In the depths of the southwestern mountains of the Da Qian Kingdom lay a small village perched on a mountain range shaped like an ox. It was called Niu Family Village.
Niu Family Village had sixty or seventy households, and most of them were poor. Zhang San Niu's family, living on the high ground north of the village, was especially destitute. They were so poor they could barely afford food. Whenever the villagers spoke of Zhang San Niu's circumstances, they would sigh and shake their heads. They wanted to help, but lacked the means.
Until one day, after Zhang San Niu's second son, Zhang Ergou, was born, attentive villagers began to notice that this once-impoverished family had undergone earth-shaking changes in just a few short years.
First, Zhang San Niu's fields began yielding far better harvests than before. No matter whether there were floods or droughts, they were guaranteed a bumper crop every year. It was as if they knew the weather in advance and had never made a mistake.
Then, the food Zhang San Niu's family ate became much better. Whether it ran on the mountains, swam in the water, or flew through the skies, they never lacked meat throughout the year. The scent of meat often drifted from their home.
After that came all the baffling mysteries surrounding Zhang San Niu's son, Zhang Ergou. When it came to village affairs, Zhang Ergou seemed able to foresee things in advance. Whose house would catch fire this year, whose child would drown next year, whose adult would encounter danger while hunting in the back mountains the year after that—he was right nearly every time. After it happened often enough, almost no one in the village doubted Zhang Ergou's words anymore.
Some villagers who had listened to Zhang Ergou and gained a little benefit trusted him even more. Whenever it was time for spring planting or summer sowing, they planted whatever the Zhang family planted.
Several hunters who had heeded Zhang Ergou's warnings and escaped death in times of danger regarded him as their lifesaver and were endlessly grateful to him.
There were simply too many miracles surrounding Zhang Ergou. His fame gradually spread through all the nearby villages. Some ignorant villagers even came to believe the rumors: that Zhang Ergou was the reincarnation of the Nine Heavens Divine Lord, possessed boundless magic, knew five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future, understood every blessing and calamity, and could expose every evil spirit... They even hung portraits of the Nine Heavens Divine Lord bearing Zhang Ergou's likeness outside their homes, praying for peace and safety.
"Halt! What demon dares run wild here? Show your true form at once, so this old woman may purify you with Divine Fire!"
That morning, an old woman with a hoarse voice, an unbelievably ugly face, and skin like old tree bark stood outside Zhang Ergou's home with a group of terrified villagers holding hoes. She gripped a peachwood sword dripping with dog blood and fiercely demanded the demon be slain.
"Slay a demon?"
Seeing this spectacle, Zhou Ming sneered. He walked to the entrance and said to the Shaman Woman before him, "I think the so-called demon is you, Locust Tree Demon."
"What did you say..." The Shaman Woman froze, her mind briefly going blank.
Suddenly, Zhou Ming pointed at the Shaman Woman and thundered, "Last year, a six-year-old child in Yang Family Ridge fell ill. You falsely claimed he was possessed by a water ghost and had him thrown into a fire, where he was burned alive. Afterward, you devoured his soul and gained three years of lifespan!"
"The year before that, an eight-year-old child in Da Dong Village fell ill. You likewise accused him of being possessed by a water ghost and had him burned to death. You devoured his soul and gained another two years of lifespan..."
"Three years ago, in Xi Shui Village..."
"Over the past dozen years, you have brought disaster upon this region. More than a dozen children were falsely accused by you of water ghost possession. Locust Tree Demon, after devouring so many children's souls, you must have gained more than a hundred years of lifespan, haven't you?"
The villagers stirred at Zhou Ming's words.
"What? The old Shaman Woman is a Locust Tree Demon that devours children's souls?"
"The old Shaman Woman looks older than seventy or eighty. A hundred extra years of lifespan... Could it be?"
"How could it be water ghost possession every single time?"
"Could the Nine Heavens Divine Lord really be telling the truth?"
The villagers all retreated two steps, staring at the Shaman Woman in the distance with terrified faces.
The Shaman Woman's face turned deathly pale. Humiliated and enraged, she shouted, "Shameless demon, what utter nonsense! Die at once!" With that, she raised her bloodied sword and charged straight at Zhou Ming.
"Locust Tree Demon, you're the one who should die!"
Zhou Ming's expression turned solemn. He pulled a spherical object from his sleeve and threw it at the Shaman Woman's feet. With a tremendous boom, and after two or three seconds, the choking black smoke dispersed. The Shaman Woman was already lying on the ground, covered in blood and groaning in pain.
"Uncles and aunties, this harmful Locust Tree Demon has been struck down by my Palm Thunder. I will now seal the Locust Tree Demon's true body. Throw this Locust Tree Demon into the fire and help me eliminate this monster that has plagued the region!"
With that, Zhou Ming pulled a piece of unknown black wood from his sleeve. He took out a small knife and cut it across the wood. Amid startled cries, a dazzling streak of blood suddenly appeared on its pitch-black surface.
"Locust Tree Demon! This old Shaman Woman really is a Locust Tree Demon!"
"How utterly heartless! She devoured the souls of more than a dozen children!"
"Burn her! Burn her!"
The villagers, beside themselves with rage, lifted the wailing Shaman Woman and threw her into the roaring blaze.
"Could this Zhang Ergou truly be the reincarnation of a Divine Lord?" In the crowd, Village Chief Li Shou Zheng's face was pale as he regretted inviting the old Shaman Woman to Niu Family Village.
In the blink of an eye, sixteen years passed. The divine name of Zhang Ergou, the Nine Heavens Divine Lord, became even more renowned, and the "miracles" surrounding him grew increasingly numerous. He had taught himself blacksmithing, possessed masterful carpentry skills, never returned empty-handed from hunting in the mountains, and occasionally came up with inventions that brought endless benefits to the village.
Even rarer was that the Nine Heavens Divine Lord had a heart as compassionate as a bodhisattva's. Whenever any family in the village faced hardship or encountered a difficult problem, he would generously give aid and do everything in his power to help. "If you have trouble, go to the Divine Lord," became a saying passed from villager to villager.
When Wang Xiucai from the eastern end of the village heard that the Divine Lord, now of age to marry and establish a household, wanted to marry his daughter Wang Xiumei, he agreed without much objection. The Nine Heavens Divine Lord possessed great powers. If his daughter married him, she should enjoy good fortune for the rest of her life.
At this moment, inside Village Chief Li Shou Zheng's home.
Li Shouzhen's second son, Li Wenhao, was throwing a tantrum in his bedroom—crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself—turning the whole household upside down.
"No! I must take Wang Xiucai's daughter, Wang Xiumei, as my concubine! She's mine! No one is allowed to steal her from me!"
Li Wenhao's eyes were bloodshot. The moment he heard that Zhang Ergou had also taken a liking to Wang Xiumei, the woman he fancied, his fury erupted beyond control.
"Oh, my precious son, Wang Xiumei is the woman the Nine Heavens Divine Lord has chosen. Why are you competing with the Divine Lord? Aren't you afraid of divine punishment? Good boy, there are plenty of women in this world. Stop thinking about Wang Xiumei, all right?" Li Wenhao's mother pleaded bitterly. A devout believer in gods and Buddhas, she had no desire to offend a true god walking among mortals.
"What Nine Heavens Divine Lord? I say he's nothing but a dog! A mangy dog! He dares steal the woman of Li Wenhao? I'll make him pay right now!"
Enraged, Li Wenhao immediately summoned a group of lackeys and went to Zhang San Niu's home to cause a huge disturbance. Had the kind-hearted villagers nearby not stopped him, he might have smashed the entire Zhang household to pieces.
"Heh heh, Li Wenhao. I didn't expect you to jump out after all. Good, very good..." A cold gleam flashed through Zhou Ming's eyes as he made a decision.
One night two days later, terrible news suddenly came from Village Chief Li Shou Zheng's home. The village chief's second son, Li Wenhao, had suddenly died of fatal overexertion while sleeping with his wife, Zhou Shi. The Li family descended into chaos. Since they could not uncover the cause, they hastily buried him and let the matter end there.
When Zhou Ming heard of Li Wenhao's death, he smiled with great satisfaction in private. Li Wenhao's heart had already been weak, and he was lustful by nature. As long as he drank a little Golden Sword Grass juice Zhou Ming had prepared for him, once he engaged in strenuous activity and his heartbeat accelerated, death would not be far away.
As for how he knew the effects of Golden Sword Grass, after using the Elementary Hunting Card, he had come to know hundreds of poisonous plants similar to Golden Sword Grass.
And in this life, his creed for survival was this: whoever opposed him had to die!
Time flew. More than thirty years passed again. During those years, aside from his principal wife, Wang Xiumei, Zhou Ming also took Li Er Ya, Sun Qianqian, Zhang Xiaoya, and several others as concubines. Jealous disputes among the women were common, but they bore him twenty or thirty children. Sixteen of them were sons. Including his grandsons and granddaughters, the family numbered more than a hundred people—a truly enormous clan.
As the family business grew, Zhou Ming had his own arrangements for his sons. The village enterprises he established, including blacksmith shops, carpentry shops, mills, oil presses, textile mills, and brick kilns, numbered more than a dozen. Each son oversaw one part of the business, assisting one another whenever difficulties arose. There was no chance that their descendants would starve.
In agriculture, Zhou Ming had gradually accumulated more than a hundred mu of land over the years. Now, he was preparing to make another big move.
"Father, aside from the wealthy Li family in the village, who opposes our Zhang family's 'Collective Farm Cooperative' plan, every other villager supports it. They all want to work with our Zhang family!" His eldest son, Zhang Sheng, entered from outside and reported the news.
"Heh heh!" Zhou Ming sneered, as if he had expected it all along. He said slowly, "Investing shares according to the amount of land, pooling oxen and tools for use, then working together to dig ditches and improve irrigation... How could the Li family ever think of such good things? It would already be a mercy if they didn't force those peasants to sell their children, their daughters, and themselves! Our Collective Farm Cooperative plan is digging at the roots of the Li family! Of course they'll fight us to the death!"
"Father, I've long disliked the Li family too. But Father, they have quite a few men as well. If a fight breaks out, I'm afraid..." The eldest son had his concerns.
"Don't be afraid." Zhou Ming smiled and shook his head. "I've been preparing for years to deal with the Li family. Sheng, go call your second and third brothers over. I'll show you something..."
Several days later.
North of Niu Family Village, outside the Zhang family home, two groups of about a hundred people each had gathered. The group surrounding the house held polished knives, axes, and other sharp weapons, cruel smiles on their faces.
Inside the Zhang family courtyard, the other group mostly held hoes and carrying poles, though those had been polished bright as well.
The two packed crowds cursed at each other, and the situation was on the verge of exploding.
"You old dogs of the Zhang family, if you keep pushing that 'Collective Farm Cooperative,' our Li family will immediately slaughter every last one of you!"
"That's right, slaughter the Zhang family! Slaughter every last one of them!"
"Charge into the Zhang house! Take their money and women!"
At that moment, a swarm of black dots suddenly flew out from the Zhang family courtyard, filling the air with a pungent sulfur smell.
"What is this?" A man from the Li family caught one of the black balls in his hand and brought it close for a look.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Aah!" "Aaaah!" "My leg!" "My hand is gone!" "...!"
The screams rose and fell one after another, lingering for a long time.
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