Chapter 4 (2/2)

The two girls retreated a few meters away and were ready to escape, thinking, ‘This uncle is not trustworthy!’

Zhou Zhenguo weighed the candlestick in his hand as he approached Li Liang and said, “I don’t know if you really can’t break free or just pretending—”

Without completing his sentence, Zhou Zhenguo raised the candlestick high with his right hand and swung it downwards.

There was no time for idle talk. The half-sentence earlier was just to confuse his opponent and bring down their guard.

The candlestick whooshed and fell towards Li Liang, who was unable to move. The candlestick was not light and had spikes. Also, Zhou Zhenguo’s strength was not insignificant. If this ‘smash’ was real, Li Liang would either be dead or seriously injured.

Everyone’s mission was to find Jack the Ripper.

That was actually open to relatively broad interpretation. To be more lenient, it may not be necessary to see the Ripper. Just like the game of deduction, confirming the true identity of the Ripper was like finding him. Hence, completing the mission.

If one wanted to be strict, they might have to capture Jack the Ripper personally. It would then be impossible to complete the mission without seeing or identifying him.

Regardless of how one chose to interpret it, killing Jack the Ripper would definitely be considered as completing the mission.

Zhou Zhenguo had a savage look on his face as he carried out his ruthless act.

“Ah!” Li Liang let out a wail.

The candlestick’s sharp thorn was less than two centimeters away from his eyes, to the extent that he could touch it with a slight movement of his head.

The head, which could barely move, was already tilted back to its limit. The pain in the neck was relentless, and Li Liang even suspected that he had broken his neck.

Zhou Zhenguo’s hand stopped in mid-air.

Clearly, he was only one step away from Li Liang, but he appeared immobilized and unable to continue.

While grasping his forearm, the power from above made Zhou Zhenguo feel like the chain locked him.

“Amitabha!”

Tang Luo, who had stopped Zhou Zhenguo, invoked the phrase “merciful Buddha” and nodded slightly.

A force of merit was born out of the void and was absorbed by the Jade Lotus of Virtuous Merit.

With a glimmer, the power of merit, which just got absorbed, was immediately used by Tang Luo. The warmth of the power emerged from the cool jade lotus and entered Tang Luo’s body, like a clear spring.

It was as though someone who had been thirsty for many years, had drunk a glass of water.

The sudden relief made Tang Luo exhale a gentle breath.

“Ah!”

It was Zhou Zhenguo who wailed this time.

The severe pain caused him to release the candlestick in his hand, which landed on Li Liang’s head that was swaying desperately.

After making a cut in the corner of his eye, the candlestick fell to the ground.

Li Liang felt a stinging pain around his eyes and knew that he had kept his life. At that instant, his body became soft for a while.

If not for the chains restraining him, he would have collapsed onto the ground.

“Apologies.”

Tang Luo released his grip and took a step back.

What happened just now was like a welcomed rain after a long drought, even if it was just a pot worth of “rainfall”.

Hence, Tang Luo used a little more force and ended up accidentally hurting Zhou Zhenguo.

“Benefactor Zhou, you are too rash.” Tang Luo told Zhou Zhenguo.

Zhou Zhenguo’s entire right arm was trembling. He felt that anything below his elbow did not belong to him anymore. The severe pain kept him speechless for a while.

The others were relieved. They then looked at Tang Luo in a different light.

This monk, who had self-proclaimed himself as Xuanzang, did not appear to be telling lies? He could really fight!

Zhou Zhenguo covered his arm and said to Tang Luo, “You don’t believe me? I believe my eyes, everything I saw.”

Tang Luo laughed heartily. “Benefactor, there’s no need to get angry. I did not say I don’t believe you.”

“In that case, why did you stop me?” asked Zhou Zhenguo.

As to Tang Luo stopping him, he did not reveal any shock on the surface. He was well aware of his own affairs.

As a player that had just survived the novice period, Zhou Zhenguo had traveled with the experienced players and Employees of Gods and Demons.

Apart from the acquired skills, Zhou Zhenguo was not extraordinary. If one threw him in professional boxing or fighting and paired him up with those professionals in the ring, Zhou Zhenguo would definitely not be able to beat them without his skills.

In Zhou Zhenguo’s eyes, Tang Luo should have practiced martial arts since a young age, similar to people like monks. His strength was enormous, and he should be able to fight well.

Moreover, he had some of that youth conceitedness, or else he wouldn’t be self-proclaiming that he had the means to subdue monsters and demons. To be able to stop him was something normal.

Tang Luo said, “Heaven has the virtue of sparing lives. It is wrong to kill someone over a mere suspicion.”

Zhou Zhenguo snorted, without saying anything.

“However, since Benefactor Zhou is positive that Benefactor Li is not what he seems to be, and could be the Ripper in disguise, I feel that I need to perform some verification.” Tang Luo smiled as he picked up the candlestick on the ground.

Li Liang trembled and had an ominous feeling. “Hey! Monk, what are you doing!?”

“Benefactor Li, don’t worry. At most, there will be some pain. There won’t be any danger to your life.”

Tang Luo was only short of giving a thumbs up to signal ‘no problem’.

“Hey! Hey!”

Li Liang, who had no energy earlier, was now shaking the chains till they clanked.

A human’s potential was limitless, indeed.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”

The miserable cry echoed throughout the church. But to be honest, it was extremely loud and powerful. In fact, it was more of venting out emotions, rather than pain.

After some time, Tang Luo threw the blood-stained candlestick on the ground and nodded with great certainty. “My verification is done. I feel that Benefactor Li is not the Ripper.”

Li Liang’s arms had several blood holes on them—Tang Luo had pierced him with the candlestick!

Tang Luo said confidently, “If he was the Ripper, he would not have let me do whatever I pleased, and would definitely have resisted. Hence, Benefactor Li is not the Ripper.”

“…”

“Master, he… is still tied up!” Little Chu reminded softly.

People would be unable to resist if they were tied up. This is a basic law of nature.