I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 52 Master Li

Daylight broke, and the snow stopped.

There are two adjacent towns at the foot of the Dayin Mountain.

One is Qinghe Town, and the other is Wuqiao Town.

Qinghe Town is bordered by Dayin Mountain to the east and Wuqiao Town to the west. For some unknown reason, the sky above Qinghe Town is shrouded in a white mist all year round, obscuring its true appearance, and it is sparsely populated, making it quite eerie.

Wuqiao Town, however, is different. Because of Heishan Village, it is bustling and lively. It is mostly inhabited by fishermen, farmers, herb gatherers, and hunters who have lived here for generations.

As dawn broke, the fishermen, seeing that the snow had stopped, hurried to the Huai River to fish, hoping for a good catch. Meanwhile, hunters and herb gatherers also took their tools and headed into the mountains, hoping to gather herbs and hunt game to prepare for the winter and welcome the upcoming New Year.

A very luxurious carriage swayed and rattled out of Wuqiao Town, its wheels crunching through the snow, and onto the official road, heading towards the county seat.

The boy sitting on the cart platform was thirteen years old. Although his face was somewhat immature, it was not without a resolute look. He was wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket and was driving the cart familiarly while muttering to himself.

“Master, we’re heading to the city early this morning, but the market hasn’t even opened yet.”

Before the boy could finish speaking, a withered hand reached out from the carriage and tapped him on the head with the handle of a whisk.

As the curtain was lifted, an old Taoist priest in a yellow robe came out and sat on the carriage floor. "This time I'm not coming to the city to buy things, but to meet someone."

This old Taoist priest was none other than Li Yuanlong.

The boy pouted, looking aggrieved. "Who is so important that you, Master, have to come to the city so early in the morning? Is it that hothead Li Wenqing?"

The boy received another flick on the forehead. "You dare call me a hothead? He's a county magistrate, after all. Even if he really is a hothead..."

The boy was quite unhappy, thinking to himself: You were the one who called him a hothead, so why can't I say the same thing?

He spoke very politely, "Then is the county magistrate, or perhaps the head of one of the three major martial arts schools? Or... the instructor of the martial arts academy?"

Li Yuanlong flicked his whisk, adopting the air of a reclusive sage, and said, "Why would I see those people?"

"Whom does Master wish to see?"

Li Yuanlong sighed, "That kid from the Chen family."

The boy suddenly realized, "So this is the crazy kid that Master went to perform rituals for the Chen family for three days in a row last time. What did Master want to see him for?"

Li Yuanlong said, "The day before yesterday, Chen Yinfu came to my door with generous gifts to celebrate my birthday and asked me to bring the Chen family boy to the village to learn skills."

"But that kid is just an ordinary person; he can't learn the skills from our village."

"Since I've accepted the gift, I have to do something for them. Whether I pass the test or not is another matter."

The boy began to calculate: his master had two disciples and a dozen or so servants. He was the junior disciple. The eldest brother was away most of the time and didn't manage things. This gave him an advantage; he could order the dozen or so servants around and live a carefree life. But if another boy from the Chen family came, his position... would be threatened.

Soon, Yuanzhu thought to himself: That kid is just an ordinary person, he definitely won't pass the test and won't be able to learn any skills. I was overthinking it.

Li Yuanlong glanced at him and knew what he was thinking, then snorted, "Cylinder, what are you thinking?"

The boy called Yuanzhu quickly replied, "Master, I was thinking that if the Chen family boy comes to the village, I should take good care of him and make things convenient for him, so as not to disgrace your virtuous name."

Li Yuanlong's lips twitched. "Really?"

The cylinder wore a bright, harmless smile. "I have been influenced by my master since childhood and have inherited all of his teachings. I would never lie."

The master and apprentice chatted casually for a while, and soon drove their carriage into the city.

As they passed by the Xie residence, Li Yuanlong's relaxed expression suddenly turned serious. "This place is eerily quiet; someone must have suffered a terrible fate. Yuanzhu, go check on the Xie residence immediately."

Yuanzhu jumped off the carriage and disappeared in a flash.

They returned shortly afterward, reporting, "The entire Xie family has been wiped out..."

Li Yuanlong showed no surprise whatsoever. "Can you tell what kind of ghost or spirit did this?"

Yuanzhu said, "It's most likely Old Master Li's daughter."

Li Yuanlong nodded in satisfaction, "Go to the Chen residence quickly, lest they suffer as well. After all, they've already taken the money..."

Yuanzhu said, "Wouldn't it be better if the Chen family suffered a disaster? Master would get a large sum of money for free."

Li Yuanlong flicked his forehead hard, "How could your teacher be such a greedy person?!"

Yuanzhu was quite indignant, thinking to himself: "You haven't been greedy enough... Other masters only take half of the profits from their apprentices. But you, you have to hand over 70% of the profits the village gives you every month..."

However, Yuanzhu only dared to think this in his heart, and dared not reveal it aloud, only focusing on speeding up the journey.

Upon arriving at the main gate of the Chen residence, Yuanzhu noticed armed guards standing watch, and several other armed guards patrolling the courtyard wall to prevent anyone from climbing over it.

Yuanzhu glanced at the sky above the Chen family courtyard and exclaimed in surprise, "The ghostly aura above the Chen family has just dissipated, yet the Chen family has actually escaped a calamity. It's truly strange."

"Say less," Li Yuanlong snapped twice, then jumped off the carriage and found the guard to explain his purpose. The guard immediately went to inform him, and soon Chen Yinfu came out to greet him.

"To see Master Li so early in the morning, please come in quickly."

Li Yuanlong nodded and went inside.

As they passed the stables, Li Yuanlong suddenly stopped and glanced sideways. "Master Chen, was someone dead in the stables last night?"

Even though Chen Yinfu knew that Li Yuanlong was no ordinary person, he was still surprised to hear this. "You can't hide it from the Taoist priest's discerning eyes. Evil spirits came to the mansion last night. The first to die were the two grooms."

Li Yuanlong raised his whisk, displaying the demeanor of a master, and asked, "May I have the honor of showing you around?"

Chen Yinfu hesitated slightly, "That kind of place is too unlucky, how could I dare to trouble you, Daoist Master?"

Li Yuanlong didn't care. "My profession is exorcising evil spirits. I'm not really interested in normal people."

Chen Yinfu could no longer stop him, so he gestured, "Please come with me, Daoist."

……

Chen Mo was awakened by pain at the beginning of the Mao hour (5-7 AM).

Hearing the commotion, Qiulan outside quickly knocked on the door and anxiously called out, "Young Master, what's wrong? Did you hurt yourself last night? Should I go and call a doctor?"

If it were any other illness, Chen Mo would definitely need to see a doctor.

However, my situation is extremely unusual; it is very likely that I am experiencing a bout of madness.

This must not be known to outsiders.

So Chen Mo gritted his teeth and forced himself not to cry out. After catching his breath, he said to the outside, "It's just a few minor cuts and scrapes. You should go and rest."

"If you need anything, young master, please call me anytime." Qiu Lan was a sensible person; she left after saying that.

Hearing the footsteps fading away outside the door, Chen Mo quickly found a stick, bit it in his mouth, to prevent himself from crying out in pain again.

The next moment, a stabbing, excruciating pain shot through my abdomen again.

This caused Chen Mo to grimace in pain, with veins bulging on his forehead.
He stared wide-eyed, his gaze fixed intently on his abdomen.

Not an illusion.

There was indeed something moving around in my abdomen.

This thing isn't big, maybe the size of a pea, but it moves around so fast it's deadly.

Chen Mo tried to use his inner energy to suppress the thing, but his inner energy couldn't reach his abdomen.

Ultimately, it's because they lack true internal martial arts skills.

Chen Mo immediately opened the control panel and stared at his abdomen.

Sure enough, a box appeared.

Four black bars... one more than before.

The shape and color of the frame are exactly the same as when the baby face was there.

This discovery made Chen Mo feel terrible.

The three black bars have become four, which means the curse has become stronger.

But the baby face has clearly disappeared.

How can the curse become stronger?
Could it be that the baby's face really went into my belly?

Isn't the situation just like that of Old Master Li's youngest son who died?
"Fuck!"

[Current original solution essence: 0]

[Current number of reads: 1]

[Readable item detected, read?]

Oh?
After the recognition evolved into reading, it can now read objects with four black bars?

Chen Mo knew that every opportunity to read was extremely precious. But at this moment, Chen Mo made the decision without even thinking.

Read!

(End of this chapter)