Leave No Future Trouble

At this point, he said weakly, "Can you let me go now?"

I smiled and nodded at him. Then a flash of killing intent crossed my eyes, and I raised my sword and slashed at his neck.

A head spun through the air before falling to the ground, rolling a short distance with a rumble.

I looked at the head on the ground. Its eyes held fear, rage, and unwillingness...

Its lips moved faintly once, then it went completely still.

I took out a Soul Scattering Talisman and stood there waiting.

Before long, Little Puppy's soul drifted out of his corpse.

He snarled at me viciously. "You broke your word! Just you wait—I'll come back for revenge.

"My master will definitely avenge me..."

After saying that, he tried to fly toward the cave entrance, but I threw a Soul Scattering Talisman at him.

A miserable scream rang out at once, and her soul turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished without a trace.

You've got to be kidding me. This was already a feud that could only end in death.

Not to mention that you released the Corpse King and slaughtered everyone in the village—you even wanted to refine Qianqian into a Corpse Puppet.

How could I let you go, let you return to recover, then wait until I fell on hard times and come finish me off?

I wasn't some fucking idiot. I wiped out even your soul. Let's see how you planned to take revenge on me.

Either do nothing, or cut the weeds and pull out the roots. Otherwise, trouble would surely come later.

After doing all that, I dropped onto the ground and stared blankly ahead.

Qianqian came to my side and called to me several times, but I never responded.

I replayed everything that had happened over this period in my mind, then asked myself, Did I... kill someone?

Was this what killing someone felt like?

Didn't books say that killing someone would make you sick and want to vomit? Why didn't I feel that way?

I didn't know when it had begun. Was it the first time I saw blood covering the ground in Lin'an Village?

Or what I experienced with Martial Uncle in the cave behind the mountain? Or perhaps Qianqian's death...

So I had changed long ago. There was no going back. He was the first person I had killed, but he definitely would not be the last!

I remembered reading a book long ago. It had said this:

'When you raise the butcher's blade, you will inevitably die beneath the butcher's blade as well.'

Forget it... If that day truly came, I would accept it calmly.

In that brief span of time, so much had passed through my mind.

Then I came back to myself and saw Qianqian beside me, looking at me. She seemed to be crying.

But no tears fell. How could ghosts shed tears?

I smiled, pulled her into my arms, and heard her sob, "Brother A Tong, I'm sorry. I couldn't help you."

I rubbed her head. "It's okay. It's already over."

Just then, a voice came from outside the cave. "Not bad at all... little brother..."

When driven into a corner, you dared to risk your life in a desperate fight, and afterward you acted with swift, decisive ruthlessness.

You had courage and resolve. Looks like the old man worried for nothing.

I followed the voice and saw a woman walking gracefully toward me, dressed in white robes and white boots, with a red cloak hanging behind her.

Her clothes and boots were embroidered all over with flowing golden patterns.

"Nangong Yiyi?" I cried out in surprise.

After recognizing her, I asked, "Sis, weren't you at the cabin? Why did you come here?"

Nangong Yiyi said, "Silly little brother, did you think the old man was really willing to let you come here alone?

"He didn't say it, but he was worried sick inside.

"He was afraid you'd really get yourself killed here, so he asked me to secretly follow behind you."

Warmth welled up in my heart. I pressed my lips together, lowered my head, and said nothing, trying to force my tears back.

I was just a fragile college student. I had entered this line of work less than a month ago.

I had cultivated for less than a month too, yet so much had happened in such a short time. My heart was a jumble of flavors.

Nangong Yiyi added, "Oh my! I never expected you to perform so well.

"You're quite commendable. Once you grow up, your big sister will be counting on you entirely."

I gave a bitter smile. After entering this line of work, I didn't even know whether I would live to see tomorrow.

I couldn't be lucky forever, could I? Maybe the next moment, maybe tomorrow, I would die in some remote mountain ravine.

After steadying my emotions, I asked Nangong Yiyi, "Sis, what do we do now? I'm afraid these girls can't be saved."

Nangong Yiyi followed my gaze and saw girl after girl placed inside jars.

We went in for a closer look, and my scalp went numb.

None of these girls had hands or feet. It was as though they had been hacked off while they were still alive.

Then their bodies had been stuffed into jars. They were clearly human sticks.

At first, I had wondered how these girls had been put into the jars.

Now the truth was laid bare. That beast had been so cruel. If I had known earlier, I would have tortured him viciously before letting him die.

Letting him die quickly had been too good for him. Then I remembered that I had destroyed even his soul.

He would never be able to reincarnate again, and I felt a little better.

Nangong Yiyi frowned with her lovely brows and said,

"I never expected that, in a society where everyone had clothes to wear and food to eat, there would still be people so utterly wicked.

"It seems that certain kinds of people would never be absent, no matter the era."

Then she said, "Give them a quick end. These people can't survive.

"At most, they have half a month. At least, two or three days. Let them suffer a little less."

I frowned. "No. They never tried to take my life, so I won't take someone else's life for no reason.

"Besides, they're pitiful people too. Whether they live or die shouldn't be for us to decide."

Then I said, "Let's go. Before we leave, we'll call the police and let them handle it."

Nangong Yiyi nodded. With a sweep of her sleeve, a piece of cloth covered Qianqian's corpse.

Then Nangong Yiyi looked at Qianqian's body and said in surprise, "A Pure Yin Body."

So I asked her what a Pure Yin Body was.

Nangong Yiyi said that a Pure Yin Body belonged to someone born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour.

That was why their corpses were difficult to decay. As long as they were placed somewhere rich in yin energy, theoretically, they would never rot.

Just then, Nangong Yiyi paused. Then she said excitedly, "Little brother, this girl might really be able to come back to life."

I was startled and stared at Nangong Yiyi in disbelief.

Seeing the confusion in my eyes, Nangong Yiyi explained, "Really, your sister has no reason to lie to you.

"It'll just be a little difficult. Before, I didn't know she had a Pure Yin Body.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have told you to fight King Yama.

"Now, to bring her back to life, we only need two things."

I hurriedly asked what they were.

Nangong Yiyi replied, "One is called Soul Returning Grass, and the other is called Shore Flower.

"Yes, it's the Shore Flower you're thinking of. There are some in the underworld.

"Although they're very precious, they aren't absolutely impossible to obtain."

I asked about the first one. Where could it be found?

Nangong Yiyi smiled at me. "The other one can be found in places of silence.

"Such places are rather hidden, but they definitely exist in this world.

"We can keep an eye out as we travel in the future. Compared to that, though, you should worry about the Shore Flower first.

"Because it isn't in the Mortal Realm, it's more troublesome."