Chapter Thirty-Nine: Lacking in Acting Skills

If he didn’t run, was he supposed to just stand there and let himself be slaughtered? He was barely stronger than Aunt Wang, and she had been dispatched without effort by the person across from them. If he went up next, it would be pointless. He wasn’t a fool. Having committed such heinous acts, it was all for the sake of survival, to keep himself alive and useful, so that he could seek revenge in the future.

Old Chen moved with impressive speed, but someone was even faster. A gust of wind swept by, and Fang Mu appeared in front of Old Chen, idly twirling the butcher’s knife in his hand, a smile playing on his lips.

“Keep running. Go on, run some more.”

Old Chen could feel the murderous intent radiating from Fang Mu, locking onto him with deadly precision.

He swallowed hard, then dropped to his knees with a thud, trembling uncontrollably.

Was this even a human being?

Fang Mu approached him, interest gleaming in his eyes. “Isn’t this what they call talking tough but acting cowardly?”

“Spare me!” Old Chen knelt, banging his head on the ground repeatedly. “Ask me anything you want to know, I’ll tell you everything, hold nothing back.”

“You know how to read the situation. Not bad.” Fang Mu nodded, then asked, “How did you become one of these uncanny practitioners? Did you really eat your own kin?”

The man was clever, which saved a lot of trouble.

“Yes!” Old Chen replied at once, afraid that any hesitation might anger his captor. “Do you know about Meng County bark? The bark of the Fire Phoenix Fruit tree—there’s a strange power hidden in it by the master. Eating it affects you, that power… it’s intoxicating.”

Bark?

Fang Mu produced an object. “Is it this?”

“Yes, yes!” Old Chen nodded furiously and rushed to explain, “The more you eat early on, the stronger you become. But when you can’t grow any stronger, you… kill and eat people! Turn them into something unnatural. We didn’t dare be too blatant, so we killed our own family and lied that it was murder.”

As he spoke, sweat poured down his face like rain. He could sense that Fang Mu was like a dormant volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.

He now wished he could slap himself—he should have left right after deceiving them. Why did he have to be so confident and stay?

Fang Mu kicked Old Chen over and pinned him down with a foot on his chest. “And this master—who is he?”

At the heart of it all was this so-called master. Since he’d caught a coward, he might as well get to the bottom of things.

“The master…” Old Chen’s face twisted in terror as he shook his head rapidly. “I can’t say! Absolutely not! Our power was given by the master. If I tell you, I’ll die!”

“If you don’t talk, you’ll die anyway.” Fang Mu narrowed his eyes, voice low. “Why not give it a try? Who knows, maybe if you tell me, you’ll live.”

Old Chen hesitated, torn inside. As Fang Mu said, telling might mean death, but perhaps the master was lying to them. If he kept silent, he would certainly die.

In the hands of this terrifying man, he had no other choice but to gamble. But…

“The master hides in Meng County. He’s Wang Jing, a wealthy merchant!” Old Chen blurted out a name without thinking. “The master used his wealth to draw us in from the start.”

Fang Mu swung the butcher’s knife, and Old Chen’s limbs were instantly severed.

“This…” Old Chen stared at Fang Mu, confused, without a trace of pain.

“Be honest.” Fang Mu gestured with the knife, pointing to Aunt Wang, now reduced to fragments. His tone was cool. “If you keep this up, I can’t guarantee you won’t end up just like her.”

Old Chen protested, “I am telling the truth.”

“Then come with me to find Wang Jing.” Fang Mu hauled Old Chen up. “If you’re lying, I’ll kill you myself.”

Trying to play these games with him? Far too naïve.

His lies were clumsy—just look at those shifty eyes. Didn’t he know how to act?

Old Chen lapsed into silence, then suddenly broke down, wailing, “Have mercy! I really can’t say! If the master’s warning is real, I’ll die for sure!”

“Then die now.” Fang Mu’s gaze grew cold, and he brought the butcher’s knife down toward Old Chen’s neck.

Staring at the approaching blade, Old Chen’s face twisted in terror as he cried out, “I’ll talk!”

He could sense the man truly meant to kill him, without a shred of hesitation.

The knife halted before Old Chen’s eyes. Fang Mu’s tone was mocking. “Last chance. Lie again, and I’ll butcher you on the spot.”

Old Chen didn’t hesitate anymore. His face twisted with desperation as he gritted his teeth and said, “The master is…it’s—ah!”

Halfway through his sentence, Old Chen let out a pained growl as his body began to swell.

Alarmed, Fang Mu leapt back.

With a deafening bang, Old Chen exploded at the peak of his swelling, bursting apart like an overinflated balloon.

Fang Mu lowered the knife, thinking to himself, “So it really can’t be said—something is controlling him.”

Now Old Chen was nothing but scattered fragments; the scene was a mess.

A faint hissing drew Fang Mu’s attention.

Aunt Wang’s corpse, too, began to change. After being cut apart, her body had revealed that of a pale young boy. Now, the boy’s remains were slowly vaporizing, vanishing completely in a matter of moments.

All traces destroyed, all clues erased.

“Quite a trick,” Fang Mu mused, stroking his chin. “Who could have set such an elaborate trap, one that began years ago?”

Piecing it all together, Fang Mu realized just how deep the mastermind’s schemes ran.

Years ago, when the murder in Meng County occurred, it was because this group had consumed the flesh of their kin to become uncanny practitioners. From County Magistrate Zhang, he had learned that the authorities sent someone down to investigate, but found nothing. By then, these people had already become uncanny practitioners.

The person sent by the authorities was undoubtedly from the Division of Heavenly Observation.

The mastermind must have realized they had attracted that organization’s attention, so they let things calm down for a while.

But years later, the incidents began anew, this time with a different method—nightmares.

The uncanny practitioners were set loose, spreading terror and growing even stronger.

Whenever the Division of Heavenly Observation sent people, they’d go into hiding, only to resurface once the agents had left.

Yet the fate of these uncanny practitioners seemed grim. Even the monk in the ruined temple ended up devouring himself.

“He seems to know my every move,” Fang Mu thought, sheathing the butcher’s knife. “When I arrived, the nightmares vanished too, which means the mastermind had accounted for me, hoping I’d leave empty-handed.”

Though this trail had gone cold, there was still one place Fang Mu had yet to visit.

That was the source of the nightmares—perhaps there he might find something unexpected.

He pondered for a moment. The night was still deep, making it the perfect time to investigate.

Just as he was about to set off, a voice called out behind him.