The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

“I see…” Su Qi looked at Lu Hua with great interest. “So how do you feel after hearing this story and knowing that he had such a tragic past?”

“My resentment towards him has not wavered in the slightest.” The latter said calmly, “That man has become a demon, a demon more evil than those who persecuted him before. There must be people in the world who are more miserable than him, but misery is not a reason to do evil or to take out one’s anger on others.”

“That’s right, a tragic past is not a reason to act recklessly.” Su Qi said, then returned to the main point: “Unfortunately, his weaknesses are not mentioned in the story, but weaknesses can be created even if they are not present.”

Do you have any plans?

“Of course.” He smiled and said, “Besides everyone’s help, we also need some tools, such as fishing nets, wheat flour, lime powder, chili powder, and so on. Do you have any of these in the house?”

……

More than two hours later, outside the Japanese-style room where the Red Demon was sleeping, the prepared crowd was ready to go.

During these two hours, the women first ate a simple meal, and then had a quick foot massage. They were all assigned long weapons such as spears and naginatas, and practiced thrusting and slashing briefly. They also trained their formations and coordination to ensure they could be used later.

Involving revenge and their own lives, despite being exhausted and not skilled in such matters, they persevered and practiced with exceptional seriousness. Even so, a mere two hours was not enough to fundamentally change the combat skills of a group of ordinary women. Fortunately, this siege did not require very high technical skills; all that was needed was to know how to thrust forward with a spear.

As for the props Su Qi was looking for, chili peppers hadn't been introduced yet, so there was no chili powder, and lime powder was nowhere to be found either. They could only use wheat flour... that is, wheat flour, as a substitute. Although there were fishing nets in the warehouse, they were somewhat damaged because they hadn't been used for a long time. Lu Hua and a few others had to sew them up temporarily so that they could be used barely.

Next, we'll see if Su Qi's plan can be successfully implemented.

It's about to begin...

Before taking action, Su Qi took a deep breath, glanced at the people quietly lying in ambush in the corridor outside the door, and finally placed his hand on the paper door frame again, slowly pulling it open.

Just like before, the Japanese-style room behind the door was empty and dark, with only a clear and strong breathing sound echoing back and forth.

As planned, he entered first, carrying a wooden basin half-filled with wheat flour; then, two women carrying fishing nets followed him in and stood in the corner closest to the door to wait.

Calm down... calm down... don't overthink it... don't stare at him... don't feel any strong killing intent or hostility towards him...

As Su Qi gently pushed the wooden tub, he crawled on his knees toward the red demon curled up on the tatami mat, silently admonishing himself.

In his view, what was most frightening about the Red Demon was not his strength or martial arts skills, but his beast-like keen premonition of danger. Without that keen premonition, the Red Demon would have been beheaded during the first night raid, which was why he had deliberately sacrificed two lives to test the limits of that premonition.

As he expected, the Red Demon was neither a demon nor a god, but merely a slightly stronger martial artist, so such a premonition would inevitably be limited.

The first contingency is that the enemy needs to project their malice onto you; the stronger the malice, the easier it is to be detected. The second contingency is that the source of danger cannot be too far from your body, probably within five feet. Knowing these two points, it is possible to launch a sneak attack on him. The safer approach is to make him anticipate the attack and unable to dodge it.

Finally, Su Qi stood five feet behind the Red Demon, who was still not awake.

The crucial moment has arrived!

He held his breath, raised the wooden basin above his head, tilted his head slightly, and used his peripheral vision to determine the position of the target's head and face. Then... he suddenly flipped the basin over and smashed it into the red demon's face!

Chapter Twelve: Everything Was Arranged Clearly

The wooden basin tipped over in mid-air, and white-yellow flour cascaded down.

Just as he was about to be hit on the head, the light sleeper, Akagami, finally sensed the danger and suddenly opened his eyes.

However, it was too late by then.

As a white substance rained down on him, he instinctively raised his hand to block it before he could react, and his face was immediately covered in flour. With a bang, the wooden basin slammed down on his head.

Damn it! I've been ambushed!

The red demon reacted instantly, quickly closed his eyes, and, enduring the discomfort, rolled over and pounced on the paper door.

If someone were to pursue him at this moment, they would most likely be able to evade him, but after Su Qi sprinkled the powder, he retreated straight back to the door and reached for the fishing net, rendering Su Qi's efforts futile.

His eyesight is temporarily gone; is he one of the villagers who escaped the net? In any case, he can't fight under these circumstances—it's too disadvantageous! He needs to escape first, hoping those good-for-nothings will hear the commotion and come to help!

Red Oni was a mountain bandit, not a samurai, so when he saw that the enemy was prepared and the situation was unfavorable, he did not hesitate to get up, shoulder-bump, push down the paper door, and rush out.

He thought Su Qi had come alone to assassinate him and wanted to buy time, but he didn't expect that Su Qi was not alone.

So, just as he rushed into the corridor, before he could even adjust his stance, several gleaming spear tips came hurtling towards him.

Unable to see and unsteady from exerting force, an ordinary person would likely have been riddled with holes by that blow. Fortunately, the Red Demon's instinct for danger kicked in at the crucial moment, allowing him to brace himself with his feet and lean back at the last second, barely escaping unscathed.

The reason I say "barely" is because there were still two shallow stabs in his right chest and right arm.

There's an ambush!?

The Red Demon was horrified, but this was not the end of it.

Immediately afterwards, women from other directions also quickly approached, and without saying a word, they thrust their spears at him, following Su Qi's prior instructions.

besides!?

Caught off guard, he was shot twice more in the abdomen and back.

Helpless, the Red Demon could only roll over and return to the bedroom.

However, as soon as he returned, before he could even get up, he was covered in the face by a fishing net specially cut to the size of a bed sheet for easy use.

not good!

The red demon was terrified and hurriedly grabbed the fishing net to try to break free, but the women outside immediately thrust their spears at him, giving him no chance at all.

At the same time, Su Qi, who had just finished casting the net, took a wooden spear from the others and joined the attack, quickly forcing him into a corner.

"Wait! Who are you people? How did you suddenly appear here? Where are those useless guys outside?"

Suddenly cornered, the bewildered and frustrated Akagami finally couldn't help but ask a question loudly.

At this moment, he was leaning against the corner of the wall, holding a knife, looking extremely disheveled. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were rumpled, and his head, face, and body were covered with white powder and bloodstains. He was also wrapped in fishing nets, looking like a trapped beast driven to the brink by a hunter, completely unlike the arrogant demeanor he had when he forced Su Qi to kill him.

In Su Qi's view, if he was a lion king strolling leisurely across his territory back then, he was now like a wild boar that had suddenly fallen into a trap and was at a loss. Although he still had sharp teeth and hard hide, he was bound by layers of traps and could not harm the hunter at all.

“We’ve finally arrived here…” Su Qi took a half step forward, staring coldly at the enemy who was once arrogant but is now in a sorry state, and said expressionlessly, “I’ve heard a saying, ‘The villain dies from talking too much.’”

Before he finished speaking, a spear suddenly shot out and pierced the red demon's chest with a soft thud.

The attack came without warning, like a sneak attack, and everyone was stunned.

The coldness and excruciating pain in his chest made Red Demon react first. He glanced down at the blood-stained spear shaft, then suddenly screamed and charged at Su Qi with a ferocious expression, ignoring the numerous spear tips pointing at him.

The next moment, *thud thud thud thud thud*... numerous spears thrust out at once, piercing him like a hedgehog, blood gushing down the spear shafts and soaking the tatami mats below.

The Red Demon stopped moving, glaring at Su Qi, and was held down by numerous spears, dying standing on the spot.

Tsk, why are you staring at me like that? You killed me three times, is it too much for me to kill you once?

Su Qi felt a little uneasy under the gaze of those eyes filled with resentment and anger, but soon the double pleasure of achieving his goal and successfully avenging himself overshadowed this discomfort.

"It's finally over."

He let out a long breath, casually tossed aside the spear in his hand, and plopped down on the ground, completely lacking any semblance of a "warrior."

……

Although the battle is over, its aftereffects are only just beginning.

After killing the Red Demon, to avoid attracting any unclean things with the smell of blood, everyone worked together to collect the bandits' corpses and temporarily threw them into the pond in the front courtyard. Then, as one woman began to cry, the women, who had been suppressing their grief and fear for so long, all embraced and wept bitterly, and the scene instantly became uncontrollable.

Su Qi really didn't want to stay in that place filled with sorrowful sounds, so he went to the backyard alone and quietly lay on the corridor to bask in the moonlight.

In just one night, so much had happened. At this moment, he didn't want to do anything or think about anything; he just wanted to truly relax.

Only after relaxing did he feel an endless wave of fatigue surging from his body and mind, as if a bottomless quagmire was tightly binding him and pulling him down little by little.

Physical fatigue was secondary; what truly made him feel powerless was his mental state.

He was just an ordinary person after all. He not only died several times that night, but also had to outwit and outfight a gang of robbers, and kill them ruthlessly. Although he survived with a spirit of not wanting to lose, the mental exhaustion and pain did not lessen, and he instinctively loathed this experience.

But whenever he thought that this kind of life was only just beginning and that more death and challenges awaited him ahead, an impulse would rise in his heart—an impulse to become a couch potato.

Since it's so painful and tiring, why keep courting death and taking on challenges? Think about it carefully, he already has the ability to return from death, and the system hasn't issued any mandatory tasks. So, if he doesn't play the game, clear the levels, or bother with anything else, wouldn't he have an infinite amount of life and time to squander?

In that case, being permanently stuck in the world of "Inuyasha" isn't unacceptable. Even if it's still ancient times and his favorite forms of entertainment haven't appeared yet, he can travel to the future while Kagome clears the Bone Eater's Well; even if that method doesn't work, as long as he finds a way to achieve immortality in this era, he can easily wait a thousand years.

Thinking about this, Su Qi was genuinely tempted.

Or should we just abandon the system?

Chapter Thirteen: Coma.MP4 (Seriously)

Just as Su Qi was hesitating whether to follow his inner dove spirit and transform into a dove, he heard light footsteps behind him.

Turning my head, I saw Lu Hua, dressed in simple Wu-style clothing, looking elegant and serene, walking slowly towards me under the moonlight.

To avoid being too impolite, he got up from the floor and sat down on the side of the corridor.

The latter approached him and bowed respectfully, "Lord Kenshin, may I stay here for a while?"

"Of course, this is your home, and I'm just a guest."

"Excuse me."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Hua knelt down about a foot away from Su Qi, the two of them side by side, facing the courtyard.

"Miss Luhua, what can I do for you?"

As a modern man, and a typical straight man, Su Qi didn't want to waste time on formalities, so he asked directly. With the recent upheavals and numerous affairs, he didn't believe the other person was simply there to chat.

"First of all, we must express our sincere gratitude to Lord Kenshin. If it weren't for your rescue, not only would our lives be in danger, but we would also not have been able to personally kill our enemies. We will never forget such a great kindness and will definitely prepare a generous gift for you to accept."

As she spoke, she adjusted her posture, faced Su Qi, and performed the kowtow and kneel ceremony.

In Su Qi's mind, it's okay not to ask for payment for doing something, but it's also reasonable to ask for payment, especially since the price he paid was not light. So he didn't say anything like "Get up quickly, no need for formalities." Instead, he accepted the bow with composure and said, "I have already felt your sincerity, but didn't I already thank you once before?"

Lu Hua stood up, bowed slightly, and said apologetically, "That time was too rushed, please forgive me if I was impolite."

Su Qi waved his hand, "No need for such formalities, I don't care about such trivial matters. By the way, where is Xiao Chu?"

"The child is too tired and has already fallen asleep. Thank you for your concern."

"What are your plans now? Will you continue to live here?"

"That's another thing I'd like to discuss with you."

Lu Hua sighed softly, saying helplessly, "A village without enough men can neither defend against bandits nor deter monsters. We can no longer stay in this village. I want to take Xiao Chu to the city and stay temporarily at her uncle's house. However, the road from the village to the city is not safe, and my daughter and I are too weak. That's why I've come here to ask if you could hire Lord Jian Xin to escort us into the city?"

Su Cheng thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I also have something to do in the city, so we can go together on the way."

"That's great, thank you for your help."

After that, a brief silence fell between the two.

After a moment, perhaps to avoid further awkwardness, Luhua took the initiative to speak: "Speaking of which, Lord Kenshin calls himself a wanderer, so you must have been to many places and encountered many interesting things. I wonder if you could tell me about them?"

Sorry, I'm actually just a total shut-in. I can explain the game to you, but I can skip the travelogue...