Chapter 26 Life and Death "Ok?" Li Zeyuan saw Uncle Hui's face clearly and had an inexplicable intuition in his heart. He felt that he should have a more impressive contact with the porter. After searching his memory carefully, Li Zeyuan's face, which had already become more sinister, suddenly became even more ferocious. "Oh it's you!" Li Zeyuan suddenly realized why the statue had been inexplicably desecrated. He gritted his teeth, spoke to himself in a cold tone, and was filled with murderous intent. After that evening, there were only three people who were able to find an opportunity to desecrate the sculpture of twisted tree roots. One was Xiu Xiu, one was the lowly porter, and one was the instructor at the missionary academy who supported the lowly porter. Originally, Li Zeyuan placed his suspicion more on Xiuxiu and the teachers at the missionary academy. After all, although Xiuxiu doesn't have the ability to desecrate the statue of Wutongshen, Mo Yuhan, the eldest daughter of the Shahe Gang standing behind her, does.

The teachers at the missionary academy directly possess that ability. Li Zeyuan has made great progress in martial arts recently thanks to the feedback from the Wutongshen statue, but has only reached the eighth level, just touching the threshold of breaking through to the seventh level. His strength was not enough to support him to directly go after Mo Yuhan or the instructor of the missionary academy to settle the score. Therefore, in the past two days, Li Zeyuan was thinking about first following the instructions given by the Wutong God statue to find out the person who actually desecrated the Wutong God statue, and then sacrifice him alive according to the requirements. Then, with the help of the feedback from the re-enshrined statue of the Five Gods, he would improve his martial arts realm. After his strength surpassed that of Mo Yuhan and the instructor from the missionary academy, he would settle the account with those two! Li Zeyuan subconsciously never thought that it would be that humble but lucky porter who discovered and desecrated the statue of Wutong God without him noticing at all. Even though the porter had made him quite embarrassed at the time and made him bear a grudge against him, he wanted to eat his flesh alive! Now, it was confirmed that it was that lowly porter who had used some unknown means to desecrate the statue of Wutong God. Li Zeyuan immediately decided to settle the score with that lowly porter. Having just turned half of his body, Li Zeyuan stopped again. The lowly porter was now a formal student of the missionary college, had entered the sect, and had a trainer to look after him. If you go directly to the door, you may not survive. Not only will you have to sacrifice to that lowly porter, but you may also get yourself involved. "So, I have to find a way to lure him out." A fierce light flashed in Li Zeyuan's eyes. He turned around suddenly and looked grimly at Uncle Hui, who was wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat. An idea came to his mind. "Ho ho ho..." After some consideration and deciding that this idea should work, Li Zeyuan grinned, revealing a row of white teeth that shone with a cold light. When you hit a snake, hit it at its most vulnerable part; when you hit a person, hit him at his soft spot. Li Zeyuan believed that by doing this, he would be able to lure out the lowly porter. Even if we cannot make that lowly porter surrender, we can at least make him uneasy and reveal his flaws. Who made that lowly porter seem to be a loyal person with a weak spot that can be exploited? Thinking of this, Li Zeyuan lightly tapped his toes and swooped down like a black vulture. His figure blended into the wind and rain, following Uncle Hui silently all the way to Uncle Hui's home. "Boss, you're back. It's raining so hard. Fortunately, I brought a hat and a raincoat with me this morning, so I didn't get wet or cold."

In the small courtyard, the young aunt, who was not very beautiful but pretty and virtuous enough, came to greet Uncle Hui. While speaking caring words, she helped Uncle Hui take off his hat and raincoat. Jiaxuan and Minmin followed him out of the main room. Minmin held a basin of hot water in her hand with a towel on top. She called out sweetly, "Dad, wash your face." Jiaxuan held a bowl of steaming ginger tea and called out sweetly, "Dad, drink ginger tea to drive away the cold." Obviously, the virtuous aunt had predicted that it would rain heavily today, and not only did she ask Uncle Hui to wear a hat and a raincoat when he went out, she also prepared some strong ginger tea at home. "Okay!" Uncle Hui responded very happily, picked up the towel beside the basin, dipped it in hot water, wrung it dry, and wiped his head. After wiping, Uncle Hui took the ginger tea at just the right temperature, took a few sips, drank it, and returned the coarse pottery bowl to Jiaxuan. At this moment, Uncle Hui felt that he was the happiest person in the world. With a virtuous wife who manages the household well and well-behaved, sensible and filial children, what more could a husband ask for? I wouldn’t even trade it for the throne of emperor! "Jie Jie Jie..." After watching the warm moments of Uncle Hui's family for a while, Li Zeyuan confirmed that there was no threat here, so he stopped hiding and showed up, sneering sinisterly, "What a happy family! It's a pity that you will never enjoy this kind of happiness again. If you want to blame someone, blame it on you for meeting someone you shouldn't have met." Along with the sinister laughter, Li Zeyuan, who looked like a vulture, also fell. Without seeing him make any movement, just one glance caused the young aunt, who subconsciously protected Jiaxuan and Minmin behind her, to faint with her head tilted and completely lose consciousness. Uncle Hui’s reaction was not slow either. When his aunt went to protect Jiaxuan and Minmin, he subconsciously wanted to protect her behind him. Unfortunately, no matter how fast Uncle Hui's reaction and movements are, they are not as fast as Li Zeyuan's gaze. Uncle Hui was unable to protect his young aunt. He only managed to hug her to prevent her from falling heavily to the ground. Jiaxuan and Minmin were frightened by the sudden change, and they huddled together like two quails, not daring to move. Ping-pong-clang. The basin of water in Minmin's hand slipped down, making a chaotic noise. Jiaxuan was so frightened that he couldn't hold the coarse pottery bowl in his hand, and it fell heavily to the ground with a clang. The coarse pottery bowl was of very good quality and it did not break into pieces. It only had a few corners chipped off and rolled a few times on the wet ground before finally sinking into the mud in a puddle. Fortunately, Jiaxuan and Minmin did not scream even though they were frightened. Although the shouting might not necessarily be heard beyond this small courtyard and attract attention, it would most likely anger Li Zeyuan, who was in an extremely strange mood at the moment, and make Li Zeyuan do something unspeakable. "Xuanxuan, Minmin, stand behind daddy." After this incident, Uncle Hui was very frightened and his thighs began to tremble subconsciously, but he did not dare to forget his duties as a husband and a father. With one hand he hugged his wife, who was falling weakly, and with the other hand he held his two children and hid them behind him. When Jiaxuan and Minmin heard Uncle Hui's voice, they came back to their senses from their fear and daze. They followed Uncle Hui's instructions and hid behind him tremblingly, avoiding Li Zeyuan's gloomy gaze. "Tsk tsk tsk..." Li Zeyuan, who was like a vulture, exclaimed, "Good! Good! What a loving couple! What a loving pair of parents!"

While exclaiming in amazement, Li Zeyuan also clapped his hands vigorously. When he showed up, he deliberately did not emit his own aura to intimidate Uncle Hui and Young Aunt, which allowed Uncle Hui and Young Aunt, two ordinary people, to react in time and take action. Otherwise, Li Zeyuan, who is already an eighth-grade ultimate martial arts practitioner, would be able to completely shock Uncle Hui's family with his own blood and aura without showing up. Not to mention taking any action, even wanting to breathe requires Li Zeyuan's consent. This is why successive emperors of the Dayong Dynasty all followed the policies formulated by Emperor Taizu and continued to invest great energy and cost in protecting the grassroots people. There is a huge gap between ordinary people and monks. Comparing the two is like comparing the chickens in a chicken coop to the farmer who owns the chicken coop. Whether the chicken lives or dies depends on the farmer's thoughts. "Li... Manager Li..." Uncle Hui then finally recognized the person who suddenly broke into the house and made his wife lose consciousness with just one glance. It turned out to be Li Zeyuan, the wharf manager of the Shahe Gang! Uncle Hui hesitated for a long time with his tongue trembling, and finally said it clearly: "Manager Li, if I have offended you in any way, come at me. You can even kill me! I only ask you to let my wife and children go!" As he spoke, Uncle Hui squatted down, first gently placed his wife on the ground, then his knees softened and he knelt down. Bang, bang, bang, bang... After kneeling down, Uncle Hui burst into tears and begged bitterly: "Manager Li, please spare my wife and children! Please spare my wife and children! They are innocent! They are all ordinary people and pose no threat to you! They cannot cause any impact! Please give them a way out! Please give them a way out!" In the short period of hesitation just now, Uncle Hui, who is never stupid, has figured it out. No matter who came to Li Zeyuan or what they wanted to do, as an ordinary person, he had no room for resistance. All he could do was kneel down, kowtow and beg for mercy! By doing this, perhaps he could give his wife and children a glimmer of hope. Even if the hope is extremely slim, you must do it. As he kowtowed hard and repeatedly, a large cut quickly appeared on Uncle Hui's forehead, and blood kept flowing, sliding down his cheek into his neck and into his chest. It also falls on the ground, in the mud and water, in the wind and rain. Soon, a bright red blood stain appeared. Li Zeyuan remained silent, just stood there with a gloomy temperament, his eyes cold and indifferent, looking at Uncle Hui who was kowtowing and begging for mercy as if he were an ant, and looking at Jiaxuan and Minmin who were scared like two quails. Uncle Hui's heart suddenly tightened and he became more frightened when he didn't get a response from Li Zeyuan. And more resentment! I hate myself for being just an ordinary person! I hate myself for not having the ability to protect my wife and children when faced with misfortune! Uncle Hui suddenly remembered the two sentences his friend said before he left. "I want to change my way of life." "Goodbye, Uncle Hui." It turns out that the way of life that Tiezi doesn't want to continue is this kind of cowardly way of life where his life and death are controlled by others and he has no control over his own destiny! It turns out that Tiezi was not only saying goodbye to him, but also to the powerlessness of having no control over life and death!

But what’s the point of figuring this out now? Uncle Hui started to feel sorry for himself. Even if he wanted to change his way of life now, it was too late! Whether he, his wife, and his children live or die depends on Li Zeyuan's thoughts! But based on the changes in Li Zeyuan during this period, and based on the way Li Zeyuan now looks at their family, Uncle Hui absolutely doesn't believe that Li Zeyuan will let them go in the end! Being able to die quickly is a luxury. I was afraid that Li Zeyuan had practiced some evil magic to torture them! Or even kill them! Let them suffer before death, have no peace after death, and never be reborn! Thinking of this, Uncle Hui kowtowed even harder and his words of begging for mercy became even more mournful. He had no choice but to do this. Jiaxuan and Minmin looked at their mother lying on the ground, not knowing whether she was alive or dead, and their father kneeling on the ground and kowtowing and begging for mercy, and they became even more frightened. Tears rolled down like short strings of pearls. Fortunately, they clenched their teeth hard and did not cry out no matter how scared or terrified they were. "Tsk tsk tsk..." Li Zeyuan sighed again. He twisted his neck, opened his arms, stretched himself, and an evil and terrifying aura emanated from his whole body. Like a demon crawling out of hell. It also looked like a bloody python that was ready to bite someone. "Get up, don't kneel, I promise you." Li Zeyuan stretched out his body lazily and said casually, "Don't worry, I won't kill you, nor will I kill your wife and children." As he spoke, Li Zeyuan took a few steps forward and personally helped up Uncle Hui, who was trembling even more violently. Then he patted Uncle Hui on the shoulder and said in a gentle and polite manner, "As long as you go to the missionary house quietly, without attracting anyone's attention, and call that person..." Li Zeyuan paused, tilted his head and thought carefully for a while, then continued: "Call out that porter named Tao and bring him to your house, and I will definitely release your whole family. But..." Having said that, Li Zeyuan paused again, walked around Uncle Hui, came to Jiaxuan and Minmin, and squatted down. Looking at the two children, Li Zeyuan's gloomy face actually showed a warm smile, and then he said in a very gentle voice: "Hey my...what are you afraid of? Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! After all, I...don't eat people." As soon as he said the word "人", Li Zeyuan grinned, revealing a row of white teeth that shone with a cold light. But the neat and white teeth didn’t seem so clean, and there were a few blood-red threads of flesh hidden between the teeth. Pfft! Uncle Hui, who had just been helped up by Li Zeyuan, knelt down again and kowtowed. This time, Uncle Hui did not beg for mercy. Everything is silent. "Scared?" Li Zeyuan, who was half squatting on the ground, turned around and faced Uncle Hui. His voice suddenly became gloomy, "Since you are afraid, you must do what I say, understand? Otherwise..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zeyuan reached back with his left hand, grabbed Minmin's neck, and stood up. His right hand swung along with the momentum, and it seemed that the movement was unintentionally a little larger. With a "pa" sound, it hit Jiaxuan's chest hard. puff…… Jiaxuan didn't react at all. He flew backwards like a football that was hit by a powerful volley and hit the wall hard, leaving a dent and his body stuck in it. He opened his mouth subconsciously and a large amount of blood spurted out. "Dad...I...I'm sick..." Suddenly, Jiaxuan was hit hard, and his lips trembled, and he cried out and groaned silently. But before he could even utter the word "pain" he passed out in shock. If he hadn't received timely treatment, he would have died immediately. Li Zeyuan just wanted to put an obedient collar on Uncle Hui and didn't want to kill him right now. He casually sent out a wisp of martial arts energy and saved Jiaxuan's life. "Run! Run to the missionary house as fast as you can!" "If Tao doesn't show up in two quarters of an hour, your son will die." "Also, if he had dared to bring the missionary instructor with him, your wife and your son might not have died." "But your daughter will definitely die!" After saying these harsh words, Li Zeyuan pinched Minmin, who had begun to roll her eyes, with one hand, and his figure suddenly disappeared. "what!!!" Uncle Hui stood up from the ground and let out a heart-wrenching howl like a wounded beast. After taking a deep look at his wife lying on the ground, unknown whether she was dead or alive, and at his son who was trapped in a recess in the wall, breathing more than he was breathing in, Uncle Hui turned around abruptly, ran out of the house, and ran into the storm. The only one who can save them now is Tao Tie! Uncle Hui has no choice! (End of this chapter)