Chapter 22: Monk's Skin

The three of them laid out a considerable amount of supplies outside, including acidic foods, fruits, and seasonings.

At first, all was calm, but as the scents began to drift, some of the phantoms of the dead could no longer restrain themselves, cautiously creeping over to lick at the offerings.

Gradually, the number of phantoms grew denser. Seeing this, the three swiftly made their way toward the cottage where the Tiger of Wandering Tracks was housed.

According to the plan, Chu Danqing and Dabao went into hiding first. Once Guo Ming reached the courtyard, he began to cry out loudly, "Brother Chu! Oh, Brother Chu~!"

Chu Danqing felt a prickle of goosebumps across his scalp, the performance so convincing it almost made him believe he had actually fallen in.

Movement stirred inside the cottage. A massive tiger silhouette draped itself in human skin, and the creature burst out with a bizarre gait, hastily demanding, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Abbot! Brother Chu wanted to draw some water and accidentally fell down the well!"

Upon hearing this, Master Zen Yin Ke’s face registered sheer astonishment. "That is a dry well! Where would there be water?"

Then, recalling something, he let out a startled cry, "Not good!"

Looking somewhat disheveled, he rushed over, thrusting his head into the well to get a clear look.

The next moment, Chu Danqing and Dabao lunged forward, and the three of them shoved with all their might.

While Chu Danqing and Guo Ming’s strength was negligible, Dabao’s strength attribute was exceptionally high. Taken completely by surprise, the creature was shoved straight down.

Chu Danqing reached out and grabbed the human skin, stripping the entire garment off as smooth as silk.

Wrapped inside the skin was a mottled fierce tiger. It looked small at first sight, but as it plunged downward, its body expanded, restoring its original, majestic proportions by the time it hit the bottom of the well.

Gazing up at the two men at the wellhead, it unleashed a heaven-shaking roar.

The sound wave generated by the roar left Guo Ming unsteady on his feet, and he would have fallen had Chu Danqing not supported him.

Dabao acted with swift efficiency, hauling over two massive boulders and stacking them to seal the well opening. The roar instantly grew muffled and faint.

"Dabao, slay the phantoms!" Chu Danqing issued a decisive command. Dabao’s 9-point agility erupted in an instant as he sprinted at full speed toward the gathering of phantoms.

Neither Chu Danqing nor Guo Ming dared to linger, quickly following closely behind to evacuate.

The Tiger of Wandering Tracks would need some time to break out; they could not afford to stay.

Elsewhere, Chu Danqing clutched the human skin and demanded, "Speak. What is the situation?"

Master Zen Yin Ke’s human skin fluttered in his hands, remaining stubbornly silent.

"I know you are still sentient. If you don't speak, I'll burn you first," Chu Danqing threatened.

The data provided by the appraisal skill identified the entity as Master Zen Yin Ke rather than a phantom, which meant that even though only his human skin remained, the true abbot was still in existence.

Otherwise, the designation given should have been a phantom.

"Why must the benefactor be so aggressive? I merely wished to cling to life," a weary voice resonated from the human skin.

"Tell me, what is at the bottom of that dry well? Why was the Tiger of Wandering Tracks so terrified?" Chu Danqing cut straight to the point.

The tiger certainly wasn't afraid that Chu Danqing had actually fallen in and deprived it of a meal; there had to be some other secret hidden at the bottom of that well.

"To think the benefactor knew all along that this is a Tiger of Wandering Tracks," the human skin replied before continuing, "Every time the tiger devours a person, it tosses their skull into the bottom of the well."

"It seems to be feeding some ferocious entity."

Chu Danqing’s expression darkened. "This is your temple, and you have been draped over the Tiger of Wandering Tracks more than once. How could you not know what lies beneath?"

He did not believe for a second that Master Zen Yin Ke was an innocent party; the man must have acted as a accomplice to the tiger in the past.

In truth, Chu Danqing already harbored a vague suspicion, wondering if it might be a Corpse-Stifling Demon.

Yet on second thought, the Corpse-Stifling Demon ought to reside within the Tiger of Wandering Tracks itself.

This left him puzzled as to what could possibly be at the bottom of the well to make the tiger panic to such an extent.

"That I do not know. Why doesn't the benefactor go down and take a look for himself?" Master Zen Yin Ke adopted an attitude of absolute defiance.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing had no choice but to roll the skin up, retrieve a bundle of thick hemp rope from his storage space, bind it into a tight cylinder, and tie it securely around his waist.

Given that attitude, the skin definitely knew why and was simply refusing to talk.

Therefore, the captive still held value.

Chu Danqing’s rough handling caused Master Zen Yin Ke to wail in protest, begging him to be gentle.

With a constitution of only 1 point, Chu Danqing’s rough treatment had actually scraped the surface of the human skin.

"Practicing evil arts in life is why you became a painted skin in death," Guo Ming sneered, then added, "First, coat it in a layer of lard, then roast it an inch above a candle flame."

"Douse it intermittently with cold water, and I guarantee it will make a painted skin monster like you wish for death!"

Guo Ming’s words caused Master Zen Yin Ke to cease its howling immediately, clearly indicating that this method truly worked on it.

"As it happens, I have candles, lard, and clean water right here," Chu Danqing said, simultaneously retrieving the corresponding items from his storage space.

Judging by his actions, he was fully prepared to put the method to the test right then and there.

"Wait!" Master Zen Yin Ke was genuinely terrified. "The thing at the bottom of the well is indeed related to my temple."

"I can tell you easily enough, but you must first slay this Tiger of Wandering Tracks to avenge everyone in Nanshan Temple."

Hearing this, Chu Danqing did not refuse. "It’s a deal."

With that, he put the items away.

"Before that, tell me what weaknesses the Tiger of Wandering Tracks has." Chu Danqing could wait to learn the truth about the bottom of the well.

Right now, the top priority was killing the tiger.

Once the threat of the tiger was removed, given Guo Ming’s reservoir of knowledge, he would have plenty of ways to make Master Zen Yin Ke talk.

" Lurking within the tiger's maw is a strange entity, transformed from one of the three bodily corpses, known as the Stifling Demon."

"Only by ridding it of this entity can the tiger be slain."

"Secondly, its rear left leg. Years ago, before the tiger attained sentience, it was caught in a hunter’s trap, leaving it crippled to this day," Master Zen Yin Ke blurted out hastily.

Upon hearing the phrase "three corpses," a look of astonishment crossed Guo Ming’s face, as if he had not expected to encounter them here.

From his expression, it was evident that he recognized the origins of the three corpses.

"I already knew that much. Tell me something I don't know—it's nothing more than the Taiping Dao plotting in the shadows," Chu Danqing said, having no intention of hiding his prior knowledge.

Master Zen Yin Ke then suggested slaying the phantoms first, but before it could finish, Chu Danqing struck it a blow to make it shut up.

"Since the Tiger of Wandering Tracks is the Stifling Demon transformed through the Three Corpses Slaying Technique from the *Taiping Scripture*, I do happen to know a weakness."

"My late father once had ties with members of the Taiping Dao and learned a spell meant to be chanted during the slaying of the three corpses, which can disrupt and agitate them."

"This spell is not difficult—merely forty characters long. I can pass it on to Brother Chu," Guo Ming offered.

Inwardly, Chu Danqing was astounded. What on earth was Guo Ming’s background that he knew even this?

If not for the fact that his attributes and name appeared entirely normal, he might have suspected Guo Ming was the son of the Grand Sage and Good Teacher himself.

How else could he be privy to so much intelligence?

"Very well, I gladly accept," Chu Danqing did not decline, accepting the offer without hesitation.