The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1427 735: Besieging the Demon Nest

The mud in the deep pit was still fresh with moisture, a few wood chips scattered at the edge.

"Just a step too late!" Lin Yu's chubby face collapsed immediately, punching the wall hard.

"The item was just dug up, it shouldn't be far!" Lv San's voice was as cold as iron, his gaze scanning the gradually bustling street.

Kuai Dayou blinked smugly, "No problem, watch me."

With that, he turned his head to look around.

As someone familiar with the underworld of the Capital, he knew this area well.

Soon, he furrowed his brows and shouted fiercely at a few ragged loafers peeking from afar, "Scarhead! Get over here! And Limping Li! Are you blind?"

Though reluctant, the loafers knew better than to mess with this skilled and well-connected craftsman.

Scarhead jogged over with a smirk, "Uncle Kuai, morning. What brings you to this godforsaken place?"

"Cut the crap!"

Kuai Dayou glared, pointing at the empty pit, "Before dawn today, who took away my 'old partner'?"

"What did they look like? Which way did they go? Spit it out already!"

As he spoke, he fumbled out a small string of Copper Coins from his pocket, jingling them in his palm, both a bribe and a threat.

The loafers exchanged glances.

Still, Scarhead spoke, his tone tinged with dread, "Uncle Kuai... this is weird. Just after the rabbit hour, when the sky was barely bright and the fog hadn't cleared. It was 'White Paper Horse' Wu Shenhan! Alone, pushing a cart covered with a tattered mat, sneaking up to the stake..."

"White Paper Horse? Old Dog Wu?"

Kuai Dayou's brows knotted, "That old dog, specialized in making papermen and paper horses and handling funerals, is sinister! Isn't he always too sick to go out? How could he manage to carry something so heavy?"

"That's the strangest part!"

Another loafer, nicknamed "Three Hands," chimed in, voice lowered further, "Old Dog Wu would usually be knocked over by a gust of wind, but this morning he seemed terrifyingly strong, his face... deathly pale, eyes vacant, like the living dead."

"We were keeping our distance, sheltering by the wall, and saw him yank the wooden stake out with just his hands."

"That strength... no human could have it! Loaded it on the cart and left, heading towards his home, past the back alley of the Peaceful Coffin Shop, moving fast, like a ghost was chasing him…"

"Let's go!"

Wang Daoxuan's face darkened, immediately ordered, "To the Peaceful Coffin Shop!"

No more questions needed, there was definitely something wrong with Wu Shenhan.

...

The Peaceful Coffin Shop sat between ramshackle houses on the western edge of the city.

This was an area bustling with all sorts of trades, the alleys deep and narrow, constantly permeated with an eerie mix of cheap incense, ash, and rotting wood.

Creak~

As they pushed open the creaky, seemingly falling-apart wooden door of the Wu family, a strong, indescribable stench hit their faces.

It was a blend of bitter medicinal herbs and a metallic rust-like odor.

The inside was dim with scant furnishings, nearly barren.

The corner was piled with half-made white flags, paper horse frames, and coarse paper dyed indigo and vermillion.

Floating ash swirled in the dim light.

Wu Shenhan was a thin, slack-eyed middle-aged man.

In this trade, unless you're like the Night Crying Man with a major sect's backing, only those ugly and without family dare work due to the bad luck it could bring upon relatives.

Just like Wu Shenhan himself, picking up odd jobs was enough for daily pleasures.

Alone but living well.

But now, he was curled up in the corner of a cold earthen bed, wrapped in a filthy, greasy quilt, showing only a bloodless face.

His gaunt, claw-like fingers dug into the blanket, his body trembling like a sifting sieve, his eyes vacant and muttering fractured phrases:

"Immortals... have mercy, have mercy..."

"Old Dog Wu, do you recognize me!"

Kuai Dayou stepped up, viciously grabbing his collar, "Let me ask you, where's the wooden frame from the market?"

Wu Shenhan's face was terror-stricken, stammering, "Can't say... too scared to..."

Kuai Dayou was about to lose his temper but was stopped by Wang Daoxuan.

The Daoist seemed thoughtful, stepping forward to pull open Wu Shenhan's collar.

There, close to his collarbone, a coin-sized patch of skin appeared bizarre, showing an eerie dark red.

The edges were burned black, deeply etched into the flesh.

The center was slightly depressed, with slender, twisted blood-red lines beneath the skin, resembling a deformed Copper Coin melted by heat.

"This thing again?"

Seeing it, Lv San frowned.

He recalled the chaos in Chengdu when Lu Sheng controlled the Prince Mansion, widely distributing "Joyful God Money," cursing the city's citizens, turning it into a demonic realm.

That was truly a terrible memory.

"This isn't the Joyful God Money..."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard, frowning, "The creator of 'Joyful God Money' was Liuren Immortal Sect disciple Zhao Jie, relatively secretive, needing a magic artifact as a medium."

"But this spell is direct, likely Zhao Qingxu's doing."

"Dao... Daoist save me! Save... save..."

Upon hearing Wang Daoxuan's words, Wu Shenhan's eyes snapped open. Sensing hope for salvation, he convulsed, crying and begging.

"Hold on!"

Wang Daoxuan shouted, bending with a frown, scrutinizing closely.