Chapter 16: Tragic Fate (I)

Chapter 16: Tragic Fate (I)

Li Changhu barely had time to react as the youth lifted the leather around his waist, revealing a knife that glinted ominously with a cold light.

The youth’s eyes, fierce and sharp like a wild beast’s, were fixed unblinkingly on Li Changhu with alarming intensity.

His knife moved with lightning speed, aiming straight for Li Changhu’s throat. Li Changhu barely had time to recoil in shock, his hands moving in a desperate attempt to block the attack.

He was moving at the speed of lightning!

He had honed this particular stabbing motion for over twenty-two years and practiced on countless haystacks; it was fueled by years of repressed hatred.

The knife, gleaming like a bolt of silver lightning, nimbly evaded Li Changhu’s defensive arms and impaled his throat.

Li Changhu could only utter a few agonized groans before collapsing to the ground. His vision blurred, and the sounds of the surrounding screams and shouts of anger filled the air.

“BASTARD!” Tian Shoushui, standing behind Li Changhu, bellowed in rage and disbelief.

Tian Shoushui, obscured by the crowd due to his shorter stature, had not fully grasped the unfolding situation until he saw Li Changhu collapse.

Tian Shoushui lunged to grab the youth, his eyes burning with rage and the veins at his temples throbbing.

However, the youth, though successful in his attack, abandoned the knife and used the ensuing chaos to roll away from Tian Shoushui’s grasp. He moved with the agility of a deer, swiftly disappearing into the mass of refugees.

Tian Shoushui pursued, but the refugees scattered in panic, giving the youth just enough time to slip into the nearby reeds and vanish.

“DAMN IT!”

Determined, Tian Shoushui plunged into the reeds without a second glance, leaving behind the refugees huddled together in fear.

“Goddamn it! He brought disaster upon us!”

The middle-aged man who was previously speaking for the refugees was now cornered by the villagers.

“I have nothing to do with this! I don’t know that young man! He just came with us!” he wailed, but his protests were drowned out by the commotion.

“SHUT UP!” Liu Linfeng screamed, his face a mixture of rage and shock.

He gritted his teeth and kneeled down to support Li Changhu, who lay motionless and bleeding on the ground. Liu Linfeng struggled to contain his anger, glaring fiercely at the middle-aged man.

As he spoke, his figure began to disperse, fading like grains of sand in the wind. The luminous moonlight slowly dimmed, and the room, once bright as day, returned to darkness.

Li Mutian, in a state of shock, reached out desperately and shouted uncontrollably, “Speak to me, son! Changhu! Li Changhu!”

He bolted out of bed, gazing out the window in disbelief.

————

“Does cultivation also bring dreams?” Li Chejing, with tears still on his face, awoke in the side house.

He rose and walked outside, where he found Li Tongya seated at the wooden table.

Upon seeing his younger brother, Li Tongya quickly wiped away his tears and forced a smile. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

Li Chejing, however, just stared blankly at him and then looked up to ask, “Where’s Big Brother?”

“He was called out this morning by a tenant. Maybe something happened in the fields,” Li Tongya replied, trying to maintain his smile.

Just then, the door opened with a creak. Li Mutian appeared, looking visibly unsettled.

“Tongya! Go get your big brother... No. Never mind, I’ll go myself.”

Quickly slipping on his shoes, Li Mutian hastened to the front yard. As he opened the gate, he was met with a surprising sight.

A large group of villagers had gathered outside, all holding torches and with tears streaming down their faces. At the foot of the stone steps, three people knelt beside something covered by a piece of white fabric.

The sight of Tian Shoushui and Ren Ping’an’s grief-stricken expressions sent a wave of dread through Li Mutian. With shaking hands, he descended the steps, gently pushing past the tearful Liu Linfeng to lift the white fabric.

At the sight underneath, Li Mutian’s vision immediately darkened and he nearly fainted. His brothers, who had followed him out, also looked on with apprehension.

Li Chejing stepped forward, and upon seeing what lay beneath the cloth, he collapsed to his knees, crying out in anguish, “BIG BROTHER!”

He leaned over Li Changhu’s body, checking to see if he was still breathing.

Suddenly, Li Chejing jerked his head up, tears streaming down his face as he looked around at the villagers and demanded in a stern, roaring voice, “WHO DID THIS? WHO?”

His outcry, like the roar of a tiger, startled everyone, causing them to step back in fear.