Chapter 4

In the midst of a cry for life, a fierce battle erupted. Shi Mengjie, with a swift movement of his hand, thrust out a pair of fine iron判官pens, sharp and lethal, directly at the Big Headed Ghost.

Almost simultaneously, Shi Zhongmeng, holding a silver-spotted steel pipe, fought against two opponents, clashing with the Earth Hall Knife of the Death-dealing Ghost and the chain spear of the Death-bringing Ghost. The Mighty God Shi Jiqiang engaged in a struggle with the long rope held by the old woman, the Hanged Ghost. Despite his immense strength, the Hanged Ghost's soft and pliable rope left no point of resistance. He roared repeatedly, but his divine strength was rendered useless. Shi Bowei, wanting to come to his aid, was held back by the two ghosts.

On the other side, facing Shi Mengjie's fierce and rapid attacks, the Big Headed Ghost found it difficult to defend with his octagonal copper hammer. The graceful ghost in red clothes and skirt quickly drew her knife to assist.

In the snow, the two sides divided into four groups, fighting fiercely. Snowflakes fell heavily, and it was hard to determine the outcome.

Of the West Mountain Ten Ghosts, four had yet to join the battle, while on the other side, only the Golden Armor Lion King remained, watching the scene, leaning on a lion, looking weak and sickly. The West Mountain Ten Ghosts, with their numbers, clearly had the upper hand, but if the Shi brothers shouted, the beasts would roar and charge, turning the tide against the ghosts.

Jiang Chen, watching this real-life martial arts showdown, felt his blood boil. Guo Xiang, seeing the beasts surrounding them, was frightened and remembered her desire to meet the Divine Carver. She called out, "Uncle Big Headed Ghost, stop fighting. You have the numbers, so even if you win, it won't be honorable. It was you who offended them, so why not apologize?" But the fighters were too engrossed to pay attention.

The battle raged on for a long time. The Long-bearded Ghost and Shi Bowei were evenly matched. The Hanged Ghost's long rope had many tricks, forming large and small circles. Shi Jiqiang, if not careful, nearly had his neck caught in a rope loop. Fortunately, his strength and fierce moves made the Hanged Ghost cautious. The Big Headed Ghost and the graceful ghost, one hard and one soft, complemented each other, but Shi Mengjie's rapid attacks were too quick, and the saying "one fast beats three slow" held true. The three circled and fought, and Shi Mengjie was not at a disadvantage. The Big Headed Ghost's voice thundered, while the graceful ghost's voice was eerie, trying to distract the enemy. Shi Mengjie, however, paid no attention and remained focused.

The West Mountain Ten Ghosts originally had their own names, but since the name "West Mountain Ten Ghosts" became famous, they abandoned their real names and each took a ghost name. Each of the ten had unique appearances and behaviors. They said to each other, "Heroes in the martial world call us ghosts, so we will accept it. We will see who is more powerful, humans or ghosts."

For example, the Debt-collecting Ghost originally used a steel plate. Because he would never forgive even the smallest offense, the martial world gave him the nickname "Debt-collecting Ghost." He was pleased with this and cast his weapon in the shape of a ledger, inscribing the names of his enemies on each iron plate, determined to strike them off only after taking revenge.

Seeing that the Death-dealing Ghost and the Death-bringing Ghost were no match for Shi Zhongmeng, the Debt-collecting Ghost quickly came to their aid. The silver-spotted steel pipe was a strange weapon, and the iron ledger was even more peculiar, with five iron plates clashing and making a ringing sound. The three ghosts, the Death-dealing, Death-bringing, and Debt-collecting, fought Shi Zhongmeng, and the situation gradually turned in their favor.

Hundreds of fierce beasts crouched on the ground, forming a tight circle. The West Mountain Ten Ghosts saw the green eyes flashing in the darkness and knew that even if they killed all the Shi brothers, breaking through the circle of beasts would be extremely difficult. The Hanged Ghost wanted to use her rope to bind the Mighty God Shi Jiqiang, thinking that if she captured him, she could force the Shi brothers to call back the beasts and clear the way. But Shi Jiqiang's martial arts were superior to the Hanged Ghost's, making it no easy task. The Smiling Ghost called out, "Second Sister, I'll help you," and drew his weapon from his waist, charging at Shi Jiqiang.

Shi Jiqiang, already frustrated, saw the Smiling Ghost charge and shouted, "Come on!" He swung his bronze cudgel at the Smiling Ghost's head. The Smiling Ghost sidestepped and blocked with his double whips, which broke with a "pu" sound. The Smiling Ghost was terrified and rolled away. The bronze cudgel hit the ground with a "bang." The Smiling Ghost reached into his pocket, grabbed a handful of poison powder, and without standing up, threw it at Shi Jiqiang. Shi Jiqiang saw a pale red mist and staggered, falling to the ground. The Hanged Ghost's rope wrapped around his legs.

Seeing the Mighty God fall, Shi Bowei, Shi Zhongmeng, and Shi Mengjie were both shocked and angry, but they were too busy fighting the ghosts to help. Guo Xiang shouted, "What are you doing? Using tricks to hurt people, how can you call yourselves heroes?" She did not favor either side but could not help but criticize the Smiling Ghost's unfair move. At that moment, a low growl came from beside her, and the Golden Armor Lion King, Shi Shugang, slowly stood up, his voice low and deep, saying, "Let my fourth brother go!"

Shi Jiqiang was unconscious, and the Hanged Ghost tied his arms with the rope, fearing his great strength would break the rope if he woke up. She also struck his side with a point, saying, "Drive away the beasts and clear the way, and we will let him go!" She saw Shi Shugang's sunken eyes and yellow face, his unsteady walk, and knew he was seriously ill, so she did not take him seriously.

Jiang Chen, with a plan in mind, knew this was the time to gain favor. He quickly called out, "Hey, brother, you're sick, don't fight."

Guo Xiang also said, "Yes, let's talk it out."

Shi Shugang nodded to Jiang Chen and Guo Xiang, saying, "Thank you!" and continued walking toward Shi Jiqiang. The Smiling Ghost and the Hanged Ghost exchanged a glance and charged from both sides, trying to capture the sick man as well.

When they reached Shi Shugang, they reached out with their hands, but Shi Shugang let out a low growl, slapped the Hanged Ghost's shoulder with his left hand, and pushed the Smiling Ghost's back with his right. Both felt a tremendous force and stumbled, almost falling. They quickly leaped back, but Shi Shugang did not pursue them. They were shocked and scared, never expecting this sick man to be so powerful.

Shi Shugang bent down to release his fourth brother's acupoints, gently pulled, and the Hanged Ghost's rope snapped into several pieces. But Shi Jiqiang, affected by the poison mist, remained unconscious. Shi Shugang frowned and shouted, "Give me the antidote!"

The Smiling Ghost said, "Call back the beasts, and I will give you the antidote."

Shi Shugang grunted and staggered toward the Smiling Ghost. The Smiling Ghost, not daring to face him directly, quickly stepped aside. Shi Shugang, due to his illness, could not leap, but he still moved toward him. The four ghosts standing aside leaped up, and the Smiling Ghost also turned to fight. Shi Shugang's palm strikes were slow but powerful. The five ghosts surrounded him, stabbing and slashing, but did not dare to get too close. The Smiling Ghost, fearing he would poison his own brothers, did not release more poison mist. At that moment, Shi Bowei let out a loud shout, and the beasts roared in unison.

The West Mountain Ten Ghosts, though experienced in many battles, were frightened by this scene. The beasts, still roaring, charged at the ten ghosts. Guo Xiang screamed, her face pale with fear, and Jiang Chen was also startled, almost being pounced on by a tiger. Fortunately, the Shi brothers threw two leather hats to them. The beasts, trained to recognize the hats, did not attack the two but turned to attack the ten ghosts.

Tigers, wolves, leopards, apes, and black bears... all kinds of fierce beasts clawed and bit the ten ghosts. The West Mountain Ten Ghosts killed seven or eight beasts, but with the Shi brothers restraining them and the sheer number of beasts, they were soon all injured, their clothes torn, and bloodied. They were about to be killed by the beasts' claws and teeth.

Guo Xiang saw three lions attacking the Big Headed Ghost. His octagonal copper hammer had fallen to the ground, and his right arm was bitten by a lion, relying on his left hand to barely hold off the other two lions. Remembering that he had brought her out, she felt sorry for him and, without thinking, took off her leather hat and threw it to him. The hat was too small for his head, making him look ridiculous, but it saved him. The four leopards, however, surrounded Guo Xiang.

At this moment, Shi Shugang was trying to take the steel staff from the Long-bearded Ghost to prevent him from killing too many beasts. Hearing Guo Xiang's cry for help, he turned and was shocked. But he was too far to help. Strangely, the four leopards did not attack Guo Xiang but circled around her, sniffing and rubbing against her, showing affection. Guo Xiang, initially frightened, remembered that her mother and sister had said she was raised on a leopard's milk as a child. The leopards must have smelled something different about her and considered her a kindred spirit. She was both surprised and delighted, bending down to hug two of the leopards, while the other two licked her hands and face. She felt a tickling sensation and giggled. The Shi brothers, who had trained the beasts, had never seen such a scene and were both surprised and delighted.

The Big Headed Ghost, though temporarily saved by the leather hat, saw his nine siblings in dire straits and refused to survive alone. The West Mountain Ten Ghosts were not righteous, often engaging in unorthodox practices, but they had deep bonds. He grabbed the leather hat and threw it to the graceful ghost in red, saying, "Ninth Sister, you escape and save yourself."

The graceful ghost caught the hat and immediately threw it to the Long-bearded Ghost, saying, "Big Brother, you go first and find a way to avenge us."

The Long-bearded Ghost threw the hat to the Smiling Ghost, saying, "Tenth Brother, a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. I won't live that long." None of them wanted the life-saving hat.

At this moment, a clear whistle came from above, and a voice said, "The West Mountain Ten Ghosts broke their promise, making me wait for half the night. It turns out they were here playing with the beasts!"

Hearing this, Jiang Chen's body trembled, and he could not help but shout hysterically, "Damn! Yang Guo is here!"

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