The night breeze blew gently as we stood hiding in the Zen room near the courtyard.
After waiting for a while without seeing the monster appear, the three of us started chatting.
"I heard you two have learned some skills recently?" Zhu asked casually, his eyes glancing outside.
"We sought some teachings from a master of the Zheng school," the fat man replied with a cheerful smile.
"What did you learn?" I asked.
"I'm practicing a set of exercises called 'Wudang Five Elements Gong,' but it seems to have no obvious effect. After a month of practice, I just feel a bit more energized, with no other special reactions," I honestly stated. The skills that Master Yu taught me at the time were indeed focusing on establishing a foundation. It was not a quick-fix method, and I didn't feel any sign of the Five Elements energy during practice. What Master Yu taught sounded mysterious and profound, but it didn't seem useful to me.
The fat man scratched his head and said with a smile, "I'm practicing 'Shen Da'."
"Oh?" Zhu became interested upon hearing this. "Can you already summon the ancestral spirits?"
"Not yet, Master Han said it would take another month of practice to summon the spirit child, and it would take five or six years to summon the ancestral spirit."
Compared to my foundation training, the skill of 'Shen Da' that Master Han taught to the fat man could be considered a quick course. The term 'Shen Da' originated from Maoshan, and its literal meaning is understood as immortal fighting. The practitioner would diligently train according to the techniques taught by the master, and after a certain period, they would be able to request the presence of an immortal for assistance. It was said that someone proficient in Shen Da could be as powerful as an immortal, and dealing with demons and ghosts would be a piece of cake.
However, neither of us had actually experienced it, so no matter how amazing these skills were, we would still be in trouble if someone started shooting at us.
"Your skill is quite impressive. Years ago, when I was traveling in Shu, I met an old master of Shen Da who performed an astonishing feat - he pierced a steel plate with bare hands and wasn't injured by knives or axes at all. It was very impressive."
While we were still chatting, it was about half past nine in the night and suddenly there was movement in the courtyard of Xuaming Temple!
Zhuzi immediately made a hushing gesture and the three of us peeked out to see the situation in the courtyard.
In the moonlight, the courtyard appeared quite bright, and that nightmare-like green military coat made another appearance for me! The weirdo finally arrived...
He slowly walked to the well, dragging something in his hand. At that moment, I looked down and was shocked to see a trail of blood where he had walked. What he was holding in his hand was probably some dead creature!
Sure enough, at that moment the weirdo slowly took off his military coat, and it was the first time I truly saw his body. His naked body was pale, with no color in every inch of his skin, just like his face. He was completely barefoot and very thin, with visible rib bones protruding beneath his skin. But the most striking feature I observed was that near the back of his neck there seemed to be a scar, resembling some kind of brand, but it was far enough that I couldn't see it clearly even though I stared wide-eyed.
"What the hell is that weirdo holding in his hand?"
Fatty asked in a hushed voice.
It was only then that I shifted my gaze from the weirdo's body to what he was holding in his hand, a white bundle that looked like an animal. It seemed to be another "dead cat" like thing to me. At that moment, the weirdo threw the thing he was holding onto the ground, and as it landed, I could see clearly that it was actually a white puppy!
There was a terrible gash on its neck, with a large hole pierced through its entire neck! All the blood on the ground had come from this puppy!
"It's a dead dog."
Fatty said in surprise. His voice must have been too loud and it suddenly alerted the weirdo in the courtyard. The weirdo looked around vigilantly, bent down and sniffed the air with his nose. Then, he slowly walked in our direction...
Li Dunzhu waved his hand, motioning for us to step back. Fatty and I quickly gripped the bone knives that we kept in our pockets, knives that might finally come in handy after being polished by Old Yu!
The three of us retreated to the edge of the meditation room's wall. By this time, the weirdo had reached the door of the meditation room, growling low in his mouth, as if declaring that this was his territory.
Zhuzi also looked serious, putting on thick gloves and then placing both hands on his waist. The belt at his waist was fastened with two black weapons that looked like steel needles.
The distance between the two sides was getting closer, and the confrontation was inevitable! Fatty frowned, and I clenched my lips tightly. The first two times, I was naturally afraid to face this weirdo alone, but this time my brothers were with me, so I had a little more courage!
At that moment, the weirdo finally stood at the door of the meditation room and reached out to push the wooden door open.
"Creak..."
The wooden door slowly opened, and the long-unused rivets made an unpleasant, ear-piercing noise. The weirdo's black eyes appeared in front of me once again, and then Zhuzi shouted, "Attack!"
Fatty reacted faster than me, gripping the bone knife in one hand and wielding a short-handled shovel in the other as he charged forward.
Big Brother Zhuzi was the closest to the weirdo, and by now, he had rushed to the weirdo's front and suddenly pulled out the two weapons from the belt buckle on his waist, thrusting his arms forward and stabbing the weirdo in the chest!
The steel needles pierced through the chest, and dark red blood immediately flowed along the black needles. However, the weirdo, just like when I had stabbed his arm before, seemed completely immune to pain and kicked Zhuzi away without showing any signs of pain.
His strength was astonishing. Zhuzi was already small, and at that moment, he was tossed into the air as if he were flying before landing a second later. Meanwhile, Fatty had also reached the weirdo, using all his strength to viciously strike the weirdo's head with the shovel. The impact was great, and the weirdo's bones made a "crack, crack" sound as his body fell backwards.
Fatty showed a happy expression, thinking that if he could knock the weirdo down, rushing up to stab the guy's head a few times would definitely end him!
At such a life-threatening moment, who would care whether this guy was a human or a monster! Self-preservation was the top priority, and other matters could be considered later.
However, to our surprise, the weirdo didn't fall down. On the contrary, his arms swung backward, and his bones twisted in a way that a human body couldn't, before he braced himself and prevented his almost falling body from hitting the ground.
"Damn!"
The fat guy was in a hurry and didn't care about that. He raised the bone dagger and killed it. The strange man screamed and mysteriously bounced up from the ground, and then firmly supported the fat man's arm after standing still!
The big fat man of two hundred catties was lifted up by the seemingly skinny strange man. The fat man shouted in the air, and then he was thrown out by the strange man, falling to the ground in pain.
I held the bone dagger, my heart pounding. The strange man was indeed more powerful than I had imagined. He was able to catch up with our bus abnormally, indicating his skilled ability. The second time he chased me into the well, he didn't feel anything even when cut by my dagger. Now, in this third encounter, not only was he incredibly strong, but he also seemed to be beyond the category of ordinary animals.
The fat man covered his waist, probably hit by something. There were visible signs of abrasion on Zhu's face, and he had just taken a blow in the front that would probably require some time to recover from.
I held the bone dagger and involuntarily took a few steps back. The strange man slowly grasped the steel needle in his hand, pulling it out bit by bit. Smoke inexplicably emerged from the strange man's wound as he pulled out the steel needle, as if burned.
"Xiao Shan, don't just stand there, do it!"
Zhu shouted at me, and I took a deep breath, gripping the dagger and moving in for the kill. At that moment, there was no time to think about tactics or strategies, there were no words, just a battle!
The strange man roared frightfully and charged towards me. I, too, was absolutely determined and focused on battling him. At twenty, with youthful vigor, I could not bear the previous two incidents, and this time I was prepared for a desperate struggle.
The Zen room was so small that we collided within a few steps. I felt the bone dagger in my hand pierce the strange man's chest, and it felt like poking into rotten mud.
The strange man roared and bit towards my neck. At the critical moment, Zhu jumped up from the ground and grabbed the strange man's neck from behind, and it was only then that I saw the sharp teeth like razor blades in the strange man's mouth!