Chapter 341: So It’s You, Little One

“Boom, boom...”

“Roar!”

The commotion in Peach Blossom Village that night was extraordinary.

By this stage, the creature had grown significantly in intelligence compared to before, though it still fell short of human reasoning.

Faced with the relentless strikes and collisions of the two stone giants, it appeared somewhat bewildered. When it realized that its black water was ineffective against the stone figures and that it couldn’t overpower them in direct clashes, it seemed unsure of what to do. Instead of attempting to dodge or strategize, it either froze in place, attacked wildly, or stubbornly continued to spew black water.

Although the creature was just as strong as the stone giants, its lighter weight put it at a disadvantage in physical confrontations. Whenever the two collided, the creature was typically the one sent tumbling.

While its body wasn’t as hard as stone, it was still impervious to blades and bullets and was even more resilient in some ways. The stone giants struggled to inflict serious damage. Even when one of them smashed its head, leaving a noticeable dent, the creature seemed unaffected, as if such an injury meant nothing to it.

The tiger circled the battle, launching attacks opportunistically. Though its chances to strike were limited, each attack was well-timed and precise.

Moreover, the tiger’s incredible speed made it almost impossible for the creature’s black water to hit it. The tiger could run faster than the sprays of liquid.

The battle was fierce.

Yet, in the short term, neither side seemed capable of gaining the upper hand.

Before long, the creature had been battered by the two stone giants until it was barely recognizable. Its face was disfigured, a chunk of its skull was missing, its left hand had been severed, and one leg was noticeably lame.

However, the two stone giants weren’t unscathed either. Their bodies were covered in black water, which caused bubbling and emitted acrid black smoke. Their forms seemed slightly smaller than before.

In addition to its corrosive effects, the black water drained spiritual resonance. The movements of the stone giants became visibly slower, and their strikes less powerful.

What’s more, the stone itself seemed to be growing brittle.

Sometimes, when the creature struck back, its claws scraped away chunks of stone, leaving scattered debris behind.

The tiger, however, remained unscathed.

The three in the hut watched with a mix of excitement and anxiety.

The two constables hidden in the haystack finally understood why so many martial artists and self-proclaimed experts had failed to deal with this creature. They suspected that the tales they’d heard were already exaggerated versions of the truth. If the creature weren’t so slow and unintelligent, none of those people would have survived their encounters.

It was no wonder that when the government announced plans to confront this entity, none of the constables who had previously encountered it volunteered to join.

Then, one of the stone giants swung its massive arm. The limb, thicker than a human torso, carried a force of over a thousand jin as it swept toward the creature’s waist.

“Boom!”

The creature was sent flying instantly.

But the strike had an unfortunate side effect. The force of the blow, being mutual, caused the stone giant’s arm to break apart. The limb crumbled into chunks of green stone as it hit the ground, shattering upon impact. The once-hard stone had been corroded to the point of brittleness, becoming fragile and weak.

The creature landed right in front of the thatched hut where Lady Calico sat. Lying on its back, it opened its eyes and found itself face-to-face with the little girl peering down at it from the edge of the roof.

“Roar...”

The creature sprang to its feet!

Whether it realized that the tiger and the stone giants were under her control and decided to target her directly, or simply found a living being more compelling than the tiger or the stone figures, it lunged at the rooftop without hesitation.

Two years ago, when it first emerged, it couldn’t even climb a tree. But now, with a single leap, it reached the roof’s edge, embedding its claws into the wooden beams to haul itself upward.

In the blink of an eye, it was on the rooftop.

“Roar!”

The creature roared furiously, spreading its arms wide. Its clawed hands, one to the left and one to the right, slashed toward the little girl with deadly precision.

The attack was both powerful and blindingly fast, almost too quick to track.

Inside the hut, the three Daoists’ eyes widened in shock.

“Damn it!”

Muyunzi took a deep breath, his brows furrowing tightly as he pulled his gaze back from the window.

In the dimly lit room, he turned to see his two disciples looking at him expectantly.

“Quick, summon the Duke of Thunder!”

“Yes!” The two disciples immediately sprang into action, moving swiftly.

The altar in the room was already set up, fully prepared. One disciple lit incense while the other lit candles, both handing them over to Muyunzi.

Standing at the center, Muyunzi took another deep breath.

Summoning a deity was no small matter; it required sincerity and calm. Even in the urgency of the moment, impatience would only hinder the ritual. Fortunately, Muyunzi, with his years of experience and deep devotion to the divine, had served the Duke of Thunder for a long time and was familiar with the deity's requirements.

He knew that as long as he performed the ritual correctly, the Duke of Thunder would respond, even if a step or two was skipped. This certainty gave him confidence and steadied his nerves.

“To the Exalted Thunder Supreme of the Celestial Heavens, this disciple, Muyunzi of Qingxiao Temple in Donghe County, Angzhou, humbly prays. A great evil is wreaking havoc in Peach Blossom Village of Changjing County, devouring innocent lives. I earnestly beseech the Thunder Supreme to descend and aid me in exorcizing this demon and vanquishing this evil!

“To the Exalted Thunder Supreme...”

He chanted the prayer several times.

***

Meanwhile, they could no longer see what was happening outside.

The creature’s right claw slashed forward—

The little girl standing before it merely leaned her upper body slightly backward, tilting her head just enough to evade the blow. The swift, ferocious strike missed completely, and the follow-up swing with its left hand also failed.

The two constables hidden in the haystack continued to observe, but with their limited vision, they couldn’t discern the precise movements of Lady Calico’s evasions. To their eyes, it simply looked like the creature was swiping at the air after climbing onto the roof.

Fortunately, the creature was too dim-witted to understand what was happening. It roared angrily and lunged forward.

Lady Calico pushed off with her legs, leaping backward gracefully.

“Whoosh...”

The little girl moved like a cat, leaping lightly and landing with ease on the rooftop ridge. She stood there unhurriedly, tilting her head to look at the creature.

“Roar!”

The creature roared again and lunged toward her.

After battling the two stone giants for so long, the creature had already lost much of its agility. Its movements were unsteady on the thatched roof, which creaked under its weight. The flimsy structure often gave way beneath its feet, making it even clumsier.

The little girl took a deep breath.

“Whoosh!”

“Boom!”

A massive burst of flames illuminated the night sky.

The clearing below was suddenly as bright as daylight. Even the three inside the house, busy with their ritual, saw the firelight reflected on the windows.

This was True Fire, searingly hot and imbued with pure yang energy. It engulfed the creature instantly.

Excess flames swept across the roof, but the thatched straw didn’t catch fire—it turned crimson in an instant, then blackened and disintegrated. The wooden beams beneath held out only a moment longer before quickly burning away.

The creature thrashed wildly in the flames.

“Boom!”

The roof collapsed, sending the creature tumbling into the building below.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Lady Calico, however, remained steady on the horizontal beam at the roof’s peak, bending down to peer intently at the creature below. After a moment, she made a hand seal, dispersing the two crumbling stone giants. Then, forming another set of hand gestures, she summoned two new stone giants from the pile of rocks.

“Awoo...”

The creature emerged from the wreckage below, its body now scorched black. It no longer had the will to fight and turned to flee.

But if it had chosen to run at the start, it might have had a chance. Now, with injuries to its limbs and its body burnt to a crisp, it hobbled away, limping and unsteady. It couldn’t outrun the tiger, let alone the two newly summoned stone giants.

The tiger and the stone giants immediately charged after it.

Lady Calico walked lightly along the rooftop ridge, her steps graceful and effortless. When she reached the edge, she leapt down, landing softly on the ground, then broke into a light jog to pursue the fleeing creature.

At some point, the sky had filled with the rumbling of thunder.

The already-panicked creature grew even more frantic.

The little girl glanced up at the sky briefly but didn’t linger, continuing her steady pursuit.

She could easily have caught up, but she chose not to rush.

If she had given her all from the start, the creature might already have been dead—or perhaps it would have escaped long ago. But she had deliberately taken her time, and she continued to do so now.

She let the tiger block its path, the stone giants strike it.

Only when it was completely exhausted and could no longer move did Lady Calico signal the stone giants to pin it down. She looked up at the sky again, then ran to the creature’s side, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

“Whoosh...”

The True Fire poured out continuously, burning the creature until it was reduced to ashes.

“Boom!”

Winter thunder roared, lightning cracking across the clear night sky.

The flash of lightning lit up the heavens.

Hearing the thunder, Muyunzi and his disciples ran out to see what had happened.

What they saw left them speechless.

In the sky was a towering figure, majestic and awe-inspiring, shrouded in the radiant light of divine thunder. The figure gazed downward intently.

On the ground below lay only a pile of scorched remains.

The creature’s malevolent aura lingered, but the creature itself was gone.

Muyunzi stared in awe. Though he had served the gods faithfully for years, this was the first time he had witnessed a deity manifest in person. But before he could offer his respects or speak a word of greeting, the Thunder God fixed his gaze on the little girl below and said, “So it’s you, little one...”

The voice was deafening, reverberating endlessly like thunder itself.

“...”

The little girl on the ground shrank her neck slightly. Faced with the Duke of Thunder, it was clear she felt a bit scared—but only just a bit.

Her response came in a soft yet crisp voice, “So it’s you, big one...”

“You’ve grown bolder, haven’t you?”

“I’ve grown bolder, haven’t I?”

“Why are you repeating what I say?”

“I don’t know!”

“Did you summon me?”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Where is the evil creature?”

“I burned it to ashes!”

“And your Daoist priest?”

“At home in Changjing!”

“In Changjing? At home?”

The Duke of Thunder narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze turning toward a distant mountain peak.

“Who’s that on the mountaintop?”

“Mountaintop?”

“Boom!”

A bolt of lightning illuminated the night sky.

the Duke of Thunder had vanished.

“...?”

Lady Calico looked puzzled, glancing left and right, not understanding what the Duke of Thunder had meant with his last words or why he had suddenly disappeared. She craned her neck in the direction he had looked, but it was too far, and she couldn’t see anything. Eventually, she withdrew her gaze.

“That’s rather rude...” she muttered quietly to herself.

It was only then that Muyunzi and his two disciples approached her. They glanced down at the scorched remains on the ground before turning to the little girl with newfound respect.

“Congratulations, little fellow Daoist! Your exorcism of the evil spirit is a deed of great merit!”

“Congratulations!”

“So young, yet so extraordinary! Your lineage must be truly remarkable!”

“That’s right!” Lady Calico replied proudly.

“And you even know the Duke of Thunder?”

“That’s right!” she affirmed again, though her expression turned slightly sour. She couldn’t understand why they were asking about the Duke of Thunder again when she had already mentioned it before. What puzzled her more was—

“Why did you summon him anyway?” she asked.

Muyunzi explained hurriedly, “I saw that the evil spirit was evenly matched with the tiger, wolves, and Mountain Gods you summoned. Then it turned its attention to you and climbed onto the roof. I was worried you might be in danger, so I hastily called upon the Duke of Thunder.”

“I was only observing what it could do,” she replied.

“But it seemed the struggle between you and the creature was dragging on, so I...” Muyunzi began again.

“I needed to observe it a bit longer,” she interrupted firmly.

“Of course, of course,” Muyunzi said, wiping sweat from his brow. “Lady Calico, despite your young age, you are not only incredibly powerful but also cautious and vigilant. Truly admirable.”

“That’s right!” she said, nodding as she lowered her head, using her foot to nudge the pile of scorched remains on the ground.

Muyunzi and his disciples followed her gaze, focusing on the same spot.

The creature’s remains were no longer recognizable—just a pile of human-shaped black ash. When the little girl nudged it lightly with her foot, the ash scattered, revealing bones that hadn’t been completely incinerated. In the dim night, they appeared as faintly different shades against the surrounding ash.

Two constables arrived shortly after.

Seeing that the creature had been vanquished, and knowing from the earlier commotion how it had been defeated, they were awestruck by the little girl. Their respect for her deepened, and they began showering her with praise.

Lady Calico listened, her pride swelling, but her gaze drifted toward the distant mountain. Her small brows furrowed slightly as if lost in thought.