Chapter 65: The River God Didn't Come, but the Mountain Ghost Did!

A Mountain Ghost!?

Liang Qu's heart gave a sudden, violent jolt.

The *Annotated Edition of Haomu Hall Miscellaneous Notes* contained an illustration of a Mountain Ghost; that skin, cracked like a withered tree, had left a deeply profound impression on him!

It resembled a human in shape, its skin brown like a withered tree, and it was impervious to blades and spears.

In its youth, it ate livestock; it loved to eat human organs!

How could there be a Mountain Ghost here!?

Pingyang Town was sixteen *li* away from Yixing City!

Nine intense gong strikes echoed across the pier. The shaman danced slowly, waving a short staff and singing an unknown prayer song. A thousand pairs of eyes stared at Liang Qu, waiting for him to step onto the altar.

Liang Qu momentarily suspected that what he saw was an illusion, but the next instant, that black shadow suddenly darted out from behind the mountain wall, its sharp nails clawing through the blue bricks. Directly beneath it was the dense crowd.

A child in the crowd, looking around, saw the strange and terrifying creature and burst into loud wails.

The people around glared angrily. The child's mother covered the boy's mouth, full of apologies, but when she glanced in the direction of the child's gaze, she too froze.

Piercing screams rang out.

It wasn't a hallucination!!!

"Back!!"

In an instant, a thunderous roar drowned out everything else.

As the words left his mouth, more and more people saw the Mountain Ghost on the roof.

News of the Mountain Ghost's sightings had long since spread from Pingyang Town to Yixing City; there were even portraits posted to warn people. In recent days, fewer people from Yixing City had been going to Pingyang Town.

That cracked, brown skin—there was no way to mistake it!

A Mountain Ghost capable of killing martial artists!

Screams rose one after another. The previously orderly crowd fell into instant chaos, cries and shouts filling the air. But directly ahead was the water marsh; there was nowhere to escape, and some even jumped into the water!

It was winter right now!

The village elders stood up, terrified at the sight of the Mountain Ghost's demonic form, shouting hoarsely as they tried to organize order.

The Mountain Ghost on the eaves was disturbed and actually leaped toward the crowd. Just as it was about to pounce on a woman, a fist-sized stone ball whistled through the air, accurately smashing into the Mountain Ghost's face, knocking the mid-air creature away. Before it hit the ground, it had already shattered into several pieces.

Liang Qu moved against the flow of the crowd, his palms trembling, blood dripping from his ulnar styloid process.

At some unknown moment, the stone lion behind him had all its canine teeth shattered, and the stone ball in its mouth had vanished.

"Come to my side!!"

The sound wave was sent straight out against the wind, momentarily drowning out the crowd's screams.

It was like a great banner raised on flat ground, guiding the chaotic crowd to surge toward him.

The woman who hadn't been pounced on was terrified and fell to the ground. The man beside her grabbed her hand, and the two scrambled away.

The village elders were equally terrified, most throwing away their canes and running off. Only Chen Zhaoan and a few others quickly stepped forward to soothe the public, telling everyone to take refuge in the large mansion behind them.

The area under the eaves where the Mountain Ghost had been lurking quickly cleared. The Mountain Ghost on the ground shook its head and climbed back up.

That powerful, heavy strike from the stone ball hadn't caused it any damage at all.

Its reverse-jointed lower limbs, thin and withered upper limbs, sharp finger bones, gaunt frame, skin cracked like withered tree bark, and yellowed pupils—the color of rotting pus from a wound—stared firmly at Liang Qu, who had attacked it.

Except for the reverse-jointed lower limbs, the Mountain Ghost's other limbs were little different from a human's, but that was precisely what made it even more eerie.

Seeing it with one's own eyes was far more terrifying than the illustrations in the books!

Liang Qu's heart hammered. He didn't know where he found the courage to step forward, but the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired; the Mountain Ghost had already locked onto him.

A small Mountain Ghost? A big one?

It didn't look like a small one; the one before him was similar in height to him, and Mountain Ghosts didn't grow that fast. But it didn't look like a big one either; a big Mountain Ghost capable of killing a two-realm martial artist couldn't have been knocked away by a single stone ball from him.

Could it be a third Mountain Ghost, other than those two?

That would perfectly explain why it appeared in Yixing City; it hadn't traveled over ten *li*—it had been here all along!

Damn it, where did so many Mountain Ghosts come from? Was this a wholesale breeding operation?

As his thoughts raced like lightning, Liang Qu even vaguely guessed why this Mountain Ghost had appeared.

The thick scent of blood in the wind, combined with the human energy gathered from a thousand people, had successfully attracted the Mountain Ghost.

Sacrificing to the River God, sacrificing to the River God.

The River God didn't come, but the Mountain Ghost did!

Liang Qu gritted his teeth in hatred.

On the pier, the shaman and the priest had all vanished.

The villagers hid inside houses and huddled in alleys. The mansion was already packed with people, and a thick human wall surrounded the outside, no one daring to move for fear of attracting the spirit monster's attention.

Within a radius of several dozen meters, only the empty altar remained, along with the bloody three great livestock hanging to the side.

The Mountain Ghost's intelligence was not low; it seemed to realize that Liang Qu posed a threat. The two sides stood in a standoff, neither moving.

Stared at by those yellowed vertical pupils, Liang Qu felt as if a snake were coiled on his spine, quietly watching him.

He felt the joints all over his body gradually growing weak, but he dared not break the silence of the standoff.

The blood from his ulnar styloid process gathered together, flowing down his middle finger, feeling somewhat itchy.

Liang Qu's fingers trembled slightly, and a drop of blood fell, rolling onto the bluestone slab, covered in dust but not breaking.

A moment later, the blood drop burst.

"Ashui, we're here to help you!"

Not good!

"Don't!"

Recognizing the voices of Li Libo and Chen Jiechang, Liang Qu was shocked. The next moment, he saw the Mountain Ghost take a step forward, and then... it vanished!

So fast!

Liang Qu covered his head with both hands. The Mountain Ghost's finger bones clawed at his tungsten arm guards, sparking fire. A massive force struck him, sending him flying.

He skidded several meters across the bluestone, cracking the slabs. Another evil wind struck from the left. Liang Qu barely protected his neck, feeling sharp claws graze his forearm armor and stab downward into his waist and abdomen, yet they couldn't penetrate an inch.

The Mountain Ghost's sharp claws sank into his dog-bear fur cloak and were blocked by his mountain-ox leather belt; they couldn't pierce through at all!

Opportunity!

Liang Qu's blood-courage was ignited. He rolled up his cloak, swept his upper arm, wrapped the cloak around the Mountain Ghost's arm, and slammed his right fist into the Mountain Ghost's face.

At the same time he struck, he felt a powerful wind heading for his chest. The Mountain Ghost's other hand had its claws closed like a steel blade, carrying a heart-piercing chill.

"Good!" Liang Qu roared, half-turning his body to avoid the vital spot. His hand movements didn't pause in the slightest as he smashed a fist into the Mountain Ghost's head.

The fist slammed into the Mountain Ghost's face as if hitting granite.

The sharp claws pierced halfway through the cloak but were stuck by his ribs, fresh blood staining his white robe.

Liang Qu didn't budge. Veins pulsed on his forehead, his face ferocious as he clamped down on the Mountain Ghost's arm, not giving it a sliver of room to move.

The Mountain Ghost's right arm was caught by Liang Qu in a triangular lock formed by his left arm's crook and his body, leaving it unable to move; it then attempted to retract its left hand.

Unexpectedly, Liang Qu's left arm still had strength to spare; the veins on his arm bulged, twisting like snakes, and immense violent force condensed within it. With his only free palm, he grabbed the ghost hand at his chest while simultaneously pinning the Mountain Ghost's arms!

A rapid-fire barrage of right-handed punches descended upon the Mountain Ghost's face like a sudden downpour!

The fierce momentum stirred the hearts of the gathered villagers; the fear they felt transformed into smoke with every punch that landed, and they were on the verge of shouting out loud.

The Heavenly Water Centipede lurking on Liang Qu's wrist seized this opportunity to crawl onto the Mountain Ghost's arm, opening its mouthparts to bite down on the weakest spot.

Wisps of blood-red liquid overflowed from the centipede's mouthparts—its defense was broken!

Having succeeded with one strike, A-Wei injected all its venom at once and darted back into the sleeve at lightning speed.

As the venom permeated its body, the Mountain Ghost sensed a lethal threat and kicked its legs hard against Liang Qu's chest.

Liang Qu took the blow head-on; he felt as if his chest had been struck by a battering ram, and sounds of impending fracture emanated from his sternum to his ribs, his heart nearly stopping.

Footsteps came from behind; he dared not turn his head, but he saw two figures pass by his side, raising sharp blades to hack at the Mountain Ghost.

The sharp blades struck as if hitting metal or stone; the two pig-slaughtering and ox-butchering blades actually chipped in two places simultaneously.

Mountain Ghost!

It resembled a human, its skin brown like a withered tree.

Impenetrable by blades or spears!