Chapter 219: Late Night Hunting of Charms

Hearing the commotion outside, Du He was the first to push open the door and head out to investigate the situation.

He was on night watch at the apothecary, and he had to pay attention to every little disturbance to be able to report to the young master.

Martial artists were weaving through the streets like a flowing stream, their shouts and cries rising one after another, all of them repeating the same question: "Where is the Poison Goose?"

The Poison Goose, Lu Zhigang?

He paused outside for a moment, and from the fragmented words he overheard, he reconstructed the sequence of events that had occurred tonight.

After disappearing for nearly half a year, the Poison Goose Lu Zhigang had reappeared, and the moment he showed his face, he had done something big... he had assassinated Bao Tiefeng.

Although he had been defeated as expected, the results were shocking: he had severed one of Bao Tiefeng's hands and poisoned countless disciples of the martial arts hall to death.

What a guy—fierce, ruthless, savage, and poisonous!

Sighing, Du He returned to the apothecary, and Zhou You, who had been resting in the main hall, also stood up.

"Don't go out; it's very chaotic outside."

Du He thought for a moment and kindly warned Zhou You, even though the other man was also a Qi and Blood martial artist; encountering Lu Zhigang would mean certain death.

Several Qi and Blood Disciples of the Iron Peak Martial Arts Hall had been slaughtered by him like cutting melons and vegetables.

Zhou You, however, had bright eyes. "I'm going out to take a look."

One can only fish in troubled waters; he had gone to great lengths to stir up the waters of Gongliang City, so how could he miss such a golden opportunity?

Right now, almost all the Qi and Blood martial artists in the city were out on the streets, and everything was in a state of chaos.

He asked himself, if he were that Transformation Charm, could he suppress his desires and not act?...

"Brother Shan, you said you saw Lu Zhigang at the corner opposite; is that true or false?"

A gust of wind swept through the air as several figures dashed across the tens-of-meters-long street, smashing the wooden barricades blocking their path into splinters.

These few were all Qi and Blood level martial artists, skilled and bold, and upon hearing that Lu Zhigang had appeared, they were thinking of getting a share of the spoils.

They also knew the Poison Palm was formidable, so they had gathered five people and pooled together a poison-avoidance treasure before chasing after him.

There were too many people in the city, and the news was a mix of truth and lies; after a long time, they still hadn't seen Lu Zhigang himself.

Instead, there were quite a few base rats taking advantage of the chaos to break into residents' homes to rape and plunder.

The questioned Brother Shan nodded silently. "We're almost there."

The other four naturally believed him without doubt, following him around the end of the long street, where they saw a vague silhouette in the night.

Was it Lu Zhigang? Suddenly, a scream startled everyone.

"Brother Shan, why are you harming me?"

A sudden, strange change occurred: 'Brother Shan's' palm pierced through the chest of a companion, his five fingers clutching a bright red heart.

Looking at his face again, hair was sprouting everywhere, and his expression was becoming increasingly ferocious, no longer looking human.

A trap? A conspiracy? Someone suddenly realized, "He is not Brother Shan; he is a charm, a charm possessing a body to wreak havoc."

To be able to hide while deceiving Qi and Blood martial artists, this was by no means a minor character like a Void Charm, but something more formidable... a Transformation Charm.

It was that Transformation Charm that had been wreaking havoc throughout the city lately, hunting Qi and Blood martial artists!

The remaining three were shocked and furious; they immediately scattered and launched a Qi and Blood offensive against 'Brother Shan.'

The impact of baleful energy from different schools swirled and surged toward him with anger.

The next moment, the silhouette that had been standing still vanished from the spot with a 'whoosh.'

Another charm, and it was also a Transformation Charm!

So there was more than one Transformation Charm eating people everywhere; no wonder the frequency of man-eating was so high and their appetites so large.

The newly joined Transformation Charm and 'Brother Shan' were as fast as lightning, grabbing a Qi and Blood martial artist each with their left and right hands, easily tearing them in two, and without even shaking off the filthy blood, they stuffed them directly into their gaping maws.

"Ahhh!"

The remaining two were terrified out of their wits, knowing they were no match, and turned to flee for their lives.

A gust of wind blew from the rooftops, sweeping past the two desperately fleeing Qi and Blood martial artists and stopping in front of the two chewing Transformation Charms. "Boss!"

'Brother Shan' and his companion stood respectfully before the third Transformation Charm.

As the saying goes, three make a crowd; these Transformation Charms had spontaneously gathered into a gang, cooperating to hunt martial artists.

Tonight's ambush was exactly their handiwork.

*Pat, pat! * The two Qi and Blood martial artists, frozen in place, had countless fine blood lines appear on their bodies, and with a boom, they shattered into countless fragments like an avalanche.

The Transformation Charm Boss opened his gaping maw and inhaled, and the torrent of shredded corpses flowed into his mouth.

He smiled and waved his hand toward the front. "Continue!"

Brother Shan nodded, and after his two companions vanished into the darkness, he turned and left.

Everywhere there were martial artists coming and going in a hurry, determined to find Lu Zhigang and swallow his riches.

No one knew that in the dark corners, four Qi and Blood martial artists had already been eaten, leaving not even their bones behind.

"Brother Shan, you're here too!"

This Transformation Charm was disguised quite well and was well-liked; from time to time, passing martial artists would greet him.

Tonight was a feast belonging to the Qi and Blood martial artists; anyone with weaker strength dared not go out and was confined to their homes.

Brother Shan's gaze swept over target after target, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Brother Zhou You."

Hearing this, Zhou You stopped in his tracks and saw Brother Shan, his own eyes also lighting up.

He also knew this Qi and Blood martial artist; the other man was also from the Gongliang City martial arts circle, inheriting a fist technique called the Wushan Fist.

Once upon a time, the Wushan Fist had been widely circulated in Gongliang City, but later it had fallen into decline.

By the time it reached the generation of Brother Shan's master, he hadn't been able to train a single disciple to the level of a Martial Master before he died.

Without a Martial Master to hold down the fort, the martial arts hall had closed its doors for good.

Relying on his strength as a Qi and Blood martial artist and the connections his master had left behind, Brother Shan had barely managed to make a living; he had once visited the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall to pay respects to Wang Laohu and had met Zhou You once.

None of this is the point...

Panel prompt: "Trial Project: Hunt 10 Transformation Phantoms, progress 3/10, 3 targets discovered."

"As the number exceeds 3, Battlefield Perspective is automatically activated."

Zhou You's field of vision suddenly changed, with 3 red dots appearing, one large and two small.

The acquaintance 'Shan Xiongdi' was surprisingly one of the two small ones, and also a Transformation Phantom identified by the panel.

Excellent, I originally wanted to kill one, but now I've caught a whole nest.

Who would have thought that monster-like Phantoms would actually know how to huddle together for warmth and commit crimes in groups? Shan Xiongdi is just a small fry, coming out to deceive people; behind him, there is an even stronger large red dot.

Zhou You's expression became increasingly enthusiastic as he opened his arms and stepped forward, "Shan Xiongdi, long time no see, I've missed you to death!"

"Zhou You, Brother Zhou, I have also been wanting to get together with you, but there was never an opportunity?"

Shan Xiongdi's expression was grave, "There's no time, I just saw Lu Zhigang appear up ahead; let's go chase him together, and we'll split the benefits equally."

Uh, trying to scam me?

I am Lu Zhigang myself, and you are discussing splitting my things with me; you're quite a nice guy! His smile became even more enthusiastic, "Shan Xiongdi, I just came out of the martial arts hall and am short on money, thank you!"

Shan Xiongdi lowered his head to hide a trace of smugness in the corner of his eyes.

He was certain that the expelled disciple Zhou You was in a desperate situation and would never pass up an opportunity to get rich, so he had easily succeeded with a little bit of deception.

"Walk this way, let's take a shortcut."

The two of them entered a dark alley one after the other, the firelight and noise from the main street behind them gradually fading.

(End of this chapter)