Black and red blurred together before Xue Wu's eyes as warm liquid trickled down his cheeks.
Most of his face was numb. He couldn't feel it anymore.
He instinctively tried to struggle.
But another heavy punch was waiting for him.
Thud!
The bones in his face cracked under the strain.
A rush of ringing flooded his ears and head.
Then the hand gripping his throat suddenly tightened, digging into the side of his neck.
At that moment, Xue Wu could hold on no longer.
His vision abruptly went dark. His ears rang like the tide, and the strength drained from his body like sand from an emptied sack. He lost consciousness in an instant.
Hu Long looked down at Xue Wu, whose eyes had rolled back, face was covered in blood, and limbs were twitching.
His expression calm, Hu Long casually tossed him to the ground.
"Didn't expect him to be so tough."
There were many blood vessels in the neck. Pressure or a heavy blow to certain sensitive areas could quickly deprive someone of the ability to resist.
The carotid sinus, for example.
Stimulating it could trigger a powerful nerve reflex, causing a sharp drop in blood pressure and heart rate, bringing on sudden dizziness, weakness, and nausea, or even brief unconsciousness.
Although Hu Long had gained knowledge of this from his Master-level Unarmed Combat skill, he had never actually tried it before, so he probably wouldn't have succeeded on the first attempt.
The reason he could do it so easily now
was that he had spent this time practicing on Xue Wu's parents.
No wonder people said practice was the only true test. They weren't wrong.
Still, setting aside the Master-level Unarmed Combat skill, this did prove in some ways that Hu Long was quite talented.
Looking at the unconscious Xue Wu, Hu Long grabbed a rag and stuffed it roughly into his mouth.
Then he turned, grabbed a piece of rebar from beside him, and swung it at Xue Wu.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of dull blows rang out. Hu Long was practically treating Xue Wu like a punching bag.
Hu Long might have seemed fairly composed.
But in the end, he was just an ordinary person.
In this time, he had suddenly crossed into another world, only to encounter that "ghost thing." The psychological pressure and fear it all brought had left him unable to eat or sleep.
His remarkable self-control had kept him from showing it, but that didn't mean he hadn't felt it.
Now that he was facing the man responsible, the emotions he had bottled up for so long finally spilled out beneath the blows of the iron bar.
He avoided hitting Xue Wu in the head, so he wouldn't kill him outright.
He struck him more than a dozen times. Only after his body felt lighter and the knot of resentment in his chest had eased did he finally stop.
"Ugh..."
Xue Wu, lying on the ground, was beaten back to consciousness.
His mind was hazy.
His swollen eyes, puffed up like a pig's head, managed to open a narrow slit. Under the fluorescent light, he saw
a bearded man standing before him, looming over him with a bloodstained piece of rebar in his gloved hand. The man looked down at him with a calm expression.
He even saw his parents nearby, tied up and tossed aside, their mouths stuffed with cloth. They lay motionless, apparently unconscious.
That brought back the memory of what had happened.
He hurriedly tried to move.
But even the slightest movement sent pain shooting through him. His hands and feet felt like they belonged to someone else. Aside from the pain, he could feel nothing.
If there had been a mirror nearby, he would have seen that his face was swollen like a pig's head.
All four limbs were bent to varying degrees.
Seeing that Xue Wu had woken up,
Hu Long bent down and pulled the rag from his mouth.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want?"
Blood trickled from Xue Wu's mouth. His speech was slurred, and his voice was weak.
He wasn't stupid. He didn't shout, since that would only provoke the man in front of him.
Besides, he didn't have the strength to scream.
"Breaking into someone's home is a crime. You're probably after money, right? I can give you a large sum. Let's call it making a friend, and I won't pursue this matter. What do you say?"
"Don't worry. My girlfriend has plenty of money."
He spoke in a low voice.
But despite his words, he had already resolved to kill this man.
He swore that if he made it through this, he would kill the man in front of him.
"Heh!"
Hu Long scoffed.
Then he spoke, his voice changing back to its original pitch.
"My 'dear brother-in-law,' don't you recognize me?"
Xue Wu's expression jolted.
A look of stunned disbelief crossed his face.
"You... You're Hu Long?!"
His appearance had changed, but there was no mistaking that tone or that way of addressing him.
Then, as realization dawned, uncontrollable rage followed.
To be honest, he had never taken this younger brother-in-law seriously. In his eyes, the man was practically as good as dead.
He never expected Hu Long to come to his home.
Or to beat him into this state.
His injuries and the horrific state of his parents
had nearly driven Xue Wu out of his mind.
He almost forgot why Hu Long had come here.
"Do you even know what you're doing?! Untie me already! I called the police before I came here..."
Thud!
Before he could finish, a shadow flashed. Pain burst across his cheek, and his head snapped back.
Blood and broken teeth flew from his mouth.
The agony twisted his face. He nearly passed out again on the spot.
"You don't seem to understand the situation!"
Hu Long shook the blood off the iron bar in his hand.
"Ugh..."
Xue Wu's eyes were bloodshot. Blood poured from his nose and mouth, and he couldn't feel half his face. It felt as if countless ants were gnawing at it.
A few hoarse, wheezing whimpers came from his throat.
"Y-you... doing... this... is... against the law..."
His words were stammered and garbled.
"Against the law?!"
Hu Long looked as if he had heard something hilarious.
"So you know what the law is, and you still dare to call the police? What your family has done would get you shot ten times over under Yu State's laws!"
When he had first looked up information about their family, he hadn't thought much of it.
But only after interrogating them did he learn what those two old bastards in the corner had done.
There was a pile of bones in the cellar, no fewer than twenty bodies' worth.
Of course, the reason he could be so certain was that he had already learned everything about Xue Wu's activities from his phone.
Xue Wu hadn't called the police at all. He was obviously bluffing.
"Fine. I'll ask you one last time. How do I get rid of that ghost thing on me?"
Hu Long spoke evenly.
"What are you talking about? I... don't..."
"My patience is limited. Don't push me! If you want me dead, I'll make your whole family die with me!"
Hu Long cut him off.
Blood vessels stood out in his eyes, and his face twisted into a grimace.
"If... you let me go... I can help you undo it."
Xue Wu spat out a mouthful of blood. His voice was clearer now.
"Just tell me how!"
Hu Long wasn't swayed.
"Cough, cough... It's no use. Once that thing has been used, there's no getting rid of it. Unless you die!"
Xue Wu suddenly laughed. He knew there was no way they would settle this peacefully today.
As he spoke, he glared at Hu Long with hatred.
"You're dead! You..."
His words cut off abruptly.
Hu Long kicked him directly in the neck.
Crack! His fragile throat cartilage broke.
Xue Wu passed out again.
"Why did you have to hurt me? I just wanted to live a good life and be a good person."
As he watched, the grim expression on Hu Long's face gradually softened. He murmured to himself.
Before coming here, he had already interrogated Liu and learned that there truly was no way to undo it.
He asked Xue Wu again only because he still held out hope that Liu had been lying to him.
Unfortunately, the answer disappointed him.
According to what she had said,
the main ingredient used to make Blood Soul Guide was a bone powder made from a woman who lived in a former dynasty. Liu had brought it out of the Pure Fire Sect. It was extremely vicious.
That was why the original owner hadn't even lasted the five years recorded in the texts before dying.
Thinking of this,
Hu Long turned to look at the three unconscious people.
He raised the rebar in his hand.
His gaze was dark.
Before long, dull thuds continued to echo through the room, one after another.
Ten minutes later,
a shadow slipped quietly out of the courtyard and disappeared into the deeper darkness in the distance.
In the courtyard behind him, only the intermittent sound of dripping water lingered.
A heavy, metallic stench of blood silently spread through the air.