Chapter 6

The little mute wasn't born mute. She still remembered that when she was very, very small, she seemed to have spoken...

The memory from that time was already very hazy, with only faint shadows. There seemed to be a bridge, there seemed to be very sweet, red candies, there seemed to be a temple, and she was led by someone to see a Buddha statue.

That wasn't a wooden Buddha statue, but one that looked like it was made of gold, and the temple was also magnificent...

That Buddha statue was smiling, kind, and benevolent...

But shouldn't the Buddha protect people?

Then why was she taken away from her family, and then fed that bitter medicine, unable to say a single word?

Beatings, starvation, kneeling...

So cold, so painful...

The little mute moved bit by bit toward the Buddha statue, her small size, her whole body covered in blood, her muscles ground broken on the gravel ground, the ground full of blood and broken flesh...

At the same time, in the burning collapsed guest room, Wu Pifu and the Yaksha strong man were fighting madly.

At this moment, Wu Pifu's only remaining arm was half-crippled, his palm shattered, and his body covered in multiple bruises and contusions.

And the Yaksha strong man was not having a good time either. Half of his face was rotten, and his back had been torn by Wu Pifu's tiger claws, breaking several muscles. At the same time, the "Sumo Heaven-Earth Return" move just now had been twisted back by Wu Pifu's hands pulling his neck. This force was so huge that it even twisted the Yaksha strong man's neck bone, causing the Yaksha strong man to make a very loud strange sound while breathing.

But he seemed to be unaware of the pain, and his strength was still huge. Although it didn't follow any rules, this lack of pain, lack of fear of death, and the random throwing and hitting at close range were extremely terrifying to anyone.

Wu Pifu was now filled with chaos and confusion, his mind almost completely filled with demonic thoughts and distracting thoughts. But his body seemed to have some kind of instinct that could always find a chance to defeat the enemy.

Just in the middle of this guest room, the Yaksha strong man roared and hit Wu Pifu's head with a punch, while the other hand went to choke his neck.

Wu Pifu lowered his head and arched his body, dodging the punch and the choke. At the same time, he kicked the Yaksha strong man's calf with one foot, while one hand used the bone spur from his wrist to stab at the wrist that was grabbing him.

In a flash, Wu Pifu's bone spur stabbed the Yaksha strong man's arm vein. At the same time, his foot kicked the Yaksha strong man's calf. This force caused the Yaksha strong man to tilt forward, and the bone spur slid along his arm, almost tearing open the entire muscle on one side of his arm.

If it were a normal person, they would only be able to hold their arm and wail and roll at this time. But the Yaksha strong man ignored it, reached out and pulled down again, just grabbing Wu Pifu's hair. He smiled hideously and pulled up with force, then the arm with the torn muscle formed a fist and smashed toward his face.

With three muffled thuds, Wu Pifu's entire face was smashed inward, and several teeth were knocked out. The Yaksha strong man smiled hideously, lifted Wu Pifu, and charged toward a broken end of a roof beam, intending to impale Wu Pifu on it.

Three punches hit his face, and Wu Pifu's entire consciousness began to dissipate. But at this moment, he was circulating the blood circulation method of the Tiger Demon Art, his mind filled with distracting thoughts. At this critical moment of life and death, a trace of clarity actually began to appear in his chaotic and confused thoughts.

Whether it was a flash of brilliance before death or a turn for the better, at this instant of life and death, Wu Pifu's Tiger Demon Art actually advanced from the entry-level to the "entering the hall" stage. Amidst the chaotic demonic thoughts, he maintained a trace of clarity, thus being able to store a thought of clear consciousness that would not be extinguished, and even more, to reflect on his inner self and observe all kinds of things about himself.

National Art is a killing art, but also a cultivation technique, so naturally, there is a saying about advancing and becoming stronger. In the introduction of the Tiger Demon Art, it is mentioned that it is divided into three external arts: Ming Jin, An Jin, and Hua Jin. After Hua Jin is completed, it goes from external to internal, divided into three internal arts: Golden Core, Gang Qi, and Seeing God Indestructible. When one reaches "Seeing God Indestructible," one can be called a terrestrial immortal.

The most important thing in this is the self-observation of one's own spirit and body.

Hidden injuries of the body need to be repaired, and blood circulation needs to be improved to fit oneself completely, thereby triggering the body's re-evolution and re-development. Finally, when one reaches "Seeing God Indestructible," the body can reach the peak of life and maintain this peak for a long time until the end of one's lifespan.

The observation of the spirit can maintain mental clarity, not being confused by external objects, danger, or life and death. Its highest realm is called "the cicada knows before the autumn wind moves," and it can even achieve pre-knowledge and premonition of danger.

And this self-observation is the core of the core for National Art.

According to the general National Art ranks, Ming Jin to An Jin is a hurdle. After passing it, one has the initial self-observation. Then, self-observation improves further at Hua Jin. After that, every rank can significantly improve self-observation. When one reaches "Seeing God Indestructible," one can even observe every minute cell and every distracting thought in the mind clearly.

And this Tiger Demon Art takes a different path. Entering is extremely difficult. Once you practice, distracting thoughts will arise. Without nourishing methods, even the initial entry-level will kill people. If you have distracting thoughts while circulating blood, you will go astray and die on the spot.

But once the Tiger Demon Art is practiced to the "entering the hall" stage, it is immediately the first qualitative change. Self-observation is immediately comparable to the Hua Jin stage of other techniques. A trace of clear spirit is not extinguished, and its power is truly revealed!

At this moment, Wu Pifu's eyes were blood-red. The broken beam behind him was only one meter away from his back, and the Yaksha strong man's hideous face was in front of him.

At this moment, everything around him seemed to slow down. Only a trace of clear spirit in Wu Pifu's distracting thoughts remained unextinguished and unconfused. All the external scenes were reflected in his heart. When he was lifted and pushed back, he twisted his feet on a protruding burning wood, which also dragged the Yaksha strong man crookedly. Then Wu Pifu twisted his upper body with force. At that critical moment, the broken end didn't stab his back, but pierced through his armpit, stabbing into the Yaksha strong man's chest instead.

The Yaksha strong man's chest was stabbed, and the strength of his two arms weakened. Taking this opportunity, Wu Pifu opened his mouth wide and bit down hard on the tiger's mouth of the hand that was choking his neck.

Although the Yaksha strong man couldn't feel pain or fear, as a body, with muscles torn and bones dislocated, he naturally couldn't exert force. One hand was bitten by Wu Pifu on the tiger's mouth, and in the tearing, his palm naturally loosened. The other hand, because his chest was stabbed, couldn't be lifted for a while. In a flash, Wu Pifu escaped his control.

But Wu Pifu didn't retreat but advanced. With a twist of his feet, he darted to the side of the Yaksha strong man, stepped on the Yaksha strong man's foot, pounced on the Yaksha strong man, and bit down on the Yaksha strong man's throat. His mouth, missing several teeth, couldn't bite firmly. Just at this moment, the Yaksha strong man's other leg, which wasn't stepped on, kicked out, directly kicking Wu Pifu in the stomach. With a tearing sound, Wu Pifu, biting half a throat tube, was kicked into the fire pile.

The Yaksha strong man hissed and gasped for a while. Sludge surged from his throat, chest, and tiger's mouth, filling the wounds. At the same time, his muscles expanded even more, his height reaching at least 2.3 meters. His body was wide, at least twice the width and thickness of Wu Pifu. The skin on his body was almost completely torn, revealing the black-red muscles underneath. The whole person looked like some kind of black-red alien species, almost no longer human.

The Yaksha strong man's eyes were pitch black, and the sharp horns on his head were already two inches long. His arm bones and ribs began to extend outward, forming bone-spur-like growths. At this moment, he was roaring with unintelligible sounds in his mouth, intending to continue chasing Wu Pifu into the fire pile.

But just as he was about to rush into the fire pile, he stopped abruptly, because... there was some kind of darkness, some kind of terror lurking in the fire pile. It was something that even he, who was ignorant of pain and death, felt fear of.

At the same time, the little mute had already crawled under the Buddha seat. She looked up at the Buddha clay statue, gritted her teeth to support her body, and used both hands to push the Buddha statue.

But even if it was a clay sculpture, not made of gold or copper, the weight of this Buddha statue was not something she could push. No matter how hard she tried, the Buddha statue remained motionless.

The little mute made "ah-ah" sounds. She pushed the Buddha statue with all her might, her finger bones dislocating and tearing. Just at this moment, a chirping sound suddenly came from the sky. An emerald-green little bird fell from the sky, wanting to land on the little mute's shoulder, but finally stopped at her feet.

This little bird was very anxious, wanting to peck at the little mute, but the little mute had no skin on her whole body and no clothes, so the bird didn't dare to touch her, only chirping incessantly.

The little mute pushed the Buddha statue while looking at the little bird, and also anxiously made "ah-ah" sounds, while kicking the bird with her feet, wanting to drive it away.

The little bird hopped back and forth on the offering table, chirping constantly.

The little mute looked at the little bird, then looked at the offering table. She was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly rolled off the offering table and knelt to look at the corner of the table.

She didn't have the strength to push the Buddha statue, but she could destroy the offering table, letting the clay Buddha statue fall down...

Even if it fell on her!

Having been alone since she could remember, mute, and ugly due to malnutrition, she actually longed for happiness, even if it was just a poor house, even if it was just a rude man who would hit her when he was annoyed, even if it was...

He said it, he said it, he would take her away!

The little mute used all her strength to break off a corner of the offering table. The offering table tilted toward her, and the hideous-looking Buddha statue moved with it, pressing down on the little mute with the weight of a thousand jin...

That kind of red, sweet, sour candy, strung on a wooden stick...

So delicious...

(End of chapter)