Chapter 14: 14

Li Qingshan asked many questions, and the child answered all of them as if he did not know how to lie . He either nodded or shook his head, but he could only answer simple questions . Complicated questions would only leave him dazed .

When Li Qingshan asked for his name and where he came from, he shook his head for both of them . When he asked whether the witch was still hiding any tricks, the child stood there blankly .

Despite that, Li Qingshan managed to understand many things . The witch really was behind the childs death after all, refining him into a little ghost to serve her . Originally, he could speak as well, but the witch had fed him a bowl of medicinal soup that turned him into a mute .

Li Qingshan guessed that the witch had abducted this child and was afraid he would blabber along the way, so she had turned him into a mute . However, whenever he mentioned the witch, the childs face would become filled with fear .

Li Qingshan said gently, Dont worry, I wont harm you . I will kill that old hag and set you free .

Unknowingly, the child had approached Li Qingshan, and there was now attachment on his little raised head .

Li Qingshan revealed a comforting smile and wanted to touch his head, but Li Qingshans hand passed through his body, and he immediately froze .

The child became depressed, lowering his head and silently crying .

Li Qingshan suddenly felt sorrow well up inside . He roared at the sky . Why were there so many injustices in the world? When humans harmed each other, they were no less brutal than demons and monsters .

On the other hand, the child was stunned, looking at Li Qingshan in surprise .

Under the moonlight, the young man with unswerving determination actually had something sparkle at the corner of his eyes .

Li Qingshan mocked himself . Looks like men really shed no tears unless theyre grief-stricken . Ive embarrassed myself .

The child stood on his toes and extended his hand to touch Li Qingshans face . He removed a tear droplet and cradled it in both hands . It seemed rather heavy to him .

Dont take that! Li Qingshan turned red and suddenly understood the black oxs difficulties slightly . How could the tears of a man be handed to someone else so casually?

He thought of what the ox had said again . Weak ghosts were incorporeal . Only when they had cultivated to a certain degree could they gradually become tangible and lift real objects . With how weak this child was, he must have only been able to carry extremely light things .

The child only lowered his head and gazed at the transparent liquid in his hands .

Li Qingshan was helpless . He looked around and felt rather strange . Why had darkness descended at such a late time tonight? The landscape around the house was somewhat gloomy, but things were still clearly visible .

Li Qingshan muttered to himself, Brother ox really is a monster . His tears even have such miraculous usage .

Its late . I need to go to sleep . Because of you, I wasnt able to rest up properly last night . I still have things to do tomorrow . I need to recover my strength .

Li Qingshan returned to his house to sleep, while the child crouched down at the entrance . Under the moonlight, he was half-transparent, just like the tear droplet in his hands . Li Qingshan slept extremely heavily that night, only waking up when the sun was well and truly up . The child had already left, probably unwilling to move about during the day .

He washed his face and rinsed his mouth before practising the Ox Demons Fist of Great Strength a little . Then he picked up the thick steel blade he had received from Li Fugui, went through his thoughts, picked up a few pieces of gazelle meat, and left through the door .

The three scoundrels were currently sitting together with worried looks . With patch-haired Lius death, their group had lost its backbone . Their time in the village became tougher and tougher, and they were basically detested by everyone as lowlives .

They wanted to copy patch-haired Lius brutality or Li Qingshans viciousness, but how could they manage? Even filling their bellies became an immediate problem, let alone drinking alcohol and eating meat . They could only work for caretaker Liu and barely earn a meal to eat . They were nowhere close to having it as easy as before .

At this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly visited them . The three scoundrels went up to welcome him in a hurry . He had come with a frosty look, a blade in one hand and meat in the other, naturally giving off an aura of might . No one would look down on him just because of his age .

The voices of the three scoundrels eased up slightly as well, highly praising Li Qingshans actions during the day before yesterday .

Li Qingshan ignored these attempts to flatter him and put down the meat . There is something I must trouble you all with . The meat is the compensation, including for what you did last time .

Thatll be rude of us to accept it . Erlang, just say a word, and well do anything to carry it out . That was what the scoundrels said, but they accepted the meat in a hurry .

Just like last time, Li Qingshan said, Come with me! He turned around and left, but this time, there was no bravado . It was an absolute order . The three scoundrels did not to dare hesitate, following right behind his steps .

Li Qingshan borrowed some hoes and shovels from a nearby farmers home first before going to Li Fuguis house .

It just happened to be noon, around the time when the villagers had just finished their morning farmwork and were tidying up . They were all about to go home to eat . They saw Li Erlang, who just happened to be at the height of his fame in the village, leading three scoundrels to borrow tools . Who knows what he planned on doing, so they all followed behind him curiously . With that, basically the entire village had been alarmed .

They watched him arrive in front of Li Fuguis home and wondered whether he was going to punish that drunkard . How had the drunkard offended him? They all found this to be rather shameless . He was using his advantage in numbers to harass a pitiful man who had descended into depravity . This was a complete opposite to when he faced the village head and caretaker Liu in caretaker Lius home . One was defying oppression, while the other was harassing the weak .

However, the three scoundrels were very happy . I could tell a long time ago that this old drunkard is utterly worthless . They even slapped their chests and volunteered . Ill drag him out right now . It had been a long time since they could hold their heads up high . They were going to be making an example out of Li Fugui this time, beating him up in front of the crowd .

Li Qingshan glared at them and called out, Are you coming or not?

Just as everyone felt confused, Li Fugui rushed out of the house and gritted his teeth, I am!

His face was surprisingly sober, which astounded all the villagers . In the past, Li Fugui had always remained in a drunken stupor . Unbeknownst to them, after Li Qingshan left Li Fuguis house, the man had not taken a single sip of alcohol . He thought about and longed for what Li Qingshan had promised, but he never thought that Li Qingshan would come on the very next day .

With that, the villagers felt even more confused, and their interest was piqued as well .

Li Qingshan nodded . He walked at the front with his head held high, leading the group of people to the witchs brick house . He saw that the main entrance was tightly shut . Clearly, he had alarmed her already . Seeing this, he ordered the three rascals, Smash it open!The three scoundrels immediately became timid . There was not a single person in the village who did not fear the witch . Even when patch-haired Liu was around, they were never bold enough to offend her, and the house of brick and tiles that also served as a shrine had a mysterious, holy air around it . They had already lost count of just how many times they had heard of strange things happening there .

The other villagers saw how he was actually making trouble for the witch, and all of them erupted in an uproar as well .

Someone tried to persuade him, Erlang, dont mess around!

There was also someone absolutely terrified . Your disrespect to the gods will lead to retribution . He was a devout believer of the witch . If it were not for his fear of the blade in Li Qingshans hand, he might have come up and tried to reason with him .

Li Qingshan said nothing . With a bang, he kicked open the wooden door . The door panels that were as thick as an arm snapped into pieces, producing quite a loud sound and startling the villagers into silence .

Li Qingshan looked back and ordered the three scoundrels, Keep guard outside . Dont let anyone in .

The three scoundrels obliged reluctantly . At least they did not have to go in .

Li Qingshan stepped over the door sill and strode into the courtyard . He arrived before the entrance to the hall and was about to kick through the door .

The doors opened by themselves . It was clearly noon when the sun was dazzling, but it was a black mess inside . A cold, gloomy breeze blew over .

The witch wore brightly-coloured robes and sat on the altar, speaking with a different voice, Li Erlang, do you know your crimes?