Crack!
Crack, crack!
Heavy clouds hung low, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed.
Under the dim, rainy sky, the boundless wilderness stretched like a giant carpet towards the horizon, reaching its very end.
And the chilling wind and bitter rain, which made this heaven and earth even colder, blew precisely from that increasingly dark edge of the sky.
It made the millions of withered, yellow weeds on the ground shiver, rise and fall, continuous like the waves of the sea.
Occasionally, a few gnarled trees stood alone amidst them, swaying in the wind and rain, looking exactly like monstrous specters with bared fangs and brandished claws, adding a touch of eerie gloom to this wilderness.
But this gloom was utterly torn apart in the next second by a figure that also flew from the horizon, whistling past like a meteor.
Indeed, this figure was Li Hai, charging forward at full speed.
Boom!
Carrying rolling, roaring pure white sonic boom clouds, he pierced through layers of rain, leaving a long trail of steaming water vapor, and suddenly sped past close to the ground above the boundless wilderness, like a scythe that had brutally plowed a thick, wide gash through the endless, desolate yellow grass below.
And this scene was precisely the brutal scar inflicted upon the wilderness by the biting wind pressure that erupted from Li Hai as he sped through the air.
But precisely because Li Hai's speed was so incredibly fast, this thick gash, with its flying grass blades and splashing mud, was like an endlessly growing earth Dragon, instantly following his figure, smashing rocks and splitting trees, traversing the entire wilderness, and reaching the other end of the horizon, obscured by the vast wind and rain.
However, despite causing such a massive commotion, Li Hai himself did not pay attention to these things.
This was only because he was currently recalling all the intelligence and information he had gathered from Zhou Hu and Zhou Yugen regarding the Black Wolf Bandits' First Head… who was also Zhou Hu's master—Lang Yun-sheng.
And in the words of these two father and son, this person's image was surprisingly divergent and distinctly different.
In Zhou Hu's eyes, Lang Yun-sheng was a heroic, highly skilled master worthy of his respect and reverence.
But in the eyes of his father, Zhou Yugen, Lang Yun-sheng was a shameless, despicable, and vile old beast whom he wished to cut into a thousand pieces and dismember.
The reason Lang Yun-sheng received such starkly different evaluations from the father and son was closely related to his little-known personal Hobbies.
His Hobbies was that he liked other people's wives.
Yes, just like Cao Cao.
And Zhou Yugen's intense hatred for Lang Yun-sheng was connected to this.
Even more interestingly, decades ago, when Zhou Yugen was still a vibrant young man, he had studied martial arts under Lang Yun-sheng.
Yes, Zhou Yugen was also Lang Yun-sheng's Disciple; he and his son were Senior Brother and Junior Sister.
At that time, Zhou Yugen had a childhood sweetheart with whom he grew up, and she also became a Disciple under Lang Yun-sheng, becoming his Senior Brother and Junior Sister.
After a few years of studying martial arts, their feelings deepened, and they naturally became engaged.
But after the two officially married several years later, Lang Yun-sheng became interested in his Disciple—Zhou Yugen's Junior Sister.
Using some unknown, strange method, Lang Yun-sheng managed to hook up with Zhou Yugen's wife in a short period and maintained this relationship for three long years.
Zhou Yugen, however, remained completely unaware of this.
Until three years later, when Lang Yun-sheng, seeking a thrill, deliberately took advantage of Zhou Yugen's return home…
In short, Zhou Yugen was so provoked that he left home and did not return, living in debauchery for over half a year before he managed to somewhat recover.
But when he returned home, he discovered that his wife was pregnant and had been for half a year.
What a tremendous humiliation!
Just as Zhou Yugen was on the verge of madness from humiliation and anger, Lang Yun-sheng appeared at just the right moment and threatened him with the lives of the entire Zhou Family, forcing him to accept his wife and the unborn child.
Out of fear of Lang Yun-sheng's power and concern for the safety of his entire clan, Zhou Yugen could only reluctantly agree.
Months later, his son Zhou Hu was born, and he thus began a decade-long period of being a cuckold.
During these ten-plus years, Lang Yun-sheng would appear in Zhou Yugen's home at any time, completely unconcerned about his presence, sometimes even forcing him to stand guard at the door, or even leaving the door wide open for him to watch.
For no other reason than to take the thrill to the extreme.
Having suffered such a great humiliation, Zhou Yugen naturally had no attachment to this home, nor would he show Zhou Hu any kindness; he even felt his head glowing green just by looking at him.
Therefore, Zhou Hu, who grew up under such cold indifference, naturally had no affection for his father, Zhou Yugen, and even harbored a subtle hostility.
Thus, when Zhou Hu was in his teens, Lang Yun-sheng himself personally stepped forward and took him as his Disciple.
As a result, Zhou Yugen became, in name, Senior Brother to his own son.
Zhou Yugen, deeply shocked and humiliated by Lang Yun-sheng's action, could no longer bear it.
That very night, he left home without a care and never returned.
Perhaps Lang Yun-sheng had found enough thrills, for he no longer troubled Zhou Yugen.
From then on, Zhou Yugen, who had completely severed ties with the Zhou Family, officially began his human trafficking business, until he was captured by Li Hai.
And Li Hai, having gained a general understanding of Lang Yun-sheng, evaluated him as follows:
"He even made people guard the door, even made people watch, bah, a genuine dog bandit, a beast among beasts."
Li Hai, with his blazing Killing Intent, could guarantee that Lang Yun-sheng had committed more than just one disgusting act that corrupted human ethics; it was probably many, many such acts.
As for evil deeds like robbing homes and setting fires, there was no need to even think about it; Lang Yun-sheng had undoubtedly committed countless such acts.
Therefore, for such an old beast that pollutes the air just by living, there is only… kill, kill, kill, kill!
And just as Li Hai, brimming with Killing Intent, wanted to fly even faster, a scene by a lake several miles away caught his eye, causing him to immediately stop and halt his steps.
…
"To the Salt God of Li Lake, above! This is this season's tribute. Please bless our Yu Family Village with no disasters, bountiful harvests, and flourishing population!"
By a quiet lakeside, nearly a hundred villagers knelt with hands clasped together, and after an elder loudly recited a prayer, they all followed suit, earnestly praying to the lake in unison:
"Salt God, above! Bless us with no disasters, bountiful harvests, and flourishing population!"
After the prayers ended, two men emerged from the villagers, walked step by step to a small boat moored by the shore, bent down, and lifted the wooden buckets from the ground above their heads, then poured them over a pair of boy and girl children who were inexplicably asleep in the center of the small boat.
Splash~
Immediately, a large handful of grayish coarse salt covered the two children.
Then, the two men successively poured out a second and third bucket of coarse salt, completely covering the two children, leaving no gaps whatsoever.
And after thoroughly covering the boy and girl with salt, the two men shouted in unison as they pushed the small boat, intending to launch it from the shore onto the lake.
But just then, a roar louder than thunder descended from the sky:
"Stop!"