Wang Hu's universe had disintegrated into a dot of cold, sense-deadening fear. His father, his unbeatable source of strength, was dead at the feet of this monster, his chest crushed like a fetid pumpkin. The courtyard, once a testament to his family's authority, was now a battlefield strewn with the corpses of their guards. And the monster responsible was approaching him, his black robes unspotted, his dashing face an impassive mask of heavenly indifference.
"No. no, please." Wang Hu whimpered, crawling backwards on his hands and knees, pulling his shattered arm through blood puddles. "I have money! Lots of money! And spirit herbs! I'll give you everything! Just keep me alive! I'll be your servant!"
He was no longer the arrogant young master who intimidated the weak for entertainment. His pride had been broken, reduced to powder under the sole of pure, uncomprehending power. Now, he was merely a pitiful bug pleading not to be squashed.
I halted before him, glancing down with a look of mild revulsion. It was the same expression one would give a smudge of dirt on their shoe.
"Your life is of no value to me," I said baldly. "Your death, though, is useful to me. It is the ultimate payment for a debt owed."
His own face ashen, he made a choking sound. "Debt? What debt?! I've never." He stopped as a sickening realization spread over his face. He realized at last. This wasn't about his broken arm. This was about that kid he and his friends had worked over in the alley, the helpless trash they'd kicked to death for one stalk of grass.
That. that was impossible! That garbage was dead! He had seen the life drain out of his body!
"You. You can't be him," Wang Hu stuttered, refusing to believe the truth. "He was weak! He was garbage! You. you are a monster!"
"I am his ghost," I told him, my lips twisting into a cruel, cold smile. "And I have risen from the darkest hell to pull you down with me."
The falsehood was more frightening to him than any reality could ever be. The concept of a wrathful spirit, a ghostly entity, was something his human brain couldn't handle. His mind finally broke.
"Aaaaahhhh!" He screamed out in a high, shrill shriek of pure madness and fear. He attempted to struggle to his feet and flee, but his legs were jelly. He simply thrashed around on the ground like a flapping fish.
I stood there a moment longer to watch his pitiful show. The screams were gratifying. It was a proper tribute to the body of the boy which now I possessed.
Then I became tired of it.
I lifted my foot. It was the same foot I had used to squish his father's heart.
"You should know," I whispered, my voice not much louder than a breeze, "the sound a cockroach makes when it is stepped on."
Wang Hu gazed up. The final thing his eyes took in was the bottom of my boot falling, increasing in size and size until it covered his whole field of vision, eclipsing the moon and the stars.
SPLAT.
It was a wet, horribly conclusive sound. His head burst like a juicy melon. Brain tissue and blood splattered across the stone steps of his family's great hall, creating a garish, abstract painting of my revenge.
Silence.
The evening air was heavy with the coppery odor of blood. I stood amidst the massacre, the final member of the Wang Family direct line lying lifeless at my feet. The debt was settled.
I shifted my head, my eyes scanning through the darkness to a far corner of the grounds. "You've watched long enough. Show yourself."
From behind a rockery that served as an ornament, a figure crept forth. It was an old man, clad in the plain grey servant robes, bent and weaving. He carried a broom in his gnarled hand. He seemed like any other decrepit, harmless old servant one would find in a great household.
But my divine sense cautioned me otherwise.
Underneath that weak-looking surface was a secret reservoir of strength. He was a First Layer cultivator from the Spirit Ocean Realm. A master, a form of life far superior to everyone else in Green Leaf Town. He was there all along, unseen, observing everything happen.
The elderly man moved ahead, his footsteps quiet. He did not glance my way. Instead, he looked at the headless corpse of Wang Hu, and the smashed corpse of Wang Lie. A heavy, melancholy sigh passed from his mouth.
"For three decades, I cleaned the floors of this clan," the old man declared, his voice dry with age. "I saw the old master die. I saw Wang Lie grow from a child into a young man. I saw Wang Hu born. I was in debt to the old master for having once saved my life. My only obligation was to guard the Wang bloodline in secret."
He slowly lifted his head and regarded me. His eyes were not blazing with the anger or murderous intent I anticipated. They were old, tired, and laden with a deep sadness.
"But the heavens are of their own mind," he went on. "Wang Lie was arrogant and cruel. Wang Hu was a spoiled, vicious thug. They deserve this calamity. This is their karma."
I raised an eyebrow. This was an unexpected development. "You are not going to avenge them?"
The old man shook his head slowly. "Avenge them? Young master, you are a real dragon in a shallow pond. Your strength is not of this earth. It would be inviting my own death to fight you, and it would be a pointless one. My obligation to the old master was to preserve the bloodline, not die for the transgressions of his idiotic descendants. Since now the bloodline is gone, my obligation is paid."
He was a wise old fellow. He knew the hopelessness of trying to resist.
"In addition," he stated, a flicker of something new in his gaze—respect, and maybe a dash of fear. "To have the capability to kill a Ninth Layer Qi Condensation practitioner while being at but the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering. such talent is beyond precedent. Destined for worlds far greater than this barren wasteland. This ancient one has no desire to be a stepping stone on your journey."
He then did something that would have startled anyone in Green Leaf Town to their very center. He folded his hands and bowed deeply to me in respect.
"This old one's name is Wu. I will now bid farewell to this land of dust and blood. Young master, I hope we do not meet again."
With that, he spun around, and his body appeared to flicker. He stepped forward and just disappeared into the darkness, leaving nothing but a soft ripple in the air and his abandoned broom behind.
I stood and watched him walk away, a hint of a smile on my face. An amusing old man. He had known when to push forward and when to retreat. Too bad he had spent thirty years of his life protecting a nest of vermin.
And now, the last task.
The Wang Family had not become powerful simply because of strength. They had riches. Plenty of them. And now they all belonged to me.
I entered the grand hall, stepping over Wang Hu's headless body with no more than a passing glance. I followed the weak imprints of spiritual energy surrounding me to the rear of the patriarch's study. At the back of a huge, nondescript bookcase lay the secret door to their treasury.
The room wasn't big, but it was packed with shelves and boxes. I opened the biggest trunk. It was packed to the top with glittering silver and gold taels. I counted at least ten thousand of the silver. A great fortune for this mortal town.
I swept my gaze over the shelves. There were dozens of inferior spirit herbs, some poorly made "spirit weapons," and a set of martial arts books. It was all complete trash in my opinion.
Next, my eyes caught sight of a small, dusty wooden box pushed into a corner. It was locked, but the lock was a childish affair. I shattered it with a snap of my finger. Within, lying on a bed of yellowed silk, lay not a pill or a gun, but a piece of a map.
The surface was odd, not paper or leather, but some sort of beast skin I wasn't familiar with from this world. It had an ancient feel to it. The markings on it were in a worn, silvery ink, with a series of mountains and rivers drawn out. At the center of the piece was a lone, beautifully rendered character: "Cave."
I channeled a sliver of my Qi into it. The piece of map glowed with a soft, ancient aura. It was worth more than all the rest in this treasury put together. It most definitely indicated some location of great importance. Perhaps an inheritance of a powerful cultivator, or a naturally occurring treasure trove.
I smiled. This was a nice surprise. "It appears that razing this nest of vermin came with a surprise bonus."
I picked up the map piece and swept everything that was silver and gold into a storage bag I discovered on Wang Lie's corpse. There was no use for the rest of the garbage.
I exited the treasury, and with a last sweeping motion of my hand, I released a burst of my Qi. A column of golden fire, a weak expression of my Solar God Physique, burst in the treasury. The fires, burning on my ancient power, were abnormally hot. In seconds, the whole room and its useless contents were reduced to ash. I would leave nothing behind for scavengers.
I stepped out of the Wang Family complex, the gate left wide open. I left the bloodstained courtyard and stench of blood for the morning sunlight to expose.
The Wang Family's total destruction would rock Green Leaf Town to its foundations. It would serve as a warning.
Ling Chen, the filth, was gone.
A new master took his place. And his adventure was only just starting.