Chapter 208: Also Consider You Worthy

The martial artists in the inn’s upper rooms were all seasoned experts, including top-tier masters like Du Heng, the One-Armed Mad Blade, and Li Tongzhou, the Fiery Hero, who had already made names for themselves in the martial world. Even while conversing, their attention remained unbroken, and their hearing was exceptionally sharp.

Moments earlier, while they were talking, subtle movements on the roof were immediately detected by everyone.

“Crackle... crackle... crackle...”

It was the sound of footsteps on snow, perhaps mixed with other noises.

Jizhou County was experiencing extreme cold, with exceptionally low outdoor temperatures and frequent snowfall. The snow accumulated on the inn’s roof was at least a foot thick, and walking on it produced that distinct crunching sound.

Du Heng’s grip on his blade tightened, and veins began to bulge on his back, revealing that he was not as calm as he appeared.

A nearby martial artist with exceptionally keen hearing listened intently, his clenched hand extending first one finger, then two, then three, then four...

Finally, he formed a number gesture with his pinky and thumb, indicating to his companions that there were a total of seven distinct sounds above.

The situation was now self-evident.

Several martial artists exchanged nods. Two of them quietly approached the large beds, channeling their inner energy to rouse their sleeping companions one by one, including the four who had been severely poisoned.

The seven sleeping individuals had clearly anticipated this beforehand, having a contingency plan among themselves. They awoke without making a sound, a glance at the room confirming that “they were back.”

The newly awakened individuals each retrieved their personal weapons from beside their beds. Pulling back their blankets, it was clear they had all slept fully clothed. Some rallied their spirits, while others grimly forced themselves out of bed.

Du Heng gestured towards the table with his chin. On it lay numerous torches and a cloth bundle.

Several martial artists stepped forward, tossing torches to their companions one by one. Simultaneously, they untied the cloth bundle, revealing sheep bladders filled with a glossy, black-red liquid—a mixture of black dog’s blood and lamp oil.

These eleven martial artists, some poisoned or injured, others simply fatigued, now showed expressions of excitement. Although everyone’s scalp tingled and their faces were grim, some still revealed cold smiles.

Although these “trump cards” had not yet been deployed, they were surely enough to give those neither-human-nor-ghost, unkillable beings a taste of real trouble.

In their mission to eliminate the demonic woman, many of their martial arts comrades had already fallen victim. Though fear lingered, their hatred ran deep. Relying on the authorities was out of the question; in the end, they could only fight to the death themselves.

There were only four sheep bladders filled with the black dog’s blood and lamp oil mixture. Four of the masters each carried one in their bosom. The others, except Du Heng, had a weapon in one hand and a torch ready in the other, gathering around the charcoal braziers, prepared to ignite them at any moment.

All these preparations, though seemingly complicated, took no more than four or five breaths.

With everything now ready, everyone tried to suppress their breathing, but the tension grew increasingly strong. They all knew it would be better to act normally or continue chatting to lull their opponents, but they were unable to.

At this moment, footsteps echoed in the hallway again as two inn attendants, each carrying two buckets of boiling water, arrived outside the door.

“Sirs, the hot water has arrived.”

“Knock, knock, knock...”

“Sirs, please open the door. The hot water is here; we’re carrying four buckets between us. Please open the door.”

Everyone inside the room was tense. Naturally, no one would be washing up at this time, but they couldn’t simply ignore the inn attendants.

Du Heng lowered his voice and spoke to a friend.

“Quickly, go send the attendants away.”

If the group hadn’t been in such poor condition and in need of care, it would have been best to find an unoccupied courtyard to stay in. However, there was no such place in this small county town, and staying outdoors would be impossible.

Heavy snow had sealed the roads in Jizhou, and all merchants and travelers had long since departed before winter set in. This inn in the small county town was, ironically, the emptiest and least populated place.

The martial artist with prominent dark circles under his eyes approached the door and spoke out.

“Just leave the hot water in the hallway; we’ll bring it in ourselves in a moment.”

Upon hearing this, the two inn attendants outside exchanged glances, seeming reluctant to leave.

These guests, trapped by the snowstorm, were generous. They paid handsomely for errands like buying medicine, always providing a good tip, and consistently rewarded them for boiling water late at night.

“They can leave, but where’s the tip?”

“Uh, sirs, it’s late at night. You might be inconvenienced, so let us carry them in for you!”

“Yes, yes, this water is very hot and heavy!”

The two inn attendants dawdled outside.

“Oh, just put them down as we told you! Why so much nonsense!”

Hearing the shout from inside, the two outside exchanged glances, pursed their lips, and reluctantly replied.

“Alright then, we’ll leave them outside for you sirs. It’s so cold and late at night, be careful the water doesn’t cool.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, back to sleep...”

The two continued to loudly announce their departure outside, but no sounds of footsteps moving away entered the room. Clearly, they hadn’t left yet.

Now even Du Heng grew anxious. Suddenly realizing something, he whispered to his companion, “Give them their tip!”

His companion also suddenly realized.

“They’re really only after the money!”

Muttering lowly, he was about to open the door when another martial artist beside him stopped him and shook his head. At this point, the other people in the room also felt something was amiss.

“Hey, we forgot to give you your tip, are you still there?”

No one answered from outside.

“Thud...”

The sound of a water bucket tipping over was heard from outside. Several martial artists instinctively looked towards the door, seeing steaming hot water seep in through the gap, followed by a crimson stain flowing in with it.

Several martial artists exchanged glances and together delivered a fierce kick to the door.

“Bang!”

The inn room door, along with its frame, was kicked clean off, slamming with a clang into the opposite door.

Looking out, the two inn attendants were already on the ground. One had a large hole in his chest; the other was paralyzed with fear, trembling uncontrollably and wetting himself.

A dark figure had swiftly dodged when the door crashed outwards. It was a pale-faced, yet beautiful, heavily pregnant woman. Her eyes were utterly black, with two points of blood-red pupils.

Goosebumps immediately rose on the martial artists.

“Demonic woman!”

“Die! Haa!”

Du Heng lunged forward, swinging his blade. His movements were like a wild wind as he slashed towards the demonic woman, the blade’s aura shimmering with crimson light.

“Clang... clang... clang...”

The blade struck the woman’s fingernails, producing a shower of sparks. Du Heng’s movements were swift and agile, and the woman was equally spectral in hers, becoming entangled in a fierce battle with Du Heng.

Du Heng’s blade strikes were ferocious and contained a blade aura that made her feel threatened. However, it was hard to say whether the woman had entangled Du Heng or if Du Heng had entangled her.

“Thud... Thud... Thud... Thud...”

The roof repeatedly broke open, and figures of children wearing new padded jackets darted into the inn, lunging directly at the martial artists below.

“Careful!” “Dodge quickly!”

“Light the torches!”

The martial artists swiftly wielded their weapons while dodging in all directions. Then, seizing their chances, they all lit the torches in their hands.

These neither-human-nor-ghost creatures were not only incredibly fast but also possessed exceptionally sharp claws. One careless move could lead to disembowelment. Moreover, they carried a strange and potent venom; even a slight scratch could be troublesome.

Fortunately, these creatures were straightforward, lacking any martial arts techniques. For these masters, once they adapted, they could handle them. If not for the creatures becoming increasingly difficult to “kill,” they would have been overwhelmed long ago.

“Clang...”

“Clang... Clang... Clang...”

“Thud... Thud...”

During the fight, the inn room’s door and walls had been kicked open. The battle between the martial artists and the ghost children shifted within this somewhat confined space. This was advantageous for the martial artists, preventing the ghost children from darting in and out and vanishing in an instant.

Li Tongzhou truly was a grandmaster. Even though his current power was less than half of his prime, his discernment remained. He watched as a companion fended off a flying attack from a ghost child, and with his left hand, he swung his sword, blocking another. Then, his right hand swung out with a torch, delivering a heavy “thud” to the ghost child his companion had just pushed away.

The ghost child, showered in sparks, was knocked off its original trajectory.

“Excellent timing!”

Another martial artist immediately pulled a sheep bladder from his bosom and smashed it heavily onto the ghost child.

“Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...”

A sizzling sound, like cold water on a hot iron pan, immediately erupted.

“Aaaah...”

A child-like shriek instantly pierced the air, causing the eardrums of the surrounding martial artists to sting.

“Damn, the black dog’s blood really works! Burn it to death!”

At once, at least three martial artists fiercely hurled their torches towards the ghost child drenched in the black dog’s blood and lamp oil mixture. Even if the inn burned down, they could compensate for it later; they couldn’t worry about that now.

“Impact! Impact! Impact!”

Because the ghost child was being corroded and burned by the black dog’s blood, it was struck by all three torches.

With a whoosh, a great fire erupted.

“Aaaah... Aaaah...”

An unusually horrific shriek rang out, seemingly frightening the other ghost children, who momentarily ceased their attack.

“Hahahahaha... Burned to ashes, nothing left! Now let’s see how you come back to life, hahahaha...”

“Excellent!” “Satisfying!”

The morale of the other martial artists soared.

“My child!”

“Demonic woman, you’ll soon join it!”

The woman cried out in alarm, but Du Heng’s blade arts did not cease as he roared to disrupt her concentration.

“Heheheh... heheheh...”

After her cry of alarm, the woman suddenly let out a chilling laugh, her voice filled with hatred.

“I, humble as I am, truly underestimated you great heroes. But I will surely consume the heart of you, Sir Du!”

As the woman spoke, she retreated several spectral steps, widening the distance from Du Heng. He stood there, breathing heavily and adjusting his grip on his blade, not rushing to follow.

“Hmph, that depends on whether you, demonic woman, have the ability!”

Just then, cries of alarm came from the other martial artists.

“What the devil is that?”

“It’s not dead!?”

After the ghost child was set ablaze, its clothes and body were burned beyond recognition, but it did not die. Instead, it transformed into a black-gray shadow, through which the scenery behind could even be faintly discerned.

Subsequently, the black-gray ashes on its body gradually fell away, and the ghost child’s body became increasingly translucent until it was completely invisible.

What was eerie was that the “Waaah... Aaaah...” crying sound remained in place, chilling everyone to the bone even further.

“Heheheheh... You martial artists, you’ve disrupted my cultivation time and again. Since things have come to this, I can simply restart my cultivation. But tonight, everyone in Tingshui County must die!”

The woman’s voice was filled with a gnashing intensity. The other ghost children also began to crack open, and the sensation of flesh and bone peeling away on its own sent chills through the martial artists. For a moment, they were at a loss.

It didn’t matter why these neither-human-nor-ghost creatures hadn’t used this move before. But if they couldn’t be seen, how were they to fight?

Just at this moment, a gentle breeze swept through the inn’s hallway.

“Oh? Quite a big mouth you have!”

A balanced, peaceful, yet deep and powerful voice drifted from afar. No sooner had the voice arrived than the person accompanying it appeared in the inn’s hallway, standing right beside the inn attendant who had wet himself in terror.

The newcomer wore a white robe, his hair loosely tied in a bun adorned with a black jade hairpin. His pale eyes were particularly striking.

Ji Yuan lowered his head to glance at the inn attendant, then looked towards the woman and the ghost children.

“Master Ji!”

Du Heng’s exclamation was filled with surprise and joy. The moment he saw Ji Yuan, his anxious heart instantly settled.

Ji Yuan nodded at him. With a single step, he flashed to stand beside the martial artists at the front. With a wave of his sleeve, seven transparent children were directly fanned towards the woman, which also brought him closer to her and the other ghost children.

“What are you? Neither human, nor ghost, nor demon, nor fiend. Nine-Child Ghost Mother? Doesn’t quite seem like it... Who taught you this evil art?”

Ji Yuan stood there, calmly observing the woman. He could naturally tell that she wasn’t some centuries-old hag.

The woman had no idea how Ji Yuan had appeared. Indeed, if she couldn’t see him, her senses would suggest he wasn’t even there. She involuntarily began to retreat, knowing she might have encountered a true master.

“Kill him!”

The woman did not answer. She commanded the ghost children to pounce on Ji Yuan, while she herself turned and fled.

The other martial artists and Du Heng were about to warn Ji Yuan to be careful when they saw him gently blow a thin wisp of red-gray smoke from his mouth.

“Whoosh...”

As the smoke swept past, the seven ghost children, previously invisible to the martial artists, reappeared. But this time, they were like paper figures set alight, turning to ash the moment they flared with light, unable to even let out a scream.

‘To be reduced to ash by my Samadhi True Fire,’ he thought, ‘consider yourselves honored!’