The Great Evil Demon Who Called Himself a "Hero" Was Too Sinister!

When Core Branch pierced Sun Sheng, the breath he had been holding finally gave out.

He opened his mouth with a wail. Blood sprayed from every extra hole in his body, and he could no longer maintain his posture as he fell downward.

As he fell, the shadows of despair and terror engulfed him.

He had originally come here today to eat a dish!

A grand dish of Liver-Killing Aura!

He had even thought that after absorbing this country bumpkin's Liver-Killing Aura, he would become slimmer and more handsome.

But what had he gotten instead?

The dish had bitten him!

And now the dish was going to eat him!

He had never imagined that this test subject from the countryside would be an expert.

He knew very well that judging by the sheer intensity of the other man's true qi alone, even without a sneak attack, he would not have been a match.

No, the other man had used more than incomparably condensed true qi. He had also used Liver-Killing Aura.

He could feel the Liver-Killing Aura surging around his throat!

The other man had actually mastered Liver-Killing Aura as well!

But was there nothing wrong with his liver?

Sun Sheng only knew that he had been played, yet he truly could not guess the other man's identity.

He was someone of standing in Red Tears City, and behind him stood a towering patron—his master, Lord Ghosthand.

As the saying went, "Even when beating a dog, one had to consider its owner," and "If not for the monk's sake, then for the Buddha's." There was no reason for an expert like this to refuse even a shred of face, to deny even his master's face, then toy with him before killing him!

The only thing he could imagine was that some old evil monster had come out to play again.

And he had become that monster's target.

But this old monster had disguised himself as a youngster far too successfully!

Countless thoughts flashed through Sun Sheng's mind like a revolving lantern.

With a thud, he crashed onto the ground.

He knew that he still had one final sliver of hope for survival.

That was the Ghosthand School's ultimate art—Ghosthand Blood-Draining Thousand-Thread Hand!

It was the most powerful killing move his master had taught him, capable of slicing someone into a thousand pieces in an instant, severing them apart like a thousand threads.

Seeing Gu Qingfeng approach, he hurriedly covered his bleeding throat and begged, "Spare my life, sir!"

Yet at the very instant he pleaded for mercy, Sun Sheng struck!

He knew that begging was useless against a perverted demon like Gu Qingfeng, who had come out to plague respectable physicians like them!

Thus, he chose to fight to the death!

This move, the Ghosthand Blood-Draining Thousand-Thread Hand, was extremely unusual. Years in advance, one had to plant sharp Blood-Qi Gold Threads inside one's body.

These Blood-Qi Gold Threads were buried within the flesh and nourished by one's blood and qi at all times. The better they were nourished, the sharper they became.

It could be said that he had consumed vast amounts of blood and qi year after year, month after month, maintaining them solely for this moment of eruption!

He stretched out both hands. Countless dusky golden threads suddenly burst from his arms and shoulders, charging toward Gu Qingfeng together with his claw marks.

In Gu Qingfeng's eyes, it was as though an enormous golden claw were reaching for him.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Geng Metal Force circulated within him. His entire body turned glittering gold, radiating sharp, cutting edges.

With a crack, the Blood-Qi Gold Threads scraped across Gu Qingfeng's body, producing a piercing shriek.

Sun Sheng's face went ashen.

For he had already sensed that the threads, sharp enough to cut iron like mud, could not pierce the golden radiance before him for the moment.

No—indeed, the golden radiance before him was even sharper than his Blood-Qi Gold Threads.

The Blood-Qi Gold Threads had struck a nail!

The Blood-Qi Gold Threads snapped taut and broke one after another. Sun Sheng's qi collapsed, and he knew there was no turning the tide!

His life was draining away swiftly.

On the verge of drawing his last breath, he forced out a hoarse, faint sound through his shattered throat. "Who... are you?"

Gu Qingfeng looked at him earnestly and answered with equal seriousness, "Gu Qingfeng. You may call me a hero."

"A hero??!!!"

Sun Sheng's face twisted, and he was terrified by that title.

More terrified than he would have been by any title of demon or old monster.

Because Returning Ruins had no heroes!

At least, in his understanding, such a thing had long since become extinct.

Was this some new role a demon had decided to play?

At that moment, he made his final sound. "Wh-why me? Was it because you saw that I was kind and easy to bully?"

Kind and easy to bully?

Gu Qingfeng had never imagined that someone could be so brazenly shameless.

So, with a face full of heroic righteousness, he said, "Since ancient times, righteousness and evil have stood irreconcilably opposed. If I did not act, who would?"

As he spoke, he gave Sun Sheng another stab.

The knife had been taken from Sun Sheng's own robes.

It was the sort of knife physicians commonly used, and it nearly sliced the other man's head off.

"Righteousness and evil are irreconcilable? He really had encountered a great evil demon!"

"This was fucking sinister!"

Those were Sun Sheng's final thoughts before death.

In the Ghost Hand Apothecary's front courtyard, although the storefront doors had already closed, people still remained inside.

The apothecary had no shortage of precious medicinal herbs. Though Red Tears City had patrols, it was not peaceful, and someone had to stand guard.

And the guard could not be weak.

Thus, the apothecary's five physicians took turns keeping watch at night.

Tonight's attending physician was Zhao Di—the one who had drawn a blade during the conflict with Jiang Zhongtang.

Naturally, he was not alone. There was also an apothecary clerk and an apprentice.

The two were, of course, there to attend to him.

This arrangement had existed for a long time, and all three were accustomed to it.

Attending physician Zhao Di had already lain down on the small bed, while the apothecary clerk and apprentice began moving tables and chairs together to make themselves places to sleep.

Then, just then, a knock sounded behind them.

It was not the door to the storefront outside, but the room door connecting to the rear courtyard corridor.

Only a few test subjects too feeble to walk properly lived in the rear courtyard now. Had someone encountered a problem while testing medicine?

The attending physician had only just lain down, and he could not help cursing under his breath.

Keeping watch here at night meant not only guarding against thieves, but also observing the test subjects' conditions.

When nothing happened, he could sleep soundly. When something did happen, he had to bustle about.

Honestly, the job was not tiring, but it was irritating.

Fortunately, the Ghost Hand Apothecary was a gold-lettered establishment that paid well. Moreover, both the rumored Lord Ghosthand and the proprietor before him, Sun Sheng, possessed genuine skill. He could truly learn things here, which was why he had remained so loyal.

The apprentice and clerk were also quite displeased.

Though they were still technically apprentices, they had long ceased to regard those test subjects as human.

Even though the clerk himself had once been a test subject before becoming an apprentice.

The clerk opened the room door with an impatient expression, only to snap upright the next instant.

"P-proprietor."

He had not expected that the person knocking so late at night would be proprietor Sun Sheng!

At once, not only the clerk and apprentice, but even attending physician Zhao Di sprang up from the plank bed like a carp leaping from the water.

Proprietor Sun Sheng's authority in this apothecary was no joke.

Zhao Di hurriedly straightened his clothes and went to greet him.

"Proprietor, it is so late. What are your instructions?"

Zhao Di asked with utmost respect.

Yet something was strange. The proprietor merely stood there without saying a word, nor did he enter.

The oil lamp inside did not fully illuminate the proprietor's figure, and Zhao Di could not make out the expression on his face.

At that moment, the proprietor beckoned from outside, seemingly motioning for him to come over.

Zhao Di hurried closer, but he could not help feeling a surge of unease.

For not only did the proprietor seem somewhat abnormal, he could also faintly smell blood.

And just as his footsteps hesitated, proprietor Sun Sheng outside suddenly attacked!

A flash of cold light streaked forth. Zhao Di shuddered where he stood, and a knife was already embedded in his neck.

A surgical knife used by physicians like them!

Only then did Zhao Di notice that another figure stood behind the proprietor.

That person was hidden beneath the proprietor's fat silhouette, neither human nor ghost, terrifying beyond measure.

His eyes opened wide. He was so frightened that he wanted to scream, but he could no longer do so.

Under the apprentice and clerk's watchful eyes, physician Zhao Di fell stiffly to the ground, a surgical knife—the one he was most skilled at wielding—embedded in his neck...