The ultimate master in the city

The wind was howling outside, and the three people inside could only stare blankly.

Zhou Fengchen scratched his head. "I'm just baffled. Other Taoist priests and monks can brag about encountering a ghost for a lifetime, but we encounter them every few days, in droves, from the East Sea to this Miao region. We're sick of killing them. Even when we come to settle scores, we run into this strange thing. Who can we complain to?"

Monk Yuanzhi scratched his head. "Perhaps this is what they call fate!"

"Fate my foot!" Zhou Fengchen spat.

"If that's really the case... any of you who lacks virtue will have a life of toil! Sooner or later you'll die because of this," Zhang Shisan said solemnly.

Zhou Fengchen pointed at Monk Yuanzhi, "That must be you. The bride ghost you saw is right ahead."

Monk Yuanzhi glared and said, "Come on! We're together, you get half too!"

"Forget it! Let's not talk about these superficial things." Zhou Fengchen flicked the beautiful woman's face a couple of times and asked, "Should I pursue her or not?"

Zhang Shisan said, "We must chase after it! Taoism has the saying that cause and effect are inescapable. We encountered this monster, but it escaped and will turn around and harm people again. We will be partly responsible for that."

"This credit is hard to come by!" Zhou Fengchen glanced at the sky; it was almost dawn. He said, "There's no rush. This beast is frightened and is probably hiding somewhere. Let's deal with things here first."

The three burned the wolf carcass, leaving only half to cook in a hot pot. Then they carried the three college students back to "Three Corpse Village".

On the way, Zhou Fengchen told Zhang Shisan and Monk Yuanzhi about the old man's situation, and they were deeply moved upon hearing it.

Upon returning to the guest village, the three immediately began to examine the old man's belongings. Good heavens! He was born in 1918, the seventh year of the Republic of China, and was almost a hundred years old. They wondered how long he had been dead.

The three then performed a ritual to help the old man's soul pass on. They made a simple coffin out of a bed board, carried shovels and claws, found a fertile patch of land, dug a hole, and buried the old man. On a whim, Monk Yuanzhi even erected a monument: "Tomb of the Old Man of Kezhai!"

After finishing, he skinned and chopped up the wolf, found a large iron pot, added water, salt, and star anise, and stewed it.

By the time the stew was ready, it was almost noon. Just then, the three college students woke up, and the six of them gathered around and quietly ate the wolf meat. It smelled delicious, but it wasn't very tasty; it was a bit rough.

The three college students didn't ask where the old man had gone. They seemed to still be in shock from what happened last night. They looked at Zhou Fengchen and the other two with strange expressions, it was hard to tell whether they were afraid or in awe.

It wasn't until after they finished eating and Zhou Fengchen and his companions were packing up that the female college student timidly spoke up: "We are students from the provincial art academy, here to sketch. And you are...?"

Monk Yuanzhi said in a deep voice, "There's no need to know. Knowing too much won't do any good."

The girl asked again, "Then last night... last night... what were they...?"

Monk Yuanzhi glared at him and said, "I told you not to ask any more questions. Just pretend nothing happened."

"Oh—" the girl nodded.

Zhou Fengchen said, "You guys should stop sketching and hurry home for the New Year. It's not safe in this remote mountain area."

"We're definitely not staying! We're not stupid," one of the male students said. "But... we're a little scared. Where are you going? Could you take us with you down the mountain to the town? We'll leave then."

Zhou Fengchen and the other two exchanged glances. So, they could ride in a car? Zhang Shisan quickly took out the woman's skin, then pulled out a compass and several embroidery needles from his bag. He sat cross-legged and began to perform a ritual to find the right location.

The three college students broke out in a cold sweat when they saw the woman. They quickly looked away, trembling all over. They had absolutely no idea what Zhou Fengchen and his two companions were up to.

A few minutes later, Zhang Shisan casually tossed the woman's skin under the boiler, picked up the compass, and said, "All set! The compass has pinpointed its location; it can't escape!"

"Then let's go!" Zhou Fengchen waved his hand.

The group tidied up all the rooms in the "guest village," locked all the room doors and courtyard gates, and then got into the college students' off-road vehicle.

The car had five seats. Three students sat in the front, and Zhou Fengchen and his two companions sat in the back. After starting the engine, Zhang Shisan directed the direction.

"Forward! A little to the left, keep going forward! Okay, downhill..."

After driving for more than two hours, when they reached the foot of the mountain, there was a four-way intersection on a winding mountain road. Zhang Shisan, looking at his compass, suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

The SUV braked suddenly and stopped. Zhou Fengchen asked, "What? Are you nearby?"

Zhang Shisan nodded, rolled down the car window, and looked at a low hill beside them. "Up there!"

The three got off the bus, and the three students, completely bewildered, followed them off shakily.

There was a staircase leading up the hill. An electric scooter was parked beside the staircase. Monk Yuanzhi looked at it curiously and asked, "Is anyone still up there?"

Zhou Fengchen drew his knife. "Let's go check it out!"

The group climbed the steps up the mountain and found a small pavilion at the top. Inside the pavilion were two plastic buckets filled with water, and next to the pavilion was an iron "dragon head" stuck in a hollow in the mountain. The dragon head dripped spring water continuously, and below it was a small square pool.

Zhang Shisan looked at the compass and said, "This is it!"

"Stand still." Zhou Fengchen greeted him, stepped into the pavilion, looked around, and then stared intently at the bottom of the pond.

Monk Yuanzhi and his companions found it strange, feeling as if there was no danger, so they all went into the pavilion and looked towards the pond.

Upon seeing this, Monk Yuanzhi and Zhang Shisan couldn't help but exclaim "Damn!" while the three college students simply yelled and backed away, squatting on the ground and vomiting.

The water in the pool was blood red, and beneath it lay a mangled corpse, without eyelids or lips, its eyeballs and teeth protruding, as if it had been skinned. Judging from its appearance, it was a woman, but its age was indiscernible.

Zhou Fengchen frowned, pointing at the pool water, "Is that the thing that wretch is?"

Zhang Shisan looked at the compass and noticed the needle had changed direction again. He shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No!"

"Then what is this...?" The three of them looked at each other and suddenly realized what was going on.

Electric bikes and mineral water bottles—it's highly likely a woman came to fetch water, only to be skinned alive by that vengeful spirit.

"Damn it!" Monk Yuanzhi cursed, "Forget about settling scores for now! Let's kill this beast first!"

Zhang Shisan nodded. "It must be impersonating the woman fetching water. We might have to put in some effort."

"Find it first," Zhou Fengchen said in a deep voice.

The three then performed a ritual to pray for the woman's soul before temporarily placing it in a suitable location.

The three students here were so exhausted from vomiting that their faces were deathly pale. They were probably questioning their existence and were practically dragged down the mountain by Zhou Fengchen and his two companions.

We continued on our way, this time winding our way north along the mountain road.

Around four or five in the afternoon, we arrived at a town. Looking around, we saw rows of tiled houses, which seemed to be located at some transportation hub. There were quite a few people, as well as supermarkets and small restaurants.

The car stopped at the edge of town. The three college students no longer wanted to stay with Zhou Fengchen and his two "weirdos." As soon as they got out of the car, they sped away.

Zhou Fengchen and his two companions stared at the compass, strolled around for a couple of minutes, and then stopped in front of a small supermarket.

There were three or five people inside buying cigarettes and soy sauce. The shop owner was a man in his thirties.

Zhang Shisan said, "It's right here!"

Zhou Fengchen glanced around at the people in the supermarket, then shook his head. "None of them!"

Monk Yuanzhi pointed to a hidden door at the very back of the supermarket and whispered, "Could it be there?"

I like the novel "The Strongest Master in the City".