"Heh heh, Blood Food is hard to transport and even harder to hide."
The old shopkeeper’s eyes swept over the seven or eight yellowish, dusty cloth bags, and he lowered his voice. "But that’s for discerning folk. For your Tan’er Sect, the thod is brutally simple. It’s nothing more than human skin bags, is it? You kill a few people, skin them, then refine the skins with your Tan’er Sect’s sinister thod, sew them into bags, and you can prevent the scent of Blood Food from leaking. Isn’t that so?"
The Cai Yi person beside Ninth Grandpa heard Shopkeeper Wu’s words but didn’t dare to answer, staring at him intently.
It was Ninth Grandpa who didn’t seem surprised at all. Instead, he chuckled softly. "You figured out that we left this batch of Blood Food here and guessed how we hid it. Why were you so patient, waiting a whole year for us to co without making a move? Oh, by the way, you don’t know our ’door-sweeping’ thod, so you couldn’t find it, is that right?"
Shopkeeper Wu replied coolly, "I indeed don’t know your door-sweeping thod, but I could guess roughly where it was hidden. This Manor is close to Old Yin Mountain. Even with the Red Lantern Lady’s lanterns hanging here, evil spirits have never ceased. Yet, for so reason, within a few miles of this place, nothing bizarre has ever happened. Did you think I wouldn’t notice sothing was amiss?"
The few porters stood dazed, oblivious to what was happening around them, and didn’t move.
However, the Cai Yi person was sowhat surprised. Seeing Shopkeeper Wu appear, they worried that people from the Red Lantern Society might be lurking nearby.
Only Ninth Grandpa remained unflustered. He slowly turned, loosening the rope that bit painfully into his shoulder, and tilted his ear slightly as if listening for sothing.
Suddenly, he chuckled, looking smug. "Wu, you have a few tricks up your sleeve, but don’t underestimate our Aunt Tan! As soon as we arrived, we knew you were lurking around here. Our people have all been called back, and those who remained are ready to extinguish the lanterns. What can the two of you possibly do against us?"
As his voice fell, the sound of footsteps suddenly rose from all around. Figures erged from the shadows—seven or eight more people. So were dressed as peddlers, others looked like street perforrs, but each cradled a large jar. They had been summoned earlier. Their arrival confird there was no ambush from the Red Lantern Society, and the number of Tan’er Sect mbers had suddenly multiplied.
"GRRR..."
The large black dog imdiately lowered its back, growling and poised to attack at any mont.
Unexpectedly, Shopkeeper Wu reached out and pressed down on the black dog’s back. His voice suddenly dropped. "I knew you could sense my presence, and I also knew you would definitely show up tonight. You couldn’t wait any longer. The human skin bags are failing, aren’t they? The scent of Blood Food will soon leak out... But I didn’t co here tonight to stop you. You can take this batch of Blood Food. I’ve already shouldered the bla for it. However..." He paused, then suddenly raised his head to look at Ninth Grandpa, his voice heavy. "I only ask one thing of you: spare my daughter. She’s still young. She still wants to live as a human..."
When these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked. Even the wind seed to fall silent.
The large black dog was even more stunned, turning its head to look at the old shopkeeper.
"I an this with all sincerity," Shopkeeper Wu continued, his voice earnest. "As long as you spare my daughter, I can make an oath... I... I can kowtow to you!"
As Shopkeeper Wu spoke, his knees buckled, and he actually knelt before Ninth Grandpa.
"Dad..." This scene made the large black dog extrely anxious. A slit appeared at the tip of its snout, and Wu He’s head erged from the dog skin, her eyes filled with tears. She tugged forcefully at Shopkeeper Wu. "Get up, Dad! Didn’t you say you’d bring here for revenge? Why are you kowtowing to them?"
"Revenge... revenge isn’t important..." Shopkeeper Wu reached out to touch her face, his eyes filled with anguish, and whispered, "But, my girl, you have to live..."
"Haha, well said..." This scene left the Tan’er Sect mbers utterly astonished. It was Ninth Grandpa who reacted first. He clapped slowly and said, "Old Wu, why didn’t you do this sooner? If you had listened to us last year and obediently joined us in consuming this batch of Blood Food, we would all be living comfortably in Old Yin Mountain by now. Perhaps your daughter would even be married, no longer needing to wear that dog skin."
"Yes, yes..." Shopkeeper Wu seed to have lost all backbone, repeatedly saying, "It was my disrespect toward Aunt Tan; I underestimated her thods. Now, I, Wu, understand her power. Please, help my daughter undo this Skill, will you?"
"Simple." Ninth Grandpa of the Tan’er Sect laughed smugly. "Our Aunt Tan was able to make her wear that dog skin, so naturally, she can take it off. Here’s the deal: you let us take this batch of Blood Food back. In three days, we’ll co and save her. How about that?"
"She can’t wait that long." Shopkeeper Wu pleaded, "Please help my daughter now... I’ll make a solemn vow right here. As long as you help undo it, you can take this batch of Blood Food. I absolutely won’t stop you."
Ninth Grandpa’s eyes flickered. Then, he slowly smiled. "But we’re currently short of the necessary tools. We can’t treat her right now..."
Shopkeeper Wu whispered, "If that’s the case, then just tell the thod to undo it. I can do it myself."
Ninth Grandpa stared at Shopkeeper Wu for a long ti without speaking. The jar on his back seed to move slightly. He suddenly smiled and said, "That could work. But this is our Secret Technique—no one else can hear it. Co closer, and I’ll teach it to you. How about that?"
Saying this, he tilted his body slightly, angling the large jar on his back towards Shopkeeper Wu.
Wu He, whose head was still poking out of the dog skin, shook it frantically. But Shopkeeper Wu took a deep breath, said, "Alright," and pushed himself up from the ground.
He didn’t even bother to dust off his knees. He walked straight to Ninth Grandpa and slowly extended his left hand towards the jar. But before he could touch it, there was a sudden CRACK! His arm was broken. A large chunk of flesh was missing from it, and a chewing sound ca from the jar on Ninth Grandpa’s back.
The old shopkeeper let out a muffled groan and staggered back a few steps, his left arm hanging limply by his side, trembling uncontrollably. But he forcibly endured the pain, his expression unchanged. He whispered, "Offering Aunt Tan a piece of my flesh is only right. But by now... shouldn’t you tell the thod?"
Ninth Grandpa suddenly burst into derisive laughter. His laughter was echoed by the Cai Yi people, then by the perforrs hiding in the night, still clutching their jars. Finally, even the few stiff-faced porters managed a wooden chuckle. Amidst the laughter, strange noises could be heard, as if the things inside their jars were laughing too.
"Shopkeeper Wu, aren’t you supposed to be clever?" Ninth Grandpa’s laughter ceased, and he spoke harshly. "How could you say sothing so foolish? Beast Creation is easy; becoming human again is hard. Once the human skin is shed, did you really think you could put it back on?"
Amidst the mocking laughter, only Shopkeeper Wu remained unsmiling. His expression tightened, yet he couldn’t hide the despair on his face. "So, there’s really no thod? Not even you, the ones who did this, have a thod?"
Ninth Grandpa laughed, staring intently at the old shopkeeper. "You also know thods for killing, but do you know a thod to bring the dead back to life?"
The old shopkeeper let out a low sigh, a sound filled with endless, lanting despair.
But the next mont, he suddenly looked up. His eyes turned sinister, shot through with blood-red streaks, and he whispered, "In that case... then none of you deserve to wear your skins either!"
As he spoke, he suddenly lunged forward. His right hand shot into the bag slung over his shoulder, pulling out an iron whip, which he brought down fiercely towards the jar on Ninth Grandpa’s back. As a third-tier Shousui man, his movents were incredibly fast and fierce. He was almost a blur in the shadows as the iron whip arced through the air with a howl, smashing heavily towards the large jar on Ninth Grandpa’s back.
"You dare to make a move?" At that exact mont, Ninth Grandpa and those around him cried out simultaneously. In the darkness, they all raised their jars in unison. Eerie sounds emanated from within. The next mont, a chilling wind swirled out, instantly ensnaring the old shopkeeper’s raised right hand, the whip in mid-air, and even both his legs. Surrounded by the Tan’er Sect, the formidable shopkeeper was captured the instant he made his move.
TSCHK! TSCHK! TSCHK!
The next mont, blood erupted from his right hand and both legs as large chunks of his flesh vanished, as if gnawed away by sothing unseen.
Yet, even then, Shopkeeper Wu seed to feel nothing, his gaze fixed coldly forward. He suddenly surged forward. His injured left arm, though hanging uselessly monts before, shot up, and he punched Ninth Grandpa squarely in the chest. He imdiately followed with a kick to Ninth Grandpa’s left shoulder, spinning him half around. The large jar on Ninth Grandpa’s back swung into view, and Shopkeeper Wu t it with another powerful kick.
The kicked jar trembled and cracked, and a pained shriek echoed from within. The surrounding Tan’er Sect mbers were shocked. This turn of events was so unexpected that Ninth Grandpa was injured by Shopkeeper Wu before they even realized what had happened.
Before they could react, a whimper was heard from the side. Wu He had once again pulled the dog head over her own and was charging fiercely at them.
"You..." Ninth Grandpa, severely injured by Shopkeeper Wu, rolled away to create distance, fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He growled in a low voice, "Did you use so kind of trick? A substitute?"
"Against low-class scum like you, did you think I wouldn’t have a few plans?" The old shopkeeper’s face was grim, his jaw muscles visibly clenching even in the darkness. He said in a heavy voice, "My girl, make your move! Let’s wipe out these villains, avenge your martial brothers, and then we’ll take this Blood Food and escape far away from here!"
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