Just A Daoist Who Occasionally Kicks Ass
Chapter 77: Turning Hostile!

Chapter 77: Turning Hostile!

“Familiar?” Bai Hongtu asked suspiciously. “Don’t tell me that it’s another woman from your past? What now, even ghosts can’t escape your charm?”

Li Yanchu replied nonchalantly, “I’m not you.”

Hearing this, Bai Hongtu choked on his words, his face flushing red. He promptly shut his mouth.

Li Yanchu was a little surprised. The ghosts he had encountered before had never shown this level of ability to completely conceal their deathly aura.

Wait... no. That fake City God had managed to pass as the real thing.

But what came to his mind wasn’t the fake City God. On that day, the imposter had been completely obliterated in the spiritual battle, his soul scattered and destroyed beyond doubt.

Bai Hongtu frowned and said, “What do we do? Fight or not? With such a grand entrance, those things have clearly become demons.”

Before Li Yanchu could respond, the wedding procession came to a halt, stopping about three zhang in front of them.

Two of the litter bearers reached out and lifted the curtain, but inside, the litter was empty. Then the lead suona player stepped forward and walked right up to them.

“Greetings, Daoist Master Yanchu, Young Master Bai. My lady has sent us specifically to invite you both to her residence for a conversation.”

The suona player looked shrewd and clever, his eyes quick and alert. His demeanor was polite and respectful.

Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu exchanged glances.

Bai Hongtu sneered, “And who exactly is your lady? If she’s inviting us, why send a wedding litter to do it?”

The suona player replied respectfully, “I’m not at liberty to speak her name. But once you meet her, you’ll understand. As for the litter, my lady instructed us specifically to invite Young Master Bai to ride in it.”

Even in such a bizarre and eerie situation, Li Yanchu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“So it turns out,” Li Yanchu said, blinking, “some young lady’s taken a liking to you and sent a wedding litter to pick you up for marriage?”

Bai Hongtu shot him a glare, then turned to the sharp-eyed young man and asked, “Did your lady wrong you in some way?”

The young man, still smiling, replied with deference, “My lady’s grace is as vast as a mountain. How could she bear me a grudge? Young Master, you jest.”

“That’s strange then,” Bai Hongtu said with a cold smile. “If she doesn’t hate you, why send you out at midnight with a bunch like this, carrying a bridal litter to fetch the two of us?”

He narrowed his eyes. “If you know my name, then you should know my principles. I do not tolerate dealings with evil spirits. Sending you here, what else could it be but a death sentence?”

The young man bowed respectfully. “My lady instructed me to say: If the two of you wish to learn the truth about the Elixir of Immortality and Lady Qingyi, then please accompany us to her estate. If not, you may strike us down now. We apologize for disturbing you so late at night.”

At this time, Bai Hongtu and Li Yanchu fell silent and exchanged glances. Bai Hongtu seemed tempted to go investigate.

After all, whether it was the “Elixir of Immortality” or “Lady Qingyi,” these were the very matters that had been stirring up trouble throughout Weicheng.

He hesitated, then said thoughtfully, “If that’s the case, I’ll go with you.”

As a young man with a sense of justice, he felt compelled to uncover the truth behind all of this. And truth be told, it was rather thrilling. It was just the kind of thing that fascinated someone his age.

That mysterious lady... had successfully piqued his interest.

“Wait.” Li Yanchu raised his hand and stopped him.

“What is it?” Bai Hongtu asked.

Li Yanchu said calmly, “You’re really just going to go with him? Aren’t you the least bit suspicious about what might be inside that litter?”

Bai Hongtu’s expression changed as he turned to look at the bright red bridal litter.

Li Yanchu’s tone grew solemn. “It’s true that I said this setup felt familiar. But we still don’t know whether the other party is friend or foe. There’s no need to throw yourself into danger just to uncover some secret.”

A thoughtful look flickered in Bai Hongtu’s eyes as Li Yanchu turned to the sharp-eyed young man and gave a gentle smile.

“Your lady really said that? Word for word?”

The young man nodded. “Exactly as I said.”

Li Yanchu nodded slightly. “Good. Otherwise, I’d seem too unreasonable.”

Bang!

Without warning, Li Yanchu slammed a fist straight into the young man’s head. His skull cracked open, not in a gory mess of flesh and blood, but like a shattered butterfly, dispersing into fragments.

“Since you’ve come, why don’t you all stay?”

Li Yanchu, like a tiger charging down a mountain, lunged straight at the eight litter bearers and three musicians.

Bang!

Bang!

With his strengthened Divine Astral Hands, Li Yanchu’s punches and kicks now carried more than a thousand jin of force. These strange, unidentified ghost creatures were crushed without suspense. Terror twisted the faces of the litter bearers as they turned to flee with the litter.

Although Bai Hongtu had just been considering boarding the litter to investigate, now that Li Yanchu had made a move, he immediately unleashed three or four talismans! Blazing flames ignited the litter bearers in an instant, and screams rang out as they were burned to ashes.

“Human skin?” Bai Hongtu’s eyes turned cold.

Just moments ago, when the fire pierced through one of the litter bearers, he’d seen an empty shell. There were no internal organs, no flesh or blood. Together, the two of them struck like a storm sweeping fallen leaves, slaughtering all twelve of the mysterious litter bearers and musicians!

Bai Hongtu frowned. “Was it the same person you encountered at the Five Lakes Gang’s territory?”

Li Yanchu had once told him that back at the Five Lakes Gang’s main hall, he encountered a strange practitioner skilled in the Art of Skin Painting, a bizarre and rare cultivation path.

Not only could this person simultaneously control two human-skin puppets, but they could also create flying creatures made from human skin.

Li Yanchu said in a low voice, “It should be the same thing, though last time, it didn’t seem like human skin, more like fish skin or something similar. But this time, the more I look at it, the more sinister it seems. It really does look like human skin.”

Bai Hongtu said bitterly, “Human skin, fish skin... Whatever it is, anyone who practices this kind of dark art can’t be anything good.”

Li Yanchu smirked. “And yet just now, you almost rode in her wedding litter.”

Bai Hongtu’s expression froze, and he protested, “That was for the sake of tracking down the truth behind the Immortality Elixir and Lady Qingyi. I was hoping it’d draw out whoever’s behind all this.”

Li Yanchu chuckled. “Well, it’s not too late now.”

Hearing this, Bai Hongtu blinked, and his eyes lit up. “You mean...?”

Li Yanchu nodded. “We’ll use qi tracking. We’ll follow the qi trail and find out exactly who’s behind this.”

Bai Hongtu suddenly asked, “And how’s that any different from just getting into the litter earlier?”

Li Yanchu replied, “That litter was suspicious. What if you got in and were immediately controlled or disappeared entirely?”

Just as he spoke, the red bridal litter before them abruptly vanished into thin air right before their eyes.

Instantly, Bai Hongtu’s expression changed. “You called it!”

Li Yanchu added with a cold tone, “And besides, she invited us out in the dead of night, do we just show up like obedient little guests? That’s giving her too much face. We’ll go, but on our terms.”

Bai Hongtu straightened his back, eyes brightening. “Exactly! That’s the right attitude.”

Li Yanchu then activated the Art of Pursuit, following the lingering aura left behind and set off in pursuit.