The bustling main hall of the Red Flower Building.
Inside the ancient building, nearly ten meters tall, bunches of large red flowers hung suspended in mid-air. A long strip dangled from the pistil of each flower. These strips were densely inscribed with mission targets, rewards, and deadlines.
"This is the Hall of Red Flowers. See those bunches of red flowers? If you want to take on a mission, just pluck a petal from that bunch, then go to the counter to register. Each mission can be taken by up to three hundred people. Look, that's your red flower," Peng Chong said, pointing to a red flower hanging on the west side of the hall. Compared to the other red flowers in the hall, this one's petals were almost entirely picked, with fewer than twenty remaining.
Capturing a common scholar could net one a thousand taels. The temptation is truly overwhelming! Qi Xiu shook his head slightly, his curiosity piqued as he looked at the other bounty red flowers in the hall.
Noticing Qi Xiu's attention had shifted, Peng Chong in front of him suddenly gave a cold laugh. He violently threw a black cloth over Qi Xiu, blocking his vision and movement, and then started yelling frantically, "Everyone, come quick! He's the scholar with the thousand-tael bounty!"
Peng Chong's sudden shout instantly drew the attention of everyone in the hall.
"A scholar worth a thousand taels?"
"Haha, I didn't expect to run into the target just after taking the bounty. Seems like the heavens want me to get this windfall."
"Bullshit! Why should it be yours?"
"That's right, whoever catches him keeps him."
Hearing about a thousand taels, many eyes turned red in an instant, their fists clenching, ready to surge forward. However, more people remained calm, standing in place and observing the situation.
WHOOSH—
The black cloth was torn off by someone nearby. Everyone's eyes, burning with greed, fixed on the figure, ready to pounce. But when they saw the person under the cloth, it was as if a bucket of bone-chilling water had been poured over their heads.
Picking his nose, his face as dark as pitch, his body round and sturdy like a bear spirit, the large man looked at the crowd and spoke in a thick accent, "What's all this then?"
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!
Feeling deceived and tricked, the crowd turned their heads in unison. Their cold stares made Peng Chong's whole body go numb, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.
"How... how can this be..." Staring at the ugly, burly man speaking in an accent, Peng Chong couldn't believe his eyes. A miraculous transformation?
Qi Xiu, who had altered his appearance with the Hundred Faces Mask, glanced indifferently at the frozen Peng Chong, then silently walked to the side. You cunning rascal, trying to play dirty with me, are you?
The failed plot not only angered many but also caused Peng Chong's face to turn deathly pale. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his body shook slightly. Stealing a glance at the dark-faced man standing in the corner, Peng Chong clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and quickly left the Red Flower Building.
「In the bustling Ghost Market」
Laughter and chatter filled the air. The apprehensive Peng Chong nervously scanned his surroundings, occasionally looking back. He had the persistent, unsettling feeling that someone was watching him from behind. That icy and malicious gaze pressed against his back like a blade, making him feel as if it would turn into a real dagger at any moment and stab him viciously. But whenever he turned around, he saw nothing abnormal.
Sweat dripped more and more down his face, rolling off Peng Chong's chin. Without realizing it, he had nearly walked through the entire Ghost Market, but the relentless gaze from behind, like a shadow he couldn't shake, never ceased.
Panting slightly, Peng Chong stopped and looked up at the giant hourglass in the center of the Ghost Market. It indicated the market's operating hours. When the sand ran out, the Ghost Market would close, and all guests on the treasure ship had to disembark.
Fighting was forbidden in the Ghost Market. This was an inviolable rule, written in vermilion ink with a cinnabar brush in every corner of the market. But outside the market, one was responsible for their own life and death; the Ghost Market wouldn't interfere at all.
Seeing that the number of guests in the market was dwindling, and many stall owners were already packing up to leave, Peng Chong felt the malice in the gaze behind him growing stronger.
"The hour has come~ Closing time, see the guests out~" A loud, long call echoed through every corner of the Ghost Market. The few remaining guests started to disembark upon hearing the announcement, dispersing in twos and threes. Only then did a large number of revelers emerge from the Joy Pavilion. They looked reluctant as they were pushed and coaxed away by the girls, clearly longing for more.
Eyeing the departing guests around him, Peng Chong nervously clenched the hem of his robe. He knew in his heart that Qi Xiu was hiding among these people, just waiting for him to disembark to unleash his full force and strike him down without mercy.
The treasure ship slowly approached the shore. Before them lay an extremely dense forest of tall, straight pine trees. Under the night breeze, trembling branches swayed, rustling loudly like an endless green sea. Seeing such a lush pine forest, Peng Chong's eyes lit up. The pine forest is dense; if I can just rush into it, I can use the terrain to hide. Perhaps there's a sliver of hope for survival.
His eyes darting around, Peng Chong watched as the distance between the ship's rail and the land grew ever shorter. Suddenly, he launched himself forward, unleashing the greatest strength of his life. Like an arrow loosed from its bow, he skimmed across the ground at great speed.
RUSTLE RUSTLE—
He plunged into the pine forest without any resistance and twisted around to look back. There was no one behind him; nobody had pursued him.
I've escaped! His face flushed with ecstatic joy. Peng Chong hadn't anticipated such a smooth escape, and he couldn't resist bursting into laughter.
"What's so funny? Share it, so we can all laugh together."
Suddenly looking up, Peng Chong's expression changed drastically. The scholar in the blue-gray cotton robe was now hovering right above him, a slight smile on his face, effortlessly matching his speed.
"If you let me go, I'll give you all my money! I have more than three thousand seven hundred taels!" Utterly panicked, Peng Chong blurted out, attempting to buy his life.
"No need. Too much money, especially ill-gotten gains, just burns the hand. As the saying goes, a dark and windy night is perfect for murder. Brother Peng, allow Qi Xiu to see you off on your final journey." Though a smile touched his lips, Qi Xiu's eyes were ice-cold. Given what happened at the Ghost Market, if Peng Chong truly escaped, he would definitely reveal my ability to quickly change my appearance. That would mean losing one of my trump cards.
Moreover, Peng Chong was a vicious and ruthless man. He had killed more than twenty innocent people, beheading them and splitting their skulls, all for a mere fifty taels of silver from a bounty. Letting such a person live would only bring more harm to the world. A gentleman's duty is to eradicate evil, promote good, and thus follow the Mandate of Heaven. Therefore, whether or not Peng Chong would reveal his secret, he was doomed to die today.
"My elder brother is the Fourth Leader of the Eighteen Creeks of Black River! If you dare kill me, he will slaughter your entire family to avenge me!" When bribery failed, Peng Chong resorted to threats.
"Is that so? Then send him a message in your dreams. Tell him Qi Xiu awaits him with open arms in Baoho County." Listening to Peng Chong's threats, Qi Xiu smiled faintly. By the time your big brother arrives, I, Qi Xiu, might have already reached the peak of my martial prowess, capable of killing him with a single palm strike to send him to keep you company.
Seeing that Qi Xiu was impervious to all persuasion, whether gentle or harsh, Peng Chong's eyes hardened. He gritted his teeth, and with a gulp, swallowed the bright red elixir hidden behind his molars.
Once the elixir was in his stomach, Peng Chong's veins suddenly bulged all over his body, his skin turned a dusky brown, and white vapor escaped his nose and mouth. His heart pounded violently, and the surging blood caused the capillaries in his eyes to burst. In an instant, his eyes were completely bloodshot!
Boiling Blood Elixir! It was a highly potent forbidden medicine, once used by the heretical Eternal Heaven Sect to enhance their blood slaves' abilities. Once consumed, it could instantly increase bodily functions by more than fivefold and render the user impervious to pain. However, due to the elixir's volatile nature, those who consumed this forbidden substance would suffer from severe cerebral congestion, gradually lose normal bodily functions, and eventually enter a catatonic state, effectively becoming like a person in a vegetative state.
Peng Chong had spent seven hundred taels of silver on this Boiling Blood Elixir. He usually kept it hidden in a tooth cavity, saving it for a life-or-death struggle.
CRACK—
With one kick, he shattered the thick tree trunk beneath him. Under the influence of the Boiling Blood Elixir, Peng Chong's physical abilities were frantically unleashed. His speed increased severalfold. In the blink of an eye, he had put nearly twenty meters between himself and Qi Xiu.
Turning his head, Peng Chong stared venomously at the scholar, cursing him fiercely in his heart: Qi Xiu! If I don't avenge this, I, Peng Chong, swear I'm not human!
But in the next second, the scholar suddenly raised a hand and threw a palm strike towards him from afar.
What is he doing? Trying to hit me from this far away? Has he lost his mind? Sneering, Peng Chong turned, about to exert his strength once more, when he suddenly heard a deafening, earth-shattering roar overhead!
Looking up, he saw a gargantuan palm imprint, condensed from black ink, descending from the sky. It carried an overwhelming, crushing force as it struck down heavily.
"Wha—"
BANG!
Blood splattered everywhere! His entire head was brutally smashed straight into his chest cavity! Carried by inertia, Peng Chong's body tumbled forward several meters before crashing to the ground like a broken kite.
In the distance, Qi Xiu slowly lowered his hand and shook his head. "I had intended to leave you with a complete corpse. Why all the trouble? Such a needless struggle."