Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike.

During that period, this guy went to Wanfulou every day and deliberately exposed himself so that Li Yuan's spies could see him.

Li Xin is truly disgusting.

She knew perfectly well that this guy was trying to lure her into a trap.

They insisted on keeping him alive, intending to use a long-term strategy to reel in a bigger fish.

Now, however, he is no longer needed.

……

The backstage area of ​​Wanfulou Theater was filled with the smell of stale cosmetics and musty wood. Costumes and props were scattered in the corner, and a few artificial flowers peeked out faded petals from a box.

The hidden door is concealed behind the wooden wall directly below the stage; pushing it open reveals a stone staircase leading underground.

The steps were covered in dark red mud, which felt slightly sticky when stepped on.

The underground palace wasn't dug too deep; the air was filled with the stench of rust, the stench of rotting flesh, and the bitterness of herbs, all piled up in layers.

It's like stuffing a butcher's chopping board, the soil from a mass grave, and the dregs of medicine from a pharmacy into a pot and boiling it for half a year.

The dim yellow oil lamp cast flickering shadows on the stone wall, and blackened coarse cloth sheets were laid on two rows of bluestone platforms...

Layers upon layers of brown bloodstains seeped into the stone surface and could not be washed off at all.

Several bronze bowls lay scattered beside the stone platform, with dark red blood film remaining at the bottom.

At the entrance of the underground palace, an elderly man dressed in the robes of an imperial physician sat at a desk, writing in a notebook by the light of a lamp.

The strokes are neat and precise, each one as if measured with a ruler, with straight lines.

He heard footsteps, slowly raised his head, his face showing no surprise, no fear, only a deathly stillness as if he had seen through the end.

"I knew you would come sooner or later."

Qi Yunfang pushed the notebook to the front of the table, and put the wolf-hair brush back on the inkstone, with the tip pointing north and the end pointing south, placing it neatly.

Then, with his hands flat on the armrests, palms facing up, he closed his eyes slightly. "Li Wanshan came in on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month. Later, he figured out the key to extracting blood for alchemy and tried to escape."

“I ordered my men to hold him down and I killed him myself.”

Qi Yunfang's voice was completely flat, as if he were reciting a prepared statement: "Before he died, he asked me to pass on a message to his daughter, just saying, 'Don't come looking for me.' I didn't pass it on."

Li Xin placed a palm on his chest.

As soon as he released his inner energy, he heard the sound of his heart bursting.

Qi Yunfang's body slowly slid down the back of the chair, his head drooping to his chest, and he remained motionless...

The writing brush in the inkstone remained upright and motionless.

Li Xin picked up the blood-stained notebook and turned to the third page.

[Li Wanshan, joined the ranks on the 19th day of the first lunar month, and was discharged on the 11th day of the third lunar month. Note: He understood the procedures and attempted to escape; he was dealt with on the spot.]

A few words, just a line of handwriting, testify that my second uncle had once been here.

Li Xin felt nothing.

In his heart, his second uncle had been dead since the day he left his hometown.

If it weren't for Li Cheng's insistence...

He might not actually go to visit relatives after arriving in the capital.

However, the dead are gone, and the past has faded away with the wind.

Those who are alive must continue to live, and live well.

Taking the booklet back would be a proper ending, giving Li Xiaowan an explanation.

He sighed, tucked the booklet into his pocket, turned and walked toward the iron door at the deepest part of the dungeon, and pulled it open.

The moment the iron gate swung open, a pungent, suffocating stench, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold, rushed out.

In the dimly lit room, over a hundred children huddled on the cold stone floor, their clothes tattered, ribs protruding, and their arms and necks covered in countless wounds.

Old scabs were layered with new wounds, and he looked emaciated with a numb expression.

When they saw Li Xin come in, they neither cried nor shouted.

Only very faint sobs, swallowed in the throat, like the soft purring of a puppy.

Just as Li Xin was about to take a step forward, two powerful auras burst forth simultaneously from the shadows on both sides of the dark room.

The pale-faced monk who came out from the left was named Mingchen. He held a three-inch golden bowl in his palm. The bowl's mouth shimmered with black light, and his eyes were as cold as ice: "Benefactor, you have trespassed into the forbidden area and ruined my sect's merits. Today, I will use your heart's blood to sacrifice to the formation."

The black-clad Asura Venerable on the right wore black iron Buddhist bracelets on both wrists and had a face full of scars. He threw a punch, and the force of the punch shook the stone wall, causing dust to fall: "In the past ten years, no one who has dared to venture into this place to save people has ever lived for more than three breaths!"

Immediately afterwards, more than ten gray-robed monks filed out, drew their daggers, and formed an encirclement.

The chanting of Sanskrit words boomed like muffled thunder...

The entire underground hall was filled with murderous intent and was surrounded by iron barrels.

With a flick of his finger, Mingchen sent the golden bowl into the air, from which dozens of streams of black liquid spilled out, which were then enveloped by the force of his energy and transformed into sharp water arrows…

Instead of attacking Li Xin, they fired all their arrows at the children curled up on the ground.

A cold smile crept across his lips: "I know you love to pretend and rescue children."

"You've injured several children these past few days, and sure enough, here you are. You dared to kill Junior Brother Mingping; today you'll suffer the consequences."

The last trace of warmth in Li Xin's eyes vanished completely at that moment.

He did not dodge, but pressed his left hand down in mid-air, and his true energy suddenly softened, condensing into a thick and warm energy shield.

Cover the entire dark room...

The jet-black water jets struck the air shield with a hissing sound and dissolved completely.

The shivering children were enveloped by that warm power, and their tense, thin bodies quietly relaxed a little.

While protecting all the children, Li Xin's fingers twitched slightly.

The Panlong Spear, like a giant python raising its head, roared and lunged out.

The golden light from the gun blade exploded in a circular arc in the darkness, as large as a bathtub.

The energy barrier formed by the gray-robed monks shattered instantly.

The prayer beads broke into pieces, and the monk's knife shattered into fragments.

More than ten people were simultaneously pierced by the spear's edge.

It crashed heavily into the stone wall, its sternum caved in, and it was already barely breathing before it hit the ground.

The spear thrust continued unabated, heading straight for the Asura Venerable.

The deafening clang of metal exploding with metal was deafening; amidst the flying sparks, the black iron bracelet shattered into dust.

The Asura Venerable's arms were completely broken from shoulder to wrist, and he was sent flying backwards, crashing into the stone platform...

The stone platform suddenly cracked open, and a mouthful of bloody foam gushed from his mouth before he fell silent.

"how is this possible?"

Ming Chen's face turned deathly pale. He frantically activated the golden alms bowl, causing dragon energy to rise and transform into an orange-yellow light screen that stood firmly in front of him.

He knew Li Xin was very strong.

However, before the fight, he always felt that he was not necessarily weaker than his opponent.

The deaths of Jin Zhong and Yin Ping must have been due to the carelessness of their fellow disciples, who were instead ambushed by Li Xin.

He simply couldn't imagine what martial arts could be more powerful than the Great Snow Mountain Techniques.

How could ordinary martial artists possibly compare to the Great Snow Mountain?

However, all those delusions vanished without a trace after he received the shot.

boom……

Golden flames burst forth.

Like a fiery lotus, it descends upon Mingchen.

The spear tip transformed into a thread, flashing across his chest and disappearing in an instant, leaving a trail of blood.

All strength suddenly vanished from within the body.

He felt very hot.

It seems like I saw the Great Sun Buddha.

But why do I feel so uncomfortable?

I can't even breathe properly.

“You… ruined my sect’s great cause…” Ming Chen’s mouth was bleeding as he stared intently at Li Xin.

In the next instant, the tip of Li Xin's dragon-patterned spear pierced through the golden light, penetrated the golden bowl, and entered his chest.

The spear tip pierced through his back, spraying out a spray of hot blood.

He drew his gun, planted it on the ground, and said coldly:

"Using the blood and flesh of innocent children to refine elixirs, and taking the suffering of the common people to cultivate your Dao. Do you even deserve to call yourselves monks?"

Li Xin flicked his wrist, and the tip of his spear swept horizontally, shattering the round, shiny bald head of the monk Mingchen. Immediately afterward, the spear's light intensified.

Whoosh...

Golden flames streaked across the sky, transforming into a net of light.

They killed all the men in black, the doctors, and the bald monks who did odd jobs in the underground palace.

Not even a chicken was left.

Only a hundred or so children stood there silently watching.

As I watched,

The children's empty eyes gradually began to light up.

I heard someone wailing loudly.

The crying seemed to be contagious; soon, a chorus of howls erupted.

Like the mournful cry of a dying young animal.

Tiny specks of gold and pale red light, like fireflies in the dark, hesitantly flew closer to me and plunged into my sea of ​​consciousness.

It is gratitude, trust, closeness, and expectation.

It was the last glimmer of hope in my life.

Li Xin felt warmth throughout his heart.

Looking at the children, I tried to keep my voice gentle: "Those who can walk, walk on your own. Those who are injured, help each other out. Come out now. No one can hurt you anymore."

More than a hundred children struggled to their feet, those with broken arms or weak bodies being helped by their companions, stumbling and walking out.

A little girl, barefoot, walked across the pebbles closest to the door to Li Xin.

She was very thin, with a pointed chin and high cheekbones, which made her eyes look exceptionally large, like two dry wells.

She tilted her head back and whispered, "I'm hungry."

"Come home with me first, there's food there, enough to eat."

Li Xin bent down and picked her up.

The child was so light that he was almost weightless, and the bones in his back pressed against his arms.

He reduced his strength to the lightest level, and even slowed his breathing.

He had killed many, many people in his life, but every time he saw such a scene, he couldn't help but feel sad.

Why is there always so much unhappiness in this world?

When will the malice in the world finally be completely eradicated?

As I walked out of the palace gates, the moonlight was shining on the long street.

The silent procession behind me moved slowly forward, the moonlight falling on the children's upturned faces, on their scarred necks, and on their wet eyes.

The little girl in his arms wrapped her arms around his neck, her breathing gradually becoming steady, as if she had finally dared to fall asleep.