Chapter 98 The Truth and a Chance of Life

A gray and white cat nimbly leaped across the crowd and landed on the roof of the Yang family's house, its deep gray-green eyes staring intently at the people below.

"I'd like to see who dares to burn it!"

A single sentence, imbued with profound inner strength, sent the approaching villagers staggering backward. The timid ones had already fainted, their eyes closed and legs trembling.

Many villagers tried to flee for their lives, but when they turned around, they were terrified and collapsed to the ground, their legs trembling.

Wild beasts appeared behind them from nowhere: tigers, black bears, giant snakes... their green eyes fixed on the group.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Fearing that the villagers might wander off and be attacked by wild beasts, Bai Yuheng and the others tacitly formed a protective barrier, enveloping the villagers inside.

"Don't stray outside the designated area! Otherwise, you'll face the consequences!"

The villagers were stunned with fear. Upon hearing this, they obediently stayed inside, huddled together in fear.

The cat demon Mao Mao transformed into a human with a cat's face, standing indifferently on a high place, looking down with disdain at this group of cowardly and laughable people.

"Hey! You stinking Taoist priests! I'll give you one more chance. Go or stay and die together!" The cat demon's sharp eyes swept over Bai Yuheng and the other four, warning them, "I don't kill innocent people indiscriminately. As long as you don't meddle in other people's business, I can let you go now, but them!"

The cat demon's sharp fingertips grazed over all the villagers of Luoshui Village, and he sneered, "But I'm determined to take their lives!"

"Immortal Master! Immortal Master! Save us!"

"Immortal Master, please! Save us!"

"Wow! I don't want to die!"

"Please, Lord Cat God! Let us go!"

"Every wrong has its source, and every debt its debtor. Go find the person who harmed you!"

"I've kowtowed to you! Please spare my life..."

The moment he finished speaking, the villagers, who had been shouting and cursing just moments before, were thrown into chaos. Some kowtowed, some prayed to the gods, and some fainted from fright...

The cat demon smirked and said leisurely, "Oh, I didn't originally intend to kill all of you, but unfortunately you didn't know what was good for you and actually dared to set fire to the Yang family!"

"No! It wasn't me!"

"It wasn't me! It was Zhang Laosan! He's the one who got us to come here!"

"Yes, yes! Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. It was Zhang Laosan who instigated us to burn Granny Yang to death with firewood!"

"We are innocent!"

"Lord Cat God, please forgive us, it's all Zhang Laosan's fault..."

"You bunch of bastards! I just mentioned it casually! You bunch of sluts! If you didn't have the same idea, why would I have had to instigate you?!" Zhang Laosan, whose face was flushed red, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Pointing at the group of traitors, and then meeting the cat demon's half-smiling face, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground. "Lord Cat God, the first person to discover it was Li Xiaosi! If he hadn't sneaked into the Yang family to steal things, how could I have said such a thing in the heat of the moment?!"

Upon hearing his name called, Li Xiaosi's previously limp body regained its strength, and he instantly jumped up, cursing, "Zhang Laosan, you bastard! Damn you..."

The two men, their faces flushed, began to hurl insults at each other. As they continued, they were about to physically attack each other, completely devoid of the righteous indignation and resentment they displayed when they were holding torches and about to burn down the Yang family's house.

"stop!"

Bai Yuheng and the others used ropes to pull the two people fighting apart, then coldly looked at the cat demon who was watching the show with great interest.

"Have you seen enough?"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha..." The cat demon laughed heartily, clutching his stomach and laughing uncontrollably. Hearing this, he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and exclaimed, "It's so good! You guys fight it out, it's really funny to see you killing each other!"

The cat demon clapped his hands, still wanting more.

"Well, have you made up your minds, Immortal Masters?"

Bai Yuheng and the others, their faces stiff, said sternly, "No need. We are not people who are afraid of death. It is our duty to subdue demons and monsters."

"Good!" the cat demon boy exclaimed angrily. "That's great! I was worried that there wouldn't be enough people to accompany Little Egg in his funeral! With this, he'll have a few disciples from major sects to keep him company, so Little Egg won't be too lonely on his journey to the underworld."

"OK!"

The cat demon laughed heartily, while Cui Mingcan's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Ha, little cat demon, you dare to be so arrogant! Let me teach you a lesson!"

Cui Mingcan leaped into the air, the length of his knife changing as he slashed down, the wind from the blade making the clothes flutter loudly.

"Xiao Can, watch out!" Bai Yuheng leaped into the air, quickly forming hand seals to protect the house that was about to be struck by the magic.

"Xiao Ying!" Bai Yuheng called out to her. The latter met her gaze and nodded. Under the cover of the others, they entered the house protected by the barrier.

The fight became increasingly intense. The wild beasts summoned by the cat demon also gained sentience and were controlled by the cat demon's soul-controlling technique, thus surrounding the four of them.

Fortunately, he had seriously injured the cat demon that night, and now his injuries were acting up, so his strength was much weaker than before. He was attacked from both sides by Cui Mingcan and Bai Yuheng, and he had to dodge Cui Mingcan's slashing sword.

Amidst the clash of swords, it was truly difficult to determine the victor.

"Wow!"

The child hiding inside the barrier stared intently at the spectacular battle, completely forgetting the perilous situation they were in. With tears streaming down their face, they watched in stunned disbelief, their gaze following the movements of the fight.

"The immortal master is so amazing!"

"Go, Immortal Master!"

"The Immortal Master is the most powerful!"

"Attack quickly! Attack now!"

"Right, right! Hey, hey, left, left!"

Perhaps infected by the children's carefree mood, the adults who were originally crying in despair were now watching the fight intently, silently cheering them on.

"Go, Immortal Master!"

"Immortal Master! Immortal Master!"

"The immortal master is so handsome!"

"The immortal master is so amazing!!!"

No one knows who first uttered the words silently in their hearts, but like a drop of water falling into a hot oil pan, the villagers within the barrier all cheered for them, forgetting their perilous situation, shouting with all their might, as if this would infuse them with their own power.

There were also quite a few men directing them: "Master Cui, attack from the left! Ouch!"

"Right! Right! We missed it! What a pity!"

"We should have tied his legs first before stabbing him!"

"Hey! Master Cui, put in a little more effort!"

Cui Mingcan was speechless. The noise around him made it hard to concentrate. He almost got scratched by the cat demon. Then he heard a murmur. He gritted his teeth and instinctively raised the knife in his hand to obey their commands.

"Watch out!" Bai Yuheng reached out and caught Cui Mingcan, who had been knocked down. After he stood up, she said in a deep voice, "Don't get distracted. If you find it noisy, just shut down your five senses."

"Okay!"

The two dodged the cat demon's attack and, together with Pei Yuan and Li Tiankuo who had subdued the beasts, each took a side. Each of them formed a protective shield around themselves. No matter how the cat demon attacked, the outer shield remained unbreakable. The demon outside was furious, while the people inside quickly made hand seals and chanted incantations.

Suddenly, four beams of light of different colors shot into the sky, combining into a single force and heading straight for the cat demon.

"Bang!"

Dust exploded.

The cat demon took the blow head-on, half-kneeling on the ground, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

As soon as he landed, a net, which had been set up at some unknown time, pinned his legs firmly to the ground like vines, rendering him unable to move.

He glared at them coldly: "Why are you meddling in other people's business?!"

"I have no grudge against you, I just want revenge!!!"

Li Tiankuo frowned and said, "You have harmed the innocent. As disciples of the Tianyan Sect, we naturally have the responsibility to protect the common people and uphold justice."

"Harm the innocent?" Upon hearing this, the cat demon burst into laughter, a mournful and desolate sound. "They can be considered innocent? What about Dog Egg, whom they tortured to death!?"

The cat demon pointed at the bluish, stiff corpse, tears welling in its eyes: "Isn't this a tremendous injustice?!"

"You're talking nonsense! Our child wouldn't be as heartless as you, you monster!" Dog Cai's mother, emboldened by some unknown source, spat at the cat demon with hatred, wishing she could skin it alive, pull out its tendons, drink its blood, and eat its flesh.

"Heh, how could you not?" The cat demon's sharp gaze swept over, and the person shrank back in fright, but the desire to avenge her son supported her spine, and she stared back at him stiffly.

"You're clearly just making excuses for your brutality!" Many of the victims' family members spoke out angrily, pointing at him and accusing him.

"Alright! Then let me ask you, what good things did your good kids bring home the day Dog Egg went missing!?"

"..."

Seeing their silence, as if they were recalling something, the cat demon asked them questions to help them remember: "Wild pheasant meat is delicious, isn't it?"

Those people shuddered at the sound.

Seeing this, the cat demon scoffed and asked again, "Then let me ask you again, what did you find nearby the day you found Dog Egg's body?!"

One of them shuddered at the shout: "No! I didn't find anything!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over, their faces filled with panic and confusion. Anyone with eyes could see that this was a blatant attempt to cover something up.

He glared back without hesitation: "What are you looking at! Don't be fooled by him! He's a monster! We're all from the same village!"

"Are you trying to sow discord among us? Ha, you're dreaming! The evidence of your murder is irrefutable! Give me back my son's life!"

Having said that, he tried to rush out of the barrier and use the extinguished fire stick to hit him.

Before they even reached the edge of the barrier, Bai Yuheng dragged them back.

"Hahahaha, that's ridiculous."

"You found your son's amulet next to him, and fearing he was involved in Gou Dan's death, you secretly hid it, didn't you?"

"No, no! You're talking nonsense!"

After a moment of silence, someone in the crowd weakly spoke up: "I...I saw it..."

“That day I went to look for Gou Dan too. I saw him secretly picking something up, but I didn’t pay any attention to it…”

"Yang Zhendong! You're talking nonsense!" Upon hearing this, the man's eyes widened in fury, as if he wanted to devour the speaker alive.

"Ridiculous! You really think you've done a good job of being discreet?" the cat demon sneered. "Your children, Gou Cai, Da Fu, Hu Zi, Xiao Tian'er, and Yu Wei! They saw that Gou Dan's trap caught a pheasant and wanted one too, but Gou Dan didn't want to give it to them. He only promised to teach them how to make traps..."

"But what about your sons! They've always loved to bully and oppress the weak, and they're used to being domineering. When Gou Dan refused, they slapped him, pinching and hitting him in places where no one else could see..."

"Give him a good beating!" Yu Wei kicked him hard on the head, angrily saying, "You son of a bitch! You'll learn your lesson for rejecting me!"

"Quickly strip him naked!" Yu Wei ordered. "It'll be much more satisfying to beat him after that!"

"Yes, boss!"

Naked and begging, Gou Dan cried out, "Brother Yu Wei, Brother Da Fu... I can't give you this chicken. My grandma is sick, and the doctor said she needs some nourishment!"

"I told you not to talk back! I told you not to talk back!"

"Did I tell you to speak?" Yu Wei coughed loudly, spitting phlegm into his face, and stomped on his cheek. "You son of a bitch, it's just one of your chickens! If you want it, can't you catch another one? And your old hag, she complained to my mother last time that I bullied you. Tell me! Did you say that?!"

"No, no, boohoo, it was...it was Grandma who saw the injuries on my body and guessed it herself..."

"Bullshit! You were the one who said it!" Tiger grinned and rubbed the soft ground under his feet. "Don't think we don't know, you haven't given us any food for days! Tell me! Did you steal some?"

"No, no..." "Looks like he's still not being honest. Beat him! Beat him to death! Beat him until he behaves!"

"Boss! He has a copper coin here!" Dog picked something up from a pile of torn pieces.

"Good heavens, they actually dared to hide money!?" Yu Wei kicked Gou Cai and reached out, "Give it to me."

"Here you go, boss." Dog presented it respectfully with both hands.

"Give it back to me!"

"Oh, you still have energy?" Yu Wei glanced at Hu Zi and Xiao Tian'er and sneered, "Looks like you haven't eaten. Is that all the strength you have?"

"Boss..."

"Tsk, coward."

"Quickly check if there's anything else good."

"We've lost our boss!" Tiger said.

"Tsk, just one copper coin isn't even enough for us brothers to share."

With a fawning smile, Dafu said, his chubby face puffed out, "I heard Gou Dan has sold a lot of pheasants and big fish lately, maybe you still have some at home."

"You're right, Dafu, you've been really on the right track lately," Yu Wei praised without reservation.

"Hehe, it's all thanks to the boss's excellent teaching!"

"Alright, stop flattering him. Tie him up. He's so uncooperative, he deserves to be punished!" Yu Wei pretended to think, looking at the defenseless Gou Dan, and said, "Hmm... since you like going into the mountains to hunt so much, why don't we just leave you there?"

Dog paused in tying Dog Egg's hands, then hesitated and said, "Boss, isn't this a bad idea? My mom said there are many wild beasts and monsters in the mountains that eat children!"

Yu Wei slapped him on the head.

Tiger, furious at his son's lack of ambition, said, "You idiot! Since he's so capable, capturing so many wild beasts and monsters as friends, why not keep him here and let them punish him..."

Yu Wei nodded in satisfaction and praised, "Tiger is still the one I like best."

Only a dog lowers its head and admits its mistake.

"Alright, let's split this pheasant together. Don't say I, as the eldest brother, don't care about you guys."

"The pheasant is mine!"

"Bang!"

A stone struck him squarely on the head, and a trickle of blood flowed down, obscuring half of his vision.

"I've put up with you long enough!"

Enraged by Yu Wei's actions, she slapped him hard this time, showing no mercy.

"...It is absolutely forbidden to use this to deceive or harm others; it can only be used to protect oneself."

The words his master had spoken echoed in his ears. After a moment of ringing in his ears, Gou Dan saw that the plump pheasant, the pheasant that should have been eaten by his grandmother, had been cut in half by them. Its intestines and internal organs were spilling out all over the ground, gray and smelly, and the stench of blood made him dizzy.

Master...

Your disciple has no intention of harming anyone; you must trust your disciple…

My disciple, I will apologize and accept punishment from you...

"This is outrageous! This is my grandmother's tonic!"

Bang!

The residual force sent them flying dozens of meters away.

"..."

The group was stunned.

"Cough cough..." Yu Wei coughed up a mouthful of blood, a murderous glint appearing in his fierce eyes. "What are you all standing there for! Beat him to death!"

...

"This half chicken leg belongs to Hu Zi, this wing belongs to Da Fu, and the other one belongs to Xiao Tian'er..." Yu Weiqing glanced at Gou Cai with a red face, "As for Gou Cai, you only have a chicken head. If I see you going easy on me again, I'll beat you up too!"

"Hehe, thanks a lot, boss!"

The dog lowered its head and took the broken chicken head. The colorful feathers on the chicken head gleamed, flashing past the person lying at the bottom of the cliff.

"ah!"

"What are you calling me!?"

"You dog, hurry up and catch up! Let's go back!"

"Oh! Coming right now!" The dog picked up the chicken head from the ground and ran over as fast as it could, as if a ghost was chasing it.

"Hurry up!"

"They're here!"

"You're not clever at all, you're just a dullard. I'm not taking you next time!"

"Hehe, I'm smart, boss! I'll do whatever you tell me to do! I'll always follow you, boss!"

"Tsk, what a flatterer..."

"Zhang Dafu, you're a bootlicker!"

"Let's go, let's hurry down the mountain! This ghost mountain is so eerie..."

"Hehe, we're getting meat for dinner tonight..."

"Follow the boss and you'll eat meat every day!"

"Hahaha, great! From now on, you'll be able to eat meat every day!"

"Thanks, boss!"

As dusk falls, mist fills the mountains and forests, birds chirp and insects hum, creating a vibrant scene.