I Can Devour Spirits

Duan Rong dashed through the interwoven alleys, his feet moving swiftly, as if touching the ground like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Soon, Duan Rong arrived by the Wild Lake behind the City God Temple.

Before darting out of the alley, Duan Rong suddenly expanded his Divine Sense, and after confirming that no one was around, he rushed out without slowing down.

He stood amidst the reeds by the frozen Wild Lake, under a crescent moon so low it seemed within reach. The remaining moonlight scattered on the tips of the withered reeds, illuminating the ice in the center of the lake brightly.

He placed the bound man on the ground, then drew out a knife, channeling Inner Breath, digging a pit near a sycamore tree not far away to bury a clay pot.

Then, Duan Rong untied the two bound men, tied their hands and feet with rope, and hung them on the sycamore tree beside the Wild Lake!

After completing these actions, Duan Rong pondered, finding no flaws, he then tore a layer of skin from his face, revealing his dark face.

He placed the torn skin in his palm, combined both palms, infused Inner Breath, and rubbed it until the skin turned into dust, which drifted into the reeds, after which Duan Rong vanished from sight...

The crescent moon sank westward, and a pale light gradually appeared in the east!

The Wild Lake was desolate, with cold winds and mist continuously drifting, but Wang Chun and the one called Rat, hung on the sycamore tree by the lake, did not even shiver, appearing lifeless. Only their pallid faces and purple lips revealed that they were engulfed by the cold.

However, the effects of the paralyzing drug in them had not worn off, so despite the freezing cold, it couldn’t awaken them.

The morning sun rose amidst the lingering cold, but the heavy chill diminished its warmth, bringing hardly any heat to the land, although it did brighten the sky.

The two hanging on the sycamore tree gradually showed some reactions.

As the drug’s effects wore off, they awoke almost simultaneously, realizing they were thoroughly frozen, trembling all over.

Their limbs were tied and they were hung on the tree, able only to shout loudly, but the desolate Wild Lake was rarely visited, and after shouting for a long time, their voices broke off in the cold wind, yet not a single figure appeared.

At this time, the old Temple Priest of the City God Temple suddenly opened the back door, standing at the entrance and shrinking his neck while emptying his chamber pot into the wild near the lake.

Then the old Temple Priest heard the intermittent cries for help carried by the cold wind.

He sniffled, wrapped himself tighter in his quilted clothes, and walked towards the sycamore tree with the odorous empty pot.

As soon as the old Temple Priest approached, he was shocked to see two people hanging from the tree.

The two, hanging there, were nearly lifeless, close to freezing to death in the cold wind. Upon seeing the old Temple Priest with the chamber pot, they suddenly sparked with survival potential, wriggling like maggots albeit tied, shouting for rescue.

”Old Temple Priest, help... me...”

The old Temple Priest blinked his eyes, recognizing one person, and said, ”Isn’t this Rat?”

The old Temple Priest had lived in Xianggu County for over sixty years and knew many folks in the city. Rat was the head of the petty thieves in the City God Temple area and had some dealings with the old Temple Priest.

Though a thief, petty thieves held reverence, believing in the saying ”three feet above, the deities reside,” so Rat always instructed his subordinates not to touch anything in the City God Temple to avoid angering the City God and harming the county civilians.

Moved by Rat’s usual harmlessness, the old Temple Priest brought a ladder used for repairing the temple roof and released the two from the sycamore tree.

Seeing the two shivering too much to walk, he fetched hot water from the temple for them to drink, and when they recovered a bit, he led them inside to warm up by the fire basin.

Wang Chun and Rat felt an itching sensation on their hands, feet, and faces in front of the glowing fire basin—an instinctive reaction of having been thoroughly frozen and then suddenly warmed up.

Observing the two’s faces easing up, the old Temple Priest asked, ”Rat, what happened to you two? Hanging there in this chilly month, had I come an hour later, you would have likely frozen to death.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Chun and Rat’s faces turned extremely ugly, reminiscent of the terrifying, eerie scene from last night.

With shivering lips, Rat looked at the old Temple Priest with a peculiar expression and asked, ”Old Temple Priest, do you believe in ghosts?”

The old Temple Priest’s eyes flickered, thinking these two must have been tricked by someone, and replied, ”In the Jianghu, there are countless Abnormal Techniques and Evil Techniques. Ghosts are nothing compared to human deceit!”

Yet Rat’s eyes showed overwhelming fear as he murmured, ”Old Temple Priest, you don’t understand. That was indeed a ghost! A real fierce ghost!”

”From such a distance, with just a wave of his hand, I collapsed.”

”Moreover, that ghost emerged from a clay pot...”

Seeing Rat growing increasingly irrational, the old Temple Priest sighed and said, ”Now that you’ve rested, you should go back. This temple is about to open for worshipers soon.”

”No!” Rat suddenly said, ”I want to kowtow to the City God.”