Chapter 66: The Eerie Shadow Puppet (Please add to your favorites, please keep reading)

“Ah—!”

The death of their companion provoked anguished wails from the remaining five gray shadows. Their cries were eerie and strange, piercing straight into the mind, leaving one's spirit dazed and the head splitting with pain, as if it might explode.

Constable Liu and his men all clutched their ears and heads in agony.

“Covering your ears is useless—circulate your vital energy to resist!” Shang Lu shouted in warning.

The initial shrieks from the gray shadows had unsettled Shang Lu as well. But the vital energy coursing through his meridians responded immediately, shielding his ears and mind, instantly dispelling the pain and confusion.

Hearing his advice, Constable Liu and the others hurriedly called upon their own energy to protect their ears and minds. Though their cultivation had not yet reached the Meridian-Penetrating Realm, and they could not instinctively defend themselves, they could still mobilize their energy through their techniques.

Even as Shang Lu shouted his warning, he did not pause his attacks. In a blur of motion, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, he lunged at the two nearest gray shadows. His blade flashed, sending up a spray of blood and mouse fur, slaying two fat rats in succession.

These gray shadows, transformed from rat demons, did not stand idle for lack of will, but because they simply could not evade. Shang Lu’s blade was not only fast, but also unerringly precise and ruthless. They could neither dodge nor block it.

Seeing Shang Lu cut down three rat demons in quick succession, the fear in the constables’ hearts diminished considerably. They all drew their swords, but because they could not see the gray shadows, they swung blindly, some even sustaining injuries from the shadows themselves.

Witnessing this, Shang Lu flickered back to the altar before the Earth God’s shrine, and with a flying kick sent the incense burner soaring into the air.

With a resounding boom, the incense burner exploded midair, releasing a rain of ash that blanketed the open square before the stage like a torrential downpour.

The crowd was showered in incense ash, as were the gray shadows of the rat demons. Now, Constable Liu and his men could see them clearly.

“Kill!”

With a roar, the constables swung their blades at the rat demons. The swords struck with a clang, as though hitting not flesh but metal or stone, the force reverberating painfully back into their hands.

For all their efforts, they cleaved away much incense ash, but could not harm the rat demons. Only Constable Liu, who was slightly stronger, managed to wound one of them, drawing blood with a sharp cry. But he could not slay it outright as Shang Lu had.

Nevertheless, Liu and his men were seasoned veterans. They immediately realized their strength was insufficient to break the rat demons’ defenses. Changing tactics, they ceased their reckless attacks, forming a tight encirclement to trap the rat demons, preventing their escape, and waited for Shang Lu to finish them off.

Rather than fighting alone, the constables were far better at coordinated encirclement. Enacting their specialty now, they managed to entangle three rat demons, preventing their escape.

One rat demon outside the ring shrieked and tried to rush in to save its companions, but Shang Lu was already advancing, blade in hand.

“Are you determined to wipe us out? How ruthless you are!” one rat demon screeched in fury.

“Ruthless? When you harmed others, did you ever consider whether you were being ruthless? When you seized the Earth God’s shrine and stole his incense offerings, did you ever spare a thought for mercy? And now you dare accuse me!” Shang Lu sneered, his blade relentless, slaying another rat demon in a flash, then accelerating towards the one who had challenged him.

“Very well, then! Today let us fight to the bitter end. Will you slaughter our whole clan, or will we feast on you?” the rat demons roared.

On the stage, the drums and gongs thundered furiously, faster and louder than ever, like rolling thunder.

“Kill!” rang out in high, piercing operatic tones, echoing to the heavens.

The musicians and actors on stage, ghostly in their appearance, leapt down as one, pouncing upon Shang Lu, Constable Liu, and the rest.

These actors and musicians emanated an unearthly strangeness. Their features, though handsome, were far from pleasing—instead, they radiated a bizarre, disturbing aura. Their expressions were stiff, and their movements, unlike any living person’s, broke all laws of human physiology—twisting and contorting as if they had no bones or joints at all.

Constable Liu and his men were immediately entangled by this ghastly troupe, thrown into confusion and forced to abandon their encirclement, allowing the rat demons’ gray shadows to escape.

Clashing blades rang out, and after only a few exchanges with these uncanny actors and musicians, the constables’ faces turned ashen. The strength of these grotesque assailants far exceeded all expectations, and their bizarre movements made their attacks unpredictable and hard to defend.

In just a few heartbeats, every constable was wounded.

Shang Lu himself was beset by four actors. He parried the thrust of a spear from a martial-role actor, then struck back, his blade biting deep.

Yet the wounded martial-role actor seemed utterly unaffected. Its body, like a monstrous serpent in fog, began to heal itself.

Frowning, Shang Lu kicked at an old-man actor lunging from the right. His foot landed solidly, yet the actor’s belly twisted with an unnatural motion, dissipating the force entirely.

It felt as though his kick had landed on soft paper or animal hide—impossible to exert any real strength.

Wait—a hide?

Suddenly, Shang Lu understood what these actors and musicians truly were.

With a thunderous shout, he unleashed his Wild Gale Blade Technique, sending a flurry of fierce, violent slashes that drove back all four uncanny actors at once.

In a flash, he darted to Constable Liu’s side, swinging his blade to force back one of the attacking musicians, then shouted, “Give me your lantern and wine gourd!”

Constable Liu hesitated, unsure what Shang Lu intended, but obeyed regardless, tossing over the lantern in his left hand and yanking the wine gourd from his belt to hand it over.

By now, several of the uncanny actors and musicians were closing in again.

Shang Lu caught the lantern in his left hand, channeling his vital energy. The paper cover of the lantern immediately tore apart, its flames fanned by the energy, transforming into a flurry of fiery butterflies that danced towards the encroaching enemies.

At the same time, Shang Lu stabbed his ox-tail saber into the ground with his right hand. He uncorked the wine gourd with his teeth, took a deep draught, and, facing the lantern’s candle and the swirling fire butterflies, sprayed the wine out in a blazing gust.

Though the wine of Luoshui County was not especially potent, with Shang Lu’s vital energy behind it, the moment the wine met the flames, it ignited. A roaring fire dragon burst from Shang Lu’s mouth, engulfing several uncanny actors and musicians in front of him, incinerating them at once.

In moments, they writhed and shriveled, reduced to ashes by the flames.

“So—that’s it! These creatures are neither human nor ghost—they’re shadow puppets!”