Thousand Cuts

The sun had already set, and the dim night sky cradled a large moon as it climbed to the zenith.

Yet, under the shroud of this pale moonlight, Ox-Horn Town was currently exceptionally noisy.

This was because nearly all the townspeople had stepped out of their homes to join the Civilian Militia in collecting and disposing of the thousands of corpses scattered across every street and alley, as well as the bloodstains covering the ground and walls.

This was, of course, not done of their own volition, but rather the result of Li Hai scattering vast amounts of gold and silver.

The reason he still bothered with such troublesome work was that he felt... while killing them had been quite satisfying, simply turning around and walking away without a word, leaving a pile of bodies behind, was a bit too unprincipled.

One must know that the weather in the Coiling Dragon Mountain region was hot and humid; if the corpses were not dealt with promptly, a plague would inevitably break out. He might not fear it, but the common folk of Ox-Horn Town would suffer a terrible fate.

This kind of superficial gratification that prioritized his own pleasure while ignoring the well-being of the common people was not what Li Hai wanted.

But under normal circumstances, this was a task that was nearly impossible to complete.

Not to mention how to clean the bloodstains without leaving a trace, or where to transport those bodies.

The most critical and important part—the actual disposal of the corpses—was something no ordinary person could handle.

Those who frequently kill should know this well, so there is no need for further explanation.

Yet, with Li Hai's help, this most difficult task following a massacre became much easier.

Because the Zou Clan Southern Border Poison Manual contained records of many methods for rapidly dissolving corpses.

Using these techniques, and consuming a vast quantity of medicinal herbs from every pharmacy in Ox-Horn Town, Li Hai spent only a single hour preparing ten full vats of corpse-dissolving liquid, enough to melt those two to three thousand Wolf Mountain Bandits into nothingness, leaving not a drop of blood behind.

Thus, the residents of Ox-Horn Town only needed to endure the pungent stench of blood and the terrifying state of the corpses, transport them one by one to the vats, and push them in.

Even so, it took the townspeople several hours until daybreak to finish, and quite a few fainted from vomiting during the process.

However, there were not many who held grievances, for the residents of Ox-Horn Town, having lived in this chaotic Coiling Dragon Mountain region since childhood, knew very well:

If these ruthless Wolf Mountain Bandits were still alive, there was no telling what heinous atrocities they would commit.

Plundering wealth, killing at will, abducting children, raping women... there was nothing they wouldn't do.

Many of the townspeople had even lost family, relatives, or friends to these bandits.

Therefore, the vengeful townspeople worked with great vigor.

Furthermore, setting aside the visceral shock of the corpses, the townspeople were mostly filled with awe.

They were awestruck that these thousands of vicious Wolf Mountain Bandits had been wiped out by a single man.

Moreover, they had all died in such miserable states that it made one's heart tremble.

Consequently, the ignorant townspeople even began to think... that Li Hai might not be human at all, but the Heaven-Killing Star descended to earth.

Thus, amidst the whispers of the busy townspeople, Li Hai's identity underwent a transformation from man to god, becoming the Demon Star Descended.

Of this, Li Hai himself was naturally unaware.

As for the dirty work of transporting all the used corpse-dissolving liquid to the wilderness outside the town to be dumped, that fell to the Civilian Militia.

Fortunately, with the large amount of gold and silver Li Hai had generously provided as a reward, the militiamen held no great resentment and were even quite happy.

Not only the militiamen, but Li Hai also provided generous compensation to the residents of Ox-Horn Town who moved the bodies, as a way to make up for their psychological trauma.

In any case, Li Hai did not care about money at all.

In short, under his monetary offensive, in just one night, Ox-Horn Town, once covered in corpses, had largely returned to its former appearance.

Only the heavy stench of blood and the crimson traces hidden in various nooks and crannies would require time to slowly fade away.

By the time all these matters were concluded, it was already early morning.

"Time is about up."

On the high platform, Li Hai stood with his back to the naked Zhou Hu, who was tied to a wooden stake, and chuckled softly while organizing his blades. "It is time for you to head on your way."

Hearing this, the ashen-faced Zhou Hu merely opened his mouth before closing it again, his eyes filled with despair and hopelessness.

Before returning to Ox-Horn Town, Li Hai had already demonstrated every ultimate technique Zhou Hu possessed, and he had mastered each one to the pinnacle.

Li Hai did not offer much explanation, leaving Zhou Hu to guess for himself.

As for Zhou Hu, relying on Li Hai's earlier earth-shattering claim that he could learn any technique at a single glance, combined with the terrifying display of Li Hai reaching the peak of the Formless Sealing Art the moment he learned it, he could not help but guess and grow increasingly terrified, to the point where he lost all faith in his own master.

My son is dead, my whole family is dead, and I... am going to die too. And no one can avenge me, because my greatest backer... my master, will also die, die at the hands of this Li Hai.

At this thought, Zhou Hu trembled like chaff in the wind, filled with terror and despair.

Li Hai naturally saw this.

But what he wanted was for Zhou Hu to be afraid, so that it would be more convenient to stop the bleeding later.

Why stop the bleeding?

Because Li Hai intended to slice this villainous Zhou Hu into pieces—a slow execution—under the gaze of thousands of Ox-Horn Town residents.

"Begin."

Li Hai tilted his chin toward the militiamen waiting on the side.

"Yes, Hero Li!"

The militiaman nodded excitedly, then hoisted a large bucket of ice-cold acetic acid and doused Zhou Hu from head to toe.

Splash—

As the bucket of cold vinegar drenched him, the already weak and terrified Zhou Hu immediately convulsed, his blood vessels constricting and his pulse fading.

Li Hai followed suit, and under the gaze of thousands of eyes below the stage, he slashed at Zhou Hu's chest, carving away a piece of flesh and skin about the size of half a palm.

"Urghhh—"

Zhou Hu's weak, pained cry instantly ignited a chorus of gleeful shouts and screams from the crowd below:

"Serves you right!"

"Well cut!"

"It's finally your turn, Zhou Hu! Heaven has eyes!"

"It's so terrifying, I can't bear to look."

"Pah! If you can't bear to look, get lost and go home!"

"My daughter was killed by him!"

"I want to feed his flesh to the dogs!"

"The biggest beast of the Zhou Family! A man-eating animal!"

"Wuwuwu, my wife, if you can see this from the afterlife, you can finally rest in peace."

"Hero Li! We will build a shrine for you while you're still alive!"

"Hero Li, may you live a hundred years!"

"Hero, please take my daughter as your servant!"

Swish, swish, swish—

Like peeling a roasted duck, Li Hai's blade danced like flying petals. In a short time, under the watchful eyes of the masses, he carved dozens more pieces of flesh from Zhou Hu, leaving his chest completely stripped bare, revealing rows of ghastly white ribs and the heart, lungs, and viscera faintly visible beneath the bone.

Throughout this, every pained cry and moan from Zhou Hu incited cheers and jubilation from the thousands below.

Even the scraps of flesh that fell off the stage triggered a frantic scramble among the crowd, as if they were celebrating the New Year.

But just then, Li Hai suddenly stopped the Lingchi.