Chapter 155: Jinjiang First Launch

The vines that were wrapped around her all loosened, and she shook her wrist. The Soul-Severing Sword in her hand became shiny all over, crackling with lightning. Seeing that the situation was not right, Master Taixuan turned around and left. Bai Mian would not let him escape, and he picked up the sword and chased after him.

Master Taixuan ran towards the cave entrance, but Bai Mian slashed him in the back of the neck with his sword. This time his head fell to the ground, and dark green blood spurted out from the wound like a fountain. Bai Mian's sword borrowed the power of heaven and directly cut off Master Taixuan's lifelong cultivation. His spiritual energy dissipated, and he turned into a mortal body and died soon after.

After he died, Bai Mian swung his sword to pick up his body and threw him into a bonfire nearby. As soon as his blood came into contact with it, a raging fire started. His body and head quickly turned into charcoal in the flames, and there was no possibility of resurrection.

After killing Master Taixuan, Bai Mian handed over the Soul-Slaying Sword in his hand, ready to return it to the system, but this time the Soul-Slaying Sword did not disappear, and the voice of the system rang in the air:

"Congratulations, host - you have passed the initial test on the road to immortality. Due to the special nature of this mission, the system has awarded you an extra 100 points of good karma. You have received a total of 130 points of good karma today. The current good karma value is: 530."

Bai Mian then understood that Taixuan Zhenren was the test set by the Heaven for her. Taixuan Zhenren had been entrenched in the mortal world and doing evil for many years, and she should have been taken away by the Heaven long ago. But the Heaven had kept him until now just to test whether Bai Mian had a firm faith in the Tao. Only after Bai Mian passed this test could she continue on the path of cultivating immortals. If Bai Mian was deceived by Taixuan Zhenren's words and became a member of the evil cultivators, she would probably be taken away by the Heaven together with Taixuan Zhenren.

The system continued, "Congratulations on unlocking the magic weapon - the Soul-Severing Sword. This sword is made of the Stone of Creation. It is three feet six inches long and emerald green. It can kill immortals and demons. It is a magic weapon you have had since heaven. Now it has been returned to its original owner. I hope the host will make good use of it."

At last, the system's voice disappeared. Bai Mian carefully examined the sword in her hand. Although she had not yet awakened her memory of heaven, this sword gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity. She touched the hilt, and then placed the sword around her waist. The sword then turned into a green waist rope, tied firmly around her waist.

After the fire was extinguished, Bai Mian took back the golden talisman and released the children. Perhaps the effect of the drug had worn off, and the children woke up one after another, looking at the scene in front of them and started crying. Bai Mian hurriedly called the police and asked the police who had been waiting outside to come in.

After the police rescued the children, Bai Mian stayed in the palace and searched carefully, not leaving out any inch of ground. Sure enough, she heard a weak shout from under the ruins: "Hey, is there anyone? I'm here..."

Bai Mian cooperated with the police to dig up the rubble. Underneath was Cripple Brother who had been transformed into the appearance of a child. Bai Mian had thought of it early on. Since Master Taixuan had transformed into the appearance of Cripple Brother, he must have hidden the real Cripple Brother. Cripple Brother was just a mortal and posed no threat to Master Taixuan. He could keep Cripple Brother as a bargaining chip, so Cripple Brother should still be alive and nearby.

Now the mission is over. Bai Mian untied the illusion spell, and she and Que Ge returned to their original appearance. The police fed Que Ge some water, and Que Ge quickly recovered his strength. He was not seriously injured, but he was hit on the back of the head, so he was a little dizzy and couldn't remember what happened just now.

The police took everyone back to the police station. Since the case happened in the neighboring city, the Qingshui Town police needed to conduct a joint investigation with the neighboring city police. They have already registered these children and will send them home soon.

It was already late at night when they walked out of the police station. Bai Mian was walking on the street. Lame Brother followed behind her, lowering his head and saying embarrassedly, "Hey, I'm so sorry, I couldn't help you this time and held you back. I thought I could protect you, but I didn't expect that I was so weak. I was dragged away as soon as I entered the cave. I don't know who hit me on the back of the head, and I passed out..."

Bai Mian smiled and said, "It's okay. I was the one who insisted on taking you there. This matter has nothing to do with you. By the way, it's so late now. Are you hungry?"

"Ah?" Lame Brother was stunned, touched his stomach, and then laughed, "I'm a little hungry. I didn't eat properly last night."

Bai Mian pointed to a night market in front of him and said, "Let's go and have some barbecue. I'll treat you."

Lame Brother quickly declined: "It's not nice to ask you to treat me. Forget it, I'd better go home. I still have leftovers in my refrigerator..."

Bai Mian crossed his arms and said, "Why? We've been through life and death together, and you won't even give me this little bit of face?"

Lame Brother couldn't refuse anymore, so he had to follow Bai Mian into the night market. The two of them found a barbecue stall and sat down, ordering some skewers and beer. Influenced by the lively atmosphere of the night market, Lame Brother couldn't help but drink a glass of beer. As soon as the beer went down his stomach, he fell on the table.

A smile appeared at the corner of Bai Mian's lips. She remembered that Lame Brother was a person who got drunk easily after drinking one glass of wine. This time, she called him out to carry out the mission just to check his pulse while he was drunk. Bai Mian wanted to see what the secret was that he refused to tell her.

Bai Mian stretched out two fingers and placed them on Que Ge's pulse, and saw a surprising past. After seeing it, Bai Mian was silent for a long time. The skewers on the table gradually cooled down. Until most people in the night market had left, Bai Mian woke up Que Ge and took a taxi to send him home.

After returning to Ci Xin Hall, Master and his wife had already fallen asleep. Bai Mian walked up the stairs quietly, washed up quickly, lay on the bed, picked up his mobile phone, and browsed the local news.

According to news reports, at around 9:10 pm, the police received a report from a resident who claimed to have seen a little boy being slashed on the street. The police immediately rushed to the scene and sent the boy to the hospital for emergency treatment. After the rescue, the boy was no longer in danger, but his face was severely disfigured. After investigation, it was learned that the boy's name was Yuan Xiaoshuai, a third-grade elementary school student, and the man who slashed him was named Huo Gu, a mentally disabled person. The two parties were suspected to have had conflicts before, and the police are continuing to investigate...

After reading the news, Bai Mian put down his phone. Although Huo Gu was a mentally retarded person, he also had basic emotions. After he was released, he learned the whole story from his neighbors. He knew that he was arrested because of a rumor video made by a little boy, so he developed resentment towards Yuan Xiaoshuai.

At nine o'clock in the evening, after his parents had fallen asleep, Huo Gu entered Yuan Xiaoshuai's residential area with a kitchen knife and hid in the bushes nearby to wait for Yuan Xiaoshuai. At ten past nine, Yuan Xiaoshuai went downstairs to take out the trash, and Huo Gu rushed up with the kitchen knife, cutting both sides of Yuan Xiaoshuai's mouth, turning him into a "cleft-mouthed man."

Bai Mian let out a long sigh. In the last phone call, she had tried to warn Yuan Xiaoshuai to be careful of becoming a "gap-mouthed man". If Yuan Xiaoshuai had really listened to her words at that time, he might have been able to escape this disaster. However, he was arrogant and did not listen to anyone's warnings. The current outcome was his own fault.

Bai Mian placed his phone next to his pillow, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, as soon as Bai Mian walked down the stairs, he smelled the aroma of bread in the air. It turned out that the old couple went to the supermarket last night and bought a toaster. Now Gao Jin was trying it out. She was baking red bean bread today. Bai Mian went over and tasted a piece. The bread was soft and fluffy with a light milky aroma. There were a lot of sweet red beans, and it tasted like home.

Xia Mang and Lu Xue sat down at the dining table early. The two girls held bread in one hand and milk in the other, and stuffed their cheeks so full that they looked like two hamsters.

Just as Bai Mian was about to sit down, he heard a polite greeting from outside the door: "Hello, is Cao Yuhan here?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a thin, pretty woman speaking. She was wearing a red dress and holding a bag. She was standing nervously outside the door, as if she wanted to come in.

"Cao Yuhan? There's no such person in the store!" Xia Mang answered loudly, "You got the wrong person, right?"

"No," Bai Mian corrected in a low voice, "Cao Yuhan is Lame Brother."

"Oh," Xia Mang took a sip of milk, "I always see you guys calling him Cripple Brother, and no one has ever called him by his real name, so I didn't know his real name was this."

Weng Xuhua looked at the woman and asked cautiously, "Who are you and what do you want to see him about?"

The woman seemed a little shy: "Well... I came here after watching the live broadcast. I have some private matters to discuss with him."

"Wow——" Xia Mang looked at the woman in surprise, "I didn't expect that Lame Brother also has fans. If he knew, he would definitely be very happy. But he is not here now, and it is not yet time to go to work!"

Weng Xuhua put down his breakfast, stood up, opened the door for the woman, and let her in: "Since you are here to see him, then come in and wait. He usually comes early. I don't know why he is late today."

The woman thanked him and sat on a chair in the store, looking out the window continuously. She had no intention of talking to anyone in the store. Although everyone was full of curiosity, they had no choice but to endure it.

At 8:30 in the morning, Weng Xuhua officially opened the store door. The patients and fans waiting outside the door rushed in, blocking the woman's figure.

At 8:35, Cripple finally arrived. He was drunk yesterday and got home too late, so he didn't hear the alarm this morning and overslept. He opened the door and said, "Boss, do I have breakfast?"

Weng Xuhua smiled and said yes, while secretly signaling him with his eyes. Lame Brother did not understand Weng Xuhua's hint. He walked to the dining table, took a few slices of red bean bread, and started eating.

"Cao Yuhan."

He was eating vigorously when he heard a gentle call from behind. Hearing the voice, Lame Brother seemed to be struck by lightning. He stopped eating, the piece of bread in his hand fell to the ground, and he was frozen in place.

Seeing that he refused to turn around, the woman prepared to walk towards him. As soon as she took a step, he ran away, hid in the bathroom, and locked the door.

Xia Mang ate the watermelon while muttering, "Why is he so scared? Is it because the creditor is here? But I see that woman is dressed so elegantly, she doesn't look like a debt collector."

Weng Xuhua and Gao Jin also put down their work and stood together to watch the excitement. The woman walked to the bathroom door, knocked on it, and said softly:

"I'm Xu Hongdou, do you remember me?"

Xia Mang's eyes widened and she poked her sister: "Listen, this is an old acquaintance. I didn't expect that lame brother, who looks so frightened, actually has an old lover!"

The trembling voice of Lame Brother came from behind the door: "I don't know you, you've got the wrong person!"

He stubbornly refused to come out, and Xu Hongdou stubbornly stood in front of the door and refused to leave. The two of them argued, and finally Weng Xuhua spoke:

"I'm telling you, don't keep blocking the toilet door. There are so many patients here, and you never know who will need to go to the toilet. Please get out of the toilet quickly."

Since Weng Xuhua said so, Lame Brother couldn't hide any longer. He pushed open the door and walked out dejectedly. Everyone was surprised to find that his face was red all the way to his ears. Several onlookers who were watching the excitement couldn't help but laugh.

Xu Hongdou looked at his face and asked, "What's wrong with you? It's obviously you, but you insist on saying that I have the wrong person."

Lame brother lowered his head and said, "Oh, I am not doing well, I just don't want you to see that my classmates are now officials, bosses, and the cars they drive are better than the others, but I am the only one who has not achieved anything."

Xu Hongdou: "Don't say that. Ordinary life is also a kind of happiness. We haven't seen each other for many years. Later, I wanted to look for you, but I couldn't find you no matter how hard I looked. It was only when I accidentally saw this live broadcast room that I knew you were here."

Lame Brother scratched his head and remembered that although the live broadcast room later filmed the wrist of the host, his face was indeed filmed on the first day of the broadcast. Xu Hongdou should have watched the replay of the first day's live broadcast.

The two looked at each other and seemed a little awkward, so they immediately looked away. Lame brother greeted: "Long time no see, how have you been these years?"

Xu Hongdou smiled faintly: "Not bad, I learned a skill, how about you?"

Lame Brother shook his head again: "I'll be like that, the old way. By the way, you haven't been back for many years, right? Qingshui Town has changed a lot now. The streets and shops are different from before. Have you gone shopping?"

Xu Hongdou shook her head, and Lame Brother immediately said, "Then I'll take you for a walk?"

After he finished speaking, he remembered that he had to go to work today, so he looked at Weng Xuhua for help. Weng Xuhua smiled and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. You don't have to go to work today. You old classmates haven't seen each other for a long time. It's time to catch up."

Lame Brother suddenly became cocky. He waved his hand and said to Xu Hongdou, "Come on, go outside and take my car. I'll take you for a walk!"

"Which car?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"Electric car——"

Lame Brother found a helmet and threw it to Xu Hongdou, and the two of them walked out together.

As soon as they left, the store went crazy with gossip. Gao Jin was curious and discussed the matter crazily with the two girls. Weng Xuhua said with relief: "Don't be impatient. When the time comes, everything will come."

Since Lame Brother had left, Bai Mian had to open the lottery machine himself today. The lottery machine still produced three lucky guests. The first winner was a tall and strong woman. She walked to the table and sat down, and said:

"Master, I can't wait any longer. I don't have time."

Bai Mian immediately asked: "What problem did you encounter?"

The woman said, "My name is Chen Xinyun, and I'm a fitness coach. But I'm not here to consult about my own problems today, but to consult for my mother."

"My mother's name is Yin Youfu. She is 60 years old and is from the countryside. She and my father worked hard all their lives to support me to go to school in the town. After I graduated from college, I chose to return to Qingshui Town to work and be with my parents. Two years ago, my father passed away. At the beginning of this year, my mother had a cerebral infarction. She spoke unclearly and her hands began to tremble."

"I sent her to the hospital and took a long vacation to stay with her. During her hospitalization, my mother witnessed the death of the patient in the next bed. She seemed to realize that her condition was very dangerous. Then she kept looking at me, as if she had something to say. Later, I persuaded her to say whatever she wanted to say. No matter what she wanted, I would try my best to help her realize it."

"So she said, and because she couldn't speak clearly, she had to say it many times before I could understand her - she wanted me to help her find her first love."

After hearing this, Bai Mian and the two girls became interested. Bai Mian asked, "What exactly happened? Please tell me in detail."

Chen Xinyun said: "My mother told me that she and my father were together because of an arranged marriage. Although they had a good relationship over the years, there was no love between them. My mother's heart was always in love with a classmate from her school days. That classmate also liked her very much. They were each other's first love."

"My mother wanted to marry her first love, but her family disagreed. I guess it was probably because of the gift. You know, in rural areas, the gift is the most important thing. Marrying a daughter goes to the highest bidder. My father paid more, so my family married my mother to him. She has been unhappy for so many years. Not being able to marry her first love is the biggest regret in her life."

"So many years have passed, my parents have come to the town to work, and my first love has long left the countryside. She doesn't have any contact information for her first love, but she wants me to help her find her first love. She is afraid that her health is not good and she can't leave the hospital. She wants to see her first love again before she dies."

"I asked her the name of her first love, and she only said two words - Bai Yang. She told me to go find Bai Yang, but when I went back to the village to ask around, I found that there was no classmate named Bai Yang in my mother's class. But my return to the village was not without gain. Someone gave me a graduation photo of their class that year, and all the classmates were on it."

Chen Xinyun said, taking out the graduation photo. Xia Mang continued, "It's not easy to do with the photo. Why don't you show the photo to your mother and let her point out which one is your first love?"

Chen Xinyu sighed, "If only it could point! I've only been back to the village for two days this time. The nurse started arguing with my mother because I didn't keep an eye on her. My mother got so angry that she had another cerebral infarction. Now she's lying in the hospital and has been in a coma for a day and a night. The doctor said it would be best to find something highly stimulating for her so that she might be able to wake up. If my mother doesn't wake up this time, maybe, maybe she'll never wake up..."

Chen Xinyun started to cry, Xia Mang hurriedly apologized for what she had just said, Bai Mian nodded, and understood what Chen Xinyun meant: "So you want me to help you find this first love, and then you want to bring your first love to your mother's bedside to wake her up?"