Chapter 152: Horror

Chapter 152 Thriller

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Zhang Yuanqing kicked the young man's face again and again, sending him stumbling backward. Several times he tried to mount a defense, but the vicious assault cut him short.

Yet, despite the barrage of blows, the official traveler remained unscathed, only feeling the sting of pain on his skin, grimacing through gritted teeth.

This was a Earth Demon with astonishing defensive power.

On the other side, the middle-aged man, having notified his companions, immediately put away his walkie-talkie and donned a strange, dark brown mask that looked as if made from tree bark.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

From over ten meters away, the middle-aged man exhaled repeatedly at the two locked in combat.

Tiny, sharp wooden thorns whistled almost imperceptibly, shooting toward the enemy without a sound.

The bark mask was a Wood Goblin profession artifact that allowed the wearer to expel fine wooden needles with each breath. Not particularly lethal, but the thorns carried a biological toxin that could numb, cause pain, and make breathing difficult.

Moreover, there was no limit to the number of thorns that could be spat; as long as the user had enough lung capacity, they could keep firing— making it highly cost-effective.

Zhang Yuanqing, wearing the Eye of Insight, detected the ambush of wooden thorns first. He planted a foot on the Earth Demon's chest, using the leverage to leap to the side and roll, evading the thorns with unusually agile movements.

The young Earth Demon was not so fortunate. Instantly, over a dozen wooden thorns struck him, leaving tiny, yellowish ripples on his body.

The thorns' strength wasn't sufficient to break through the Earth Demon's defenses.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing's gaze pierced through the reinforced concrete wall, where he saw three powerful travelers rushing toward the main entrance.

Meanwhile, behind the building, the official traveler guarding the rear was also rounding the nightclub, hurrying over.

Almost there... Zhang Yuanqing hesitated no longer. He leaped up and sprinted madly toward the street opposite the nightclub.

"Trying to run?"

Seeing this, the middle-aged man spat wooden thorns to block his escape route, charging toward the enemy's back with the agility of an ape.

His hands came together like a blade, skin quickly taking on the rings of a tree, palms and fingers turning into sharp wooden spikes aimed at Zhang Yuanqing's back.

This was a Tier 3 Wood Goblin, a captain-level expert.

Zhang Yuanqing, in full sprint, abruptly halted, twisted his waist, and shot his fist backward like a returning spear.

The middle-aged man raised his left arm, letting his skin form wood grain, hardening it like ironwood.

"Thud..."

The hand turned into a wooden blade was dodged by Zhang Yuanqing, only slicing his clothes. Meanwhile, his fist slammed into the raised forearm, producing a dull wooden impact.

Staggering back, the middle-aged man's arm snapped with a crack, blood seeping from the split.

He’s gotten stronger?!

His expression shifted.

He had already witnessed this Corrupter’s level not long ago, and he wasn’t this strong then. Logically, after being wounded by the steward, his combat power should have decreased, not increased.

Ah, that's right— a Corrupter grows berserk upon seeing blood. He must have killed someone inside the nightclub.

This guy is weaker than I thought... No, I’m too strong... I’m already Tier 3, and it's nighttime, when a Night Wanderer is at their peak. If not for the fear of revealing my identity and not daring to use Moon Howl, I feel like I could settle this in ten moves.

Stomp! Stomp! Zhang Yuanqing took two rapid strides, slamming his feet heavily onto the ground. The force surged from his taut legs up to his shoulders and neck, finally channeling through his arm.

Smack!

Another straight punch split the air with a crisp crack.

The middle-aged man’s breath hitched. He dropped his center of gravity and leaned left like an acrobat, barely dodging the fist that could have burst a dog’s head.

In the next instant, he sprang backward, arching his back, while simultaneously spitting out two sharp wooden thorns.

Zhang Yuanqing let the thorns embed themselves in his chest, took a step forward with his right foot, and sent a rising uppercut.

Thud!

The middle-aged man curled up like a shrimp, his eyes bulging and bloodshot.

Just then, the three official travelers rushed out. The man at the lead, dressed in a white suit with slicked-back hair, was burly and imposing. He ran forward two steps, assuming a javelin-throwing stance.

Ssshhh —

Flames spouted from his palm, condensing into a blazing fiery lance.

The steward grunted, then hurled it with all his might.

The lance shot out like a streak of light. At the same time, the middle-aged man snapped his fingers, attempting to execute a Fire Walk, using the fiery spear as a medium to close the distance.

Zhang Yuanqing grabbed from the void, producing a Daoist robe— dark-colored, bearing the yin-yang symbol, embroidered with silver patterns on the upper half and flames on the lower.

"Whoosh!"

The robe unfolded and draped itself over his shoulders.

Zhang Yuanqing faced the howling spear, reached out his hand, and suddenly clenched it.

Bang!

Not far away, a fire hydrant burst. A powerful torrent of water sprayed out like a snow-white lion or a silver dragon, dousing the flaming lance.

The man in the white suit had just begun to kindle his flames, but they were immediately extinguished.

He did not pursue immediately, but let out a puzzled "Hmm," scrutinizing the roguish youth in the Daoist robe.

This seasoned steward sensed something was off.

That little bastard is clearly a Corrupter— when did he learn to control water? And what is that robe he’s wearing? Such an artifact— why didn’t he use it before?

Where’s his knife?

All these doubts flashed through his mind, and the more he thought, the more something felt wrong.

Just then, he saw that roguish youth who had ambushed him sneer, raise his thumb, and then point it downward. He cursed:

"Cuckolds must die!"

With that, he turned and ran.

The white-suited steward’s forehead veins bulged, his face contorted with rage, and then— whoosh— his fury erupted from the top of his head like flames.

He gave chase recklessly, as if losing all reason.

His five subordinates immediately followed their commanding officer, blazing a trail of fury behind the fleeing figure, running further and further away.

A dozen seconds after they departed, a pale-faced youth with thick eyebrows and bright eyes emerged cautiously from the nightclub. He looked left and right at the entrance to confirm it was safe, then quickly disappeared into the darkness.

...

Kou Beiyue deliberately took the dark alleys, slinking through the shadows, not daring to stop even for a moment. Only when he felt his wounds aching and his breath becoming labored did he finally halt.

He sat down heavily at the roadside, panting hard, his pores opening like floodgates as sweat poured out.

"I should be far enough away..."

He breathed the stuffy night air, panted for a while, then suddenly punched the ground, letting out a low roar:

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it..."

Kou Beiyue hammered the ground again and again, venting his frustration, until the concrete cracked and his fists were bloodied. Only then did he take a deep breath and calm himself.

Kou Beiyue took out his phone, ready to call Xiao Yuan back and tell her he was safe, no need to worry.

He lit up the screen and saw a message from an unfamiliar number sent half an hour ago: "Escape!"

He had already slipped out of the nightclub before this message was sent.

"Beep~"

He dialed Xiao Yuan's number.

The call was answered as soon as it connected, Xiao Yuan's voice icy: "Kou Beiyue?"

"Xiao Yuan, it's me..." Kou Beiyue unconsciously lowered his voice, like a child who had done something wrong.

Then he heard a soft exhalation on the phone, like a fully inflated ball suddenly deflating.

Just as he expected Xiao Yuan to start cursing, the voice from the speaker was...

"What about him? Where is the person who saved you?"

"I don't know, after he lured away those official walkers, I escaped," Kou Beiyue replied truthfully.

"You're something else!" Xiao Yuan sneered, her voice grating between clenched teeth. "Don't call me again next time you want to die. Go die quietly by yourself and don't drag others into it."

Kou Beiyue drooped his head in dejection.

"I'm sorry, I'll go back now to find him," the unruly youth gritted his teeth.

"No need to look, I'm already here."

Kou Beiyue jerked his head around and saw the silhouette of a young man a few meters behind him, gradually taking shape in the darkness.

He was an ordinary-looking young man with a wooden expression, wearing black-rimmed glasses, the kind that often evokes words like "engineering nerd," "homebody," "introvert."

So he's Xiao Yuan's friend? The one who just saved me? The thought had just crossed Kou Beiyue's mind when he heard Xiao Yuan's relieved voice from the speaker: "Give him the phone."

Kou Beiyue tossed the phone over.

Zhang Yuanqing reached out and caught it, brought it to his ear, and laughed: "I'm fine, not hurt, and my identity wasn't exposed."

There was a silence of a dozen breaths on the other end, then Xiao Yuan said softly: "Thank you."

She immediately added: "I agree to join your gang."

Zhang Yuanqing's mouth split into a grin, and he said hypocritically:

"Oh, don't say that, it makes it sound like a transaction. I was willing to help because of Aunt Xiao Yuan's personal charm; we're all friends here."

Hehe, Xiao Yuan, from now on you're mine.

Xiao Yuan took a deep breath. "Anyway, thank you. I'll repay this favor."

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the unruly youth and said, "Well, let's stop here. I have some things to ask him."

He hung up and walked over to the youth, handing back the phone and asking:

"What's your name?"

As he handed over the phone, he took a glance at the face reflected in the screen.

This time Zhang Yuanqing hadn't disguised himself as Wang Tai, but as someone whose photo he found online by searching for keywords like "homebody" and "socially anxious."

With the disguise ring, he could become anyone he wanted; he couldn't keep fleecing Brother Wang Tai alone.

"Kou Beiyue!" The unruly youth sized up the man who was much older than him, and also asked:

"Are you a Night Wanderer? From the Taiyi Sect? How do you know Xiao Yuan?"

Kou Beiyue was not inexperienced; on the contrary, as a level 3 Temptation Demon who had studied under Master Wuhen, he had guessed the man's profession was Night Wanderer just from the way he appeared.

After asking, he realized he hadn't thanked him yet, and quickly added:

"Thank you, thank you for saving me. I'll repay this kindness."

You're very concerned about how Xiao Yuan and I know each other? By the way, are you her son... Zhang Yuanqing said lightly:

"I saved you not because of you; Xiao Yuan will repay it herself. Now I ask you, why did you try to assassinate a Five Elements Alliance executive?"

Kou Beiyue frowned.

Zhang Yuanqing continued: "Since you know I'm a Night Wanderer, you should also know that the Taiyi Sect and the Five Elements Alliance are connected. Killing an official executive is a capital offense. Although I saved you for Xiao Yuan's sake, I need a reasonable explanation."

Kou Beiyue was silent for a long time, as if recalling a past too painful to face, then clenched his teeth and said:

"Because he killed my sister.

"I'm from a rural area in Jinshan City. I didn't finish high school because I was expelled for fighting. My sister was more promising; she went to university in Songhai and worked there after graduation.

"The year before last, my parents thought I was loafing around at home, so they sent me to Songhai to stay with her and find a decent job. Everything was fine, but then one day my sister disappeared.

"I went to her company, and her colleagues said she had resigned long ago, saying she was going into business with a fellow townsman from Jinshan. But she never told me anything. The next day, she still hadn't come back, so I immediately reported it to the Public Security Bureau and informed my family.

"For a whole month after that, there was no news of my sister. I quit my job and went to the Public Security Bureau every day, but the response was always: go home and wait, we are investigating.

"Until one day, more than a month later, my sister came back..."

As he said this, Kou Beiyue's eyes flickered with a deep, bone-burning hatred.

"She was covered in injuries, very haggard, and her mental state was affected. I noticed she was wearing slippers; she must have escaped... As soon as she got home, she immediately started packing, repeating to me: 'Run, run...'

"I asked her what had happened, where she had been all this time, but she wouldn't tell me, just kept saying 'Run away.' I lost control and shouted at her, and she was so scared she crouched on the ground with her hands over her head, yelling 'Don't hit me'... It's unimaginable what she went through in that month."

More than two years later, the pain and hatred that flowed in Kou Beiyue's eyes were still too thick to break.

Zhang Yuanqing's face gradually lost its expression as he listened in silence.

"What happened later?" he asked.

"Before we could leave, that bastard came after us—yes, the executive you just dealt with. He killed my sister right in front of me. I'll never forget the words he cursed as he killed her: 'You bitch, you dare to run? I haven't had my fill yet, and you dare to run?'" Kou Beiyue gave a laugh, his mouth splitting into a grin, showing white teeth.

"Then I was killed too. But I didn't die; the Spirit Realm gave me a character card, and I was reborn, given a second life. Maybe the Spirit Realm also feels there is too much evil in this world, that it needs violence to counter violence, evil to counter evil."

Unbelievable. With the status of an executive, he could have any woman he wanted—ordinary women or female walkers, the executive lacked nothing if he so desired.

Why treat an ordinary person like this? Unless he had a special fetish, or there's another story. Tsk, if what Kou Beiyue said is true, then I can't turn a blind eye to this.

Zhang Yuanqing frowned inwardly and asked, "And how did you join Master Wuhen's team?"

"Because I don't dare to kill. Every time I see the pleas of the weak, see them trembling in fear, I remember my sister's dying appearance. If I also indulge in killing, baring my fangs at the weak, what difference is there between me and the beast that killed my sister?" Kou Beiyue's expression was pained.

You have principles after all. And being valued by Master Wuhen, you must be a 'oddity' among the evil professions. Zhang Yuanqing was about to affirm this when suddenly there came a smiling voice from beside them:

"Not bad, not bad. Baring fangs at the weak—how is that different from a beast? The essence of killing is to use violence to counter violence, to cleanse this filthy world with fast and efficient means."

Zhang Yuanqing and Kou Beiyue were startled and turned their heads in unison.

Under the orange streetlight, a young man wearing a sports headband stood with his hands behind his back, looking at them with a sunny smile.

……