Chapter 305: Reeds

Seeing the last of the Bai family, Bai Sai, disappear into the dense reed marsh, Li Huowang raised his foot to pursue. “Wait!”

A giant hand, larger than his own body, suddenly yanked him back. But when Li Huowang looked down, he found no giant claw on him at all.

He spun around abruptly, glaring at the Supervisor wearing a wooden mask beside him. It was that person’s illusion again.

Seeing Li Huowang, who was radiating killing intent, the Supervisor raised his hands and backed away several steps. “Brother, I’m helping you!”

“Those people all know your identity now. If you go in alone, you’ll be walking straight to your death.”

A frustrated Li Huowang shook his head vigorously. He recalled how Bai Lingmiao had described her family to him, bit by bit.

According to her, her parents and clan members were all kind and good people, completely contradicting what this person claimed.

“Could it be… Bai Lingmiao lied to me? No, she wouldn’t lie to me!” Li Huowang’s hesitant gaze instantly firmed.

From his previous interactions with the Bai family, they certainly didn’t seem like what this person described.

“There must be some misunderstanding. I need to ask them directly and clarify!”

With that, Li Huowang left the masked Supervisor standing there and walked straight into the reed marsh, ignoring his shouts.

The moment Li Huowang entered the reed marsh, the sky instantly darkened. The sausage-like reed heads above squeezed out almost all the remaining contact with the outside world.

Looking down at the footprints on the ground, Li Huowang slowly followed them. “Patriarch Bai! It’s me! Please come out! Let’s talk!”

After calling for a while and getting no response from the reed marsh, Li Huowang first glanced at the continuous expanse of waxy yellow reeds behind him, then spoke again: “Don’t worry, I have a life-or-death friendship with Eryatou! If the Bai family has any unspeakable difficulties, I will definitely help with all my might!”

“I’m on your side! That person with the wooden mask, I’ve only just met him. As long as I’m here, he won’t dare to do anything to you!” Li Huowang’s voice echoed far through the reed marsh.

Soon after he said this, two sturdy young men from the Bai family leaped out from the reeds ahead, silently watching Li Huowang.

Seeing them emerge, Li Huowang slightly relaxed and continued, “I know you might think I’m with the Supervisors and don’t trust me, but my connection with that organization isn’t as close as you imagine. How about this? Let’s go back to Niuxin Village first; Eryatou is there, and you can let her explain everything.”

The two youths said nothing. They simply spread their legs, one to the left and one to the right, then ripped off their clothes, and began practicing a form, completely naked.

Li Huowang couldn’t understand what they were doing. This form didn’t involve clenched fists like a martial art, nor did it involve hand seals like a spell.

As their hands gestured in the air, both muttered incantations: “Immortals bestow true divine power, Heavenly soldiers and generals display their might. All immortals heed my command, swiftly enter my mortal body!”

The next moment, Li Huowang saw a tall, slender, shimmering phantom wrapped in black strips float up from the ground, moving towards their bodies.

“What kind of evil spirit is that!” Li Huowang quickly drew his copper coin sword, intending to drive the thing away.

But before he could get close, the two Bai family youths suddenly raised their eyes, glaring at Li Huowang with a sinister gaze.

A shocked Li Huowang stopped dead in his tracks, looking at the two individuals whose demeanor and actions were completely different from before. “What… what exactly is this? Spirit possession? Inviting an evil spirit to possess them?”

If Li Huowang had previously been somewhat skeptical of the Supervisor’s words, seeing the appearance of these two youths now made his suspicions gradually rise.

“Listen, I truly don’t want to fight you. Whatever you’ve done in the past has nothing to do with me; it’s the business of other Supervisors to deal with you!”

With a whoosh, the two naked youths, almost blurring into afterimages, suddenly lunged at Li Huowang.

Possessed by some unknown evil spirits, they moved with grotesque strangeness. Every part of their bodies seemed to have its own independent will.

Their fingers spread apart, jabbing towards Li Huowang’s neck like twitching snake heads.

These two didn’t seem strong, but Li Huowang didn’t strike, knowing that all his techniques were lethal blows.

If he were to strike, these two would either die or be severely injured, and that was precisely what Li Huowang wanted to avoid.

Li Huowang’s body twisted and turned through the reeds, constantly dodging the attacks of the two men.

He didn’t know what kind of evil spirits had possessed them, but their movements were incredibly agile, leaving Li Huowang very much on the defensive for a while.

“Thwack!” Li Huowang stumbled, and the two opponents immediately lunged at him. Instead of directly attacking him, they tried to snatch the copper coin sword from his hand.

Li Huowang pressed his hand down, and the next moment, with a clang, he felt his back lighten. “Damn it!”

Li Huowang turned his head, and a cold gleam flashed as the purple-eared sword, radiating malevolence, thrust violently towards his face.

He wanted to counter or parry, but both his hands were held by the two Bai family youths.

At this critical moment, Li Huowang instantly dislocated his body, forcing himself to shift a few inches to the left.

“Ahzina Lingguang Dashe!” The copper coin sword in Li Huowang’s hand burst forth, and, guided by a reddish aura, effortlessly severed the fingers that were reaching for him.

Then, with a fierce kick, he sent the man in front of him sprawling, and Li Huowang quickly distanced himself from the others.

The moment their gazes met, the man clutching the purple-eared sword instantly knelt on one knee, his face contorted in pain, and the sinister expression rapidly faded from his features.

As the purple-eared sword in his hand fell limply into the ground, he knelt there, roaring wildly with an extremely agitated expression.

Looking at the two youths whose fingers he had severed, and the other Bai family member who had been affected by the malevolent aura, Li Huowang sighed softly. “Did it have to come to this? Couldn’t we have just talked?”

No sooner had he spoken than the surrounding reeds began to sway, and sinister male faces flickered faintly within the waxy yellow stalks.

Those emotionless faces sent shivers down Li Huowang’s spine; almost half of the entire Bai family had been possessed by evil spirits.

Among the crowd, the one-toothed elder, supported by Bai Sai, emerged. Trembling, he began to speak.

His mouth, with only one tooth, opened and closed rhythmically, chanting something, as foul-smelling black sludge oozed from the corners of his lips.

“Lan~Tuanlei~Xiaoshi”

As this familiar yet unfamiliar sound resonated, several familiar figures appeared before Li Huowang.

They were the Wandering Masters. Although there was no trembling of bells, their forms were unusually blurred, yet Li Huowang, having used them so many times, could still recognize their appearance.

Watching the Wandering Masters flicker like phantoms in mid-air, Li Huowang recalled the information Bai Lingmiao had given him back in Qingfeng Temple.

Why would an ordinary young woman know about an evil spirit like the Wandering Masters?

Now, witnessing the scene before him, everything became clear. This elder must be the grandfather who told her stories.