Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Chapter 21 Beating
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Chen Shi was unaware that Old Man Iron Brush was already dead. He continued to madly assault those talismans in their various forms, but he couldn't budge the talismans at all.
Even among them, some of the more sinister talismans—like the Five Ghosts and Six Harms—if he picked out any single Evil or Spirit from within, Chen Shi still wouldn't stand a chance.
He kept up his frenzied attacks, terrified that Old Man Iron Brush would catch his breath and deliver a fatal blow. But after fighting for a long time, he couldn't even break through the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman. Despair inevitably set in.
The more desperate he became, the more berserk he grew!
"Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Blackie Pot barked loudly at him, but Chen Shi, in his state of extreme agitation, couldn't hear a thing.
By the time Chen Shi had worn himself out, the divine light of the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman still stood unbroken. His hands were a bloody mess, his skin split open and flesh torn from the shockwaves.
This elderly talisman master's talismans were terrifyingly powerful!
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Blackie Pot bit his pant leg and tugged him backward.
Chen Shi tried to swing again, but his footing slipped, sending him staggering. Finally, a sliver of clarity returned to his mind. His gaze pierced through layer upon layer of strange divine light and landed on Old Man Iron Brush, who knelt there, long since out of breath.
He froze for a moment.
"Dead?"
Then came wild elation.
"Dead! He's finally dead! I killed him!"
Chen Shi burst into laughter, his knees buckling as he plopped down on the ground. His laughs bordered on madness. "He had all these incredibly powerful talismans, but he didn't even get a chance to use them before I beat him to death! Good riddance! Good riddance!"
He gasped for air, nearly passing out, and hurriedly steadied himself, panting in huge gulps.
After a moment, Chen Shi shakily got to his feet and spat hard at Old Man Iron Brush.
"Serves you right!" Chen Shi snarled viciously.
Blackie Pot, trembling with fright, spat as well.
Another moment passed, and once Chen Shi had caught his breath, he went forward to drag Steward Zhao Ming's corpse. He pulled with both hands, but his arms felt like jelly, his legs too, and he couldn't move it.
Chen Shi had to rest a bit longer. Once he'd recovered some strength, he finally dragged Zhao Ming's body to the roadside.
Before long, the power of the Eight Trigrams Protective Talisman and the other talismans faded, revealing Old Man Iron Brush's corpse. Chen Shi dragged that one to the roadside as well.
"They're Zhao family men. The Zhao family came investigating the disappearance of the Purple-Clothed Woman. I have to dispose of the bodies, or if the Zhao family finds them, it'll cause more trouble."
Chen Shi looked up at the sky. The two suns were sinking into half-circles, and the heavens glowed with fiery light, like crimson clouds.
Dusk was falling.
"At night, wild beasts come out, and so do Evils and Spirits. They'll destroy the corpses and erase the traces."
Chen Shi frowned slightly. It was too late now to make it back to Huangpo Village. The only place to avoid the night was Huangyang Village.
"Blackie Pot, we're heading back to Huangyang Village!"
Blackie Pot hesitated for a second, then hurried after him. Man and dog set off toward Huangyang Village.
By the time the crimson sea of fire spread across the sky like sunset clouds, Chen Shi—with his bloodied hands and accompanied by the black dog—stepped onto the blood-red earth and arrived at the entrance to Huangyang Village.
Behind them, the rumble of cart wheels sounded. An elderly man of sturdy build sat on a wooden cart, compass in hand, heading toward Huangyang Village as well.
—Grandpa had finally arrived in his wooden cart to take them home.
Chen Shi glanced back at the cart but didn't go to meet it. Instead, he strode straight toward the temple in the village center.
Blackie Pot hesitated, didn't go to greet Grandpa, and hurried after Chen Shi.
Villagers poured out of their homes one after another, their eyes fixed on the man and the dog.
Chen Shi brimmed with killing intent yet wore a smile as he marched right up to the temple at the heart of the palace ruins. Without the slightest pause, he stepped inside.
The fat, big-eared divine image looked up. Seeing Chen Shi's blood-drenched hands, its gaze flickered with evasion and panic.
Chen Shi killing Old Man Iron Brush two li away hadn't escaped its notice—it had truly frightened it.
Chen Shi swept his hand across the offering table, knocking all the offerings to the floor in a mess. He planted his rear on the table and stared down at the fat lump before him.
"I killed that talisman master you were trading with. I'm sure you saw it all."
Chen Shi fixed on the divine image's beady little eyes. "As Godmother, you colluded with an outsider and got your three godchildren killed. You've shamed the title of Godmother and the incense burning before you! When people talked behind your back, you let Evils and Spirits into the village and wiped out a whole family. So if Godmother does wrong, what crime is that? Who punishes her?"
The big fat one's face turned greenish, its expression savage. It let out a thunderous roar. "Who dares judge my sins? Who dares punish me?"
Behind it, the blue-faced, fanged bronze statue blazed with light. The brilliant divine glow lit the temple as bright as day!
Beams of light shot out from the temple doors, startling the villagers of Huangyang Village into shivering. The timid ones had already dropped to their knees, kowtowing toward the temple and mumbling prayers for Godmother's forgiveness.
"I dare!"
An angry voice, still boyish, rang out from the temple. The bold ones like San Wang had crept up to peek inside and saw Chen Shi leap up from the offering table, kicking at thin air.
He clearly kicked empty space, yet it was as if he'd struck something solid.—They couldn't see the big fat divine image.
But Chen Shi could.
That kick twisted the big fat one's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose into a jumble, its entire face nearly sinking into its skull!
The big fat one roared in fury and lurched to its feet, its body of fat quivering wildly. The form, forged from extraordinary power, brimmed with terrifying divine strength, ready to erupt!
Just then, the rumble of cart wheels approached. Grandpa sat on the wooden cart, driving over unhurriedly.
The big fat one shuddered, its beady eyes filling with terror.
"You dare fight back?"
Chen Shi grew even angrier. He rose and swept a kick at the big fat one's neck, sending waves rippling through the flab on its neck and belly.
The colossal force sent the big fat one toppling sideways. Chen Shi jumped down from the table and stomped its chest, raining furious fists on its face!
Thump-thump—the sounds of fists pounding head and face echoed from the temple. Outside, the villagers gawked wide-eyed, peering in. Some faces filled with terror, others with relieved satisfaction. Still others knelt and kowtowed like piling garlic, begging Godmother's forgiveness.
"You became Godmother but didn't protect the villagers—you let Evils and Spirits in to harm them!"
Thump-thump-thump!
"You became Godmother but terrorized villagers in their dreams!"
Thump-thump-thump!
"You became Godmother but colluded with outsiders to kill the village kids!"
Thump-thump-thump!
More villagers craned their necks to watch. Inside the temple, Chen Shi had hoisted the offering table overhead and was smashing it down relentlessly. Nothing was visible below, but the impacts rang out true.
"Stop hitting! Stop hitting!" a voice cried.
Chen Shi kept smashing anyway, until the table splintered apart, leaving only the legs. He swung those like clubs, battering downward.
Only when the legs snapped did he toss them aside. His eyes fell on the incense burner for offerings, which he grabbed and hurled at the big fat divine image!
This time, dull thunks sounded.
"You became Godmother but bullied my friend Fugui!"
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
"You became Godmother but bullied Fugui's friends!"
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
"You even planned to eat them!"
The hammering and smashing went on without cease. Chen Shi beat for a full half hour before venting his pent-up rage. The big fat one was long past unrecognizable, sprawled on the ground with a face swollen like a pig's head.
Chen Shi dragged the incense burner to the temple door. Outside, a black mass of people crowded, their gazes on his face—the villagers of Huangyang Village.
Chen Shi grinned and flung the burner outside. It was thoroughly flattened.
He wiped sweat from his face. After a solid half hour of beating, he was drenched head to toe, though the bloodstains on his hands smeared across his features, giving his face a hardened edge.
After the fight, hunger gnawed at him fiercely. He craved something to eat.
"This big fat lump..."
Chen Shi hesitated, then quashed the thought and chuckled inwardly. "The big fat one's a divine image, not food. I actually got hungry for it—scared me there."
He didn't notice the faint glow from the cyan ghost hand on his chest gradually dimming.
Chen Shi stepped toward the door, then halted and turned back.
The big fat divine image on the ground trembled at his return, but Chen Shi ignored it and went straight to the blue-faced, fanged bronze statue.
The big fat one was a manifestation of extraordinary power, but this bronze statue was Godmother's true form.
Chen Shi reached out, gripped one of the statue's fingers, and slowly applied force until it snapped off.
The big fat one on the ground writhed in agony, shrieking endlessly.
Chen Shi gripped another finger and slowly snapped it.
One after another, again and again!
Before long, all ten fingers of the bronze statue lay broken!
Chen Shi gathered the ten fingers, twisted them into copper twists, and tossed them onto the big fat divine image.
"My friend Fugui's three friends wanted to leave your crappy temple. If you dare block them again, I'll twist your head off for a chamber pot!"
At that, Chen Shi beckoned to the three children in the corner, his face softening as he smiled. "Come here. You can go home now."
The three children's ghosts approached timidly, skirting the big fat divine image to reach Chen Shi's side.
Chen Shi led them out of the temple. Sure enough, the three ghosts crossed the threshold smoothly and stepped outside.
The three children's ghosts gazed at Chen Shi in open adoration.
Chen Shi smiled. "Go home now, see your parents. After the seventh day, if ghost messengers come for you, follow them. Don't linger in the human world."
The three children dashed toward their parents. Though their parents couldn't see them, it was as if they sensed their presence nearby.
Chen Shi walked toward the wooden cart. The old man stood beside it, the dog wagging its tail fawningly at him. Moonlight bathed the scene in ethereal, mysterious glow.
"You took care of the Evil yourself. Good job."
Grandpa seized his hand and cleaned the bruises from his wounds, grumbling dully, "How much money did you make?"
Chen Shi's heart skipped warily. He shook his head. "No money. A talisman master was killing people, refining life-extension lamp oil from children. The villagers were poor, so I didn't charge."
For some reason, his heart pounded fiercely, and the silver in his sleeve suddenly felt scorching hot.
Grandpa grunted, didn't press further, and applied medicine to his wounds. "Go home. Take your medicine."
Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "The moon's up now. Going home would be dangerous. Why not stay in this temple one night?"
Inside the temple, the big fat divine image nearly fainted dead away.
Grandpa shook his head. "You killed someone and beat this big fat one so badly. Without medicine, your condition could flare up easily. Hang more peach talismans, and you should make it home safe."
Chen Shi recalled his own agony and felt a chill. He climbed onto the cart.
The wooden cart rolled out of the village. Chen Shi remembered something and whipped his head back, snarling viciously, "Dead fatty, I live in the next village over. You better behave and be a proper Godmother! Otherwise, I'll come beat you on odd days, and even days too!"
The big fat divine image shuddered uncontrollably.