Chapter 44: To Punish Without Teaching Is Cruel

After leaving the Sun God Design Company, Ou Xiaolu didn’t head straight back to the Shixi Campus. Instead, he took a car to the farm that now belonged to him.

The Sun God Design Company had promised to produce a preliminary design within five days, and if all went well, construction could start as soon as this month. That meant Ou Xiaolu needed to collect everything on the farm that might glow or draw attention before the design team arrived in force. All these treasures were essentially found money—if he lost even a single valuable item, he’d be beside himself with regret.

As he neared the entrance to the valley, Ou Xiaolu considered whether he should plant two rows of trees along the roadside to mark a clear boundary. It would make the entrance much more distinct. But then he remembered that the spiritual energy resurgence was imminent, and this place could never truly become a hidden paradise. Why go to the trouble of setting up defenses that would serve no real purpose?

While Ou Xiaolu was wrestling with these thoughts, Zhong Kui suddenly appeared behind him, with the Cowardly Ghost cowering timidly behind Zhong Kui as if wanting to say something. Ou Xiaolu knew it was daytime, and for the Cowardly Ghost to appear now must have taken considerable effort, so he asked directly, “What’s happened?”

“Someone’s been following us,” Zhong Kui replied, making Ou Xiaolu’s eyelid twitch. “Can your fighting ghosts attack during the day?”

“Their strength is weak,” Zhong Kui said helplessly. “The sunlight is too strong outside—it suppresses our power significantly.”

Ou Xiaolu sighed with frustration. He was finally feeling the limits of his own strength—not only was his personal combat ability lacking, but in a crucial moment, he couldn’t even rely on his allies to fight for him.

He thought for a moment and asked, “Can you see how many people there are?”

“Just one,” the Cowardly Ghost piped up carefully; he was always this timid with everyone except Zhong Kui.

Ou Xiaolu hesitated, then made a decision. He opened his bag and took out pen and paper, writing two lines: “Private Land. No Trespassing Without Permission!”

“Hang this at the entrance to the valley for me,” he said.

Zhong Kui took the paper and muttered, “This isn’t a talisman. It won’t scare anyone off.”

“To punish without warning is cruelty. If I put this up and he chooses to ignore it, then his death is on his own head—I won’t be to blame,” Ou Xiaolu replied.

Zhong Kui’s face nearly fell off in surprise. He thought to himself, If you really mean that, could you at least write it in English? What’s the point of Chinese? What if the intruder doesn’t understand?

But Ou Xiaolu couldn’t care less. He began carefully sorting through his supplies and equipment. Truthfully, he only had two reliable moves left: “Role: Junior Ninja” and “Role: Inky Seahorse.” Both had nearly exhausted their combat power in his last boss fight, so many of his usual combos were unavailable.

He didn’t believe that someone would dare come after him alone without some kind of backup. He doubted that just relying on Buss’s abilities would be enough.

After thinking for a bit, Ou Xiaolu pressed a switch on his seat, and the driver’s seat rotated around. He reached into the fridge in the back seat, pulled out a small, off-brand bottle of mineral water, and sprinkled in some powder.

It was 0.3 grams of spiritual vein fragments left over from a previous recharge. Ou Xiaolu shook the bottle, and the water changed, taking on new properties.

[Homemade Mysterious Potion. Item Card. White. A potion made with spiritual vein powder. Restores 60 combat power when drunk.]

He gave both the Junior Ninja and Inky Seahorse an extra 10 points of combat power each. After some thought, he also topped up the Giant Octopus with 5 points, but then stopped.

Even so, Zhong Kui was stunned. He pointed at Ou Xiaolu and asked, “So that’s how you make your potions?”

“What else? How mysterious do you think they are? The real magic is in the powder,” Ou Xiaolu answered, exasperated. “We’re about to fight, so I need to get ready.”

Zhong Kui gritted his teeth. “Give me the rest, and I guarantee all five of my ghosts can join the fight.”

Ou Xiaolu rolled his eyes. “You know, just using Master Brother alone would be enough. Based on your earlier price, that’s enough combat power for you to act four times.”

Zhong Kui cracked a grin, though the effort nearly made his face slip. “If I go all out this time, can it count as one of the five times I promised you?”

“Deal.” Ou Xiaolu agreed. “Let me tell you my plan. I have an ability that lets me breathe underwater for three to five hours. I’ll have the roadside ghost cast a confusing mist, so the enemy thinks I’m running across the grass and chases me to the water’s edge. Then I’ll drag him into the water to fight.”

Zhong Kui’s eyes lit up at this. He’d followed Ou Xiaolu here before and knew how deep that pond was. In the deepest part, sunlight didn't affect ghosts at all. Luring the enemy into the water was clearly the best option.

As for the fighting ghost, he had no physical form, so battling underwater or on land made no difference.

“It’s settled. I’ll go make the arrangements,” Zhong Kui said, but as he turned to leave, he sheepishly came back to retrieve the sign Ou Xiaolu had written.

Soon, the car passed the mouth of the valley. Once inside, Ou Xiaolu jumped out, and the car drove off without stopping, heading far away. That had been his instruction—he didn’t want his car destroyed, or he’d have to walk back to campus.

Hurrying down from the villa where he’d parked, Ou Xiaolu moved at full speed. In a flash, he reached the edge of the deep pond. There, he released the Giant Octopus into the water, letting it sink below the surface to wait.

The moment he let the Giant Octopus out, he noticed its card’s combat value drop to zero. The card wasn’t destroyed, but its image faded to gray, with a large “zero” emblazoned across it, as if it would never be recharged.

Ou Xiaolu sighed and quietly put the card away. He turned to look toward the entrance of the valley, where a car had just pulled up near the villa. A burly, broad-shouldered man squeezed out of the vehicle.

The man stood only about six foot one, but he gave the impression of being as immovable as a mountain. He looked to be in his forties, with muscles rippling beneath his suit. The moment he exited the car, his gaze locked onto Ou Xiaolu, eyes blazing with murderous intent.

As Ou Xiaolu began walking calmly toward the villa at the heart of the valley, the man’s brow twitched. His suit split open as sharp fur burst from his limbs. In an instant, the man, once six foot one, transformed into a massive werewolf standing over eleven feet tall. With a wild howl at the sky, he charged at Ou Xiaolu like an arrow loosed from a bow.