The Way to Treat Animals

In the darkness, Shen Bai listened to their conversation, and a picture formed in his mind.

In the picture, a young woman in plain clothes carried a medicine box into the village, her face anxious as she prepared to treat the villagers.

But what greeted her were the villagers' disgusting faces.

The woman in plain clothes fell, and one strong man after another rose and fell upon her.

Filthy, the woman in plain clothes looked desperate, her eyes as lifeless as wood.

Then, the elderly Village Chief Yang pulled up his pants, waved his hand, and had the villagers carry the woman in plain clothes to the Sophora Tree, where they brutally dismembered her and hid her inside the tree.

The massive Sophora Tree swayed its branches and leaves, absorbing the terrifying resentment.

Shen Bai raised an eyebrow.

"It's clear now."

Unbeknownst to him, he subconsciously reached for the long sword at his waist.

Honestly, Shen Bai had been in this world for so long that he thought his mental fortitude was strong, but after hearing what was said today, he suddenly felt that the evil in this world was far more complex than he had imagined.

Beside him, Wuhua clasped his hands together, the nine cauterization marks on his head exceptionally prominent.

"Benefactor Shen, this humble monk's Buddhist heart has been defiled."

Shen Bai frowned, not understanding what he meant.

"Xuanxin Temple cultivates Buddhism to cultivate the mind. If the mind has dust, it must be wiped away as soon as possible."

Wuhua slowly said, "I know Benefactor Shen wishes to act, but may this humble monk have a chance? This time, consider it a debt owed to you."

As he spoke, Wuhua's gaze fell on Shen Bai's long sword.

Shen Bai's long sword was already halfway out of its sheath.

Although the Heart-Cleansing Incantation gave him peace of mind, Shen Bai still felt a murderous intent.

Calmness was calmness, murderous intent was murderous intent; they didn't conflict.

Shen Bai thought for a moment and said, "What does Master intend to do?"

Wuhua uttered a Buddhist chant: "To act as a Wrathful Vajra."

As his voice fell, Wuhua's figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already in the ancestral hall.

Seeing this, the many villagers immediately stared at Wuhua in astonishment.

Village Chief Yang reacted the quickest, shouting, "We've been discovered, there's no time! Kill them first!"

Originally, Village Chief Yang had intended to use the Sophora Spirit, but now that the cat was out of the bag, he had to act immediately.

At Village Chief Yang's words, the numerous villagers rushed towards Wuhua and Shen Bai.

Wuhua rolled up his sleeves, and golden Buddha's Light emerged from his body. Like a Wrathful Vajra, he charged into the crowd.

With every punch, a villager's muscles would tear and bones would break.

In just a few breaths, all dozens of villagers lay on the ground, wailing continuously.

Their limbs were all broken, and they crawled distortedly on the ground.

A murderous aura flowed around Wuhua.

Village Chief Yang's face was blank. He suddenly dropped his crutch and turned to run.

But the next moment, a fist smashed his face into a twisted mess.

"Ah!"

A scream erupted from Village Chief Yang's mouth.

Shen Bai withdrew his fist and said with interest, "I thought you'd be like some rotten monks, trying to convert them with Buddhist teachings."

Wuhua's face was solemn. "The Abbot once said that in troubled times, Xuanxin Temple's Buddhist teachings only save good people."

"What about evil people?" Shen Bai asked.

Wuhua clasped his hands and said, "Evil people are not worthy of salvation through Buddhist teachings. If they are evil, the disciples of Xuanxin Temple will become Wrathful Vajras, slaying demons and eradicating evil."

Shen Bai nodded. "Master, you're very much to my liking."

Today, if Wuhua had talked about salvation, Shen Bai would have made Wuhua taste the Blood Sword Dance.

But Shen Bai was very satisfied with Wuhua's actions today.

The anger in Wuhua's eyes had not faded. "Moreover, the Hundred Healers Valley has never fought or competed; they only wish to heal the world in troubled times. How could these beasts commit such evil acts?"

"Human evil is limitless," Shen Bai shook his head.

He said no more, stepping on Village Chief Yang's face.

"Ah!"

Village Chief Yang was still screaming, but Shen Bai's foot pressed down harder.

"Shut up."

When the voice rang out, Village Chief Yang, in his terror, instinctively clamped his mouth shut.

He was afraid.

Solving all the villagers in just a few breaths meant these two were definitely not ordinary people.

Village Chief Yang remembered the scene when he and the other villagers defiled that woman, and she had simply raised her hand and sent several villagers flying.

"Sirs, please spare my life…"

Shen Bai said indifferently, "What is a Guiding Guest? Tell me everything you know, including about that woman from Hundred Healers Valley."

Since things had come to this, Shen Bai decided to take the opportunity to gather some useful information.

Village Chief Yang swallowed hard and quickly replied, "It's like this: our village has always been poor. Just a few months ago, a strange person suddenly appeared and planted a Sophora Tree on the island in the center of Liuyun Lake."

"That person told us that as long as we were sincere and fed the Sophora Tree with fresh blood, a Sophora Spirit would be born, bringing good weather to Huaixi Village."

"At first, we didn't believe it, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be true. From then on, strange phenomena began to appear in Huaixi Village."

"As long as we went into the mountains, we would always return with a great harvest. So… we began the days of making offerings to the Sophora Spirit…"

Every villager had wounds on their hands, and combined with what Village Chief Yang had just said, Shen Bai knew these injuries all came from making offerings.

"Why did you harm the Hundred Healers Valley disciple again?" Wuhua clenched his fists.

Village Chief Yang stammered, "The Guiding Guest said… if a cultivator was used as blood nourishment, the Sophora Spirit could grant us more benefits… so we borrowed a branch from the Sophora Tree and ambushed her…"

"At the time, we saw how beautiful she was and had never tasted a woman like her, and she was going to die anyway… so…"

Village Chief Yang couldn't continue the rest of his sentence, because Shen Bai was repeatedly stepping on Village Chief Yang's face.

Each stomp sent flesh and blood flying from Village Chief Yang.

In just a moment, Village Chief Yang's face was a bloody, mangled mess.

Wuhua watched the entire time, without interfering.

When Shen Bai withdrew his foot, his expression was much more relaxed.

"You've vented your anger."

"You don't mind if I vent a little, do you?"

Wuhua was taken aback by the question and subconsciously replied, "Of course."

Shen Bai, holding his longsword, walked past each villager.

As he passed each person, the longsword in his hand pierced into their carotid artery.

Each strike was effortless.

When Shen Bai swung his last strike, the villagers writhed on the ground, experiencing the terror and pain of slowly losing their blood.

To Wuhua, Shen Bai, holding his longsword, looked like a grotesque figure crawled out of hell.

He seemed more like a reaper who disregarded life, coldly watching the villagers slowly die.

After a long while, only corpses remained on the ground. Not one had died peacefully; all had perished in pain and begging.

Shen Bai turned around and said calmly, "How do you feel?"

Wuhua pressed his palms together, "Xuanxin Temple is not home to rigid monks. These people had long fallen into evil ways. What the benefactor did was correct."

Shen Bai smiled, "Let's go."

Wuhua paused slightly.

Shen Bai sheathed his longsword, "The matter of the Sophora Tree should end now."