dmims Chapter 76.5 The Bandit's Tomb
Chapter 76.5 The Bandit's Tomb
"Youkai! Youkai!!!"
Old Song let out a strange cry and fell straight off his horse.
He then disregarded his injuries and scrambled away from Zhuge Yan.
"monster?"
Zhuge Yan finally spoke, his voice clear and melodious, exceptionally distinct in the night breeze of the valley.
"The character '巽' (xùn) means 'wind rope'."
As Zhuge Yan finished speaking, the next second, all the bandits' limbs seemed to be bound by invisible ropes, and they were all suspended in mid-air.
"A monster!!!"
"Boss, help!"
"Mom, I don't want to die!"
……
Hearing the bandits' wailing and lamenting, Zhuge Yan frowned slightly.
"So noisy..."
With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind rushed into the mouths of the bandits, and the world instantly returned to peace.
He paused slightly, his gaze returning to the bandit leader Song Laowai's face, which was contorted with extreme fear.
"You killed Wang Dashan, and that is the cause and effect between you and him. It has nothing to do with me."
But your sneak attack on me just now was the cause, and now, that is the effect.
Zhuge Yan's tone remained calm, yet it struck the hearts of every bandit like a heavy hammer.
"Waaaaah!!!"
Song Laowai kept sobbing, and seeing that the other party had some last words, Zhuge Yan simply fulfilled his last wish.
"Any last words?"
"Grandpa! Spare us! We were law-abiding citizens, but the world was so hard, we had no other way to survive, so we were forced to become outlaws!"
"Oh...what does it have to do with me?"
Upon hearing this, Song Laowai was immediately taken aback.
No, why is this kid not playing by the rules?
You're playing the role of a champion of justice, shouldn't you soften your heart and feel compassion when you see me begging for mercy?
"I know it's not your fault that you became outlaws; the fault lies with this world that forces people to eat each other."
No! Could it be... there's still hope?!
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Old Song nodded frantically in agreement, trying to seize this last glimmer of hope.
"Very well, since you think it's perfectly acceptable to 'eat' those who are weaker than you, then it's obvious that I'm stronger than you."
Now that I've 'eaten' you, you shouldn't have any complaints either, right?
After saying that, a harmless smile appeared on Zhuge Yan's lips.
"Wait...no! Hold on! You f***ing..."
Song Laowai suddenly realized something was wrong, but it was too late; Zhuge Yan's foot had already gently landed on the ground.
The character 坤 (kūn) is composed of the radical 土 (tǔ) and the radical 河 (hé).
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Centered on him, the ground within a radius of tens of meters seemed to instantly come alive!
Countless cracks of varying sizes and shapes suddenly appeared without any apparent pattern!
The soil churned, rocks crumbled, and the ground began to violently undulate, collapse, and twist!
The piercing screams, the mournful neighing of horses, and the desperate roars instantly filled the air!
As Zhuge Yan untied the ropes binding them, the bandits fell into the suddenly appearing crevice abyss like dumplings being dropped into a pot, instantly swallowed up and buried alive by the surging waves of earth!
The entire mountain path was transformed into a living hell in an instant!
In just a few breaths, the fifteen bandits who had been so aggressive just moments before, along with their horses, all disappeared into the rapidly changing terrain.
The screams abruptly ceased, leaving only the dull thuds of earth and rocks being squeezed and rubbed together, along with the heavy stench of blood and dust filling the air.
The mountain wind howled, dispersing some of the smoke and dust.
Zhuge Yan stood quietly on the mountain path, which had regained its "peace," as moonlight once again bathed him.
He slowly raised his eyes, turned his head to look at the quiet little village not far away, and his eyes regained their usual gentleness and calmness.
It was as if the ruthless and efficient killing had never happened.
"I forgot to ask their names. Oh well, I'll just write something down."
The tomb of fifteen bandits.
After doing all this, Zhuge Yan clapped his hands and turned to return to the village.
But just then, a figure appeared silently on the side of the mountain path not far behind him.
It was Lu Jin.
"Junior Brother Yan!"
"Why are you out here too?"
"Master said you've run into trouble, so he sent me out to help you."
Lu Jin began to explain.
"What happened? What exactly happened?"
"It's nothing, just a few petty thieves."
Zhuge Yan shook his head and didn't say anything more.
"A petty thief?"
Lu Jin frowned and gave Zhuge Yan a strange look.
"It's alright, let's go back. I haven't finished the divination for that woman yet..."
After saying that, without waiting for Lu Jin's response, Zhuge Yan walked back on his own.
"So mysterious... Do all you warlocks like to only say half of what you mean? Hey, wait for me!"
……
A moment later, Zhuge Yan returned to the woman's house.
He did not hide the news of her husband Wang Dashan's death, but told the woman directly.
"Sister-in-law, the divination indicates that Brother Wang has met with misfortune. It happened in a mountain valley in the northwest, probably two days ago."
Upon hearing this, the main room fell into a deathly silence.
The crackling sound of firewood in the stove was particularly jarring.
The woman's face drained of color instantly. She blinked blankly, her lips trembling, before managing a smile that looked worse than crying and was extremely forced.
"Little...little Taoist priest, what...what did you say?"
My family's mountain... he... he's very strong, those wild animals in the mountains can't hurt him...
"You...you're kidding me, right? Aren't you?"
Her gaze was fixed on Zhuge Yan, with an almost humble plea, as if hoping to see a hint of unease on his face that "this is a joke."
However, Zhuge Yan simply looked at her quietly, his deep black eyes showing no mockery, no pity, only a stillness like a stagnant pool.
This calm was like a cold awl, instantly piercing the woman's last shred of self-deception.
"No...that's impossible! You're lying! You're cheating!"
The woman screamed suddenly, her voice sharp and piercing with extreme fear and despair.
The little boy in her arms was terrified by his mother's scream and cried loudly, his little hands tightly clutching his mother's clothes.
"My man won't die! He promised he'd come back! He said he'd bring back a pheasant for Tiger!"
The woman's tears flowed like a burst dam.
She pointed at Zhuge Yan, her fingers trembling violently with anger and sorrow, her voice hoarse.
"Get out! Get out of here! You liar, you're not allowed to curse my man like that!"
She completely lost her mind, grabbed a rough earthenware bowl from the table, and smashed it hard at Zhuge Yan!
Lu Jin reacted quickly, stepping forward and easily pushing the bowl aside, causing it to shatter on the muddy ground.
He frowned, feeling both saddened by the woman's plight and displeased by her indiscriminate accusations and attacks.