Starting with the flesh-based stimulant

The Carrier Grandpa?

Zhou remembered what the peddler had mentioned: every larger village and town had an old man.

The travel permits are usually handed out by the older members of the trade.

Where did they get their travel permits?

How was it made?

Or is it that the old man was just one link in the travel permit system, and that someone higher up in the industry bestowed travel permits upon them?

Zhou shook his head; there was too much missing information, and he couldn't guess it in a short time.

He decided to stop thinking about it, thanked the lacquer master, and turned to walk out of the village.

Qi Bashi watched his figure disappear into the distance, his gaze deep. Only when he could no longer see him did he return home.

The eldest son was waiting in the yard. When he saw his father come in, he came forward, bowed, and asked:

"Dada, who is this young man...?"

The lacquer master shook his head, took a puff of his cigarette, sighed, and said:

"He's just a young man with a bad fate. Don't ask him anything. Go find your younger brother and head out tonight."

"Dada, why the sudden rush? We haven't even gotten everything ready yet."

"I can't wait any longer, go find your little brother—lock the door tight first, and call all the children in."

......

Zhou He, naturally unaware of what was happening at Qi Ba Shi's house, continued walking towards the outside of the manor without stopping.

As he approached the river, he paused.

There were a dozen or so torches in front of us, their burning pine resin emitting a strong, bright glare that seemed to pierce a hole in the night sky.

A man riding a bicycle was surrounded by torches.

Upon seeing Zhou He, the man on the bicycle shouted, signaling everyone to stop.

Zhou He frowned, put the basket aside, reached into his sleeve, gripped the knife tightly, and hid it behind his back.

Walking at the edge of the crowd, the leader was a tall, red-faced man with long arms and legs, who shouted in a deep voice:

"Outsider, stop right there, we have something to ask you."

Zhou He stood five or six steps away from him, steadied himself, and coldly replied:

"What is it?"

"I'm asking you, where are you from, and what are you doing in our Xia Tuohe Village?"

Taking advantage of the darkness, Zhou He hid his hands behind his back, fumbled for the yellow cloth strap on the knife hilt, and tied it around his wrist, replying:

"I'm from Tuozi Township, and I'm here to visit relatives."

"What's the relationship between them? What are their names?"

The burly man with the red face shouted, and the torches behind him split into three or four branches, slowly moving towards Zhou and Bao.

The man on the bicycle also put his feet on the ground, rode out of the crowd, and stood opposite Zhou He.

Zhou He knew in his heart that these people came out in the middle of the night probably to look for the old man from the Ma family whom he had killed.

Although he only had fragmented memories and had never seen the red-faced man before, judging from the man's current behavior, it was clear that he was about to surround him.

These people probably went to the riverbank and saw their own footprints as they entered the village. They guessed that they were still in the village, so they gathered this group of people and walked towards the village with torches.

That's exactly where I ended up stuck.

He also knew that this matter could not be resolved peacefully.

Since Old Man Ma has been running a business with no capital for so many years, his descendants and relatives must not be any good people either.

Moreover, the red-faced man who had just led the group didn't behave like a normal villager.

After securing the knife, Zhou He narrowed his eyes for a moment, pushed off the ground, and slowly walked forward, saying as he went:

"I'm an old acquaintance of the lacquer master. I just happened to be passing by, so I stopped by for a visit."

He spoke slowly and walked slowly.

The burly man with the red face appeared to be the leader, but there was nothing particularly unusual about him.

The person riding the bicycle is probably also in that line of work.

The first strike must sever the karmic connection between him and the bicycle beneath him.

Zhou He remained completely calm and analyzed the situation without showing any emotional fluctuation.

A loud shout!

"Let's go shoulder to shoulder!"

The burly, red-faced man also noticed Zhou He's actions. He stopped asking questions, dropped his torch, and charged towards Zhou He with his long legs.

The four people who had already circled around to Zhou's back, occupying two corners, also responded:

"Let's do it!"

Zhou He remained calm, pushed off the ground with his right leg, and charged towards the man on the bicycle, following the position he had already calculated.

He charged forward, his knife gleaming.

With a single slash, a soft "swoosh" sound was heard.

The causal link between the man and the bicycle was severed by Zhou He.

The torches flickered wildly on the main road without alerting anyone.

Clang!

The bicycle suddenly tipped over, and the man on it was thrown to the ground.

Zhou He moved forward and slashed the man's neck with a knife.

Blood splattered and landed on his face.

The sound of wind breaking came from behind.

Zhou He rolled away to avoid the falling wooden stick, quickly got up, and swung his knife at the red-faced man who was unarmed.

"when!"

A loud bang.

The knife pierced the red-faced man's chest as if it had hit a steel plate, sending sparks flying.

"No, this person is also in the business."

Zhou He was startled and glanced around.

Several people had already surrounded him from behind. The red-faced man in front of him was furious, and his already dark red face looked like it was bleeding.

His eyes were filled with burning passion and hatred.

He swung his long arm like a knife, aiming to slash at Zhou He's shoulder.

In Zhou He's eyes, those long arms and clasped fingers really looked like a Guan Dao (a type of halberd) coming down on his head.

In an instant, Zhou He narrowed his eyes, crouched down, and rolled around on the ground.

He saw it.

There was nothing special about that arm when it was on the red-faced man's body.

But when the opponent activates their technique, a causal line appears in the void.

Even though I don't know what the other party's profession is, I can cut them off as long as I can see them!

His body was as hard as iron, but the knife in his hand was not meant for fighting.

Zhou He dodged the man's knife-like arm, turned around, and hid behind him.

Two men, holding torches and shouting, were charging towards him.

Zhou He didn't even have time to frown before he made a decision in his heart.

He still lacks combat experience.

This should have been done sooner.

Of course, it's not too late now.

The two men who surrounded them from behind were not professionals; they were just ordinary farmers.

Zhou He, in his physical form, was not at a disadvantage against them.

In terms of both speed and strength, he far surpassed the two.

The moment they met, he kicked out, sending one of the men tumbling seven or eight steps.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the push, Zhou plunged the knife into the other man's chest. He didn't care about the hot blood pouring down his head and turned to run towards the other two.

This time, he didn't act directly. Instead, he squinted, found the causal link between the two torches, and slashed out with his knife.

The torch fell to the ground and went out with a couple of flickers.

Taking advantage of the momentary darkness, Zhou He circled around behind the two men, and with one sword each, he killed them cleanly and swiftly.

"That son of a bitch is a sex trader!"

The red-faced man seemed to remember something and suddenly shouted.

Some people on the road were confused, but others realized what was happening and surrounded the man.

After dealing with the two people behind him, Zhou He frowned.

The remaining seven people on the other side were huddled together in an arrow shape, led by a red-faced man. Their causal threads were intertwined so tightly that it was impossible to tell them apart for a moment.

Zhou He gritted his teeth.

I am indeed not good at fighting.

Are we evacuating to the village?

still......