Grass stands tall, woods grow sparse;
The sky grows cold, the moon shines bright.
"Come on, come on, come on...
Those with ill intent come, the virtuous stay away...
Come on, come on, come on...
Heaven's path you spurned, hell's gate you forced open...
Truly, good counsel falls on deaf ears with these damned souls..."
Tao Bai, a blade of grass between his teeth, hummed a cheerful tune before suddenly turning around.
"Well! A ten-mile send-off? Such hospitality?"
Behind Tao Bai emerged a group of enforcers, along with several unscrupulous merchants who'd driven up in cars to gawk at the spectacle.
Qin Kun, dressed in a sharp suit, stepped out of a Nissan Quest with his three voluptuous wives.
Another woman in a white wedding gown followed—
A surprise to Tao Bai.
It seemed his earlier behavior at the banquet had displeased these women too; their glares at Tao Bai were murderous.
"Fifth Young Master, how about you kneel before me, Qin Kun, kowtow three times, call me 'Father' three times, and I'll let you go?"
Qin Kun stepped forward, lit a cigarette, exhaled slowly, and glanced at Tao Bai with a hint of scorn.
"Don't say BenZuo didn't give you a chance. If you don't want to die, retreat now."
Tao Bai spat out the blade of grass he'd been holding between his teeth, his expression calm.
His voice wasn't loud, yet every word rang crystal clear in everyone's ears.
One man in the crowd rattled the large cleaver gleaming coldly in his hand.
After spinning it twice, he pointed the blade's tip at Tao Bai, his mouth twisting in a sneer.
"Still so cocky when death's knocking at your door?"
He looked eager to fight.
This man appeared barely forty, clearly the leader of the thugs, the head of their enforcers.
With his weasel-like features, it was obvious he was Wei Suoxi's father.
Hearing Tao Bai's words, the others doubled over in laughter, the air thick with merriment.
Even Qin Kun's three wives giggled softly.
"A Xi, calm down. Wait for my command."
Qin Kun raised a hand to silence the noise, exhaled a puff of smoke, and turned his gaze to Tao Bai.
"Young man, I, Qin, am not one to be unreasonable.
You overturned my banquet table and ruined my festive mood.
I won't demand compensation in money.
All I ask is that you kneel before me, kowtow three times, and apologize.
That shouldn't be too much to ask, should it?"
"Old fool, BenZuo didn't kill you outright.
BenZuo merely filped your table.
You should consider yourself fortunate.
It seems you haven't taken a single word of my advice to heart.
Very well.
Kneel before BenZuo, kowtow three times, and call me 'Grandfather' three times.
I'll spare your worthless life. How does that sound?"
"You don't know a good deal when you see one!"
Qin Kun's voice grew deep.
"A Xi, go. Leave him a breath so I can tear that filthy mouth of his to shreds."
"Brothers, attack!"
At Wei Zhanxi's command, over a dozen thugs charged forward, wielding various weapons.
Facing the frenzied mob, Tao Bai channeled his spiritual energy, erecting a defensive barrier around himself.
He then condensed the Xuan Ice power from his Qi Sea onto his fingertips.
A hazy white chill coalesced at his fingertips, eventually forming a transparent, razor-sharp ice arrowhead.
With a fierce flick of his wrists, a bitter wind howled!
Ten Xuan Ice arrows shot from his fingertips, piercing the swarming crowd!
"Thud... thud... thud... Ding!"
Nine men collapsed instantly.
One man, wielding a spanner, managed to shield his chest just in time.
The "ding" sound was the mystical ice arrow striking the tool—his palm still trembled faintly.
Now, gazing at the youth before him, fear suddenly gripped him.
Swallowing hard, he resolved to shield the others with his body.
Though nine had fallen, those behind still didn't grasp what had happened.
Thinking the frontmen had merely stumbled, they continued charging toward Tao Bai.
Tao Bai swept his right hand, firing five arrows.
He spun and unleashed another five with his left!
This time, all ten collapsed.
They twitched a few times before going still.
Now standing were Qin Kun and his three wives, Wei Zhanxi, and four unscrupulous merchants who had come to gawk.
"I forgot to turn off the stove at home..."
"Me too..."
"Oh dear, I nearly forgot I have a dinner meeting with the county leaders later... Mr. Qin, I must take my leave..."
The merchants, witnessing the eerie scene before them, all felt the urge to retreat.
Who had the heart to gawk at this spectacle?
They began bidding farewell to Qin Kun, intending to slip away in their cars.
Wei Zhanxi's hand, still clutching the large cleaver, trembled.
Qin Kun sensed something was amiss and took two steps back, quietly retreating behind his three wives.
"Since you're all here,"
Tao Bai's lips curved into a smirk,
"I suppose none of you will be leaving!"
...
A quarter of an hour later.
Tao Bai began the search.
This time, nearly eighty thousand yuan was awarded.
Over eighty percent of the money came from the four businessmen, Qin Kun, and his three wives.
Various bank cards, two sets of car keys.
Hey, and a lighter!
Zippo 75, 1932-2007, Made in USA!
Naturally, he also pocketed a box of True Dragon Prosperity,
a box of Yellow Crane Tower Soaring Sky,
a box of Soft Zhonghua,
and a box of Soft Blue Furongwang.
He pulled out a True Dragon Prosperity cigarette and placed it between his lips.
With a sweeping gesture of his large hand, he tossed all these items into an earth-colored storage pouch.
"Ding!"
A crisp, clear sound rang out as Tao Bai lit his cigarette with the lighter, leisurely puffing away.
Huff~
The cultivation world had nothing like this.
By the time the final crimson flame consumed Tan Kun's physical form, eighteen soul bodies had been added to the grindstone.
"Father, stepmom number one, stepmom number two, stepmom number three—how did you get in here?"
Qin Shan stared at Qin Kun, sucked into the grinding machine, and the three voluptuous stepmothers fixed in place beside him by an invisible force.
He gasped for breath.
"Ah Shan, what are you doing here?! And what happened to you?"
Qin Kun asked, seeing Qin Shan covered in blood.
"The Mill."
"What does that mean?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Qin Shan replied weakly.
"Xiao Xi, why are you here too?"
Wei Zhanxi also spotted Wei Suoxi, covered in blood.
"Young Master Qin stabbed me with a knife, then pushed me off the cliff..."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Fucking hell, Qin Shan, you little bastard!"
Wei Zhanxi, beside Wei Suoxi, was furious beyond words.
He hurled curses at Tan Shan and made an obscene gesture.
But they were both pinned in their respective grooves.
Otherwise, a battle of souls would have erupted in the grinding mechanism.
"Calm down, A Xi,"
Qin Kun said flatly upon hearing this.
"Let bygones be bygones!"
"Qin Kun, you son of a bitch!"
"You son of a bitch..."
Wei Zhanxi and Qin Kun began hurling insults at each other.
A cacophony of curses, venom, regret, and pleas for mercy echoed in Tao Bai's mind.
"Bastards! Quiet down for BenZuo, or I'll devour you whole at the first chance!"
Roared Li Bing, a fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator, from within the Mill.
The twenty newcomers inside reacted sharply to the word "BenZuo," instinctively lowering their voices.
He crushed the cigarette butt with his bare hands, then deactivated the Blood-Link Mill's soundproofing barrier.
With a flick of his sword finger, he channeled it into his physical body.
The Blood-Link Mill began grinding automatically within his ascending aorta.
The vengeful blood mingled with his fresh blood, coursing through his entire body.
Tao Bai felt an even more intense heat wash over him than before, accompanied by a tingling sensation deep within his bone marrow.
He immediately channeled the Xuan Ice energy from his lower dantian to alleviate it, and the discomfort vanished.
"Come out."
Tao Bai looked toward the nearby grass and said calmly.
The man hiding in the grass, having witnessed the bizarre and terrifying scene, felt his heart pounding uncontrollably.
What kind of fire could burn a person to nothing but ashes?
That purple gourd, and that transparent stone mill...
It was all too terrifying...
Hiding in the bushes was the middle-aged man who had narrowly survived by blocking an Xuan Ice Arrow with a wrench.
Seeing no movement from the bushes, Tao Bai said impatiently, "I'll count to three."
"Spare my life!"
Hearing this, the man shot out of the grass, immediately kneeling to beg for mercy.
"I have elderly parents and young children to support..."
"What do you do for a living?"
Tao Bai cut him off abruptly.
"I'm an auto mechanic."
"Your own shop?"
"Yes."
"Oh, no wonder you carry a wrench. Hand it over."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man respectfully handed over the wrench with both hands, not daring to breathe.
Tao Bai took the wrench and examined it.
It was indeed this wrench that had blocked the Xuan Ice Arrow.
"What's your name?"
"Wang Fugui."
"You may escape death, but you won't escape punishment. I'll cripple one of your legs. You choose which one."
"Wait a moment... Let me try walking first..."
Wang Fugui stood up, testing the difference between limping on his left leg versus his right.
Ultimately, he chose to have his right leg crippled.
Tao Bai instructed him to extend his right leg.
He then used the wrench to shatter the tibia in Wang Fugui's right lower leg.
…
"Three nearly new cars—a Toyota, a Nissan, and a BMW—for 500,000 yuan in cash. Any objections?"
Tao Bai produced three sets of car keys and waved them in front of Wang Fugui, who had just caught his breath.
"No... no problem. It's just that I don't have that much cash on hand. I'd need to sell these cars first to get it..."
Wang Fugui silently calculated in his mind.
If these three cars were brand new, their total cost would exceed two million yuan.
As nearly new vehicles are being sold urgently, they should fetch at least half that price, right?
After confirming the shop's address, Tao Bai tossed the keys across the room.
Wang Fugui caught them, his heart racing with both dread and secret delight.
In that moment, even his aching legs seemed to ease.
"This is a tracking seal. You might want to consider whether to flee or take a trip abroad."
Tao Bai tapped his sword finger between Wang Fugui's eyebrows, then revealed the location of the parked Toyota Land Cruiser.
This wasn't any tracking seal—
Merely a thread of mystic ice power injected into his brow.
If he truly fled later, Tao Bai would just let him go.
Yet feeling the chill radiating from his forehead, Wang Fugui instantly sobered up.
He then solemnly swore he would never run.
"Very well. BenZuo shall find you within seven days."