Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Chapter 33: The Storm

Late at night, dark clouds obscured the moon.

The wealthy eastern district of Qingkou Town is characterized by its grand, secluded mansions.

Several precious cycads are planted in the courtyard, and there are also artificial hills and flowing water.

At this moment, Ghost Hand Zhang was standing shirtless in the courtyard.

Despite the freezing weather, he was radiating warmth from head to toe.

"call--"

He exhaled slowly.

As his palms flew, a faint popping sound could be heard in the air.

"Bang!"

The courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang.

Ghost Hand Zhang frowned, and the muscles at the corner of his eye twitched.

He dropped his stance, turned around, and looked at the person who had barged in, his eyes filled with malice.

The newcomer was none other than his trusted subordinate, Leopard with Red Flower Stick.

The leopard usually has a cold and sharp gaze, and it never shows its emotions.

But at this moment, he looked completely lost, his face ashen and covered in cold sweat.

"What's the panic!"

Ghost Hand Zhang grabbed a cloth from the side to wipe his sweat, and sneered, "Is the sky falling? If the brothers below see you like this, do you still want your reputation as Master Leopard?"

He assumed the leopard had come to complain about that petty matter at the greywater field again.

He is currently at the Ming Jin realm and is about to break through to the An Jin realm. When the Ming and An Jin realms merge, he will become a master of Hua Jin. He really doesn't want to be distracted by other things.

"grown ups!"

The leopard knelt down with a "thud," its knees slamming hard against the floor with a sickeningly loud sound.

He trembled all over, his voice filled with undisguised fear: "My lord... something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! I have something important to report!"

Ghost Hand Zhang paused in wiping his sweat.

He understands leopards.

This guy is extremely cunning; for him to be so terrified that he looks like he's lost his parents, it must be no small matter.

Ghost Hand Zhang narrowed his eyes and waved away the maids serving him.

"Speak up, or I'll cripple you!"

The leopard swallowed hard and said in fear:

"I...I obtained a fragmented manual a few years ago, which recorded a unique method..."

"I was momentarily bewitched and followed that method to raise a Rakshasa in the reeds of the Greywater Field."

"What?!"

Ghost Hand Zhang's pupils shrank sharply, and for the first time, his usually smirking face showed utter horror.

He suddenly bent down, grabbed the leopard by the collar, and lifted the lean man up with one arm, his eyes wide like saucers:

"Are you crazy?! You're raising monsters on gang territory?!"

"Do you know that the people from Shanyang City are coming down soon? This time it's an inspector sent down from above, in three days! The inspector will arrive in three more days!"

Ghost Hand Zhang lowered his voice, his roar sounding like it was being squeezed out between his teeth: "If they find out that our Qingkou Wharf is hiding something like this, not only you, but I will also lose my head because of you! Don't tell me you don't know that raising demons is a capital offense!"

"Where's Rakshasa?!" Ghost Hand Zhang stared intently at the leopard. "Did it run away? What if it gets out and hurts someone, causing a huge commotion..."

"No... I didn't run away..."

The leopard, struggling to breathe and its face turning a deep purplish-red, quickly waved its hands, saying, "Don't worry, sir... it's been killed."

Ghost Hand Zhang loosened his grip.

"call……"

He threw the leopard to the ground and let out a long sigh of relief; the feeling of surviving a disaster had soaked his back with sweat.

"It's better that he's dead...it's better that he's dead..."

Ghost Hand Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "Even if he's dead, we have to clean up the mess! We absolutely cannot let the inspector find out anything! You must cover up the traces as quickly as possible!"

The leopard knelt on the ground, head bowed, its expression shifting.

In the end, his greed and resentment triumphed over his fear.

He gritted his teeth and whispered, "My lord, although that Rakshasa is dead... it... has grown a corpse core."

"What?!"

Ghost Hand Zhang's heart, which had just settled down, suddenly jumped up again, but this time it wasn't fear, but ecstasy.

He whirled around, staring intently at the leopard, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light: "What did you say? Corpse core?! You mean that kind of corpse core that can help someone break through to the Refining Realm?!"

"Absolutely true." The leopard's heart was bleeding.

That was a treasure he had endured humiliation and nurtured for two whole years, a treasure he had prepared to save for himself to break through his bottleneck.

It should be noted that cultivating a Rakshasa is extremely troublesome. It takes the blood and flesh of a hundred people to evolve a water ghost into a Rakshasa, and even then, the Rakshasa may not necessarily condense a corpse core.

Half a month ago, when he checked, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Rakshasa had begun to condense its corpse core. It was also at that time that Chen Ping took over the Gray Water Field.

"That Rakshasa has devoured the flesh and blood of no less than a hundred people and has long since become a formidable force. Furthermore, I have been using secret methods to urge its growth from time to time, as recorded in the manual. By now, it must have formed a corpse core."

"Where?!" Ghost Hand Zhang asked urgently, his breathing becoming heavy.

"It should be on... that red-flower stick named Chen Ping."

The leopard's face revealed a look of regret and resentment, as if it had swallowed a fly.

"I don't know what got into that yellow-toothed guy today, he suddenly sent Chen Ping to the greywater field to clean up the water ghosts. I got wind of it and was just about to go and stop him myself..."

At this point, Leopard slammed his fist on the ground: "Then suddenly someone from Rouge Tiger's side came, saying they wanted to hear the quarterly report, and they dragged me away for two hours!"

"I couldn't get away, so I could only send four trusted men to stop Chen Ping... but those four good-for-nothings have all disappeared without a trace!"

"When I left Rouge Tiger's place and rushed to the Greywater Field... I only saw blood everywhere. Rakshasa's aura was gone, and Chen Ping was nowhere to be seen either."

"Idiots! A bunch of idiots!"

Enraged, Ghost Hand Zhang kicked Leopard in the chest, sending him sprawling.

"Why didn't you say something so important sooner?!"

Ghost Hand Zhang paced anxiously in the courtyard:

"Rouge Tiger...you bastard! She must have known all along that you were up to no good at the greywater mine! Otherwise, what a coincidence! She just had to call you away today, leaving you with no choice but to send those useless bastards to their deaths!"

"She's helping Chen Ping!"

The leopard clutched its chest as it scrambled to its feet, its face filled with shock: "Then...does she also want the corpse core?"

"She may not know about the corpse core."

Ghost Hand Zhang snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with a calculating light: "If she knew that was a Rakshasa, she would have used that as leverage to report you to the Incense Master long ago. She probably just wants to use Chen Ping to disgust us."

"But she never expected that this time, she would get such a huge windfall!"

Thinking of this, Ghost Hand Zhang suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes becoming incredibly greedy.

"The corpse core...this thing must not fall into the wrong hands!"

He turned his head and said coldly to the leopard:

"Leopard, keep this to yourself. If the charge of raising demons gets out, I won't be able to protect you."

"As for that corpse core..."

Ghost Hand Zhang paused, his voice icy: "Don't even think about it, it's mine."

The leopard trembled.

He kept his head down, his fingernails digging deep into the flesh of his palms, his knuckles turning white.

Not reconciled!

That was something he had raised for two years at the risk of losing his head.

The peaches were almost ripe, but someone stole them! Now, even the last bit of soup will be drunk up by Ghost Hand Zhang.

But what could he say?

If it weren't for Ghost Hand Zhang, and the matter of raising demons were exposed, the gang's punishment would be three cuts and six holes, while the government would have executed him by slow slicing.

"Yes……"

The leopard had no choice but to suppress his anger, his voice hoarse: "I understand... this corpse core belongs to you, sir. I only beg... I only beg you to spare my life."

"Don't worry, as long as I get the corpse core, and once I have another Refining Realm martial artist under my command, my influence within the gang will increase even further. I can still protect your life without any problem."

Ghost Hand Zhang waved his hand, a sinister smile spreading across his face: "Let's go! Gather the men, we're heading to Chen Ping's place right now! Before Rouge Tiger can react, let's detain him!"

"As long as we're fast enough, we can capture Chen Ping, force him to produce the autopsy core, and then fabricate some charge to dispose of him. Then there will be no way to prove anything! Even if that old dog Huang Ya comes, it won't matter! He won't dare to completely turn against me for a dead man!"

"yes!"

The leopard got up from the ground, a fierce glint in its eyes.

Since I can't have it, then you, Chen Ping, shouldn't expect to have it easy either!

Just as the two were filled with murderous intent and preparing to leave.

"Report—!"

A gray-clad lookout rushed into the courtyard, nearly bumping into Ghost Hand Zhang.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

The man with the eyeliner was panting heavily, his expression panicked: "Rouge Tiger...Rouge Tiger's men went to Chen Ping's courtyard!"

Ghost Hand Zhang and Leopard stopped in their tracks at the same time, their expressions changing drastically.

"When did this happen?" Ghost Hand Zhang asked sharply.

"Just...just a quarter of an hour ago!" The informant swallowed hard. "The personal maid of Rouge Tiger went there herself, with a sedan chair, and took Chen Ping away! She said...she said Chen Ping was seriously injured, and the madam wanted to take him to the manor to recuperate!"

"It's over."

The leopard's face was ashen.

Too late.

The worst has happened.

The corpse core... it's probably fallen into the hands of Rouge Tiger!

Ghost Hand Zhang's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He stared intently at the direction of the gate.

"Great...very good!"

Ghost Hand Zhang laughed in extreme anger:

"Rouge Tiger, that was a brilliant move to snatch me away! Are you trying to break ties with me?"

He abruptly turned to look at the leopard, his eyes flashing with murderous intent:

"Since she's determined to muddy the waters, let's play along!"