I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 48 Drawing the Sword! (Two Chapters Combined)

"Who?"

Chen Mo, with all six senses activated, stared intently at the courtyard gate and shouted a question.

A strange voice came from outside.

"I am Li Wenqing, the newly appointed county magistrate. Beside me is Li Yu, the county clerk. Please allow us to enter and have a chat."

At this moment, another male voice rang out, "Thank you, Second Young Master Chen, for sending Ma San to deliver the message earlier. Only then did I realize that the Xie family had suffered a terrible fate."

All the details matched, so it must be true. Chen Mo immediately opened the door. He saw a man standing outside and a refined middle-aged man in a green official robe.

Judging from their official robes, Chen Mo could tell who they were. He bowed slightly and said, "I am Chen Mo. Please come in, gentlemen."

Li Yu was preoccupied with thoughts of his wife, feeling anxious and listless, keeping his head down the whole way.

Li Wenqing looked around and saw that Chen Mo had gathered people together and lit several large bonfires, causing flames to soar into the sky and the courtyard to be scorching hot. He couldn't help but feel admiration and thought to himself: "Young Master Chen is so thoughtful. He knows how to gather people together and light fires to ward off evil spirits."

Upon entering the living room, Chen Yinfu immediately stood up to greet him, "It's the middle of the night, why trouble the County Magistrate to come to our door?"

Li Wenqing readily agreed, "I just visited the Xie residence and saw the tragic state of the Xie family. Upon learning that your son had visited the Xie residence this afternoon, I rushed over to ask him a few questions."

Chen Yinfu welcomed Li Wenqing to the seat of honor and then had Haitang serve tea to the two gentlemen.

Li Wenqing drank his tea and noticed the red candle on the table. He was surprised again: the Chen family really had something special about them.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Mo spoke up, "May I ask what you wish to ask me so late at night, sir?"

Li Wenqing was a capable man and had already prepared his answer. He said, "Please tell me the details of your meeting and conversation with Master Xie this afternoon, the more detailed the better."

Chen Mo agreed and recounted his detailed conversation with Master Xie that afternoon in detail. He explained everything except the matter of the album.

After listening attentively and pondering for a while, Li Wenqing said, "So, the Xie family was wiped out because Third Master Xie and Granny Li had an old grudge. It's such a pity that Third Master Xie was so talented."

After a moment of reflection, Li Wenqing asked, "Young Master Chen sent a guard named Ma San to inform my second brother. I wonder if that guard is still here?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu, who had been feeling down, raised his head and looked at Chen Mo with anticipation.

Seeing Li Yu's expression, Chen Mo wondered if something had happened to Li Yu's wife.
But he didn't ask any further questions, simply stating, "Ma San has not yet returned."

Li Yu lowered his head again, urging Li Wenqing to leave with his eyes.

Knowing his younger brother's eagerness to find his wife, Li Wenqing stood up and casually added, "I suspect that Li Hongxi might come to the Chen residence. Young Master Chen, you need to be extra careful. If you encounter anything amiss, immediately start a large fire. I will come to exorcise the evil spirits once I see it."

Upon hearing that Li Wenqing possessed methods for exorcising evil spirits, Chen Mo seized the opportunity to ask, "May I ask, sir, if Li Hongxi were to enter the house, what methods are there to deal with her?"

Li Wenqing explained the method as if it were a familiar story: "Li Hongxi is a vengeful ghost tainted by dampness, which shows that she has been living in the dark underwater world for a long time. Generally speaking, this kind of ghost is afraid of fire. Even if fire cannot harm her, it can weaken her strength."

Furthermore, the intense internal energy of an internal martial arts master could also injure her. However, internal martial arts masters are extremely rare, and the Chen family likely doesn't possess such a person. Besides, consecrated black peach wood and five-emperor coins could also severely injure her.

After saying that, Li Wenqing took off the waist knife hanging at his waist and introduced it with a bit of pride, "For example, this machete was forged by a Taoist priest in Nanyang Prefecture. It is made of consecrated black peach wood and inlaid with a large number of consecrated Five Emperors coins. If you use this knife, you can kill her. Apart from that, ordinary martial artists have no way to deal with her."

Chen Mo was somewhat relieved upon hearing this and said, "To be honest, sir, Li Hongxi has already arrived at the Chen residence. At this moment, she is probably watching us closely from all sides."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu immediately raised his head, his gaze complex.

Li Wenqing also became interested: "Really?"

Chen Mo recounted the story of Erniu Tiezhu being hanged, and concluded by saying, "Ghosts are dangerous, and I dare not trouble you, sir, to take the risk. If you would be so kind as to lend me your knife, I would be eternally grateful."

Li Wenqing suddenly said boldly, "Young Master Chen underestimates me by saying that. Although I am not an internal martial arts master, I learned the art of exorcising evil spirits from a Taoist priest in Nanyang Prefecture. I am here in Honghe County on duty because I have been entrusted by my master, the prefect, to eliminate evil spirits and protect the people."

Having said that, Li Wenqing stood up, knife in hand, exuding an aura of righteous indignation in front of everyone. “I have been in Honghe County for more than two months, but I have not eliminated any evil spirits and have not accomplished anything. I am ashamed before the people and have failed my mentor. Now, by sheer coincidence, I will use Li Hongxi’s head to give my mentor a report of victory.”

Seeing Li Wenqing, who had been so composed just moments before, suddenly become so confident, Chen Mo couldn't help but feel uneasy and reminded him, "Sir, the evil spirit is ruthless and has wiped out the entire Xie family. We must not be careless."

Li Wenqing laughed and said, "Young Master Chen has not yet mastered martial arts, nor has he learned any exorcism skills, so it is reasonable for you to be afraid of evil spirits. I am not afraid at all. When the evil spirits come, you can retreat far away."

At this point, Li Wenqing glanced at everyone present and solemnly reminded them, "Remember, if evil spirits come, you mortals must not approach me, lest you cause me trouble. Just watch me kill that scoundrel."

Chen Mo couldn't help but wonder: Lord Li is probably overestimating himself...

If Li Wenqing is really that capable, why didn't Master Xie seek his help earlier? After all, they are related.

Just then, there was another knock on the courtyard gate.

dong dong dong.

The crisp sound silenced the entire room.

The next moment, a woman's voice came from outside.

"My lord, are you inside?"

……

The voice was hoarse and low, which, in this tense atmosphere, made it seem even more sinister and terrifying.

The servants, who were warming themselves by the fire in the courtyard, all hunched their shoulders back.

Li Yu, who had been sitting listlessly in the living room, seemed to have heard heavenly music and hurriedly walked out of the living room without thinking.

"Yes, I'm here, my wife!"

Before Li Yu could run two steps, Li Wenqing grabbed him, "Second brother, don't be impulsive. This matter may be a trap. Let me use the evil-repelling mirror to check it."

Li Yu was clearly displeased, but considering it was his elder brother's good intention, he did not disobey. "My wife must have been frightened, it must have been very difficult for her. You can take a picture secretly, but please don't let my wife know, lest you hurt her feelings."

Li Wenqing doted on his younger brother, saying, "I know my limits."

After saying that, the two brothers left the living room in full view of everyone and went straight to the courtyard gate to greet the guests.

At that moment, Chen Mo tightened his grip on the hilt of the broadsword.

He felt something was off, but since she was the wife of the magistrate, Chen Mo naturally couldn't interfere too much.

Just in case, Chen Mo still felt he had to do something, so he looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Chen Wu.

"Chen Wu, light the red candles."

Chen Wu was delighted that his second brother would ask him to help at such a crucial moment. He immediately picked up the tinderbox on the table and was about to light the red candle.

Seeing his clueless look, Chen Mo shook his head helplessly, "Using a tinderbox won't work, do as I say..."

Chen Wu was obedient and immediately did as Chen Mo said. He knelt down beside the long table, bowed to the Red Lantern Goddess, bit his finger, and dripped a drop of blood onto the candle wick.

stab~
Red candles are lit.

It emitted a faint, dark red glow and swayed gently in the breeze.

In an instant, everyone's attention was drawn to the red candle on the table. Looking at the flickering flame, a strange sense of peace welled up inside them.

Squeak!

The courtyard door opened.

A pale-faced, thin woman entered. As soon as she entered, she threw herself into Li Yu's arms, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Husband, A-Xia has been possessed by an evil spirit. I ran out to find you with all my might, and I was so scared."

Seeing his wife's tearful heart, Li Yu felt his heart breaking. "I've been searching everywhere for you, my wife. Heaven has taken pity on me and let me find you. It's cold outside, come in with me quickly."

After saying this, Li Yu helped Xie Cui into the room.

Li Wenqing, who was standing nearby, secretly took out a palm-sized bronze mirror from his inner sleeve pocket. The mirror was inlaid with five ancient coins, and he looked at Xie Cui. Seeing that he found nothing unusual, he put the mirror away, thinking to himself: Xie Cui is lucky to have escaped this calamity.

The three entered the living room, and Li Yu helped Xie Cui sit down at the long table, moving the stove closer.

Chen Mo activated his six senses and glanced at Xie Cui, but found nothing unusual. However, he still used his cheat ability and indeed saw a square on her body.

Three black bars.

There is another line of text:

[Original solution detected!]

Although there are currently no recognition attempts, it cannot be identified.

The three black bars and the subtitles clearly indicated that Xie Cui was a ghost. However, she was, after all, the wife of the envoy, and Chen Mo couldn't rashly attack her without her showing any unusual behavior. Moreover, Chen Mo wasn't entirely confident; it would be best to send Li Wenqing to scout the route…

Chen Mo secretly stood in front of his parents and noticed that Xie Cui's gaze was fixed on the red candle.

The next moment, Xie Cui spoke up, "This must be the red candle bestowed by the Goddess of the Red Lantern, right? Being near the red candle really makes one feel much more at ease. I wonder where you bought it?"

As she spoke, Xie Cui moved closer to the red candle, appearing both reassured and curious. Nothing seemed amiss about it.

Chen Mo thought to himself: She was able to get close to the red candle; it's said that red candles have the effect of warding off evil spirits. I wonder if the red candle will work on her.

Chen Mo immediately became extremely vigilant, narrowing his eyes: "I'm looking for Granny Li..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xie Cui blew out the red candle.

The next moment, a biting cold wind swept out of the bedroom, instantly extinguishing the six bonfires in the yard.

The entire atrium immediately turned dark and gloomy.

Immediately afterwards, Xie Cui, with her disheveled hair, suddenly let out a sinister, childlike voice, "Hehe, without the protection of the red candle, none of you... will survive!"

……

In an instant, everyone, including Chen Mo, felt their hair stand on end, and a chill ran from their heads to their toes.

Even the most foolish person would know that something was wrong with Xie Cui.

Chen Mo knew that the red candle didn't seem to have a fatal restraining effect on the possessed evil spirit, but the other party still blew out the red candle before revealing its true form, which showed that it was still afraid of the red candle.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo immediately grabbed his knife and stood in front of his parents, instructing Chen Wu: "Quickly light the red candles."

Chen Wu snapped out of his daze after hearing his second brother's words. He immediately picked up the red candle and tried to light it by dripping blood on it, but he couldn't get it to light no matter what he did. He was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat. "I don't know how the wick got damp and went out."

Chen Mo didn't hesitate and immediately made a decision: "Stand behind me and protect our family!"

Although Chen Wu was afraid, he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, protecting Xiao Yu'er, Er Niang, and the others behind him. His expression was resolute, displaying the spirit of a true man.

Just then——

Clang!

Li Wenqing suddenly drew his sword and slashed at Xie Cui while shouting to the crowd, "You are all just ordinary people, don't come near me!"

Just as Li Wenqing's knife was about to strike Xie Cui, he suddenly lost his footing and nearly fell to the ground, the knife missing its mark. Looking down, he saw Li Yu kneeling on the ground, clinging to his leg, almost pleading with tears in his eyes.

"Big brother, she's your sister-in-law."

"I thought you were just infatuated, and that you were a sensible and reasonable person. I never imagined you would be so foolish! Get out!" Li Wenqing was furious and kicked Li Yu away.

This single kick was enough to demonstrate Li Wenqing's extraordinary strength.

He was already a master at the peak of the Blood Refining Realm.

His blood and qi were surging, making him even stronger than Liu Mazi.

Unable to withstand the force, Li Yu flew more than ten feet, crashing into the doorway and then sliding down it to the ground. He was somewhat deranged, curled up on the ground, crying out in grief.

"Brother, she's your sister-in-law. Please have mercy. She won't hurt us."

"Nonsense! You believe in evil spirits? Don't forget we are officials of the imperial court!" Li Wenqing shouted angrily, then ignored Li Yu and once again raised his sword to slash at Xie Cui.

The strike was powerful and swift, reaching Xie Cui in the blink of an eye. But Xie Cui didn't dodge; she simply raised her hand and gripped the blade. No matter how hard Li Wenqing tried, he couldn't bring himself to strike.

After a struggle, Li Wenqing was covered in sweat and thought to himself that this evil spirit was indeed powerful and things were probably not going to be good.

"whee……"

Xie Cui gripped the blade, the cold wind ruffling her disheveled hair, revealing her pale face, wide pupils, and a slight curve at the corners of her mouth as she let out a whimpering, hoarse, childlike voice.

"The Five Emperors Coins on this knife are quite nice, but unfortunately the Taoist priest who consecrated it is not skilled enough. They can deal with ordinary wandering spirits, but they can't hurt me."

After saying that, Xie Cui slid her right hand along the blade forward to the hilt and gripped Li Wenqing's blade tightly.

In an instant, Li Wenqing felt a bone-chilling cold sweep over his entire body, freezing him completely and causing a tremendous shock to his mind. Instinctively, he retreated rapidly, dropping his knife.

Xie Cui threw the knife to the ground and stomped down with her foot. With a "crack," the knife shattered into pieces.

This really frightened Li Wenqing.

This sword is made of fine steel and has been blessed by a Taoist priest. Only a martial arts master could shatter this greatsword with a single stomp.

This inevitably made Li Wenqing feel somewhat regretful, realizing that he had been too presumptuous.

These thoughts flashed through his mind before he suppressed them. He knew he couldn't afford to be distracted at this moment, or the consequences would be unpredictable. He immediately took out a water pouch from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and splashed water at Xie Cui.

What splashed out was not water, but the blood of a strong, black dog, which was quite effective against evil spirits.

Xie Cui was suddenly splashed with dog blood, but she didn't seem to care. Instead, she was furious with a sinister look on her face. "Using this black dog blood, which is used to deal with low-level ghosts, to deal with me is really boring. Look at what you have. You should just die."

Without Xie Cui moving her feet, she suddenly appeared in front of Li Wenqing, grabbed his neck with one hand, and lifted him up like a chick.

"Hoho~"

Li Wenqing felt as if this thin hand possessed immense strength, and he couldn't struggle at all. Soon, his face turned red and he made a "hoarse" sound, clearly indicating that he was about to be strangled to death.

"My lady, please spare my brother!" Li Yu quickly crawled to Xie Cui's feet and pleaded, clinging tightly to her leg.

"Hee hee~"

Xie Cui remained expressionless, and said with a sinister smile, "Your elder brother just said that you can't believe the words of evil spirits. You're so naive. If it weren't for your cover, I wouldn't have had the chance to blow out the red candle with moisture..."

Now the place is completely damp from the ancient well, so red candles can't be lit anymore, hehe~

Li Yu looked at the unfamiliar Xie Cui, then at his dying elder brother. Torn between his wife and his blood brother, he was torn apart, his heart aching as if being stabbed with a knife. He coughed up blood, crying out in despair.

Chen Mo had no interest in these things; instead, he stared intently at Xie Cui.

The reason I didn't act hastily was partly because Li Wenqing made the first move, and partly because I wanted Li Wenqing to scout the route and observe Xie Cui's skills and characteristics more closely.

Therefore, Chen Mo saw every detail of the fight between the two sides, especially Xie Cui's every reaction.

By now, Chen Mo had made a preliminary deduction about Xie Cui's characteristics:

First, Xie Cui is fast and strong. With these abilities, she can instantly kill a master at the Blood Rush Realm.

Secondly, Li Hongxi is capable of possession.

Moreover, Li Hongxi's weaknesses were also exposed: she was afraid of red candles and firelight.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have used moisture to extinguish the red candles and put out the fire before taking action.

The key is humidity!

If his true energy could suppress her dampness, then Chen Mo felt he had a 70% chance of killing her.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo immediately picked up the red candle on the table and secretly activated his inner energy. Sure enough... the moisture on the red candle was evaporated by his inner energy.

Chen Mo secretly put down the red candle. He knew... that an internal martial arts master could kill Li Hongxi.

The only hidden danger: she must be killed quickly; her vengeful spirit cannot be allowed to escape from Xie Cui's body. After all, Chen Mo has only seen Xie Cui in action and knows her strengths and weaknesses. Once she escapes, it's unknown what methods she will use.

Chen Mo didn't want to take any risks.

Having gained confidence, Chen Mo no longer hesitated.

Clang!

Chen Mo suddenly drew his sword and charged towards Xie Cui like a cannonball.

"Go to hell!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Readers kept saying it was filler, so I've just combined it into one chapter so everyone can enjoy it. Only one chapter today. The first volume, "Killing Li Hongxi," will end here, revealing all the foreshadowing from the previous chapters and including some Easter eggs.

(End of this chapter)