Chapter Fifty-Five: The Ferryman Who Fished

A searing pain shot through his left shoulder. It felt as if his scapula had been crushed to pieces by the creature’s bite. Huang Chao’s throat emitted a series of strange, creaking sounds.

He was puzzled—could this man truly not control the power raging within him? Li Changqing’s actions did not fit the strength he now possessed.

Pushing the thought aside, Huang Chao opened his jaws wide once more, lunging at Li Changqing’s throat. With his tremendous bite force, he could easily tear it apart.

Indeed, Li Changqing had no idea how to wield the power within his body. With no other option, he instinctively reached for the talisman he always carried. Taking a deep breath, he recited, “Lightning and fire blazing, Lord of the Southern Flame. Venomous winds soaring, shaking all eight directions. True talisman takes form, reveal your spirit now. By the laws of command, act at once!”

Then, he slapped the talisman against Huang Chao.

From a distance, Tang Xiaoyu’s heart nearly leapt from her chest as she saw Huang Chao’s enormous jaws about to clamp down on Li Changqing’s neck. She scrambled to her feet and rushed forward to help, but after just one step, she froze.

Fire.

A tremendous blaze!

Flames that should have been crimson now burned white-hot, coalescing into a massive fireball that roared to life. In an instant, Huang Chao was engulfed in the searing inferno.

“What…what is happening?” Li Changqing, seeing Huang Chao driven back by the flames, was equally stunned. The talisman’s usual effect was little more than enough to heat a cup of coffee; he’d had no great hopes for it. Yet now its power far surpassed his expectations.

Could it be…?

Li Changqing realized that his own corpse energy had surged into the talisman while he was chanting the spell.

A thin demonic aura began to seep from Huang Chao’s body, gradually smothering the flames. His clothes were charred, his skin blackened by the fire. He was utterly bewildered.

Impossible.

How could this man use sorcery?

A zombie, wielding such spells—how could that be?

Li Changqing quickly regained his composure. He drew out a dozen more talismans. After chanting, he flung them all at Huang Chao. Mid-air, the talismans transformed into blazing fireballs.

A dozen talismans combined.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out.

Li Changqing was blasted away by the shockwave, while Tang Xiaoyu and Kelly Rosetti quickly ducked behind a shipping container for cover. The intense heat surged outward, instantly igniting nearby containers. At the blast’s center—where Huang Chao had stood—nothing remained but a crater a meter deep and five meters wide.

Debris was scattered everywhere. The mighty explosion had caught the attention of employees on duty at the wharf, who rushed over.

Kelly Rosetti, clutching his head, looked toward the blast. “Li Changqing actually wields such bizarre power,” he murmured. He turned to Tang Xiaoyu. “Are you alright? Let’s check on Li Changqing first.”

They hurried to the blast site. Li Changqing had been too close to the explosion and was now unconscious.

“What do we do now?” Tang Xiaoyu asked anxiously. “Huang Chao is gone.”

“Maybe he was blown to pieces.” Eyeing the spot where Huang Chao had vanished, Kelly Rosetti hefted Li Changqing onto his shoulder. “Either way, let’s get out of here.”

Carrying Li Changqing, the two quickly left the scene. Soon after, the wharf workers arrived, surveying the aftermath.

“Put out the fire! Check the area for any injured!”

“What happened—did someone store flammable explosives in a container again?”

Finding no one hurt nearby, the workers remained calm—emergency training for explosions and fires was standard at the docks.

Meanwhile, in the river, Huang Chao, now looking like a severely burned victim, struggled in the water. He could not fathom what sort of being this Li Changqing was—a zombie, yet able to wield powerful sorcery. If he hadn’t shielded his organs with his demonic energy at the last second, the explosion at its core would have pulverized his insides.

Even so, he was gravely wounded. In desperation, he’d slipped into the river under cover of darkness to escape Li Changqing’s pursuit, unaware that his foe had also been rendered unconscious by the blast.

No normal person would blow themselves up along with their enemy.

Letting the current carry him, Huang Chao’s expression darkened. He’d managed this wharf for over a decade without incident, but now, after tonight, he would surely face severe punishment from his superiors.

Damn that detective!

I’ll return one day, and make you pay!

Just then, up ahead, a straw-hatted fisherman in a rain cloak sat at the prow of a small boat, quietly fishing with a rod dangling over the water.

What a strange fellow—fishing in the middle of the night?

Huang Chao tried to swim away, but no matter how he moved, the little boat seemed to drift alongside him. The boatman’s eyes were fixed intently on the spot where his bait had landed.

Suddenly, Huang Chao felt something catch his ankle beneath the water.

Diving down, he saw that it was a slender fishing line, tightly wound around his ankle. The line pulled with overwhelming force—he was powerless to resist, and was slowly being reeled in by the mysterious fisherman…

…

The next morning.

A searing pain coursed through Li Changqing’s body, especially his abdomen. A ravenous hunger dragged him from unconsciousness.

He jerked upright in bed, gasping for breath. Pain stabbed at his throat and belly, and a primal urge echoed in his mind—drink blood!

Only human blood could ease the pain.

He hastily grabbed a handful of raw glutinous rice from the bedside table and swallowed it. A wave of burning agony swept through him, but after two or three minutes, the pain gradually subsided.

All that remained was weakness—limbs heavy and powerless.

“Wasn’t I fighting Huang Chao…?”

Rubbing his temples, Li Changqing wandered into the living room. Kelly Rosetti was sprawled on the sofa in an utterly undignified pose, snoring away.

The door to the second bedroom creaked open and Tang Xiaoyu emerged, having stayed awake all night. Of course, as a ghost, sleep was merely a habit for her—rest or no rest made little difference.

“Where’s Huang Chao? What happened last night?” Li Changqing sat on the sofa as Tang Xiaoyu poured him a cup of hot water.

“Last night, you were nearly bitten to death by Huang Chao. Then, suddenly, there was an explosion—you were knocked out, and Huang Chao vanished…” She recounted the night’s events briefly.

Li Changqing listened in silence.

An explosion? Knocked unconscious by his own blast? If he was right, the explosion had been caused by the talismans. The corpse energy mixed with their power—was it really that potent?

At that moment, Kelly Rosetti, woken by their conversation, yawned and opened his eyes. He fixed Li Changqing with a peculiar, gleaming gaze and a mischievous grin.