Once the morning of the next day arrived, the entire Feng Family estate was in a state of chaos, with everyone scuttling about in panic.
Feng Bolin slammed a vase into the wall, watching it shatter as he raged. "Damn it!"
Feng Hu had gone missing. Today was supposed to be an important day where he was supposed to meet his prospective bride. Him going missing today spelled trouble for him, especially since the bride was from the Yan Family, a merchant family on par with their Feng Family.
"No matter what, find him!" Feng Bolin relayed the orders to all his guards. "Search beyond the city!"
He then turned over to all the servants that stood beside the guards. "And you! Search through the estate. Once you're done, go search every nook and cranny of our town! Understood?"
"Yes, Lord!" All the servants replied and rushed out from the place, including Krune—Shi Jiang.
While exiting the Feng Family estate, a small smile crept up his face. 'There's no way anyone can ever find him.'
Of course, the reason was simple. The act of feeding someone to the dogs, Krune had done the same.
Naturally, he also took some extra steps first.
Using the Cloud Whale, he sucked in all the blood from Feng Hu's body, using it to water a plant deep within the Feng Family estate. To be more specific, he didn't just pour it on the ground but had injected it into the tree's trunk.
He had found a relatively hollow tree trunk based on his memories. As for the flesh, bones, and organs of Feng Hu, Krune diced them into small chunks before making the Cloud Whale carry them.
This way, it would be discrete.
He knew of places within the city where there were street dogs, especially in the slum area. He dropped the pieces there one after another.
In order to ensure all the traces were absolutely erased, he had spent the entire night making the Cloud Whale move all throughout town. Unsurprisingly, the dogs in the slum had a relatively good feast that night.
As for Feng Hu's clothes, after tying them up into a bundle, Krune made the Cloud Whale carry it towards the river before dropping it along the shores. It then slammed the Soul Needle into them, burning them up before washing off the ashes into the river water.
In his home, there was the hole he made in the window, which he patched up during the night. The windows there were just made of porous paper-like material that wasn't damaged by rain. As he had a spare, he replaced it.
As for any traces of blood in the house, the two girls worked tirelessly through the night to clean up everything, also helping him with the other tasks. None of them were repulsed by the sight of blood. This wasn't the first time they had seen it.
Even though the two girls were only eighteen years old, they had seen some deaths of servants that were executed before them. So, they were quick to take action, realizing that Krune had killed Feng Hu to save them.
As servants, they were good at lying through their teeth or acting to ensure they would live. So, the next morning, all three of them behaved as if they were as ignorant as the rest of the servants.
They wholeheartedly searched for Feng Hu. Or better yet, they acted as such, just like every other servant and guard.
None liked him, to be honest, so they wished he would drop dead wherever he had disappeared towards.
While all the servants were searching, Krune roamed through the market, acting like he was also looking for Feng Hu. However, his mind was elsewhere, 'That ring, just what was it? It actually condensed a barrier to protect him even though he was caught unaware by my attack.'
'The feeling the energy from the ring gave was similar to a Nightmare but even more sinister.' As Krune thought about it, some tattered records that Su Zixin had learned about flashed in his mind, causing him to be rooted to the spot in shock, trembling in response as many things began to make sense.
Demon Arms!
Nightmares were capable of possessing people and living within them. However, the stronger the Nightmare, the harder it was for it to find a human with a large enough vessel to contain it.
Even for a regular Nightmare, the human it possessed would die in a couple of days. However, there was one exception here, those created with the intention of trapping Nightmares.
Ghost Appeasers!
A Ghost Appeaser was trained to be able to house a Nightmare within them so that the Imperial Meister was able to kill them and deal the Nightmare a fatal blow. This was how they usually killed Nightmares.
However, if they had failed to kill the Ghost Appeaser, allowing the Nightmare within him to win the battle and fully possess them, the situation turned dangerous. The Nightmare now had the advantage of a human body that allowed it to wield its power even better, making it even stronger.
Usually, in such cases, Imperial Meisters would be dispatched in large numbers to kill such a being. Though, there was one exception.
It was the Nightmare that had killed Su Zixin's father. It was by far the strongest Nightmare they had ever faced. The Su Family Imperial Meisters were unable to deal with it. They had asked for reinforcements, but before they could arrive, the Nightmare managed to completely take over the body of the Ghost Appeaser that it had possessed.
After that, it had killed Su Zixin's father and escaped.
With a successful possession, a Nightmare was called a Demon. A Demon was even stronger than a Nightmare.
To further strengthen themselves, they would temporarily weaken themselves to cut off a body part and refine it into an object. They would dispatch it into human markets, causing it to circulate until it reached the hands of someone that would use it.
That item was called the Demon Arms.
Upon every use, a part of their lifespan would be shaved off and stored in the Demon Arms. After many years, once it had accumulated enough lifeforce, the Demon would collect it, becoming stronger than before.
It was a slow process. But, Krune understood what the Demon was doing here.
Cultivation!
The Demon was using the lifeforce of the humans collected in the Demon Arms to extend its life and even strengthen itself in the process. Every Nightmare naturally did the same thing, but for a Demon, it was just far simpler.
And now, one such Demon Arms fell in his hands. Normally, it was a worrying situation. However, rather than be dismayed, Krune smiled in response. 'I now have a source to track you and eradicate you.'
He was able to sense that as long as he destroyed all the schemes of this Demon, he would be able to return to the God Realm and obtain the means to immerse himself in the Law Pools.. With that, he would be rid of all defects and cultivate peacefully afterward.
Once the morning of the next day arrived, the entire Feng Family estate was in a state of chaos, with everyone scuttling about in panic.
Feng Bolin slammed a vase into the wall, watching it shatter as he raged. "Damn it!"
Feng Hu had gone missing. Today was supposed to be an important day where he was supposed to meet his prospective bride. Him going missing today spelled trouble for him, especially since the bride was from the Yan Family, a merchant family on par with their Feng Family.
"No matter what, find him!" Feng Bolin relayed the orders to all his guards. "Search beyond the city!"
He then turned over to all the servants that stood beside the guards. "And you! Search through the estate. Once you're done, go search every nook and cranny of our town! Understood?"
"Yes, Lord!" All the servants replied and rushed out from the place, including Krune—Shi Jiang.
While exiting the Feng Family estate, a small smile crept up his face. 'There's no way anyone can ever find him.'
Of course, the reason was simple. The act of feeding someone to the dogs, Krune had done the same.
Naturally, he also took some extra steps first.
Using the Cloud Whale, he sucked in all the blood from Feng Hu's body, using it to water a plant deep within the Feng Family estate. To be more specific, he didn't just pour it on the ground but had injected it into the tree's trunk.
He had found a relatively hollow tree trunk based on his memories. As for the flesh, bones, and organs of Feng Hu, Krune diced them into small chunks before making the Cloud Whale carry them.
This way, it would be discrete.
He knew of places within the city where there were street dogs, especially in the slum area. He dropped the pieces there one after another.
In order to ensure all the traces were absolutely erased, he had spent the entire night making the Cloud Whale move all throughout town. Unsurprisingly, the dogs in the slum had a relatively good feast that night.
As for Feng Hu's clothes, after tying them up into a bundle, Krune made the Cloud Whale carry it towards the river before dropping it along the shores. It then slammed the Soul Needle into them, burning them up before washing off the ashes into the river water.
In his home, there was the hole he made in the window, which he patched up during the night. The windows there were just made of porous paper-like material that wasn't damaged by rain. As he had a spare, he replaced it.
As for any traces of blood in the house, the two girls worked tirelessly through the night to clean up everything, also helping him with the other tasks. None of them were repulsed by the sight of blood. This wasn't the first time they had seen it.
Even though the two girls were only eighteen years old, they had seen some deaths of servants that were executed before them. So, they were quick to take action, realizing that Krune had killed Feng Hu to save them.
As servants, they were good at lying through their teeth or acting to ensure they would live. So, the next morning, all three of them behaved as if they were as ignorant as the rest of the servants.
They wholeheartedly searched for Feng Hu. Or better yet, they acted as such, just like every other servant and guard.
None liked him, to be honest, so they wished he would drop dead wherever he had disappeared towards.
While all the servants were searching, Krune roamed through the market, acting like he was also looking for Feng Hu. However, his mind was elsewhere, 'That ring, just what was it? It actually condensed a barrier to protect him even though he was caught unaware by my attack.'
'The feeling the energy from the ring gave was similar to a Nightmare but even more sinister.' As Krune thought about it, some tattered records that Su Zixin had learned about flashed in his mind, causing him to be rooted to the spot in shock, trembling in response as many things began to make sense.
Demon Arms!
Nightmares were capable of possessing people and living within them. However, the stronger the Nightmare, the harder it was for it to find a human with a large enough vessel to contain it.
Even for a regular Nightmare, the human it possessed would die in a couple of days. However, there was one exception here, those created with the intention of trapping Nightmares.
Ghost Appeasers!
A Ghost Appeaser was trained to be able to house a Nightmare within them so that the Imperial Meister was able to kill them and deal the Nightmare a fatal blow. This was how they usually killed Nightmares.
However, if they had failed to kill the Ghost Appeaser, allowing the Nightmare within him to win the battle and fully possess them, the situation turned dangerous. The Nightmare now had the advantage of a human body that allowed it to wield its power even better, making it even stronger.
Usually, in such cases, Imperial Meisters would be dispatched in large numbers to kill such a being. Though, there was one exception.
It was the Nightmare that had killed Su Zixin's father. It was by far the strongest Nightmare they had ever faced. The Su Family Imperial Meisters were unable to deal with it. They had asked for reinforcements, but before they could arrive, the Nightmare managed to completely take over the body of the Ghost Appeaser that it had possessed.
After that, it had killed Su Zixin's father and escaped.
With a successful possession, a Nightmare was called a Demon. A Demon was even stronger than a Nightmare.
To further strengthen themselves, they would temporarily weaken themselves to cut off a body part and refine it into an object. They would dispatch it into human markets, causing it to circulate until it reached the hands of someone that would use it.
That item was called the Demon Arms.
Upon every use, a part of their lifespan would be shaved off and stored in the Demon Arms. After many years, once it had accumulated enough lifeforce, the Demon would collect it, becoming stronger than before.
It was a slow process. But, Krune understood what the Demon was doing here.
Cultivation!
The Demon was using the lifeforce of the humans collected in the Demon Arms to extend its life and even strengthen itself in the process. Every Nightmare naturally did the same thing, but for a Demon, it was just far simpler.
And now, one such Demon Arms fell in his hands. Normally, it was a worrying situation. However, rather than be dismayed, Krune smiled in response. 'I now have a source to track you and eradicate you.'
He was able to sense that as long as he destroyed all the schemes of this Demon, he would be able to return to the God Realm and obtain the means to immerse himself in the Law Pools.. With that, he would be rid of all defects and cultivate peacefully afterward.
