This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

"Um... are you that timid?"

Zheng Zhuang was stunned as he looked at the fallen kitten.

Zheng Zhuang knew that his condition was not good, but he really did not expect that the tiger demon would faint from fright.

Zheng Zhuang's body was ravaged by "killing calamity" and "karmic calamity". Although it was temporarily suppressed by a seal, even the slightest bit of pressure that he inadvertently exuded was something that a mere Foundation Establishment stage demon like Little Cat could not withstand.

If it weren't for the "Sword of Primordial Spirit" blocking the way, this one strike would have been enough to annihilate the kitten.

Zheng Zhuang wanted to pick up the kitten, but he couldn't move, so he could only shake his head and slowly close his eyes.

After Mu Dazhuang and Gouzi's antics, Zheng Zhuang inexplicably felt tired and didn't want to think about anything else. He soon fell asleep.

The morning of the second day.

Mu Chunhua slowly opened her eyes, shook her slightly dizzy head, and felt that the sunlight shining into the room was a bit dazzling, so she quickly sat up.

"Oh no, how could I have slept so soundly? I was even saying I'd make breakfast for Brother Zheng!"

Mu Chunhua quickly dressed, got out of bed, and ran towards Zheng Zhuang's room.

When she saw that Zheng Zhuang was still unconscious, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She saw the kitten lying straight on its back on the ground and couldn't help but smile. It was the first time she had ever seen a cat sleep like that.

Mu Chunhua tiptoed over, reached out and picked up the kitten, then carefully left the room.

She was secretly pleased, thinking that since Brother Zheng hadn't woken up yet, he wouldn't know that she had gotten up so late, and therefore wouldn't think of her as a lazy girl.

My father taught me from a young age that girls must be diligent, because husbands' families all like virtuous wives.

Honestly, how did I oversleep?

Mu Chunhua casually placed the kitten on the stove and then prepared to start a fire to cook.

She suddenly remembered that the kitten was actually a huge white tiger, so she quickly went inside to find two old clothes, made a small nest on a stool, and then carefully picked it up and put it inside.

Although it seems harmless now, and has become very docile because of that sword, there's no guarantee it won't settle scores later, so it's best to treat it well.

As Mu Chunhua was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a series of noisy footsteps.

The kitten's adorable appearance made her unable to resist, and she quickly and secretly petted it a couple of times before following the sound to the door.

Mu Chunhua recognized the several young men walking towards her and quickly greeted them:

"Brother Zhu, where are you guys going?"

The leader was not tall, but he was very strong. He stopped in his tracks upon hearing this.

"It's Chunhua! Oh, the dog is dead. We're going over to help!"

"Huh? Dead? When did this happen?"

They were all from the same village, and even if they weren't familiar with each other, they knew each other's names. Hearing the news of each other's sudden death shocked Mu Chunhua.

Previously, Mu Dazhuang had even sent Gouzi to threaten Mu Chunhua in order to force her to marry him, so at this moment, in addition to surprise, she also had an indescribable feeling.

Zhu Zi cautiously looked around and lowered his voice, saying:

"They say he encountered a ghost and died a horrible death!"

"Hmph, that dog never does anything right. In my opinion, he deserves it!"

Another young man sneered, while the other two nodded slightly.

Gouzi had always followed Mu Dazhuang in bullying others, and many people in the village hated him to the core. These few knew this all too well, so when they learned that Gouzi was dead, no one felt sorry for him.

If it weren't for the generous reward promised by the village chief, they wouldn't even have been willing to help.

"Respect for the dead is paramount, so let's not gossip!" Zhu Zi shook his head, then turned to ask, "By the way, Chunhua, how's that stranger that Brother Dashu brought back yesterday?"

"Ah, Brother Zheng... Oh dear, Brother Zhu, you guys are busy, I still have to go cook for Brother Zheng!"

Mu Chunhua hurriedly ran into the house. Zhu Zi and the others exchanged smiles and continued walking forward.

"Hey, Chunhua is the prettiest girl in our village. I never thought she'd end up with a stranger. I took a peek at her yesterday, and that stranger isn't that great-looking. He's not even as pretty as me, just a bit fair-skinned!"

"Oh ho, come on, look how pleased you are! You're still thinking about it. When we get back, I'll tell your sister-in-law."

"Get lost! If you dare to talk nonsense, I'll skin you alive!"

"It's not that simple. Mu Dazhuang has his eye on Chunhua, and it's still unclear what will happen in the end."

"Just thinking about that guy makes me angry. Isn't it all because his dad is the village chief? If he hadn't interfered, maybe, maybe..."

"Maybe you still have a chance? You little rascal, you're the one talking about me, aren't you? You've been thinking about it all along, haha!"

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. After all, someone in their family died. Be serious!"

……

Mu Dazhuang was hiding alone in the house. Sunlight streamed in through the window, but he felt a chill for no apparent reason.

The whole village knew that Gouzi was his follower, so when someone came to him early in the morning to tell him about Gouzi's death, he rushed to Gouzi's house, only to be terrified by what he saw.

Dog's house was very dirty and messy. Dog didn't have a wife, and his parents had died long ago. He wasn't usually a tidy person.

The dog stole two chickens from the neighbor's house a couple of days ago. The neighbor's son saw it and came looking for him.

The neighbor knew that the dog was rarely home during the day, so he came early in the morning to keep watch. He saw that the door was locked from the inside and figured the dog must be home, but no one came to open the door no matter how long he called.

He thought the dog was trying to avoid returning it, so he moved to the other side of the house and prepared to look through the window to see if the dog was pretending to be asleep.

To his surprise, he saw the dog lying motionless on the bed, which enraged him. He kicked open the door and rushed inside.

He walked into the house and was about to grab the dog, but he suddenly pulled back just as he was about to do so.

He was startled by the dog's expression. The dog's face was pale, its eyes were wide open, its hands were gripping the edge of the bed tightly, its nails seemed to be digging into the bed board, and its face was extremely ferocious.

He quickly checked with his hand, but the person was already dead. Terrified, he immediately stood up and ran out of the house, shouting "Someone's dead! Someone's dead!" all the way.

The neighbors were also startled by the commotion, and someone immediately went to check. Before long, the news of the dog's death spread.

Otherwise, with a dog like him having no offspring, his body would probably only be discovered after it had started to decompose.

The conclusion was that the dog had no external injuries or signs of fighting with anyone, and it was obvious that it was possessed by an evil spirit and was scared to death by something!

The villagers are saying that Gouzi has done too many bad things and that's why he's being haunted by evil spirits.

Mu Dazhuang had a different idea. The dog clearly saw something terrifying before it died, but it wasn't scared to death. It seemed like it suffocated!

Mu Dazhuang couldn't help but think that the evil spirit was very likely the stranger that he and Gouzi had killed yesterday, who had suffocated to death.

The dog seemed to have also experienced the "paper-face" incident; the bloodstains left by the dog's fingers on the edge of the bed indicated that he had struggled violently before his death.

Strangely, there were no marks on the dog's hands, and no one had tied his hands and feet, meaning he was fully capable of breaking free.

But he still died, from suffocation!

This can only mean one thing: the one who did it was not a human, but... an evil spirit!

Mu Dazhuang trembled all over. He had been involved in what happened last night, and that evil spirit would definitely not let him go.

"Dazhuang, are you inside?"

When Mu Dazhuang heard his father's voice, he immediately stood up, ran to the door, and opened it.

"Dad, I'm here!"

“What’s wrong with you? The whole village knows that Gouzi and you are very close. I heard that you went to see him once and then ran back and hid in your room. How have I taught you? How can you win people’s hearts by doing this? It will only make everyone think that you are a heartless and ungrateful person. How can you win people’s respect in the future? How can I pass the position of village chief to you?”

Mu Liang was furious. He had no way to deal with this son. He only knew how to loaf around all day and did evil deeds by taking advantage of his son's power. But he only had this one son.

Although Mu Dazhuang was used to bullying others in the village, he knew very well that he could act so domineeringly because of his father. Moreover, he had been afraid of his father since he was a child, and at this moment he was even more afraid, so he burst into tears.

"me……"

"What a terrible thing! How could I have given birth to such a coward!"

Mu Liang raised his hand to strike, but seeing Mu Dazhuang's tearful face, he finally sighed and slowly lowered his hand.

"What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing? Hurry up and get things ready; you must personally handle the dog's funeral!"

"But...but he was killed by an evil spirit. What if I go there too and get haunted by that evil spirit? Father, I'm your only son. If something happens to me, there will be no one to take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days!"

"Nonsense! There are no evil spirits. It's just ignorant fools spreading rumors. Besides, it's broad daylight, what's there to be afraid of! Stop being so indecisive and hurry up!"

Seeing that his father didn't believe him, Mu Dazhuang became anxious and subconsciously blurted out:

"Father, it's a vengeful ghost! Gouzi must have been killed by that stranger's ghost!"

Mu Liang sensed something deeper in Mu Dazhuang's words and quickly pressed for an answer:

"Outsiders? What outsiders? What have you done? Tell us honestly!"

As soon as Mu Dazhuang uttered those words, he knew something was wrong. It was too late to change his mind, and sure enough, his father immediately noticed something amiss.

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, he had no choice but to honestly tell the truth about what happened last night.

Upon hearing this, Mu Liang's anger flared, and he slapped the man across the face.

"How could I have given birth to such an idiot like you? What trouble could a seriously injured outsider like him possibly cause? Why are you in such a hurry to kill him?"

Mu Dazhuang, after being hit, covered his face and stammered:

"Didn't you say that you absolutely had to marry Mu Chunhua to get her family's treasure?"

Mu Liang glared at Mu Dazhuang, quickly looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, slammed the door shut and bolted it.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?! How can you just say things like that? What if the walls have ears?! I told you to get close to Mu Chunhua properly, to win her over with sincerity, so she would willingly give herself to you. But what did you do? All you know is to use threats and inducements. If you could use force, would we need you?"