Chapter 537: Innocent! Must I Keep My Word No Matter What?

"Underworld?"

Qi Wenshan seemed to have thought of something, his face full of mockery, looking at De Ben with a teasing smile, his eyes showing unmasked sympathy, and said:

"De Ben, since you mentioned the Underworld, do you know the old saying: Money can make ghosts turn the mill!"

"Qi Wenshan, you mean…"

De Ben's complexion changed drastically, as if something came to mind, but unwilling to admit it, he held back the second half of his sentence.

"My meaning— I think you, De Ben, should understand, it's just that you refuse to believe!"

Qi Wenshan looked at De Ben with a mocking air, and before he could finish speaking, he heard Gui Lian's dissatisfied voice, impatiently saying:

"Lord Mountain God, why do you waste time with so much nonsense? Act directly!"

"Clatter!"

Qi Wenshan let out a cold snort, a swirl of black aura spilled from his body, instantly enveloping Gui Lian, and before she could react, she collapsed to the ground.

On close inspection, one could clearly see the terror on Gui Lian's face, as if she had encountered something extremely frightening.

"Gui Lian!"

Although De Ben treated Gui Lian as if she were dead, as if he had no such sister, when he saw her enveloped by a black aura and then collapsing, he was startled, rushed over to examine her condition, but no matter how he checked, he could not determine whether Gui Lian was alive or dead.

De Ben couldn't help glaring at Qi Wenshan, wanting to fight him to the death, yet neither the divine power within his body nor the strength around him could muster even a iota.

He could only kill with his gaze!

"Rest assured, your sister hasn't died; she merely fainted to the point of death!"

Qi Wenshan was not frightened by De Ben's angry stare; he gave a faint glance at Gui Lian, who was cradled in De Ben's arms, his face full of mockery, and said:

"I truly can't understand what kind of thing your sister is. I believe, as long as your brain hasn't taken on water, you should be able to see it."

"She repeatedly targets you over and over, yet you value her so much; I don't even know whether to say your head got caught in a door, because otherwise why would you do such a foolish thing!"

"That being said."

He could calculate De Ben's success, attributing ninety percent of the credit to Gui Lian, yet having learned about Gui Lian and De Ben's affairs, he truly despised a creature like Gui Lian.

"Of course."

He despised De Ben even more; if not for his indulgence, Gui Lian wouldn't dare repeatedly commit one foolish act after another!

In the end, it caused De Ben not only to lose the Lion Ridge Mountain God position, but also his own life and the chance of reincarnation.

He did not strike Gui Lian down, not because of gratitude for her help that enabled his successful ambush on De Ben, leaving De Ben like fish on a cutting board for him to carve, but because he intended to keep Gui Lian alive to later pin the blame for De Ben's death onto her.

"Therefore."

After he dealt with De Ben, he would employ methods on Gui Lian, making her as dazed as a fool so she wouldn't reveal his information.

"Later."

"That is, Gui Lian would be buried with De Ben as a companion; he would avenge De Ben, and he does not wish De Ben to be grateful, treating it as repayment for De Ben having 'given' him the Lion Ridge Mountain God title."

De Ben paid no mind to Qi Wenshan's tirade; the Gui Lian matter was not the first time Qi Wenshan mentioned him. Apart from his family, the whole Zhang Family Village often used Gui Lian's case to talk about him. He had long become accustomed; it wasn't that he never thought of changing, but each time he tried, the image of Gui Lian's pitiful childhood kept flashing in his mind.

Moreover, his parents often told him to take good care of his two sisters, so he could not bring himself to deal with Gui Lian.

"Qi Wenshan, I know that since you have designs on my Lion Ridge Mountain God position, you won't let me go. I am now schemed by you, unable to muster any strength, and have no power to stop you!"

De Ben looked up, and in his gaze toward Qi Wenshan there was not a hint of anger or resentment, only pleading, and he said:

"I wonder if I may ask you for one thing: having seized my Lion Ridge Mountain God position, could you spare my second sister and my family's lives?"

Qi Wenshan looked at De Ben oddly, suspecting he was deceiving him, trying to take advantage of his carelessness to ambush him, but upon closer inspection he saw De Ben's earnest expression, not a sign of trickery.

It truly seemed sincere!

Qi Wenshan said with a teasing tone: "So you mean you want to trade your non‑resistance for me sparing your second sister and your entire family's lives?"

De Ben nodded.

"If you truly cannot resist, I will spare your second sister and your whole family's lives; that would not be a problem!"

Qi Wenshan replied with righteous words.

Although he said that, deep down Qi Wenshan couldn't help but sneer, thinking De Ben truly was a rustic villager without a brain.

This novel you…

…just don't know to think, not even understanding the principle that cutting grass without removing the roots lets it grow again with the spring wind.

Although he didn't keep De Ben's two sons in his sights, he couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be an accident.

Who doesn't know that the world excels most at producing miracles.

Who knows if De Ben's son or his descendants might obtain an unknown extraordinary fate, soar skyward, and later come to avenge De Ben's grievances.

Unless his brain is caught in a door, like De Ben's, he would never let De Ben's family go.

After he seized De Ben's Lion Ridge Mountain God post, making Gui Lian take the blame, he bribed Underworld officials, successfully obtaining the Underworld‑conferred Lion Ridge Mountain God title. After a period of calm, he would cause De Ben's whole family to die violently, completely eliminating any hidden threat.

"Thank you!"

De Ben, holding the fainted Gui Lian, closed his eyes to await death.

"Fool!"

Qi Wenshan muttered a curse in his heart, seeing De Ben's shrewdness, he said no more; a thought flickered, and he whispered words as if chanting a spell.

"No, Uncle, you are so naive to think that if he says he'll spare your whole family, he'll definitely spare them. Aren't you afraid he's deceiving you? For someone like him, breaking promises is the most basic behavior!"

Wang Ping'an looked at his uncle, who closed his eyes to await death, speechless. He had originally wanted to see what kind of countermeasure his uncle might employ.

He never expected his uncle to act this way, just as he was about to intervene in time to rescue his uncle.

He could not watch his uncle perish at Qi Wenshan's hands with his eyes open, as a cold, mechanical voice rang in his mind.

(End of Chapter)