Chapter 12: Using My Money to Buy Your Life?

Faster than sound was a short blade flashing with electric gleam.

The newcomer was none other than Ling Chi; Zhao Shanhe, leading two horses, followed at a leisurely pace.

Lanlan, paying no heed to Zhou Shan, whipped her long hair like a steel lash, striking at the descending blade. Black hair collided with the thunderous short knife, like a red-hot blade plunged into butter. Lanlan let out a piercing scream and was sent staggering back dozens of steps.

Zhou Shan gazed in the direction of the newcomer, silently thanking the ancestors of eight generations—today, he’d narrowly escaped death.

He saw a slender figure drop from the sky—the youth’s build was long and lean, shoulders broad and waist narrow, possessing a strength far beyond his years.

The water ghost’s body erupted with dark energy, nourishing her injured hair as she watched the approaching youth.

Ling Chi rested his hand on the saber at his waist, thunder flickering in his eyes as he stared at the water ghost.

This was walking thunderous spiritual energy!

For three years, Ling Chi had developed in obscurity, often going out to deliver wandering ghosts and minor demons.

The thunder spiritual energy had grown slowly but steadily; now, at the third level of the Meridian Opening Realm, he was already outstanding among his peers.

Lanlan attempted to inhale fiercely, repeating her old trick. Ear-splitting sound waves rippled outward from her, just as she thought she had succeeded, a single sound rang out:

“Hmph.”

A misty little dragon burst from Ling Chi’s nostril and exploded into an arc-shaped shockwave.

The water ghost’s sonic shriek was instantly shattered. Lanlan felt as if a hammer had struck her forehead, and she collapsed to the ground.

“You’re all villains, colluding and conspiring together,” Lanlan, beaten, finally spoke.

“What grievance do you have? Speak honestly, and I will see to it,” Ling Chi could easily finish her off, but he didn’t mind hearing her tale.

“I am Zhu Lanlan, originally from Feng County, Hezhou. My father was Zhu Huaiyuan, the county constable. When I went to the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas to offer incense, I was drugged by criminals.”

“Later, I was sold to the village chief here. I tried to escape several times but failed. Then, the chief’s son and some idle men tied me to the ancestral hall’s altar and violated me. Sir, can you avenge me?”

Lanlan, wounded by the “hmph,” lay weakly on the ground.

“That won’t do. I am an upright youth; I can’t kill at your request. Besides, how do I know you’re telling the truth? I wasn’t at the scene.”

Ghosts were notorious for their lies; he wasn’t a gullible child.

“Uh... Young Lord, I am Zhou Shan, the head constable of the county office. What this female ghost says is true—we have already interrogated the chief’s son, Li Shi, and his accomplices. Their statements match the water ghost’s.”

Zhou Shan had just helped Chen Mang up and fed him healing pills; hearing Ling Chi’s words, he hurried to testify.

Ling Chi glanced at the bearded man and nodded.

“Lanlan, you’re fated not to live. At most, I can send those scoundrels to accompany you in death. If you agree, follow me. If not, I’ll deliver you first, and then send them after.”

Ling Chi’s face was gentle as he spoke slowly.

Lanlan couldn’t stop bowing her head, unable to stand, crawling behind Ling Chi.

The torches around the ancestral hall had burned out, leaving only the central brazier aglow.

Li Shi, exhausted, lay on the ground like a dead fish. Hearing footsteps, he struggled to open his bruised eyes.

He saw a tall figure standing before him. With the constables gone, he thought this man had come to rescue him and was overjoyed.

“Mm! Mm! Mm!” Li Shi wriggled desperately on the ground, imagining his escape.

Ling Chi found it odd—why was this human-shaped maggot squirming?

He pulled the cloth from Li Shi’s mouth, curiously watching him.

“Hero, master, my father has lots of money buried under the pigsty trough. If you save me, I’ll share half with you!”

Li Shi spoke as quickly as possible, terrified that he’d be dispatched if he hesitated.

Ling Chi’s eyes shone brighter than when thunder flashed before. Though he’d amassed some wealth over the years, it was never enough. Still, Li Shi’s wit moved him deeply.

“Li Shi, if I kill you and your father, isn’t all the money mine? If you’re going to be a villain, be a clever one. But from your eyes, I see no wisdom at all. Be smarter in your next life.”

He stuffed the cloth back into Li Shi’s mouth.

Lanlan stared at Li Shi, longing for a chance at revenge, looking hopefully at Ling Chi.

Thunder spiritual energy was right before him—he wouldn’t let the chance to grow stronger slip away.

Those idle accomplices likely had little dark energy; letting her vent her anger would suffice.

Ling Chi shook his head at Lanlan and gestured at the idle men: “Those are yours. This one is mine.”

He drew his short blade and looked down at Li Shi, speaking softly:

“For killing scum like you, I prefer this short blade. The long one—you’re not worthy. No need to stare at me so.”

“My name is Ling Chi, and my greatest pleasure is flaying beasts like you alive. But today, I’m not in the mood, so I’ll give you a different death.”

He pressed the short blade into the back of Li Shi’s neck, at the second vertebra—a method favored by veteran executioners.

Ling Chi wasn’t yet skilled, but today he decided to practice. After all, the sages once said: ‘To study and review often—is it not a joy?’

The first major tendon was severed—Li Shi convulsed in pain.

The second was cut—Li Shi began to foam at the mouth.

The third was shredded—Li Shi was no more.

A wisp of energy flowed into the Thunder Pearl, transformed into thunderous spiritual energy and fed back into his vortex.

Ling Chi clicked his tongue—better than nothing.

After all that, he was still at Dog Lord’s level—boring!

Ling Chi watched as Lanlan dealt with several nameless accomplices and said slowly:

“Your great vengeance is fulfilled. I’ll have the constables send your ashes home. Is there any wish yet unfulfilled?”

Lanlan stared blankly at the ground. She still wished to kill the traffickers who sold her, but her soul was gravely wounded, leaving her in a daze, revenge hopeless.

Ling Chi sighed: “As for traffickers, I make it a rule to kill one if I see one—kill two if there are two. Rest easy.”

A crimson wisp of extreme yang energy swirled at his fingertip—manifestation of Extreme Yang Spring Thunder Breathing Technique, which Ling Chi had refined more and more for killing and looting.

Extreme yang burned all; in the blazing flames, Zhu Lanlan’s pitiful life ended.

The Thunder Pearl’s four wisps of spiritual energy warmed Ling Chi, his internal energy swelling ever stronger. He wondered when he could finally take flight and looked forward to it.

Ling Chi gathered her ashes into a bamboo tube, weighing it in his hand—three or four pounds.

As for the corpses at the scene, he tossed them into the ancestral hall and set the place ablaze, leaving it tranquil.

Zhao Shanhe, holding the horses not far off, stared into the roaring fire in a daze—he’d served as nothing but a groom on this trip.

He knew his young junior brother was prone to violence, but hadn’t expected it to be this extreme. Watching Ling Chi deal with Li Shi, he couldn’t help but think: “Best not to cross this sunny youth.”