Chapter 33: Spirit Infant Street Parade, Toasting and Calling It Heroic Righteousness

The wailing wind and snow carried a hint of bleakness.

Li Che wore black combat attire, a bamboo hat on his head, his expression extremely solemn.

His uncle's family followed beside him.

Everyone trudged forward against the increasingly violent wind and snow, having no time to be frightened by the recent slaughter in the small courtyard; the family only wanted to flee to Xu Ji's woodcarving shop.

Stepping on the blue-stone long street, due to the wind and snow weather, pedestrians were sparse, most hurrying along with heads down.

Along the way, everyone remained silent, no one speaking.

Suddenly.

Li Che's steps halted abruptly, the accumulated snow pushed out by his suddenly stopping foot into a small snow mound.

Amidst the hazy wind and snow, a scent of fireworks lingered.

A clinking sound came from the other end of the long street, with gongs and drums, shawm blasts, and devout chanting, forming a piece of eerie symphony that made one's hair stand on end.

"The Holy Spirit teaches, cleansing the dust, the law of worry-free reincarnation, attained by supreme wisdom without instruction......"

A decadent melody drifted from the wind and snow.

A bare-chested burly man wearing a child's mask lifted a shrine platform.

On the platform stood a three-headed, six-armed Spirit Infant statue; the Spirit Infant had three faces—angry, sorrowful, or smiling……its eyes lively, as if genuine eyeballs were inlaid.

Neatly ranked, numbering several dozen, they were the sect's procession—the Spirit Infant Street Parade!

A woman wearing a girl's mask, with a graceful figure, held a flower basket, scattering petals to the music, vying with the wind and snow in brilliance.

Li Che furrowed his brows, ordering the family behind him not to look too much, to lower their heads and move forward.

However, this time the Spirit Infant Street Parade sect did not, as before when encountering Li Che, pass by peacefully.

Amidst the sky-filling snow, these Spirit Infants saw the uncle's family, saw Li Chengzhou held in the arms of the cousin's wife Liu Chunming, and seemed to become excited all at once.

They stepped with strange dance moves, wearing child masks, tilting heads and twisting bodies like hellish demons baring fangs and claws, approaching step by step.

A strong sense of oppression filled heaven and earth, entwined with the wind and snow, rushing toward the face!

Uncle Li Liang sweat drenched his head, his thighs trembling.

Cousin Li Zhengran's eyes bloodshot, he gripped a firewood knife.

The aunt and cousin's wife Liu Chunming were terrified beyond measure, having never seen such a scene, almost bursting into tears, tightly clutching the frightened Li Chengzhou in her arms.

Li Che then stepped forward, his qi and blood surging, his skin flushing red, displaying the consummate mastery of the Tempered Skin realm.

"In broad daylight, what are you doing? Abducting a child?!"

"Do you still have the court and the law in your eyes?!"

Li Che shouted angrily, a full-blast bellow that slightly subdued these sect members.

But the gongs and shawm sounded again, these mask-wearing sect members once more surged forward to encircle, continually drawing near; beneath the child masks, a greedy and eerie light flickered.

Li Che clenched his five fingers into a fist.

He thought……he had put on a mask!

As these sect members drew ever closer, faintly, a unique aura seemed to permeate, disturbing the spirit and influencing people's emotions!

Li Che's heart jolted……divinity?

Not strong, only a trace, yet for ordinary people it is extremely deadly!

Suddenly.

The wind and snow exploded, a figure darting swiftly from afar, like a cannonball, slammed down before Li Che and his uncle's family.

Overbearing qi and blood surged, inner energy burst forth, stirring up great winds and waves, the frantic airflow scattering those nearby Spirit Infant Street Parade sect members.

"I am……the third manager of Xu Ji's woodcarving shop, Xu You."

"Everyone, in broad daylight, such coercion is somewhat excessive; Fēiléichéng……has not yet reached the time when the Spirit Infant Sect can do as it pleases."

Draped in a fox fur cloak, white clothing surpassing snow, black hair flying, the figure spoke indifferently.

Li Che was startled, never expecting the visitor to be the long-unseen third manager Xu You; after leaving the city to hunt demonic creatures, Xu You had had no news, and now he appeared, indeed in such a situation.

Xu You's qi and blood blazed like fire, inner energy surging wildly; standing in place, his erupting aura was tremendously fearsome.

Those Spirit Infant Street Parade sect members scattered in all directions, the pervasive divinity also dissipating with the wind and snow.

There was no dialogue, no words.

The street-parading sect, carrying the shrine, stepping in dance, scattering petals, accompanied by gongs and shawm, gradually faded away, vanishing into the wind and snow.

The malevolent nature, too, seemed to depart with them.

At last the uncle's family exhaled a long sigh of relief; the aunt felt a sense of surviving a calamity, unable to hold back soft sobs.

Li Che clasped his fists, sincerely saying: "Thank you, third manager."

Xu You turned around, his visage now bearing a few more traces of weathering; on his clean, refined, scholarly face lay an additional scar.

He glanced at Li Che and smiled: "Just returned from handling the evil objects of the Guiyi Miao outside the city, I then saw this situation……"

"Seeing it's you, I stepped forward; the face of Xu Ji……the Spirit Infant Sect still gives it."

Li Che thanked him again, after explaining the uncle's family's situation, Xu You sighed: "Spirit Infant Sect……has become ever more lawless."

"However, to destroy it, one must first drive it mad; eventually someone will annihilate it."

"Never mind; move your uncle's family into Xu Ji's grand residence, find a side courtyard, but……the rent must be paid separately."

Woodcarvers residing in the compound need not pay rent; although the uncle's family had Li Che's background and originally lacked qualification to reside in Xu Ji's grand residence, Xu You relaxed the conditions, yet this rent cannot be waived.

"Rest assured, considering your talent as a woodcarver, the rent will be cheaper."

Xu You smiled.

"I won't return to the residence with you; I'll go to the murder scene you mentioned……a Tempered Bone martial artist beaten to death, wearing an Ox Demon mask……that Ox Demon? Kind of interesting."

Xu You simply said that, then bade farewell and departed, a single step out, hands behind his back, vanishing without a trace.

Li Che watched Xu You's disappearing back, exhaled a breath, and had the uncle's family move into Xu Ji's grand residence; this should be Xu You extending goodwill to win him over……

After all, he is a woodcarver who has the opportunity to become a master woodcarver.

Currying favor and showing goodwill……is quite normal.

……

……

Anping Alley.

In the wind and snow.

Several figures arrived one after another, their vigorous qi and blood intertwining in the air.

Xu You draped in a fox fur cloak, hands behind his back, strolling over; in the courtyard, there was already more than one figure.

Zhao Chuanxiong wore a saber at his waist, his expression grim as he looked at the deceased Eight Trigrams staff martial artist; the back of his hand gripping the hilt bulged with veins, his eyes even showing a hint of ferocity and... fear.

Besides Zhao Chuanxiong, there were three other figures, all possessing vigorous vital energy and blood, being martial artists of notable skill.

Xu You, however, recognized them; they were the managers of Wai Cheng's industries from the Nei Cheng Shijia Zhuzu.

Having the same status as him, Xu You, they were not favored in the clan, yet in Wai Cheng they held a noble position.

Nei Cheng Shijia Zhuzu consisted of four great families: the Yang, Xu, An, and Si clans.

Besides Zhao Chuanxiong, the three present each came from the Yang, An, and Si families.

"He was beaten to death by sheer force, the ten-thousand-jin force of a perfected tempered bone, plus the explosion of martial technique, his breastbone shattered completely, his five viscera and six bowels all crushed, utterly overwhelmed, with no power to resist......"

"From the manner of death, one cannot tell what martial technique the killer employed......"

"This household left a survivor; find and ask him and you'll know the killer's appearance."

"But in ancient and modern times, in Wai Cheng, those capable of killing a tempered bone cultivator are undoubtedly that wanted criminal, Niu Mo."

"This Niu Mo just committed atrocities in Nei Cheng, killing a disciple of the Spirit Infant Sect valued by the sect master; now he has again in Wai Cheng slain a Spirit Infant Sect tempered bone vice-incense chief... tsk, truly audacious to the extreme."

"The person in charge of the Si family in Wai Cheng looked at Xu You and smiled, saying, 'Xu Third Young Master, are you interested in joining forces to take down this Niu Mo?'"

"Si Liuxian…… your Si family mingles with the Spirit Infant Sect, while my Xu family does not; this Ox Demon...... is clearly targeting the Spirit Infant Sect, and those he killed are all the wicked Spirit Infant Sect members who harm innocent children; in my view, this is a righteous act."

"He has done what we dare not do...... I haven't even had time to applaud; I would rather drink with him and call him a great hero—why should we capture him?"

Xu You glanced sideways at the Si family's Si Liuxian and snorted with laughter.

Si Liuxian's face instantly darkened.

Xu You, hands behind his back, glanced at the bagua staff martial artist covered in cracks and violently smashed by a hammer, his eyes narrowing.

As if recognizing something, a flicker of surprise and doubt crossed his face, and he immediately turned and left.

Zhao Chuanxiong stood to the side with his head lowered, yet dared not speak further.

These disciples of the Shijia Zhuzu, although not valued by Nei Cheng and far from the center of power, are nevertheless disciples of great clans.

As for Zhao Chuanxiong, he lacks the qualifications to act arrogantly before them.

Of course, it's also because Zhao Chuanxiong is panicking to the extreme right now......

Last time he had hunted the Niu Mo together with the bagua staff martial artist......

Now, the bagua staff martial artist has been killed in retaliation.

Next......

Could it be him?

That Niu Mo killer...... in just a month, went from early-stage tempered bone to perfected tempered bone, capable of unleashing ten-thousand-jin force, beating the bagua staff martial artist to death.

Terrifying, too terrifying......

The more he pondered, the more fearful he became.

Zhao Chuanxiong beaded with fine sweat on his forehead, unable to stop his back from being drenched in sweat.

What should he...... do?

(End of chapter)