Chương 55: The Incense of a Wild God, Fortune Claimed

At that moment, Su Zhe was thoroughly shaken. What the Treasury Keeper had just used... Looked eerily similar to the Spirit Possession Ritual from his previous life on Earth—better known as the God-Striking Art. A medium inviting a deity to possess their body.

"An evil cult... a Wild God... possession..."

"Are there really gods in this world?" Shock flashed across Su Zhe's face. He moved to attack again. But the instant those blood-red eyes settled on him, his body ceased to obey. Every muscle stiffened. An overwhelming terror welled up from the depths of his soul. It was as though he were nothing more than a mortal standing before a true deity—powerless, insignificant, utterly helpless.

"No wonder this man managed to hide in Lu County for so many years."

"He recognized my identity... and he still has a trump card like this."

"Damn it!" Su Zhe's heart tightened. The Treasury Keeper's aura continued to rise. His battered, near-ruined body began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Heh... heh... fresh flesh... rich with yang energy..." The man let out a twisted laugh. Crimson mist coiled around him as saliva dripped from his gaping mouth. Like a crazed beast, he lunged at Su Zhe. Wild God Possession detected. The deity's might suppresses all who face it, rendering the host's opponent nearly immobile. Harvesting the Wild God's incense may yield a great fortune. At that instant... Within Su Zhe's sea of consciousness, the Creation Immortal Cauldron erupted with brilliant five-colored light.

Ripples of radiance flowed across its surface before condensing into glowing words. Meanwhile, the Treasury Keeper's jaws were less than a foot from Su Zhe's throat. The stench of blood on his breath was nauseating.

"Back off." Su Zhe snorted.

"And for heaven's sake... brush your damn teeth." The Profound Water Steel Trident appeared once more. With a single thrust, it pierced straight through the Treasury Keeper's heart, lifting him off the ground.

"Y-you... How are you still moving... after being suppressed by the divine might of the Blood Refinement Exalted God...?" Blood poured from the man's mouth as disbelief overwhelmed him. Su Zhe offered no answer. Thrust! Thrust! Thrust! The trident stabbed through one vital point after another—the Niwan Palace between the brows, the dantian, the Tanzhong acupoint over the chest.

"Urgh!" The Treasury Keeper crashed to the ground. His body was mangled beyond recognition. His aura vanished completely. Even in death, he couldn't understand why Su Zhe had been completely unaffected by the Wild God's divine pressure. A gentle breeze swept through the room. From the corpse drifted a wisp of smoke, invisible to ordinary eyes. It floated directly into the Creation Immortal Cauldron within Su Zhe's Niwan Palace.

"Hm? What kind of power is this?" Su Zhe frowned. Had he not been able to perceive the cauldron inside his sea of consciousness, he never would have noticed the mysterious smoke. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Yet after entering the cauldron... Nothing happened. No matter how he probed it or attempted to activate the cauldron, everything remained as still as stagnant water.

"So this is the power of a Wild God..." Su Zhe's expression grew solemn. Thinking back over the battle, cold sweat trickled down his back. With his current strength, killing a peak Third-Rank martial artist wasn't particularly difficult. That confidence had made him reckless. Knowing the Treasury Keeper was hiding here, he'd simply come to kill him. His opening ambush had seriously wounded the man, making Su Zhe even more complacent.

"I should've prepared more thoroughly."

"I should've made sure he never had the chance to react before killing him."

"Who would've thought he could invoke a god... borrowing power through some kind of summoning ritual?"

"Cultists really are terrifying." Su Zhe shook his head. Though he had lived two lifetimes, he hadn't actually killed many people. He had always considered himself cautious... Yet caution alone wasn't enough in a world as mysterious and dangerous as this one. The more he reflected on tonight's assassination, the clearer it became. There had been countless ways to make it safer.

"I've gotten cocky."

"Thankfully... my cheat saved me again." Cold sweat drenched his back. Had he truly been careful, he could have poisoned the man... Drugged him unconscious... Thrown a sack over his head... Or simply waited until the Treasury Keeper was completely distracted by the young girl before striking. Any of those methods would have guaranteed the kill.

"Learn from this."

"Never make this mistake again." He silently engraved the lesson into his heart. He almost wanted to slap himself. He had risen from an insignificant fishing village... And now he was hailed as Lu County's greatest genius. With the Creation Immortal Cauldron in hand, he had little to fear below the Fourth Rank. But success had intoxicated him. Like a gambler riding a winning streak, repeated victories had dulled his sense of danger. In matters of life and death... One moment of arrogance... One careless mistake...

Was enough to condemn a person to eternal ruin. That was the martial path. Simple. Stand upright if you're right. Fall dead if you're wrong. Taking a deep breath, Su Zhe calmed himself and crouched beside the corpse. Time to loot the body. From inside the Treasury Keeper's clothing, he recovered two manuals. Shadow Scythe Mantis Art (Complete Edition, including martial killing techniques) Blood Refinement Exalted God — Divine Invocation Manual Besides those were several account books...

And a few bottles of medicinal pills. The manuals were clearly invaluable. Made from a special material that resisted both fire and water, they had been sewn flat against the insides of the man's thighs. Fortunately... Su Zhe had become remarkably experienced at searching corpses. He had even used the steel trident to thoroughly mutilate the lower half of the Treasury Keeper's body, making absolutely certain nothing else was hidden there before finally stopping.

"The Treasury Keeper hid all the wealth he'd accumulated over the years inside the nearby Earth God Temple."

"When the authorities uncovered his crimes, he was caught off guard—but he'd already prepared an escape plan."

"He ordered his clerks to join forces with the Golden Slop Gang, disguising themselves as night-soil carriers to slip out of Lu County and gather at the temple."

"Once he escaped himself, they'd rendezvous there, retrieve the stolen silver, and flee into the Yandang Mountains." Finding no valuables on the corpse didn't disappoint Su Zhe. After all, he already possessed the Fourth-Rank treasure weapon, the Dark Scythe. More importantly, he'd already extracted the Treasury Keeper's memories regarding the hidden fortune. The hoard was enormous. Without mythical storage treasures like spatial bags or storage rings, carrying it on one's person was impossible.

He stored the manuals inside the Creation Immortal Cauldron. Then he grabbed the Treasury Keeper's corpse with one hand. Just then— Bang! Bang! Bang! The young girl, Yadan, finally came back to her senses. Her eyes were bloodshot as she hurried over and dropped to her knees. Without saying a word, she repeatedly slammed her forehead against the dirt floor.

"Thank you for saving my life, benefactor!"

"Thank you for avenging my grandfather!"

"If you don't despise me... I'm willing to serve you for the rest of my life. I'll work like an ox or a horse—anything you ask." She raised her head. Determination burned in her eyes. Still wearing the Phantom Shark Mask, Su Zhe studied her in silence. She was several years younger than he was, just beginning to blossom into adulthood. Years of poverty had left her thin, but her faded clothes were spotlessly clean. With delicate features, she had all the makings of a beauty.

"Do you know... who I am?" Su Zhe asked quietly.

"If you ask me, Benefactor..."

"Then you're the King of the River Bandits—the Mad Shark."

"But if anyone else asks..."

"I'm just the daughter of a poor farming family."

"How could someone like me possibly know the name of a great martial artist?" Yadan answered calmly. She was clever. Su Zhe smiled faintly. He carefully replayed the battle in his mind. Had he exposed anything? Had the Treasury Keeper revealed his true identity? After thinking it through, he relaxed. At the beginning, the Treasury Keeper had only called him "Mad Shark." Later, although the man had clearly suspected Su Zhe's identity after seeing his martial arts...

Su Zhe had killed him too quickly for him to say anything. Good. If the girl had learned who he really was... Things would have become troublesome. Killing her would weigh heavily on his conscience. Sparing her would leave behind a dangerous witness. Su Zhe knew why Deputy Magistrate Wang had pursued the Treasury Keeper so relentlessly. The man had bribed Wang for years. Now that the Blood Refinement Cult had been exposed, Wang wanted every loose end erased before it could implicate him.

If this girl knew Su Zhe's identity and lived... She could become a fatal liability. After a moment's thought, Su Zhe took out ten taels of silver and pressed them into her hands.

"I'm a wanted criminal."

"Keeping you by my side would only burden me."

"Our meeting today is fate enough."

"Take this silver."

"Give your grandfather a proper burial."

"If the authorities question you..."

"Tell them the man died at the hands of the Mad Shark." His voice remained cold and detached. Ignoring her protests, he forced the silver into her hands. He also carefully instructed her on exactly what to say if the government questioned her—including the weapon he had used, the fighting style he had displayed, and every detail that would reinforce the illusion that the killer had truly been the Mad Shark.

"Benefactor..."

"I... I want to learn martial arts."

"I don't want to stay weak anymore..."

"I don't want people to butcher me whenever they please." Her voice trembled with desperate resolve. But Su Zhe had already reached the doorway.

"I'm borrowing one of your sacks."

"If fate allows, I'll return it someday."

"As for becoming a martial artist..." He chuckled softly.

"Once you step onto the martial path, it's an endless sea of suffering."

"I'm still struggling to keep myself from drowning."

"How could I possibly ferry someone else across?"

"There is no master-and-disciple fate between us." With that, Su Zhe disappeared into the endless night, carrying the Treasury Keeper's corpse over one shoulder and a burlap sack of miscellaneous belongings in the other. He chose not to kill Yadan. Partly because she would help direct the authorities' investigation toward the Mad Shark. And partly because, despite everything, he was still human. But taking her in... Inviting endless trouble into his life... That was something he would never do.