Chapter 67: Possession, Puppet

Detective Liu and his men quickly realized what was happening. Those with lanterns in their hands immediately followed Shanglu’s lead, lighting them and wielding fire against the bizarre shadow puppets.

Shanglu, having sprayed the last mouthful of wine, took another gulp and held it in his mouth before tossing the wine gourd back to Detective Liu. He then seized the blade stuck in the earth and, with a sharp “puff,” sprayed wine onto its surface. Flames surged up at once, igniting the blood-tainted wine along the blade.

The ox-tail saber was transformed in an instant into a blade of blazing fire. With a sweep of his long knife, Shanglu sent a torrent of flames swirling toward the unnatural shadow puppets.

This time, when the shadow puppets were struck, they immediately caught fire, no longer ignoring the damage or regenerating in a grotesque manner. Before long, Shanglu and his companions had reduced all the strange shadow puppets to ashes.

Detective Liu led his men back to Shanglu’s side, his expression grave. “Captain, I fear the rat demon has escaped.”

Shanglu was about to respond when suddenly, one of the constables standing behind him changed. First, his gaze turned vacant; then, his eyes grew sinister, filled with resentment, as if he had become a different person in an instant. Silent as a shadow, the constable’s hand moved, stabbing his knife toward Shanglu’s lower back.

Unaware of the impending attack, Shanglu was at risk. The possessed constable’s face twisted into a wicked, triumphant grin, grotesquely reminiscent of a humanoid rat. On his knife-wielding wrist, veins bulged menacingly, resembling a swarm of black serpents. These “serpents” oozed black, foul blood, quickly staining the blade, not only sharpening its edge but also imbuing it with a layer of filth and sinister power. Even with Shanglu’s protective blood vigor, this strike could breach his defenses and inflict grievous harm!

The rat demon’s plan was flawless. Yet it had not accounted for the fact that, while Shanglu had no eyes at his back, others were watching.

Just as the rat demon possessed the constable, Mistress San discovered it and tapped Shanglu’s shoulder lightly with her umbrella.

Shanglu, in conversation with Detective Liu, believed the rat demon hadn’t escaped far and must be hiding nearby, so he was about to order the constables to resume their search. With Mistress San’s warning, Shanglu immediately sensed something amiss behind him. Without a moment’s hesitation or doubt, he unleashed the Tiger’s Tail Sweep from his tiger-step technique.

His left foot stomped hard, sending dust billowing; his right leg swept back like lightning, twisting his body to turn the sweep into a kick.

Shanglu’s attack was not only sudden, but its speed and force were astonishing.

A thunderous crack echoed, as if a fierce tiger roared through the forest.

The rat demon, possessing the constable, was taken completely off guard and struck hard in the abdomen by Shanglu’s kick. Overwhelmed by a tremendous force, it collapsed to the ground before it could react to what had happened.

Having landed his blow, Shanglu moved to subdue the constable and force the rat demon out, intending to use it as bait to lure out the others.

But at that moment, Detective Liu and his men, who moments before had seemed perfectly fine, suddenly raised their blades in unison and attacked Shanglu.

Though the situation changed abruptly, Shanglu responded with remarkable speed. During his time training with Mistress San, he had endured many blows—none wasted—each one forging a reflex in his body.

The possessed constable’s attack was fierce and sudden, but it could not match Mistress San’s “Rain of Leaves.” Shanglu remained calm, bellowed, and drove his blood vigor, unleashing the Wild Cloak Blade technique—a barrage of ferocious, rapid strikes to meet the onslaught from several constables.

Clashing steel rang out in a relentless storm, the blaze of Shanglu’s ox-tail saber dazzling to the eye. Not only did he fend off the attacks from Detective Liu and the others, but his wild, swift blade drove them back, suppressing their assault. One man and one blade held off several opponents, surrounding them instead.

The rat demons, furious, howled and screeched, desperate to turn the tide. Yet their efforts were in vain. Possession hindered Shanglu’s ability to strike lethally; otherwise, some would already have fallen.

As he suppressed the possessed constables, Shanglu thought swiftly: “Earlier, when we smashed the Earth God statue, six gray shadows flew out. I’ve killed three, but now there are six constables possessed… Is there a new evil spirit, or something else?”

With this in mind, Shanglu narrowed his eyes. With the aid of the Liver Spirit, he scrutinized Detective Liu and his men.

Soon, he noticed distinct differences among the constables. On Detective Liu and two others, the gray aura coiled around their throats—just as it had with Du Feng before—clearly indicating the rat demon had entered their bodies to possess and control them.

The other three constables, however, had gray threads wrapped around their joints. They seemed like marionettes or shadow puppets, their bodies manipulated by the gray threads. Their expressions were not twisted or sinister like the others, but filled with terror, confusion, and helplessness. Their faces betrayed self-awareness, even as their bodies were controlled.

There were still only three rat demons; no new evil spirits had appeared. The rat demons simply used their sorcery to control the other three.

Shanglu also noticed that the joints of the three puppet-like constables bore tiny grain-like objects. These grains were so small that they would be hard to spot even in daylight, let alone at night. Yet it was these grains that released the gray threads, allowing the rat demons to control the constables’ bodies.

He saw, too, a few grains, concealed by the darkness, flying toward him. The rat demons wished to ensnare him with the same trick!

Fortunately, the flames still danced along his blade, burning many of the grains as he swung. Nonetheless, a few slipped past and landed on him. But before these grains could emit gray threads, Shanglu’s protective blood vigor—cultivated since entering the Meridian stage—took effect, shattering and expelling the sinister grains.

Though these grains were strange and capable of manipulating the human body, their inherent power was weak. In truth, they were ordinary grains, transformed by the rat demons into tools for their sorcery.

With these discoveries, Shanglu immediately changed his blade technique. He abandoned the wild, chaotic strikes of the Cloak Blade, switching to the precise Tendon-Cutting Bone-Cleaving style. Holding his blade in reverse, he used the back of the knife to strike one constable.

With several crisp blows, Shanglu knocked loose and shattered all the grains on that constable’s body. Then, driving his blood vigor, he sent flames leaping from the blade to burn the grains to ash.

Yet, even with the sinister grains destroyed, the constable did not return to normal. He lay on the ground, limbs twisted like a broken marionette, convulsing uncontrollably…