activa-t Chapter 32 River Demon
Chapter 32 River Demon
Zhou Xing crawled out of the dilapidated carriage door and returned to the red-light district streets.
The streets were much quieter.
The door collapsed, the window shattered, and the paper lantern swayed precariously.
The ground was littered with broken bricks and tiles, and there were several pools of undried black blood.
The half-burnt paper money swirled in the air, the air filled with a mixture of watery, burnt, and bloody smells.
The sounds of fighting could still be heard nearby.
Zhou Xing squinted and looked over; they were actually the Taoist brother and sister.
Qingxu and Yunqing were being entangled by two river demons.
The larger one is naturally "Liang Mancang", while the smaller one is about half its size, and its movements are restless but very agile.
Qingxu's Taoist robe was torn in half, his left hand forming a hand seal, while his right hand wielded a peach wood sword with impenetrable speed.
A faint golden halo, about an inch long, burst from the tip of the sword, and when it touched the tentacle, it hissed and emitted white smoke.
But with so many tentacles, he was overwhelmed and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Yunqing's situation is even worse.
The hem of the moon-white Taoist robe was torn open, and the left ankle was tightly wrapped by the tentacles of the little river demon.
The densely packed flagella on the tentacles wriggled, making a soft "click" sound.
A warm, white light emanated from her ankles, barely resisting the corrosive influence, but the light was visibly dimming.
Her face was pale, and she used her right hand to parry another tentacle with her short bronze sword, but her movements were already sluggish.
The situation is critical. He needs to "help" Liang Mancang, but he also needs these two to keep him in check.
Zhou Xing didn't rush out immediately.
He quickly glanced around; his carriage was leaning precariously on the platform, which was half collapsed.
The roof of the carriage was more than ten feet off the ground, slightly taller than Liang Mancang's swollen torso.
He took a deep breath and, using both hands and feet, like a raccoon, darted up the window sill to the roof of the carriage.
The corrugated iron roof was badly rusted, and it creaked when you stepped on it.
He stopped and estimated the distance with his eyes.
Liang Mancang's back was diagonally below, and the arm ring embedded in his flesh gleamed with a dim light in the twilight, like a bullseye.
Zhou Xing pushed off the roof of the car with his toes, and like a bird, he swooped down and landed on Liang Mancang's slippery, smelly back!
The ground was soft, slippery, and pliable underfoot, but he used his waist and hips to maintain his steady position.
He gripped the Gong family short knife tightly in his right hand, aimed at the rotten flesh at the edge of the arm ring, and viciously ripped it off!
The blade sliced in, and black blood splattered.
Liang Mancang roared in pain, his body twisting violently, and several tentacles rolled back, lashing wildly at the "insects" on his back!
Zhou Xing used his full listening skill to dodge and weave across the smooth back.
The tentacles, carrying a gust of evil wind, brushed past it and struck its own flesh with dull "smack, smack".
With a sudden thrust of his waist and legs, he pried open the lump of flesh with the arm ring embedded in it once again.
With a swift movement of his left hand, he grabbed the armband and pulled it out with force!
The moment the armband left his body, Liang Mancang's movements suddenly froze, as if his backbone had been removed, and his momentum abruptly weakened.
opportunity.
He loosened his grip on his right hand, the armband falling into his chest, while his left hand pulled out the Colt from under his armpit, the muzzle of the gun close to the bloody wound, and pulled the trigger!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seven bullets, all fired at extremely close range, penetrated deep into the wound!
Black blood mixed with bits of flesh and spurting out.
"Aww!!"
Liang Mancang let out a mournful cry, his tentacles slamming weakly against the ground.
Zhou Xing sheathed his gun, gripped the Gong family short sword tightly with both hands, tip pointing downwards, exhaled loudly, channeled all his strength into his arms, aimed at the center of the wound, and thrust down with all his might!
"Pfft!"
The blade was completely submerged, all the way down to the hilt.
Liang Mancang's massive body twitched a few times before finally going limp and motionless, his tentacles hanging limply, lifeless.
[River Demon (Liang Mancang) Obsession Completed: Obtained the River Demon Appearance.]
A cold, slippery force, full of underwater resilience, surged through the armband into every part of my body.
Zhou Xing clearly felt that his entire skeleton had gained an indescribable flexibility, his tendons had a greater range of stretching, and his muscle coordination and explosiveness had also undergone subtle changes.
It's like having an invisible "tentacle" inside your body.
【河魃相】成。
The moment his obsession was fulfilled, he felt a gentle breeze rise and brush past his fingertips, as if Liang Mancang was shaking hands to express his gratitude.
"You're welcome. Goodbye, Liang Mancang."
Zhou Xing whispered something and turned his gaze to the other side.
Seeing its "leader" dead, the little river demon let out a terrified screech, and the tentacles wrapped around Yun Qing's ankle tightened suddenly!
The white light at Yun Qing's ankle shattered with a "pop," and she groaned in pain as her body was pulled to the side.
Zhou Xing used the force of Liang Mancang's corpse to propel himself up and leap into the air between Xiao Heba and Yun Qing.
While in mid-air, the short sword transformed into a sliver of moonlight, precisely slashing at the tightly wrapped tentacle!
"Sizzle!"
The tentacle snapped off instantly, and black blood gushed from the broken end.
Zhou Xing landed, rolled over, and used his left hand to grab Yun Qing's waist as she staggered and was about to fall, pulling her to the side.
Another tentacle swept across his back, the strong wind making his clothes flutter wildly.
The two embraced and rolled several feet away, escaping the range of the tentacles' attack.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qingxu used a lightning talisman to force back the entangled tentacles and then flashed back to the front.
The little river demon seemed somewhat frightened; its tentacles twitched, but it didn't pursue them any further.
"Brother Zhou!"
Qingxu glanced at his junior sister's pale face, then looked at Zhou Xing with a complicated expression, and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for your help! I owe you one more time."
His cuffs were stained with blood, and his breathing was slightly rapid, but his eyes were less distant than before, and more sincere and grateful after escaping side by side.
"It was just something I did."
The journey is clear and the clouds are bright; the words are concise and to the point.
Yun Qing's face turned from white to red. She lowered her head, smoothed her hair, and straightened her clothes, without saying a word.
"At the other end of the factory, there is an abandoned waterway that leads to a branch of the Haihe River outside."
Qingxu said quickly, "Let's go! We can't stay here any longer!"
His gaze swept over Zhou Xing, whose clothes were reduced to mere strips hanging from his body. "Can he hold on?"
"Just a little bit of hardship."
Zhou Xingyang raised his eyebrows. "Wait a moment, I still have something to take with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, some dust fell from behind a half-collapsed wall on the side, and a head timidly peeked out. It was Zhang Pinyou, the warlord's nephew.
His face was streaked with gray tears, but when he saw Zhou Xing, his eyes lit up instantly, and he scrambled over, so excited he was incoherent:
"Hero! You really killed that monster! I knew you were capable; you didn't need to come get me, I was just hiding here..."
"Oh, and you too. You're quite good at hiding."
Zhou Xing glanced at him. This kid was probably waiting anxiously for him to come. He had been hiding all the way here, and when he saw that these two Taoists had some skill, he ran here to lie low.
"Besides you, there's something else."
Zhou Xingdao then crawled into the dilapidated carriage door and came out carrying a bundle.
Inside were some odds and ends he had casually collected during his rampage in the ghost market, wrapped in the Qing Dynasty dragon robe he had first seen in the carriage.
This dragon robe is of good quality; it's fireproof and waterproof.
Zhang Pinyou gave him a resentful look and muttered:
"I think you've forgotten about me..."
"Stop talking nonsense."
Zhou Xing interrupted him, "Follow me."
After getting ready, the group didn't linger and, led by Qingxu, headed towards the factory outside the carriage.
Along the way, they encountered a few survivors of the Ghost Market who were still in shock. They all hid in the shadows, looking as frightened as stray dogs, and no one dared to stop the murderous group.
Soon, at the edge of the factory ahead, an arched doorway leading into the darkness could be seen in the distance; this was near the plaza entrance where we first entered the White Light District.
Just as he was about to reach the exit door, the hair on the back of Zhou Xing's neck suddenly stood up without warning!
My heart skipped a beat, and a chill inexplicably rose within me.
He turned around abruptly, looking at the devastated battlefield behind him.
Beside the corpse of the river demon "Liang Mancang," a person had appeared out of nowhere.
A tattered straw hat, an old jacket, pushing a wheelbarrow piled high with odds and ends.
Like the most ordinary peddler.
The man was looking down, slowly wiping something on the car with a dirty cloth.
He seemed oblivious to the corpses and remains scattered on the ground, and even to the trembling cries of the river demons in the distance.