Song Bu'er Gone Mad
"Blood, blood, so much blood!"
Zhang Xuezhou and his group had only traveled about 500 meters when they saw Song Bu'er wiping clothes on the corner of a rounded, castle-like building.
Two corpses lay in this corner, their heads splattered with blood and brain matter from being shot, and fragments of their limbs were scattered around.
Song Bu'er muttered to himself, trying to wipe everything clean.
But the dust from the explosion made the area even dirtier, causing him to oscillate between endless obsessive-compulsive behaviors related to cleanliness.
"Dad!"
Song Bu'er only raised her head when Song Sijia called out in a hoarse voice.
"Blood, Sijia, so much blood! There's so much blood on your face!"
The mental stimulation induced by Ren Yisheng stemmed from his truest inner thoughts; the abnormal phenomena induced by Wang Haoran were due to Ren Yisheng's revenge in slaughtering the Wang family; and the abnormal phenomena induced by Song Bu'er were the great chaos following Song Xianzong's mental breakdown.
Something that had already happened once happened again, and the same thing happened again.
The Song family home was in ruins, Song Bu'er felt as if her world had collapsed once again.
Even after experiencing it once, he still couldn't accept it all.
He tried to wipe everything clean, but nothing could be wiped clean.
Having experienced Ren Yisheng's guidance, Song Bu'er felt that everything was a knot he couldn't untie.
Caught in this internal conflict, Song Bu'er went mad when confronted with reality.
It wasn't until Song Sijia appeared that Song Bu'er's confusion subsided somewhat.
"Blood, it's all blood! Sijia, our Song family is gone! We have nothing left!"
When an extremely tragic event repeats itself, even if it is no different from before, Song Bu'er cannot escape its influence.
He lingered in a sea of blood that could never be wiped away.
Even when Song Bu'er looked at Song Sijia, he was covered in blood.
His eyes were not clear; instead, they were bloodshot, with dilated pupils, making him appear extremely dull.
"Dad, Grandpa just pinched my throat and broke it, there's no blood!"
Song Sijia pulled Song Bu'er, who was constantly wiping, and when her gaze swept over the barely recognizable face of the corpse on the ground, an overwhelming grief welled up in her heart as well.
"I don't want to go with you, I don't want to go! This is the only safe place, Sijia. You stay here with Dad, don't go anywhere else!"
Song Bu'er is mentally confused.
He struggled wildly, swinging his arms erratically, appearing extremely stubborn.
"Is this the safest place?"
Zhang Xuezhou had intended to leave the Song family with Song Bu'er, but influenced by Song Bu'er's words, he couldn't help but feel a chill when he looked around.
He feared a possible explosion, and he was also afraid that Song Xianzong might emerge from some corner, or that the enemy might spot him from a distance and launch a long-range attack.
Zhang Xuezhou's shooting skills are commendable, but his ability to dodge shots is lacking. If he were hit by a long-range gun, he would be no different from the two corpses lying here.
After glancing at the Song family's area for only a few seconds, Zhang Xuezhou also crouched down in a corner of the castle building's outer wall.
"Let's lean against the wall and rest for a bit!" Zhang Xuezhou said.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Manqian asked warily.
"I'm afraid that the head of the Song family might suddenly appear and shoot me!"
Zhang Xuezhou glanced in the direction of the indoor shooting range and realized that they had left that dangerous area and could pause for a while.
He looked suspicious, constantly glancing around, wary of potential long-range shots.
"You broke two of his fingers, so he should have some difficulty pulling the trigger now. He's also injured in the side with at least two toes shot, making it difficult for him to walk. Is he still a big threat to us under these circumstances?" Zhang Manqian asked in a low voice.
"If he has advanced medicine, he might be able to temporarily recover from his injuries!"
The rifle Zhang Xuezhou used was a training rifle and was not loaded with special bullets. Although he hit Song Xianzong many times, none of the shots were fatal.
Moreover, the opponent was too good at dodging, almost always avoiding fatal blows.
"Let's rest for a bit and try to recover from our injuries," Zhang Xuezhou said. "We'll talk again after Committee Member Zhou and Zuo Denggao have scouted the way."
"Alright!"
Encountering Song Bu'er on the roadside and hiding in the same place as him would be a terrible idea.
But waiting here for Zhou Xin and the others to investigate isn't too far-fetched.
Zhang Xuezhou and others were wary of collateral damage if Song Xianzong made underhanded moves against the senior members of the Sequence Committee, but the members of the Sequence Committee were also considered safe.
As long as Zhou Xin continues to investigate, the areas that the other party has investigated are usually relatively safe. Even after the other party has investigated the indoor shooting range, Zhang Xuezhou and others can return to that location and stay there until everything is settled.
Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian whispered to each other. When they looked towards the area where the indoor shooting range was located, they saw a burst of fire shoot into the sky, which then turned into a mushroom cloud that kicked up countless dust particles.
A deafening roar followed, and Zhang Xuezhou saw the building where the indoor shooting range was located blown to pieces.
The violent shockwaves rippled outwards like waves on water, causing buildings to collapse, explode, and windows to shatter, and the damage continued to spread outwards.
With his back against the arched castle building where Song Bu'er was, Zhang Xuezhou felt the building sway slightly before it stabilized.
"What's this building for? It's incredibly sturdy enough to withstand the impact of an explosion; not even the glass broke!"
After the explosion, Zhang Xuezhou watched as various fragments rained down from the sky. He shrank back and asked Song Sijia a question.
"This is where my grandfather lives!"
Song Sijia shook her head, whose hearing was somewhat impaired, and responded to Zhang Xuezhou in a low voice.
Are there any explosives planted here?
Zhang Xuezhou felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had stepped directly into a tiger's den.
He couldn't help but ask another question.
However, Song Sijia was clearly unaware of the arrangements, and they didn't even normally have the right to enter or leave this place.
"Professor Song, Professor Song, wake up, Professor Song?"
As Song Xianzong's son, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Song Bu'er would be able to understand many issues once he regained consciousness.
It's unrealistic to expect someone like Zhang Xuezhou, who only trained at the Song family's shooting range for two days, to understand every detail of the Song family's arrangements.
Zhang Xuezhou felt that being in the Song family, a powder keg, was even more troublesome than being in the Kunlun Sacred Land.
The risk of encountering Song Xianzong was high, and the risk of being hit by an explosion was even higher. The possibility of total annihilation at any moment made Zhang Xuezhou hesitant to act boldly.
He shook Song Bu'er vigorously, but after releasing a Supreme Purity True Technique to no avail, Zhang Xuezhou reluctantly gave up.
"I wonder how that Committee Member Zhou is doing?"
Song Bu'er is unreliable; Zhang Xuezhou hopes that Committee Member Zhou will be at least a little more reliable.
He craned his neck, but Zhang Xuezhou immediately heard a gunshot.
This made him quickly pull his head back.
Who fired the shot?
Zhang Manqian pressed Song Fengying down to the ground before turning to Zhang Xuezhou and asking him a question.
"I haven't seen anyone, let's hide for now," Zhang Xuezhou said helplessly.
"It's my dad. He's hunting. He'll hunt down many, many people!"
Song Bu'er murmured softly.
"He should be at one of the stairwells right now, from where he can see a third of the Song family's area—a perfect sniping spot."
Song Bu'er pointed in a direction.
This made it difficult for Zhang Xuezhou to see through the swirling dust.
The entrance to the building was obscured by dust, but Zhang Xuezhou could vaguely sense Song Xianzong's presence.
The other person seems to really be there.