The 35th Chapter

The Jade Fish's style is that when you pass through, your mind is clear, but at that moment, your body is out of control. Bai Lang fell straight in, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, carrying two Purple Gold Maces in his hands. Wasn't he just testing the defensive capabilities of his own body with the striking and beating technique? He hadn't expected to transmigrate. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Bai Lang let out a cry and assumed a horse stance, preventing himself from falling face-first.

After stabilizing his stance, he looked around and exclaimed, "What the hell is going on?" Before Bai Lang was a tragic scene he had never witnessed in his two lifetimes – a dilapidated village, scattered corpses within it. Even a casual glance told him these people had been massacred. "Ancient times?" Bai Lang frowned, his face filled with unbearable sorrow. "They have topknots on their heads, so it must be ancient times. If this were modern times, it would be even worse." In fact, just looking at the dilapidated houses was enough to tell it was ancient times.

The problem was, what era was this? And the villagers who were killed were naked. Even if they had clothes, they were so tattered that Bai Lang couldn't find anything to wear. However, having broken through the three gates of the Golden Bell Shield, the minor influences of weather, heat, and cold had little effect on him. Bai Lang forced himself to suppress his nausea and surveyed the village, also doing a good deed by collecting the corpses. With his divine strength, he had already dug a large pit nearby, using wood and internal energy. He certainly didn't have a shovel.

The villagers' corpses hadn't rotted much, as the weather was still very cold. Bai Lang placed them all into the large pit. "Even children are here, and killed in this manner." Bai Lang's heart burned with righteous fury. Men, women, old, and young, none were spared. Women and children were brutally murdered. Such a tragic sight only ignited Bai Lang's rage, which was like that of a tiger or leopard. Now, his movements became increasingly agile. Although his physique was tall and sturdy, his footsteps fell silently, as if a great beast weighing hundreds of pounds were walking.

Bai Lang collected the corpses one by one. As time passed, his movements became gentler and quieter, and the feeling of being like a large feline became harder to erase. The last corpse was placed into the pit. Then, Bai Lang swept his double maces with force, pushing the surrounding soil down to form a mound. "I still don't know the name of this village, but I do know what era it is now. It turns out to be the Chongzhen era of the Great Ming. This almanac, which wasn't burned, says it's the fifteenth year of Chongzhen."

Bai Lang gained nothing else here, besides collecting the bodies for the deceased, he only had this half-torn almanac. He looked at the sun to determine direction. The Jade Fish had long since been found and was hanging around his neck again. "This time it's another ten years, but who believes it'll really take ten years!" This Jade Fish was definitely toying with him, because without needing to search, it was probably lying there, sparkling, on the ground within three steps of him.

Knowing it was the Chongzhen era, the tragic scene was explained – it could only be bandits, mountain brigands, perhaps even the Great Ming army, or even the Tatars? However, the last option was unlikely, because the Tatars would abduct people rather than kill everyone, including the young and strong, like this. Bai Lang also proceeded along the road. He was still wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, carrying his double maces. The fields on both sides of the road were either abandoned or burned.

Bai Lang used his Lightness Skill to skim over the land. The elemental energy here was not very active, but it was much better than the last time the Jade Fish transmigrated him. However, Bai Lang was currently unsettled. Cultivating the Golden Bell Shield would likely be difficult for now. But there was another method of cultivation, and that was battle. Right now, Bai Lang hoped for some mountain bandits or brigands to appear so he could vent his frustrations properly. Even though he had read descriptions of the tragic state of affairs at the end of dynasties in books, it was still incomparable to seeing it with his own eyes.

Bai Lang was a fine man now. His appearance was heroic, needless to say. His height had already been measured in modern society, and it seemed he had grown a few more centimeters since returning. Now he was a strapping man of over 1.8 meters. In this late Ming dynasty, he could be considered a burly fellow. His skin, after cultivating the Golden Bell Shield, was tight and smooth, feeling like silk to the touch. It was just that his attire was completely unsuited for the current weather. It appeared to be late autumn or early winter, cold enough but not yet freezing.

In the distance, mountains could be seen, and a river flowed nearby. However, no water conservancy projects were visible, and the areas close to the river were clearly salt-affected land with white efflorescence. This made Bai Lang think this might be the north. It certainly wasn't Southern Jiangsu. It was likely Northern Jiangsu or Northern Anhui, or even Shandong or Henan? However, this question was soon to be answered, as Bai Lang heard human voices.

This was another dilapidated village. In this village, Bai Lang heard human voices. "Only five people? This doesn't seem like a normal village." He channeled his internal energy to his ears and confirmed that besides these five people, there was no one else in the village. "Scouts?" As for whether to investigate, he would decide after seeing. Bai Lang clearly pinpointed the location of these people by listening. Without further ado, he kicked open the dilapidated gate before him. Inside was a deserted courtyard.

Three men were warming themselves by a fire and eating. Hearing the loud bang, they all looked towards the source of the sound and quickly prepared for battle, some reaching for knives, others for bows, and some for firearms. Bai Lang swept his gaze over them. He could tell at a glance that these three were not good people. Their faces were filled with ferocity, their eyes gleamed with cruelty, and their clothing and attire indicated they were not part of the official army, as they were completely ununiformed and wore no armor.

The three men looked at the intruder, bewildered. This huge man was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, but what was with his good skin? He didn't look like he was so poor that he could only wear shorts, and he wasn't dirty. He was also carrying a pair of iron maces, and his appearance was imposing. Who was this person? Even these seasoned bandits couldn't tell. "Oh, are you rebels or mountain bandits? Ah, it's all the same anyway." Bai Lang didn't waste words and strode forward.

The three exchanged glances. "Where did this little brat come from? Looking to die!" As soon as this was said, one of the bandits holding a bow had his entire head explode. His eyeballs flew onto the other man next to him. Bai Lang had casually thrown his left Purple Gold Mace, which flew out and directly obliterated the bandit's head. The other two bandits were also seasoned, and without a word, they drew their knives and attacked. From behind, another bandit with a bow and one with a firearm came running.

Bai Lang wore no armor. In their eyes, a single knife strike would be enough to finish him. However, Bai Lang didn't dodge. After casually taking a knife strike, he used his right Purple Gold Mace to smash the other old bandit into two pieces, stuck together. The knife strike on Bai Lang's body only left a white mark. Before the man could react, Bai Lang's Tiger Claw swept past, directly ripping the man's head from his body.