Chapter 305 - Reed
When Li Huowang saw Bai Sai enter the thick reed marsh, he rushed after him, “Wait!”
However, at that moment, a giant hand, larger than his own body, suddenly grabbed onto Li Huowang. But when he lowered his head to see the assailant, he found that there was no claw around him. He abruptly turned his head and glared at where the Surveillance Bureau person with the wooden mask was. He had a feeling that this must be another one of his illusory techniques.
When the other party saw Li Huowang’s hostility, he raised both his hands as he took a few steps back and said, “Brother, I’m just trying to help you. With everyone now being aware of your identity, going in alone like this is just asking for trouble.”
However, Li Huowang just shook his head impatiently as he tried to recall the bits and pieces of information that Bai Lingmiao had described to him previously.
Based on what Bai Lingmiao had said, her family members were all kind and good-hearted people. It was completely different from the description given by this person.
Could it be that... Bai Lingmiao lied to me? No, she couldn’t have!
Li Huowang’s doubtful gaze soon turned confident.
His previous interactions with the Bai family did not match what this person said.
There must be some sort of misunderstanding. I need to clarify things with them in person!
After deciding that, Li Huowang left the masked person from the Surveillance Bureau behind and headed straight into the reed marsh.
As Li Huowang entered the reed marsh, the sky immediately darkened. The sausage-like reed stalks above seemed to cut off any and all connection with the outside world. He carefully examined the footprints on the ground and followed after them.
“Chief Bai! It’s me! Come out and talk!” shouted Li Huowang.
However, in the end, Li Huowang received no response. He looked back at the vast field of yellow reeds behind him, and then spoke once more, “Don’t worry. I am very close with Second Niece! If the Bai family is facing any undisclosed troubles, then I will undoubtedly offer my full assistance!”
Li Huowang’s voice resonated through the reed marsh as he continued to shout, “I’m on your side! This is also my first time encountering that guy with the wooden mask. He won’t dare to harm you guys as long as I’m around!”
After Li Huowang finished speaking, two young men from the Bai family emerged from the reed marsh and silently started observing him.
Upon seeing them, Li Huowang breathed a sigh of relief and continued speaking, “I understand that you may doubt me due to my affiliation with the Surveillance Bureau. In reality, my connection with the organization is not as close as you might think. How about this? Let’s return to Cowheart Village. Second Niece is already there. She can explain everything to you.”
The two young men remained silent, widening their stance as they stripped off their clothes and assumed a defensive position.
Li Huowang couldn’t understand what they were doing. It looked like some sort of martial arts stance, yet they were not clenching their fists. If it was some spell technique, then there were no distinct hand gestures.
As their hands moved through the air, the two men started chanting incantations, “Immortals bestow true divine skills, heavenly soldiers and generals reveal divine abilities. All Immortals, heed my command, swiftly enter my mortal body!”
In the next moment, Li Huowang saw as a tall and slender glowing shadow wrapped in black cloth emerged from the ground before drifting toward their bodies.
What kind of evil spirit is this?
Li Huowang quickly unsheathed his bronze coin sword, ready to ward off the evil entity.
However, before Li Huowang could approach, the two young men from the Bai family suddenly looked up and glared ominously at him.
A shocked expression appeared on Li Huowang’s face as he came to a halt and observed the two individuals before him exhibiting an demeanor entirely different from before.
What... is this? Divine intervention? Have they been possessed by evil spirits?
If Li Huowang had previously had any doubts about the statements made by the member of the Surveillance Bureau, seeing these two individuals’ demeanor had only solidified his doubts.
“Listen, I don’t want to fight. Whatever you’ve done in the past is none of my concern. It’s the Surveillance Bureau that is finding fault with you guys!” said Li Huowang.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, the two bare-chested youths suddenly lunged toward Li Huowang. There almost seemed to be a phantom image following behind them. They appeared to be possessed by some unknown evil spirit, with each part of their body seemingly existing independently.
As they approached, their fingers split apart in different ways, like the heads of slithering snakes, thrusting straight toward Li Huowang’s neck. This chapter was originally shared via N0/vel/Biin.
These two individuals didn’t appear to be all that strong, and so Li Huowang did not retaliate. He knew that all the techniques that he had learned were lethal moves. If he were to retaliate, then these two individuals would either end up dead or at least severely wounded, something that he did not want to do.
Thus, Li Huowang twisted and turned in the reed marsh, constantly dodging the two individual’s blows.
While he did not know what kind of evil spirit had possessed them, their agility was beyond imagination. Li Huowang found himself in a very passive situation.
Snap!
When the two opponents directly pounced on him, Li Huowang was taken by surprise. Instead of attacking Li Huowang directly, they moved to snatch the bronze coin sword in his hand.
Li Huowang tightened his grip, but in the next instance, he suddenly felt something approaching him from behind. “Oh no!”
Clang!
Li Huowang turned his head, only to see a cold light flash as the sinister black-tassel sword stabbed fiercely toward his face. He wanted to block and retaliate, but both of his hands were restrained by the two Bai family youths.
In this critical moment, Li Huowang instantly shifted his position, forcefully moving his body a few inches to the left. At the same time, he muttered an incantation, and his bronze coin sword split apart. Immediately, a red radiance flashed and effortlessly cut through the fingers closing in on him. Then, he forcefully kicked the person in front of him, creating a distance between himself and the others.
As soon as Li Huowang met eyes with the person holding onto the black-tassel sword, the latter suddenly knelt. At the same time, the eerie look on the man’s face quickly faded away, giving way to a twisted expression. The black-tassel sword in his hand fell weakly to the ground as he knelt there with a furious expression while letting out wild roars.
Li Huowang looked at the two young men and their sliced-off fingers, and then toward the other Bai family member who was possessed by the potent killing intent, and then sighed. “Did it have to come to this extent? Couldn’t we have had a civilized conversation instead?”
Just as Li Huowang finished speaking, the reeds surrounding him started to shake. Soon, those men’s sinister faces emerged and vanished amidst the yellow reeds.
As he looked at those lifeless faces, a chill ran down Li Huowang’s spine. Almost half of the Bai family had been possessed by evil spirits, their faces cold and lifeless.
Amidst the crowd, a single-toothed old man, supported by Bai Sai, came forward and began to speak in a trembling voice. The old man chanted rhythmically, almost as if he was mimicking a song. Noxious black mud oozed out from the corner of his mouth.
As the familiar yet abnormal voice echoed in the surroundings, several familiar figures appeared in front of Li Huowang.
These were the Wandering Gods.
Although the figure of the Wandering Gods that was condensed was unusually blurry without the support of the bronze bell, Li Huowang could still recognize their appearance after having encountered them so many times.
As he stared at the elusive figures of the Wandering Gods in mid-air, Li Huowang recalled the things that Bai Lingmiao had told him about back when they were at Zephyr Temple.
Why did an ordinary girl like Bai Lingmiao know about evil spirits such as the Wandering Gods?
This scene finally made everything clear. This old man was probably the grandfather who used to tell her stories.