Encounter with a Demon!

Feng Xiu wore a rain hat and gripped the reins in one hand as he galloped at full speed.

The official road was a muddy mess. The horse's hooves splashed through it, flinging water in every direction.

North Ridge Sect, Su Wantang, Taizhou, Tang Reservoir—his thoughts tumbled together.

He was irritated beyond measure.

His other hand reached for the Steel Mace he had grabbed on his way out. Only then did he feel a little better.

The Feng Clan had three Dark Canals. The nearest was by Hundred Dou Farm, but it had been dry for years.

After riding for a quarter of an hour, he reached a crooked tree west of the farm and immediately dismounted.

Ahead lay a rocky slope.

The rain blurred everything into a vast, indistinct haze.

Behind the rocky slope, he spotted the entrance to a Dark Canal, carved out by the rushing water. Weeds partly concealed the opening, leaving only a narrow gap.

He turned sideways and squeezed inside.

The canal was narrow, with mottled stone overhead and dried, hard-packed silt underfoot. A moldy stench hung in the air.

After a dozen or so steps, the passage opened up.

A deep green pool appeared before him. On the stone wall beside it stood a massive iron gate, mottled with rust.

Feng Xiu swept his gaze over the area, his brows drawing together.

Several clear claw marks scored the stone wall beside the pool, exposing the deeper stone beneath.

Following the marks downward, he saw several scales floating on the water by the pool's edge.

"There really is something here!" Feng Xiu's expression shifted.

This was more or less proof that his chain of clues was right!

He leaned down and picked up a scale.

It was larger than the one he had found at Tang Reservoir last time, about the size of three palms, but the material was identical.

It felt cold and supple in his hand. Feng Xiu turned it over and held it up to the light.

On the inside were several fine, tangled fibers with bits of flesh and blood clinging to them. Feng Xiu's heart tightened. He didn't dare linger.

He put it in the bag on the horse's back, then mounted up and galloped away.

The rain began to pour harder.

Feng Xiu raced along a narrow path through the woods, but he had barely gone very far when—

"Whoa!"

Feng Xiu's expression changed. He yanked hard on the reins. The horse neighed, reared up on its hind legs, then stopped.

A person stood in the rain a dozen or so yards ahead.

Gray clothes, a rain hat. The curtain of rain obscured the person's face, but the figure looked male.

Feng Xiu called out in a low voice, "Who are you?"

Silence. Utter silence. No answer came.

Without hesitation, Feng Xiu prepared to turn his horse around.

But the man in the rain hat suddenly moved and strode straight toward him.

His boots splashed through the mud.

As he drew closer, Feng Xiu finally got a clear look at his face.

It was deathly pale, with dead-fish eyes and no expression at all. His gaze fixed on Feng Xiu, chillingly unblinking.

"Do you know Feng Shouzhuo?" the man asked in a hoarse voice.

So he really had come looking for Shou Zhuo!

Was he one of Su Wantang's people?

Feng Xiu was startled. Then he shook his head. "I don't know him. Who is he?"

"Oh." The man gave a blank reply, then stared straight at Feng Xiu's face again.

Rain washed over his stiff features. His eyes crossed like a pair of cockeyes as he seemed to compare Feng Xiu with a memory.

A thought flashed through Feng Xiu's mind. He asked, "What do you want with him?"

"He took something that belonged to my master. My master told me to kill him," the man answered obediently.

His master?

Feng Xiu's heart gave a sudden leap. Before he could think it through, the man's expression turned fierce!

"No, that's wrong. You are Feng Shouzhuo!"

The next instant, the man charged at him like an arrow loosed from a bow. Killing intent appeared in his face, and the horse let out a terrified whinny.

Feng Xiu denied it flatly. "I'm not. You've got the wrong person."

Damn it!

Feng Xiu cursed under his breath. Knowing he couldn't escape, he jumped down from his horse.

He raised the single mace and charged, swinging it straight at the man's face.

This was bad!

But the moment he attacked, he put too much force into the blow. His weight pitched forward, leaving his footing unsteady.

Sure enough, the man slipped sideways and easily dodged the strike, then punched back.

Feng Xiu had no time to change moves. He could only retreat in a scramble. He had never properly trained with the mace; before, he had only used it to press down on his legs and strengthen his stance.

In a real fight, he was better off bare-handed.

He had no time to think. The man was already lunging at him again.

Feng Xiu gritted his teeth and decided to use the mace like an iron club. Whatever the technique, he would just smash away!

He swept the mace sideways, then brought it down, relying on brute strength to meet the man head-on. The man raised his arm. The Steel Mace struck his forearm, and a dull impact rang out.

"Bang!"

After Feng Xiu's blow, the man's deathly pale face remained expressionless. But Feng Xiu felt a jolt travel through his arm, numbing the web between his thumb and forefinger.

The man's eyes shifted slightly. As soon as he fixed them on Feng Xiu, he slammed another powerful punch at him!

Feng Xiu hurriedly dodged sideways. The fist grazed his cheek and struck the tree behind him.

With a crack, a branch as thick as a bowl snapped. The man wheeled around and attacked at once, moving with astonishing speed!

Feng Xiu had no time to think. He raised the mace to block.

Clang—

A tremendous force swept through him. Feng Xiu was driven back five or six steps, his feet furrowing two deep trenches in the mud.

Damn it, what kind of monster was this?

Feng Xiu's heart raced, but his mind remained unusually clear. He drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Wait!"

Once he had put some distance between himself and the man, Feng Xiu's brow furrowed. Battle scenes flashed through his mind as he paid close attention to the man's breathing and its rhythm.

"This guy's breathing is too strange..."

His breathing came and went, broken and irregular!

But whenever his breath stalled, his movements slowed by half a beat.

It was like he first imagined an attack in his mind, then carried it out. The tell was brief, but long enough to be deadly.

Whoosh—

Suppressing the thought in an instant, Feng Xiu darted to the side and swept the mace across the man's chest, testing his theory.

Thud.

It hit!

But the man only staggered. It seemed he couldn't feel pain. He lunged again, and Feng Xiu deliberately left an opening, exposing his left flank.

Sure enough, the man's breathing paused for a moment, then he threw a punch.

That was exactly what Feng Xiu had been waiting for!

The instant the man's breathing stopped, Feng Xiu dropped low and swept the mace at his ankle!

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking bone rang out clearly. The man lost his balance and pitched forward.

Feng Xiu gave him no chance. He leaped up, gripped the handle with both hands, and used all his strength to slam the golden mace down on the back of the man's neck!

"Pfft!"

Blood spattered.

The man's head lolled at a grotesque angle. The sound of his collarbone breaking was unmistakable.

His body twitched a few times, then hit the ground with a thud.

Afterward—

"Hah..."

Feng Xiu gasped for breath. His arms trembled violently, and rain mixed with sweat ran into his eyes.

He couldn't spare a moment to wipe it away. His gaze stayed fixed on the corpse.

The intense strain of a fight to the death, followed by the sudden release of pressure, left him feeling dazed.

The next instant, Feng Xiu's eyes widened!

Beneath the man's clothes, the corpse's skin split open, revealing dark blue-black scales underneath. His limbs gradually twisted and shrank.

At last, he became a strange fish with four limbs, its body the size of a young child and covered in blue-black scales!

?!

"So it really wasn't human!"

Feng Xiu was stunned, a chill creeping over him. His whole understanding of the world had shattered!

"A demon that can take human form?"

No wonder its breathing had been so strange. Had he really just been fighting a demon?

Feng Xiu stared at the fish and forced himself to calm down. He went over, pulled off his clothes, wrapped the creature in them, then tied it to the horse's back.

Then he mounted up and galloped toward Feng Mansion.