Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 61 Peeling Back the Skin
Fang Shu appeared as if a god had descended, effortlessly taking the lives of the two strongmen.

Su Qin crawled on her knees in the cave, staring blankly at the scene before her, unable to recover for a moment.

It wasn't until Fang Shu checked the two men and confirmed they were dead that Su Qingao's body trembled violently.

Bang! Bang!
She immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, but for a moment she was trembling and couldn't even speak.

Fang Shu sized up the woman, his expression calm, showing no trace of the chivalrous demeanor of a rescuer. Instead, he gave a deep, hoarse command: "Step forward and search her."

He drew his sword and pointed it at the two corpses lying in front of him.

Su Qingao nodded hurriedly. Seeing that Fang Shu did not intend to kill her immediately, a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.

After a thorough search, she found a stack of talisman coins, three black bills, and several bottles of unknown pills on the two men.

Fang Shu ordered Su Qingao to pile the things aside, and then had the other party strip the clothes off the two men to prevent them from having any other tricks up their sleeves.

Even after Su Qingao finished her work, the two men remained lifeless, showing no signs of anything amiss.

Fang Shu relaxed slightly, then stepped forward and checked everything again before putting the talisman coins into the prepared satchel.

At this moment, his gaze fell on Su Qingao once again.

Su Qingao was being scrutinized by him, and she immediately forced a charming smile onto her face.

Although the woman was covered in bruises, her face was intact, and her eyes were red, making her look pitiful and quite charming.

Seeing Fang Shu staring intently at her without speaking, his gaze flickering coldly, Su Qingao wanted to continue her charming smile, but she couldn't help but reveal a fearful and tearful expression.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she trembled and crawled on her knees to Fang Shu's side. She reluctantly took out a red date the size of an infant's fist and held it in her palm.

She looked at Fang Shu ingratiatingly, and finally stammered out her first words:

"Immortal, Immortal Master, would you like some dates? They're good for your health."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu paused slightly.

He stared intently at the woman, and a subtle change finally appeared in his eyes.

After a few moments of silence, Fang Shu asked in a calm, hoarse voice:

"What benefits did Black Tiger Pavilion offer you? Tell me honestly, and I might even be willing to risk my life for money."

Su Qingao's face immediately lit up with even greater hope. She hurriedly kowtowed, pointing to the talisman money and black notes that Fang Shu had already plundered, and said urgently:
"The talisman money and pills are all here; the rest have been deposited as receipts."

Fang Shu's brows furrowed immediately.

Su Qingao was so frightened that she trembled and cried out:

"Immortal, you are wise and discerning! I received this money, but I haven't dared to spend a single penny."

She burst into tears and, before Fang Shu could press her for answers, spilled out her story about why she had run away from home and how she had escaped the town.

“Master, that old man is no human being. Life on the mountain is too hard, too hard. I just want to go down the mountain and go home.”

Su Qingao sobbed, "I didn't intend to set the street on fire. I just wanted to burn that old bastard to death."

"The people from Black Tiger Mansion told me that as long as I handed over the old man's assets to them and agreed to terminate the lease on the paper house, they could help me suppress the matter."

The woman kowtowed repeatedly, thumping her head repeatedly, and continued:

“I really never thought it would be like this, I really never thought it would be like this! It was all because of those rats, it was that guy called ‘Rat Lord’ who controlled the rats to set fire, which is why the whole paper mill was set on fire.”

Fang Shu listened to this explanation with narrowed eyes, and said calmly, "Oh, I see. But what does this have to do with me?"

He looked Su Qingao up and down, shook his head, and said, "Since you're useless, why bother..."

"No, I'm useful, I'm useful!"

Su Qingao hurriedly said, "I can help the immortal cultivate jujubes, I can work like an ox or a horse, I'm still alive, I only beg the immortal to spare my life."

Upon hearing these somewhat familiar words, Fang Shu felt a strange sensation in his heart, along with a chill.

However, he feigned reluctance and hesitated, saying:

"You've offended the Black Tiger Inn and have your name registered in the market. How can we possibly bring you back alive?"

Su Qingao's eyes lit up, and she trembled as she excitedly pointed to Fang Shu's satchel:
"Reporting to the Immortal Master! There are pills in here. As long as I apply them, I can have a new face."

Fang Shu glanced at the satchel and whispered, "The ointment for disguise? It's only for temporary use."

But as soon as he finished speaking, a tearing sound came from inside the cave:

"No, no, Elder Immortal, you are mistaken. It is I who possess magical abilities."

Su Qingao then extended her long, sharp fingernails and actually sliced ​​open her own face, slowly peeling it off to reveal a horrifying face beneath.

Even though Fang Shu had already entered the Dao and become an immortal, his eyelids still twitched involuntarily when he saw the scene before him.

But Su Qingao didn't care at all. She peeled off her entire face, held up the limp human skin in her hands, and smiled seductively again:
"Reporting to Elder Immortal, this is the art of skin painting. As long as there is suitable human skin to use, I can paint various appearances according to your preferences, and I guarantee you will be satisfied!"

She pointed to the two corpses on the ground and said, "Here are two ready-made skins. Although they are men's skins, with some modifications and my face skin, they can be used. Would you like me to give it a try, sir?"

As she spoke, Su Qingao stood up gracefully, covering herself, and looked at Fang Shu with deep affection.

However, her face was now a mixture of red and white, lacking any alluring charm, only conveying horror.

Fang Shu carefully examined the other party, showing no apprehension, but sighed softly and said:
"You've even resorted to such magic; no wonder you'd be willing to risk your life and commit such a terrible crime."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingao's face immediately stiffened.

She forced a smile and said, "What are you saying, sir? I don't quite understand."

Fang Shu then gently lifted the human skin with his long tongue-shaped sword, examining it as he chuckled softly.
"Do you truly not understand such magic, or are you pretending not to?"

It should be noted that, due to market control, no one dares to sell spells like the "hair-wearing spell" or the "skin-painting spell" openly in Guling Town.

Su Qingao, a mortal from the mortal realm with a tragic situation, had even less money and no way to go to the demon market outside the town to buy things. Even if she did, she might not be able to buy a painted skin that would suit her perfectly.

In short, this technique could only have been granted to Su Qingao by the Black Tiger Pavilion, and most likely, it was a deposit that was first used to lure her into becoming a henchman, giving her a "way out of the world." That's why she was so audacious as to commit such a horrific act as burning down the street.

Pfft!
Fang Shu saw through her disguise, and Su Qingao knelt on the ground again, her body trembling.

To her surprise, Fang Shu suddenly dropped his cold smile, instead nodding and scrutinizing her, saying with satisfaction:
"With this skill by your side, it seems you really do have some use."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingao suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with ecstatic joy.

She then heard Fang Shu ask her curiously where she got the materials for her first skin-painting technique, and whether there were any tricks to the practice.

Realizing that Fang Shu seemed to have his eye on the Skin-Painting Technique, Su Qingao dared not hide it any longer. She gritted her teeth and revealed the truth.

She said she first practiced with pigskin, and three days ago she got the old man drunk and skinned him alive to practice. Finally, she removed her own face skin and luckily mastered the technique, turning her own face into a painted skin.

As he spoke, mentioning the process of skinning the old man alive, Su Qingao's voice was filled with both gritted teeth and a sense of exhilaration, his emotions involuntarily revealed.

Fang Shu listened without changing his expression and commented:
"You were able to master this technique using only pigskin and the hide of an old man. Your talent in this type of magic is quite good."

Hearing the praise, Su Qingao felt even more relaxed, and a hint of joy rose within her as she gazed tenderly at Fang Shu.

Fang Shu sighed again, "It's a pity. The people who died in the paper mill were all charred and rotten. So much material can't be used for practice."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingao immediately blurted out:

“Master, there’s no need to feel sorry. Those poor wretches all deserve to die, they all deserve to die! Burning down the paper mill will only make it easier for me to buy their lives and skin them alive for you.”

She spoke with a mixture of resentment and satisfaction, looking at Fang Shu expectantly, hoping to gain his praise again.

"Oh, they all deserve to die?" But Fang Shu looked at her with a half-smile and sighed softly:
"I cannot afford to support Fellow Daoist Su who holds such a grudge."

Su Qingao was stunned for a moment, then realized what was going on, and her smile vanished.

She hurriedly tried to explain, but after a soft "pfft," only fear and despair remained on her face.

Gurgling!

The woman stretched out her hands and tightly covered her neck, blood bubbling from her mouth and hands, but she was powerless to stop the loss of life. She could only stare at Fang Shu with regret and resentment, her face contorted in rage.

Even after collapsing completely to the ground, Su Qingao still stared blankly at Fang Shu, just like the people she had burned to death in the paper mill, dying with their eyes wide open.

Fang Shu calmly watched the woman bleed profusely and slowly die, then shook his long tongue sword to clean off the blood.

Inside the cave.

After checking whether Su Qinggao was alive or dead, he stared at him intently for a few breaths.

immediately.

Fang Shu skillfully destroyed the other's wounds and threw both corpses in the cave into the river, leaving no hidden dangers.

However, when faced with the third skeleton, he hesitated for a moment and chose to take it out of the cave and leave it outside.

Then Fang Shu moved several more pieces of wood into the cave and threw down a fire talisman to light it, thus drying out the smell in the cave and completely destroying the evidence.

After cleaning up the scene, he picked up a skeleton, turned around, transformed into a fox, and flew into the forest, wandering around before leaving.

As dusk fell, the birds in the mountains and forests shivered with cold.

But on the riverbank, the fishy smell of the water attracted many predators, who were scrambling to eat it.

As night fell, the fat rat with the red tail scurried back again.

As soon as it jumped down from the cave, it scrambled back out in a flurry, staring blankly at the burning cave below, completely bewildered.

(End of this chapter)