Amid corpses strewn across the ground.
A boy in ragged clothes stood dumbstruck, leading an ox. He could not understand it. He had only gone out to graze the ox.
Yet when he returned, his father, who normally ignored him, his "mother," who beat or scolded him at every turn, his "elder brother," who called him a bastard, his "elder sister," who treated him like a servant, and the vicious servants who had driven his mother to her death-why were they all dead?
The boy did not realize that he felt not the slightest sorrow. Instead, a look of satisfaction had appeared on his face.
At the same time, however, worry filled his heart. Where's my sister? I haven't seen her body. She must be all right...
"Heh heh heh... Little fellow, did you have a grudge against this family?" A cold, sinister voice sounded beside his ear.
The boy looked up and saw an ugly man in black robes watching him with keen interest. The man's face had an unnatural blue-black cast that made him look quite terrifying.
"I..."
The boy faltered. He dared not tell the truth, afraid that the man before him would kill him as another member of his father's family.
"Oh? You even have a spirit root!"
The ugly man sounded surprised. He pulled the boy over, and after examining him, his surprise turned to utter shock. "A heavenly spiritual root!"
"Little fellow, would you be willing to take me as your master?" The ugly man looked down at the boy, his expression mingling astonishment and delight.
Noticing the change in him, the boy hurriedly dropped to his knees. "Ye Xu pays his respects to Master."
His name should have been Wang Xu, but he feared the ugly man might discover his true identity, so