owlsbooks Chapter 19 Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, Reaching the Ends of the Earth in an Inch
Chapter 19 Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, Reaching the Ends of the Earth in an Inch
Li Qingchen brought up the control panel.
[Hint: The 'Plunder' talent has been triggered!]
[You have obtained a fox pelt imbued with the "Art of Skin Painting." Since you already possess a damaged fox pelt, you may choose to fuse this pelt with it.]
The fused fox fur pigments will last longer and be more durable.
[Will you choose to merge?]
"Integration".
Li Qingchen clicked his tongue and said, "This way we can happily dig graves in the mass graves again."
Then I looked at the panel.
His mastery of the Demon Observation Technique has also increased.
Since mastering the art of observing qi, Li Qingchen has expanded his perception beyond simply "seeing" to encompass all five senses.
For example, he can now use his sense of smell to determine the location of demons.
Before the fox demon arrived, Li Qingchen had already smelled a pungent odor similar to mustard in the air, so he took precautions from a distance.
Li Qingchen guessed that the fox demon first ate the girl and transformed into human form, then deliberately seduced the bandits, causing them to slaughter the girl's entire family.
He originally intended to use the incident of being sexually harassed to get closer to her and then pull off a "hug and kill" move.
Unexpectedly, he possessed this magical ability.
In the end, he had most of his head sliced off with a single sword strike, and his death was certainly not unjust.
Ignoring Lin Bufan's shocked gaze, Li Qingchen strode forward.
The two bandits were immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
They initially intended to enter the village and find a young wife to have some fun, but they never expected to be bewitched and lose their minds by a fox spirit.
After witnessing Li Qingchen's ruthless and fierce killing of the fox demon, they were filled with even greater fear.
The two quickly knelt on one knee:
"Thank you so much for saving me, hero..."
——Swish.
Before he could finish speaking...
Two sword lights flashed by casually.
The next moment, each of the two bandits had a bloody hole in their chest.
The two brothers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Then they bumped heads together, their bodies collapsing to the ground like stray dogs whose spines had been removed.
Li Qingchen stepped over the two dead dogs and continued forward.
Lin Bufan finally snapped out of his daze and gritted his teeth, saying, "Wait for me!"
…………
Caijia Village.
It was already noon, but the streets were deserted.
The wind whips up the yellow sand, adding to the desolation.
The eerie peace was broken only when a person dressed in simple clothes appeared.
On both sides of the street, several children quietly opened the doors and peeked through the cracks at the swordsman in plain clothes standing in the middle of the road.
He hadn't been watching for long when his parents scolded him, ordering him to close the doors and windows and forbid him from watching anymore.
Li Qingchen frowned slightly.
He had pinpointed the fox demon's location using the aura-gazing technique.
It's hard to imagine that a village could harbor seven fox demons.
The villagers of Caijia Village were fortunate not to have been completely exploited.
Given this situation, it's certainly not because the fox demon has taken pity on her.
Compared to other demons, fox demons are more likely to satisfy their hunger.
They like to use human skin as a disguise, steadily absorbing the yang energy of those around them to strengthen their primordial spirit, until they have squeezed out the last bit of value before eating people.
Furthermore, with the Demon Slayer Division's inspection imminent, it's unlikely that trouble will arise anytime soon.
Unless forced to the brink, they will never voluntarily reveal their identity.
Once exposed, it means the other party is doomed.
…………
Li Qingchen stopped.
Suddenly, a boy of similar age to Liu Yi appeared on the deserted street ahead.
He crossed his arms and beckoned to Li Qingchen provocatively.
Li Qingchen was amused.
Do you like to pretend?
Lin Bufan, who arrived shortly after, immediately realized that the boy was a fox demon in disguise.
He was about to draw his sword when a hand pressed it down.
I can't pull it out no matter what.
"I already told you, leave these fox demons to me," Li Qingchen said softly.
Lin Bufan was shocked by Li Qingchen's profound internal strength, but still angrily said:
"Exorcising demons is no child's play! If you wait until you realize you're no match for them before asking for my help, it will probably be too late!"
"If you want the fox demon's corpse to claim the bounty, just say so. I, Lin Bufan, am not greedy for merit or fame; I can give you money and benefits."
"I, Lin Bufan, will only kill demons!"
Li Qingchen was slightly taken aback.
At first, he assumed that the Demon-Slaying Office in Liaocheng was full of rotten fish and shrimp. It wasn't until he met Lin Bufan yesterday that he realized there were even green lotuses in the filthy pond.
After hearing what Lin Bufan said, she couldn't help but think more highly of him.
However, it's true that we may think highly of it.
Giving away lives is still out of the question.
At this time.
Five more figures appeared one after another from both sides of the street, including men and women, the old and the young.
The six fox demons had formed a pincer movement against Li Qingchen and his companion.
The fox demon, who had been hooking his finger, couldn't help but speak up when he saw the shift in power:
"I really don't understand you wandering knights and constables. Wouldn't it be better to just pretend you didn't see anything? Why do you insist on courting death?"
"We don't actually like killing. We've seen knights-errant come to Baipin Village before, but if they're willing to pretend they don't see us, we're too lazy to take action."
It stretched out its right hand, pointed at Li Qingchen and the other person, and said in a sinister tone:
"I can let that constable go. But this scum next to you dared to kill my brother and sister."
Its finger shifted, pointing at Li Qingchen: "Even if you kneel down and beg me, I will not let you go."
"I'm going to skin you alive and leave you to bask in the sun for three days and three nights."
"Also, remember this: everyone in Caijia Village will die because of you."
The other fox demons let out a mocking laugh.
The fox demon was still talking incessantly:
"Sigh, after we've eaten our fill of Caijia Village, we'll have to find a new place again. You know, Liaocheng has already been divided up by our seniors, so finding a new place to stay won't be easy... Huh?"
Suddenly, the fox demon felt a chill on her wrist.
The hand that was just pointing at people has now suddenly fallen to the ground.
No one saw how Li Qingchen got close just now.
His movements were as swift as a shooting star; in the blink of an eye, he arrived in front of the fox demon, swung his sword, and cut off one of its arms.
That handsome face, exuding heroic spirit and filled with murderous intent, was now only a few feet away from the fox demon.
At such close range, the fox demon couldn't help but feel terrified:
"My...my hand? My hand! What did you do? You... Waaaaaah...!!"
stab-
With each horizontal and vertical slash, the fox demon's body was broken into four pieces.
Li Qingchen picked at his ear.
"Phew, finally some peace and quiet."
—The seventh move of the Celestial Wandering Technique: So close yet so far.
As its name suggests, the effect can shrink distances, quickly closing the gap with the target. The greater the distance, the greater the energy consumption and the slower the speed.
Li Qingchen slowly swept his gaze across the horrified faces of the fox demons, and said sarcastically:
"I've heard that fox spirits don't like living in groups, so at first I was wondering why there were so many filthy things in a village."
"Now I know why."
"It turns out they were just a bunch of cowardly bullies who huddled together for warmth."
The remaining five fox demons looked ashen-faced, as if they had eaten excrement, but Li Qingchen's verbal barrage wasn't over yet:
"I've also heard that you nine fox demon sons are as close as brothers."
"Since that's the case..."
Li Qingchen smiled brightly and said, word by word, "I will now reunite you."
The moment the word "gather" left his mouth, Li Qingchen pushed off with his toes and shot out like an arrow!
…………