Chapter 430: 429
Peony Town is known for its peony cultivation.
With a population of tens of thousands and a flourishing economy, it is a place of peace and prosperity.
However, when Shi Xiaole entered Peony Town, he felt an atmosphere of eerie self-guarding from the residents.
Some pedestrians hurried, some whispered in groups. With Shi Xiaole’s sharp hearing, it was easy to discern that these townsfolk were discussing a recent mysterious murderer.
"A few days ago, disciples from the nearby Songshan Sect went to Peony Mountain. Out of thirteen, twelve were killed and one turned mad. Later, the Sect Master of the Songshan Sect took action personally, but then vanished mysteriously. Only after several days was his upper body found."
"Not just the Songshan Sect, many martial arts masters have come here recently, but they either died or disappeared. Sigh! It must be the Peony Girl who is not content with her wrongly inflicted death sentence, becoming a fierce ghost seeking revenge."
Upon hearing this, Shi Xiaole noticed many townspeople showing fearful expressions and hurriedly scattering, as if avoiding a taboo.
After finding an inn, Shi Xiaole began strolling around the town, trying to glean more accurate information.
Before he came, he learned from the Demon Alliance’s files that about twenty years ago, there was a famous incident of burning a person in Peony Town.
It was said that a woman had caught a malevolent spirit, which brought misfortune to the town. Hence, the attorney and a few local gentry led the townsfolk to tie her up on Peony Mountain and burned her, as a prayer to the heavens.
However, even after the Peony Girl was burned to death, strange events in the town continued sporadically until they subsided ten years ago.
Unexpectedly, in the past six months, death events began to occur again. The horrific sight of the victims was exactly the same as the Peony Girl before she was burned, and her body was dismembered by several townspeople!
"Young Master, may I help you with anything?"
After several inquiries, Shi Xiaole located a large compound. The door was opened by a muscular man.
"Brother, is Dai Lun available?"
Shi Xiaole asked with a warm smile.
Dai Lun was the attorney of Peony Town twenty years ago and one of the masterminds behind the execution of the Peony Girl.
The muscular man took a glance at Shi Xiaole, noticed that he was around seventeen or eighteen years old with a scholarly look, told him to wait, and then closed the door. About fifteen minutes later, he reopened the door and led Shi Xiaole inside.
In the courtyard, an old man was sitting on a stone chair, his cloudy eyes emitting sharp glimmers, "Young hero, are you also here to rid Peony Town of evil?"
Having encountered many martial arts enthusiasts, Dai Lun recognized Shi Xiaole’s typical attire.
"Why should you teach me, old man?"
"There are no ghosts in this world, let alone that woman deserved her fate! My guess is that someone is stirring up trouble on purpose, creating a pandemic."
"Old man, could you please tell me of the past in full so that I can find a specific remedy."
After saying this, Shi Xiaole made a slight move, and a hole appeared on the wall ten yards away.
Dai Lun’s pupils contracted abruptly.
Many martial arts masters came to him for information in the past six months, but none had extraordinary abilities like Shi Xiaole.
No wonder that was the case, although Xuanwu State has more Dragon Gate Realm experts than the other parts of Shuntian Capital, due to its vast territory - larger than the combined eight states - such experts are famous yet elusive.
Even in small places like Peony Town where the news spread is limited, let alone many people know.
"That woman from back then, was the most beautiful woman in town. Yet for some unknown reason, she suddenly turned into a monster one day. Covered in hair, sharp teeth, a strange smell all over her body, and even her skin was glowing green. She’d bite anyone she saw."
Recalling the secret matters of the past, Dai Lun’s wrinkled old face showed signs of panic and anger, "Originally, the night market of Peony Town was very lively, but because of that woman, people began to get bitten and injured every night."
"To prevent the situation from worsening, I had to discuss with some locals in secret, and we secretly captured and eliminated her to reassure the townsfolk."
A green-haired monster?
Shi Xiaole frowned slightly.
"But what I didn’t expect was that not long after, nearly half of the people bitten by the Peony Girl also turned into monsters. Out of necessity, I had to discuss with others in secret and killed those people in the shadows. But because there were too many of them, we didn’t announce it, merely saying that they mysteriously disappeared."
Shi Xiaole asked, "Earlier, old man, you mentioned someone stirring up trouble. Do you suspect anyone?"
Dai Lun glanced at Shi Xiaole, unable to hide his shock, "Among all the people who turned into monsters then, one escaped from the trap and was not killed!"
Two quarters of an hour later, Shi Xiaole left the compound and went straight to a mansion near the white cloth-laden estate.
The mansion’s owner was a local gentry of Peony Town, powerful and influential, and also one of the masterminds behind the Peony Girl’s execution. However, just a few days ago, this gentry died at home with his neck bitten off.
Creeping into the place where the coffin was stored, Shi Xiaole released his spiritual power, and soon, he found a few strands of green hair fallen off in a corner. Upon careful sniffing, it smelled like burnt plastic.
"Do monsters truly exist in this world?"
Shi Xiaole didn’t believe Dai Lun had lied to him, but what exactly could turn people into this so-called green-haired monster... could it be?
Thinking of a possibility, Shi Xiaole tightly grasped the green hair in his hand and quietly left the mansion.
In the following days, he strolled through the streets and alleys of Peony Town, occasionally visiting Peony Mountain, even going to the place where the Peony Girl was burnt to death years ago.
There, piles of weeds overwhelmed the area, with venomous snakes slithering around after a few steps. The desolation was chilling and eerie. On a few occasions, Shi Xiaole thought he heard strange noises in the distance, but when he got closer, nothing was found.
At night, however, Shi Xiaole would hide near Dai Lun’s home.
The sole survivor, out for revenge, would certainly target the mastermind - Dai Lizheng.
One of the nights.
Like usual, Shi Xiaole concealed himself. Suddenly, he sniffed out a faint smell of burnt plastic.
Whoosh!
With a swift use of the Wind God Leg, he dashed towards the source of the smell like a shadow in the night.
At the same time, a creature with green fur all over, unrecognizable in appearance, was leaping into the courtyard, rushing towards the room where Dai Lun was, its face ferocious.
Chirp!
A sword light lit up in the night sky, striking the green-haired monster.
In the shower of sparks, the green-haired monster smashed the door behind it, making a large hole in the wall of the courtyard. When it got up again, its eyes were of a horrifying green, its jaws wide open, lunging at Shi Xiaole.
There was a flash of green light in the void.
The speed of the green-haired monster was extremely fast, almost as fast as a master of the Spiritual-Passage Realm ninth level. No wonder many guests from the Martial World who came here lost their lives innocently.
With a stab of the Clear Breeze Thirteen Forms, the green-haired monster was sent flying back again.
What surprised Shi Xiaole was that his attack, made with seventy percent of his strength, had only carved a three-inch deep dent in the green-haired monster’s body, but there was no blood.
"It’s a monster, it is definitely him. It is him."
The commotion here woke up the ever-cautious Dai Lun and his son. Dai Lun, with the help of his son, stood at the door, his face filled with fear, "Twenty years ago, his power and speed were only a little stronger than ordinary people’s, far from what it is now."
Roar!
With a roar to the sky, the speed of the green-haired monster increased again, rushing like a rocket towards Shi Xiaole. Its sharp teeth, sharp as cold knives.
Lifting his right arm high, he struck forcefully. This time, Shi Xiaole exerted his full strength. The sword light was like a green crescent, illuminating the darkness in the courtyard.
A spray of blood, a strange mixture of green and red, splattered out.
The green-haired monster let out a scream and suddenly sprayed a cloud of green gas with a diesel smell from its mouth.
Before it was about to hit him, Shi Xiaole could already feel very clearly his blood and bones trembling, as if some changes were about to happen. Luckily, this force was not strong and it was shattered directly by the Invisible Gang Qi.
"Ah... "
Behind him, a scream sounded. Dai Lun’s face turned green, his claws and teeth lengthened, and he began to transform into the green-haired monster. With one blink of an eye, he suddenly trembled all over and exploded into pieces of flesh.
However, Dai Lun’s son, who was probably strong and robust, and also relatively far away from the green gas, merely turned green and passed out on the ground.
After spraying the green gas, the green-haired monster lost a lot of its vitality and made a run for it.
Puff!
Shi Xiaole slashed out with his third sword. This time, he left a long and deep wound on the chest of the green-haired monster. The bone, white and bare, could be seen clearly.
The green fur slowly retreated, and the green-haired monster began to transform back into a human, actually a handsome young man. He turned to Shi Xiaole, "You are a talented martial artist, but you are unknowingly being used."
"What do you mean?"
"Ha ha ha, do you think that old Dai Lun and his lot are good people? On the day Peony was captured, once her original form was found, those animals each took their turns to enjoy her! Then they brutally dismembered her and secretly collected her blood, saying that they wanted to take it back for further study."
With a mocking grin on his bloody face, the young man continued, "I bet Dai Lun didn’t tell you that hundreds of years ago, the Peony Town had experienced the green-haired monster, right? Ha, only a few heirs of the prominent families know that the green-haired monster, strange as it is, could allegedly be immortal! When I was still fine, those old men were already conspiring secretly, wanting to use innocent people as subjects for their experiment!"
Shi Xiaole’s face changed multiple times.
He had already learned from Dai Lun that the sole survivor from back then was, in fact, the son of a respectable country gentleman who was murdered days prior. Given his status, it was highly likely that he knew some secrets.
"I’ve killed, but the people I’ve killed were all deserving of their fate. I’ve never involved the innocent!"
With righteous indignation, the young man, Wang Heng stared at Shi Xiaole. "If you don’t believe me, you can ask Dai Lun’s son. He should know what kind of deeds those old foxes have been up to."
Just as Shi Xiaole was about to reply, he suddenly retreated quickly.
In the night, a white light flashed. When it disappeared, Wang Heng’s figure had already vanished from the spot.
