Chapter 82

Liu Xincheng approached the young man with his knife, looking at his peaceful and comfortable sleeping face in the firelight, and muttered to himself, "Don't blame me! I don't want to kill you, I really don't... But there's no other way. Who would have thought you'd run into us... If I don't kill you, those people will see you and know our direction, and my whole family will be in danger."

After hesitating for a while, he finally raised his knife slowly!

He crouched slightly, the dagger in his hand flashing a cold light, his knuckles turning white from the force, veins protruding on his forehead, and sweat seeping out—finally, he decided to kill the innocent young man for the sake of his family!

He forgot the help given when they were hungry, the warmth of the fire when they were cold, and everything else... His selfish desires led him to slaughter, with no sense of right or wrong, and even the last bit of shame was covered by the excuses he found!

It's not just in times of real danger, not just when life and death are at stake, not just when there's a hindrance to their escape, but even for a mere possibility, he was ready to kill! He was ready to silence the young man!

Losing his humanity, ignoring the consequences. The world, this world where people's hearts have sunk so low!

The situation had deteriorated to such an extent!

Liu Xincheng took a deep breath, his lips trembling slightly, and his resolve was set.

He was about to strike.

At that critical moment, he suddenly heard a surprised 'ah' from behind, and then a hand covered the mouth—Liu Xincheng couldn't stop his heart from racing, and he turned around sharply, pointing his knife forward...

It was his pregnant wife!

Shuhui woke up from her dream, suddenly seeing her husband standing with a knife, ready to take the young man's life. Shocked and terrified, she immediately cried out, but then she realized—seeing her husband turn around, she hurriedly walked over and grabbed him, whispering angrily, "What are you doing?"

A look of reluctance flashed in Liu Xincheng's eyes, and he smiled bitterly, "What am I doing? I'm preparing to eliminate this threat for the safety of our family..." "Are you crazy?" Shuhui was instantly panicked, almost shouting, "This child has no grudge against us and has even helped us, and you want to kill him?"

"Do you think I want to? I don't!" His face was full of distress, and he looked helpless, "But do I have a choice? Can I choose? If those pursuers see this child, they will know we escaped this way. When they catch up, where can we hide?" He suddenly grabbed Shuhui's shoulders, looking into her eyes, and said sadly, "If our family of four falls into their hands, do you know what will happen—have you forgotten their methods?"

Thinking of the pursuers' cruel and vicious methods, Shuhui couldn't help but shudder!

The more she thought about it, the more her hair stood on end, and her whole body felt cold, but she still didn't want to kill. She pleaded, "Is there no other way? Can we leave now? Or, or take him with us?"

"It's not possible!" Liu Xincheng slowly shook his head, his eyes becoming desperate, "I've thought it through, there's no other way!" He suddenly touched Shuhui's highly protruding belly, gritting his teeth, and said firmly, "You, me, our daughter, our son, and this unborn child—our five lives depend on that young man! If he doesn't die, we five will surely not escape..."

He sighed deeply and continued, "Who is more important, Shuhui, don't be confused!"

Mentioning the child and thinking of yesterday's events, Shuhui's heart was like a turbulent sea, and her eyes welled up with tears. She suddenly cried, her voice breaking, "But, but, this is murder..."

Her heart was torn, unsure what to do, and she suddenly burst into tears.

Liu Xincheng pulled his wife into his arms, comforting her, "This, this is not our intention, I'm sure heaven won't blame us—Shuhui, when we get home, we'll burn paper horses and money for the young man, perform several rituals, and pray for his early peace and rebirth, okay?"

Shuhui sobbed for a while, then lifted her face from his shoulder, "Then, then you must do it!" Her words were sincere, seemingly compassionate, but she had already tacitly agreed to her husband's murderous act...

"Killing is killing, why say so much?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind, "Brother, sister, you're too slow!" The two turned around abruptly and saw Liu Yufeng standing behind them with a long knife, "Brother, I've seen you put the knockout drug in the young man's cake, and I know you've already made up your mind. This wilderness is a good place to kill. If we don't kill him, and he brings the pursuers, won't we regret it? If we have to die, it's better to die one than all five of us, and he's just a refugee, not as valuable as our lives..."

A few words made the act of killing seem righteous and justified, as if it were the right thing to do!

Although the two didn't say anything, they agreed with this in their hearts. The three quickly decided to kill and dispose of the body, ready to take the innocent young man's life!

Alas!

Long trapped in the underworld, suffering unbearable; the nine dark realms, dark and gloomy; the night wind and rain, cold and desolate; the fog and autumn, deep and sorrowful.

Sad, the heavy karma, who can resolve it; tragic, the many grievances, self-inflicted; the purple mist bestows grace, guiding to the path of Buddha, spreading blessings, and purifying the darkness!

Killing is a serious matter, even for the most heinous criminals, there is a compassionate heart, but these people, for their selfish desires, think that as long as they offer sacrifices, they can act righteously and justly, not knowing that the world's cause and effect, the cycle of retribution, is like an endless abyss, waiting on the path ahead...

When Liu Xincheng turned around to carry out his plan, he saw that the young man sleeping by the tree... was gone!

This shocked the three greatly, and they hurriedly searched the area, but in the darkness, it was not easy. After a moment, seeing no results, they didn't dare to delay, quickly woke up their son, hitched the carriage, and fled into the night, feeling that the matter was strange and hoping to escape as far as possible!

Only when they were far away did a figure emerge from behind the tree, the young man who had eaten the knockout drug cake.

His eyes showed a look of pity, and he shook his head at the carriage in the night, then sat back by the fire, warming himself, and slowly fell asleep.

This young man was none other than Zhi Zun Bao!

Zhi Zun Bao had fainted in the Nu Cang River and drifted downstream for an unknown amount of time. When he slowly regained consciousness, he found himself on a rocky beach, with no signs of people or villages around. Dazed, he got up and moved slightly, feeling a strange coldness in his organs and meridians, which startled him!

Only then did he realize, "I'm still alive?"

He touched the wound, feeling the rough skin, like leather, and lifted his shirt to see—

The wound had already healed!

The wound was now a strange scar, slightly raised above the skin, shaped like a twisted belt, with eight round flesh buds, colorful and distinct, resembling a pattern of intertwined snakes and dragons...

As soon as he touched it, a voice suddenly boomed in his mind, "You're awake?"

The voice was sudden, and Zhi Zun Bao thought it came from elsewhere, jumping up and looking around, trying to find the hidden person. But after turning his head a few times, the voice angrily shouted again:

"Stop looking, I'm right here, by your hand!"

Hearing this, Zhi Zun Bao noticed that the scar on his hand was slightly different, red and shiny, with a slight rise. He hesitated, unsure, and touched it, muttering, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? I'm the water god you harmed!" The voice suddenly rose in pitch, echoing in his mind, "You mere mortal, you tricked me and trapped me in your body... I'll tell you, I'm not just any spirit or mountain demon, I'm the water god!" The voice rolled in Zhi Zun Bao's mind, wave after wave, incessantly: "Release me quickly, or if I get angry, not only will you lose your life, but the entire hundred-mile area will suffer, and countless lives will be lost! By then, even if you regret it, it will be too late! If you know what's good for you, let me out now, and I, the great water god, will be magnanimous and won't harm you, a mere child. Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

The voice in Zhi Zun Bao's mind spoke on its own, unaware of its volume. Zhi Zun Bao initially listened, but as the voice grew louder, his head felt like it was being pierced by needles, and he couldn't focus—finally, he felt unbearable pain and covered his head with both hands, shouting, "Shut up!"

Suddenly, the voice in his mind paused, then became even more desperate, "Ah! Stop, stop! I can't take it! What are you doing? Stop it!"

This time, the voice was still loud, but... Zhi Zun Bao felt no pain, instead, a cool sensation began to spread in his mind, wrapping around his head, making him feel icy and comfortable.

The voice continued to scream and roar, gradually turning into a plea, but Zhi Zun Bao was helpless and could only comfort, "I don't know, I don't know what's happening..."

The voice gradually weakened, groaning and moaning...

In this process, the cool sensation in Zhi Zun Bao's mind had circled once and then moved down along the Conception Vessel, and he realized that it finally settled in his lower abdomen and disappeared.

Almost simultaneously, the groaning stopped.

Zhi Zun Bao then remembered the last scene before he fainted, the water demon charging at him, and the burning pain all over his body—he could almost guess that the voice was from the water demon!

Although he didn't know why it was in his mind, he could deduce that the water demon and the voice in his mind, the pain and the cool sensation, were definitely related.

In other words, he seemed to have some unclear connection with the water demon. (To be continued)