Chapter 22: The End
Chapter 22: The End
The rainwater was murky, the city deadly silent.
The gravely injured Water Ghost raced forward in desperate flight.
The collapsed buildings around it, corpses on the ground, and randomly disposed trash blurred into gray-yellow streaks in its view.
It darted through the narrow alleys and leaped over crumbled courtyard walls.
There before it was a decrepit courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard, an ancient square well was bathing in the pouring rain.
The Water Ghost’s eyes widened with a desperate yearning.
Whoosh!
The body, already pushed to its limits, exerted force once more.
Its slender legs, like springs filled with power, thrust forward violently, gaining speed instantly.Crack!
In the sky, a thunderclap exploded.
A dark, expanding figure, monstrous as a mountain with disheveled hair, appeared starkly in front of the Water Ghost, backlit by the lightning.
This man was none other than Su Heng!
"Running!?"
Su Heng grinned ferociously, his teeth chillingly white.
He spread his arms wide as his veins bulged alarmingly, his sleeves tearing inch by inch to reveal the horrifyingly twisted muscles beneath.
"Where do you think you’re running!" Su Heng laughed wildly.
He spread his five fingers, each one glowing red-hot like a heated copper pillar, smoking.
Hiss—
Su Heng slapped down with one hand.
The air tore with a piercing howl like a chorus of wild beasts.
The Water Ghost’s eyes tore, its body trembled violently, the dark demonic hand looming and swelling swiftly in its sight, obscuring everything in a blink.
No escape, no resistance.
Bang!
At that critical moment.
Its body rapidly contracted, curling tightly, its arms wrapped in front forming a fuzzy green meatball.
Under immense pressure, the meatball was squashed and deformed, emitting a series of crisp cracks.
The deformed body of the Water Ghost was flung backward.
The dirt-yellow wall behind it collapsed, burying it, sounds of struggling emanating from underneath.
However, Su Heng smashed down with another fist.
Boom!
The collapsed wall exploded into rubble, a pool of dark green blood mingling with the rain.
"Huff…"
Su Heng breathed heavily, allowing the rain to fall on him.
It turned into streams, flowing over his chiseled chest, soaking his entire body.
He waved his hand.
The disfigured body of the Water Ghost was lifted in his hand.
The rich scent of blood stimulated Su Heng’s taste buds, his saliva thickening. His stomach also growled, sending signals of hunger to his brain.
Su Heng looked up at the sky.
The heavy rain continued, but it slowly subsided.
The heavens were tumultuous; the once dark skies showed a slit, a hint of golden light filtering through.
"It’s over…"
Su Heng heard footsteps mixed with the rainfall.
These were the clerks attracted by the noise and the Protectors from the Su Family estate.
Su Heng had no inclination to explain himself to them, nor did he have any desire for worldly rewards or honors.
The pressing matter,
Was to properly dispose of the Water Ghost’s corpse in his hands.
Just a small piece of flesh from the Water Ghost could trigger mutations in the meridians, bringing a significant increase in attribute points.
And now, with the entire corpse of the Water Ghost in his hands, he could extract over a hundred pounds of fresh flesh.
Such an amount...
Could allow him to perfect several of his Cultivation Techniques in a short period of time.
After all, every part of a demon’s body is a treasure.
This would undoubtedly bring Su Heng many unexpected additional gains.
Swish!
At that thought.
Su Heng, fighting fatigue, blinked and disappeared into the curtain of rain.
Rustle!
The rain continued to fall.
Not long after Su Heng left, a group of figures cloaked in straw raincoats and wielding swords and sabers appeared in the abandoned courtyard.
The martial master Zhao Hu from the Su Family, and the hired experts of the Xue Family and He Family who spent a great deal of money.
New gang members from Changqing County, along with the government officials and the County Magistrate Chou Cai, were all among them.
Among these forces.
Some were openly hostile, others harbored hidden murderous intents.
But at this moment, looking at the ground pocked with pits as if bombarded, and the collapsed courtyard walls, earthen towers, and houses along the way.
All faces were stunned into silence, unable to utter a word for a long time.
"The water ghost…the monster is dead!" It was the chief registrar who spoke up, breaking the silence at the scene.
In the largest crater in the courtyard, nearly one meter in diameter, lay a patch of foul-smelling dark green blood at the bottom.
Undoubtedly.
That was the blood of the water ghost.
One could imagine its tragic death.
A punch that came from the heavens ripped through the body with fierce, exaggerated force, leaving a crater in the hard ground.
"This punch, I fear, could have even pierced through the city gate of Changqing County."
Chou Cai squatted on the ground.
He extended his fist, compared it to the crater in front of him, and then couldn’t help but shudder, swallowing his saliva dryly.
"Is this really something humanly possible?" a fierce-looking gang leader exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Regardless, Changqing County is bound to change in the future," said a Xue Family expert with a smile of resignation on his face.
Originally, Changqing County had four major families.
But due to the water ghost, the Xu Family among the four families had been wiped out.
The numerous businesses and shops left by the Xu Family were seized by the remaining three major families. Due to the uneven distribution of benefits, they almost came to blows, creating numerous conflicts.
Now…
Seeing this scene in front of them, they knew that the past disputes would never arise again.
Even the remaining two major families, and even the Changqing County government itself, would have to find ways to ingratiate themselves with the Su Family.
...
...
...
Carrying the remains of the water ghost, Su Heng returned to his small courtyard in the Ninth Lane.
Based on previous experience, the best way to extract the greatest value from the flesh and blood of the water ghost was to mix a portion of demon meat with a large amount of ordinary food.
And if so.
Hundreds of pounds of demon meat would not be consumable all at once.
And since water ghosts could spread plague, it was very likely that they carried some elements harmful to ordinary people.
Therefore, Su Heng planned to dig a basement in his courtyard.
Specifically for storage and research.
As soon as he thought of it, he acted.
Su Heng roughly sketched out a blueprint for the basement, then started working.
With his immense strength and the help of craftsmen, the construction progressed rapidly. In less than a day, a rudimentary basement appeared beneath Su Heng’s bedroom.
Although it lacked any extra facilities.
Su Heng was very satisfied.
He knew that in the days following the turmoil, many would come to his residence to disturb him.
So, after the basement was completed, Su Heng simply stayed inside to meditate in seclusion, focusing on studying the peculiarities of the water ghost’s corpse.
As for the affairs outside, he left them all to his father, Su Gui, to handle.
Even when it came to eating every day,
He had someone deliver the food to his bedroom.
Thus,
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Unexpectedly, Su Heng indeed found something surprising on the corpse of the water ghost.