Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

Unexpectedly, the white-haired old woman leading the way at the front of the group suddenly waved her hand and stopped them in their tracks.

Her deathly pale face, like crumpled paper, managed a strangely twisted smile with great effort. Her turbid eyes slowly moved, finally fixing their gaze on Lu Linxuan in the crowd.

"Young lady, are you married?"

The old woman's voice was dry and hoarse, like the scraping of withered branches: "If you are still unmarried, young lady, why don't you... let me arrange a happy marriage?"

The words "happy event" that came out of her mouth carried a chilling undertone.

Caught off guard, Lu Linxuan's face flushed red instantly. He glanced quickly at the tall figure beside him, too embarrassed to speak, and his fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of his clothes.

"She is already engaged."

Qin Chuan stepped forward, his figure as imposing as a deep pool and a towering mountain, protecting Lu Linxuan tightly behind him.

His gaze was as cold as icicles in the dead of winter, sharp and tangible, sweeping inch by inch over the old woman's hunched body and withered face. An invisible pressure made the surrounding air seem to freeze.

Upon hearing this, Lu Linxuan felt an overwhelming surge of sweetness that instantly warmed his heart, dispelling the chill in the surroundings.

However, when she turned her head, she saw Chi Meng winking at her with an undisguised mischievous smile. She was so embarrassed that her ears burned, and she hurriedly lowered her head.

"So...she was already engaged..."

The old woman seemed somewhat disappointed, a barely perceptible hint of malice flashing in her cloudy eyes. She shook her head and sighed, making a move to turn around and lead the group onward.

The sound of metal clashing pierced the deathly silence! A bright flash of light appeared out of nowhere, like a bolt of lightning!

"Ah—!" A bloodcurdling scream, so shrill it was inhuman, suddenly erupted!

The old woman grabbed Lu Linxuan's withered right arm, but it was severed at the shoulder!

Blood, like an out-of-control fountain, shot into the sky with a glaring scarlet hue, then rained down on the muddy road and the fluttering paper money, leaving behind specks of crimson stains.

Her cloudy old eyes were instantly filled with boundless fear and excruciating pain as she stared in disbelief at her bleeding, severed shoulder.

That strike was too fast! Too ruthless! Too decisive!

Almost the instant her arm was extended and her fingertips were still three inches from Lu Linxuan's sleeve, the deadly blade had already fallen!

Qin Chuan coldly sheathed his sword, not a drop of blood on the blade: "Considering you didn't intend to kill me, I'll sever your arm as a small punishment to teach you a lesson!"

The voice wasn't loud, but every word was like an icicle, striking the old woman's heart.

This old woman dared to try to kidnap Lin Xuan to "meet" him after he had already made an appointment with Lin Xuan; she was simply courting death!

"Thank you, hero, for sparing my life! Thank you, hero, for sparing my life!"

The old woman was struck dumb, the excruciating pain and fear causing her to completely break down. No longer caring about the pain of her severed arm, she hurriedly knelt on the cold, muddy ground, kowtowing repeatedly until her forehead was covered in blood and mud.

The person before her was a hundred times more terrifying than the monster called Hanba in the cave! Had she known this, she would never have dared to harbor even the slightest evil thought towards the girl beside this fiend!

"Lead the way! We have come for him."

Qin Chuan's words left no room for argument.

The old woman, as if granted a pardon, struggled to her feet and staggered toward the dwelling of the monster behind the village.

She didn't even care about the blood gushing from her severed arm, letting the glaring red meander behind her like a broken line of blood, which looked particularly shocking against the gray village background.

Upon reaching a deep cave behind the village, entwined by huge withered vines, a heavy, chilling aura swept over us.

The old woman stopped in her tracks, trembling like a leaf: "Great...Great hero, he...he's inside."

His voice was filled with the fear of surviving a catastrophe.

"Chi Meng," Qin Chuan gestured.

Chi Meng understood, and with a flick of her fingertip, several tiny blood-gathering gu silently burrowed into the flesh and blood of the old woman's severed arm. The surging blood flow immediately became slow and viscous, and although it did not completely stop, it was no longer gushing out fatally.

"Hardware Demon, how have you been?"

Hou Qing called out loudly to the pitch-black cave entrance, which seemed to devour all light, and his voice echoed slightly in the cave walls.

After a moment of silence in the cave, a low, hoarse sound, like the grinding of a boulder, finally broke the silence:

"Brother Hou Qing? What brings you here?"

"The Xuanming Sect is now under the leadership of Brother Qin," Hou Qing said, turning to Qin Chuan with an elegant gesture. "He invites you to join the sect, and I will show you the way."

Another long, suffocating silence filled the cave before the deep voice, tinged with intense resistance and an indescribable sadness, slowly spoke:

“You…go back. I…will never leave the mountain.”

"For the sake of our friendship," Hou Qing frowned slightly, trying to appeal to his emotions, "Are you really not going to reconsider?"

“This place is perfect,” the voice said with an almost stubborn insistence and a deep-seated melancholy. “I’m not going anywhere. Please return.”

Hou Qing shrugged helplessly and gave Qin Chuan a subtle look that said, "I've done my best."

Chi Meng and Lu Linxuan both held their breath and focused their attention on Qin Chuan.

In their minds, the next step should be for Qin Chuan to reason with them, win them over with his personal charm, or... directly "persuade" them with force.

Unexpectedly, Qin Chuan's lips curled into an enigmatic smile. He stepped forward and, facing the bottomless, dark cave, uttered a startling statement:

"Brother Hanba," his voice was clear and resonant, with a peculiar penetrating quality, "Do you want a wife?"

Upon hearing this, Hou Qing's smile deepened instantly, carrying a hint of understanding and amusement.

Chi Meng and Lu Linxuan were instantly stunned, their beautiful eyes widening as if they had misheard!

The renowned and fierce painter of Chidi Qianli, and the Hanba, one of the four great corpse ancestors, are so powerful and unpredictable. How could they be so troubled by love and affection like these women?

These words... could they be a blatant provocation, meant to provoke him?

The anticipated rage and terror did not materialize.

Inside the cave, after a few breaths of silence that almost stopped one's heartbeat, a heavy, long sigh, filled with endless loneliness and longing, drifted out:

"What good is it if I want to?" The bitterness in his voice was almost overflowing. "What woman in this world could bear to see me with such a face?"

"The welding demon is top-notch in every aspect," Hou Qing shook his head and sighed softly, his tone tinged with regret, "but its appearance... is somewhat lacking."

The four Corpse Ancestors, three of whom were all exceptionally handsome and beautiful.

Only the appearance of the Hanba is unique. Although it is not ugly, its skin color is different from that of ordinary people, and its lower face is like a ghost with fangs, which is enough to shock the world.

How could an ordinary woman bear it? She would probably be terrified at the sight of it.

"The world is vast and full of wonders." Qin Chuan smiled slightly, his eyes resolute, as he faced the eerie wind surging from the cave.

“There are always women who are fond of your type, my friend. Coincidentally,” he paused deliberately, his voice carrying just the right amount of mystery, “I happen to know one.”

Before he finished speaking, a violent gust of wind suddenly roared out from the depths of the cave!

A towering figure, as thick as an iron tower and shrouded in intense malevolent energy, burst forth like a cannonball!

The heavy footsteps of the newcomer caused the ground to tremble slightly as he landed. His skin was a dark blue-green, gleaming strangely in the dim light.

The lower half of his face was completely covered by a hideous and terrifying demon mask, revealing only his tightly pursed lips and high nose bridge.

Clad in a dark blue, half-shoulder robe, his muscles bulging—it was Hanba!

When Chi Meng and Lu Linxuan first saw his fierce, wild, and inhuman appearance, they were both startled and subconsciously took a half step back.

It's no wonder they were shocked; the appearance of the welding demon is indeed vastly different from that of ordinary people, and the initial visual impact is bound to cause fear.

This minute reaction was not missed by the welding demon.

The fiery light that had just ignited in his eyes because of Qin Chuan's words instantly dimmed like charcoal embers doused with cold water, leaving only bottomless ashes and self-mockery.

He had long been accustomed to this expression over countless days and nights.

Over the years, every woman that old woman sent to him to coax him away from the village was like that.

Even worse, many people screamed and fainted.

In comparison, Lu Linxuan and Chi Meng's reactions were already considered slightly restrained.

“Brother Hanba,” Qin Chuan said calmly, seemingly oblivious to the momentary gloom in Hanba’s eyes. He raised his hand and patted Hanba’s thick, rock-like shoulder, which radiated an astonishing heat. “The woman I’m talking about is not one of them.”

"Who is she?!" Hanba suddenly looked up, and the extinguished flames reignited as if new fuel had been added!

His massive body leaned forward slightly with excitement, his voice urgent like a pounding drum, filled with an incredulous longing, "Where?!"

“She’s in Jiangdu.” Qin Chuan met his burning gaze with certainty. “Once you get there, you’ll know who she is.”

The woman he was referring to was, of course, Princess Shangrao, the daughter of King Yang Pu of Wu.

The princess, with her unique aesthetic appreciation for strange things, and the paper craftsman who had painted the barren land before them were a match made in heaven.

"Jiangdu!" Hanba's spirits soared, and his eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance—the ecstatic joy and hope of a parched land receiving rain.

He turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp and intense, fixed on the southeast—the direction of Jiangdu.

Chapter 89 The Little Princess and the Great Hero

Jiangdu, formerly known as Yangzhou, is situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River and at the southern end of the Jianghuai Plain. It was a hub for grain, salt, money, and iron in the Central Plains and a vital port connecting the domestic and international markets.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, the north was devastated, while the Yangtze River basin rose to prominence.

The economies of Yangzhou and Chengdu were so prosperous that they surpassed those of Chang'an and Luoyang, leading to the sayings "Yangzhou is the most prosperous in the world" and "Yangzhou is first and Chengdu is second".

As a result, the Kingdom of Wu became the wealthiest in the land, unparalleled for its time.

However, King Yang Pu of Wu was already old and had long lost his ambition to compete for the throne. At this moment, his greatest concern was to find a good husband for his beloved daughter, Princess Shangrao.

Inside the Wu Prince's residence, Yang Pu warmly welcomed Qin Chuan and his entourage who had traveled from afar. He forced a smile, but deep worry was evident in his expression.

"Is the King of Wu worried about the princess?" Qin Chuan asked, getting straight to the point.

"Please, Imperial Advisor, save me!" Yang Pu could no longer hide his worry.

It turns out that not long ago, Li Cunli, the head of the Lizimen branch of the Tongwenguan, came to discuss diplomatic relations on the orders of the newly appointed Prince of Jin, Li Siyuan.

Yang Pu treated him with courtesy and even had Chairman Shangrao Gong accompany him.

Unexpectedly, Li Cunli harbored wolfish ambitions and kidnapped the princess on the spot, coercing Yang Pu to feign acceptance of Qin Chuan's invitation, only to later break the agreement. The princess was only released after the situation had stabilized.

Yang Pu, out of love for his daughter, had no choice but to agree, which led to the forced smile earlier.

Now that Qin Chuan had seen through him, Yang Pu had nothing more to hide and told everything.

He had long admired the reputation of the Grand Preceptor of Liang and placed all his hopes for saving his daughter on Qin Chuan.

"If the Imperial Advisor can save my daughter, I will not only personally attend the meeting at Xuanwu Gate in Chang'an, but I am also willing to give the princess to him in marriage!"