Chapter Forty-One: Let Him Have a Head Start

I never locked my focus on Zong Hanlin from the start; in my eyes, the truly dangerous one was Zong Zheng, who had already become a corpse.

I struck the target twice with my blade, yet I saw no phosphorus fire drift from his body. This meant Zong Zheng’s spirit was not within him.

Zong Hanlin!

As the realization flashed through my mind, a lethal crisis erupted instantly from behind me. I clearly sensed someone reaching out with ghostly claws at my back. I immediately released my dagger, pressed my hands against Zong Zheng’s corpse, and vaulted forward, rolling a meter away. The sound of the wind whipped up by the ghostly claws ceased abruptly where I had been standing, only to chase after me again.

At that moment, I was still in a half-crouched position. If I rolled forward again, I certainly wouldn't be able to dodge the claws behind me.

"Ghost Seeks Life!" In the nick of time, I unleashed a lethal secret technique from the Scout’s Manual. My figure suddenly shifted three feet, moving from in front of my opponent to their rear diagonal, and I plunged my blade into their lower back.

Most of the "Twelve Blades of the Scout’s Fatal Strike" involve attacking from inconceivable angles, leaving the opponent with no way to defend. Although this move, "Ghost Seeks Life," covered a distance of less than two meters, it was enough to slip into a blind spot. The angle was tricky, the strike vicious; the opponent was doomed.

I still wanted to keep Zong Hanlin alive to get to the bottom of this, so although that strike looked fierce, the spot I hit was not fatal, and I had used an ordinary dagger. Just as my blade sank halfway into Zong Hanlin’s lower back, his figure erupted with force, and he bolted into the distance in a trail of blood.

Just as I was about to give chase, Zong Hanlin opened his mouth and Zong Zheng’s voice emerged: "Turn around and look at your companion!"

When I turned, I saw that Ye Huan, who had already swallowed the Black Tiger Malice, was now wreathed in black mist. His eyes were blood-red, and his tiger-like presence was even more intense, yet within that malevolent aura, there was a strange, demonic taint.

Damn it! Ye Huan had overindulged!

Ye Huan’s current state clearly showed he had absorbed too much malice and could not dissolve it. It was just like eating: no matter how much a person can eat, if they consume two or three times their usual portion at once, they will be stuffed to death. That was exactly Ye Huan’s situation! If this continued, even if the malice didn't invade his internal organs, the influence would drive him insane.

Zong Hanlin, who had already retreated to the edge of the courtyard, said, "There is a Malice-Suppressing Pill in the pocket of my corpse. One pill can sustain him for a day. Come to White Dragon Cliff within seven days to find me, otherwise, he will surely die."

Seeing my hesitation, Zong Hanlin added, "At this point, do you have any other choice? Even if you know it’s like drinking poison to quench thirst, you have to give him the pill."

"Think it over carefully!"

Though Zong Hanlin’s face wore a look of arrogance, his feet moved cautiously. Only when he saw me feed the pill to Ye Huan did he offer a cold smile and step out of the gate. "I’ll be waiting for you at White Dragon Cliff."

"Wait!" I said in a low voice. "Who are you?"

"Zong Zheng!" Zong Zheng laughed. "I am wounded today, so I won't chat with you further. We can talk in detail when you reach White Dragon Cliff!"

Zong Zheng left quickly. Shortly after he departed, Ye Huan curled his tongue and spat out the pill. His first words were, "Are you trying to get me killed?"

"You couldn't handle that much, yet you kept stuffing yourself!" I was nearly driven mad by him. "How do you feel now?"

"This Black Tiger Malice is indeed extraordinary; anyone else would have died for sure," Ye Huan said. "I’m fine, but I won't be able to fight for the next two or three days."

"That’s good," I nodded. "Let’s rest for the night and head to White Dragon Cliff tomorrow. Go inside; I’ll take care of the body."

Scouts are more adept at disposing of bodies than common gangsters. As long as no one is watching, I can scrub away every trace in twenty minutes. I used my dagger to cut several gashes into Zong Zheng’s corpse and poured in a bit of "Underworld Sand." The body and its clothing rapidly turned to dust. Before I had even finished a cigarette, the hundred-plus-pound corpse had become a pile of fine, sea-like sand.

I flicked my cigarette butt into the sand pile, and the "sand" on the ground emitted a series of squeaks, transforming into several thin streams that burrowed into the brick gaps. Ye Huan, who had been watching in stunned silence, saw the last thread of yellow sand about to vanish into the ground and hurriedly intercepted the grit with his wooden sword, bringing it before his eyes.

Only then did he see the true nature of the yellow sand: they were clearly tiny insects curled into balls.

"These are Gu insects?" Ye Huan asked in surprise. "These work better than corpse-dissolving liquid?"

"Corpse-dissolving liquid was fine for ancient times, but it’s useless in front of modern forensics," I replied. "What you’re holding aren't really Gu insects; they are demonic insects from the underworld recorded in the Scout’s Manual, specifically for consuming corpses. You only need to drop a few, and they will breed rapidly until the body is completely consumed. However, this 'Underworld Sand' fears Yang energy. Once they finish the body, exposing them to the sun burns them to ash. This is the safest method."

I then asked him, "What do you guys use to destroy evidence?"

"Bandits don't usually use this stuff!" Ye Huan scratched his head. "If I have no other choice, I summon hungry ghosts to eat the corpse."

I nearly bit my own tongue. "Summoning hungry ghosts? You really are reckless!"

Hungry ghosts are notoriously difficult to deal with in the cycle of reincarnation. Although small, they are countless in number. If not controlled properly, not only would the practitioner be eaten down to the bone, but every living thing within a hundred miles could suffer.

From now on, I’ll handle the disposal of corpses. This guy Ye Huan is far too unreliable.

Ye Huan watched me cleaning up the scene. "When you told me to eat the Black Tiger Malice earlier, did you already suspect something?"

I replied, "I did see that Zong Zheng had a hidden agenda; otherwise, I wouldn't have targeted him first. You see, children grow up to be like those who raised them, especially in character and conduct. The idea that Zong Ren was so vicious and cruel because of his biological father is unlikely. It’s far more probable that he resembled Zong Zheng. Moreover, Zong Zheng agreed too easily, which was the complete opposite of how he acted earlier, risking his life to protect Zong Hanlin."

"At that moment, I wondered if Zong Zheng might have had the same ideas as Zong Ren, or perhaps he was the one pulling the strings when Zong Ren refined the Black Tiger Malice. When I told you to swallow it, I had already locked my target on Zong Zheng. In my plan, once you consumed the malice, we would have bargaining power with him. I just didn't expect the Black Tiger Malice to be so powerful."

"But that’s fine. The two old men have already gone to White Dragon Cliff. Zong Zheng won't gain much by going there now. We’ll wait a day and give him a head start."