Gou Zai, a corpse sewn into a spirit in a mortuary during the Republic of China era, became a spirit

Inside the cave.

The open flames had gone out, but the embers in the fire still glowed red, making the entire cave very hot.

The dim red light illuminated the worried and anxious faces of everyone.

Xu Chun and Zhang Da stood at the cave entrance, glancing outside every now and then. Liu Hu and Li Erniu added firewood to the fire as needed to prevent it from becoming a large blaze.

Zhou Xuli and Xie Bingxiang sat around the fire, glancing out of the cave from time to time.

No one spoke; the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating.

suddenly--

"Bang! Bang bang!"

Several sharp, piercing gunshots suddenly rang out!

The sound, carried by the mountain wind, muffledly seeped into the cave from the forest, short but piercing.

Everyone around the charcoal fire froze simultaneously.

Xu Chun's pipe clattered to the ground, but he didn't pick it up. Instead, he tilted his head and craned his neck, like a startled old crane. Zhang Da's hands, which were resting on his knees, suddenly clenched his trouser legs, his knuckles turning white.

Li Erniu's hand, which was adding firewood to the fire, froze in mid-air. He made a gurgling sound in his throat, his voice dry: "...A gun...a gunshot?"

No one responded.

Liu Hu slowly got up and walked to the cave entrance, his back to everyone, his shoulders stiff as iron.

He was a trained fighter and knew better than anyone what that sound meant—it wasn't a hunter's homemade gun, but a Hanyang rifle, an official's weapon.

This means that Shen Molan's men have already entered the mountains, and they might very well start fighting with the young master...

Zhou Xuli's hunched back seemed even more hunched. He rubbed his calloused hands, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "...Shoucheng is still outside, manager. Shouldn't we send someone out to check?"

Xie Bingxiang didn't move, only staring at the flickering charcoal fire in front of him.

He recalled that two winters ago, after a similar sudden gunshot, Old Wang's son, who worked at the grain store in the west of the city, never returned. His body was found in a stinking ditch outside the city, and it was said that he had "run into bandits," and that was the end of it—just wrapped in a straw mat. Old Wang went to the yamen to inquire, got kicked twice, paid three silver dollars as "compensation," and fell ill upon returning home, not surviving past the first month of the lunar calendar.

In this world, once a gun goes off, human life is as worthless as paper money; it's gone with a gust of wind. Whether you're an honest farmer or a dutiful pallbearer, if the person with the gun finds you an eyesore, or is simply in a bad mood, your days are numbered.

Reasoning?

The law?

That's betel nut residue that the old men chew when they're dividing up their spoils under the table. If they spit it out, it could kill you.

The cave was eerily quiet, with only the occasional crackling of sparks from the charcoal fire.

The lingering echoes of those gunshots, like cold iron hooks, clung to everyone's hearts, slowly pulling them down.

After a long silence, Xie Bingxiang gritted his teeth and said, "Shoucheng instructed us beforehand that no matter what sounds we hear... we shouldn't go out. I'm afraid going out now will ruin Shoucheng's plans. Let's wait a little longer."

No one cared about Xie An more than Xie Bingxiang, but Xie Bingxiang had managed the mortuary for half his life and dealt with all sorts of people. He had a keen eye and could tell that Shoucheng had changed.

Everyone waited in the cave for a while, then sporadic gunshots rang out, and then silence returned.

Xie Bingxiang then stood up: "You all wait here, I'll go out and take a look. If I don't come back, you all go with Old Zhou and hide in Laojun Mountain. This mountain is haunted; thousands of guards have perished overnight. No matter how fierce Shen Molan is, she wouldn't dare to enter the mountain rashly."

"Boss, you stay in the cave, I'm going out to check the situation!" Liu Hu grabbed a wood-chopping knife and was about to leave.

Xie Bingxiang grabbed Liu Hu: "Hu Zi, you're still young. This is dangerous; it's up to me, the older generation, to do it."

Liu Hu's eyes darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Shopkeeper, don't stop me. You saved my life from Scarface Liu! Without you, I wouldn't be Liu Hu. I've always wanted to repay your kindness. Now that my chance has come, don't stop me, shopkeeper."

After saying that, Liu Hu pushed Xie Bingxiang's hand away and strode out of the cave.

Xie Bingxiang watched Liu Hu's departing figure, his eyes reddening. Suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow, he murmured, "They're all good kids. All we want is to make a living in this chaotic world and live a peaceful life. Why is it so hard... why is it so hard?"

These words seemed to stir up emotions in everyone, and they all lowered their heads in sorrow.

Everyone is a poor kid, always hardworking and honest, just wanting to make a living. But this world doesn't even give them that much of a chance.

Zhou Xuli sighed and stepped forward to help Xie Bingxiang up: "Manager, don't worry too much. I think Shoucheng is different from usual. He's more measured in his actions and more thoughtful. Maybe he has a solution. The situation may not be so bad."

Li Erniu quickly chimed in, "Yes, boss, I also feel that the young master has changed recently. I always feel that he can do things that we can't. Maybe there's good news coming."

Xie Bingxiang didn't say much, suppressing the urge to burst into tears, and sat down quietly to wait for Liu Hu's news.

Half an hour later, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Everyone stood up to look, and saw Liu Hu stumble back into the cave. His face was covered in black ash and grass clippings, his chest was heaving violently, and the blade of the wood-chopping knife in his hand was sticky with dark red grease.

"Tiger, how's it going?!" Xie Bingxiang was the first to come over and ask.

Liu Hu leaned against the rock at the cave entrance, his lips trembling slightly, his eyes still lingering with shock.

"I...I made my way to the vicinity of the camp. The tents were burned down to their frames, and there were...dead bodies everywhere! Within two or three miles of the camp, there were also corpses in police uniforms lying haphazardly, covered in blood! I saw Li Zhonglin...he was headless! And that Commander Shen...she...she had a hole shoved right in the middle of her forehead!"

The cave was deathly silent for a moment, with only the faint crackling of the charcoal fire.

"They...they're all dead?" Xu Chun asked tremulously, his voice barely audible.

Liu Hu took a deep breath. "I saw the wounds very clearly... Most of them were cut on the neck, but some were stabbed in the heart or had their skulls pried open. The strikes were quick, accurate, and ruthless—the kind of cuts a professional would make! They used... something like daggers or short knives."

"It was...it was Shoucheng?" Zhang Da's face wrinkled with shock. "He alone? He...he wiped out all those armed officials..."

He couldn't continue speaking.

This behavior was too horrifying, like a red-hot iron, making these law-abiding people from the bottom of society, who had lived their whole lives, feel panicked, yet there was also an indescribable passion surging up from within.

Li Erniu clenched his fists tightly, his eyes gleaming frighteningly: "It was the young master! It must have been the young master! Besides the young master, who else would risk their life to fight those armed men for our estate?!"

Excitement, like a spark, suddenly ignited in the long-suppressed air.

Xu Chun and Zhang Da exchanged a glance, both seeing in each other's eyes the excitement of surviving a disaster, and a hint of a sense of almost presumptuous pleasure at the downfall of the "official," something they themselves dared not even imagine.

Xie Bingxiang, however, showed no joy whatsoever. Instead, his lips trembled as he suddenly grabbed Liu Hu's arm, demanding, "Where's Shoucheng?! Have you seen Shoucheng?! Is he... is he injured?! Is he bleeding?!"

Liu Hu winced in pain from the grip and shook his head: "I didn't see the young master. There was a lot of blood on the ground, but... I can't tell whose it was. The scene was too chaotic..."

Xie Bingxiang's hand suddenly loosened, and he swayed. He stared at the gradually brightening sky outside the cave, his eyes instantly reddening, and a low, hoarse sob escaped his throat like that of a trapped beast: "This child...this child...how could he...how could he dare..."

There was not a trace of pride in his son's accomplishments in that voice, only heart-wrenching fear and pain.

He would rather his son be mediocre and timid, living a meager existence in his dilapidated village, than risk his life to earn this extraordinary "skill".

Xie Bingxiang's words brought everyone back to their senses, and they all hoped that the young master was safe and sound. Some people put their hands together and prayed to the outside of the cave, asking God to protect the young master, while others clenched their fists in anticipation.

Time passed little by little.

Just as everyone was experiencing a mix of joy and sorrow, their hearts pounding in their throats, the light at the cave entrance dimmed for a moment.

A figure walked slowly in, with its back to the dim light of day.

It was Xie An.

His face was somewhat pale, and his jacket was covered in mud and grass juice, with the fabric clinging tightly to his left side and abdomen in a wrinkled state.

But he walked steadily, carrying a bundle of spears roughly bound with rattan in his hand, which he placed heavily on the ground with a muffled "clang".

The cave fell silent instantly.

All eyes were on him, filled with shock, awe, worry, and a hint of barely perceptible unfamiliarity.

"Shoucheng!" Xie Bingxiang rushed over and felt around, "Where are you hurt? Let Dad take a look!"

Fearing his father would discover his wound, Xie Ansheng gently brushed aside his father's trembling hand, his voice steady and devoid of any emotional fluctuation:

"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."

Without giving his father a chance to ask further questions, Xie An took two steps forward, his gaze sweeping over Liu Hu's still-present fear and the bloodstains on his machete. He immediately understood most of the situation: "Brother Hu, have you checked the camp?"

Liu Hu nodded subconsciously, his Adam's apple bobbing, somewhat unable to look Xie An in the eye at that moment.

Xie An glanced at the sky outside the cave and knew that time was running out and there was no time to explain the whole story to everyone in detail.

"It's good that you saw it."

Xie An bent down and pulled a Hanyang rifle from the bundle of rifles. His fingers brushed against the cold barrel, his movements displaying a familiarity beyond his years. "Shen Molan is dead, Li Zhonglin is dead, and all the men they brought are dead too. I killed them all! But this isn't over yet."

He raised his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over every face in the cave.

"Shen Molan's cousin, Shen Qianjun, the head of the Special Affairs Section of the Tianjin Garrison Command, is arriving soon with even more people."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck a chord: "They've come for that coffin, and for the lives of all of us."

Everyone gasped, their initial excitement instantly extinguished.

The dim light filtering through the cave entrance illuminated Xie An's straight spine, as well as the bloodstains and marks of life and death on his body that he hadn't had time to wash off.

"In this world, there's no way for us to live by reasoning." He stared at the gradually brightening sky outside the cave, his voice revealing a resolute ruthlessness, like a sharpened blade scraping through bone. "If they don't all die, our village can't continue operating, and none of us will survive."

He paused, then turned his gaze back to his father, and also to the men who followed the Xie family, struggling to survive at the bottom of this chaotic world.

"So, there's no other way."

"Only Shen Qianjun and the others are all dead."

"Only we can survive."

"If Zhuangzi can continue to operate, then..."

Inside the cave, the charcoal fire crackled one last time before going completely dark.

Only the two cold glints in Xie An's eyes and the silent bundle of guns on the ground, in the gradually brightening light of the day, exuded a chilling sense of desperate gamble.

"If you don't want to be the prey, then pick up a gun and be the hunter. Erniu, hand out guns to everyone!"