Chapter 43: The Cultivating Power of a Head-Descending Master
After cleaning up everything he had left on the ground until it was spotless— even covering the spot with a heap of garbage—Li Zhen scraped so wall dust that carried Nai Mi’s blood.
Before leaving, Nai Mi had purposely released that foul-slling mist to erase all traces of himself. But since the blood he spat had spread over too wide an area, there were still remnants left behind.
For a Head-Descending Master, that was undoubtedly sothing useful.
Carefully tucking away the dust, Li Zhen stepped out of the alley.
This place was extrely remote.
Although the commotion between the two had been quite loud, no one had co to check.
Walking along the pitch-black street, Li Zhen stopped under a streetlight.
He briefly examined the Red-Eyed Bat’s condition and discovered that most of the blood on its body wasn’t its own, but from a strange insect about the size of a bee.
He had no idea how Nai Mi had bred such creatures. After being killed, they oozed a liquid the color of blood.
That liquid carried a faint tallic stench—it was likely poisonous. Li Zhen only took a few whiffs and already felt his dizziness worsening.
No wonder, when the bat had perched on his shoulder earlier, he had felt sothing was off.
Using his jacket, Li Zhen wiped the Red-Eyed Bat clean. As he did, he noticed the ghostly face behind it had changed slightly.
The face’s mouth was biting down on a tiny human head.
He could vaguely see the small face twisted in a ferocious and terrifying expression.
That should have been the Little Ghost the Red-Eyed Bat had devoured.
Once it perford the “Devourer of Ghosts” ritual even once, the bat could use the terrifying resentnt it had consud to devour other malevolent spirits.
Ordinary ghosts that encountered it were like a al on a platter—just like that Little Ghost earlier.
This creature not only restrained ghostly entities but also had a strong resistance to Head-Descending curses. To this day, Li Zhen hadn’t discovered a single curse capable of harming it.
Its only loss had been when Li Zhen, taking advantage of Ma Gusu’s death, stabbed it before Ma Gusu’s altar using the Ritual Implent gifted by Master Wan Madama.
But that was before the bat’s transformation.
In the finale of Gu, this creature, once freed from the altar, had been effortlessly seized in one hand by Master Wan Madama himself.
Now, even if it t Master Wan Madama again, it certainly wouldn’t be subdued so easily.
Li Zhen wrapped the bat in a tattered cloth.
The Red-Eyed Bat let out several resentful screeches.
Li Zhen whispered, “We can’t keep chasing. Even if we could catch up, it might not end well for us. Nai Mi is a terrifying Head-Descending Master.”
Among such masters, strength wasn’t only asured by their thods, but also by the depth of their cultivation.
That comparison couldn’t be quantified.
For instance, in the lineage of Head-Descending techniques Li Zhen had inherited from Ma Gusu’s sect, cultivation was asured by how rotten a piece of beef beca.
By that standard, Li Zhen’s current mastery was slightly stronger than Ma Gusu’s.
Although he hadn’t practiced the art for long, after the Red-Eyed Bat devoured that ferocious ghost, the feedback it gave had forcibly elevated his cultivation.
Even so, from a single encounter, Li Zhen could tell Nai Mi’s level far exceeded his own.
Of course, between Head-Descending Masters, unless the gap was vast, cultivation alone didn’t decide everything.
If one side gained the initiative—obtaining sothing like the opponent’s hair—and suddenly cast a curse from afar, the other would find it almost impossible to defend.
The more Li Zhen learned about the inner workings of Head-Descending, the more cautious he beca about his own hair and other bodily traces.
——
Leung Hinyuk sat on the sofa, looking uneasy.
Zheng Ze was seated beside her, appearing worried as well.
Although still young, he already understood quite a lot, and had stayed by Leung Hinyuk’s side the whole ti.
Zheng Nan, bound tightly into a bundle, huddled in a corner, motionless.
Hearing footsteps outside the door, Leung Hinyuk imdiately stood up to greet them. “Master Li, how was it? That Head-Descending Master…”
A foul, acrid stench wafted in, nearly making Leung Hinyuk vomit.
But knowing that would be impolite, she covered her mouth quickly and forced down the nausea.
“Master, the situation… how did it go?”
Li Zhen glanced at Zheng Nan. “It’s fine for now. You can untie him.”
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Leung Hinyuk hurried to Zheng Nan’s side, untying the ropes on his hands and removing the towel from his mouth and the mourning cloth over his eyes.
“Honey, Master Li said it’s over!”
Weakly, Zheng Nan pulled the cotton from his ears and sluggishly got to his feet. “Huh? It’s over? Thank heavens… I almost got dragged off to et those two old bastards…”
He hadn’t untied the ropes on his legs, and as soon as he stood, he fell to the ground with a yelp.
That fall seed to wake him up.
After quickly untying his feet, Zheng Nan stumbled to Li Zhen’s side and suddenly gagged. “Master, what’s that sll on you? It’s awful—wait, no, not awful.”
Seeing Li Zhen silently watching him, he swallowed his words and quickly changed the topic. “Master, what about Nai Mi? Did you kill him?”
Li Zhen didn’t answer. “My help doesn’t co cheap.”
“I understand, I understand.” Zheng Nan nodded repeatedly. “Whatever money you want, I’ll pay.”
“First, get a change of clothes. I need to wash up,” Li Zhen said.
The odor on him ca partly from the Red-Eyed Bat, and partly from the smoke Nai Mi had released.
Not daring to delay, Zheng Nan imdiately went to find him so clothing.
After changing and washing, Li Zhen still felt faint traces of the stench on him, but it was much better than before.
He was now dressed in Zheng Nan’s suit, which fit him fairly well.
He had also washed the Red-Eyed Bat and wrapped it again in a towel.
When Li Zhen finished tidying up, the anxious Zheng Nan finally asked, “Master, what happened to Nai Mi? Is he dead? Even if not, you must’ve crippled him, right? A Head-Descending Master coming to Hong Kong Island—this is too dangerous.”
“Consider it mutual destruction.” Li Zhen took a sip of water. “He won’t trouble you for now.”
Zheng Nan swallowed nervously. “How long is ‘for now’? A month? Two?”
Li Zhen raised one finger. “One night. At most, one more day.”
“What the—!” Zheng Nan jumped in fright, his face crumpling. “Just one night?! So after tonight, he’ll co for again?”
“I almost got killed earlier… Master, you must have other helpers, right? Hong Kong Island’s huge—surely you’re not working alone…”
Seeing the hope in Zheng Nan’s eyes, Li Zhen cruelly shook his head. “Unfortunately, I’m alone.”
“Then… what should I do?” Zheng Nan’s face turned pale with fear.
Li Zhen pointed to the floor. “This is Hong Kong Island, not Nanyang. You have the numbers here—killing him wouldn’t be hard.”
“The most terrifying Head-Descending Masters are those hidden in the shadows. Those who show themselves openly, and leave their nests, aren’t that scary.”
“We?” Zheng Nan shook his head repeatedly. “We can’t… there’s no way we can!”
He nearly burst into tears. “Master, you didn’t see it—my friend Ah Keung just said a few bad words, and Nai Mi chanted sothing that turned Ah Keung’s head into a bird’s!”
Li Zhen put on a grave expression. “That horrifying? Then I’d better leave early.”
“No, Master, please!” Zheng Nan begged, almost crying. “If you leave, we’re dood! I’ll call all my friends right now! If we all think together, we’ll co up with sothing!”
“As you wish. Prepare a quiet room—I need to set up an altar.” Li Zhen patted the restless Red-Eyed Bat in his arms.
According to the mission, he only needed to protect the innocent Zheng Ze.
As for stopping the spread of malice—if he ultimately killed Nai Mi, wouldn’t that count as stopping it?
He didn’t particularly care who else might die along the way.
Li Zhen’s primary goal was to gain as much knowledge about Head-Descending as possible while fulfilling his mission.
After exchanging a few words with Nai Mi, he realized that the Head-Descending inheritance he had received was, in fact, extrely incomplete.
Obtaining a small booklet and fragnts of mory was nothing like being personally taught by a living master with deep cultivation.
Reviews
All reviews (0)