CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: JUST NOW A KNIGHT WALKED OUT FROM THAT HOUSE

Chen Xu’s blade struck right in the middle of the old woman’s forehead.

This strike, like chopping wood, was meant to cleave the old woman in two.

The old woman’s movements were too slow; she couldn’t reach into her bosom in time, but suddenly she opened her mouth, and like a venomous snake, spat out a crimson snake tongue!

The snake tongue traced an agile arc in midair, flinging a stench-filled spray, heading straight for Chen Xu’s face.

It seemed the snake tongue was faster than Chen Xu’s blade.

The old woman shrieked with venomous hatred from her throat, "Dare to kill my son, you go to hell...ah!"

Poof——

From the darkness, a young man whose features were indistinct spat forth a burst of flame.

The roaring flames, like a banner unfurling, instantly burned the snake tongue the old woman spat, turning it limp and charred, sizzling with smoke.

Chen Xu’s blade followed closely, descending vertically in the firelight.

A crack was heard.

Like rotten wood being split in two, the old woman’s throat only managed to utter a final word of unwillingness: "You!"

Boom boom, blood sprayed.

The body was split into two pieces, each falling to the side.

Is everything over?

No, not yet.

In the midst of the split body, unnoticed, a dark red pearl rolled out. In the night, this pearl was inconspicuous, but fortunately, Chen Xu had the gift to see through food terms.

[Evil Thought Pearl, a creation of all evil thoughts such as greed, anger, folly, and hatred. Consumable by ghosts and deities, it enhances the Nine Nether Soul, and allows seeing the last moments within an incense stick’s time before the death of evil thought carriers. Unlocks the recipe for Ghost-Slaying Pill.]

This thing holds mystery!

As Chen Xu pondered, the dark red Evil Thought Pearl seemed to have its own spirit and silently rolled toward the shadowy corner in an unguarded moment as he observed it.

At this moment, having just killed two people, the tumult in the darkness seemed to eerily quiet under the night sky.

In the distance, there seemed to be the sound of the wind agitating, the chill of the spring night subtly permeating.

The neighbors of Jingsha Square seemed to hear some commotion from the house of a sheep vendor and asked in a muffled voice in the dark, "What’s going on with Old Yang’s place, it sounds a bit off?"

"Mind your own business!"

...

The whistling wind made the night seem even more silent.

Chen Xu suddenly dashed forward, stepping on the Evil Thought Pearl on the ground and, with a thought, collected the item into the Fire and Smoke Kitchen.

At this step, Chen Xu felt slightly relieved.

But it was still not enough.

He lifted his blade, using its flat to uncover the black-covered cart, revealing six small white lambs stacked together, asleep on top.

The little lambs were cuddled together, each with pink noses and red lips, looking very tender and cute, so cute it was almost eerie.

Chen Xu’s heart sank slightly. He first pushed the cart to the tightly shut courtyard gate, then went back to observe the mother and son’s corpses on the ground.

After confirming both were indeed dead, Chen Xu began dealing with the aftermath.

He grabbed a bundle of rope from a huge wooden rack beside him and tied the bodies together, dragging them into a nearby room.

Chen Xu then entered the house for a quick search.

Not daring to waste much time, he only roughly found over thirty taels of silver and more than a dozen strings of loose copper coins.

Additionally, there were some ambiguous and bizarre sacrificial objects, especially in the main room, where a fierce black-horned goat head idol was worshipped. Chen Xu didn’t even step in for a closer look; the emanating malevolent aura was unbearably oppressive.

He chose not to enter that room, instead tossing the mother and son’s bodies into the adjacent kitchen.

Called the kitchen, this room was more aptly a dissection room.

Inside, remnants of sheep bones, sheep heads, and scattered mutton could be found.

But none of these so-called "sheep goods" had any terms above them!

It’s imaginable what the real content of these sheep goods was.

Despite having killed the mother and son, Chen Xu’s anger was even more inflamed.

He exited the kitchen and in the yard snapped his fingers remotely.

Instantly, a mass of orange flame emerged out of nowhere from that so-called kitchen.

Chen Xu’s anger surged within him, his Heart Fire blazing, hearing the drumbeat of his heart and the rushing sound of his qi and blood.

The greater the Heart Fire, the fiercer the flame.

In an instant, the flames engulfed the kitchen and the main room beside it.

Roaring flames shot up to the sky.

[Fire Control Level 1 (92/100)]

[Fire Control Level 1 (93/100)]

(96/100)

...

Driven by this intense anger, the Fire Control Skill’s experience rose sharply.

The heart is the master of fire, the spirit the intent of fire.

What is Fire Control?

This is Fire Control.

[Fire Control Level 1 (100/100)]

Crack, as if a mighty pass was broken through.

In this instant, Chen Xu had an epiphany!

On the panel of the Food Cauldron Celestial Book, notifications continued to pop up.

[You kill to become benevolent, gaining one measure of satisfaction and three parts melancholy. Reward: Fireworks Value 100 points.]

[Your thoughts are clear, gaining One Mace of Heart Fire Divine Lotus, rewarded with 100 points of Fireworks Value.]

Chen Xu exhaled deeply.

Just then, the cries of surprise from the neighbors rose successively.

"Fire broke out!"

"What’s going on? Old Yang’s house caught fire? Quick, quickly put it out!"

The courtyard gates of each household opened, figures rushing out.

Even those reluctant to meddle, upon seeing a neighbor’s house on fire, dared not ignore it.

From further away on the main street, a violent banging of gongs was heard: "Dong dong dong——"

"Fire broke out! Jingsha Square caught fire!"

The night watchman called out loudly.

Thus the Marquis Wu Shop on the street also stirred, more and more shouts continuing to overlap.

Yet Chen Xu’s movements were faster than everyone else’s.

He kicked open Old Yang’s courtyard gate, and in the fiery shadows, pushed out the cart stacked with lambs.

The cart was placed in the middle of the street, and the neighbors rushing out had no time to see the blazing fire at Old Yang’s, seeing the cart in the middle of the street first instead.

Naturally, people for a moment ignored the cart; everyone with bucket in hand, water being poured, only shouting loudly: "Quick, quickly extinguish the fire!"

"Yang, Yang Dazhu, are you awake? Your house is on fire, come out quickly..."

"Old Yang’s wife, Old Yang’s wife!"

More and more people ran out, soon the street was packed.

Finally, someone noticed the cart on the street, amazed: "How come this cart is blocking the way? Quick, pull it aside..."

Before they finished speaking, someone came over from the side and grabbed them, saying, "Don’t rush, I just heard someone say what’s on this cart isn’t sheep, but people, people turned into sheep by the mother and son from the Yang family with the Beast Creation Technique!"

"What?"

In the chaotic scene, the bizarre words made people doubt their own hearing.

But the young man in the shadows repeated: "It’s really the Beast Creation Technique, these aren’t real sheep, they’re people transformed into sheep. A knight just came out of Old Yang’s house and told me that if you give the sheep water to drink, the Beast Creation Technique can be broken.

If you don’t believe me, we can water the sheep now."

With that, the young man snatched a bucket of water from a nearby neighbor, picked up a sleeping lamb, and indeed pinched open the lamb’s mouth, starting to pour water into it.