Wait a minute, where is my master?

"The strange events that have been happening in Da An Village these days were done by you, weren't they?" Jin Xu asked bluntly.

"Hehe~"

The laughter that came from the limping old man resembled a broken bellows.

"That's right, it was all my doing."

Huh? Jin Xu had intended to trick him a bit, but to his surprise, the man admitted it outright.

Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating everything.

Jin Xu saw the face of the limping old man in front of him, which was dark, old, and crisscrossed with grooves, bearing a mix of audaciousness and a hint of madness.

"Why? It's all one village..."

"Because they all deserve to die!"

Before Jin Xu could finish his question, the limping elder interrupted him.

He continued, "Forty-two years ago, on a night just like this, An Laoxiang's father incited the villagers to dig up the banyan trees my family had grown for decades and even injured my father. After that, my family fell into ruin, my mother abandoned my father and me to run away with a stranger, and my father died of depression. Before he died, he couldn't even speak, just stared at me with wide eyes until I promised to avenge him—only then did he close his eyes!"

As the limping old man spoke, he began to breathe heavily, as if breathing was extremely difficult for him.

Then he went on, "That year I was only eight years old, living alone in the village. Because of what happened to my father, I was ostracized by the villagers. This leg of mine was broken by An Laohu!"

Jin Xu and Little White stood in the rain, their frowns deepening the more they listened.

"I thought my life was over, powerless and unsupported, crippled as well. But heaven must be watching! It let me join the Holy Sect and gave me the Divine Fruit, giving me a chance at revenge. It's a shame you came too quickly; otherwise, An Laohu's wife and children would all be dead today."

Perhaps because he had suppressed his feelings for many years, the limping old man's desire to confide was extremely strong.

"But it doesn't matter, after dealing with you three nuisances tonight, I'll slaughter the whole village, then go kill An Laoxiang's grandson. That old sly fox secretly sent his grandson away thinking I wouldn't know, hehe~ no one will escape."

The more the limping old man spoke, the more labored his breathing became, and as he spoke his dry, skinny arms lifted, transforming into a gnarled, hideous tree root that struck at the two standing in the rain.

Jin Xu hadn't expected the old man to suddenly attack while still mid-conversation; it was a bit too neurotic.

But Little White, always on alert beside him, saw the danger coming and was ready to act.

"Shua~"

A flash of bright white blade light streaked by, getting there before Little White.

The hideous tree root was cleanly severed.

A young man with black hair, dressed in a dark-colored official uniform and wielding a long sword, appeared between the three of them.

"Great Xia seventh grade patrol officer, Xu Qian! I am in charge of investigating the case of the missing children in Da An Village. All unrelated persons, stand back immediately!"

Standing in front of the two, Xu Qian shouted loudly.

After speaking, he rushed into the courtyard with his long sword.

Then.

He flew out at an even faster speed.

"This old man is crazy! He ate three Transformation Fruits by himself! Huh? Why are you two still here!"

Jin Xu: "???"

Xu Qian, thrown to the ground by the thick tree roots, saw Jin Xu and Little White still standing in the rain.

"You two go evacuate the villagers, I'll hold him off."

Little White: "???"

Xu Qian, doing a kip-up on the ground, rushed back into the courtyard.

He was originally a disciple of a small sect within the Great Xia Empire, Central State. His sect didn't have profound magical techniques or powerful treasures; they followed a path of martial arts.

Having cultivated for decades, his master had gone through a lot of trouble to secure a position for him as a patrol officer in the Great Xia Empire.

He thought he'd secured a stable job.

Yet without resources or connections, even though he had reached the Golden Core Realm, he was still only a seventh-grade patrol officer up to now.

Patrol officers are ranked from eighth grade, starting with the lowest Qi Cultivation up to the highest Mahayana at first grade, and promotions depend not only on strength but also on merit.

The case in Da An Village was one that his colleagues were too lazy to take up.

A small village town couldn't pose much of a problem.

Xu Qian, embracing the idea that something small was better than nothing, took on the case. He believed that with his Golden Core Stage strength, the matter would surely be easily handled.

Unfortunately, he ran into a madman who had consumed three Transformation Fruits. Although the man wouldn't survive, he was sure to turn Xu Qian into mincemeat before dying.

"Goodbye~ Little Hong of Cui Xiang House, goodbye~ Xiangxiang of Yingchun House, farewell forever~ Du Juan of Flower Building."

In the courtyard, Xu Qian struggled to fend off the whipping roots, while not forgetting to bid farewell to his old flames in his heart.

"I hope those two outside can evacuate more villagers, I'll try to hold on a bit longer." Xu Qian muttered to himself.

He was lascivious, but not afraid to die.

The day he donned these clothes, he was prepared to die for the people.

The thick and ugly roots gradually intertwined into a solid wooden cage, reducing Xu Qian's dodging space more and more, multiplying his wounds.

....

Outside, Jin Xu and Little White exchanged glances, speaking volumes without words.

At that moment, Yu Yaoer arrived swiftly from a distance, carrying An Laoxiang using the Flying Escape Skill.

"Young Master, I felt the aura of a fight over here, so I came. I happened to encounter this old man on the way; he said he was looking for you, so I brought him along."

Jin Xu nodded his head, not understanding why Yu Yaoer's attitude towards An Laoxiang had suddenly turned sour.

An Laoxiang: "Taoist, I had just gotten home and was about to sleep when a kid came by, claiming to be an official investigating missing children. I told him the monster had been dealt with, but then he took out a disc and gestured a few times. He said something was amiss in the west of the village and then left. I hurried over here. Did you encounter that official?"

"Yes, I met him."

Jin Xu's attitude was very aloof.

"And... where is that official now?"

An Laoxiang also noticed the change in Jin Xu's attitude and asked cautiously.

"He's over there getting beaten up,"

Jin Xu gestured with his mouth toward the courtyard.

After speaking, he told Little White to take An Laoxiang away a bit and watch him. He would have questions for him later.

"Young Master, I have urgent matters to discuss with you," Yu Yaoer said.

"Wait a bit, human life is paramount. If we don't rescue the one in the courtyard soon, he'll be beaten to death."

Jin Xu had already quietly spread his golden spiritual power, although he did not believe that a small village could harbor an existence comparable to an ancestor from Four Immortal Sects.

But caution was paramount.

The spread of golden spiritual power provided Jin Xu with information that made him feel capable of fighting.

Pushing open the broken wooden gate and entering the courtyard, he saw a wooden cage crafted from tangled roots. Jin Xu dashed forward a few steps and with a shoulder bump, shattered the cage.

"I need to learn that move sometime,"

Jin Xu thought, seeing in the center of the shattered cage, a blood-soaked Xu Qian standing with the support of his sword.

"How the hell haven't you left yet?"

Xu Qian said disdainfully, his voice tinged with blood.

"If you can still talk, it means you're not in bad shape."

Xu Qian didn't respond, just flashed a broad smile, then saw the young taoist, dressed in cyan robes and only "slightly less handsome" than himself, step forward and hoist him by the shoulder.

A massive force surged, and Xu Qian found himself flying mid-air.

"Dammit, I'm an injured man!"

This was Xu Qian's last thought before losing consciousness.

Jin Xu turned around, facing the banyan tree in the courtyard. It appeared that those ugly, robust roots had all extended from this tree.

"Now we need to talk about your problem."

Jin Xu opened his right hand, as a golden arc of lightning leaped forth from his palm.