Madman's Deal

No disorder! No flinching! The fact that the pig demon had been butchered must not leak out, no matter what!

He forced himself to lower his head, dodging the snake demon's ice-pillar-like vertical pupils, and squeezed out a trace of well-measured nervousness and ingratiation. "L-Lord Pig... after finishing the collection that day, he said... said our service was passable, and then... took a few extra people away, saying... to find a secluded spot to have a late-night snack. Afterward... afterward, we subordinates didn't know. Perhaps... perhaps he ate his fill and was resting somewhere?"

The snake demon's cold vertical pupils nailed themselves fiercely into Wang Quan's face, as if wanting to pierce straight through his skin. Wang Quan felt that gaze like ice blades, scraping his face with a burning pain, and the cold sweat on his back had long since soaked his inner garments. His whole body was rigid, not daring to even breathe heavily, and his heart hammered wildly thud-thud in his chest, terrified of revealing the slightest flaw.

After several breaths, the snake demon finally jerked its tongue back, emitting a series of weird "hissing" laughs, as if believing it, or as if not caring at all. "Damn it, sneaking off to eat alone behind our backs... Fine, I'll go look and see which mouse hole this fat bastard hid the good stuff in."

Its thick snake tail lashed out, turning around to leave, but before departing it twisted back again, its vertical pupils sweeping over the five people one by one, and hissed. "Consider you five two-legged sheep sensible. Next time we meet, remember to use the respectful title, Grandpa Snake! If you break the rules again, Grandpa here won't be able to help himself and will have to taste whether your few ounces of meat are more tender than those fools in the village..."

Having said that, the three snake demons then twisted their bodies, slowly sliding into the dark, overgrown weeds, and vanished from sight.

The second half of the night patrol was eerily quiet. The ghost-crying-like mutterings and the flashing ashen-white shadow in the eastern weed meadow never surfaced again. What they ran into later were merely two or three half-corpses just tainted by corpse qi, staggering as they walked—their skin green-black and rotting, their eyeballs turbid without a glimmer of light, stumbling forward crookedly, incomparable to the fierce things from last night.

Wang Quan was too lazy to even use his blade technique, relying on the heavy, solid feel and much faster reactions after entering the threshold of the Turtle Snake Coiling Dragon Strength, casually hacking and slashing a few times to neatly chop off their necks or pierce straight through their hearts. The feeling of the blade cutting into flesh was still a bit rough, but as that newborn strength within his body circulated, his attacks seemed to become much smoother, saving him effort as well.

[Slain a semi-formed corpse clan, obtained skill point: 1 point]

[Slain a semi-formed corpse clan, obtained skill point: 1 point]

[Slain a semi-formed corpse clan, obtained skill point: 2 point]

A total of 4 skill points were credited to his account.

Dragging themselves through until dawn, the night patrol team walked back with bones that felt like they were falling apart. On the drill ground, the other squads returned one after another, all with weary and lifeless expressions.

Commander Chen still had his back hunched, narrowing his eyes as he took the headcount. When it came to Wang Quan's squad, Wang Quan stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said in a deep voice, "Commander Chen, while patrolling the east side last night, we encountered three snake demons, and also... suspectedly ran into a 'Nightmare'."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough on the silent morning drill ground. Quite a few people looked over with startled and suspicious gazes.

Commander Chen lifted his eyelids, his turbid gaze lingering on Wang Quan's face for a moment before sweeping over the new recruits behind him whose complexions were still pale. Wrinkles piled up on his face with no expression, and he only let out an "en" from his throat, raspy and hoarse. "Understood. The east side... is indeed not peaceful. Stay vigilant." Having said that, he waved his hand, signaling them to dismiss. Regarding the snake demons interrogating them about the whereabouts of Lord Pig, as well as that face-licking humiliation, he didn't ask a single word, as if he didn't care at all.

On the contrary, Wei Dayong, standing not far away, had his expression change noticeably upon hearing the two words "snake demon," his hand instinctively tightening around the hilt of his blade as a flash of uncontrollable panic flickered in his gaze.

Wang Quan didn't say any more, dispersing with the crowd. Returning to his dilapidated living quarters, he didn't feel a shred of sleepiness. Sitting cross-legged on the cold earthen kang, the trace of Turtle-Snake Force in his dantian stayed obediently put, emitting a faint strand of warmth that resisted the morning chill.

The snake demon's threat was close at hand, and that pig demon's accomplices would sooner or later notice something was amiss. The "Nightmare" deep in the eastern weeds was unpredictable.

He had to grow stronger faster! He had to master more means!

With 4 skill points remaining, which wasn't enough to elevate the Turtle Snake Coiling Dragon Strength to Minor Accomplishment, he thought of Madman Xu. Right now, he needed anything that could rapidly enhance his strength, even if it was poison. Without hesitation, he got up and walked straight toward the west of the village.

Madman Xu's courtyard was piled with odd-shaped ironware, charred medicine dregs, and bones belonging to unknown beasts. The air was permeated with a strange mixture of rust, burning, and some kind of fishy, sweet medicinal herb.

The door wasn't shut tightly. Wang Quan pushed the door open and went in; it was very dark inside. A figure whose hair was as messy as a bird's nest and whose clothes were tattered was hunched over a table so dirty its original color couldn't be discerned. Hovering close to a small oil lamp, the figure was using a small file to meticulously grind down a pitch-black section of something that looked like an animal horn, while muttering to himself.

"Madman Xu," Wang Quan spoke.

The figure paused, slowly turning his head. It was a face so emaciated it was out of shape, covered in grime and several fresh bloodstains, with deep-set eye sockets, but those eyes were frighteningly bright, revealing a kind of fanatical obsession that drilled into a horn's dead end. He looked Wang Quan up and down several times, lingering particularly long on the blade at his waist and his standing posture, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of crooked, yellow teeth. "What? Interested in what I said last time about grafting a demon's arm?"

Wang Quan walked up to the table, locking gazes with those fanatical eyes, and cut straight to the point. "I need the cultivation methods you research to enhance my physical strength. I also need cultivation methods that can disguise appearance, cultivation methods to track demons, and cultivation methods to increase speed."

Madman Xu was stunned for a moment, and then, as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world, his shoulders shook, emitting a rattling, weird laugh that echoed in the narrow room. "Kid, do you know who I am? Running over here to order dishes? And cultivation methods... I have them, but what are you trading them for? Your pitiful blood-tax rations? Or your worthless life?"

Wang Quan's expression remained unchanged, his voice steady yet carrying a force of absolute resolution. "As compensation, I will get revenge for you."

The laughter stopped abruptly.

The lunatic expression on Madman Xu's face instantly faded, replaced by a cold, near-tangible scrutiny. He put down the animal horn in his hand and slowly straightened his body. Though lean, a dangerous aura permeated the air at this moment. "Revenge?" He sneered, though there was no humor in his eyes at all. "You know who I want revenge on? Just based on you? A kid who just touched the threshold of a martial artist and had the good fortune to butcher a hog without knowing the immensity of heaven and earth?"

He leaned in abruptly, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Wang Quan. "What you're going to deal with is that old snake in the Blackwater River! It's a great demon of the third realm, Core Formation! What do you rely on? Just that broken blade in your hand? Or this flesh-sack of yours that barely qualifies as a martial artist?"

The air in the room suddenly froze. The flame of the oil lamp flickered, casting their shadows onto the mottled walls in distorted, shifting shapes.

Wang Quan met Madman Xu's compelling gaze without retreating an inch, and said word by word, "I rely on the blade in my hand, and I rely on the fact that you and I are the same kind of people at our core—we are both madmen. In order to survive, I can use any means, and I can bet everything."

He paused, two gloomy yet blazing fires igniting in his eyes. "If I fail, it's just a rotten life, and where isn't a place to die? You have nothing to lose, at most... wasting a bit of saliva, and a hope that never existed in the first place. But if I succeed, even if I just tear a chunk of flesh off it, it would be much more satisfying for you than grinding bones here, wouldn't it?"

"Madmen... birds of a feather?" Madman Xu muttered repeatedly, his gaze flickering violently—suspicion, mockery, a trace of the shock of being poked in the heart, and the hatred and madness buried deep in his eyes that were about to burst forth, all intertwined together. His chest heaved as he gasped for a few breaths, and suddenly he began to laugh neurotically again, his laughter hoarse and raspy. "Good, what a good madman! Bold enough, and reckless enough!"