Chapter 64: Drum

Chapter 64: The Drum

"Summoning~ the~ spirits~ now~" Li Zhi's uniquely booming voice echoed from deep within the woods, and the grotesquely deformed Second Spirit began to tremble in rhythmic coordination.

"The sun sets behind the western hills, plunging the sky into darkness; every household bolts its doors. Magpies and crows flee to the great trees, sparrows and turtles scurry to the eaves, the long road grows short—ah!!"

Li Zhi's spirit-summoning chant came to an abrupt and unexpected halt, clearly catching the Second Spirit off guard; he raised his head in astonishment, looking at Li Huowang before him and the upward curl of his lips.

"You came specifically to test me, but was I not testing you in return? I have been deceived by monks once before, and having learned from that bitter lesson, I must always keep my guard up."

As soon as Li Huowang finished speaking, scattered footsteps echoed from the woods—it was Gouwa, Shazi, and the others.

Armed with weapons, the group shoved Li Zhi forward as he clutched his blood-filled mouth, while the old drum Li Zhi used for his shamanic dances was now firmly gripped by the black-furred Xiaoman.

Li Huowang reached out, took the old drum from Xiaoman's hands, and right before Li Zhi's eyes, threw it to the ground and thrust his sword down; with a sharp pfft, the tightly stretched drumhead was effortlessly pierced.

"It seems this object is your most prized possession. No matter which immortal spirit you call upon, without this thing, I fear none would come, would they?"

Through his interactions over the past few days, Li Huowang had realized that no matter how powerful the immortal spirits were, the shamans who summoned them remained mere mortals of flesh and blood; as long as he controlled the shaman, everything else would fall into place.

Surrounded by the cold gleam of blades, Li Zhi, who had taken a blow to the mouth, showed no fear or even hatred on his face, but instead offered a helpless, bitter smile. "Truthfully, I have no say in such matters."

With a sharp clang, the razor-sharp, charcoal-black blade was already pressed against the underside of Li Zhi's neck. "Still trying to deceive me at a time like this? Tell the Second Spirit to stand down!"

Li Huowang's gaze was fixed intently on the disfigured Second Spirit in the distance; Li Zhi was trapped, but that ambiguous, half-human half-beast entity over there remained a troublesome threat.

"Heh... the way you put it, what makes you think my wife would necessarily listen to me?"

As soon as Li Zhi finished speaking, the Second Spirit in the distance opened its ferocious maw and let out a vicious roar before dropping to all fours and sprinting into the woods like a wild beast.

The Second Spirit had actually fled, leaving Li Zhi all alone.

"Immortal Li, I truly didn't lie to you. We spirit mediums are not the same as your kind; there are some things I genuinely have no control over," Li Zhi pleaded weakly, his words pale and desperate.

"Do you think that just by hearing these words, I'll suddenly be moved by mercy and let you go?" Li Huowang pushed the blade forward just a fraction.

"Heh, that wouldn't happen." Faced with the ever-present threat of death, Li Zhi appeared remarkably composed.

Gazing at the captive before him, Li Huowang pondered for a moment before slowly asking, "What is a Xinsu? Why do you call me Xinsu?"

This was what concerned him most; they must have had a reason for attacking him, and this term, Xinsu, had already come up twice.

Li Zhi sighed helplessly. "So you really don't know anything at all. I was blinded by your blood-soaked garments before."

"What exactly is a Xinsu!" Li Huowang demanded through gritted teeth, enunciating every word as the blade sliced a thin line of blood.

Li Zhi looked at Li Huowang and chuckled. "Heh, your mind may be quick, but I'm afraid you're no match for the ancient spirits."

In the next second, Li Zhi's eyes began to engorge and elongate; hedgehog-like quills burrowed out from beneath his eye corners, his nose twisted and stretched forward, and his entire face began to warp into the same grotesque visage as the Second Spirit.

With a downward press of his hand, Li Huowang drove the sharp blade toward Li Zhi's neck, yet beneath the torn skin lay not blood vessels, but a row of dense, hardened snake scales.

"Kill him!!"

Following Li Huowang's shout, a massive wooden club arrived first with a rushing whoosh, carrying the force of the wind as it smashed ruthlessly into Li Zhi's skull.

Flesh and blood splattered everywhere; Li Zhi, only halfway through his monstrous transformation, had his head split open in an instant and collapsed to the ground.

"Thump, thump, thump!!" A rapid drumbeat echoed from the dark woods, drawing everyone's gaze.

Stunned, Li Huowang instinctively looked down at the ruined drum on the ground. "Drumbeats? How can there still be drumbeats? Li Zhi's drum was clearly destroyed by my own hand!"

"Summoning~ the~ spirits~ now~"

Accompanied by the drumbeats and the chanting, a figure stumbled out from the woods—it was the Second Spirit, or perhaps, Li Zhi.

As those monstrous growths appeared on Li Zhi's face, the very same features vanished completely from the fleeing Second Spirit; the two of them had effortlessly swapped places, Li Zhi becoming the Second Spirit, and the Second Spirit becoming Li Zhi.

"Thump, thump, thump~!!" An abrupt drumbeat sounded from beneath Li Zhi's body, and as the others looked down at his torso, they all drew a sharp breath.

The man's robes were torn open, one hand brutally ripping up the flesh and skin of his own abdomen, while the other wielded a drumstick, striking away.

Without a drum, Li Zhi had actually peeled back his own human skin to use as one! "Thump, thump, thump!!"

"The sun sets behind the western hills, plunging the sky into darkness; every household bolts its doors. Magpies and crows flee to the great trees, sparrows and turtles scurry to the eaves. The small hut blocks the weary path, nine out of ten homes are locked tight, only one door remains ajar, burning incense and beating the drum, I summon the immortals now~"

As the chant ended, the Second Spirit lying on the ground abruptly shot upright, even though most of his skull was now caved in.

A continuous chorus of squelching sounds erupted as every weapon, including the longsword in Li Huowang's hand, was instantly thrust into the Second Spirit's body.

Li Huowang was absolutely certain his sword had pierced straight through the creature's heart, yet the Second Spirit remained standing there, stiff as a board.

"First I summon the Red, then I summon the Yellow, calling upon the Clear Wind and Misty Clouds to bring the Sorrowful King. The Red clan leads as commanders, the Yellow clan charges as vanguard, Clear Wind and Misty Clouds hold the line, and the Sorrowful King commands the altar~"

A tremendous force suddenly surged from the Second Spirit's body; with a violent twist of his torso, everyone around him gripping a weapon was instantly forced to let go.

"No! I must stop Li Zhi's drumming!! He is the key!" Li Huowang reached into his right pocket, and the brass Daoist bell instantly appeared in his grasp.

"Jingle, jingle, jingle!!" "Thump, thump, thump!!"

The two distinct sounds intertwined and clashed throughout the entire forest.

The surrounding lines rapidly coalesced into the Wandering Lord; Li Huowang gave his dizzy head a violent shake, and the Wandering Lord instantly split into four, charging straight at Li Zhi.

Utterly ignoring his bleeding body from the self-flaying, Li Zhi, with veins bulging on his forehead, twitched his lips ceaselessly, doubling the speed of his spirit-summoning chant in an instant.

"The banquet on the table is laid out in rows, there is good food and good drink, good food and good drink and good things, you tell the helper and you speak to the helper, the helper will prepare it well for you. If you want fatty beef and mutton, if you want lean chicken, duck, and goose, even if the ancient spirit craves the flesh of the ungrateful, the helper will find a way to get it for you~!!"

Li Huowang felt a sharp pain in his neck; somehow, the Second Spirit had already appeared behind him, its bloodied maw full of fangs sinking viciously into the flesh of his shoulder.

(End of Chapter)