activa-t Chapter 31 A New Beginning
Chapter 31 A New Beginning
Tao Zhugong did not participate in the attack. While retreating to the other end of the carriage, he hurriedly calculated with his hands tucked into his sleeves, muttering incantations.
When he met Zhou Xing's gaze, the fat on his face twitched.
"Contractual Deeds - Collection of Debts!"
Tao Zhugong snorted, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto several yellowed contracts.
The contract spontaneously combusted without fire, the flames a ghastly white.
Inside the carriage, three corpses, their blood still warm, suddenly began to convulse.
The bulge that swelled and moved under the skin burst open with a "poof," and three thin, bloody, and mangled ghostly figures emerged, making a crisp sound like abacus beads colliding, as they pounced on Zhou Xing.
Immediately afterwards, the sorcerer who had been killed by the pipe next to him began to emit black smoke from his seven orifices, which condensed into a twisted, venomous ghost face that opened its mouth to bite.
In the years that Tao Zhugong spent in the ghost market, he specialized in trading "opportunities" and "fate".
There's often a hidden trick in the contract: anyone who mortgages their "good fortune" or "luck" can be forcibly "collected" by him.
The more transactions you make and the longer they last, the more proficient you become.
At this moment, he didn't even spare the corpses that had just died, using the old contract to forcibly bind the remnant souls!
Zhou Xing felt a chill run down his spine.
These things, though not as lively as the little ghosts from before, are imbued with the malevolent aura and resentment of those who have just died, making them even more sinister.
The moment it was born, the carriage grew a little cold.
His footwork changed rapidly, weaving between the seats, and his short knife flashed in the air.
"Sizzle."
A bloody, ghostly figure was cleaved in two, twisted in mid-air, and transformed into two more that lunged forward.
A ghostly shadow brushed past his left arm.
Zhou Xing felt a numbness in his arm, as if he had been pricked by an ice pick, and his blood and qi were slightly stagnant.
The venomous ghost face opened its mouth and roared silently, lunging straight at your face.
He moved nimbly, his short sword flashing in the air, and when he was grazed, he used [Human Puppet Appearance] to take the hit.
The scene froze for a moment, but their energy and blood were being consumed continuously.
This technique is rather strange; we can't just blindly follow it.
Mr. Qin mentioned in his notes that when the spirit of evil is not yet stable, it is most afraid of filth and blood.
He quickly looked around and had an idea.
With a swift movement, he darted out of the circle of ghostly figures, his left hand flashing out to grab an open black pottery jar from a nearby stall.
He splashed water all over the ghost face and the bloody, fleshy ghostly figures that were chasing after him!
The earthenware jar contained filthy things, including "Buddha's Hand Stealing Remains".
"laugh!"
The filth splashed onto the ghost face and the two ghostly figures was like boiling oil poured on snow.
The ghostly face let out a shrill, mournful cry, and black smoke billowed violently. The bloody, ghostly figure also emitted white smoke.
Tao Zhugong's expression changed, and he hurriedly manipulated the remaining ghostly figures to disperse.
There's a chance!
Taking advantage of the situation, Zhou Xing grabbed other bottles and jars from the stall and smashed them all over these weird things, regardless of what they were.
He was quick-witted and agile, and no matter how the other person tried to dodge, they couldn't avoid him.
"laugh--"
The ghostly face vanished, and the bloody, ghostly figure became blurred.
They were just remnants of souls that had been confined, and when they were hit by this filthy and malevolent thing, they were almost completely destroyed.
Zhou Xing grabbed a heavy oiled paper package, not knowing what it contained, and threw it forcefully at Tao Zhugong!
Tao Zhugong dodged, and the oil paper package smashed against the carriage wall, spilling out some black powder and metal fragments.
Zhou Xing lunged forward, thrusting his short sword straight at him.
Tao Zhugong was shocked, and a string of Kangxi Tongbao coins flew out from his sleeve.
The copper coins jingled and spun rapidly, emitting a faint light and forming a "money shield".
"clang!"
The short sword struck the shield, sparks flying, the blade deflected by the slippery resistance.
Tao Zhugong grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and staggered backward. Maintaining this "shield" was consuming the "wealth" he had accumulated over the years.
"Blood Pact - Principal and Interest!"
He roared and pulled out the contract he had just signed with Zhou Xing. The ink was still wet on the paper when he spat out a mouthful of blood from his heart.
The contract paper suddenly burst into a ghostly green flame, within which Zhou Xing's fingerprints and birth date appeared.
Zhou Xing felt a sudden tightness in his heart, as if gripped by an invisible hand, his blood and qi reversed direction, and his vision went black.
My every move became heavy and sluggish, my energy vanished, and I could hear rustling sounds around me, like countless people reading from account books.
The power of the contract, using his birth date and time as a guide, was trying to forcibly extract his luck and foundation!
Tao Zhugong himself was teetering on the brink of collapse, his face ashen, yet his eyes revealed a fierce glint of anticipation.
With this move, he was expending his own lifespan, gambling on the establishment of the contract and the locking of cause and effect.
But the next second, his expression changed drastically.
The flames of the contract flickered violently, and the illusory image of the fingerprints flashed uncertainly.
He felt like he was trying to draw water from an empty well, exhausting all his strength but unable to get any.
There is a response, but it cannot hold firmly, let alone be extracted smoothly!
"What's going on?!"
Tao Zhugong was greatly alarmed. He had never encountered such a situation before.
Just as he lost his composure, Zhou Xingquan's fighting spirit erupted!
His back arched like a dragon, and his muscles and bones emitted a deep and dense hum, indicating that his peak Ming Jin Qi and blood had been pushed to their limit.
The murderous aura accumulated from fighting his way from the green light district to the red light district transformed into a violent fist intent of "I am invincible", which smashed through the sluggish contractual constraints!
"die!"
He took a step forward, and the blade flashed again!
Tao Zhugong coughed up a mouthful of blood, the backlash from the contract causing him to instantly weaken.
The Shield of Money has lost its luster.
Zhou Xing's second strike has arrived.
Tao Zhugong staggered backward, retreating to a blind spot where the two carriages met, his back pressed against the cold metal wall.
He glanced at the tightly closed exit in the distance, then at Zhou Xing who was right next to him, and at the terrifying shadow outside the hole behind him, his face contorted with rage.
"I've been gathering opportunities... I've spent half my life calculating."
He gasped for breath, blood and foam oozing from the corner of his mouth. "After all the calculations... the door to life is outside the car... the door to death is inside the car... and I ended up crashing into it myself..."
Zhou Xing took the last three steps, raising the tip of his knife, as steady as if it were welded into mid-air.
"You've stolen the luck from so many people."
His voice was hoarse, "Haven't you taken stock of your own actions?"
Tao Zhugong's eyes were unfocused, and his blood-stained hand unconsciously reached for the scattered abacus beads on the ground, muttering:
"Dingmao year... February... crediting blessings... interest... compound interest... bad debts... all bad debts..."
Suddenly his eyes widened and he burst into a bitter laugh:
"You, Zhou Xing, cannot kill me; Heaven is on my side... Heaven..."
"If fate is on your side..."
Zhou Xing's wrist dipped. "Then let's start afresh."
A flash of light.
laugh.
A soft sound.
Tao Zhugong's plump body slid slowly down the side door, and a red line around his neck widened, staining the front of his silk robe red.
His eyes were still wide open, staring at the swaying gas lamp on the ceiling, but his expression was completely blank.
In his hand, he still loosely held a few cracked abacus beads.
Zhou Xing sheathed his sword, gripped the chair, and his chest heaved like a bellows.
The contractual backlash and the series of fierce battles made his vision blur.
He paused for a few moments before straightening up. Without looking at the body, he turned and walked back.
Zhou Xing remembered the stall that sold tiger tallies; he wanted to ask Guo Zhen where he got the token.
He walked through the messy carriage, past the scattered debris and corpses in various poses, and arrived at that corner.
The stall is there.
The person is gone.
The gaunt old man huddled in the shadows, clutching the finger bone bell tightly in one hand.
His eyes bulged out of their sockets, there was a ring of shiny black marks around his neck, and black paper ash was stuffed under his fingernails.
It is unknown who killed him.
Zhou Xing squatted down, pried open his fingers, and pried out Mr. Qin's finger bone bell.
The bone bell was icy cold to the bone.
He weighed it in his hand and muttered to himself, "This thing is a bit eerie. Whoever touches it will be unlucky."
It's just that I'm lucky.
He put the bell back in his pocket, propped himself up, and leaned against the carriage wall, his strength gradually returning.
He looked up at the broken door at the other end of the carriage.
The tentacles of the river demon "Liang Mancang" were still waving, but one could already see that it was exhausted and running out of steam.
The amplitude decreased, the speed slowed down, and the frantic pounding ceased; sometimes it merely swept weakly across the door frame.
A tentacle drooped limply by the door, dripping black blood that pooled on the carriage floor.
The armlet has been returned, but its obsession remains, and its ferocity persists, though it is now utterly exhausted...
Zhou Xing drew his sword and walked over.
A foul stench wafted through the air, carrying the smells of water and decay.
"Brother Liang, you've helped me a lot."
His gaze swept over the limp tentacles and wounds:
"Now, I will help you."