Chapter 63: Who Are You Trying to Fool

Li Yanchu's heart tensed as he turned to look, thereafter he discovered it was a plainly dressed old woman.

Seeing this, he exchanged a glance with Bai Hongtu.

Bai Hongtu chuckled. “Granny, you’re going to scare someone to death showing up out of nowhere like that in the middle of the night.”

The old woman kept her head lowered, her face obscured. She stiffly repeated, “Young man... do you know the way to Guhe Town?”

In the darkness of night, her sudden appearance gave off an unsettling, eerie vibe. If an ordinary person had run into this, they’d have bolted like that stray cat.

But Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu weren’t ordinary people. Though Bai Hongtu liked frequenting the entertainment districts and his martial arts were average at best, he was still someone with a proper Daoist lineage. Faced with something like this, he was more intrigued than afraid.

Suddenly, Li Yanchu spoke up, “Guhe Town? I know the way. Leave this alley, turn right, then go straight out of the city. When you see a big willow tree, head south for twenty li. That’ll get you to Guhe Town.”

Bai Hongtu blinked in surprise and shot him a suspicious look.

You actually know that? Seriously?

Even the old woman, who’d kept her head bowed all this time, seemed momentarily stunned.

Li Yanchu said kindly, “Off you go, granny. There's still time to leave the city at this hour.”

Suddenly, the old woman snapped her head up, revealing a pair of hollow eyes and a ghastly pale face.

She stiffly repeated, “Young man...”

Li Yanchu cut her off calmly, “No need to thank me, granny. Hurry on your way.”

Bai Hongtu couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

“Young man... do you know the way to Guhe Town?” the old woman asked again, her tone eerily sinister.

But to Bai Hongtu, the whole thing had started to seem a bit ridiculous, and the eerie atmosphere had been completely undercut by Li Yanchu giving directions.

Li Yanchu spread his hands and gave a helpless smile. “So after death, people really do get dumber, huh?”

A surge of black mist suddenly erupted from the old woman’s body. Her hollow eyes remained blank, but she suddenly lunged at Li Yanchu with her hands outstretched. Her fingers were curled like claws, and her nails were pitch-black and razor sharp.

Bang

! Li Yanchu kicked the eerie old woman straight across the alley.

Bai Hongtu exaggeratedly gasped, “She’s an old lady, you know! I can’t believe you’d beat up an innocent granny.”

Li Yanchu shot him a sideways glance. “You’ve got time to make jokes while watching a fight?”

However, Bai Hongtu just grinned and looked away, eyes turning to the side.

By now, the old woman had transformed completely. Her body was exuding ghostly qi, her fingers were grotesquely elongated, and her black nails were gleaming menacingly as she once again charged at Li Yanchu.

Li Yanchu’s gaze darkened.

To think she came at me again without a scratch...

Bang

! Void-Splitting Palm!

Li Yanchu’s blood surged like a roaring furnace. This strike was infused with the blazing power of Six Yang Force. But the old woman didn’t even flinch; she took the hit head-on and lunged forward regardless.

Sssss

!!

It sounded like boiling oil splashing onto ice as her body hissed and sizzled from the heat. And yet, it didn’t slow her down in the slightest.

Clang

!

A sound like metal clashing against metal rang out, and sparks flew everywhere. Li Yanchu had unleashed his qi shield.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

At this time, he was forced back several steps. His expression showed a flicker of surprise, not just because of the old woman’s tremendous strength, but because she had nearly pierced through his qi shield with nothing but her nails.

“What in the world

is

this thing?” Li Yanchu frowned.

Bai Hongtu quickly dropped his bystander attitude and formed a hand seal, launching a blazing talisman straight at the old woman. “Break!”

Bai Hongtu’s talisman techniques were highly effective against evil spirits, and their power was not to be underestimated.

However, the next moment, he froze.The flames struck the eerie old woman and produced a puff of white smoke, but were immediately extinguished by an inexplicable force. Even worse, his attack had now drawn the ghostly old woman’s attention.

Whoosh

!

A cold gust of wind swept past as the ghost woman lunged directly at Bai Hongtu.

“Get back here!” Li Yanchu barked coldly, reaching out and grabbing the old woman by the shoulder. His grip was like an iron clamp, yanking her back with brute force.

Bang

! His fist, blazing with scorching blood qi, struck the side of her head with full force.

Crack

! Her neck snapped instantly, and her head hung limp, drooping grotesquely to her shoulder. But the old woman’s hand suddenly thrust straight toward Li Yanchu’s throat with her fingernails gleaming with a cold, murderous light.

Bang

!

Li Yanchu countered with a vicious whip kick, sending her body flying sideways through the air.

Her head hung limply at a grotesque angle, but her movements remained unnaturally swift as if she required no effort or preparation at all. The moment she was kicked away, she lunged right back, attacking once more.

This thing’s that aggressive...?

Bai Hongtu frowned, quickly forming hand seals as he launched two talismans at her.

Boom! Boom!

Two bursts of flame exploded on the old woman’s body, causing her to falter briefly.

Just as Bai Hongtu thought the spells had worked, she lunged at him again.

“What the hell is this thing? Why is it so relentless?!” Bai Hongtu’s expression darkened.

Li Yanchu charged in, ramming her with brute force and knocking her into the air again, then followed up with a powerful Void-Splitting Palm, slamming it straight into her skull.

Bai Hongtu shouted coldly, “Flying Sword, exorcize the evil!”

The longsword at his waist sprang from its sheath, transforming into a streak of golden light that shot straight ahead. Under their combined assault, the ferocious old woman was finally struck through the chest by Bai Hongtu’s sword and pinned to the wall.

His Flying Sword was a Daoist magical weapon, and it was extremely effective against evil spirits. That day outside Wei City, the mountain monster had been skewered clean through by Bai Hongtu’s sword.

Even so, the old woman still wasn’t dead. She continued to struggle and shriek, but her hands were unable to touch the Flying Sword that had impaled her.

Li Yanchu stepped forward with a frown and slammed his fist down.

Boom

! The stone bricks on the ground cracked from the impact.

“Huh!? She’s

still

not dead?” This time, Li Yanchu was genuinely shocked.

Bai Hongtu walked up, brows furrowed. “She doesn’t seem like an ordinary ghost... more like some kind of demonic corpse or zombie.”

Li Yanchu didn’t respond. Instead, he threw another punch.

Boom

! This time, it was infused with the blazing power of Six Yang Force.

The old woman’s head finally exploded, then her body fell limp and ceased to struggle. Then, her whole body suddenly ignited in flames.

But when the fire burned out, she didn’t turn to ash. Instead, what remained was half of a human corpse. The upper half resembled that ghostly old woman from before, but her lower body had completely vanished.

“This is...” Bai Hongtu’s expression shifted, his brows knitting tightly.

A sudden flash of realization streaked through Li Yanchu’s mind. He exclaimed in surprise, “A two-part corpse! This isn’t an ordinary demonic corpse, it’s a two-part corpse!”

Bai Hongtu’s eyes lit up in understanding. “That’s it! No wonder this thing is so vicious. If it’s a two-part corpse, then it all makes sense. That’s a ferocious and highly malevolent creature to begin with.”

In past conversations, Li Yanchu had mentioned to Bai Hongtu the strange occurrences involving evil beings in Wei City. He had once told him about the corpse bearer who lost control of a two-part corpse, one half of which had been found dead in Zhang Family Village. But the whereabouts of the other half had remained unknown.

Bai Hongtu’s heart stirred. “You don’t think this is the same two-part corpse the corpse bearer lost, the one you told me about?”

Li Yanchu nodded. “It’s highly likely. Creatures this dangerous don’t just appear everywhere.”