Chapter 736: Understanding

Chapter 736: Chapter 456: Understanding

The investigation ultimately concluded that the three of them were responsible.

Of course, Hu Qi, who had inherited the original owner’s memories, knew full well that this was all an elaborate frame-up.

The original owner wasn’t familiar with the other two men. He’d been knocked unconscious while herding his sheep.

When he regained consciousness, he was already in a dilapidated thatched hut, with those two men beside him.

There was also a pile of livestock and valuables of unknown origin.

Before the three of them could even figure out what was happening, the door was kicked open.

The one leading the charge was none other than Rock, the man standing before him now. He and a squad of militiamen had stormed in and apprehended them on the spot.

He ignored all three of their explanations.

What awaited them was a brutal beating.

Then, they were forced to confess to the crime and sentenced to be burned alive in public.

At this moment,

upon hearing Rock’s question,

the two men tied up beside him trembled visibly.

They were clearly terrified of this man, Rock.

“I… I confess!”

The old man’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, his head bowed low. Dry, white hair was plastered messily to his forehead, and his whole body wouldn’t stop shaking.

Immediately after, the middle-aged man beside him also began to tremble and repeated the same words.

Their eyes were filled with terror and despair. This so-called ‘confession’

was an act of desperation.

If they gritted their teeth and confessed, they might be able to protect their families.

If they resisted to the death, what awaited them was even crueler torture, which might even extend to their loved ones.

Upon seeing the two of them confess,

a satisfied smile spread across Rock’s face.

‘A bunch of worthless curs. You have to beat them before they’ll obey.’

However,

the next second,

he realized one person was still silent, not having said a word.

Seeing this,

his brow furrowed slightly as he looked toward Hu Qi.

His expression turned cold.

“Elu, I’m talking to you! Didn’t you hear me?”

“I heard you. But before I die, there’s something I want to tell you.”

The corner of Hu Qi’s mouth twitched into a smile as his gaze casually swept over the surroundings.

However, perhaps because his lips were chapped, the large movement tore open the wounds at the corners of his mouth.

Instantly, the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth.

But the pain didn’t cause even a hint of discomfort to show on Hu Qi’s face.

“Oh?”

Hu Qi’s words made Rock’s brow furrow.

He instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, the most important thing for him was to carry out the village chief’s orders first.

But when his gaze met those bottomless eyes, as if possessed, he found his boot was already stepping on the branches at the edge of the pit.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already standing in front of Hu Qi.

Rock didn’t think much of it, though.

‘Could he possibly be a threat to me?’

‘What a joke.’

‘As a professionally trained Apprentice Knight, two or three burly men couldn’t even get close to me, let alone this mud-caked peasant with his limbs tied up!’

“I’d like to see what kind of tricks you have up your sleeve.”

Rock snorted coldly.

Hu Qi’s lips moved, his voice as faint as a buzzing fly, completely drowned out by the curses of the surrounding villagers. It was impossible to hear him.

Seeing this,

Rock snorted again.

“Quiet!”

As his voice fell,

the surrounding noise died down a little.

Then, he leaned down,

wanting to hear what Hu Qi was trying to say.

SQUELCH!

—AHHH!

A muffled sound of tearing flesh suddenly pierced the clamor, immediately followed by Rock’s pig-like squeal of agony.

The scream cut through the noisy crowd like a knife, and all eyes instantly locked onto Hu Qi.

However, once they got a clear look,

everyone froze in place. The surroundings fell deathly silent.

They saw the bound Hu Qi with his mouth wide open, biting down on Rock’s neck.

Blood gushed from between his pearly white teeth.

He was like a cornered beast, veins bulging on his neck, his jaw locked deep into Rock’s throat.

Thick streams of blood flowed down the corners of Hu Qi’s mouth, spattering onto the branches and firewood below like a series of dark red blossoms.

“Ah, you lowly thing, how dare you…”

Rock’s face was twisted like an Evil Ghost as his right hand quickly fumbled for the Dagger at his waist.

But just as his fingertips touched the hilt, his entire arm suddenly went rigid.

Before their eyes,

his skin began to wither at a visible rate.

An ashen gray spread madly from the torn carotid artery across his body. A murky, dead-fish white quickly filmed over Rock’s eyes.

CLANG! The Dagger fell to the ground. Rock’s hand, along with the rest of his body, collapsed like a desiccated piece of deadwood.

After hitting the ground, all that was left was a dried corpse covered in human skin, its mouth agape and its eyes stretched wide enough to burst.

His face was frozen in a moment of ultimate terror, creating a scene full of tension and shock.

Hu Qi opened his mouth and spat out a piece of bloody cartilage.

Combined with his blood-splattered face, it added a ferocious cast to his features.

At that moment, the four militiamen who had originally followed Rock were the first to react.

Their faces changed drastically.

Just as they were about to make a move,

“—ROAR!”

Hu Qi suddenly let out a low roar, the sound Bursting forth like a physical force.

The bizarre frequency of the sound wave made the very air tremble, so sharp it nearly pierced everyone’s eardrums.

This sudden blast of sound made the men freeze in unison.

CRACK!

The next second,

before the astonished eyes of the crowd, Hu Qi’s originally thin body visibly swelled.

Then,

the hemp ropes binding him were instantly pulled taut.

A moment later, like a snake shedding its skin, they snapped inch by inch, turning to fragments that fell to the ground.

“Ah, it’s… a monster!”

“Run! The monster is eating people!”

“Heavens, it’s a Demon! Seven Gods above! Please protect us!”

…

It was only then

that the onlookers seemed to snap out of their stupor, as if waking from a dream.