Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

"That bastard warlord's son, Cao Shaolin, is an even bigger bastard, a beast among beasts, a son without an anus!"

As soon as Lin Yi entered the room, she heard Tie Niu cursing Cao Shaolin.

Cao Shaolin sat beside the bamboo couch, one hand casually resting on the head of the sleeping child, his fingers stroking the child's hair as if petting a cat.

Hearing Li Tieniu's curses, he was not angry at all. Instead, he laughed and echoed, "A beast among beasts..."

Lin Yi stepped in, with Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong following behind her on either side.

Seeing guests enter, Li Tieniu quickly suppressed his anger, wiped his hands with his apron, and forced a smile: "Please have a seat, esteemed guests!"

After saying that, he jogged over and brought a pot of tea, pouring it for the three of them with great courtesy.

Cao Shaolin glanced sideways at the three uninvited guests, his gaze lingering on Lin Yi's face for a moment before sweeping over Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong.

The look in his eyes wasn't like he was looking at people, but rather like he was looking at three prey who had walked into a trap, a casual gaze tinged with a cruel interest.

Wang Daniu is a rough man, but he is by no means slow-witted.

He immediately felt the unfriendly gaze, and his temper flared up instantly. He slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup jump: "What the hell are you looking at?!"

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Cao Shaolin's eyes, but he feigned an exaggerated expression of fear, crossed his arms over his chest, shrank back, and spoke in a sly tone:

"Wow, you're so fierce. Should I apologize to you?" He tilted his head, like a wild beast ready to pounce at any moment.

"You son of a bitch—" Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong were both former soldiers and were not afraid of anyone in Yun County except Lin Yi. They couldn't stand this sarcastic provocation.

The two of them jumped to their feet, the chair legs scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.

They glanced at Lin Yi subconsciously—Lin Yi was slowly sipping her tea, her face expressionless.

This attitude itself was a tacit approval. Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong exchanged a glance and walked towards Cao Shaolin at the same time.

Seeing this, Li Tieniu quickly spread his arms to block the two men, trying to smooth things over with a smile:

"Sir, sir, calm down, calm down! His family was terribly harmed by that bastard Cao Shaolin. They fled from Shitou County and are in a bad mood. Please bear with them."

He held up his index finger, a hint of pride in his voice, "Alright, I'll make you a bowl of noodles, Iron Bull Beef Noodles! I guarantee it'll calm you down!"

The reason he spoke up for Cao Shaolin was because he thought Cao Shaolin had also fled from Shitou County and shared the same plight as his cousin Bai Ling.

In his view, although the young man's eyes were a bit sinister, he was still young and had suffered from the ravages of war, so it was understandable that he had a strange temper.

Lin Yi put down her teacup, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips.

This Tie Niu is such a scatterbrain! Cao Shaolin looks so strange, there's clearly something wrong with him, but he can't even see it.

However, Lin Yi was happy to watch the show; he wanted to witness a memorable moment.

"Da Niu, Da Yong, give the boss some face and come sit down," Lin Yi said.

Although Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong were unwilling, they obediently returned to the table and sat down, but their eyes remained fixed on Cao Shaolin.

Li Tieniu was quite satisfied with his successful mediation of a conflict that almost resulted in bloodshed. He let out a long sigh of relief, turned around, and saw his cousin Bai Ling standing at the top of the stairs. He waved to her.

"Cousin, can you greet the guests for me? I'm going to cook noodles." With that, she excitedly went into the kitchen to get busy.

When Cao Shaolin saw that Wang Daniu and the other man had been called back, he lost interest and stopped looking at them.

In his mind, these three big guys, like the owner of this noodle shop, were already a bunch of dead men.

In all his years, Cao Shaolin had never encountered anyone who dared to slam their fist on the table and curse him to his face, let alone walk out of his sight alive.

He leaned back lazily in his chair and called out to Li Tieniu's back as he approached the stove, "Boss, don't put scallions in my beef noodles."

"Commander, there's something wrong with that guy." Wang Daniu lowered his voice, his lips barely moving, so only Lin Yi, who was sitting next to him, could hear him. "There's a murderous look in his eyes. He must have killed a lot of people."

Ma Dayong also turned his head slightly, his voice very low: "He had a gun on his waist. I noticed it when I got up just now."

After he finished speaking, he quietly took out his Mauser pistol from his waist, placed it on his thigh, and kept his finger on the trigger guard.

The guards are professionals!

Lin Yi picked up her teacup, took a sip, lingered on Cao Shaolin's face for a moment, then looked away and said calmly, "Let's see."

Bai Ling moved from the stairwell to Cao Shaolin's table. Her face was pale, and her eyes held undisguised fear. She whispered:

"They are innocent... Can you please spare the people here?"

Cao Shaolin raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting from nonchalant to one of keen interest.

"You recognized me?" He asked with a hint of curiosity, then before Bai Ling could answer, his expression suddenly changed, looking as aggrieved as a bullied child.

"Hey, I'm innocent too, okay? Your cousin called me the worst of the worst, like having a son without an anus! What did I do wrong?"

He spread his hands, his innocent expression so realistic that it was hard to tell if he was telling the truth.

"My cousin didn't do it on purpose," Bai Ling said, her voice even softer.

She thought of the students from Shitou County who had been killed by Cao Shaolin.

Summoning courage from who-knows-where, she raised her head, looked directly into Cao Shaolin's eyes, and tremblingly asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for so long: "Why did you kill him?"

Cao Shaolin smiled.

It was a genuine, undisguised smile of pride, like a child showing off their most prized toy.

He leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said in an intimate tone, as if sharing a secret:

"I started killing people when I was eight years old. My dad told me, 'Son, it's okay, because you are Cao Ying's son.'"

He paused, then suddenly seemed to think of something interesting, his eyes lighting up. "How about this, I'll make a bet with you—your cousin hates me so much, I bet he put scallions in his noodles."

"If we lose, I'm leaving immediately. If we win, everyone here will die!"

Bai Ling's face completely lost its color in that instant.

She subconsciously glanced back at the stove. Turning back, her hands were clenched tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She prayed desperately in her heart—cousin, please don't put scallions in it, please don't, please don't...

Because Lin Yi and the other two were sitting at the table near the door, several tables away from Cao Shaolin's seat, and because Cao Shaolin and Bai Ling deliberately lowered their voices when they spoke, Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong could only see their mouths moving, but couldn't hear what they were saying.

Only Lin Yi listened with great interest, not missing a single word Cao Shaolin said.

This guy is really wicked, wicked in a completely natural way.

Lin Yi's imitation of Cao Shaolin's use of a gun to intimidate Awei when he was in Renjia Town's security team is now less than half as good as Cao Shaolin's.

"Haha, the beef noodles are here!"

Li Tieniu strode out of the kitchen carrying four steaming bowls of beef noodles, his face bearing his signature honest smile.

He first went to Lin Yi's table and placed the three bowls of noodles on it. The noodles were topped with thick slices of beef and sprinkled with chopped green onions, giving them a fragrant aroma.

Then, carrying the last bowl of noodles, he turned and walked towards Cao Shaolin.

Lin Yi could see clearly that there were no scallions in Cao Shaolin's bowl of noodles.

Bai Ling also saw the bowl of noodles without scallions, and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly. The weight that had been hanging over her heart for so long finally lifted.

She almost broke into a relieved smile—but her gaze fell on Cao Shaolin's face.

Cao Shaolin's expression suddenly changed from lazy boredom to a twisted, morbid excitement.

"I don't eat beef."

Here it comes, the iconic scene has finally arrived.

Lin Yi leaned back in her chair, a look of extreme comfort on her face.

Wang Daniu, who was standing next to Lin Yi, looked at Lin Yi with some strangeness—why was the commander smiling so... lewdly?

But Ma Dayong was completely oblivious to all of this. He stared intently at Cao Shaolin, sensing danger in the changes in his expression.

As soon as Cao Shaolin finished speaking, his right hand flashed out a golden pistol, the muzzle pointed directly at Li Tieniu's unsuspecting back.

boom!

A shot rang out.

But it wasn't Cao Shaolin who fired the shot.

Ma Dayong's pistol was still smoking when the bullet accurately pierced Cao Shaolin's forehead, leaving a bloody hole the size of a peanut.

Cao Shaolin's morbidly excited eyes were still wide open, the muzzle of his gun still pointed in Li Tieniu's direction, but he would never have the chance to pull the trigger.

His body seemed to have all its strength drained away, and he slumped off the chair, falling heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

"Damn, that shot was so slow!"

Ma Dayong blew away the gunpowder smoke from the muzzle and expressionlessly tucked the Mauser pistol back into his waistband.

Although the guy drew his gun quickly, to this professionally trained guard, it was no different from slow motion.

"Ah—" Bai Ling screamed, instinctively thinking that Li Tieniu had been shot. Then she saw Cao Shaolin lying to the side. Her heart pounded, and fear and surprise mingled in her heart.

The child on the bamboo bed was awakened by the gunshots and screams. He rubbed his eyes, sat up, and looked around groggily.

When his gaze fell upon the unseeing corpse on the ground beside him, he was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning.

"How could you kill people so indiscriminately!"

Li Tieniu instinctively spread his arms to shield Bai Ling and the child behind him, glaring angrily at Ma Dayong.

He hadn't even realized what had happened; all he knew was that the guest who had been chatting enthusiastically with him just moments before had turned into a corpse.

Bai Ling grabbed Li Tieniu's arm, her voice trembling with excitement:

"Brother, it was Cao Shaolin who died! He was about to shoot you—it was that older brother who saved you!"

She pointed at Ma Dayong, her fingers still trembling, but her gratitude and relief at surviving the ordeal were undisguised.

Li Tieniu was stunned.

Cao Shaolin?

He looked down at the corpse on the ground and saw the eyes with a sickly smile, and the golden pistol still clutched in the hand.

Li Tieniu's mind went blank for a moment, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

He just cursed "Cao Shaolin is a bastard" in front of the person in question.

He even spoke up for him and stopped Wang Dani from beating him up.

"I was so blind to have mistaken a bad person for a good one."

Li Tieniu's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling. He pulled Bai Ling to Ma Dayong and Lin Yi, and without saying a word, he was about to kneel down.

Lin Yi grabbed his arm, preventing him from kneeling down.

Li Tieniu's eyes reddened, his voice tinged with lingering fear and deep gratitude: "Sir, brother, you saved my life. I, Li Tieniu, will remember your kindness for the rest of my life!"

Wang Daniu wasn't idle either. He bent down and picked up the gold pistol from Cao Shaolin's hand, weighed it in his hand, and showed a surprised expression: "Gold! This gun is really made of gold!"

He eagerly handed the gun to Lin Yi with both hands, saying, "This gun is just right for your status. Only you are worthy of using this thing."

"Not bad!" Lin Yi took the golden pistol and played with it for a while. It felt heavy in his hand and was indeed made of gold.

This thing was of little use to him, but it was excellent for showing off, so he put it away with satisfaction.

Just then, the noodle shop door was suddenly pushed open.

A burly man with a resolute face rushed in with several security guards.

The visitor was Yang Kenan—the commander of the Puxian County Defense Corps.

"What happened? Why are there gunshots?"

Yang Kenan's gaze swept quickly across the noodle shop, and the sight of a corpse on the ground with a gunshot wound to the forehead made his pupils shrink slightly.

The security guards behind him also saw the body, and their expressions changed drastically.

When their gazes fell upon Lin Yi and the other two, they immediately became alarmed and quickly spread out to surround them.

"You three, you've committed murder. Come with us." Yang Kenan stared at Lin Yi, who was sitting in the center.

He could tell that this young man was the one who truly held the power among the three.

Just then, Bai Ling quickly walked up to Yang Kenan and spread her arms to block Lin Yi and the other two:

"Commander Yang, they're good people! Cao Shaolin was about to shoot my cousin, and these guys saved us!"

"What? Cao Shaolin is dead?"

The security guards gasped, exchanged bewildered glances, and their expressions shifted from wariness to fear.

Cao Shaolin—son of the notorious traitor Cao Ying!

There are rumors that Cao Jun is coming to Pu County. Now that Cao Shaolin is dead here, wouldn't his father Cao Ying turn Pu County upside down?

At that point, let alone finding the murderer, the entire Pu County might be buried with Cao Shaolin.

Several security guards instinctively took a half step back, their eyes filled with fear and apprehension as they looked at the corpse on the ground.

Yang Kenan's expression changed several times, and his inner struggle was written all over his face.

This man truly deserves to die. He had heard about all the crimes Cao Shaolin had committed in Shitou County.

If he could kill this beast with his own hands, Yang Kenan wouldn't even flinch.

But behind him are thousands of ordinary people from the entire Pu County.

What will happen to these innocent people once Cao Ying unleashes her anger?

Pu County only had security guards armed with knives and guns, which were no match for Cao Ying's regular army.

Yang Kenan stood up, gave Lin Yi a deep look, and said in a hoarse but firm voice, "You should leave. Go as far away as possible."

"Commander Yang is indeed a good official." Lin Yi looked at Yang Kenan with genuine appreciation in his eyes.

In the original drama, Yang Kenan is such a person—knowing it's impossible but doing it anyway, unyielding and willing to sacrifice everything to uphold fairness and justice.

People like him are indeed rare these days.

"Commander, we can't let them go! If they leave, we'll face Cao Ying's wrath!"

One of the security guards was getting anxious; his hand gripping his rifle was trembling.

"Yes, Commander, Cao Cao's army isn't far from here. Once they attack the city, our small force simply can't hold it!"

Another team member who looked like Uncle Liao chimed in, his voice filled with obvious fear.