Certain Kill

This family happened to be Fugui's. Fugui had stripes of blood across his face—the marks left by whipping—and he looked in terror at Chen Shi, who was climbing over the wall.

Fugui's legs went soft, and he had the urge to drop to his knees and beg for his life.

Chen Shi did not know what was going on in Fugui's mind. Looking around, he said quietly, "Fugui, where are your parents?"

Fugui's parents were not home; he was alone.

Fugui said with a trembling voice, "Outside, cooking..."

"Cooking?"

Chen Shi frowned slightly, pushed open the room door, and walked out.

Seeing him go outside, Fugui let out a sigh of relief.

Before, he had not known Chen Shi, so he had dared to be friends with him. After Chen Shi saved him and became his benefactor, he felt somewhat constrained.

Later on, however, when he heard that Chen Shi was that notorious "dead child," only fear remained in his heart.

A child who comes back from the dead is no longer human. Who knows if it is the person himself or a ghost occupying that child's body?

His mother had said as much to him. Even if it is his own soul, he first turned into a ghost, and then became a person!

Chen Shi walked out of Fugui's house, walked inward along the street, and gradually heard wailing sounds coming from the houses on both sides of the road.

The wailing people wanted to cry out in pain at the top of their lungs, yet seemed not to dare make a sound, and could only groan in low voices.

He looked all around, still not seeing a single villager.

Every few steps, he could only see an Imperial Guard standing on both sides of the road.

Seeing that he was a child and had come out of Fugui's house, these Imperial Guards did not question him.

The wails grew lower and lower, but still came from the houses on both sides.

He came to the center of Huangyang Village. Here was an open space. Aside from the ruined temple, there were also several large trees whose shade covered a wide area.

There were a dozen or so villagers of Huangyang Village here, who had set up four stoves in the open air, placed iron pots on them, and boiled hot water in the pots. There were also steaming steamer baskets puffing white vapor.

An old man was scooping up boiling water to scald chickens and ducks to make plucking feathers easier. Three other villagers were stir-frying dishes, several women were squatting by a well washing vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs, and someone in front of a chopping board was cutting vegetables and arranging them on plates.

Several Imperial Guards stood around, watching them cook.

Although it was a bustling scene, these villagers of Huangyang Village all had injuries on their bodies and faces, bearing the marks of being whipped.

Now it was close to noon, the exact time for cooking meals. Yet judging from the scale in Huangyang Village, they must have been preparing a banquet, pulling out the family bottoms of every household.

Chen Shi was looking around when an Imperial Guard with a fair and clean face beckoned and shouted, "Kid, come over! You're delivering the dishes!"

Chen Shi walked up.

"After the dishes are stir-fried in a moment, take them to the temple."

That Imperial Guard held a cowhide whip and said, "The ones in the temple are noble people from the provincial capital. You need to have some tact. When you get to the temple, don't ask what shouldn't be asked, and don't listen to what shouldn't be listened to. Understand?"

"Understood, understood!" Chen Shi nodded repeatedly.

Hearing his voice, the surrounding villagers of Huangyang Village looked over one after another, dumbstruck.

That Imperial Guard swung his whip and sneered, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and work! You, go over and stir-fry the dishes! Make it snappy!"

The one he pointed at was precisely Fugui's father.

Fugui's father hurried over, glanced at Chen Shi, and didn't dare make a sound as he lowered his head to stir-fry the dishes.

He was the village chef; whenever there were weddings or funerals within a radius of ten miles, they would invite him to go. Although the dishes he cooked were not as exquisite as those made by the master chefs in city restaurants, the flavor didn't lose out at all.

In a mere quarter of an hour, he had stir-fried four dishes.

With a white towel draped over his wrist and carrying a tray, Chen Shi walked toward the temple.

Fugui's father opened his mouth, but made no sound.

Chen Shi arrived in front of the temple gates and caught sight of a person lying in the ruins of the palace. The head had a large hole broken in it, and blood mixed with brains flowed all over the ground. Face down and tilted to one side, the person lay prone on the earth.

Chen Shi saw that half-face clearly.

It was Sanwang.

The blood in his chest surged up all at once, rushing toward his head. His mind went blank, and the sound of rushing blood came to his ears like a howling wind!

In a daze, he thought again of that peculiar dream last night.

In the dream, Sanwang had warned him, telling him to flee quickly!

So...

Sanwang was really dead.

He stood quietly for a moment, steadying his state of mind.

Lowering his head, Chen Shi crossed the high threshold and walked into the temple.

The layout of the ancient temple was no longer what he had seen last time. Previously, everything in the temple was crude and simple, with only mat-cushions, offering tables, incense burners, divine shrines, and copper statues. Now, the mat-cushions, offering tables, incense burners, and divine shrines had all been moved outside.

Inside the temple stood a arhat bed and four round-backed chairs. A young Confucian scholar sat on the arhat bed, and opposite him sat a woman. A chessboard was placed in the middle, and the two sat sideways, playing a game of go.

People also sat in each of the other four round-backed chairs. All of them were dressed as Confucian scholars and looked quite young. Some were drinking tea, while others were eating dried fruit, looking quite leisurely.

They should be disciples of the Zhao Family, living in luxury and ease with no murderous aura on their bodies.

Several Imperial Guards stood beside them. One of the Imperial Guards was exceptionally stout, taller than ordinary people by around two heads, and as burly as a standing brown bear. His complexion was a sallow yellow, and his gaze quite malevolent. He carried a Three-Eyed Firearm on his back, the tip of the firearm still stained with blood that had already dried.

In the center of the temple, an eight-immortals table with equal sides was placed, with six chairs under the table.

The temple was not large. Placing these items, plus twelve people, along with a table, six chairs, and a shrine with a copper statue, made it appear somewhat crowded.

Chen Shi's gaze swept over these Zhao Family disciples. They did not possess the aura of beasts, yet those six Imperial Guards standing behind them put a great deal of pressure on Chen Shi.

Divine shrines floated behind the backs of these few Imperial Guards, with divine embryos seated inside.

They constantly maintained their divine shrines and divine embryos, extremely vigilant, and were by no means comparable to the good-for-nothings under Li Xiaoding!

They were real combat experts!

Chen Shi had duceled with the three Imperial Guards of the Zhao Family on the post road, getting rid of one by taking him by surprise, getting rid of another by relying on geographical advantage, and taking down the last one by lying in ambush in the water. If they were to clash head-on, Chen Shi feared he wouldn't even be able to take a single spell from them!

And here, there were a full six Imperial Guards with the same strength!

Among them, one was even stronger among the strong!

From left to right, Chen Shi categorized these Imperial Guards as Left-One, Left-Two, Left-Three, and Right-One, Right-Two, Right-Three.

Yet the one who truly made him feel danger was Right-Three, the brown-bear-like Imperial Guard. Not only was he burly and stout in stature, but more crucially, his murderous aura was extremely dense. He loved to fight and was fond of violence, and he surely had many human lives on his hands—an expert who had undergone life-or-death battles!

Gaze after gaze focused on Chen Shi.

They had never seen Chen Shi before, but the moment he stepped into this temple, their lines of sight landed on him and did not shift away.

As bodyguards, their experience was far too rich.

If Chen Shi showed even the slightest flaw or strange expression, he would likely perish under their Zi Wu Zhan Xie Swords immediately!

"He will kill you all!"

The fat divine statue shrank in the corner of the wall. Seeing Chen Shi, he could not help growing excited and shouting, "He is Chen Shi, that murderer! He will kill all of you!"

Yet aside from Chen Shi, no one heard his words.

Chen Shi's footsteps were very steady, his demeanor normal as he arrived before the eight-immortals table.

The one sitting on the arhat bed was Third Young Master Zhao, Zhao Yue. The woman playing go opposite him was his younger sister, Zhao Xue'e, who had a delicate appearance and the poise and elegance of a young lady from a prestigious family.

Straightening his waist, Zhao Yue sniffed the scent of the food and praised, "Country dishes, yet the flavor is indeed not bad. Everyone, let's take our seats."

Chen Shi set down the food, pulled out the towel draped over the crook of his elbow, and wiped the table.

Zhao Yan stepped forward, intending to pull out a chair, but Chen Shi hurriedly bent over and used the towel to wipe the chair clean.

Zhao Yan smiled and said, "Third Brother, this kid is quite clever! It's hard to find such a clever kid in the countryside!"

Chen Shi wiped the other five chairs one by one, then invited the other five Zhao Family disciples to be seated.

In the middle of the wiping process, he only felt the gaze of that bear-like Imperial Guard land constantly on his own body, with his palm continually gripping the handle of the Three-Eyed Firearm.

The pressure this person brought him was too great. Wiping the table and chairs, he was actually searching for an opportunity to strike, yet this Imperial Guard let him know that if he made a move, his head would be smashed to pieces by this person the very next moment!

Without a word, Chen Shi wiped the sixth chair clean, draped the towel over the crook of his elbow, and turned to leave.

He had found no opportunity to strike whatsoever.

There was no opportunity? Then he would just wait a bit longer; an opportunity would always come.

"Hold on!"

That bear-like Imperial Guard spoke, his voice deep and thick, making people's eardrums buzz.

Chen Shi stopped in his tracks, all sorts of thoughts spinning rapidly in his head as he wondered where he had revealed a flaw. The Imperial Guard said, "Taste a mouthful of these dishes first."

Chen Shi turned around and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

Zhao Xue'e smiled and said, "He Lian Zheng, you are being overly cautious."

That Imperial Guard, He Lian Zheng, said, "Caution incurs no faults. After all, someone was beaten to death yesterday, and with the whole village undergoing corporal punishment, there's no guarantee these treacherous commoners haven't bred evil thoughts and poisoned the food. Little fellow, you take a bite of every dish first. Don't leave right away after eating."

Chen Shi answered in the affirmative and stretched out his arm to pick up the first dish.

The dishes Fugui's father made were ordinary country fare. The first dish was celery with black fungus; the celery was very crisp with a strange fragrance, while the fungus was smooth, tender, and extremely refreshing.

Chen Shi ate a bite and picked up the second dish.

This dish was spicy chicken, made with a small rooster that had just crowed. The chicken meat was cut into small pieces, marinated with scallions, ginger, and salt, then soaked in beaten egg liquid, rolled in an oil pan, stir-fried, and finally topped with green and red peppers. It entered the mouth smooth, tender, spicy, and fragrant.

The third dish was stir-fried blood duck, soaking the duck meat in the duck's own blood, stir-frying it in a wok, and adding various spices to lock in the umami flavor to the maximum extent.

Chen Shi tasted three dishes and extended his arm to pick up the fourth dish, but his arm was short and he couldn't reach it, so he walked around to the other side of the table.

Stooping down, he picked up the fourth dish: stir-fried bullfrogs at high heat.

Bullfrogs were simply toads. Their heads were chopped off, skins peeled, washed clean with clear water, and then stir-fried with plenty of salt and oil, sprinkled with chili powder right before taking them out of the wok to make them spicy, fresh, and tasty.

Chen Shi had just picked up a frog leg and put it into his mouth when he suddenly froze.

Now he had come to the opposite side of the table, separated from the burly, brown-bear-like He Lian Zheng by just a single table. Having eaten to the fourth dish, everyone around the table had relaxed, chatting and laughing, leaving only He Lian Zheng unflexed and still staring intently at him.

Now was a relatively good opportunity to strike!

Chen Shi hesitated. Although this timing was good, it wasn't the optimal moment.

Eating the frog leg and holding the chopsticks, he intended to back away.

He still had a second chance to deliver food.

Sitting beside Chen Shi, Zhao Xue'e said to Third Young Master Zhao Yue on her right, "Third Brother, how long ago did Fu Shank and the others go out? They haven't returned yet."

Zhao Yue was also somewhat perplexed, saying, "Logically speaking, they should have captured Chen Shi by now... Wait a second!"

Seeing the skin exposed on Chen Shi's body, he was startled, a thought flashing through his mind: Why are there no injuries on his body?

Everyone in Huangyang Village had been given whip punishments, and some had been flogged to within an inch of their lives, yet this boy delivering food bore no whip marks at all!

As expected of the third young master of the Zhao Family and the leading figure of this expedition, Zhao Yue immediately figured out the crux of the matter. With a somewhat nervous expression, he cast a glance at He Lian Zheng opposite him.

He Lian Zheng understood tacitly. Without changing his expression, he immediately lifted his foot, intending to walk around the eight-immortals table while his palm grabbed toward the Three-Eyed Firearm behind his back.

Keeping his expression equally unchanged, Zhao Yue smiled and said, "Since there is nothing wrong with the food..."

"Swish!"

Zhao Yue widened his eyes in disbelief as he saw a chopstick insert itself into his right temple, the tip of the chopstick emerging from his left temple while still carrying traces of blood!

With his right hand, Chen Shi drove almost the entire chopstick into Zhao Yue's head. With a look of utter bewilderment, Zhao Yue thought: Why did he strike at this moment?

Chen Shi raised his left hand, and another chopstick pierced lightning-fast into Zhao Xue'e's chest, stabbing straight into the woman's heart.

Before Zhao Xue'e could react, as she was turning her head to look this way, the speed of the thrust was so fast that she hadn't even perceived the pain.

Where did I show a flaw this time? Chen Shi was still wondering inwardly.