Chapter 47: Chang Gui

"The memories from a few years ago have changed quite a bit," Guo Ming said with a wry smile, watching Chu Danqing light a fire in the old hut to provide warmth.

"It doesn't matter—as long as we found it," Chu Danqing said.

Guo Ming had said it was about two li away, but he’d gotten lost and circled around before finding it.

"This place is safe. Wait here until the snowstorm passes, then go to Nanshan Temple or head down the mountain."

"I have urgent business to attend to."

Chu Danqing planned to leave and search for the traces of Zhanji Hu.

He had already settled Guo Ming; there was no need to stay behind with him.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ming’s expression froze: "That’s too hasty. Wait until the storm dies down—it won’t hurt."

"Urgent business must be handled, but your own safety matters too."

He could hear the howling wind and snow growing louder, making the small hut creak and groan.

Even if Chu Danqing was an extraordinary man, traveling in such a storm would be extremely dangerous, so he offered a warning.

"Something’s coming closer through the snowstorm," Da Bao spoke, extending his claws.

This put both men on alert.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A knocking came at the door.

"Is anyone inside? I’m Liu Wu—open the door!" came the voice of a middle-aged man outside, trembling from the cold.

Guo Ming’s face lit up: "It’s Brother Liu Wu! Open the door quickly!"

As he rose to open it, Chu Danqing grabbed his arm.

"Da Bao said he’s not human," Chu Danqing explained—Da Bao had mental impairments but could clearly distinguish humans from non-humans.

He would never call a person "something."

"Is that Brother Guo?" Liu Wu’s voice, once trembling, now carried excitement upon hearing Guo Ming’s voice.

Guo Ming was torn—outside was his friend, inside was his savior; caught between them, he was trapped.

Chu Danqing pulled out the Hquan Shadow Sniper Rifle—he’d fumbled with it a few times, wasn’t skilled, but could fire without issue.

He had no firearm-related skills or professional training; being able to use it at all was already good enough.

The hut remained silent; Da Bao seemed to sense this wasn’t the right moment and held back.

As time passed, Liu Wu’s voice outside grew hoarse, and he began pounding violently on the door, desperate to get in.

Chu Danqing found a good position, set up the Hquan Shadow, and prepared to fire.

Seeing this, Da Bao obediently opened the wooden door.

Snow and wind rushed in, revealing a figure standing at the threshold—half its skull missing.

Chu Danqing pulled the trigger without hesitation; cold energy surged from the rifle, and a Frost Shadow Bullet shot out, striking the target squarely.

【You dealt 20 physical damage + 10 ice damage to the target, and inflicted a 5-second slow.】

Seeing the battle log, Chu Danqing understood why the rifle’s equipment requirement was 5 Spirit.

It was essentially a magic wand disguised as a sniper rifle—lacking recoil, and dealing far less damage than a normal sniper rifle.

Its effective range was only three hundred meters, but precisely because of these traits, it suited Chu Danqing, a complete novice, perfectly.

Upon hitting the target, Chu Danqing immediately cast a Scan spell.

【Chang Gui】

【Attributes】

【HP: 11%】

【MP: 25】

【Strength: 1】

【Agility: 3】

【Vitality: 2】

【Spirit: 5】

【Perception: 3】

Seeing the data, Chu Danqing’s eye twitched.

One shot had nearly killed the thing outright.

No wonder it had been pounding on the door—strength of 1 meant physical door-breaking wasn’t just difficult, it was nearly impossible.

It wasn’t that the Hquan Shadow was weak—it was that the target was pathetically weak; even the slow effect was redundant.

Had Chu Danqing’s aim been better, a headshot would have killed the Chang Gui instantly.

"It’s a Chang Gui," Chu Danqing said, holstering the rifle. Da Bao extended his claw and killed the crippled, motionless Chang Gui.

The Chang Gui instantly disintegrated into ash, leaving nothing behind. Da Bao closed the door.

Chu Danqing knew what a Chang Gui was—he’d once taken a contract for a Shan Jun, which required Chang Gui as part of the background.

"Liu Wu… Liu Wu was eaten by a tiger?!" Guo Ming’s face turned pale with shock.

"What’s wrong with that?" Chu Danqing asked.

It was a tiger, not a house cat.

"Brother Liu Wu hunted countless beasts in his life—never imagined he’d die at the hands of such a beast."

"He once hunted a tiger himself, but it escaped. Later, Chang Gui haunted him at night—he shot one away with an arrow," Guo Ming said with a sigh.

Chu Danqing grew interested: "Don’t mind telling me more?"

"Of course not," Guo Ming said—he had no objection. "By the time I finish, the storm might even stop."

He wanted to prolong the story to keep Chu Danqing from leaving—now there was not only the storm, but also Chang Gui; going out was even more dangerous.

"This story begins with me…" Having decided, Guo Ming began from the start.

Chu Danqing made no move to cut him short—he listened quietly.

Only when Guo Ming mentioned the tiger had been wounded in its left hind leg did Chu Danqing ask: "So this tiger is a lame one?"

"Exactly. This tiger had become a spirit; despite its leg wound, it abandoned the limb to save its life and fled," Guo Ming said, puzzled why Chu Danqing suddenly cared about this detail.

Chu Danqing instantly understood—the tiger Liu Wu hunted was the Zhanji Hu he was seeking.

Zhanji Hu meant "lame tiger."

Liu Wu became a Chang Gui as retribution afterward.

After being devoured by the tiger, he became its spirit servant.

"Funny—I came to Nanshan on orders from the Lu family to eliminate a Zhanji Hu."

"It seems this is the one," Chu Danqing stated his purpose, sensing Guo Ming might aid him.

After all, the one using the Three Corpses Method was a granddisciple of the Taiping Dao Master and the son of the Ren Gong Dao Master; using a spirit-tiger as one of the Three Corpses wasn’t extravagant.

Didn’t they use a Jiao Dragon as another of their Three Corpses?

Of course, whether it was truly a jiao or just an alligator or python remained uncertain.

"It must be this vile beast," Guo Ming said. "But it’s cunning, Nanshan is treacherous, and Chang Gui lurk here—finding it won’t be easy."

Chu Danqing considered how to proceed. Watching the snowstorm gradually subside outside, he said: "Go to Nanshan Temple."

"The monks there have lived here long—they may have clues."

"And your wounds need tending."

(End of Chapter)