Free Web NovelChapter 112: Chapter 111: Gotcha
According to Gu Shouyu, of the four Demon Fiends Fu Juemin had encountered, they could be categorized as such:
The Painted Hide of Fuxi Village was Fox Level. The Mouse Demon behind the Civility Venerable Sect and the Black-Scaled Snake Demon of Taohuang Village were both Wolf Level. The Water Monkey at the Luan River Pier, however, could be classified as Tiger Level.
Of course, there could be significant differences in strength even within the same level.
Just like the various realms of the Martial Dao.
After listening to Gu Shouyu’s explanation, Fu Juemin was even more convinced of the man’s talent. He thought for a moment before speaking. "I have your first assignment.
Take the Jigu Garden’s records on all currently active Demon Fiends, arrange them by the levels you described, and include their corresponding solutions. Compile all of that and give it to me...
Don’t worry about how difficult the solutions are to execute. And the scope... you don’t have to limit it to the Shenghai area.
Any questions?"
Gu Shouyu frowned upon hearing this. "There are some I’ll need to confirm in person to be sure... You’ll have to give me some time."
"No rush."
Fu Juemin said calmly, "Just list a batch first. You can do the rest slowly.
I’ll arrange some manpower for you, and I’ll assign you a car..."
"Huh?!"
Gu Shouyu was clearly overwhelmed by the favor, momentarily speechless.
Just then, a voice came from the driver’s seat up front. "Young Master, we’re here." The car slowly came to a stop.
Fu Juemin looked up. Through the car window, he saw they had arrived at the outskirts of the city.
The area was deserted. A lone, three-story building with a distinct Western design stood silently before them. Withered yellow weeds sprouted from the cracks of a crumbling courtyard wall, and the black iron gate was covered in rust. It had clearly been abandoned for a long time.
The group got out of the car. The dilapidated and desolate surroundings gave off a strange chill, and several of the Qinglian Gang men subconsciously rubbed their shoulders.
"A haunted house?"
Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes, surveying the standard-issue haunted house of the Republic era. A faint tremor rippled from the bottom of his heart.
He could clearly sense the presence of a fiend in the house. But what he found strange was that, whether it was Ghostly Yinyin in Gu Shouyu’s oil paper umbrella or this present situation,
he didn’t feel the same intense hunger he had when encountering the Painted Ghost.
’Is it because they’re too weak to even stir a hint of interest from the Demon Soul Seed?’
As Fu Juemin pondered this, he heard Gu Shouyu explaining beside him, "...the Lin Family Residence. The original owner was a wealthy merchant from the North. After buying this residence, he was busy with business and social engagements every day, neglecting his family. After several tearful confrontations yielded no results, the lady of the house hanged herself and her two children inside.
"Ever since then, the residence has been haunted. It’s gone through several owners, and quite a few people have died here over the years..."
Gu Shouyu paused, then added, "In folklore terms, they are what you’d call Fierce and Evil Ghosts... Among the Ghost Race in the vicinity, these three in the Lin Family Residence are considered the most active."
Gu Shouyu and Fu Juemin hadn’t made any effort to hide their conversation. The Qinglian Gang members nearby listened with rapt expressions, no doubt gaining new material for their drinking parties.
In this era, entertainment for the common folk was scarce. All sorts of strange and bizarre local rumors were incredibly popular.
After listening, Fu Juemin asked casually, "I saw a lot of Yellow Paper Talismans on the table at Jigu Garden. Is that stuff useful against ghosts?"
"Completely useless."
Gu Shouyu shook his head. "At least, none of the talisman techniques I’ve tried have any effect on common ghosts. The only thing that has a slight effect is probably the Cinnabar on the yellow paper.
"But for deterrence, you’d be better off using saltpeter or gunpowder... Much more practical."
’So it still comes down to explosives, huh.’
Fu Juemin nodded. He then ordered everyone to wait outside and called Big Cat to go with him alone. The two of them walked toward the residence, one behind the other.
"CREAAAK—"
The moment the rusted black iron gate was slowly pushed open, Fu Juemin clearly felt the Demon Fiend’s aura inside grow restless.
If Fu Juemin’s Perception was like still water when no kin of the Demon Species were present,
then the appearance of a similar aura was like rain falling upon a placid lake, sending out ripples.
The stronger the aura, the harder the "rain" fell.
Right now, a "light rain" had begun to fall in Fu Juemin’s mind.
They pushed aside the waist-high thatch grass in the courtyard and stepped over the threshold. Big Cat raised a hand and gave a push, and half of the main door collapsed with a crash...
"CRASH—"
The "light rain" instantly became a "downpour."
The afternoon sunlight of a Shenghai winter streamed in from behind Fu Juemin, casting long shadows across the dust-covered, colorful tiles of the Lin Family Residence’s floor.
Fu Juemin immediately saw her. On the landing of the main hall’s staircase, a pale-skinned young woman in a white dress stood silently.
The woman’s expression was savage. A clear purple mark circled her neck, and one eye peered through her disheveled hair, staring death at the two of them.
Fu Juemin glanced at the woman and asked the man beside him, "Big Cat, can you see her?"
No matter how eerie and cold the atmosphere became, it couldn’t dispel the immense sense of security that came from Big Cat’s two-meter-plus frame. The latter stared in the same direction as Fu Juemin and replied flatly, "Can’t see her.
But I can feel it."
A Tongxuan Martial Artist’s reaction time and striking speed were countless times greater than an ordinary person’s. It was perfectly normal for their body’s instincts to give them a certain warning against any form of crisis, allowing them to sense the presence of ghosts.
Fu Juemin nodded and gave a casual order. "You take care of it."
"Yes, Young Master."
Before the words had even faded, there was a deafening BOOM. The colorful tiles under Big Cat’s feet cracked on impact, and his entire body shot toward the second-floor staircase like an oversized cannonball.
Big Cat’s massive form stirred the stagnant air in the living room, kicking up a violent gust. In the cool sunlight, billowing clouds of dust were visible to the naked eye.
Fu Juemin waved away the dust before him, pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket to cover his nose and mouth, and casually walked to the side to watch the fight.
He needed to verify a few things.
"BANG!"
In a single exchange, Big Cat punched a hole straight through the wall by the staircase, sending large chunks of brick flying from the other side.
Naturally, he hit nothing. Even though Big Cat’s speed was a blur in Fu Juemin’s eyes, the moment his fist landed, the white-robed woman’s figure had already flickered into existence behind him.
"HISSS—"
Bluish-black nails, over a foot long, shot out from the woman’s ten fingers. She lunged viciously at Big Cat, but when she was about a meter from his back, she seemed to hit an invisible barrier, or perhaps a formless wall of heat, unable to get any closer.
By this point, Big Cat had already turned around, his fingers joined in a swift jab. He was clearly using his Vitality for this strike; the air around his fingertips distorted slightly, and his movement was almost too fast for the naked eye to follow.
With a "BANG," the white-robed woman vanished into thin air under the force of the jab, letting out a shriek of shock and rage. But soon after, she returned to the attack....
’A Tongxuan Martial Artist’s Qi Membrane, along with the surging heat naturally emitted by their roiling Qi Blood, prevents common ghosts from getting close.’
’Vitality-based Martial Arts can repel ghosts and have some effect, but their actual lethality isn’t very high...’
Fu Juemin watched the battle between the Tongxuan Martial Artist and the Fierce Ghost unfold, his eyes glinting as he mentally summarized his findings.
Suddenly,
a strange coldness crept up from his ankle. Something seemed to tug at his trouser cuff.
Fu Juemin looked down. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a small, paper-white hand quickly retracting.
"PATTER, PATTER, PATTER..."
The crisp sound of bare feet on the floor echoed by his ear. Fu Juemin glanced around and saw a series of a child’s footprints appearing out of thin air on the dusty, tiled floor.
"WHOOSH—"
Someone blew a light breath on the back of his neck, as cold as air from a freezer.
Fu Juemin’s hand shot out, grabbing violently behind him!
As expected, he caught nothing but air.
"HEE HEE HEE—"
A little girl’s cheerful laughter rang in his ears.
"RUSTLE— RUSTLE—"
The small, paper-white hand appeared again, constantly tugging at his pant leg, the corner of his jacket...
The child’s laughter in the air grew more hurried, more gleeful.
The atmosphere was unspeakably eerie and bizarre.
But Fu Juemin’s eyes held a peculiar light, as if he didn’t care at all about these mischievous pranks.
His heart trembled slightly. A web of jet-black meridians silently surfaced beneath his skin as the Poisonous Killing Qi traveled along his Yin Meridians...
The auras of the two Great Demon Soul Seeds leaked out slightly....
Just as another prank was about to begin...
Fu Juemin, with a calm expression, suddenly flipped his palm and pressed down.
"SNAP!"
The cheerful child’s laughter that had been echoing through the air came to an abrupt halt.
Fu Juemin slowly raised the right hand he had just thrust down, and there—
Between his five long fingers, which now shimmered with a ghostly light and bore the mark of the Black Moon, a pale little girl with a bloodless face, unnaturally large eyes, and a scarlet tongue lolling down to her chest was being held in a death grip by the neck, looking as if she were about to suffocate.
Looking at the immense terror welling up like a tide in her eyes, the corners of Fu Juemin’s mouth turned up, and a brilliant, affable smile slowly spread across his face.
"Oops... looks like I caught you."
