Chapter 68: I'll Go Get Reinforcements

In the main hall, Liang Qu sat in the upper right seat, his upper body exposed, the flesh wounds shocking to the eye.

Behind him, the physician held a mortar, pounding grass stems into juice to prevent the wounds from suppurating.

Chen Zhaoan sat in the upper left seat, his hands crossed and resting on his cane.

A group of village elders sat or stood, all uneasy, occasionally glancing at the hideous wounds and feeling pain themselves.

Except for the groans of the injured villagers in the hall, the entire hall was oppressively silent.

Chen Zhaoan scanned the room and stared at the village elder to his lower left. The village elder understood, stood up, looked at Liang Qu, and asked the previous question again.

"This Mountain Ghost is neither the big Mountain Ghost from Pingyang Town nor the small one that was bred."

Liang Qu delivered the final verdict.

The physician grinding the herbs shook his hand.

The calm conversation was quite reminiscent of scraping bone to heal a wound.

"Doesn't that mean there are other Mountain Ghosts?"

"One is already so terrifying, and there are two more. Today, fortunately, Ashui was here. If he weren't, wouldn't it be a disaster?"

"How could they come to Yixing City? We are a full sixteen *li* away from Pingyang Town, and it takes an hour for a person to walk."

The village elders looked at each other, their hearts full of fear.

They had truly come face-to-face with the Mountain Ghost. Those yellowed, pus-like vertical pupils were more terrifying than a fierce tiger. Many village elders were so scared they dropped their canes, instantly curing their chronic cold legs of many years.

They had thought the disaster happened in Pingyang Town and Yixing City didn't need to worry much, but who would have thought that even so far away, it wasn't safe.

But the facts were as they were, and Liang Qu trusted his judgment.

A small Mountain Ghost was only as big as a human infant when just born. To grow to nearly human height, it would take at least three months.

Lu Shaohui's death hadn't even been half a month; it couldn't be the small Mountain Ghost just hatched in Pingyang Town.

It was even less likely to be the big Mountain Ghost that killed Lu Shaohui.

The big Mountain Ghost's strength was clearly higher than Lu Shaohui's; there were no signs of much fighting at the scene, and it could crush a two-realm martial artist.

With such strength, Liang Qu wouldn't be enough for it to kill even if he were bundled together, let alone knock it away with a stone ball from a stone lion's mouth.

Everyone looked at Chen Zhaoan, who had the highest status. Chen Zhaoan naturally understood what the others meant, and he said: "Ashui, those other two Mountain Ghosts, they wouldn't be in Yixing City too, would they? Besides, why didn't they come out early or late, but appeared today during the sacrifice? Could it be the River God..."

The physician applied the herbs to Liang Qu's shoulder, quietly pricking up his ears, not noticing at all that his hands were shaking.

"Impossible!" Liang Qu flatly denied. "Mountain Ghosts are land spirit monsters; if anyone is to manage them, it should be the Mountain God. If it were the River God, the ones sent should be water monsters, or at worst, there would be a flood or heavy rain to drown our Yixing City. Why would he send a mountain spirit monster?

Besides, didn't we sacrifice the Mountain Ghost's head? If it were truly the River God's will, why would there be no movement at all?"

The other village elders felt Liang Qu's words made sense and nodded one after another.

It was good that the River God wasn't angry.

Relying on the mountains to eat from the mountains and the water to eat from the water, if the River God were angry, it would be more terrifying than a Mountain Ghost. A thousand people would have to leave their homes.

Liang Qu slightly raised his shoulder, the herbal juice stinging his wounds, and after catching his breath, he said: "As for how the Mountain Ghost came, I guess it should be because we slaughtered livestock today, and people were gathered together. The blood energy and human energy were too heavy, which attracted the spirit monster."

Mountain Ghosts ate livestock in their youth and loved to eat human organs.

The Mountain Ghost he killed had strength between a small Mountain Ghost and a big one; it was neither just born nor an adult.

Livestock blood plus human energy was naturally the best bait.

"As for whether there are other Mountain Ghosts in Yixing City, I dare not guarantee. Perhaps there are, perhaps not. However, I have grown up so big, and in my memory, there aren't many records of spirit monsters killing people. Now that three have appeared at once, I suspect there might be a ghost behind it."

The rolled-up cloth fell to the ground. The physician hurriedly picked it up, not even caring to continue bandaging, and asked busily: "A ghost?"

A village elder was so anxious he paced around: "That's right, a ghost, there must be a ghost. If there were no ghost, how could there be so many spirit monsters for no reason? In the past, I only heard of families going into the mountains or crossing the river and disappearing; how could there be such unscrupulous behavior as today?"

After pacing a circle, he reached out and grabbed Liang Qu's forearm: "Ashui, you grew up in Yixing City. You can't be like those ungrateful wolves who leave their hometowns once they have skills and forget the fellow villagers."

"Cough!"

Chen Zhaoan coughed, staring at the village elder who spoke.

The village elder felt he had said the wrong thing but couldn't realize what was wrong, so he could only shrink back, not daring to speak.

Even among village elders, there were different ranks.

Other village elders hurriedly stood up to make amends.

"That's right, if you weren't here today, I don't know how many people would have died."

"Ashui is already a true martial artist who has broken through the barrier, right?"

"Yes, just the day before yesterday."

"Truly amazing, unlike my unfilial son who has no prospects. A talent of Yixing."

No wonder.

Li Libo and Chen Jiechang on the side of the hall were amazed, feeling more and more that Liang Qu's talent was astonishing.

He could help today, but what about in the future?

They were afraid they would gradually drift apart, and the two felt obscure in their hearts.

Chen Zhaoan raised his hand to let everyone calm down and said solemnly: "Everyone won't let you work in vain. Today, you saved our lives. Each of the village elders present will gather ten taels of silver for you. Although it's not much, it represents our heart."

"That's right, that's right, we must pay."

"Good, I'll be the first to pay!"

Everyone had seen the battle with the Mountain Ghost. That Mountain Ghost's claws were sharper than steel blades, and a casual wave could shatter stone slabs. Its thick skin was even more fierce, and blades couldn't cut in. It was definitely not something an ordinary person could contend with; they were afraid that no matter how many went, they would all die.

That Liang Qu could fight such a monster was even more astonishing.

Although Li Libo and Chen Jiechang helped during the process, everyone wasn't a fool and could see who was the key.

Yixing City didn't only have Liang Qu as a martial artist, but people moved to higher places. Anyone who truly had prospects moved away. Only those who hadn't made a name for themselves and couldn't bear to part with their industries in Yixing City would stay here.

Just like the village elder who owned this mansion, his several descendants were neither good at reading nor martial arts, but were proficient in eating, drinking, and playing.

Currently, the only one they could rely on was Liang Qu.

Being looked at by everyone with expectant eyes, Liang Qu was quite embarrassed.

There were seven or eight village elders present, ten taels each, which was nearly a hundred taels of silver. He was naturally tempted, but now it wasn't a question of money, but a question of whether it was feasible.

Today was very thrilling. Without Awei's venom and the help of A-Chang and A-Bo, no one could say what would happen if it came again.

However, just because he couldn't do it didn't mean others couldn't.

"Elders, I was really lucky this time, and this Mountain Ghost's strength was average. If it were the one in Pingyang Town, I definitely wouldn't have a chance of winning."

The village elders' moods fell to the bottom, but Liang Qu changed the subject.

"However, my several senior brothers are true martial arts masters with superb strength. They definitely can. Besides, this matter is suspicious. I want to go to Pingyang Town first to find my master. He is knowledgeable and experienced, and perhaps he knows what is going on."

The situation turned around, and the village elders kept saying it was good.

"Then when do you plan to set off?"

"No time to lose, let's go immediately."

With the cloth wrapped well, Liang Qu stood up to put on his clothes.

"That should be the case, quickly prepare a horse."

"No need for a horse, the land route is not safe. I will take the water route. Let Chen Jiechang go with me. Where are the clothes I changed out of?"

Chen Zhaoan sent someone to hand over the washed cloak and robe: "The clothes you changed out of are all here, but they haven't dried yet. Your clothes are truly extraordinary. There was so much blood, but after soaking in the water, they were actually clean."

"Thank you, Village Elder Chen."

Liang Qu took the clothes, no longer hesitating, went out the door, jumped off the pier, and Chen Jiechang followed closely behind, came to the boat, picked up the long oar, and took on the heavy responsibility of rowing.

The covered boat set off along the marsh towards Pingyang Town. ===== CHAPTER 69 =====