldn't have panicked. At worst, she could abandon this body and possess someone else.
This courtyard had no shortage of people.
She remained calm, gripping the blade as she retreated to the living room's corner. At last, she steadied herself.
"Heehee... Little Chen boy, my mother's been thinking of you all along, heehee..."
The next moment, Xie Cui could no longer speak.
A scorching wave of True Qi traveled through the blade.
The fierce, intensely hot yang energy and blood burned so badly that Xie Cui's hand seemed ready to catch fire.
"Ah!"
Xie Cui suddenly let out a shrill scream and released the blade with her right hand. A large patch of her palm had been scalded; her flesh had turned black, and the acrid stench of charred meat filled the air.
"True Qi—you're an Internal Martial Master!"
Xie Cui's eyes widened, disbelief written all over her face.
Seeing her shocked and afraid, Chen Mo grew even more confident.
How could he let this chance slip by? He planted his foot and followed through, hacking down hard.
Bang!
His blade struck Xie Cui again. Even though she grabbed the blade, the powerful force sent her crashing through the door and wall and out into the courtyard.
A deafening crash followed. The courtyard wall collapsed with a roar, shaking the ground as clouds of dust billowed up.
Chen Mo didn't stop. He charged out after her and swung his blazing blade again, shouting, "Magistrate Li, Uncle Zhou, watch Li Yu!"
"Everyone in the courtyard, get into the living room and crowd together! Xie Cui's possessed by a vengeful spirit. She could possess any of you at any moment!"
"Chen Wu, light the Red Candle again!"
After giving those three instructions, Chen Mo stuck close to Xie Cui and kept hacking at her, giving her no chance to break away. At the same time, he gave everyone in the courtyard a chance to escape into the living room.
The crowd packed into the living room, trembling with fear.
Chen Wu, meanwhile, was puzzled.
Hadn't the wick been soaked?
Could it still be lit?
Though confused, Chen Wu still obeyed Chen Mo. He bit his finger again, worshiped Goddess Hong Deng, and let his blood drip onto the wick. With a sharp sizzle, the Red Candle unexpectedly caught fire.
Looking closely, he saw that the moisture on the wick had completely evaporated.
Chen Wu immediately realized that Second Brother had secretly used Internal True Qi to dry the wick. He couldn't help admiring him.
How thoughtful!
With the Red Candle lit, everyone felt much more at ease, and their fear ebbed. They turned to look at Chen Mo and Xie Cui in the courtyard.
They all hoped Chen Mo wouldn't lose. Otherwise, they'd all be done for.
Chen Yin Fu and Lin Yu Lan had stood up. They watched the figures darting outside and heard the shrill cries. Most of all, they watched Chen Mo, blade in hand, standing bravely in the doorway of the living room.
He stood between the ghost and his family.
That fifteen-year-old boy had grown into a true hero, fighting to the death against an evil ghost to protect his family.
Seeing how hard her son had struggled, and how fiercely he protected them, Lin Yu Lan felt a sudden pang of sorrow. She clutched Chen Yin Fu's arm as tears blurred her vision.
Even Chen Yin Fu, head of the family, had tears in his eyes.
As for Chen Wu, he gripped his knife and prayed inwardly: Second Brother, you have to win!
Chen Yu'er was only five and didn't really understand ghosts and monsters. But she knew her family was in danger, and that Xie Cui was a terrible person. Watching Second Brother fight so bravely filled her with excitement.
She clenched her tiny fists, eyes wide and round, and kept cheering him on. "Brother Mo, chop her to death!"
Not far away, Li Yu glared at Chen Yu'er, but she didn't stop. She kept shouting encouragement to Chen Mo. In her childish understanding, the Magistrate and the government meant nothing. All she wanted was for her family to stay safe and healthy. That was everything.
Zhang Ru noticed Li Yu's fierce glare and quickly covered Chen Yu'er's mouth.
Chen Yu'er protested, "Second Mother, why are you covering my mouth? Mmmph, mmmph!"
Zhang Ru scolded her, "Grown-ups are handling things. Children shouldn't talk out of turn."
"Mmmph, mmmph!"
In the courtyard.
Snow fell in soft flurries. With the fire gone, the cold crept in, and the wind sliced across their faces like a knife. Chen Mo paid it no mind. He kept hacking with his blade, driving Xie Cui toward the courtyard gate and away from the crowd, so she couldn't possess anyone else.
Though Chen Mo had the upper hand, he still couldn't kill her. His opponent was simply too fast and incredibly strong. What she feared was Internal True Qi.
Chen Mo had broken through to the Inner Family, but he hadn't obtained the Inner Family True Skill needed to circulate True Qi. Fortunately, his True Qi was still quite abundant, so he could keep going for a while.
He thought to himself, Li Wenqing and Li Yu are here, and they're both experts. Li Yu, especially, probably holds a grudge against me. I can't use Blazing Palm in front of them. If they find out, it'll bring endless trouble. I need to drive Xie Cui somewhere outside the courtyard, where no one's around.
With that in mind, Chen Mo adjusted his angle and hacked again. Trapped in a corner, Xie Cui had nowhere left to retreat. She took the blow with her hand, accepting the price of burning it. A deafening bang rang out as the courtyard wall collapsed, and the two "people" tumbled out, one after the other.
"Aow!"
"You brat! You actually mastered Internal True Qi—damn you!"
Xie Cui looked at the charred, rotting patches all over her body and shouted in furious frustration. After a quick calculation, she turned and fled.
"You came all this way. You think you can still run?"
Chen Mo charged after her, slashing his palm open against the blade as he ran.
Scarlet, scorching blood spread across the blade. Blood Mist that looked almost like flames roiled around it.
The Fifth Form of Blazing Palm, the Inner Family... Bloodfire!
"Die!"
Chen Mo roared and brought his blade down.
"Ah!!"
Xie Cui let out a shrill scream. Even though she grabbed the blade with both hands, the Bloodfire was searing hot. Once it entered her body, it burned through her flesh and soul.
The next moment, Li Hongxi came tumbling out of Xie Cui's body and writhed on the ground.
She wore a bright-red Xiuhua Dress. Her hair was disheveled, her face was peeling and flaking, and spiderweb-like cracks covered her from head to toe. Though she was a spirit, her body had caught fire.
Bloodfire!
"It's Bloodfire—the Red Lantern Society's Bloodfire... You even learned your art from the Red Lantern Society!"
"I can't accept this!"
"Mother, save me!"
"Mother!!"
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