Chapter 152

The words fell into silence.

It was like a stone thrown into a lake, after a "bang," it quickly sank to the bottom.

Ripples swayed, returning to calm.

But in an instant, the wind rose again.

The wind that had blown several hundred years ago ignited the fire that had not been extinguished for several hundred years.

The magma at the bottom of the calm lake surged, light and flames flowed, boiling the entire lake completely.

In the palace, everyone faced Li Zhuiyuan and the statue behind him, collectively performing the etiquette.

The four Old Heaven Gate families each had their own etiquette, but at this moment, they were surprisingly consistent and neat.

The old lady of the Liu family had once said to Li Zhuiyuan: The times are different, we don't practice those old etiquettes anymore.

But the etiquette is actually still that etiquette; it's just how many people in this era still recognize it.

In the palace, the ancestors of the four Old Heaven Gate families finished returning the etiquette almost at the same time, and then collectively bowed and paid homage again.

Li Zhuiyuan subconsciously looked back at the statue behind him that belonged to Qin Kan.

They are still worshipping you.

"Crack..."

The statue cracked, from the forehead, from the arm, from the chest, like a dense spider web.

It cracked so suddenly, without any warning.

In just a few blinks, the statue, which was originally old but possessed both elegance and majesty, shattered all over the ground.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the ground in a daze. This statue seemed to be telling himself in this way:

No, they are actually worshipping you.

At the same time, it seemed to be responding to this non-existent sentence.

In the palace, everyone continued to maintain the bowing posture and shouted in unison:

"We, obey the Long Wang's order!"

Immediately, everyone in the palace flicked their sleeves lightly, a short bamboo pole slid into their hands, and then they swung it, and the bamboo pole extended.

They are corpse-drivers. The bamboo pole is both their identity certification and their lifelong companion.

On the bamboo poles in many people's hands, there were dense traces of repairs after cracking.

Everyone tucked the bamboo pole under their armpit.

They were very heavy, and the majestic curse power on their bodies compressed and bound their own range of movement.

Therefore, they began to march with the corpse-driving method they were best at, only this time, they were driving themselves.

There was clearly no one carrying the poles at the front and back ends, but the bamboo poles stood very stably, and they walked out one by one just like that.

The four people walking at the very front wore four different sets of clothes, representing the four Old Heaven Gate families.

They stood side by side, the four people patted forward with both hands, and the four bamboo poles were inserted into each other, forming a thick pair.

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't blind yet, but his vision was already a deep red, yet his ears could clearly hear their movements.

Four people, two in front, two in back, they were in front of him,

squatted down,

side-pole.

"Please, Qin family Long Wang, get on the sedan!"

Several hundred years ago, they treated Qin Kan with such courtesy.

They didn't feel that carrying a sedan for someone was an unequal relationship between superior and subordinate; they just knew that as a Long Wang who had succeeded in walking the river, there was no need to come and get involved in this matter.

But the Long Wang came, and was willing to lead them to fight to protect the hometown from being ravaged by evil spirits.

Since people come with righteousness, I naturally treat them with courtesy.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out his hand, groped, grabbed the bamboo pole, and then sat on it.

The four people stood up, and the youth's figure was lifted.

The team began to march.

Outside, everyone closed their eyes and lowered their heads.

The pressure brought by such a huge curse power team traveling was also extremely terrifying.

There was one exception, and that was Xie Shun'an.

Those who cannot be looked upon directly had all been invited out by Li Zhuiyuan.

He knew that his plan had completely gone bankrupt.

But at this moment, he actually went against his previous hysterical rage and instead kept muttering in astonishment:

"Why is the only successor of the Qin family Long Wang surnamed Li?"

Actually, when Li Zhuiyuan swore and warned the White Crane Boy by the giant pit earlier, he had already shouted his name.

Lihua heard it, and Xie Shun'an, who had excellent hearing, couldn't have missed it.

He had also wondered why the youth called himself the successor of two Long Wang families, but his main attention was still on the Qin family.

However, a contemporary successor of the Qin family and the only contemporary successor of the Qin family are concepts that are completely different.

It's not strange for the Long Wang family to have successors with different surnames.

For example, Xiong Shan and Lihua's couple dreamed of sending their son to the Long Wang family to be entrusted; this is the route of opportunity and relationship, and there is no need to change the surname.

Or there are those with extraordinary talent who come to join or are taken in and cultivated. In this case, there is also no need to change the surname.

In every big family, there will be no shortage of people with different surnames.

But when the only successor of the Qin family doesn't have the surname Qin, there is only one possibility.

That is, the Qin family's population has thinned to a very terrifying level.

But the Qin family is a big clan, so... have the Qin family members really almost all died?

The facts are indeed so. Before Li Zhuiyuan's initiation, the only Qin family members who wore red Chinese robes at the sacrifice were Qin Shu and A Li.

Qin Shu was a "family-born servant," referring to children born to servants in the master's house. Although he was given the surname Qin, he was not of the Qin family bloodline.

However, the old lady raised and cultivated Qin Shu personally, which was treatment that even children of the direct line didn't enjoy in the past, so the relationship between the two, seemingly master and servant, was actually mother and son.

Furthermore, Qin Shu failed to walk the river and was a person of the previous generation.

As for A Li, although she is of the Qin family bloodline, she has not entered the gate due to her illness; when she hadn't entered the gate, those filthy things harassed her, and after she truly entered the gate, those things would only be even crazier.

Therefore, after Li Zhuiyuan entered the gate, he was the only successor of the Qin family of the current generation, and it was the same in the Liu family.

When Li Zhuiyuan was carried past Xie Shun'an, Xie Shun'an breathed rapidly and whispered:

"Qin family members... Qin family members... have the Qin family members really... really died... really all gone?"

Li Zhuiyuan still didn't pay him any mind.

But at this time, no response was also a kind of default.

A joy appeared on Xie Shun'an's face, and he actually laughed out loud.

"Hehe... Hahahahaha."

However, this time there was no ferocity in the laughter.

In his mind, various things from the past surfaced:

He was on his grandmother's lap, listening to his grandmother tell the story of the ancestors and the Qin family Long Wang suppressing the General together, telling what kind of family the Qin family was, and that many generations of Long Wang had traveled the world to defend the righteous path.

For those nights, he held the Qin family Long Wang spirit tablet and cried and begged, offering sacrifices.

It turns out it wasn't that the Qin family didn't want to come, but that the Qin family members had all died... Haha, really good.

The majestic image he had revered since childhood hadn't collapsed, which made Xie Shun'an feel joy.

At the same time, it also made him feel puzzled.

"Qin family members... Qin family members... what exactly... what did they die for?"

Li Zhuiyuan had already gone far, and the team of those who cannot be looked upon directly had also left here.

"Tell me... tell

Tan Wenbin reached out, grabbed Xie Shun'an's hair, and pulled it backward, then lowered his head and asked Xie Shun'an's face in return:

"Why do you think they died?"

Xie Shun'an's body began to tremble; once the image of the Qin family was restored in his heart, the reason was actually very easy to guess.

For such a large family with deep foundations, if they wanted to avoid disaster and misfortune, there were truly too many ways; even if they simply avoided the world for a hundred years without coming out, after a hundred years, they would still not be underestimated.

Therefore, the reason that could cause this phenomenon could only be that the Qin family members did it voluntarily.

An overly similar and obvious contrast suddenly fell upon the Qin family and the Xie family.

The Qin family successors were still protecting all living things and defending the righteous path, while he himself...

"How could it be like this, why would it be like this?"

Xie Shun'an began to talk to himself incessantly.

Tan Wenbin sighed; if it were anyone else, he would think this guy was performing out of fear of failure and fear of death, but this guy was an extreme lunatic himself; perhaps he was truly revealing his genuine feelings at this moment.

"You all go follow Brother Xiaoyuan; remember not to follow too closely, watch your own line of sight. I'll go handle something first, I'm afraid it will be too late later.

Right, take this guy along too, let him keep watching."

After simply instructing his teammates, Tan Wenbin ran in another direction.

After running out of the palace, he arrived at a depression in the northwest corner; although the area wasn't small, it was very hard to be discovered.

At this time, the great eunuch was standing there.

"Little Binzi, it's been hard on you; things have come to this, and you still remember me."

"Godfather, what kind of words are you saying."

"I have some things I can't figure out, and I can't understand, but I can see clearly—your business is done.

After the matter was done, you didn't treat me like a used rag and throw me away, and you still remembered the promise to run here.

This 'Godfather' of yours, I only now dare to truly respond to it.

Didn't expect it, I had a group of god-sons when I was alive, but the god-son who truly cherished old feelings was only adopted so many years after I died."

"It's that direction, right, Godfather?"

"Correct, just dig down."

"Alright, you just watch."

Tan Wenbin pulled a Yellow River shovel from his bag, unfolded it, and began to dig; before long, he dug up a coffin.

"Godfather, I'm just going to open the coffin violently?"

"I'm already standing right in front of you, are you still afraid of disturbing me?"

"Hehe."

Tan Wenbin pried open the coffin; inside lay a set of remains.

They were all required to be buried with the dead, so naturally, it was impossible to focus on doing any preservation for them; being able to have a coffin here was already a super-standard treatment.

One doesn't know how many maids and eunuchs were buried underground in this vicinity; many white-boned hands and feet even poked out of the ground. When walking over earlier, one had to be careful not to step on them.

"Bah, the man-eating old society!"

"I don't understand this term, but it sounds quite satisfying."

Tan Wenbin took a bag from his bag and began to collect the remains; some bones were a bit large, so to make them easier to place, he even used the shovel to tap them.

After packing up, Tan Wenbin suspiciously continued to rummage in the coffin.

"Eh?"

The great eunuch reminded: "I already told you, the gold and silver jewelry is in the interlayer of the coffin; you smash it."

"No, Godfather, aren't your treasures here?"

"Are you looking for my treasure?"

"Right, I heard that when you are buried, you all take your treasures with you, or sew them back on, isn't that so?"

"That is indeed true; my treasure was originally deposited with the master who castrated me. Every year I had to send someone to give him a gift of money, asking him to carefully keep it for me, and wait until I was old and left the palace to take it back.

Unfortunately, the burial was rushed; my treasure was deposited at the master's house in Luoyang, and the General's mansion is far from Luoyang, so there was simply no time to wait for the treasure to come back."

"Oh, I see. That's fine, after I go out, I'll use gold to forge a treasure for you to put into your remains and bury it together."

"That, gold seems a bit soft."

"It was my oversight. Godfather, don't worry, I'll find a piece of good steel, find a mold factory, and ask the most experienced master inside to help me use a machine tool to make one."

"I don't understand these words, but it seems very capable?"

"I guarantee it will be stiff and hard for the next few hundred years!"

"Good!"

Tan Wenbin began to smash the coffin; the gold and silver jewelry inside rolled out. The quantity wasn't too exaggerated, but combined with the current purchasing power, it was already quite impressive—enough to build several roads in the countryside.

After storing these, Tan Wenbin picked up the shovel again and looked at the great eunuch with some embarrassment.

The great eunuch asked with a smile: "What's wrong, you still have something?"

"That, Godfather, I still have to dig up Little Wang Eunuch's as well." Without Little Wang Eunuch's guidance and introduction, let alone knowing this great eunuch, he was afraid he wouldn't even be able to bypass the palace's forbidden mechanisms.

It's just that if the great eunuch knew he was actually receiving the same treatment as that Little Wang Eunuch, he was afraid he wouldn't be happy in his heart.

But now, it actually didn't matter.

After Brother Xiaoyuan resolves that curse power and the General dies, everything here will also return to dust and earth.

"He is over there." The great eunuch pointed with his finger.

"Hey, I know, he told me."

Tan Wenbin picked up the shovel and began to dig. Although Little Wang Eunuch didn't have a coffin, he was buried quite deep; this could also be considered a top-tier generous treatment second only to having a coffin.

He dug it up and also found the identity jade pendant that Little Wang Eunuch told him about; Tan Wenbin began to collect his remains.

The great eunuch was not angry, but instead let out a sigh: "What a pity, Little Binzi, I am already dead; if I could have met you while I was alive, even if I had to risk everything, I would have been willing to pave the way for you."

"Hehe."

Read everything without missing a single word!

"You kid, you are born to be a great eunuch!"

Tan Wenbin: "..."

"You also think it's a pity, right? In my Great Han, being a eunuch was still very majestic."

The long procession continued to move forward.

The Phantom World Sand had no effect on them or on Li Zhuiyuan.

The procession just like that arrived at the stone gate exit.

Next, they could only go in one by one.

Li Zhuiyuan was still being carried; he knew clearly that he actually didn't deserve to sit in this position.

This group of people was like a mirror that was too clean, reflecting his own gray background.

Before he opened his mouth to speak to them, he had actually predicted the result in his heart—they would definitely agree, and there would absolutely be no surprises.

And this was also the reason why the youth felt painful earlier.

Here, there were no precise calculations, no control or manipulation, no interest exchanges... only the purest acting on impulse.

Having just barely learned to conduct basic emotional exchanges with a small handful of people around him, suddenly facing such a scene was no less than suffering a torture.

Fortunately, he survived it.

He figured out one thing: they actually didn't care whether his heart possessed benevolence, care, or sympathy.

They didn't even care about his true purpose.

They only cared about whether his actions were protecting all living things and whether he was defending the righteous path.

His illness could not be recovered from overnight, but his thoughts and direction could be adjusted.

The inheritance of the two Long Wang families was an honor that could give him status and position, but at the same time, it was also a responsibility that could not be escaped.

And he, who had been addicted to playing wits with the river water, seemed to be able to spare a little more thought to look more at the scenery in this river.

He had once complained that Wei Zhengdao hadn't left behind any medical records or prescriptions.

But now, Li Zhuiyuan vaguely had a feeling that Wei Zhengdao seemed to have left them behind.

The "destroyed by the righteous path" that appeared one after another in his book might not just be political correctness covered up to hide his own private goods, nor was it simply a playful, mocking, and sarcastic remark.

As his fellow patient, Wei Zhengdao might have also experienced similar things.

People like them were too much in need of a self-consistent logic; once a conflict occurred, they would feel painful.

Even if there wasn't enough emotion in their hearts, as long as one's actions conformed to the logic of the righteous path, there was no need for torment.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his right hand and placed it in front of himself; he could only see a blurred shadow now:

"Wei Zhengdao..."

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan slid off the bamboo pole; he walked to the stone gate, stood on the edge facing the crowd in front of him, and said:

"For the righteous path, for all living things, please... walk slowly."

The first person stepped forward; when passing in front of Li Zhuiyuan, he paused slightly and shouted: "Thank you, Long Wang, for seeing us off!"

Immediately, he stepped into the stone gate; the Dragon Eye Door-Locking Formation had long been activated by Li Zhuiyuan.

After he went in, outside the stone gate, a sky full of fire immediately spread; there was black mist permeating, but it was quickly incinerated by the flames. Inside, there seemed to be the sound of a dragon's roar.

After the flames outside the stone gate extinguished, the second person stepped forward: "Thank you, Long Wang, for seeing us off!"

He went in, and the flames rose again.

Under a pair of majestic dragon eyes, this strand of curse power was directly refined.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

Every time the big fire outside the stone gate extinguished, it signaled the next one to go in.

Amidst these responses of "Thank you, Long Wang, for seeing us off," they stepped into it one by one.

Several hundred years ago, a Qin family Long Wang arrived to help them suppress evil spirits; several hundred years later, another Qin family successor appeared to lead them to eliminate the natural disaster.

That one brought them in, and this one brought them away.

Not far away, Runsheng, Xiong Shan, and the others stood there, along with Xie Shun'an, who had been specially brought over.

At this time, Xie Shun'an pressed his forehead against the ground and remained silent.

The number of people on the stone gate side became fewer and fewer.

The flames over there also showed a trend of becoming weaker and weaker.

But fortunately, when the last person went in, the flames still incinerated him and the curse power he carried within his body.

After stopping for a short while, a sound of collapse and shedding came from outside the stone gate.

Formations are sometimes like machines; when running continuously, they can barely maintain themselves by inertia, but once they really stop, there are problems everywhere.

This Qin family formation, personally arranged by Qin Kan and then repaired by Li Zhuiyuan, finally completed its mission.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around, faced the outside of the stone gate, bowed slightly, and said softly:

"Thank you all very much."

After standing up, his body swayed for a while, almost unable to stand steady.

Without "Those Who Cannot Be Looked At," everyone could heave a sigh of relief.

Runsheng ran forward, squatted down, and reached out to wave in front of Xiaoyuan.

"Brother Runsheng, I'm not completely blind yet."

"These eyes are completely red."

"It's fine, I'll be fine after resting for a while; it doesn't matter."

Runsheng turned around and carried the youth on his back, letting him rest well.

Xiong Shan walked over at this time and said: "Long... Li..."

Li Zhuiyuan lay on Runsheng's back, closed his eyes, and said directly: "State the matter."

Xiong Shan: "It's like this, before I came down here, I left two straw puppet dolls by the lake. Now there is a reaction there; people, many people, people who can cause spiritual perception reactions, have arrived at the lakeside, right above us."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It's the people from those three families who have arrived."

He himself had been rushing and pushing the progress, also out of worry that those three families would arrive and cause damage to the layout here.

But now, the matter had already been resolved.

Xiong Shan said: "I plan to go up with my wife to find them and avenge Number Two and Number Three; as for the child, let's first..."

Li Zhuiyuan knew clearly that ever since this couple found out his identity, they had been thinking about seeking death to entrust their child to him.

Their parenting philosophy was truly kept absolutely extreme from beginning to end.

There were many people above; it should be the three families coming out in full force.

Ants can kill an elephant if there are enough of them; Number Two and Number Three were also likely surrounded and captured, plus the two of them were not in good condition now. Going up now would kill some people, but they would definitely die themselves.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I promise you, if you meet with any accidents, I will send your son to an orphanage with good conditions and donate some money."

Xiong Shan: "..."

Lihua, who was just about to cooperate with her husband to show that they were overwhelmed by anger, only felt her brain blank out and couldn't help but say: "Great kindness and virtue, in the next life... what?"

"A You."

"Here!"

"Carry Xie Shun'an." Li Zhuiyuan changed his posture to lean on Runsheng's back, "Go to that giant pit."

The group returned to the edge of the giant pit.

The coffin lid was still open, and the corpse-driver Daoist still maintained a standing posture.

Tan Wenbin had also run back at this moment, carrying three bags in his hands—two large and one small.

Lin Shu You threw Xie Shun'an to the side and leaned over to ask: "Brother Bin, what are you carrying?"

Tan Wenbin: "Carrying relatives."

Lin Shu You: "Brother Bin, your family is truly amazing; you have relatives here too? Direct lineage?"

Xie Shun'an, at this moment, seemed to have had all his vitality drained, just kneeling there blankly and woodenly.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Untie him."

Lin Shu You happened to be kicked back by Tan Wenbin.

After climbing up, he immediately went to untie Xie Shun'an.

At this time, a pair of bamboo poles was thrown in front of Xie Shun'an.

Xie Shun'an followed the sound, touched the pair of bamboo poles into his hands, and asked uncomprehendingly: "What do you mean by this?"

"I promised the General that before he dissipates, he can be majestic one last time.

I promised your great-grandfather that I would let him personally teach you how to take revenge when you are bullied by others.

They don't have much strength left; they will dissipate at any time, but dealing with that group of trash above is still more than enough."

After all, a family that has lost morality and responsibility, even if it has been passed down to this day, has long been a group of rats.

Xie Shun'an stood up, and with a pair of hands, the bamboo poles extended out and reached downward.

The corpse-driver Daoist took the initiative to reach out and catch the bamboo poles, his figure hovering in the air, arriving at the edge of the pit.

Seeing this, Runsheng and the others couldn't help but retreat a few steps, their faces revealing solemnity.

They had already experienced how terrifying the corpse-driver Daoist was earlier; when facing it, a moment of carelessness would result in one's body being blown apart.

Even more so at this moment, the Xie family ancestor who had originally applied the seal also let go of the restrictions on the General, allowing the General to once again possess the right to control this body.

But this was the last bit of time; the aura of decay on his body was already very thick.

In fact, the General should have perished long ago; before, it was the Xie family ancestor who was holding on hard.

Li Zhuiyuan said weakly:

"The Xie, Wang, and Bu families above intend to be unfavorable to me, delusionally trying to destroy the situation and trigger a natural disaster.

To resolve this catastrophe, I have already overdrawn my strength.

At present, I have no strength to protect myself, and my subordinates are all exhausted, sigh..."

As soon as these words were spoken, Tan Wenbin immediately began to cough violently, as if he were about to cough up blood.

Runsheng bent his waist, and Lin Shu You clutched his chest.

Yin Meng hurriedly said self-deprecatingly: "Sigh, I'm just a piece of trash who only knows how to eat the ancestors' legacy."

Xiong Shan and Lihua widened their eyes; they had truly opened their eyes today—one could actually play like this!

"In desperation, in order to protect myself and preserve a useful body to continue eliminating demons and defending the righteous path in the Jianghu.

Therefore, I temporarily open the General's seal to drive the wolf to swallow the tiger, letting the evil ones kill each other and return peace to the human world.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,

I only hope,

that the heavens have eyes,

and the Heavenly Dao is clear."

Xie Shun'an and the corpse-driver Daoist quickly retracted the bamboo poles, and the two of them fitted together.

It's just that this time, Xie Shun'an was in front, and the corpse-driver Daoist was behind.

Xie Shun'an turned his head, faced Li Zhuiyuan, and said: "Thank you."

Li Zhuiyuan changed his posture again; he prepared to sleep, and before sleeping, he said for the last time:

The problem of curse power here could explode at any time.

And if nothing unexpected happens outside, the people from those three families are probably almost at Peach Blossom Village.

There are too many variables. What he can do now is to seize the time and solve this problem sooner.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down on the ground, took out a notebook and pen from his schoolbag, and began to draw.

The only way to break the situation he could think of was the "Dragon Eye Locking Gate Formation" at the entrance of the water burial.

Use the fire of the ghost eye to burn and resolve the curse power.