Chapter 21 Assault

Chen Shi didn't know that the old man with the iron brush had died; he still frantically attacked those variously shaped talismans, but they were utterly impenetrable.

Even among them, some sinister talismans, like the Five Ghosts or Six Harms, would be too much for Chen Shi if only one evil or spirit were singled out.

He kept attacking ferociously, fearing that the old man with the iron brush would recover and deal him a fatal blow. After fighting for quite some time and not even being able to break through the Eight Trigrams Protection Talisman, he couldn't help but despair.

The more he despaired, the more frantic he became!

"Woof woof woof woof!"

Black Pot barked loudly at him, but Chen Shi, in a heightened state of excitement, couldn't hear a thing.

By the time Chen Shi grew tired, the Eight Trigram Divine Light formed by the Eight Trigrams Protection Talisman still hadn't budged, and his hands were dripping with blood, having been shockingly torn and lacerated.

This old Talisman Master's talismans were terrifyingly powerful!

"Woof woof!"

Black Pot bit his pant leg and pulled back.

Chen Shi was about to strike again when he stumbled, finally regaining a semblance of clarity in his mind. His gaze moved past layer upon layer of strange divine light and fell upon the old man with the iron brush. The man knelt there, having been dead for quite some time.

Chen Shi was stunned.

"Dead?"

Then suddenly, he was ecstatic.

"Dead! He's finally dead! I killed him!"

Chen Shi laughed wildly, his knees giving way, and he sat down on his bottom, his laughter tinged with madness: "He had so many powerful talismans, yet he died before he could use them! Good riddance, good riddance!"

He was so out of breath it almost knocked the wind out of him; he hurriedly calmed himself, breathing heavily.

After a moment, Chen Shi staggered up, spat forcefully at the old man with the iron brush.

"You got what you deserved!" Chen Shi said viciously.

Black Pot, terrified, also spat in suit.

Some time later, as Chen Shi caught his breath, he moved to drag the body of Zhao Ming, the housekeeper of the Zhao family, but felt his arms and legs go weak—he couldn't move the body.

Chen Shi had to rest again, and only after regaining some strength did he manage to drag Zhao Ming's body to the side of the road.

Shortly thereafter, as the power of the Eight Trigrams Protection Talisman and other talismans dissipated, the old man with the iron brush's body became visible. Chen Shi dragged it to the side of the road.

"They belong to the Zhao family. Since the Zhao family came here investigating the disappearance of a woman in purple, the bodies must be disposed of, or else the Zhao family will find out and cause more trouble."

Chen Shi looked up at the sky, where the two suns gradually became semicircles and the sky was ablaze with what seemed like rosy clouds.

The day was drawing to a close.

"As night falls, wild beasts will lurk, and evil spirits will come out, destroying any traces of the bodies."

Chen Shi frowned slightly; it was already too late to return to Huangpo Village. The only place he could avoid during the night was Huangyang Village.

"Black Pot, let's go back to Huangyang Village!"

Black Pot paused, then quickly followed Chen, stride for stride, heading for Huangyang Village.

As a red sea of fire stretched out across the sky like a sunset, Chen Shi, his hands covered in blood, walked with Black Pot on the crimson earth to the entrance of Huangyang Village.

Behind them, the sound of wooden cartwheels rumbled, and an aged figure with a sturdy physique sat on the cart, holding a compass, also heading towards Huangyang Village.

——Grandpa had finally come with the wooden cart to take them back.

Chen Shi looked back at the wooden cart but didn't go to meet it, instead striding towards the temple at the center of the village.

Black Pot hesitated, then chose not to greet Grandpa and hurried after Chen Shi.

The villagers came out of their houses one by one, fixing their eyes on the man and the dog.

Chen Shi was seething with killing intent but wore a smile on his face. He walked directly to the temple in the middle of the dilapidated palatial ruins and entered without hesitation.

The corpulent deity looked up, its gaze flitting about anxiously at the sight of Chen Shi's bloodied hands.

The news that Chen Shi had killed the old man with the iron brush a couple of miles away hadn't evaded him, and it frightened him indeed.

Chen Shi raised his hand and swept all the offerings from the altar to the ground, then seated himself on the altar, staring at the fat deity in front of him.

"I killed that Talisman Master you made a deal with. I see you witnessed it."

Chen Shi gazed into the deity's small eyes, "As a godmother, you collude with outsiders, causing the death of your three godsons, thus shaming the name of a godmother and shaming the incense burnt before you! When people criticized you behind your back, you unleashed an Evil Spirit on the village, killing a family. So as a godmother, what punishment should you face for your wrongdoings, and who shall mete it out?"

The fat deity turned pale, its demeanor turned feral, and with a roar like thunder, it bellowed, "Who dares to judge my sins? Who dares to punish me?"

Behind it, the bronze statue with a blue face and sharp fangs shone brightly, its brilliant divine light casting the temple as clear as day!

Beams of light pierced through the temple's doors, sending shivers down the spines of the villagers of Huangyang, with the faint-hearted already kneeling on the ground, knocking their foreheads to the temple floor, muttering under their breath, begging the godmother for forgiveness.

"I dare!"

An angry yet youthful voice echoed from within the temple. San Wang, bold as they come, had already arrived to stealthily peek inside and saw Chen Shi rise abruptly from the altar, kicking at what appeared to be thin air.

It seemed as though he was kicking nothing, yet it felt as if he had struck something solid—he couldn't see the fat deity.

Chen Shi could see it, though.

His kick warped the fat deity's facial features into a grotesque twist, his entire face nearly sinking into his skull!

The fat deity let out an enraged roar, standing up abruptly with his body shaking violently. The body formed by his extraordinary power contained terrifying divine power, ready to explode at any moment!

At that moment, the rumbling sound of cartwheels approached; Grandpa rode on the wooden cart, coming at a leisurely pace.

The fat deity shivered, his small eyes filled with fear.

"You dare retaliate?"

Chen Shi grew even angrier, rising to his feet and sweeping his leg across the fat deity's neck, causing the flesh on his neck and belly to undulate uncontrollably.

The hefty man was swept aside by this immense force and toppled over. Chen Shi jumped down from the altar table, his foot stomping on the man's chest, as he furiously pummeled his face with his fists!

The sounds of fist pounding against head and face echoed from the temple, as the villagers outside stared wide-eyed and craned their necks to peer inside. Some faces were filled with horror, others showed satisfied smiles, and some knelt on the ground, bowing their heads rapidly in prayer, begging the Dryad for forgiveness.

"You claimed to be the Dryad, yet you did not protect the villagers, but allowed an evil spirit to harm them!"

Thud thud thud!

"You claimed to be the Dryad, yet you threatened the villagers in their dreams!"

Thud thud thud!

"You claimed to be the Dryad, yet you colluded with outsiders to kill the village children!"

Thud thud thud!

More villagers watched eagerly. Inside the temple, Chen Shi lifted the altar table with both hands and smashed it down furiously. Although it seemed like there was nothing underneath, the sounds of impact were very real.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting!" a voice cried out.

Chen Shi kept smashing down, breaking the altar table until only the legs were left, and even then, he kept thrashing down with the table legs.

It wasn't until he snapped the legs of the table that he finally threw them aside, catching sight of the incense burner and picking it up to smash it down onto the hefty deity!

This time the sound of striking was a dull thud, and very heavy.

"You claimed to be the Dryad, and you bullied my friend Fugui!"

Thud thud thud!

"You claimed to be the Dryad, and you bullied Fugui's friends!"

Thud thud thud!

"And you even planned on eating them!"

The sounds of pounding and smashing went on and on. Chen Shi beat him for a whole hour until his rage subsided. By then, the hefty deity was beaten beyond recognition, lying on the ground, his face swollen like a pig's head.

Chen Shi, holding the incense burner, approached the temple gateway, facing a throng of villagers whose gazes landed on his face. They were the villagers of Huangpo Village.

Chen Shi cracked a smile, tossing the now-flattened incense burner outside the temple door.

He wiped the sweat from his face with a raised hand. After fighting continuously for half an hour, he too was drenched in sweat. However, the blood on his hands smeared across his face, lending his visage a certain ruggedness.

After the beating, he felt quite hungry, craving something to eat.

"This hefty guy..."

Chen Shi hesitated, then snuffed out the thought with a chuckle to himself, "The deity isn't food, yet I had the urge to eat him. Gave myself a scare."

He didn't notice that the blue ghost hand on his chest was emitting a faint glow, which was now gradually fading.

Chen Shi was about to step out of the temple when he suddenly paused, turning back.

Seeing him return, the deity on the ground trembled, but Chen Shi didn't come towards him. Instead, he walked straight to the bronze statue with a green face and fierce teeth.

The hefty deity was a manifestation of extraordinary power, but this statue was the true form of the Dryad.

Chen Shi reached out, grabbed one of the statue's fingers, and slowly, forcefully, broke it off.

The deity on the ground writhed in agony, screaming endlessly.

Chen Shi grasped another finger and gently snapped it.

One after another, he broke them off!

Soon, all ten fingers of the bronze statue were broken by him!

Chen Shi took the ten fingers and twisted them into a copper twist, tossing them onto the hefty deity's body.

"I have three friends of Fugui who wanted to leave your damned temple, and if you dare hinder them, I'll twist your head off to use as a chamber pot!"

With that, Chen Shi beckoned the three children in the corner over with a gentle face, smiling, "Come here, you can go home now."

The three children's souls timidly walked over, bypassing the hefty deity to reach Chen Shi's side.

Chen Shi led them toward the outside of the temple, and indeed, the three children successfully crossed the temple threshold and stepped out.

The three children's souls looked at Chen Shi with admiration.

Chen Shi said with a smile, "Now you go home and see your parents. After the seventh day, if a ghost messenger comes for you, follow him. Do not stay in the mortal world."

The three children ran toward their parents. Although their parents couldn't see them, they seemed to feel their presence.

Chen Shi headed towards the wooden cart. The old man stood by the wooden cart, and Dog wagged its tail as if to please the old man. The moonlight shone down, serene and mysterious.

"You've done an exorcism on your own, impressive."

The grandfather took his hand, cleaned the bruising in the wound, and asked in a low voice, "How much money did you make?"

Chen Shi's alarm bells went off in his mind, shaking his head, "I didn't make money. There was a Talisman Master killing people to make life-extending lamp oil. Seeing the villagers were poor, I didn't take their money."

Somehow, his heart was beating furiously, and the silver in his sleeve suddenly felt scorching hot.

The grandfather grunted, not pressing further, and applied medicine to his wounds, "Go home and take your medicine."

Chen Shi sighed in relief, hastily adding, "Now that the moon has risen, it is dangerous to go home. How about we stay in this temple for the night?"

In the temple, the hefty deity nearly fainted.

The grandfather shook his head, "You've killed a man and beaten the deity so harshly. Without the medicine, your sickness can easily flare up. Hang some more Peach Talismans, and you should be able to get home safely."

Chen Shi, remembering how he writhed in pain, shuddered and climbed onto the cart.

As the wooden cart moved away from the village, Chen Shi suddenly turned back, his voice filled with menace, "You fatso, I live in the neighboring village. You better behave and be a good Dryad! Otherwise, I'll come beat you on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and also on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays!"

The hefty deity shivered.

—Still looking for votes and recommendations!!

Recommend a brother's book, "I Don't Cheat, I Open Trigrams." If your life can't cheat, I can teach you about trigrams. From the perspective of a diviner, I interpret the art of fortune-telling and Feng Shui. Integrating novels with reality, and reality with novels, it's recommended reading.