Chapter 642: Good Person

Chapter 642: The Good Man

"Ahh~ So you're Brother Li, of course I know him! When we were kids, his father would often bring him over to visit us during New Year and festivals."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai was utterly stunned. Did this man really know Brother Li, or didn't he?

If he didn’t know him, why did he speak so definitively? But if he did know him, then Brother Li certainly wasn’t the type to enjoy visiting others.

Before Yang Xiaohai could even process what had just happened, the man became even more enthusiastic. "Come come, I scared our little junior brother just now. This is but a small token of goodwill, please don’t mind."

A heavy gold brick slid out from the man’s sleeve and fell into Yang Xiaohai's hand.

The corner of the gold brick was stained with blood—it was heavy, heavy, and it hurt like hell when it hit his palm.

"Junior brother, I guessed right away that you must be connected to our Brother Li. That’s why I brought your carriage here. Come take a look—this should be yours, right?"

With that, the man signaled to someone nearby to pull the carriage forward. Not only did he help Zhao Xiumei and the three monkey children into the carriage, but he also carefully adjusted the white headscarf on one of the monkey children’s heads, which had become askew.

Beside him, Yang Xiaohai’s lips trembled slightly, as though he wanted to ask whether the man truly knew Brother Li, yet something about it all felt off.

But in the end, he wisely kept quiet. Whether the man knew him or not, since he had let him go, he might as well assume he did. It was better to run while he still could.

"Well... thank you very much."

"Heh heh heh, no need to thank me. Junior brother, take care, have a safe journey. I have duties to attend to, so I won’t see you off. When you meet Brother Li, remember to give my regards to him."

Once the carriage disappeared into the night, the fat man’s smile instantly vanished, revealing once again the cold, snake-like eyes in his pupils.

"Snake Lord, you’re not actually believing what they said, are you?" A man dressed in short clothes, adorned with fish-scale tattoos around his neck, stood with arms crossed and asked.

"Why wouldn’t I believe it? This kid seems genuine enough. And I did hear there was a tough guy who liked wearing red robes. Though his name sounded like Er Jiu."

"Genuine-looking people are always genuine? What if they’re not? What if they’re just tricking you, pretending to be from the Forgetful Dao?"

"The Forgetful Dao has been dead for ages. Where would such a group come from? Besides, what do you gain by killing him? If it turns out to be a fake, at worst, a few cult followers escape."

"But if you don’t kill him, and he’s actually real, then you’ve done yourself a favor. Why not do something that brings benefits without risks?"

The man beside him showed a flicker of understanding. "Snake Lord, surviving two decades is proof enough that you think things through thoroughly. You don’t want to take any chances."

The Snake Lord remained indifferent to his companion’s words. "Let’s go. We’ve killed four cult members this time, which is quite a gain. These rats have been hiding more and more, making them harder to find."

"I really don’t understand why these people came all the way out here to spread their teachings. They’re so hard to track down." A man named Wu Gou stretched his body with a yawn.

As they spoke, suddenly one of their companions rushed over, holding a scroll of paper, looking anxious.

"Quickly, get going! The Inspector-General has sent word—we must gather everyone in the entire He Dong region! There’s big trouble brewing with the Cult!"

Under the moonlight, Yang Xiaohai drove the carriage slowly forward. White vapor escaped from his mouth, and his eyes stared blankly ahead.

He had no idea how long he'd been maintaining this state. Everything that had happened before had been too fast—he couldn’t keep up. His mind buzzed with confusion.

After a long while, Zhao Xiumei, still shaken, picked up a towel and sat beside Yang Xiaohai, gently wiping the dried sweat from his forehead.

She glanced into the carriage, where the three monkey children slept wrapped in a bag of flatbread, and hesitated slightly before asking, "Master, do you think... did they kill that auntie?"

Yang Xiaohai mechanically shook his head. "I don’t know. Maybe."

"These people are truly hateful. That auntie was such a good person."

"Good people..."

After finishing wiping the sweat, Zhao Xiumei sat quietly for a while before speaking again. "Then tell me, who among them is truly good, and who is truly evil?"

Yang Xiaohai was silent for a long time before slowly replying, "I’m not well-read. I don’t know."

Zhao Xiumei folded the towel carefully. "I don’t think that old auntie was bad. I can tell she really loved those little kids. That kind of love comes from the heart—I never misjudge people like that."

"Maybe no one sees themselves as evil. They probably all think they’re the good guys," Yang Xiaohai said, turning his face toward Zhao Xiumei.

What this incident taught him was that he nearly endangered his wife, and he still lacked the strength to protect her properly.

Back in Niu Xin Village, he had thought things were simple. He needed to work harder now.

Just as he was thinking this, sunlight broke through the morning mist, and the distant landscape began to brighten.

"Master, look! We’re back in Qingqiu."

Yang Xiaohai followed the voice and saw grasslands stretching before him. "Why are the grasses in Qingqiu all yellow now?"

—————

Li Huowang, dressed in red robes, paced anxiously beside a pond under the watchful gaze of Li Sui, as if waiting for something.

He occasionally bit his own forearm, his expression increasingly agitated.

He waited for two hours. Just as his patience was running thin, he saw his reflection in the pond turn and look at him.

Li Huowang muttered irritably, "Yi Donglai, you finally show up."

"I have my own matters to deal with. I am your future, not your nanny," Ji Zai said.

"Fine, no more talk. Time is tight. Let’s cut to the chase. I don’t care if you know what happened or not—I need your help!" Li Huowang stood firm, frowning intensely as he looked at him.

"Help? Why?"

"Don’t tell me you don’t know that the entire country of Siqi has fallen to the Cult!"

"I don’t know," Ji Zai replied calmly.

"Say it again—you don’t know?! Siqi! The whole nation has been taken over by the Cult! Even the power of Yu'er Shen has reached this far—and you don’t know?!"

"You know I oversee confusion. If you're confused, I'm even more confused. It's understandable that this situation occurred."

"Damn it!" Li Huowang cursed unusually.

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Next chapter update: 11:32 PM.

(End of Chapter)