"Did you capture the child's soul?"
As a Grey Immortal, one of the Five Immortals, I did not wish to clash with it. Among the Fox, Yellow, Willow, White, and Grey, the Grey Immortal family was immensely vast and the most numerous. Although most were not powerful, if you made an enemy of them, your household's grain would suffer.
There was once a farming family that experienced a reduced harvest after autumn. Believing it to be the work of rats, they began digging up the grain hidden by rats in their fields. By chance, they unearthed the home of a Grey Immortal with some cultivation.
It is said that heaven-sent calamities are forgivable, but self-inflicted ones are not. At that time, the family was so enraged by the rats stealing their grain that they lost their heads. They beat every rat they saw and smashed any that tried to escape. Hundreds of rats, big and small, were smashed to death by the family.
Until a tiny, furry rat appeared. This was a Grey Immortal with considerable cultivation. Seeing so many of its descendants dead, it intended to beg for mercy and ask the farmer to spare them.
However, the farmer's eyes were already red with killing. Their grain had been poor for years, and now, seeing so much grain unearthed from a rat hole, the culprit was obvious. The man, quick with his hands, brought an axe down, splitting the Grey Immortal's body in two.
The man's axe blow caused great trouble. The Grey Immortal had wanted to make peace; it could have accepted the death of its descendants, and the grain taken was deserved. But killing the Grey Immortal was a grave offense.
The following year, everyone reaped a bountiful harvest, except for the farming family that had offended the Grey Immortal. Their fields yielded nothing. Whether it was rice or corn, all the grain was swept away by rats as soon as it ripened. This continued for three years, nearly starving the family to death.
This was merely offending a Grey Immortal with some cultivation. The one before me, as large as a cat, with entirely black fur and eyes that could emit dark green light, was far more formidable.
If I killed it, it would be one thing, but if I didn't, I could forget about living a peaceful life.
In response to my question, I was met with a "you you" cry, and the rat's body began to grow. By the time its cry stopped, it had grown from cat-sized to the size of a wolfdog, standing on its hind legs like a human.
Its eyes, which had been emitting a dark green light, were now a deep crimson. Two incisors, an inch long, were bared, and its saliva sizzled as it dripped onto the fallen leaves on the ground. Its fur stood on end like a porcupine's.
Seeing this, I no longer had any intention of persuading it. It was no longer a wild immortal seeking to cultivate, but a demon. As its body transformed, a strong stench of corpse filled my nostrils, causing me to sneeze repeatedly.
Achoo—
You—
With its final roar, it powerfully pushed off with its hind legs, its maw opening wide to bite at my neck.
This was unbearable. If it bit me, I would surely be poisoned to death, especially since its mouth was wider than my neck.
While it was transforming, I had already applied the Heavenly Skill Seal to myself, and the Yin Iron Wood Ruler was already in my hand.
I shifted half a step to the left and simultaneously flicked the Yin Iron Wood Ruler upwards, striking directly at its abdomen. I felt a numbness in my hand as the Yin Iron Wood Ruler grazed its fur, sparks flying. Only a few rat hairs, emitting a pungent, foul odor, fell.
"Such tough rat skin, this must be a corpse demon!"
Although the Yin Iron Wood Ruler had "Yin" in its name, it was actually made of thunder-struck wood. It was enough to deal with ordinary evil spirits; a blow to the body would leave them paralyzed, and those with weaker cultivation would have their souls scattered.
You—
The rat I struck turned and landed steadily on the ground, its eyes glowing even more intensely red, revealing its inch-long teeth.
With a roar, a stream of demonic energy mixed with corpse qi spewed from its mouth, like a small rocket. The fallen leaves on the ground were swept up by the surge of demonic energy, forming a small tornado, and I was its target.
"Damn it, this is going to kill me!" I moved with the wind and leaped out of the mountain hollow.
Boom—
A powerful gust of air surged from behind me, like being hit by a truck. My body was involuntarily propelled forward.
Puff—
I felt a tightness in my throat, and a mouthful of old blood sprayed out.
Cough cough—
Damn it, that hurt…
They say a pig crashes into a tree, and a person crashes into a pig. I never expected that one day I would not crash into a pig, but directly into a tree.
You—
With the demonic rat's cry, I felt a large amount of Yin energy gathering behind me again. It seemed it wouldn't rest until I was dead.
I dodged to the side and rolled on the ground. The birch tree, as thick as my arm, that had "embraced" me, instantly corroded into powder. The residual force also destroyed a large patch of cornfields behind it.
After two consecutive attacks, the demonic rat did not continue its assault. Instead, it stood in the mountain hollow, emitting "you you" cries. Compared to its earlier piercing cries, its current calls were full of smugness.
My head was buzzing. I never imagined that one day I would be looked down upon by a rat, and a corpse demon at that. If I don't show my power, they'll think I'm a sick cat.
"Heavenly Retreat Seal!"
I spat blood onto my hand and smeared it all over the Yin Iron Wood Ruler. The originally black wooden ruler instantly became golden and radiant, emitting a scorching and dazzling light.
"Die for me."
I turned, leaped onto a tree, and with a mighty jump, swung down at the demonic rat's head.
Boom—
Bang—
You—
The Yin Iron Wood Ruler, imbued with the Heavenly Retreat Yin, cut through the demonic wind like a hot knife through cake, splitting it in two. Coupled with the boost from the Heavenly Skill Seal on my body, my speed increased significantly.
Not only did it break the demonic rat's attack, but it also directly severed its head from its body. A stream of black, ink-like blood spurted from its neck. Due to my lack of preparation and not expecting to kill it in one blow, I was sprayed in the face with this foul black blood.
Fortunately, the blood was not poisonous, but the smell, like fermented herring that had been preserved for decades, almost made me faint.
Gack—
"So stinky, this is unbelievably foul…"
While gagging, I endured the discomfort and forced myself into the mountain hollow. I retrieved the yellow paper from under the stones. As expected, it had the birthdates of four children written on it.
"Gou Danzi, let's see how you die this time…"
I took out two yellow talismans and stuffed them into my nostrils, thinking that I had risked so much to catch the demonic rat, while Bai Ling'er was at home enjoying roasted rabbit prepared by Huang San. It was too unfair.
As a "snake" with ability and a desire for revenge, I had to prepare something for her to eat, otherwise, she might think her master didn't care for her little animal.
Picking up the stinky, headless demonic rat, and enduring the stench all over my body, I turned and headed home.
As I crossed the small river, I could no longer stand the smell and jumped into the water to wash myself. I also soaked the rat in the water a few times. As a result, all the small fish in the river turned belly up.
I silently offered them a prayer for forgiveness and quickly carried the demonic rat back. My goal was to disgust Bai Ling'er, but more importantly, I had to return the souls of these children.
Prolonged soul loss could affect the children's bodies. Mild cases could lead to colds and fevers, while severe cases could result in intellectual disability.
As I ascended the slope and approached my house, I saw a crowd gathered in front of my door. Some held torches, others flashlights, and they were furiously smashing at the courtyard gate, showing every intention of tearing it down.
"Song Qingyun, you get out here! If anything happens to my son, I'll skin you alive!"
"You little turtle, I knew you were up to no good! My child has been vomiting non-stop because of you. Get out here immediately!"
"…"
I was bewildered by the curses from the crowd surrounding my door and quickened my pace to clarify the situation.
Before I could get close, Zhang Sao and the others surrounding the entrance all began to vomit.