Xiao Chen chose to hide behind the wall of a villager’s house. But something puzzled him—none of the villagers dared to come out of their homes to even take a peek. Whether it was fear or something else, he didn’t know.Meanwhile, his father, Xiao Yu, was still fiercely fighting against four black-clad warriors wielding large sickles as their weapons."Hand over the scroll, Xiao Yu! We promise to spare your life and your family’s," said one of them after launching an attack that Xiao Yu narrowly dodged."You think I’d believe the words of foul men like you? Even if my life is the price, I’ll never give it to you!" Xiao Yu shouted as he leapt backward several steps."It seems there’s no reasoning with you, Xiao Yu. Even if you hide in a rat hole, we’ll find the both of you and take the Heaven’s Ruler Scroll from your hands!""Leave my wife out of this, scum! Your business is with me—Li Lan has nothing to do with any of this!" Xiao Yu snapped.The forty-five-year-old man’s thoughts flic

Xiao Kwan, who was on top of Li Lan’s naked corpse, immediately turned his head. He, who got the last turn to violate the body of the beautiful forty-year-old woman, looked visibly irritated.While his three companions had already finished satisfying their vile lusts, Xiao Kwan—who had just started—was suddenly interrupted. What enraged him even more was that the one interrupting him was the son of the very woman he was violating.“Catch him! Let me finish this first,” he ordered the other three men.“You beasts! I will kill all of you!” shouted Xiao Chen, burning with rage. His rationality had left him—he knew full well that he was no match for the four demonic warriors. But he thought it better to die than to see his mother’s corpse defiled.The sword in the twenty-year-old’s hand was raised high, ready to strike the man on top of his mother’s body.But he had barely taken three steps into the room when a powerful kick struck him hard, throwing him back and crashing into a cupboard

Caught between disbelief and horror at what he had just witnessed, Xiao Chen remained hidden behind the trees, listening closely to the ongoing conversation. His chest burned with fury as he processed the bitter truth now laid bare before his eyes.Part of him wanted to storm out and expose the wicked pact being made between the Four Demon Sickles and Lu Feng. But then, Xiao Chen reconsidered. It would be foolish—possibly fatal—to reveal himself now.If they caught even a glimpse of him, there was no doubt they would kill him, extinguishing any hope he had of avenging his father’s death and the vile acts committed against his mother.So the twenty-year-old remained still, concealed by the foliage, until at last the three conspirators left the gravesite.“I swear I’ll destroy all of you!” he growled under his breath, his fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged from his arms.Once he had calmed himself, Xiao Chen resumed his journey to visit the graves of his mother and father.But

Xiao Chen tried hard not to show any sign of surprise, fear, or confusion on his face. The situation he was in required a precise, quick, and accurate response.He took four more steps before finally turning his head in response to the voice calling out behind him. He purposely kept walking toward a darker area so his face would remain hidden."Where are you coming from, friend?" asked one of the two guards."Just finished taking a dump outside. Why?" Xiao Chen replied casually, patting his stomach.The two guards squinted their eyes to get a clearer look at his face. But it was too dark to see anything, so they simply let him pass."It's nothing. Just routine checking. You may go," one of them said.As he walked, Xiao Chen lightly patted his chest and let out a relieved sigh. He had overcome one obstacle. Now, he just had to find out where the three women were being held and figure out a way to get them out of there.When he arrived at a small, unguarded building, Xiao Chen slipped i

"Aaakh!"Xiao Chen screamed in pain. But he kept running without looking back even once. The book inside the cloth bundle strapped to his back became his only motivation to keep running and running.“Catch him, quick! Don’t let him escape!” shouted one of the bandits.Even though blood continued to flow from the wound on his right shoulder, the brown-skinned young man refused to give up. As long as there was breath and strength left in his body, he would keep fighting to fulfill the task his mother had entrusted him—and to avenge the death of his parents.The pursuit through the darkness didn’t end simply with Xiao Chen’s injuries. Unwittingly, they had arrived at the foot of a small hill known for being haunted. A hill that welcomed no one who dared to enter its domain.Xiao Chen’s vision began to blur from the excessive blood loss. His eyes were spinning, and everything he saw seemed to whirl around him. The young man finally fell to his knees and slumped against a large tree trunk.