The Buddha is actually me

Chapter 153 The Red Embroiderer
"Give me... the skin..."

The man seemed to be possessed. Even though he was about to die, he was still staring at the tiger skin with longing in his eyes.

Zhang Jiuyang shook his head, knowing that there was nothing to say to such a person.

He has been completely brainwashed by the Painted Skin Master. If he wants to get anything out of him, he can only search his soul.

The magic power under his feet circulated, shattering his heart meridians.

The man's eyes began to dim, and finally fell completely silent, but his gaze was still directed towards the tiger skin. Even until his death, he would never forget this layer of skin.

Zhang Jiuyang took a deep breath, sucked his soul directly out of his body, and swallowed it into his stomach.

The magical power to eat ghosts!
Without that layer of skin, the man has almost no cultivation. The impact of resentment is no different from a breeze to Zhang Jiuyang now.

In his mind, the man's memories were like a painting for him to read.

To this day, with the improvement of his cultivation, Zhang Jiuyang found that he was becoming more calm and objective when eating ghosts. In the past, when he devoured Yunniang's soul, he would feel emotional and put himself into the story.

But now, he was like an absolutely calm bystander, neither sad nor happy, quietly watching other people's lives, as if he was reading a book or looking at a painting.

Looking for the clues he wanted.

Soon, he got what he wanted.

The man's name was Zhao Hu. He was a hunter on Tiger Hill. Thanks to his skilled hunting techniques, he had enough food and drink and lived a stable life, although he was not rich.

But he had an obsession like a demon in his heart, which was to hunt a tiger.

His father was bitten to death while hunting a tiger.

To this end, he continued to practice hunting techniques and studied the living habits of tigers. Finally, he hunted his first tiger. From then on, he was unstoppable.

The second, the third, the fourth...

His skills became more and more proficient, and he even developed a secret medicine specifically for dealing with tigers. If he put it in food, even the most ferocious tiger would fall into a drowsy state and be at the mercy of others once it had eaten it.

In this way, he became a famous tiger hunter.

Many dignitaries came to him to order tiger skins, tiger bones, tiger penises and other items. He made a fortune from this, married a beautiful wife, and had two lovely children.

If it were someone else, they might not do this dangerous job as a tiger hunter, but Zhao Hu is different. He has always had a great interest in hunting tigers.

After killing all the tigers here, he would go to other mountains, and when he had killed all the tigers here, he would go to the next mountain.

And regardless of size, gender, they will all be caught and killed without mercy!

Over time, his home was filled with tiger skins of all sizes drying in the sun, and precious tiger bones. Some people said that there were often tiger roars in his home at night, but he had never heard it.

Some people advised him that God is merciful and tigers are living beings. If you kill too many of them, you will suffer retribution, but he always laughed it off.

Until one day, a tiger came to Tiger Hill.

It turned out to be the rarest white tiger, as big as a calf and its roar was like thunder.

Zhao Hu was extremely excited and quickly set a trap to hunt the precious white tiger. However, he did not expect that the tiger was very smart and did not even look at the drugged pheasant. There was even a hint of mockery in his eyes.

After that, Zhao Hu's nightmare began.

The white tiger sneaked into his home and bit to death the hunting dog he had raised since it was a puppy. Instead of eating the dog, the tiger placed the dog's head next to his pillow.

After waking up, Zhao Hu was shocked and angry. This was clearly a provocation. He had been hunting tigers all his life, but this was the first time he had been insulted like this.

He knew that the white tiger would come again, so he set many traps in his home and waited for it to come to him.

A few days later, the white tiger really came, but there were gusts of evil wind and the tiger's roar was shocking. All his traps were blown away by the evil wind. One of the wooden spikes happened to pierce his wife's neck and she died on the spot.

Zhao Hu will never forget the mocking look the white tiger gave him when he was crying while holding his wife's body.

He realized at that moment that it was a tiger spirit that had come to take revenge on him!
The white tiger did not eat him, but planned to torture him slowly and take revenge bit by bit.

Zhao Hu was filled with hatred. After burying his wife, he vowed to take revenge.

On the second day, he regrouped and tried his best to hunt down the tiger, but his moves were all defeated one by one.

That night, the white tiger ate one of his children.

Zhao Hu finally understood that every time he lost a game, the white tiger would take the life of someone close to him, first the hunting dog, then his wife, and then his child...

Until the end, eat him!
In order to protect his last child, he put aside all his dignity and pride, knelt in front of the white tiger, bowed his head and cried, waiting to be killed.

However, the white tiger still looked at him with that mocking look, and then ate his last child amid his desperate cries.

The white tiger left, as if to say, you still have one last chance.

Zhao Hu, who had lost everything, wanted to jump off a cliff to commit suicide, but he met someone who changed his destiny. She was a woman wearing a red dress named Xiu Niang.

The embroiderer said that the white tiger was the child of one of the tigers she had hunted that year. Now that it had achieved great success in cultivation, it came back specifically for revenge.

However, although the white tiger is powerful, it has a fatal weakness: it is in the critical period of transformation, and every night it has to bathe in a mountain spring deep in Tiger Hill and absorb the moonlight.

When bathing, the tiger monster will take off its skin and put it on the shore. At this time, Zhao Hu can rush up to grab the tiger skin and then put it on himself. Then, he will gain the power to defeat the tiger monster.

She specifically reminded him that the tiger demon would successfully transform tonight, so he must put on the tiger skin immediately after snatching it, otherwise once it was taken back, he would lose hope of defeating the tiger demon forever.

Zhao Hu, who was eager for revenge, did exactly what the embroiderer said. He found the mountain spring, sprinkled powder on his body to cover up the smell, and then lay in ambush in advance.

The fact was just as the embroiderer said. The white tiger really came at night, took off its tiger skin, and turned into a naked man, soaking comfortably in the mountain spring.

Zhao Hu decisively ran to the shore and snatched the white tiger skin. Ignoring the man who was shouting loudly and looking frightened, he put on the tiger skin.

Then, a powerful force surged in his body, as if a stream of air rushed through his throat. He opened his mouth and shouted, and what came out was a powerful tiger roar like thunder.

He turned into a white tiger, bit the man to death with one bite, cut open his stomach and dug out his heart. Driven by animality and hatred, he ate the man.

It was also at that moment that Zhao Hu felt like he had turned into a wild beast. Although he was still conscious, he gradually began to lose himself.

At first he tried to resist, but as he continued to eat raw meat and drink blood, he finally sank completely and became it. He killed the white tiger, but became a new white tiger.

The tiger skin has a strange magical power that can turn people into beasts and make them indulge in it, treating it as the most precious treasure.

But tiger skin is not indestructible.

Whenever the tiger skin was damaged, the embroiderer would appear and sew the tiger skin for the owner using bones as needles and hair as thread.

In order to obtain the tiger skin, it had to obey the embroiderer and often bit to death people who entered the mountains, and then dug out their hearts and skins.

Recently, the skull has also been dug out.

In fact, sometimes when it is awake, it wonders why the embroiderer is so skilled in mending this tiger skin?
Why does she always show up at the right time?
Although there was a trace of doubt in its heart, its increasingly strong animal nature made it gradually give up thinking, not to mention that it was completely dependent on the tiger skin.

More than a month ago, the embroiderer got a piece of tattered white tiger skin from somewhere, and with her skillful hands, she sewed two pieces of tiger skin into one perfect piece.

From then on, its power became stronger, and it also gained the magical powers of a ghost and controlling the wind. With the help of its brand new tiger skin, it successfully killed the old Taoist priest who had been searching for it in the mountains, and turned him into a ghost to lure other people for it.

The price is that as its power grows, it becomes more brutal and bloodthirsty, and once it smells the heart, it becomes salivating and extremely hungry.

……

Zhang Jiuyang slowly opened his eyes, looking thoughtful.

After reading Zhao Hu's memory, he found many suspicious points.

The woman named Xiu Niang must be a subordinate of the Painted Skin Master. The so-called White Tiger's Revenge must be a show planned by her.

She just wanted the white tiger skin to belong to a different owner.

After Zhao Hu became a famous tiger hunter, he might have been targeted by her. This woman was so cruel and scheming that after causing the death of Zhao Hu's entire family, she also wanted him to become her pet and be used by her.

Embroidery lady...

Zhang Jiuyang wrote down this name. This woman's scheming was so deep and her methods so vicious that she should not be underestimated. Moreover, she should be an important subordinate of the Painted Skin Master, because all the hearts, human skins and skulls collected by Zhao Hu were given to her.

From beginning to end, Zhao Hu never saw the Master of Painted Skin once.

"Brother Zhang...Master Zhang, this tiger demon is actually a human? What's going on?"

Seeing that the outcome was decided, Liu Zifeng and his junior sister walked out of the mountain temple, looked at the man's body, and asked curiously.

It’s not that they are unwilling to draw their swords and help, but they know their own limitations. In a fight of this level, they will only be a hindrance.

Zhang Jiuyang turned around and saw that the two men looked at him with more awe, but less intimacy.

It was as if I was looking at a great figure who was high above me.

Su Lingshan, who was so warm and generous and wanted to give him money as soon as they met, was now avoiding his gaze and was very reserved.

He sighed softly and said, "I am not some immortal master, nor do I mean to deceive you. I am Zhang Jiuyang, just a wild Taoist priest. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Zhang."

Hearing this, Liu Zifeng seemed to be relieved and said with a smile: "Okay, then we will dare to call you Brother Zhang."

Zhang Jiuyang nodded and smiled, then looked at Zhao Hu's body and said, "He was originally a human, but he became a tiger demon only because he put on this tiger skin."

Su Lingshan looked at the tiger skin in his hand, shuddered, and said, "If I put on the tiger skin, I will become a tiger?"

Zhang Jiuyang nodded and said solemnly, "This skin is strange. Ordinary people may not be able to resist its temptation. I will accept it first."

"Of course, it was you, Brother Zhang, who got rid of the demon. If it weren't for you, we would have lost our lives. That Taoist Master Jingxing is so abominable!"

Su Lingshan stamped her feet and gritted her teeth.

Just then, a voice sounded.

"I almost killed you all, I apologize here!"

The one who spoke was actually the head of Jingxing that was thrown aside by Zhang Jiuyang. But unlike before, the Taoist priest's eyes were clear at this moment, without any evil thoughts. Instead, he showed a look of guilt and regret.

Zhang Jiuyang's heart moved.

Taoist Master Jingxing was originally a kind-hearted person. He became an accomplice only because he became an accomplice with a twisted mind. This matter cannot be blamed entirely on him.

With the death of the tiger demon, although Taoist Master Jingxing regained his clarity of mind, his time was running out and he was about to disappear.

His head became increasingly transparent.

"I have killed so many people, I deserve to die. If you two young heroes don't mind, you can take the talismans and magic tools I carry with you and use them for self-protection. This can be regarded as a small compensation from me."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Jiuyang again.

"Thank you for getting rid of this monster, so that I won't have to help the evildoers any more. However, I am just a little bit of Taoist skill, so I can't help you in any way."

"Under the third pine tree next to the mountain temple, there are my incomplete remains. Fellow Daoist, you can take my ashes back to the Wanfu Tower in Yangzhou. Considering that I have worked diligently for the sect to subdue demons for decades, they should give you some rewards, and I can return to my roots."

Zhang Jiuyang frowned and asked, "Don't you have any relatives?"

Generally speaking, people are willing to let their relatives keep their ashes.

Jingxing said calmly: "I am alone and have no ties. My only relative is my master, who has also been buried."

"Being able to return to Wanfu Tower is my greatest wish."

Zhang Jiuyang was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I will bring your ashes back to Wanfu Tower."

There was a look of gratitude in Jingxing's eyes. At the last moment before his soul dissipated, he closed his eyes and recited a passage devoutly.

"Chi Yao holds the talisman, and writes with his heart full of redness."

"Eliminate the demons and the world will be clean, drive away the evil and the sun and moon will be bright..."

The sound dissipated in the wind and stopped abruptly.

(End of this chapter)