For thirty years, he has roamed the Northeast, his divine might overwhelming all immortals under hea

My father knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Heroes, gentlemen, please have mercy! That's our family's winter food! How are we supposed to survive if you take it all away..."

"How will we survive?"

The bearded man known as the Mountain Eagle chuckled twice, squatted down, and patted his father's face with the back of his knife.

"I don't care how you live. I just want food. If you know what's good for you, shut up. If you don't, I'll send you on your way."

My father didn't dare to speak; he lay on the ground, trembling all over.

I lay on the ground, and through my blood-blinded eyes, I saw the Eagle King straighten up, scan the courtyard, and finally fix his gaze on Cui'er.

Cui'er hugged Chuangen, huddled in the corner, her face as white as paper.

She held her child tightly, her head down, not daring to look at those people.

The bandit stared at her for a few moments, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, then turned and left without saying a word.

The bearded men, carrying grain, surged out of the courtyard gate and disappeared into the night.

I struggled to my feet and went to help my father. He was limp as a lump of mud, his lips trembling, repeating only one sentence over and over again.

"Oh no, oh no, how are we going to get through this winter..."

My mother was lying by the stove, blood was still gushing from her head, and her face was deathly pale.

Cui'er squatted down beside her, holding the child, her hand covering her wound, tears streaming down her face.

That night, the family of four squeezed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and none of them could sleep.

My dad keeps talking about it.

"Those few glances the bandit leader gave Cui'er... something was off, really off..."

Cui'er hugged Chuan Gen even tighter, not daring to say a word.

I lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), staring at the roof beams, thinking, "It should be alright, right? They've already taken all the grain, what else do they want?"

I was too young, too young to know that the evil in this world has no bottom line.

Three days later, at night.

I had just fallen asleep when I was awakened by the sound of banging on the courtyard gate.

The sound was urgent and heavy, like someone was banging on a door with a large rock.

My father got up, put on his clothes, and went outside, asking questions as he went.

"Who is it? It's so late..."

The door had barely opened a crack when a knife was thrust through the gap, plunging directly into my father's stomach.

My father didn't utter a sound; his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

When I rushed out of the house, I saw torches all over the yard, gleaming knives, and the smiling face of the bandit leader.

"Little brat."

The bandit leader looked at me and chuckled.

"I've taken a liking to your wife. I'm taking her back to be my bandit queen. You better stay put, or I'll spare your life."

I rushed forward like a madman, but before I could run two steps, someone slashed my shoulder with a knife, breaking my bones, and I fell to the ground on the spot.

I lay on the ground, unable to move or make a sound; I could only watch helplessly.

I saw Cui'er rush out of the house carrying Chuan Gen, kneeling in front of Guo Shan Diao, kowtowing until her forehead was bleeding, crying and shouting.

"Please, please spare the child! He's only one year old, he's just learned to call me 'Dad'..."

The bandit leader walked over, snatched the child from her arms, and threw it to the ground.

Chuan Gen's crying stopped abruptly.

I dreamt of that sound countless times afterward, of the baby's cry that abruptly stopped before it could fully burst into tears.

That voice was like a needle stuck in my heart, and I haven't been able to pull it out for forty years.

Cui'er rushed forward like a madwoman, but was pinned down by the eagle's foot on her back, and fell face down on the ground, her face buried in the mud, still struggling desperately.

The bandit squatted down, grabbed her hair, and lifted her face up.

"If you come with me obediently and serve me well, I'll make sure you live a life of luxury."

Cui'er didn't say anything, but opened her mouth and bit his hand, until her mouth was full of blood.

Enraged, the bandit leader drew his knife and plunged it into her heart.

Another stab in the back.

Stab me again.

After the three cuts, Cui'er lay motionless on the ground.

I lay prone three zhang away and saw that Cui'er's eyes were still open, facing my direction.

There was still light in those eyes, but that light gradually dimmed until it turned into a deathly gray.

My mother rushed out of the house and threw herself on Cui'er, screaming and trying to cover the bloody hole in her chest with her hands. A bearded man walked over and slashed her neck with a knife, almost decapitating her, and blood splattered all over the ground.

I watched as the blood spurted out, spraying onto the ground, steaming hot.

He could see the heat clearly; it was as if it were something alive, gradually dissipating into the cold air.

After killing everyone, the bandit leader ordered his men to set the place on fire.

The three houses were lit from both ends, and the flames leaped higher than the rooftops.

The dried wood crackled and sparks flew everywhere.

I lay in a pool of blood, watching the fire burn the house to ashes, burning the bodies of my parents, Cui'er, and Chuan Gen inside.

I wanted to shout, but no sound came out.

I want to climb, but I can't.

I just lay there, watching, watching the fire grow stronger and stronger, watching the flames turn his home into ruins.

The bearded men left.

I don't know how much time passed, but the fire gradually dwindled and eventually went out.

It started to rain, a cold autumn rain that extinguished the remaining embers and turned the ashes into mud.

I lay in the rain, covered in wounds and running a high fever. I don't know how long I lay there.

Later, I was finally able to move, and I crawled into the ruins little by little, digging through the ashes with both hands.

I dug out my father's bones, charred black, still curled up in a position.

I dug out my mother's bones; her head and body were separated.

I dug out Cui'er's bones; there were three knife marks on her chest.

I dug out Chuan Gen's bones; they were so small, such a tiny clump, almost weightless in my hand.

I picked up the bones one by one, wrapped them in my tattered clothes, made a bundle, and held it in my arms.

It was still raining. I carried the bag of bones and staggered out of the ruins, trying to find a place to bury them.

I had only taken a few steps when I saw people from Zhujiakan surrounding me.

They stood not far away, a group of about thirty people, men, women, the elderly and children, standing in the rain looking at me. There was no sympathy, no pity in their eyes, only disgust and loathing.

Zhu Laowai stepped out from the crowd and pointed at him, shouting.

"That kid's still alive! If Beard finds out he's still alive, he'll definitely come back! Then our Zhujiakan will be in big trouble!"

The crowd stirred, and someone shouted.

"Get him out! Get him out! We can't let him stay in the village!"

I held the bag of bones, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to those people.

"Uncles, aunts, and grandmothers, I beg you, I just want a place to bury my family, then I'll leave, go far away, and never come back..."

Zhu Laowai spat.

"Bury them? You can't even bury them in your ancestral grave! If the bearded man knew your family was buried here, he'd still come! Get out of here, take these bones and get far away, don't defile our land!"

"Please..."

I kowtowed so many times that my forehead was bleeding, and blood mixed with rainwater flowed down.

"They are my father and mother, my wife and son. They can't just be abandoned in the wilderness..."

"What's it to me!"

Zhu Laowai kicked me in the shoulder, knocking me to the ground.

"Your parents are your business, but the lives of dozens of people in Zhujiakan are our business! If you don't leave, we'll beat you to death right now, so you won't drag us down with you!"

Some people in the crowd echoed this sentiment, while others raised their sticks.

I lay on the ground, looking at those he had called uncles and elders since childhood, looking at the villagers who had watched him grow up, looking at the disgust and fear on their faces, and something in my heart shattered little by little.

I got up, hugged the bag of bones, and walked step by step out of the village.

The rain was still falling, and it was getting heavier.

I was walking on a mountain path, covered in injuries and running a high fever, when I suddenly collapsed and tumbled into a ravine.

The bag of bones broke apart and rolled everywhere.

I lay on my stomach at the bottom of the ditch, reaching for the bones, but I couldn't reach this one. I crawled through the mud and water, picking up the bones one by one and wrapping them up again in my clothes.

Then I couldn't climb anymore, and I lay in the mud and water, my consciousness gradually fading.

I think it's better to die, because then I can go find them.

When I woke up, I found myself lying in a cave.

There was a firelight at the cave entrance, and a person was sitting beside the fire, adding firewood to it.

The man was wearing a drab gray Taoist robe, with gray hair and wrinkles on his face, making it impossible to tell his age.

"woke up?"

The man turned his head and glanced at me.

I wanted to speak, but it felt like there was sand stuck in my throat, and I couldn't utter a single word.

The old Taoist priest brought over a bowl of water and helped me drink it.

The water was made from some unknown substance; it was so bitter it made your tongue numb. But after drinking it, the burning wounds all over your body felt a little cooler.

You're lucky to be alive.

"If I had found you half an hour later, you would have been fed to the wild dogs."

I paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and struggled to get up.

"My bones... my bones..."

"There it is."

The old Taoist priest pointed to a corner of the cave.

The bag of bones was placed carefully, wrapped in my clothes, on a flat stone.

When I saw that bag of bones, tears immediately welled up in my eyes.

The old Taoist priest sat beside me, watching me cry, without saying a word.

I cried for a long time, until my voice was hoarse and my tears ran dry.

Then I got up, knelt in front of the old Taoist priest, and kowtowed to him.

"Master, please help me avenge myself."

The old Taoist priest remained silent.

"Please, Taoist priest."

I banged my head against the ground repeatedly.

"My family was all killed by the bearded man, our house was burned down, and I was driven out by the people of Zhujiakan. I almost died in the wilderness, clutching my bones. You saved my life, and if you don't want it, I'll die right now. But before I die, please show me a way so I can take my revenge before I die."

The old Taoist priest looked at him for a long time, then sighed.

"Revenge? What will you use to take revenge?"

The old Taoist priest spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

"You're too weak to even lift a knife. Those bearded men have guns and knives, and they outnumber you. Going to seek revenge will only add another life to your line."

"What should I do then?"

I looked up, my eyes bloodshot.

"I'm just going to let it go like this? My family died for nothing?"

The old Taoist priest did not answer. He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and looked at the night outside.

Outside the cave were dark, looming mountains, and a few stars shone coldly in the sky.

"I have a special skill."

The old Taoist priest had his back to him, and his voice drifted in.

"It can help you get revenge. But this skill is extremely evil; after learning it, you won't be human anymore. Are you willing?"

I knelt on the ground and spoke, word by word.

"I'm willing. As long as those bastards pay for their crimes in blood, I'm willing to be either a human or a ghost."

The old Taoist priest turned around and looked at me.

A complex emotion flashed in those cloudy old eyes.

"Have you thought this through? Once you learn this skill, you'll never be able to live a normal life again. You'll have to deal with the dead, live in places with heavy yin energy, and eat things that ordinary people can't eat. You'll become less and less human, and in the end, you won't even know what you are."

"I've made up my mind."

The old Taoist priest stared at me for a long time before finally nodding.

"Alright. Then I'll take you as my apprentice."

I had no idea what the old Taoist priest's surname was, what his given name was, or where he came from.

All I know is that the old Taoist priest has a skill called "corpse raising".

"There is a type of corpse in this world called a Yin Corpse."

The old Taoist priest told me this.

"If raised to its fullest potential, it can become a Corpse King, impervious to swords and spears, unaffected by water and fire, and possessing boundless strength. Raising a Yin Corpse takes ten years. Raising a Corpse King takes forty years."

"I can wait."

"I will wait forty years, until the Yin Corpse King is fully formed. Then I will slaughter all the people of the Overlord of the Mountain, slaughter all of Zhu Laowai, and slaughter everyone in Zhujiakan!"

The old Taoist priest looked at me, said nothing, and simply shook his head.

The old Taoist priest led me to an extremely yin cave, which was the place where he later lived for forty years.

Countless dead people have been buried here.

The old Taoist priest pointed to the depths of the cave and said.

"During wars and when people fled, those who starved or froze to death were all thrown here. The yin energy is heavy, making it suitable for raising corpses."

He also taught me how to extract resentment from the dead and how to use that resentment to nourish the corpse's roots.

"The corpse root is the foundation of corpse cultivation."

"Just as you need to cultivate seedlings before planting crops, you need to cultivate roots before raising corpses. These roots don't grow in the ground, but in people's hearts. You need to plant resentment in your own heart, let it take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree. Only then can you use the branches and leaves of this tree to nourish those real corpses."

I didn't understand, but he did it anyway.

The old Taoist priest led me to the places where the dead were buried and made me kneel in front of the graves to feel the resentment of the dead. At first, I couldn't feel anything. I knelt for a day and a night until my legs were numb, but I still couldn't feel anything.

"Your mind is not at peace."

"Your heart is full of hatred, but your hatred is too chaotic and mixed, unable to take shape. You need to gather your hatred, gather it into a needle, a thorn, a nail that cannot be pulled out of your heart. Only then can you feel the hatred of others."

I did as instructed.

I knelt before those graves, thinking over and over about what happened that night. I thought about my father being stabbed in the stomach, my mother almost losing her head, Cui'er being stabbed three times, and Chuangen being thrown to the ground, his crying abruptly cut off.

I let those images play in my mind over and over again, until he was almost going crazy.

Then I suddenly realized something.

It was a strange feeling, as if something floated out of those graves and entered my body. That thing was icy cold, carrying indescribable pain and despair, making me tremble all over, making me want to cry but unable to.

"You felt it?"

The old Taoist priest's voice came from behind.

"That's resentment."

I knelt before the grave, trembling all over, my face covered in tears and snot.

The old Taoist priest came over and placed his hand on the top of my head.

"Now, plant these resentments in your heart. Let them take root, let them sprout. You will become colder and colder, harder and harder, less and less human. You will forget many things, forget what it feels like to laugh, forget what it tastes like to cry. But you will not forget hatred. Hatred will grow deeper and stronger, until finally, hatred is you, and you are hatred."

I nodded.

I do.

I'd be willing to become anything as long as I can get revenge.