The moonlight and the River Wind complemented each other, creating a charming scene.
Chen Ku dug out the "Ghost-Faced Lotus," almost certain that it was a Treasure Herb. The rich scent of its seeds made him swallow involuntarily.
Good stuff.
But he couldn't afford to use it yet. He needed to allocate resources wisely, first solving his current predicaments. Finding other Treasure Herbs with the Skinny Dog's keen senses was just a matter of time.
SPLASH.
Carrying the Ghost-Faced Lotus, he waded back across Crocodile Bay. Several more crocodiles approached, but he kicked each one until its guts burst.
He gained five more strands of Crocodile Fiend Qi.
Looking at his Transformation Diagram, he now had nine strands of Fiend Qi.
The next stage is Transform, requiring thirty-six strands of same-level Fiend Qi. But I wonder, what are the differences between Transform and Shape-Shifted? Could it really involve creating duplicates of myself through Transformation?
He pondered.
He had already reached the shore.
Shaking the river water from his body, he returned to his human form and got dressed.
Hmm? Going back and forth on this herb-picking trip for nearly an hour, and I haven't felt tired yet. It seems my own physical condition has improved, allowing me to sustain the Skinny Dog state for longer.
Chen Ku noted his improvement with delight.
Previously, he would be starving and feeble after just half an hour, but now he felt significantly better.
This meant that as his strength increased further, he could potentially maintain the Skinny Dog Transformation for a full twenty-four hours a day.
Especially when he returned to his human form and activated the Shape Shifting state.
HUU... HUU...
His pores actually seemed to be breathing in the Moon Essence, just like in the Skinny Dog state.
My future knows no bounds!
Chen Ku was thrilled.
With his medicine basket on his back, he returned home.
His family had already gone to bed.
Chen Ku went to the kitchen and found a pot of steamed buns. He ate them with the leftover pork knuckles his family had left, finally sating his hunger.
Then he drank a bowl of the Strength Training tonic 'Muscle Enhancement Powder,' feeling a warmth spread through him. The physical exertion from his trip to the mountains was completely replenished.
Afterward, he rummaged through the house, found a small wooden box, and carefully placed the Treasure Herb inside.
Finally, taking advantage of the Muscle Enhancement Powder's effects, he began today's martial practice.
He practiced the stances of the Eight Section Brocade in the Skinny Dog Transformation state, feeling how the muscles throughout his body worked. It seemed like every cell was absorbing the medicine's power.
After the exercises, he should have gone to sleep as usual, ready to go to the county town tomorrow and change his fate.
But after Chen Ku lay in bed, he tossed and turned for an hour, unable to fall asleep.
His gaze fixed on the words in the Transformation Diagram.
[Whoever holds Huang Ba as the Diagram Master of the Rushing Fiend can gain Fiend Qi by killing him.]
Before, I didn't dare to lay hands on Huang Ba because my strength wasn't enough. Even after practicing martial arts, I didn't dare to make a move, fearing I'd leave traces the constables could use to identify me as the murderer...
Chen Ku lay in bed, his eyes open, glittering in the pitch-black room.
Should I wait longer? Endure it?
He closed his eyes, but after only two breaths, he flipped over and got out of bed.
What am I waiting for? Why should I endure?!
Chen Ku knew that Huang Ba was from Xiaowang Village.
There, he owned a sizeable courtyard that was his home.
「Xiaowang Village, late at night.」
As one of the three villages under the jurisdiction of Snake Fish Town, Xiaowang Village was much more populous than Dachen Village.
Huang Ba's courtyard was immense, larger than many others in the village, with a total of six large, tiled houses.
As a local thug and bully who extorted and plundered at will, his days were naturally prosperous.
The dilapidated temple was merely a place where he and a bunch of ruffians regularly drank and idled.
His true home was this courtyard.
Inside the house, Huang Ba and two ruffians were drinking. Their voices, neither loud nor soft, drifted out to a pair of ears listening outside.
"Boss Ba, this is the deed from Old Gao's family in Xiaowang Village," said Liu San, a bare-chested ruffian in a short jacket, pouring ten taels of Small Change of Silver from a pouch onto the table before Huang Ba. "It's for the Silver given by the gentry for the sale. Just by passing through our hands, we pocketed a clean ten taels of Silver."
Huang Ba picked up some pig's head meat with his chopsticks and took a bite. He smacked his lips after a swig of alcohol, then pushed the Silver to the edge of the table. Exhaling a breath reeking of liquor, he said, "Snakehead, take eight taels and store it in my chest. The remaining 2 taels are for you two."
Snakehead was a man with narrow, squinting eyes and a pointy head. He beamed, "Many thanks, Boss Ba."
Liu San also smiled as he pocketed his share. "Boss Ba, this one's for you." He raised his cup and downed it.
Huang Ba, his breath heavy with alcohol, said, "You two aren't like those bastards in the run-down temple. You're the ones I trust the most. It's only right you get this share. There's more work coming up that I'll need you for."
Snakehead went to a nearby cabinet and stored the Silver.
Liu San poured Huang Ba another drink. "Is it that kid from the Chen family? Just say the word, when do we make our move?"
Huang Ba burped, rubbing his forehead and smoothing back his hair. He was nearly drunk. "Those bandits will probably reach Dachen Village in another thirty or fifty days," he exhaled. "We'll strike then, amidst the chaos, and kill him outright."
Just then, the sound of a door creaking open seemed to come from the courtyard outside.
Huang Ba abruptly roared, "Who's out there?"
Liu San and Snakehead also jumped to their feet, startled. They were discussing a deadly plot; their greatest fear was being overheard.
There was no sound from outside.
Huang Ba's brows knitted tightly, and he signaled to Liu San and Snakehead with a glance. "Go out and have a look?"
The two exchanged a look, their expressions turning fierce. Glancing around, they each grabbed a hoe and a rake from Huang Ba's house, opened the door, and stepped out.
Huang Ba frowned, staring intently out the window.
Suddenly, his vision seemed to blur for a moment; he thought he saw a dark figure flit past the window.
He immediately shouted, "What's going on out there? Who is it?"
No one responded.
Huang Ba instinctively stood up.
Just then, he suddenly saw a young man push open the door and enter, his mouth smeared with blood.
"Who are you?..." Huang Ba's complexion changed drastically. "Liu San, Snakehead, where are you two good-for-nothings?"
"Huang Ba, weren't you just discussing how to deal with me? You don't recognize me?" Chen Ku revealed a smile, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth. He looked less like a human and more like a ghost.
"You're Chen..." Huang Ba, shocked and terrified, tried to say more, but his vision suddenly blurred.
The Chen Ku before him vanished on the spot, transforming into a white Skinny Dog the size of a man, which then fiercely pounced on him!
AHHH!!!
Huang Ba's chest was ripped open by a terrifying force of eight hundred pounds, slamming him against the wall. He watched with wide eyes as the horrifying canine teeth lunged for him.
CRACK! CRUNCH! CRACK! CRUNCH!
A few bites, and its powerful jaws snapped Huang Ba's neck.
Chen Ku watched the bully, once so feared and threatening, collapse under the Skinny Dog's pounce and bite.
Chen Ku observed the corpse for two or three breaths. Only when Fiend Qi began to drift from the body did he confirm Huang Ba was thoroughly dead.
Then, without a word, he looked at the chest where Huang Ba stored his Silver, picked it up, and left Huang Ba's courtyard without looking back.
Finally, under the moonlight in the courtyard, only three bodies remained, mauled as if by a wild beast. Their faces were contorted in terror, fear, and horror, their eyes wide open in death.