Chapter Fifty-One: Shattered with a Single Punch

“Great-Grandmother, isn’t it good that the Demon Suppression Bureau has arrived? They can handle that monster for us.”

Someone asked respectfully.

“The Demon Suppression Bureau slaughtered Dali Town and Gongping Town, both because demons appeared there. If they learn a demon has emerged in our Chu Village, hidden deep in the mountains, and they decide to wipe us out, who in the world would ever know?”

Great-Grandmother of the Chu Village sounded impatient.

More and more people emerged from their homes. Hearing her words, they turned their gazes, cold light flickering in their eyes, toward the young man lying motionless on the ground.

“Perhaps we should just…”

A robust young man from the village made a slicing motion across his throat, his expression ruthless.

“We mustn’t. If he really is with the authorities, and we kill him…”

“Hmph! So what do you propose? Wait until he wakes up? If he leaves, we are all doomed.”

“That’s right. If we let him go, we’re doomed. But if we kill him—or better yet, offer him to the monster—do you think that might be better?”

“That monster threatened us, demanded we hand over children from our village, or else it would slaughter us all. We’ve already hidden the children…”

“Silence!” Great-Grandmother barked furiously.

Hundreds in the village fell silent; no one dared utter another word.

“Has Master Chu agreed?” someone ventured.

“Great-Grandmother, Master Chu hasn’t left his house. There’s been no response.”

“Hmph! If something happens to the village, he won’t escape unscathed either!” she snapped.

No one replied.

Great-Grandmother held great authority in the village. Master Chu was no less respected—perhaps even more formidable than she was.

“This young man is brimming with life force—just the sort of delicacy the monster craves. I’ll coat him in secret herbs and hang him at the village gate. If the monster comes and devours him tonight, it will surely meet its end—even without Master Chu’s treasured artifact, we can slay it!”

Her words brimmed with confidence.

Bai Li Feihong had wanted to rise, question the villagers, and uncover the village’s secrets. But hearing the old woman’s words, he changed his mind at once.

He continued to feign unconsciousness.

He’d noticed something wrong with the tea as soon as it touched his lips. In truth, the sedative had little effect on him; after all, he cultivated the Six Paths of Demon Suppression, which suppressed all external poisons and evil.

Such petty drugs were of no concern. Still, he’d never had the chance to test his body’s resistance to poison, so to be safe, he used his “Dragon of the Waves” internal strength to prevent the tea from being absorbed by his body.

The third transformation of this technique was called “Dragon of the Waves”—a sea dragon, naturally able to command water.

“Xiaoyong, come here and pour these two bottles of medicine over him.”

“Don’t forget—take off his shirt.”

Chu Xiaoyong hurried forward and respectfully accepted the bottles.

Someone briskly stripped Bai Li Feihong of his shirt and quickly searched his belongings.

He carried little with him—just the Black Soul Jade and a handful of gold and silver coins. His Blood Sea Saber was also seized, and the precious Demon-Settling Compass was carelessly tossed aside by the villagers.

Yet, its needle remained fixed on Great-Grandmother’s position.

“Wait,” she said greedily, her gaze fixed on the Black Soul Jade taken from Bai Li Feihong.

“I’ll take these jade pendants.”

The villagers quickly handed them over.

“Black Soul Jade—exceptionally pure Black Soul Jade. An unexpected windfall. With ten of these, I can combine them with my secret formation. When the time comes…”

Great-Grandmother’s gaze drifted toward the village center—where Master Chu’s house stood.

That old stubborn fool. Soon, his prized treasure will be mine. These foolish villagers.

…

Bare-chested, Bai Li Feihong was strung up on a stone arch—his first time in such a predicament.

He’d sacrificed much in hopes the reward would be worthwhile.

As night deepened, a chill mist-laden breeze swept down from the mountains, cooling his bare skin. Still, hanging like this was anything but pleasant.

He replayed the conversation between the old woman and the villagers in his mind. Bit by bit, the truth became clearer.

Children, monsters, Master Chu, Great-Grandmother, villagers, treasures—when pieced together, several facts began to emerge.

But with the truth not yet fully revealed, if he acted rashly, he might force the villagers to rebel rather than confess.

Bai Li Feihong was no bloodthirsty killer—he would not slaughter an entire village. Neither was he a saint. Some things, once done, opened a floodgate in the heart that would be hard to close again.

Now, everyone in the village was waiting—for the monster to take the bait.

And Bai Li Feihong, as the lure, had entered the game himself, hoping the monster would appear.

More than that, he hoped the monster was a kappa.

There was only one active monster in this area—a kappa. Not far from Chu Village ran a small river. The monster’s appetite for children matched the habits of the kappa.

The mist thickened. The moisture in the air grew so heavy it began to bead on Bai Li Feihong’s skin.

“It’s here.”

Great-Grandmother peered greedily through a pinhole in her window paper toward the village gate.

The water vapor obscured her view but could not elude her sharp eyes.

“Obtain kappa blood, concoct an elixir, and one gains mastery over water.”

“With such power, the rivers of the East Shore and even the Eastern Sea will pose no threat to me.”

She focused her gaze. At the gate, a figure emerged from the mist.

Bai Li Feihong narrowed his eyes, observing the approaching demon.

It stood upright, man-shaped, with green skin and features resembling a gigantic frog. Its bulging eyes shone with greed as it stared at Bai Li Feihong’s body.

A mouthful of needle-like teeth—sharp as awls—sent a chill down the spine.

“Delicious… the scent of flesh…”

The kappa found no pleasure in the flesh of ordinary adults.

But this robust young man exuded a mouthwatering aroma, stoking the monster’s uncontrollable craving.

Devour him!

Devour him, and I will evolve.

Instinct told it that consuming this vigorous youth would be more nourishing than a hundred children.

It drooled with hunger.

Its maw gaped wide, the fetid stench of its needlelike teeth billowing forth.

Bai Li Feihong could endure no longer.

With a surge of strength, the coarse hemp ropes binding him snapped.

He swung a fist directly at the kappa’s frog-like head.

A wet explosion—brains and blood spewed everywhere.

With a single punch, he obliterated the monster’s head.

A terrifying wave of vitality, like a mighty river, surged forth, enveloping the entire Chu Village.

“Damn, when was the last time you brushed your teeth? Your breath is foul,” Bai Li Feihong muttered, wrinkling his nose.

He could hardly bear the stench.

And so, the kappa was dead.

“Everyone, you’ve had quite the show. Now, it’s time you return the things you took from me. If you don’t, don’t blame me for turning nasty.”

His voice boomed like thunder.

He reined in his blood energy and glanced toward the building at the end of the village.

From within came agonized wails.

Under the suffocating pressure of his blood aura, the old woman’s soul had not yet dissipated—her resilience was remarkable.

She was not strong, yet under his overwhelming energy, she had not perished.

Clearly, this old woman was no ordinary demon.

In an instant, the entire Chu Village trembled in terror, a fear surpassing even that brought by the monster.