C45 The Evil Path(3)

Sunn Youde didn't dare to retreat; instead, he instinctively shielded his head with his hands. His right hand, which had once shamed Ms. Xiaofeng, was brutally struck by the gunstock. I could almost hear the sound of bones shattering and tendons snapping, his screams piercing through the roar of the thunderstorm.

Yet, my rage was far from quelled. Sunn Youde's lifetime of misdeeds was such that even dismemberment wouldn't satisfy my thirst for retribution. I knocked him to the ground with a kick, raised my hunting rifle, and took aim at his vile face with every shot.

Before long, Sunn Youde's face was swollen and bruised from the beating. I had expected him to pass out from the blows, but surprisingly, his layers of fat proved to be resilient, making him tougher to take down than his nephew.

Feeling somewhat exhausted from the assault, I decided to test if the hunting rifle could still fire. Pointing the barrel at Sunn Youde, I pulled the trigger, only to be met with a misfire.

I let out a cold snort, but in that instant, Sunn Youde, mustering some unknown strength, clutched the barrel of the rifle. A glimmer of desperation flashed in his eyes as he bellowed, "Do it now! I'll give you five hundred thousand!"

"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

Just then, lightning streaked across the sky, revealing a shadowy figure on the ground wielding something akin to a stick.

Without a moment to identify the person behind me, I released the rifle and leaped aside. A shovel swung where I had been standing, striking the ground with a clang.

Looking up, I recognized the assailant as Ms. Xiaofeng's father. Seeing me unarmed, he lifted the shovel for another strike.

I scoffed at his attempt. His frail frame was no match for me, even with a shovel in hand. I sidestepped easily, and as his shovel hit nothing but air, I countered with a swift kick.

Ms. Xiaofeng's father doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach as he collapsed to the ground. Yet, undeterred by the pain and lured by Sunn Youde's offer of money, he reached for the shovel once more.

It was then that I noticed something peculiar—the chains behind him had shortened, now even shorter than those restraining Sunn Youde!

It looked like he was on the brink of death, possibly by my own hands.

I watched Ms. Xiaofeng's father lift the shovel and said coldly, "Old bastard, ever heard the saying 'people die for wealth as birds die for food'?"

Before I could finish, lightning struck from the sky, hitting him directly.

In a flash, Ms. Xiaofeng's father was engulfed in white smoke, his skin severely scorched. He lay motionless on the ground, the shovel shattered by the lightning.

The smell of charred flesh filled the air, leaving even Sunn Youde stunned. I hadn't anticipated such a theatrical demise.

Gazing at Ms. Xiaofeng's father's corpse, I felt a surge of satisfaction. Heaven had finally seen fit to deliver justice. This old villain had long deserved his fate.

I turned to the three men who had been so lively moments ago. Now, with one dead, one unconscious, and one injured, the threat to me was completely neutralized. But Deaf Zhang was at a disadvantage.

The Evil Taoist had clearly been hiding his true power from the start. Even if Deaf Zhang were uninjured, he wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Moreover, most of the Pond Collecting Man's skills were designed to combat ghosts. Deaf Zhang's Pond Collecting Talisman and Skinning Talisman were even more effective against spirits than the Taoist Talismans, but they were ineffective against the living.

Conversely, the Evil Taoist's Five-thunder Talisman and Palm Thunder thrived in this weather, relentlessly forcing Deaf Zhang to retreat.

Deaf Zhang's sole powerful ghost was terrified of the Thunder Technique and the Evil Taoist's Mao Mountain arts, too scared to offer any assistance.

As Deaf Zhang was hit by the Palm Thunder, I realized I couldn't just watch any longer. It was time to play my ace.

But then, spotting Sunn Youde on the ground, inspiration struck. I dragged him up and positioned the broken shovel blade at his throat.

"Hey! You filthy Taoist, if you don't stop now, I'll kill your employer!" I yelled.

To my surprise, the Taoist was utterly unfazed and sneered in response, "Hmph, my employer? I was merely using him. I planned to experiment on his son to see if a little ghost could truly prolong life. Hmph, go ahead and kill him. This pig has outlived his usefulness."

"Master... Master, please, you must save me. I've given you so much money and done countless unspeakable deeds for you. You can't just abandon me after I've served my purpose!" Sunn Youde pleaded with a tearful voice.

"Sunn Youde, you're merely reaping what you've sown. The deadly peril you're facing is of your own making. It should be crystal clear to you now, shouldn't it? Even if I hadn't come to settle the score with you today, sooner or later, the 'Master' you so depend on would have been the death of you!" I scoffed coldly and shoved Sunn Youde toward the Evil Taoist.

I preferred to have him meet his end at the hands of his own confederates; it was far more gratifying than exacting vengeance myself.

The Evil Taoist didn't spare Sunn Youde a glance. With a swift motion of the ancient bronze sword in his grip, a gush of blood burst forth from Sunn Youde's neck.