My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 40 Xikai Hutong
Looking at the text information on the screen, Jiang Xinghuo's mind moved and he activated the inherited relic of the Punishment Knight.

A burning sensation suddenly came from the body and instantly spread to the whole body, as if being in boiling water.

The bones and joints in the body creaked, the muscles began to flex and swell, and even the line of sight rose, unknowingly stained with a hint of bright red.

In the blink of an eye, the transformation was complete.

Jiang Xinghuo's eyes were bloodshot. He tried to move his body, then quickly walked to the riverside. He waved his hand to form a water mirror. When he looked closely, a completely unfamiliar image appeared in the water mirror.

His burly body was hidden under dark golden armor, covered with scars of war. Although he looked tall and mighty, he did not appear bloated at all. Instead, he exuded a terrifying aura.

As he walked, the armor clanged and the sound of metal continued, like the sound of an ancient bell breaking through the thick fog in the dark night.

Looking at the image in the water mirror, Jiang Xinghuo was very surprised. He didn't expect that after merging with the Punishment Knight, his body would undergo such a big change.

His original height was close to 1.9 meters, and now he has become a giant over 2 meters tall. His sturdy body covered with armor looks like a perfect sculpture.

Jiang Xinghuo nodded with satisfaction. Although the level of the Punishment Knight was not high, the talent effect was good. It could reduce the enemy's attributes by 30% across the board. This meant that from now on, the enemy's strength would be greatly weakened when facing him.

And another advantage is that you can hide your identity.

With a burly figure over two meters tall, no one can associate him with themselves. If there is anything in the future where it is inconvenient to show his face, he can simply change into this image and do it.

However, there is also a disadvantage, that is, only one of the two inherited relics can be effective at the same time, which means that when he uses Tathagata Garbha, he cannot use the Punishment Knight.

Conversely, when he transforms into a Punishment Knight, Tathagata's talent will become ineffective, but fortunately his various abilities and props will not be affected in any way.

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it carefully and decided that this should be considered a balancing mechanism of the game.

He remembered that day at the Public Opinion Bureau, Lin Tianshou once said that the game has actually been resisting players' exploration and does not want the exiles to return to that world.

Then it seems reasonable to curb the players' strength and exploration of the map.

"pity……"

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He dissolved his fusion with the Punishment Knight, then controlled the water flow to transform into a giant hand and threw the headless knight's body into the river.

He originally wanted to inform Lin Tianshou and let him handle the matters here.

But then he thought it was unnecessary and might get himself into trouble, so he simply destroyed the bodies and drew water from the surrounding area to erase all traces of the battle.

After everything was settled, Jiang Xinghuo breathed a sigh of relief, put on Suicune's cloak, jumped, and swam upstream along the riverbed at an incredibly fast speed. He soon returned to the city and found a deserted place to go ashore.

When he returned home, it was already past two in the morning.

Jiang Xinghuo changed his clothes, took a hot bath, then went to the refrigerator, took out half a watermelon, scooped out a large piece with a spoon and put it into his mouth.

“Comfortable!!”

Jiang Xinghuo sat on the sofa holding a watermelon. While eating, he took out his mobile phone and started today's game. He seemed to be completely unaffected.

Logically speaking, since it was his first time killing someone, he should have felt a little uneasy, anxious, and fearful, but Jiang Xinghuo did not feel any of those emotions at all. He was like a stagnant pool of water, without causing the slightest ripple.

Jiang Xinghuo was eating watermelon while playing games. "You are walking on the streets of Longcheng."

"Where are you planning to go for a stroll today?"

As usual, a bunch of options are listed on the screen.

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it and realized that he had explored many places since he came to Longcheng. There were only a few places he had not been to, so he made a decision quickly.

"You chose to go to Xikai Hutong for a stroll."

"This is a well-known haunted house in Longcheng. Normal people tend to stay away from it. If you want to go here, it's best to ask around before deciding whether to go in."

"Do you want to go and look around?"

When the options came, Jiang Xinghuo didn't think about it and just chose yes.

It doesn't take much effort anyway, it just takes some time.

"Exile, you are near Xikai Hutong."

"You found those gossipy women who like to gossip behind people's backs, and learned from them what happened here."

"After the Dawn Night, although the world was in chaos and wars broke out everywhere, Longcheng was still as prosperous as before, and there were many wealthy families who fled from the capital."

"One of the families is named Wang. Not only does he have a jealous wife, but he also has a lecherous husband."

"This master is not a simple person. It is said that his ancestors were loyal ministers. Therefore, he has been blessed by his ancestors and has accumulated a lot of wealth. Even if he just eats and waits for death, he can live comfortably for several lifetimes."

"So when I have nothing to do on weekdays, I like to go to the theater to listen to a play."

"That day, a new actress came to the theater. Not only was she young and pretty, with a graceful figure, but she also played the pipa very well, which attracted the master's covetousness."

"When the show is over in the evening, have the servant go find this girl and tell her that our master has taken a liking to you. Come over. As long as you serve the master well, you will enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future, and you will have plenty of money to spend."

"But the girl didn't want it at all. She said she was selling her art but not her body, and she refused to agree. The servant saw that this was unacceptable, so he blocked her mouth, put a sack on her, and took her away at night. He brought her to the master's private residence, which is located in Xikai Hutong."

"The master threatened the girl's parents and lover, saying he would kill them if she didn't obey. The girl had no choice but to become the master's mistress, as she wanted to commit suicide but was worried about her parents and lover.

"The master was so happy in his comfortable life that he couldn't bear to leave. But the good times didn't last long. The news that he was keeping a mistress outside was known to the grandmother at home."

"When the grandmother came to the courtyard, she was so angry that her three corpses jumped up and down, her internal organs were burning, and smoke came out of her seven orifices."

"But she didn't dare to get angry at the master, so she could only take it out on the girl. So she had the girl tied up and fed her more than half a pound of arsenic."

"After the girl took the arsenic, blood started flowing from all her orifices, her face turned blue and black, and she struggled for a long time before dying in agony."

"You said that after you killed him, you would find a place to bury him and that would be it. I don't know what Grandma was thinking. Not only did she not bury him, she also put him on the bed and covered him with a quilt. She deliberately didn't tell Master, thinking that I couldn't scare you to death."

"A few days later, the master came to the courtyard drunk after attending a banquet outside. He walked into the room in the dark, called out "baby" and pounced on her. Coincidentally, the moon was quite big that night..."

(End of this chapter)