Chapter 34: Three Visits to the Bar
One hundred million??
Bamboo Rat and his other subordinates were all stunned, their faces filled with confusion as they looked toward Outer Waist.
“What do you mean, one hundred million?”
Outer Waist grinned, face full of pride, and detailed his previous schemes one by one.
“So? Wasn’t my strategy just brilliant?!”
Outer Waist’s eyes widened as if awaiting praise from the crowd.
Bamboo Rat: …
Everyone: …
Bamboo Rat raised his foot and kicked Outer Waist to the ground with a look of utter disdain. “Who was the idiot who vouched for this moron in the first place?!”
Honestly, only today did he realize just how hopelessly foolish Outer Waist was.
Such a harebrained plan—a three-year-old could see through it in an instant!
Looking at Outer Waist’s dumbfounded face, Bamboo Rat was so infuriated he almost laughed. He pointed at the ashtray and said, “If he actually believes your nonsense, I’ll eat this ashtray right here!”
Tap, tap, tap.
At that moment, a little thug came running in from outside.
“Boss! Boss!”
Bamboo Rat frowned. “What is it? Why are you in such a panic?”
“Well…”
The little thug gave a sly grin. “That Ling Qiu… he’s here! I just saw him at the street corner!!”
What?!
Everyone went rigid in shock!
No way…
Could it be?
Outer Waist’s face lit up with joy at the news. He quickly crawled to the table and, with utmost care, began picking the cigarette butts out of the ashtray, one by one!
Seeing this, Bamboo Rat scowled. “What the hell are you doing, idiot?”
Outer Waist replied with a serious face, “Boss, I’m picking out the butts—otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll have trouble digesting them later…”
“To hell with you!”
Bamboo Rat flew into a rage and kicked Outer Waist two meters across the room!
This was absurd!
Could Ling Qiu really have fallen for that ridiculous story about one hundred million??
“Boss! Boss!” Another thug burst in, panting. “Ling Qiu just went into the ‘Glorious Years’ bar on West Street!”
“As expected!” Bamboo Rat snorted coldly. “That Ling Qiu is with Skull!—Let’s go. We’ll get our man!”
“Yes, sir!”
A group of them drew their rubber batons from under the table and swaggered after Bamboo Rat out of the bar!
He’d been waiting for an excuse to cause trouble for Skull, and now the opportunity had finally come!
He was determined to seize it—tonight, he’d teach Skull a lesson he’d never forget!
…
Glorious Years Bar.
Back alley.
Only Ling Qiu and Skull were present.
Ling Qiu took a deep breath and said calmly, “That baleful aura is close.”
As he spoke, he traced several runes in the air, gently turning the Hell King’s Ring.
Hiss… hiss… hiss—
A series of mournful, ghostly wails echoed—anguished, desolate, seething with hatred!
Only Ling Qiu and Skull could hear these sounds.
In moments, a shadow, brimming with malice and rage, drifted toward them, claws outstretched!
“…It’s already turned into a wild ghost, and at this rate, it might soon become a fierce ghost!” Skull exclaimed in shock.
What kind of wrath and resentment could have driven this spirit—barely past its seventh day—to such rapid evolution?!
The wild ghost was murderous, overflowing with killing intent. Without a word, it lunged at Ling Qiu, fangs bared and face twisted.
Ling Qiu raised two fingers, and a surge of energy shot forth, forming four ethereal nails that pierced toward the wild ghost!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Four metallic thuds—the four nails pinned the wild ghost’s limbs in place!
“Mmmph! Mmmph!” The wild ghost growled low, like a savage beast, its eyes glowing crimson with boundless resentment.
Ling Qiu turned the Hell King’s Ring again, channeling a stream of spiritual energy into the ghost’s body.
After a while…
The malice shrouding the wild ghost was almost completely dispelled.
Ling Qiu hadn’t subdued it directly because—for a spirit so newly dead to possess such powerful hatred, it must have suffered extreme cruelty before death.
“Speak. How did you die? Why are you so wrathful, so savage?” Ling Qiu asked coldly.
With the malice drawn out, the wild ghost’s murderous intent had faded. Grief surged forth, and it began to wail in despair.
A cold wind swept through the dark alley. The ghost’s heartbroken cries sent shivers down the spines of customers in nearby shops.
“Bamboo Rat… It was Bamboo Rat…”
“Bamboo Rat?”
At these words, Skull paused in surprise, then explained, “Master Qiu, Bamboo Rat is one of the so-called Four Kings of Night Market Street—he’s the major thug of East Street, fairly evenly matched with me here. The trouble your man Outer Waist caused before—he’s one of Bamboo Rat’s lackeys.”
Ling Qiu acknowledged this and turned to the wild ghost. “Go on.”
Between sobs, the wild ghost poured out its tale: “I… I was a student at the nearby university. I had a girlfriend—we’d been together three years. Later, I heard she was working part-time, and when I checked, I found out… she was a waitress at the bar. I went to the bar that day to find her… wanted to take her away… but… but…”
The ghost’s cries grew more agonized. “But that man, Bamboo Rat… wouldn’t let her go. I was furious. I argued with him… and then… he got angry, tied me up, and right in front of me… he violated my girlfriend… for two hours… a full two hours! I… I was powerless to stop him. When it was over, all I wanted was to strangle Bamboo Rat… but he had a knife… He killed me. After I died, he assaulted my girlfriend again… then grabbed my corpse by the hair… pried open my eyes… and made me watch!!!”
…
Ling Qiu frowned deeply.
The ghost’s malice began to flare up once more. “So… I want to kill him! No! I want to kill everyone in that bar! I want to kill every bastard on Night Market Street!”
“…Master Qiu, what should we do about this?” Since submitting to Ling Qiu, Skull had tried to nurture a conscience—at this moment, he too felt that Bamboo Rat deserved a thousand deaths.
Ling Qiu pondered for a moment, just as one of Skull’s men burst out from the back door.
“Boss! Boss! Bamboo Rat’s here! He brought a whole gang—they say if we don’t hand over the guy, they’ll smash up our place tonight!”
At this, Skull’s eyes bulged in fury. “Hand over someone? Who?!”
The underling glanced nervously at Ling Qiu. “He said… he wants us to hand over… Master Qiu…”
“What?! Are they insane? Let’s go! I’ll kill him myself! How dare he target Master Qiu!”
“Wait.”
Ling Qiu held Skull back.
Skull grinned. “Don’t worry, Master Qiu, I’ll—”
“No.”
Ling Qiu said, “This doesn’t require your involvement.”
“Hm?”
Ling Qiu turned to the wild ghost, voice low. “Bamboo Rat is your enemy, isn’t he?”
“Yes!!!”
“Do you hate him?”
“I do!!!”
“Good.”
With a wave of Ling Qiu’s hand, the four ethereal nails vanished, releasing the wild ghost from its bonds.
Ling Qiu said softly, “Go… Avenge yourself.”
Whoosh!
A chill wind howled through the alley as the wild ghost, ablaze with malice, surged into the bar.