Chapter 88: The Malevolent Head

　　The scream traveled far into the night.

　　"Master?"

　　Lu Fei's expression changed slightly; this head monster was actually a malevolent spirit raised by someone?

　　As the saying goes, kill to keep the secret!

　　Then it must not be left alive; he had to get rid of it as soon as possible.

　　Lu Fei raised his hand and infused his magical power into a fierce whip strike.

　　"Ah——"

　　The head screamed in agony, pleading for mercy continually.

　　"Please, please spare me, I will never harm anyone again..."

　　The voice was sorrowful, as if it were not a monster but a pitiful woman and child being abused.

　　Lu Fei acted as if he heard nothing, continuing to lash out fiercely with each strike of the whip.

　　Black smoke rose from the human head, its voice growing weaker. It looked at Liu Fugui pitifully, accusing him through sobs.

　　"I've served you for so long, and you treat me so cruelly. I hate you..."

　　These words sounded like they came from someone betrayed by a scoundrel.

　　Liu Fugui seemed to be thinking about something, a trace of reluctance appeared on his plump face, but he did nothing, merely turning his back silently.

　　Huzi had been worried that Liu Fugui might plead for the monster, but seeing him maintain his sense of propriety, his impression of Liu Fugui improved significantly.

　　With all its tricks ineffective, the human head fell into complete despair, revealing its ghastly true form.

　　Its eyes filled with boundless malevolence.

　　"My master will kill you, flay your skin, pull out your tendons, and feed your minced flesh to the dogs..."

　　Lu Fei did not stop lashing the whip.

　　As the black vapor dissipated, the skin of the head melted like a candle, leaving only a pale skull in the end.

　　Lu Fei stopped and still felt uneasy, so he took a ghost-repelling talisman and affixed it to the skull to ensure there was no further reaction.

　　"It should be dead."

　　Only then did he let out a long breath.

　　Liu Fugui slumped, his expression rather complicated.

　　"Boss, what exactly is this head?" Hu Zi couldn't help but ask.

　　"It should be some kind of evil object created by dark magic. I'm not sure about the specifics," Lu Fei said with a frown. "I've only heard that in Nanyang, there's a type of sorcery called Jiedai, which, at its highest level, can make a human head fly independently from the body. It's called 'Head Jiedai'."

　　"Isn't this thing a Head Jiedai?"

　　"No, Head Jiedai can't attach to someone else's body. Also, a Head Jiedai has a long string of entrails still connected to it, which is extremely disgusting and bloody."

　　Lu Fei flared his nostrils, and the whole house was filled with a putrid stench from the corpse, making it difficult to breathe.

　　"Let's not talk about this now. We need to hurry back. The smell of the corpse can be toxic if inhaled for too long."

　　Moreover, the head had called out to its owner before death, and Lu Fei was worried that the owner might come looking for it.

　　Anyone capable of producing such a bizarre and evil object is clearly not a simple character.

　　The three of them said no more and quickly left the house.

　　However, Liu Fugui paused for a moment at the sofa before leaving and seemed to pick up something.

　　Running out of the building, fresh air immediately filled their lungs.

　　The three of them could finally take deep breaths again.

　　But after being in the house for so long, their bodies were still tainted with the stench of the corpse.

　　The entire residential area was deathly silent.

　　All the windows were pitch black, as if no living person resided there at all; the dying scream of the head did not even wake anyone.

　　Lu Fei became increasingly convinced that there was something wrong with this neighborhood.

　　The three of them ran out in one breath and immediately drove away without stopping.

　　The car quickly got on the main road, and the gloomy neighborhood grew smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, only then did the three of them finally let out a long sigh of relief.

　　Huzi rolled down the window, letting the cool night breeze blow in, carrying away the stench of death from their bodies.

　　There was a moment of silence.

　　"If it weren't for you, Brother Lu, and Huzi, I, Old Liu, would have been in big trouble this time," lamented Liu Fugui, still shaken by the night's harrowing experience.

　　Who would have thought that a stroke of luck with women could turn into such a bizarre encounter?

　　"Brother Lu, what exactly was that thing? How can it still be alive and kicking after its head is severed?" He really couldn't understand why he was so unlucky!

　　"I think it was some kind of evil spirit, probably a human head used to suck the life essence out of people. I don't know what it does with that essence, but it's definitely nothing good," Lu Fei said thoughtfully.

　　"This method is somewhat similar to corpse rearing, but the body and head are not the same. It's more like attaching a head to someone else's body and pretending to be alive."

　　"So, without the head, the corpse immediately rots."

　　"What? So the one sleeping with me all this time was... a corpse?!" Liu Fugui felt completely distraught.

　　Now, he would rather have been lured by a female ghost.

　　Seeing him so dejected, Hu Zi, contrary to his usual behavior, did not tease him. Instead, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tossed one to him.

　　"Have one, it will help remove the smell from your body."

　　"Thanks." Liu Fugui was a bit surprised and lit the cigarette with trembling hands.

　　Before, Hu Zi had been gloating and hoping for his misfortune.

　　Lu Fei also took one.

　　He wasn't used to smoking, mainly because the stench of the corpse on his body was unbearable.

　　The ashes scattered in the night breeze.

　　It had been a while since they left the residential area, and Liu Fugui roused himself once more.

　　"No matter what, it's a good thing to have survived. After a great calamity, there must be a future blessing! Me, Liu Fugui, along with Brother Xiao Lu and Huzi, we will have plenty of good fortune in the future!" he encouraged himself.

　　"Old Liu, didn't you escape earlier? Why did you come back?" Huzi asked.

　　This was the point that made Huzi look at Liu Fugui with new eyes. At least, this man had some sense of loyalty.

　　"Nonsense! I wasn't escaping for my life; I went out to find weapons!" Liu Fugui immediately raised his head and puffed out his chest, "I, Old Liu, am the most loyal! How could I have abandoned you two when you were fighting for your lives inside? Am I that kind of person?"

　　"At that moment, I thought, if I die, so be it. If I don't, I'll live for a thousand years. What's there to fear?"

　　"If the worst comes to the worst, in eighteen years, I'll be a good man again!"

　　"Really? I just can't believe it!" Huzi said with mock laughter.

　　"Believe it or not, I went back to find you anyway!" Liu Fugui snorted, returning to his thick-skinned self, and chuckled, "After going through life and death together, Brother Xiao Lu and I are now bonded by our shared experience. In the future..."

　　Bang!

　　Suddenly, the car jolted violently and made a loud noise.

　　It seemed to have hit something!

　　Tiger's face turned pale, and he immediately hit the brakes, stopping the car.

　　"What did we hit?"

　　All three of them looked worried and hurriedly looked out the car window.

　　There was only their car on the entire road, and there were no streetlights on either side, making everything very dark and gloomy.

　　This happened to be a desolate stretch of road.

　　"I was watching the road, but I didn't see anyone in front! It might have been an animal that suddenly crossed the road. I'll go check it out."

　　Saying this, Tiger unbuckled his seatbelt.

　　"Wait, Tiger, don't go down!" Lu Fei looked around the pitch-black surroundings, with a bad feeling in his heart.

　　Just now, the three of them were chatting and laughing, but he was also looking ahead, and didn't see anyone or any animal passing by either.

　　"Close the window!"

　　"Okay!"

　　Tiger didn't know why, but he did as he was told.

　　The car window was shut tight.

　　Lu Fei held the willow whip, carefully observing the outside.

　　Liu Fugui, seeing his serious expression, became a bit nervous. He swallowed, and asked, "Brother Lu, is there something wrong?"

　　Bang!

　　Before Lu Fei could answer, a slate-gray hand suddenly emerged from the darkness and hit the car window.