Shadow

"What is that sound?"

Lei Tiger, who had been resting with his eyes closed, snapped them open, his brows furrowed tightly.

He did not panic, but instead tilted his head to listen for a moment, his expression darkening slightly.

Judging by the commotion, it did not sound like rivals breaking in; rather, it seemed like... some sort of evil occurrence?

He did not rush out immediately, but instead turned and walked toward the statue of Guan Gong enshrined at the back of the main hall.

That statue of Guan Gong was not a common clay sculpture, but was cast from black iron and was quite heavy.

On the altar table in front, the smoke from three sticks of incense rose straight up, clearly having been replaced not long ago.

Lei Tiger stretched out his fan-like hand, gripped the shaft of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade held by the iron statue—which was also made of iron—and gave it a forceful twist.

"Click."

With a soft mechanical sound, the Guan Gong statue and its base slowly slid half a foot to the side, revealing a narrow hidden compartment in the wall behind it.

There were no gold or jewels in the compartment, only a long, strip-shaped object wrapped in layers of dark red oilcloth.

Lei Tiger unwrapped the oilcloth, and inside was, shockingly, a blade!

The blade was wide and heavy, with dark, dull blood grooves along the edge.

The spine of the blade was thick, the hilt long enough for two-handed use, and the end was cast into a ferocious ghost-head guard.

The entire blade was a dull, matte pitch-black, and even lying there silently, it exuded a chilling and unsettling Sha Qi.

This was a Ghost Head Blade!

It was not the style commonly used by martial artists of the underworld, but a blade used by executioners in the old days specifically for carrying out beheadings!

This blade had no idea how many desperate criminals' necks it had severed; it had gorged on blood and condensed the fear and resentment of countless death-row prisoners before their execution.

The Sha Qi was so heavy that ordinary people would feel their entire bodies grow cold and their minds grow restless just by being near it.

Years ago, through a stroke of luck, Lei Tiger had purchased this blade and the accompanying cultivation technique of the Execution Sect from the descendant of a fallen hereditary executioner for a high price.

Unfortunately, the cultivation of that technique was too dangerous, and he had never dared to attempt it, so the blade had remained sealed until now.

The descendant of the old executioner had once said that this blade had beheaded over a hundred people, and its Sha Qi had fully formed.

Ordinary evil spirits would not dare approach it, but the wielder also needed a sufficiently tough fate and a firm will, otherwise, they would suffer the consequences.

Lei Tiger considered himself decisive in killing and already possessed a heavy aura of violence, making him a perfect match, so he had kept it secretly as his final trump card.

Not even Scarface or Mr. Xu knew of this.

He grabbed the Ghost Head Blade.

It felt heavy and icy in his hand, the patterns on the hilt digging into his palm.

That surge of Sha Qi spread up his arm, causing his spirit to sharpen, and he felt the scent of intangible blood lingering at the tip of his nose.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the slight agitation stirred up by the Sha Qi, and carrying the blade, he strode toward the source of the commotion.

Just as he reached the moon gate connecting to the side courtyard, he saw that it was in complete disarray.

Several lanterns had been knocked over, leaving the light dim.

Several henchmen, usually fierce and wicked, were now pale as ghosts, scrambling backward, their hands trembling as they held their blades and clubs.

In the center of the courtyard, Scarface was leading two or three brave confidants, barely managing to surround an... indescribable thing!

The thing barely maintained a vague human silhouette, but it constantly twisted and writhed, its entire body composed of thick, gray-black smoke.

Its face lacked clear features, possessing only a few black holes that constantly sank and bulged, resembling a twisted mouth and eye sockets.

Gray-black Yin energy rolled off its body, and wherever it passed, a thin layer of white frost condensed on the ground.

"Ah!!"

A henchman who failed to dodge in time was grazed on the calf by a wisp of the stray gray-black Yin energy, and he let out a scream that did not sound human.

His entire lower leg instantly turned blue-black and stiff, the flesh and skin withering at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if its life force had been drained away.

"Boss Scar! This thing can't be cut! The blade just passes through it!"

A confidant gathered his courage and slashed fiercely, but his heavy-backed saber passed straight through the gray-black figure as if it had struck a mass of cold, thick fog.

Instead, a layer of white frost instantly condensed on the blade, and a bone-chilling cold surged up his arm straight to his heart; the confidant's face turned deathly pale, and he stumbled backward.

Scarface himself was in a sorry state; he held a heavier saber, swinging it with great force to desperately protect himself, but he could only force the thing back slightly.

The gray-black figure seemed to be playing with them and was in no rush to pounce, but every time it brushed past, the Yin chill made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; the scar on his face twisted in terror, and his usual ferocity was long gone.

"A bunch of trash!"

Lei Tiger let out a low shout, his voice like muffled thunder, forcibly suppressing some of the panic in the courtyard.

But the moment his eyes fell upon the gray-black figure, his expression became incomparably grave.

The ferocity of this thing far exceeded any unclean entity he had encountered in his early years.

He stepped forward, the Ghost Head Blade dragging at his side.

As he drew closer, the gray-black figure seemed to sense an even greater threat.

The gray-black Yin energy surrounding its body surged violently, like boiling ink, and lunged straight for Lei Tiger's face at a speed several times faster than before!

The Yin wind shrieked, accompanied by the faint, haunting sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling!

Lei Tiger's pupils constricted; he dared not show the slightest negligence.

He let out a low growl, his muscles tensing as his blood and Qi surged.

Gripping the hilt of the Ghost Head Blade with both hands, he swung upward in a diagonal slash—a move devoid of any fancy footwork, yet concentrated with the full force of his entire body.

The blade tore through the air with a mournful whine, fueled not by internal energy or Qi, but by the explosive release of the tangible Executioner Sha Qi forged into the blade through a hundred battles.

"Sshh—la—!"

This time, it did not strike empty air.

The moment the blade made contact with the gray-black figure, it erupted with a reaction like red-hot iron plunged into ice water.

A piercing, corrosive hiss echoed throughout the courtyard!

"Ugh—aaah—!!!"

The gray-black figure let out a shriek of extreme agony!

Its solid form of Yin energy was forcibly seared open by the Executioner Sha Qi of the Ghost Head Blade, leaving a massive gap as the gray-black smoke churned violently.

Yet, the creature's ferocity was beyond imagination; the remaining Yin energy counterattacked madly, creeping up the blade in an attempt to erode the wielder!

Lei Tiger felt a bone-chilling intent surge through the hilt and into his arm, striking directly at his heart.

A layer of white frost instantly covered his arm, stiffening his muscles and nearly freezing his blood and Qi.

Even more terrifying were the hallucinations flooding his mind, as if he were seeing countless twisted, suffering faces wailing in despair.

"Get—lost!"

Lei Tiger's eyes bulged, and he roared.

Veins popped on his forehead as he relied on the fierce, predatory nature honed through years of slaughter to forcibly suppress the resentment invading his mind.

He bit the tip of his tongue, the metallic tang of blood spreading in his mouth to stimulate his spirit, while his arm muscles strained to their limit. Ignoring the intense pain and numbness, he poured every ounce of his blood and Qi into the Ghost Head Blade!

"Break!"

The Ghost Head Blade flared with renewed dark light, and the Executioner Sha Qi on its edge surged once more.

"Pfft!"

The remnants of the gray-black figure could no longer withstand the Executioner Sha Qi, which was specifically designed to counter evil, and it completely disintegrated.

It turned into black ash that drifted across the sky, rapidly dissolving into the air, leaving behind only a patch of ice shards and a nauseating, putrid stench.

The courtyard fell into an instant, deathly silence, broken only by the heavy, terrified breathing of the others.

Lei Tiger stood holding his blade, his chest heaving violently, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, his hands trembling slightly as they gripped the hilt.

The white frost on the back of his hand and arm slowly faded, leaving behind an unnatural, bruised purple hue.

His face was ashen; while it looked like he had finished it in one strike, the reality was incredibly perilous. Not only had it consumed a vast amount of his blood and Qi, but he had also nearly had his mind devoured by the creature's resentment.

Though the Ghost Head Blade was sharp, it placed a massive burden on a wielder like him who had not cultivated the heritage of the Execution Sect.

"Damn it... what the hell was that thing?"

Lei Tiger felt a lingering fear, his gaze sweeping over the gang members lying on the ground, dead or alive, his expression turning terrifyingly grim.

This was definitely not a naturally formed wandering ghost!

"Ch-Chief! It's... it's coming again!"

A gang member with a slight squint pointed toward the shadows outside the moon gate, his voice trembling uncontrollably.