"It's just some poor-quality cracked jade; three silvers is all I can give~" said a man.
"Three silvers?! I'm not pawning it anymore!" Li Huowang was furious as he took the jade pendant back and walked out of the pawn shop.
The jade pendant was worth at least 400,000 in the real world, but to think that he would be offered only three silvers for it here. The pawn shop was being unscrupulous!
He turned around and took another look at the pawn shop's wooden sign.
What an unscrupulous place. They've probably managed to earn a lot of money this way. Should I just break in at night and rob them?
Li Huowang was shocked at his own thoughts. He punched himself in the face before walking back to the inn, feeling frustrated.
Back in his room, Li Huowang opened the map and placed it on the bed before glancing at Bai Lingmiao, who was sewing something using the leather they got from Li Zhi's items. Then, he asked her to call for Xiaoman.
Li Huowang slowly pointed toward the South on the map. Before Li Zhi died, he told him that there was a group of nuns in black toward the South and that they might be able to handle the matter of Dan Yangzi possessing him.
Right now, Dan Yangzi was constantly influencing him, so finding a method to get rid of him as soon as possible was of the utmost importance. Finding a Black Taisui as well as addressing the other matters could be delayed a bit more.
Li Zhi had told him that the nuns could be considered good people. However, Li Huowang naturally would not trust that after experiencing all the things he had.
At this point, he trusted no one. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
If he needed the help of the nuns to deal with Dan Yangzi, then he needed a method to guarantee his safety and at the same time offer the nuns a handsome reward in return.
Li Huowang glanced at the side of the bed, staring at the sacred text and the gourd containing the lifespan pills. These items would be his bargaining chips.
But that was not important. Right now, the most important task was to find the nuns that Li Zhi had mentioned.
"Senior Li, you called for me?" Xiaoman panted as she came into his room. Except for the corners of her eyes being red, her emotions seemed to have stabilized.
"Where did you go just now?" Li Huowang asked.
"I went to the escort service and requested them to deliver the last words of those guiding drug ingredients who belonged to the kingdom of Si Qi," said Xiaoman.
"Next time, let someone else do these kinds of things. You should keep a low profile; otherwise, the town guard might end up finding you," Li Huowang reminded her.
Xiaoman's eyes flickered as she shook her head calmly. "It's alright... My mother did not report the incident to the authorities."
"Oh. Then come here and help me with this map. You are a local, so you should know your surroundings, right?" asked Li Huowang.
Xiaoman walked over and stared at the location that Li Huowang was pointing at.
"Do you know if there is a nunnery somewhere around here? The nuns from there are said to wear black clothes," explained Li Huowang.
"Nunnery? Black clothes?" Xiaoman thought about it for a moment before pointing her hairy fingers at a mountain in the South-West.
"If there is one, then it should be here in the Henghua Mountain. I've heard that one of the people from this town went there to pray to a golden Bodhisattva," said Xiaoman.
"A golden Bodhisattva! How much do you know about this nunnery?" asked Li Huowang. He wanted to gather as much information as possible.
"I don't know a lot. My family was poor, so we didn't go to such faraway places to pray. The only thing I've heard is that the place gets a lot of pilgrims," said Xiaoman.
"Hmm..." Li Huowang shook his head in silence. This piece of information wasn't really useful. After all, the Righteous Monastery also had a lot of pilgrims.
"Is there anything special about that nunnery? Something along the lines of how people's prayers for bearing a son were always answered back at the Righteous Monastery," asked Li Huowang.
Xiaoman thought about it for a moment before giving him a reply, "The only thing I've heard is that the nuns at that place are fat."
"Fat? What's so special about that?" Li Huowang thought about it and rapped his fingers on the map. "Let's move out. We will travel to the nunnery and check it out."
The money they got from Li Zhi's bag was used to exchange for dried rations and noodles along with a big pot of pork lard.
Soon, Li Huowang and the rest started their journey to the next location.
Now, at the very least, they were no longer traveling alone. Many others were on the same path as them.
After listening in on the conversations around them, Li Huowang heard that the war was about to start at the borders—many of these people were escaping inland to avoid getting into any trouble during the war.
They walked during the day and rested at night. As they passed by many forks along their journey, the number of people around them gradually lessened.
Just as Li Huowang thought that they would once again be traveling alone, a huge swathe of water blocked their path.
A light breeze blew over the surface of the water, gently shaking Li Huowang's robes.
"Is this the sea that my second uncle's father used to tell me about?" Puppy was filled with disbelief.
The vast body of water in front of them reflected the skies above like a large mirror. The lake was so enormous that they could not even see the opposite shoreline.
Li Huowang took out his map. "No, this is not the sea. It's just a lake, albeit a very, very big lake."
Si Qi was a kingdom with a lot of bodies of water, so having such a large lake was not very strange.
"Senior Li, why is the water of the lake black?" asked Puppy.
The water within the lake was indeed quite murky and dark. Even standing right at the shoreline, they couldn't see the bottom of the lake. It was quite eerie.
Li Huowang closed the map and looked at the others who were waiting by the lake. "Let's wait a while and see what they do."
After a while, when a small black dot appeared from afar, the people at the shoreline started to move. It was a wooden boat. The people here were planning to use the wooden boat to cross the lake.
The ship was quite large but also quite old.
"Come! Come onto the boat! Seventy coins per person!" The old captain sitting in the boat hollered at the people standing on the shore.
"Seventy?! It was only forty-six coins last year." Someone was instantly dissatisfied with the price increase.
However, the shoeless captain did not even bother to justify himself. Instead, he stared angrily at that man. "Do you want to take the boat or not? If not, then you can just swim across the lake."
When the captain saw the man silently take out the money to pay, he had quite a satisfied expression as he spat into the lake. "We are already on the verge of war, so who cares about rules? What can you do to me even if I raise the price?"
"Let's get on the boat," Li Huowang said as he walked toward the boat. This was an unfamiliar place for them, and so he would rather pay the expensive fee than get involved in some other trouble later on.
Soon, the boat carrying tens of people slowly made its way toward the center of the lake. Some of those who were on a boat for the first time were experiencing motion sickness; however, Li Huowang was more or less fine.
He turned around and faced the captain before asking, "Sir, how long will it be until we reach the opposite shore?"
"Hoho, we should reach in four hours. We will get there before it gets dark," replied the captain.
Li Huowang nodded as he looked forward, fully alert as the boat cut through the dark waters of the lake. The water within the lake was as black as ink and felt somewhat oppressive, almost as if something would emerge from within it.
"I hope there are no man-eating creatures in the lake," muttered Li Huowang.
After experiencing so many incidents, Li Huowang was quite alert about his surroundings.
"What are you saying? Those are just some folk tales. I've been sailing on this lake for over twenty years, and I'm still alive. Just relax, nothing will happen. Since I have already taken your money, I will ensure your safety," said the captain.
Those words were enough to calm Li Huowang down to some extent.
As the boat moved, the sun gradually started moving west. By sunset, the boat had arrived in a large field of reeds.
We should be arriving soon.
Li Huowang thought as he looked at the reeds around him.
Splash!
Just as he had that thought, the sound of someone falling into the lake was heard behind him.
Everyone turned around to see what had happened, only to find that both the captain and the person steering the boat had disappeared!
"Aiya! They were eaten by something in the water!" someone shouted.
No one knew who had shouted those words, but they left the people on the boat terrified.
"Sit down! Do you want the boat to capsize?" Li Huowang shouted at them.
Then, he turned around and looked at his own group. "Who here knows how to steer the boat?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Just as Li Huowang was thinking about what to do, the reeds around them started to move.
Soon, several small wooden boats appeared. The boats carried many people—both young and old, men and women. All of them were equipped with blades.
On one of the wooden boats, Li Huowang saw the captain who had just disappeared.
He was holding a short dagger. When he saw Li Huowang staring at him, he chuckled. "Hehehe~ Young man, do you want to eat sliced noodles or dumpling soup[1]?
1. Bandit codes: Sliced noodles = Cut apart. Dumpling soup: drowned. ?
Chapter 71 - Water Bandits
"Water bandits," Li Huowang instantly recognized their identity.
This was a trap! They had gathered everyone in one place with the intention to rob them!
"Hoh, looks like they are all simple people," Li Huowang mumbled as he observed them. He realized that not only were there young men among the bandits, but also elderly, women, and children. It was apparent that it was a family business.
Siu~
An arrow shot over and landed on the wooden boat, causing the rest of the passengers to start panicking.
"Everyone, throw all your belongings and jewelry toward us, and we will spare you. We are all good people who rob the rich and help the poor, so you have our word that we will not harm you. But if you dare to hide even a single coin, hehe~ We will let you choose whether you want to eat some sliced noodles or dumpling soup," shouted the captain.
Hearing his threat, the passengers became even more panicked and started moving; many of them threw their belongings into the water.
They might have been able to escape if they had encountered bandits on land, but now that they were in the middle of a lake, there was nothing they could do. Even if they were to jump into the water, they would not be able to outswim them.
Li Huowang stared at the boats that surrounded them and stepped forward before addressing the captain, "My friend, just take us all to the shore, and I will pretend nothing had happened here."
The captain furrowed his brows as he re-evaluated Li Huowang. Then, he spoke with a haughty attitude, "Shoulders together, throw me a vine?[1]"
"Speak properly and take us to the shore," said Li Huowang, his irritation growing.
"Ai! Look! To think he's just some amateur! He probably hasn't even grown hair down there! Hahaha!" laughed the captain.
"Hahaha!" The other bandits joined in as well.
"Brat, do you think you are some hot shit just because you are a Taoist? I've killed many of your kind before! Let me tell you something: this lake is the territory of my Yuan family. If you are a dragon, then make sure you are prepared to kneel here! If you are a tiger, then make sure you are prepared to sit! Even if the Heavenly Sovereign were to come here, he too would have to pay us a fee!" said the captain.
Meanwhile, the rest of the bandits clapped and whistled loudly, applauding the captain for his words. Some of them were already discussing how to distribute the riches they would get.
"Dad! I want that white-haired lady as my bride! She looks so pretty!" said one of the young bandits.
"Oh Heavens no! You can play with her, but you cannot marry her. I don't want my grandchildren to end up looking like her," said one of the slightly older bandits.
"Then, you can play with her first. After you are done, you can give her to me," replied the young bandit.
"Hahaha! My son is quite filial!" chuckled the older bandit.
Ding ding ding!~
At that moment, the piercing sound of a bell caused the water around them to ripple strongly.
Li Huowang's eyes were filled with killing intent as he grabbed a fistful of dirt and stuffed it into his mouth before shouting out his orders in a fit of rage.
In response, a Wandering God materialized and swiftly attacked the water bandits on their boat.
Faced with this mysterious entity, the water bandits used their arrows and blades to attack it to no avail. Anyone pierced by the Wandering God was instantly killed as they fell into the water.
In just a short moment, tens of corpses were floating on the surface of the lake.
At that moment, the water bandits finally realized that they had encountered a tough opponent. They decided to dive into the water to escape.
"Senior Li! Water is starting to fill the boat! They are drilling the base of the boat!" shouted one of the assistants.
Hearing this, Li Huowang used his finger to signal the Wandering God, commanding it to dive into the water.
Soon, a few half-naked men floated upward. They were already dead.
Thanks to the distraction, the other water bandits managed to escape, abandoning their boats and the corpses floating on the surface of the lake.
The water bandits were gone, but it was not the end of their troubles.
"Quickly bail the water out! Use your clothes to block the holes!" Li Huowang instructed everyone.
They were in the middle of the lake. If the boat happened to sink, then not even the Wandering God would be able to save them.
After some time, they finally managed to block all of the holes.
Li Huowang was just about to relax when Bai Lingmiao tugged at his sleeves before pointing toward the reeds.
Beneath the red light of the setting sun, many more boats had appeared among the field of reeds. When those on the boats saw the bodies floating on the surface of the water, they began crying, their eyes turning red.
An old hunchbacked man with a white beard was being supported by the captain as they stood at the front. Soon, his trembling but ancient voice spread out across the lake, "Senior! You just took the lives of tens of Yuan family members. If you had just told us your great name, we would not have dared to stop you. Or were you just displeased today and wanted to kill someone?"
Li Huowang didn't bother paying attention to him. He turned around and asked if anyone from their group could swim; they had to fetch the bamboo pole that was floating further away. After all, they still needed to sail the boat. It was not practical to stop the boat in the middle of the water, especially when it was almost night.
Meanwhile, the old man continued in a voice filled with sadness and anger, "Since it has already come to this, it's useless to talk anymore. While our lives can be considered cheap and worthless, you won't be able to leave easily, especially not after killing so many of us!"
The old man's threat immediately caught Li Huowang's attention. But the gradually darkening sky made it hard for him to see anything properly.
"Which one of you has good eyesight? Help me see what the fuck they are doing," ordered Li Huowang. He didn't dare let his guard down in this damned place and wanted to be cautious.
Just then, the one-armed guy squinted his eyes to see what was happening. After a while, he told them what he saw. "They are... kneeling, almost as if they are praying to something. Looks like it's pretty serious since they are using a pig, a cow, and a goat as sacrifices. Aiya! Heavens above! That old man just threw two babies into the water!"
Hearing that, Li Huowang immediately realized that they were in danger and shook the bell. Regardless of what the water bandits were planning, it would definitely not be something good for Li Huowang's group—he couldn't care about losing three months of his lifespan at this moment.
Following Li Huowang's command, the Wandering God quickly flew toward the water bandits but returned halfway back. Just as it was returning, Li Huowang felt the entire boat shake violently as the wood started creaking dangerously.
"Something is in the water!" exclaimed Li Huowang.
Boom!
A large explosion rang out as a great force launched the entire boat into the air before crashing down onto the lake.
The boat was quite old and couldn't withstand the impact of the landing, causing it to break.
Li Huowang fell into the lake, the cold water around him immediately causing him to tense up as he opened his eyes wide.
Within the dark and muddy waters, something was moving, wriggling around.
Sua!
At that moment, seven eyes opened right in front of Li Huowang, reflecting different colors of light as they constantly changed their form.
1. Jianghu Codeword: Shoulders together = Are you a friend? Throw me a vine = What's your surname. ?
Chapter 72 - Dragon Gate Village
What... What is that?
As he gazed into those eyes, Li Huowang suddenly felt his thoughts turn slower as his surroundings grew bizarre—rather than drowning in the water, he felt as though he was floating in the sky.
Meanwhile, the mud at the bottom of the lake shifted, turning the water even murkier. As the mud rose up, the dark figure with its seven shifting eyes moved as well.
By the time the mud enveloped Li Huowang completely, he saw a decaying maw that was even larger than a mountain. Within that maw, there were an uncountable number of hooks and tentacles.
No... not like this.
Li Huowang used all his strength to unsheathe his sword.
Just as he was about to slit his own neck, the tentacles wrapped around him and the hooks dug into Li Huowang's flesh, dragging him into the bloody maw.
Meanwhile, Yuan Er looked at the bubbling lake as well as the drowning passengers while standing on the small boat before nervously glancing at the old man he was supporting with his arms.
"Great-grandfather, let's go home. Given that we had help from the Lord of the River, they are as good as dead," said Yuan Er.
The old man stared coldly at him before shaking him off. "Return to our village!"
Hearing the anger within his voice, Yuan Er started panicking, but there was nothing he could do. Immediately, he placed two fingers into his mouth and blew the whistle to signal a retreat.
The small boats quickly retreated into the dense field of reeds.
The entire field of reeds was quite massive, forming a natural maze. But given that the Yuan family's people grew up here, they were very familiar with the area.
After taking quite a few twists and turns through the field of reeds, the boats finally docked at a small island made from reeds being woven together. This was the Yuan family's home.
The island was made entirely using reeds, including the small huts built on top of it.
Yuan Er had long since gotten used to the incredible view of this place, and wasn't really affected by it. Instead, he was worried about something else.
When he saw his great-grandfather getting down from the boat with his walking stick and entering one of the huts without a word, Yuan Er could only clench his teeth and follow him inside.
The other members of the Yuan family saw what was happening and quietly followed them as well. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
The huts here appeared small from the outside but were surprisingly spacious on the inside; there was even a place dedicated to rear pigs and ducks inside them.
Yuan Er followed his great-grandfather into a large hall with massive fish bones serving as supporting pillars.
Candles lit up the room. In the middle of the hall was a beautiful ink painting depicting a carp swimming up a waterfall. Below the painting were five memorial tablets.
This was the Yuan family's ancestral hall.
"Kneel down to the River Lord and to our ancestors!" shouted the old man.
Yuan Er's expression was serious as his knees buckled and he immediately kneeled down, kowtowing to the memorial tablets three times. Currently, he was not the arrogant captain of the boat, but a simple youngster awaiting punishment from his elders after committing a serious error.
The old man circled him a few times before lifting his cane and whacking it hard on Yuan Er's back and head.
Under the immense force, Yuan Er's head was soon bleeding as bruises appeared all over his body. However, despite the pain, Yuan Er just clenched his teeth hard, not daring to move.
Only after he saw that the old man was tired did Yuan Er make a move. The old man was panting while leaning on his cane. Yuan Er kowtowed to him. "Great-grandfather, I have committed a grave error."
"What did you do wrong?" asked the old man while glaring at him angrily.
"I was too careless. I did not probe their true strength before springing the trap. Because of that, I failed to realize that there was someone strong in there, causing tens of brothers as well as the nephew and niece to die because of me." replied Yuan Er.
"Hmph! So you do know what you did wrong!" The old man's anger dissipated a little.
Yuan Er struggled for a bit before he said reluctantly, "I already said the code word meant to probe who the Taoist was, but that brat did not give the appropriate reply!"
Splat!
Suddenly, the old man's cane was shoved inside Yuan Er's left eye, destroying it.
"AAAAAH!" Yuan Er held the left side of his face in pain as he rolled on the ground. But he recovered soon enough before continuing to kneel and kowtow toward the old man.
Looking at the youth in front of him, the old man sighed, his face filled with worry.
"Junior, don't think that you are suddenly above the Heavens and the Earth when you only conducted a successful raid a few times. While it may seem like we do not have any worries or troubles, it's not easy to do this job for very long. We have to observe carefully and act swiftly! Originally, I had wanted you to take on the mantle and continue our family work. But to think that not only did you make such a big mistake, you are even blaming others for your mistakes. I'm afraid that I may no longer trust you with this important job," said the old man.
Yuan Er panicked when he heard that. Disregarding his pain, he pleaded, "Great-grandfather! I'm sorry! I really regret my mistake! I won't make the same kind of mistake ever again! If I make such a mistake again, then I will personally squish my other eye and blind myself! I promise!"
"You think you could pay for the lives of tens of people with just a single one of your eyeballs? Stop dreaming!" shouted the old man. Then, the old man waved his hands.
There were many people spectating the entire scene from outside the hut, and two of them walked in with a plate as soon as the old man waved his hand. The plate was filled with various bizarre white fish bones.
"You need to be punished for making a mistake. There are rules that everyone below the Heavens must follow, and the Yuan family is no exception. If you can endure and successfully undergo the trial of leaping through the Dragon's Gate, then this matter will be forgiven and you can inherit the household. If you can't, then I will make sure to give you a proper burial," said the old man.
Staring at the bizarre fish bones, Yuan Er started trembling. However, all his desire to escape dispersed when he saw his great-grandfather standing beside him.
The curved bones slowly pierced his skin and tore through his flesh before finally coming into contact with his bones.
Just as Yuan Er clenched his teeth and prepared himself to endure the torture, someone shouted in front of the door. "Great-grandfather! Something is happening! Come, quick! The water in the lake is turning red!"
When everyone reached the edge of the island, they were shocked by the scene in front of them.
The lake water had been dyed a dark crimson color while a bizarre stench filled the air.
At that moment, all the villagers looked at the lynchpin of the village, the great-grandfather.
Meanwhile, the old man's expression changed quite quickly as he waved his right hand. "Light up the incense!"
Soon, the incense and the sacrifices were ready. A group of people kneeled near the shore of the lake and kowtowed continuously toward the now crimson lake.
Seeing that the color of the lake was not reverting to its original color, the old man steeled his heart as he turned around and walked toward a group of ladies holding their babies.
The babies were wearing new clothes while their hair had been tied into cones with red strings.
The old man took a brush and dipped it in cinnabar before lightly using the brush to make a small red dot on two of the babies.
The two babies were unaware of what was happening and laughed.
The old man gently patted their heads and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes; he couldn't bear to see what was about to happen next.
"Go," he said.
Hearing this, two men took the babies that weren't even three years old from the sobbing ladies and walked to the shore of the lake. Just as they reached the shore and were about to drop the babies into the water, they suddenly stopped.
"Hmm?" The old man squinted as he stared at the crimson lake water. Something was coming up.
Then, under everyone's shocked eyes, a completely soaked Taoist walked onto the shore with his head hung low. Something was stuck in his neck.
The old man took a closer look and saw that there was a sword tied to Li Huowang's neck with a piece of reed!
Chapter 73 - Murder
"Impossible! This is impossible! How could he still be alive?!" Yuan Er shouted uncontrollably upon seeing the man walking out from the water. No one had ever survived against the River Lord, but today they were witnessing the first person ever to do so.
Yuan Er recognized Li Huowang. It was the very same red-robed Taoist who had killed tens of members of his family!
Before they could even figure out what was happening, the strange Taoist slowly walked up the shore toward them, leaving red footprints on the ground.
"Quick! Kill him quickly! Don't let him ring that bell!" Yuan Er shouted, panicking. Despite the fact that there was only one enemy and that they had hundreds of people, Yuan Er had a strange feeling—he had a feeling that he should run away immediately.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Several arrows shot toward the man, but none of them managed to hit him.
Shriak!
Then, Li Huowang tore a man's body in half right in front of their very eyes.
The water bandits had originally intended to surround Li Huowang and attack him, but then, the bloody scene unfolding in front of them caused their blood to run cold.
It was Hell.
They felt as if they had been thrown down to the eighteenth layer of Hell as the anger in their eyes was replaced with terror.
Amidst their terror, they forgot everything and started running away, their legs trembling. All of them ignored Yuan Er's command and ran for their lives. They were utterly terrified.
On the other hand, as soon as they all lost their will to fight and turned their backs toward Li Huowang, a massacre was unleashed on the reed island.
"Great-grandfather! Quick! Think of something!" Yuan Er shouted as he saw his own siblings being torn apart, failing to comprehend what was happening.
It was only at this moment that he understood what a terrifying person he had angered.
Meanwhile, the previously dignified old man was panicking as well. He quickly brought his palms together and started chanting something toward the dark red lake.
He didn't have to chant for long before he saw a massive chunk of flesh float up to the surface. Seeing that chunk of flesh, the old man's vision went black, and he almost fell over from shock.
The River Lord that his ancestors had prayed to for so long was killed by the Taoist!
Meanwhile, Yuan Er's heart shivered as he saw what was happening. He immediately carried his great-grandfather on his back and ran toward one of the huts.
Hearing the screams coming from behind him, Yuan Er ignored them and entered the hut.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang stood in his place as he saw Dan Yangzi killing the water bandits one by one. Every time Dan Yangzi killed someone, his vision turned an even deeper shade of red, until it was so red that he couldn't even see where he was.
Initially, Li Huowang didn't want to stop Dan Yangzi, but when he saw that Dan Yangzi did not stop and just picked another person up, Li Huowang finally snapped out of his reverie.
"Stop! Stop the killing!" shouted Li Huowang.
Just as he heard this scream, Dan Yangzi grabbed a man with a dot of cinnabar on his forehead before slowly turning around, his bloodied face revealing a wicked smile. "Why should I, my dear disciple?"
Li Huowang wanted to say something, but when he turned back to look at the lake shrouded in darkness as well as his missing companions, he found that he had no reason to tell him to stop.
The pain in his heart swallowed him as he grasped his head and screamed, "WHY?! Why can they kill the people by my side, but I can't kill them?!"
By the time Li Huowang snapped back, Dan Yangzi had already disappeared. At the same time, he was now standing where Dan Yangzi had just been.
In front of him was a fat woman who was crying in despair as she held a man with a half-shriveled head; it seemed that he was her husband.
"Kill her! You either don't kill or kill everyone!" A voice exploded right beside his ear.
Hearing those words, Li Huowang's eyes twitched as he slowly pulled out the sword stuck in his neck.
With a single swing, the woman became still, her crying stopped.
The moment he killed her, Li Huowang felt a special feeling rush from the base of his spine and into his skull.
That feeling replaced the despair and the pain in his heart.
"He... Hehe..." Li Huowang held onto his sword, failing to suppress his maniacal laughter from leaking out. Then, he slowly walked deeper into the village.
Soon, the entire village was drenched in a rain of blood.
People's heads were torn off their bodies while the corpses grew cold.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang continued to laugh—the more he killed, the louder he laughed.
The sound of metal tearing into flesh continued as the dark yellow surface of the island was slowly dyed red.
By the time the sun had completely set, the sounds of crying could no longer be heard on the reed island.
Within the ancestral hall, the bloody Li Huowang held his blood-stained sword and slowly walked toward a skinny youth.
There were no other voices. The youth in front of him was probably the last member of the Yuan family on the reed island.
As the youth stared at the man who slaughtered his family, he completely broke down; his pants were stained with urine as he wildly waved his hands in front of himself while mumbling something.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang raised his sword slowly.
However, just as he was about to swing it, he heard a familiar voice.
He woodenly turned his body and saw the drenched Bai Lingmiao. Standing at the door, she was shivering while holding onto a glowing stone.
When he saw her, his murderous intent and the weird feeling in his brain disappeared like a receding tide. He asked, "You are still alive?"
Only when he spoke those words did Li Huowang realize that his usual voice had been replaced by a harsh and gritty tone. His vocal cords had been damaged by the sword.
"I know how to swim. When I was younger, there was a small pond in front of my village where I used to swim," explained Bai Lingmiao.
Li Huowang walked toward Bai Lingmiao with his sword in his hand, took off his bloody Taoist robe, and covered her with it.
At that moment, Li Huowang felt his senses clear up, as if he had just woken up. He stared at his surroundings blankly, taking in all of the dead bodies.
Regardless of age or gender, everyone had died at his hands.
There were mothers hugging their daughters, and cradles devoid of life.
At that moment, a sense of guilt surged into his heart, almost suffocating him.
Li Huowang picked up a dagger from the floor, clenched his teeth, and stabbed his palm forcefully.
He had never understood why Hu Jie, his neighboring patient in the mental hospital, tried to commit self-mutilation, but he had a feeling that now, he understood Hu Jie's reasons to some extent.
Chapter 74 - Death
"Senior Li! What are you doing!" Bai Lingmiao shouted as she ran over worriedly upon seeing Li Huowang attempting to harm himself. She held his bleeding left hand.
Li Huowang was in pain, but he pushed her away. His eyes were red as he shouted from the depths of his heart, "Why can't you remain quiet?! Why do all these things happen to me in this shitty place?!"
He pulled out the dagger before stabbing it once again, this time piercing straight through his palm. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
Bai Lingmiao was shocked by his behavior. After a few seconds, she rushed over, pulled the dagger out from Li Huowang's palm, and threw it far away. Then, she extended both her arms and hugged the man in front of her tightly. "Huowang! Please stop it! I beg you!"
Hearing her voice, Li Huowang immediately grew quiet. Then, he gently closed his quivering eyelids and embraced her soft body, slowly calming down.
After a while, he gently let go of her and stared at her, sighing deeply. "Alright, I'm fine now. Where are the rest of our people? Did you see any of them?"
Hearing his words, Bai Lingmiao nodded. Her eyes were slightly red as she led Li Huowang toward the edge of the island.
Soon, they spotted the rest of the guiding drug ingredients and assistants near the shore.
Originally, their group consisted of seven adults and five children, but now, only six adults and four children could be seen on the shore. Also, some of them were already dead by the time they were pulled up onto the shore.
Bai Lingmiao's lips were purple, and she shivered from the cold as she spoke in a chilly voice, "Junior Sun is a better swimmer than me. We pulled out as many people as we could from the lake, but we still lost some of them. Even Simpleton drowned."
Li Huowang looked at the people lying in front of him. Simpleton's face was purple from asphyxiation. He was not the only one who had drowned; another guiding drug ingredient and one of the assistants had the same look on their faces as well.
Two people were still missing within the lake, while three had drowned. In just a single moment, their group of twelve had dwindled to seven.
Li Huowang might not have been very close to them, but they were still his comrades from his time at the Zephyr Temple. Often, while they were all resting on their journey, he would listen to them talk about reuniting with their families if they managed to return to their homes.
But now, all that seemed worthless. They had died.
Li Huowang's face was gloomy when he walked closer to the shoreline. At the same time, looking at his drowned comrades, all the guilt in his heart disappeared.
Bam!
Li Huowang kicked a bloody head out of spite as he shouted, "FUCK!"
He felt like he was crazy! To think that he had just been pitying these murderers!
Now, Li Huowang desperately wanted the water bandits to come back to life just so he could kill them all over again!
These fuckers deserved to die! Their entire lineage should be wiped out!
Just as Li Huowang's emotions were going through a massive upheaval, one of the guiding drug ingredients who usually kept a low profile walked up to him. His voice was filled with guilt as he said, "Senior Li, I wanted to pull Simpleton out, but he was too heavy for me and I couldn't do it."
Li Huowang recognized him. It was Sun Baolu, the one Bai Lingmiao had mentioned was a better swimmer.
Looking at his soaked clothes, Li Huowang furrowed his brow and said, "Let's go inside one of the huts and start a fire. There's no need to linger around here."
There was nothing else to be said. They were the only survivors left, and he couldn't let them die from hypothermia.
Some of them carried the bodies of their fallen companions as they all slowly made their way into the village.
The entire village was covered in blood, flesh, bones, and viscera. Dark red blood flowed everywhere, causing the ground to feel sticky to walk on.
Everyone was looking at their surroundings and had many questions, but Li Huowang had no desire to explain anything.
At that moment, they turned a corner among the huts, and Bai Lingmiao was shocked as she instinctively hid herself behind Li Huowang.
The one in front of them was none other than that of the great-grandfather of the Yuan family, or at least what was left of him. He was impaled on a bamboo rod, his eyes unresigned.
Did I impale him here? When the heck did I do so?
Li Huowang tried to remember but nothing came to mind; there had been far too many deaths here.
After navigating through the village for a while, they stumbled upon a communal kitchen. They removed the pots from the fireplace and threw in some firewood before lighting it up. Then, the remaining survivors huddled near the fire as they tried to ward off the chill inside their bodies.
However, Li Huowang did not go near the fireplace. Instead, he stood in a corner of the communal kitchen and silently stared at the purple faces of those who had drowned, looking at them one by one.
His gaze finally stopped on Simpleton's face. Li Huowang had never imagined that even the loyal Simpleton would end up dead. He was simple and straightforward, to the extent that even the assistants, who were mere children, were more mature than him.
"I shouldn't have called you Simpleton. At the very least, I should've given you a proper name. That way, at least your gravestone would look much better," Li Huowang stared at Simpleton's corpse and mumbled to himself.
However, just as he said that, Simpleton suddenly opened his eyes even though his entire body had already turned purple and rigid.
"The corpse reanimated itself!" Li Huowang was surprised and jumped backward as he drew his sword.
At the same time, everyone else also took out their own weapons when they saw this scene.
Then, Simpleton opened his mouth in a daze, and began to vomit. "Blegh~"
Foul smelling black mud and lake water was being expelled from his lungs and his stomach. Once he had vomited all of it out, he laid sideways and panted heavily, color gradually returning to his face.
"Heavens! Senior Li! You can revive people?! How did you do it?" Puppy was overjoyed as he helped Simpleton up.
However, Li Huowang paid him no mind and focused his attention to try and resuscitate the others who had drowned.
Maybe they are also alive, and are simply unconscious, just like Simpleton!
Unfortunately, Simpleton was the only one who was still alive. Li Huowang worked as hard as he could, but the others continued to remain dead.
Regardless, Simpleton coming back to life after going through all that was excellent news. Everyone huddled around him and asked him if he was alright.
The atmosphere in the communal kitchen was no longer as heavy as it had been.
In the face of everyone's sympathy, Simpleton remained quiet for a long time before spouting out a few words. "I'm... I'm... I'm hungry!"
"Hungry? Hell yeah! Let's eat some meat! When we just entered the village, I saw that they were rearing pigs! Let's go kill one!" Puppy took the meat cleaver and ran out.
After a moment, a metal pot was once again placed on the fireplace. After the water was boiled, large pieces of pork were thrown into the pot. As Xiaoman threw in some salt, the fragrant scent of meat filled the kitchen.
After going through so much, Simpleton was not the only hungry one.
Li Huowang used his sword to pick up a big and fatty piece of meat, munching on it like it was a fruit.
As he ate, Li Huowang was thinking about something.
This is a very large water bandit settlement. There's no way that their riches only include some pigs.