One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

Deep in the bamboo forest on the back mountain.

The dilapidated woodshed appeared to be on the verge of collapse amidst the raging storm outside.

boom--!!!

Another loud bang came from the front of the mountain.

Immediately afterwards, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.

Inside the woodshed, the old bamboo bed, which had endured countless years, creaked and groaned in pain.

Bed.

Zhang Taichu was curled up on his side, his whole body wrapped in the old cotton quilt that smelled of mildew, his head completely covered.

He was trying to practice a form of self-hypnosis.

"I can't hear you... I can't hear you..."

"It's all mosquitoes buzzing...and they're all huge mosquitoes..."

"Young people these days are so inconsiderate, setting off firecrackers in the middle of the night..."

A muffled groan came from under the covers, carrying a strong sense of resentment.

He rolled over and pressed the tattered palm-leaf fan tightly against his ears, trying to block out the pervasive noise.

For someone who considers sleep to be the most important thing in life, this level of noise pollution is even more unbearable than being slapped twice in the face.

If this were a dream, he'd probably be munching on a juicy beggar's chicken, sipping an ice-cold soda, and maybe even teasing that perpetually stern-faced Wang Ye.

But now.

Just as the chicken leg in my dream was about to be brought to my mouth, it was blown away by an explosion.

Who can understand that kind of lost and painful feeling?

Rumble—!!!

It was as if God was deliberately working against him.

Just as Zhang Taichu was starting to feel sleepy and was about to drift off to sleep again.

An unprecedentedly violent tremor occurred.

The tremor traveled along the earth's veins, directly shaking the long-neglected woodshed.

Splash...

On the roof, a crossbeam was slightly misaligned.

Followed by.

A cloud of dust, accumulated over countless years, mixed with fine wood chips and cobwebs, fell down in a flurry.

Impartial and precise.

It slipped through a gap in the blanket and went straight into Zhang Taichu's nostril.

Achoo!

In bed, Zhang Taichu suddenly sneezed with earth-shattering force.

The entire woodshed fell silent instantly.

The bamboo bed no longer shakes.

The old cotton quilt was slowly, little by little, lifted away.

Zhang Taichu slowly sat up.

He had a head of messy, bird's nest-like long hair, with a few dry straws stubbornly stuck in his hair.

Those eyes, which were always half-open and sleepy, slowly opened a crack at this moment.

For an old monster with extraordinary abilities who only wants to be a salted fish.

Nothing is more awful than having your sweet dream forcibly interrupted.

call……

Zhang Taichu exhaled a breath of stale air.

He reached out and stiffly wiped his face, removing the dust and cobwebs.

Then, he looked down at his hands, which were covered in dust.

"It's so noisy..."

His voice was soft and low.

"I just want to take a nap..."

"Why is it so difficult?"

Zhang Taichu slowly raised his head, his eyes looking through the dilapidated window towards the distant, blazing fire on the back mountain.

Deep within those seemingly cloudy pupils, a terrifying vortex seemed to be slowly swirling.

The surrounding air began to thicken.

The spider, which had been spinning its web in the corner of the woodshed, suddenly seemed to sense some great terror, curled up into a ball, and fell to the ground trembling.

The bamboo forest outside the window—all the bamboo leaves stopped swaying at that moment, as if frozen by an invisible pressure.

Zhang Taichu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

With this breath.

The flow of energy within a radius of several miles became crystal clear in his mind in an instant.

He automatically filtered out the noisy shouts of battle.

His perception, like an invisible hand, instantly transcended spatial distances, enveloping the most chaotic battlefield.

Tsk.

Zhang Taichu's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

He sensed it.

At the center of that chaotic flow of Qi, there was an aura that he was very familiar with, but which was now extremely violent and weak.

That's Lu Jin.

That little brat who used to follow him around, calling him "Brother Taichu," and who would get his head flicked and made him cry because he couldn't recite the scriptures.

At this moment, Lu Jin was like a candle burning its last bit of oil.

Although the flames were fierce, they also carried a tragic, final glow.

"Has Lu Zi gone mad?"

"He hadn't even mastered the Triple Rebirth Technique, yet he dared to overdraw his life force like this..."

Zhang Taichu pursed his lips, his expression showing some disdain, but the hint of morning grumpiness deep in his eyes quietly dissipated, replaced by a faint solemnity.

Aside from Lu Jin's aura.

He also sensed four other energies that made him feel physically uncomfortable.

The four auras were cold, sticky, and filled with a seductive and decadent scent.

It's like garbage that's been fermenting in a sewer for three days, or maggots breeding on a rotting corpse.

"This taste..."

Zhang Taichu stretched out his little finger and vigorously picked at his ear, as if trying to dig out that disgusting feeling.

"Manipulating emotions, controlling people's hearts..."

"Those guys from Quanxing who's involved in pyramid schemes?"

"I think their name is... The Four Madmen?"

A look of undisguised disgust appeared on Zhang Taichu's face.

In this world, he hates two kinds of people the most.

One type is people who disturb his sleep.

Another type is the kind of rat in the gutter who dares not confront things head-on, but only schemes and plots behind the scenes and causes mental pollution.

Unfortunately.

Tonight, these two types of people came together.

Moreover, they even bullied the younger generation he had watched grow up.

"Although Lu Zi is indeed quite stubborn, he's caused me a lot of trouble..."

Zhang Taichu moved off the bamboo bed and stepped barefoot onto the cold ground.

He bent down and rummaged under the bed for a long time before finally pulling out the pair of tattered cloth shoes.

"But he was still someone who called me senior brother."

"What if I die like this..."

"If I want to drink pre-Qingming Longjing tea again, who can I ask for it from?"

Zhang Taichu muttered to himself as he slowly put on his shoes.

He lifted his heel, which was about to fall off, and stomped his foot hard.

thump.

A dull thud.

As the foot landed.

The suffocatingly low pressure in the woodshed vanished instantly.

Zhang Taichu straightened up.

He reached up and ruffled his hair a few times, managing to straighten his messy hair a bit, then casually grabbed the tattered Taoist robe draped over the chair and put it on.

Ugh……

"What a life of toil."

"They can't even let people sleep in peace."

Zhang Taichu sighed and staggered to the door.

He reached out and pushed open the rickety wooden door.

squeak-

The night wind carried the stench of blood.

The wind blew up his empty sleeves and ruffled the hair on his forehead.

Zhang Taichu stood at the door, turning back for one last look at the warm bamboo bed, his eyes filled with reluctance.

"Wait."

"Let me go and swat a few flies."

"Come back and go back to sleep."

Done.

He turned around to face the darkness where flames soared into the sky.

At this moment, a glimmer of light finally shone in those usually languid and listless eyes.

"Since you don't want me to sleep..."

Zhang Taichu stepped out with his right foot.

One step and it landed.

The hard bluestone slab under their feet instantly turned into a pile of fine powder.

It was as if I had merged into the long night.

Only a single, light sentence drifted on the night breeze, echoing slowly through the bamboo grove, carrying a chilling coldness:

"Then none of you should live."