Chapter 1

Longshoushan, the top mountain in Yinzhou, is steep and covered with green rocks.

These green rocks are smooth like jade, and people have carved out rugged paths on them, winding up the mountain. After nine turns and eighteen bends, one can reach the summit and the entrance to Ciqing Temple!

Ciqing Temple, the third oldest temple in Yinzhou, enshrines the bodhisattva Guanyin, and is known for its miraculous power. On Buddhist days, many believers from the Yinzhou continent travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to pay homage and make offerings.

Despite the numerous green rocks on Longshoushan, the mountain remains vibrant, with countless orchids growing tenaciously in the crevices of the rocks.

Every time the flowers bloom, thousands of orchids on the high mountain open together. The fragrance is lasting, and at a glance, the rocks look like jade, the flowers like a sea, and the colors are dazzling, truly a picturesque landscape.

At the foot of Longshoushan, there is a large bamboo forest, which serves as the entrance to the mountain. This is the only path to climb the green mountain, and over time, a small town called Baiqi Town has formed here.

Relying on the mountain for sustenance, the residents of Baiqi Town live off the mountain, with almost no one farming. They depend on the tourists and pilgrims who come to visit the mountain and worship the Buddha, living their own lives.

Some run inns, others operate taverns, gather guests to cook tea, and sell incense. Some hawk snacks, candies, and trinkets on the street to make a living, and there are also porters who carry people up the mountain for a living.

At the end of the village, just one step away is the stone path leading up to Longshoushan.

There is a Taoist temple at the top, but it is not very popular. Although the people of the Yinzhou continent believe in both Buddhism and Taoism, and there is always a Taoist temple next to a prosperous temple, ordinary believers would climb the mountain to Ciqing Temple to offer incense, so no one would stop here.

The temple is small, only three zhang in size, but it is very clean. There are only two Taoists in the temple, one of whom is an old Taoist who sets up a divination table to read fortunes and interpret characters.

Today is the 19th of September, a Buddhist day, and the mountain is flooded with tourists, but the temple remains quiet, with no one entering. However, the two Taoists are not bothered by this. At this moment, a pilgrim enters!

This pilgrim is short and fat, with a large head and big ears, clearly a wealthy merchant. He enters the temple, trembling and looking around, as if he has entered the Hall of Yama. He slowly approaches the divination stand, hesitates for a long time, then takes out a money bag and places it on the stand, along with a piece of paper.

Then, he reaches into the divination box, picks up a stick, and reads the seven characters on it!

"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

At first, his voice is very low and timid, but as he reads the subsequent "kill" characters, it seems as if an invisible power is tempting him, causing a significant change in him. His voice grows louder, and a sense of hatred and killing intent erupts.

The old Taoist, Bucan Zi, pinches the money bag, glances at the paper, and slowly says:

"Li Jincai, the mayor of Houtun Town, fifty taels of silver. Good, he won't live past October. We, the Tianjue Killers' Guild, will take this job!"

The pilgrim lets out a long breath, his eyes filled with a hint of madness and killing intent, then turns and leaves. It seems that the rumors are true; the contact point for the Tianjue Killers' Guild, a ruthless organization that operates across the Yinzhou continent, is indeed here.

After the pilgrim leaves, more people enter one after another, all for killing jobs, with the silver ranging from thirty to fifty taels. The targets are all ordinary people, with the highest being a hundred taels of silver. Bucan Zi is very impatient, as there are no big jobs.

Actually, Bucan Zi doesn't care about the amount of silver; he just finds it unchallenging to kill ordinary people. However, to train the disciples of the Killers' Guild, he has to take even the smallest and most boring jobs.

As the sun sets, another pilgrim enters. This pilgrim is tall and wears a black robe, completely covered. His face is hidden, revealing only a pair of military boots, a standard military issue, worn only by military commanders.

He walks with the aura of a tiger, clearly a military officer. He goes straight to the old Taoist Bucan Zi, doesn't say much, and places a bundle on his back and a piece of paper on the table.

Then, he reaches into the divination box, picks up a stick, and says seven words:

"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

These seven words are filled with boundless killing intent, clearly the aura of a seasoned military officer.

The old Taoist's yellow eyes brighten, and he touches the bundle, immediately knowing it contains three thousand taels of gold, a big job! One tael of gold is worth thirty taels of silver, so this is ninety thousand taels of silver!

In the Yinzhou region, a bun costs only two coins, and a sixteen-year-old virgin maid costs only thirty taels of silver. Ninety thousand taels of silver is a huge sum!

Bucan Zi takes the paper, looks at the name, thinks for a moment, and says:

"Xinling Marquis, good, he won't live past the first day of October. We, the Tianjue Killers' Guild, will take this job!"

The soldier nods, steps back, and leaves, striding like a dragon, quickly disappearing outside the temple and walking into the distance.

Bucan Zi sits there, as if deep in thought. After a while, he strikes a bronze bell!

"Dong, dong, dong..."

After three strikes, the sound of the bell is very soft, but an invisible wave spreads out, silently covering the entire Longshoushan. This is a legendary magical artifact!

The fat innkeeper of Yunlai Inn, who is counting his abacus, slowly stops and looks into the distance;

The old abbot of Ciqing Temple, Master Ciyun, puts down his prayer beads and smiles, looking down the mountain;

In a stone room in the belly of Longshoushan, an old cripple looks up at the ground and takes a big sip of wine!

...

In the main hall in the belly of Longshoushan, these people gather and begin to discuss in detail. After about half an hour, the bronze bell sounds again, this time with five strikes!

"Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong..."

This is the sound of a drum summoning troops. After the bell sounds, on the mountain, a red-haired porter puts down his load and quickly disappears. The top courtesan of Cuilou Building leaves her patron with a smile and quietly goes downstairs...

In a moment, more than thirty people disappear from the town, but the others completely ignore their disappearance, even taking over their jobs, continuing with their tasks.

This is the true identity of the town; the entire town is made up of disciples of the Tianjue Killers' Guild, a den of killers!

The soldier rides a fast horse and gallops away, already thirty miles from the town.

At this moment, the five strikes of the bell sound in the town, and a bronze bell in the soldier's waist also rings, almost inaudibly, but in sync with the distant bell.

The soldier's hidden face shows a smile. He continues forward, riding for more than twenty miles, and enters a hidden forest. In the forest, someone has been waiting for a long time, also leading a horse.

The soldier dismounts and starts to take off his clothes, including his military boots. As he undresses, his body begins to change, his bones shifting, his size shrinking, reducing by a head's height. The aura of a seasoned military officer completely disappears, and his dark skin becomes fair and tender.

Then he takes the bundle from the other person and starts to change clothes. Once dressed, he transforms from a seasoned general into a graceful young man in white!

The other person carefully packs the clothes he took off, as if they are covered in some terrible poison, being extremely cautious and not touching them. Finally, he puts them in a strange bag and says:

"Senior Brother Luoli, don't worry, I will handle it. You should quickly return to the main hall."

Luoli, now a graceful young man, fastens his sword and says, "Little Seven, pay attention. The robes are imbued with the sect's spirit incense, which must be placed in Liu Junmen's wardrobe. The sect will send people to investigate and confirm the identity of the person who hired the killer. Don't leave any traces."

Little Seven says, "Understood, understood, don't worry, Senior Brother Luoli."

After saying this, he rides Luoli's original warhorse and runs off into the distance, continuing Luoli's original route. Luoli sprinkles a strange powder on himself to dispel the spirit incense from the temple, then rides another fast horse, turns around, and returns to Baiqi Town at the foot of Longshoushan.

This time, Luoli looks completely different from when he came. When he arrived, he looked like a tough military officer, but now he is relaxed and carefree, like a young master.

This is not just a change in clothing, but a fundamental change in demeanor, a basic instinct of a killer—disguise!

Pretend to be a person, and you look like a person; pretend to be a ghost, and you look like a ghost!

Luoli, the top killer of the Tianjue Killers' Guild, Tian Dao Sha, is known throughout the Yinzhou continent, from dukes and high officials to commoners, as Tian Dao Sha!

Tian Dao Sha made his debut three years ago, killing the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, Ma Laohēi, and gaining fame. Ma Laohēi was skilled in the seventy-two Tan legs, ruthless, and possessed the innate ability to leap thirty zhang, escaping at the first sign of trouble. He committed countless crimes and had many enemies, yet lived a carefree life.

However, he was killed by Tian Dao Sha! This caused a sensation across the land.

The following month, Tian Dao Sha killed the elder of the Thirteen Linked Forts, Tian Li, and the next month, he killed the governor of Changlong Prefecture, Luo Tianyu. He almost acted once a month, each target being a famous figure in the martial world, a high-ranking official, or a martial arts master, none of them simple characters.

Whenever he acted, the target was certain to die, and each assassination was famous throughout the land.

The reason for his fame is that Tian Dao Sha only killed the target, never harming an innocent, not even the target's loyal followers.

Before each assassination, he would loudly recount the target's crimes, all of which were true, and then openly kill the target.

This was not an assassination, but a public execution! Extremely arrogant!

In the Yinzhou continent, the land is imbued with strange energy, affecting the people, making them healthy, bloodthirsty, and endowed with supernatural abilities. Assassinations and plots are common, but such public assassinations, where the crimes are recounted before the target is killed, are unprecedented.

The people he killed all had one thing in common: they were extremely evil and ruthless. Each powerful figure's death was met with gratitude from countless victims, and Tian Dao Sha's actions seemed like divine justice. He, as a killer, only killed the wicked, never harming the innocent, so he was called Tian Dao Sha.

Some people admire him, while others hate him. Countless evildoers hope for his failure and destruction, but in three years, he has killed thirty-one powerful figures without a single failure, earning him the title of divine justice, Tian Dao Sha!

At this moment, Tian Dao Sha has entered Baiqi Town. Upon arrival, he dismounts, and someone takes his horse. He slowly heads to the underground entrance of the Tianjue Killers' Guild in the belly of Longshoushan.

In the town, besides the many killers of the Tianjue Killers' Guild, there are also some ordinary people who are unaware of the secret, deliberately left by the guild as a cover.

Among them are some small beggars, who are here because the guild's informants have led them here to beg, knowing that there are many pilgrims.

Over time, they either join the Tianjue Killers' Guild or mysteriously disappear. Two small beggars are staring at the steamed buns from a nearby shop.

The white buns, one of which can keep them full for a day, are a relief from the most painful hunger. But today, they haven't begged for a single coin, so they can't afford the buns, and their stomachs are rumbling.

Suddenly, Luoli passes by them, and a piece of silver falls from his pocket, rolling to their feet. The two beggars' eyes light up with excitement. They pick up the silver and run to the bun shop.

Luoli watches them, smiling. This act is silent and unnoticed, and although he doesn't know their future, at least they won't go hungry for a few days!

He can only do so much. Although he can't change their fate, he can bring them a brief moment of happiness.

The world is like a furnace, and creation is the charcoal. People are the objects in the furnace, enduring endless suffering. How many can truly control their own fate?

He continues forward, enters the Lianyou Bookstore, opens the underground entrance, and goes in!

---

Starting a new book, a long journey in life, a new beginning. This time, I want to write a very long story. Please join me in the world beyond the mist, to taste the flavors of life. I am just a recorder, and Luoli has his own story!

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