Revenge [2]

Half an hour later.

The bus pulled over to the side of a mountain road.

Hu Long stepped off the bus, accompanied by a few others, including the young man who had been vomiting earlier.

"Brother, are you heading to Wulin Village too?"

The young man looked at Hu Long, who was carrying a black backpack, and asked.

Hu Long glanced at the young man before him.

Although he was dressed in clean clothes, his skin was dark, and his rough hands, exposed from his sleeves, had thick calluses bulging over his knuckles.

When he walked, his upper body leaned slightly forward and his steps were firm, each stride carrying a sense of downward weight with his heels hitting the ground first; such a walking habit was meant to maintain body stability, suggesting he was accustomed to manual labor.

In the past, he would never have observed such details.

But ever since he downloaded that master-level unarmed combat skill, as time passed, Hu Long found his understanding of human joints and force-exertion points deepening, becoming ingrained in his instincts.

Therefore, with just this one look, he easily reached this conclusion.

"Yeah, I'm here for a bit of sightseeing."

"What a coincidence, my home is in Wulin Village, let's go together."

The dark-skinned youth acted like an old friend.

He pointed toward the distance of the road.

Faintly visible in the distance were a few grey-white concrete utility poles by the roadside, and further off, wisps of cooking smoke drifted into the air.

Regarding this invitation, Hu Long thought for a moment and chose not to refuse.

It was perfect; he also wanted to inquire about the situation in more detail.

Subsequently, the two walked along the roadside toward the distance.

During this process, the two exchanged names.

The dark-skinned youth was named Niu Lei.

Hu Long said his name was "Wang Ting."

Before coming, Hu Long had already looked up general information about Wulin Village.

Now, through Niu Lei's words, Hu Long's understanding of Wulin Village gradually became concrete.

There were over two hundred households in the village, making it quite a large one.

It backed onto Wu Mountain, and recently, it was being developed into a scenic spot by leveraging this advantage.

At the same time, thanks to its geographical location near a major traffic artery, it had been selected as a key focus for new rural construction and rural revitalization.

As for Niu Lei, he hadn't been doing well working away from home, and hearing that his hometown was developing nicely, he decided to return to start an orchard.

Just as the two were walking and chatting, the village of Wulin soon appeared before their eyes.

Under the large camphor tree at the village entrance, old folks were chatting idly while holding their water pipes.

Beside several new-style buildings covered in white ceramic tiles, old houses with yellow mud walls were scattered about, with ribbons of smoke rising from the gaps in the black roof tiles.

The entire village was built against the mountain.

The most eye-catching structure was the three-story building in the center of the village with a sign that read "Tourist Service Center."

With its white walls and grey tiles, it shone brightly in the afternoon sun, and the window glass reflected a blinding glare.

Several tourist buses were parked in front of the building, and red banners fluttered in the wind, inscribed with the words "Welcome to the Wu Mountain Secret Realm."

Walking deeper along the stone path, the scenes of daily life became clearer.

Occasionally, one could see the figures of scattered tourists brushing past.

Most of the houses along the road had their storefronts open; some sold mountain goods, while others hung out "Farmhouse Joy" signs.

Sun-dried bamboo shoots and cured meat glistened with oil in bamboo trays, and the scents of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers mingled together, rushing to the nose with a warm, pungent intensity.

As they walked further up the slope, the old houses became more numerous, with faded spring couplets still pasted on the lintels.

Some wooden doors were left ajar, and occasionally one could hear the sound of a television and the barking of a few dogs.

The village backed onto the lush, verdant Wu Mountain.

As for further away, a newly built hiking trail looked like a grey-white ribbon, winding and disappearing into the forest.

At the foot of the mountain, several construction sites were active, and the roar of cement mixers drifted over from across the small river.

"What place is that? It looks quite grand!"

Hu Long reached out, pointing toward a distant residence as if it were a casual gesture.

It was a two-courtyard residence with white walls and grey tiles, standing out conspicuously among the ordinary cottages of the village.

Not only did it occupy a significant plot of land, but the foundation of the house itself was raised much higher than those surrounding it, giving it the distinct air of a crane standing among chickens.

"That's the village chief's house."

Niu Lei followed his gaze, his tone involuntarily tinged with a mix of sentiment and bitterness.

"If we're talking about who's doing the best and has the most promise, it has to be their kid..."

He paused, a flicker of unconcealable envy flashing in his eyes.

Xue Wu was the same age as him, but he had been a top student since childhood, got into a prestigious university, put down roots in a big city, and started his own company.

Word was he was even dating a very wealthy heiress.

Any one of these things, taken on its own, was enough to make people green with envy.

Soon, through the other man's explanations, Hu Long gained a more detailed understanding of this family.

"Right, Brother Wang, my place isn't far. Why don't you come over for a glass of water and rest for a bit?"

Niu Lei pointed ahead and extended a warm invitation.

"No need, I'd like to walk around on my own."

Hu Long refused directly.

"Alright then, if you need anything, feel free to call me anytime!"

Niu Lei said.

To this, Hu Long merely nodded.

After parting ways, he headed straight into the village.

From time to time, he encountered villagers who greeted him.

Clearly, these people were already accustomed to seeing a stranger like him and didn't seem surprised at all.

However, these people spoke with a heavy local accent, making it difficult for him to understand them.

Hu Long simply nodded in response.

He didn't linger in the village, instead heading up a mountain path to the side.

He stopped to rest on a towering rock on the hillside, looking toward the building not far away.

With its white walls, grey tiles, surrounding perimeter wall, and a large iron gate several meters high, it looked far more imposing than the homes of ordinary folk.

That was Xue Wu's family home, and where his parents lived.

According to the information currently at hand, Xue Wu's parents were no ordinary family in Wulin Village; one could even say they held considerable status.

His father, Xue Hai, was the village chief, and his mother, Liu, was a well-known shamaness for miles around.

However, when it came down to it, that was all there was to it.

With such a family background, it was simply impossible to climb up to the level of his original self's family.

Although marrying off a daughter wasn't the same as selling her, for a wealthy heiress with a net worth in the hundreds of millions to marry a youth from a mountain village seemed unrealistic no matter how you looked at it.

Precisely because of this, Hu Chengwen hadn't given his direct approval regarding the affair between Xue Wu and Hu Zhao.

He had only said to wait and see if Xue Wu could carve out a career for himself, and that it wouldn't be too late to make a decision then.

Of course, these matters held no significance for Hu Long.

Even if this Xue Wu truly married Hu Zhao and became his "brother-in-law," he wouldn't show any mercy.

What he cared about was something else entirely.

That Liu was a shamaness.

If it weren't for the bizarre figure on his body and the Green Bag Fragment skill, he might not have thought much of it.

But now, he had to be on guard against whether Xue Wu's parents possessed any strange methods of their own.

Therefore, he needed to be cautious when making his move; he couldn't afford to capsize the boat.

However, he wasn't entirely unprepared.

Thinking of this, he opened his backpack, revealing an object welded together from black steel pipes.

He weighed it in his hand before stuffing it back inside.

He had obtained this through some special channels, and it served as a form of insurance.

But this thing couldn't see the light of day; the Yu State strictly prohibited the existence of firearms.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to use it.