"Heh heh, Sister Yan Hong, I see a hint of misfortune on your face. Seems like you might encounter some bad luck soon. Want me to feel your bones and ward off disaster for you?"
Located at the base of Wolong Mountain, Wolong Village was now witnessing a young man, around eighteen or nineteen, grinning mischievously as he sized up a woman in her mid-twenties, his eyes rolling lecherously over her body.
"Pah, pah, pah, Wu Xiaoshan, can't you keep your damn mouth to something virtuous? It's you who's got the omen of doom, and it's a bloody disaster at that!"
Hearing Wu Xiaoshan's words, Li Yanhong, with hands on hips, cursed back, "You think I don't know what little skills and thoughts you're harboring? Scram, you little brat, or wait till my man Pillar comes back, then you'll be in for it."
Seeing Li Yanhong's fiery temper, Wu Xiaoshan gave an awkward laugh, shrank his neck, and snorted dismissively, "Believe it or not, think Young Master here is bluffing. That loser of yours, Pillar? I could take two of him with one arm behind my back!"
Despite his tough talk, Wu Xiaoshan still scurried away with his tail between his legs.
Wu Xiaoshan was an orphan taken in by an old village sage.
The old man claimed to be half a sage but was really just an old charlatan.
Yet, the old man's skills at swindling were far superior to what the young Wu Xiaoshan possessed.
Over the years, with his trickery, he lived comfortably in Wolong Village, and after the old man passed on, Wu Xiaoshan was utterly out of a livelihood.
To make a living, he often resorted to petty thefts like stealing chickens and dogs.
There was no helping it; he was truly desperate with hunger.
However, Wu Xiaoshan always kept a mental note of whose property he had stolen, believing he would one day make it big and repay them all twofold.
As the sun set and an evening breeze whisked by, it lent a coolness to the night in Wolong Village.
"Gurgle gurgle."
Wu Fan touched his belly and cursed irritably, "Damn it, can't you hold out a little longer? Didn't we just eat roasted sweet potatoes at noon?"
With that said, Wu Xiaoshan turned back, planning to finish off the leftover roasted sweet potatoes from lunch.
"Ah..."
He had hardly taken a few steps when he heard a woman's cry.
Hearing this, Wu Xiaoshan sneered contemptuously, "Damn it, what time is it to be stirring up this mess? It's shameless, totally shameless."
But glancing at the neighboring house, his brow furrowed.
That's not right, isn't that Sister Yu Feng's place?
Qin Yufeng was notoriously fetching, a widowed beauty in Wolong Village. With her curvaceous figure, she was the dream of many rough men in the village.
In the ten miles around Wolong Village, she was known as a great beauty.
Of course, Wu Xiaoshan was no exception; he had his mind on Qin Yufeng more than once.
But it wasn't just because of her looks that Wu Xiaoshan fancied Qin Yufeng; more importantly, she was the only one in Wolong Village who looked up to Wu Xiaoshan.
However, over the years, Qin Yufeng had kept to herself, and no rumors or gossip had ever surfaced about her.
Thinking that the goddess of his heart was with another man was unbearable for Wu Xiaoshan.
He turned to leave but ultimately could not overcome his curiosity.
He wanted to see just who the lucky dog was who had caught Sister Yu Feng's fancy.
Creeping up to Qin Yufeng's doorway, Wu Xiaoshan intended to peek through the crack, but to his surprise, the door was open.
"Beast, so eager? Can't even bother to close the door?" Wu Xiaoshan gritted his teeth, filled with both hatred and jealousy.
"Animal, get off, if you don't leave, I'm calling for help."
Just as Wu Xiaoshan was feeling somewhat distressed, Qin Yufeng's voice suddenly came from the inner room.
"Heh heh, call for help? Go ahead! You could break your throat yelling, but no one's going to come save you!"
A middle-aged man leered at Qin Yufeng, licked his lips, and with her shriek, he pinned her to the ground.
With a "rrrip," the crisp sound of fabric tearing, Qin Yufeng's decent blouse was ripped open, revealing her pale skin...
Standing outside the door, Wu Xiaoshan witnessed the scene and finally came to his senses, roaring furiously, "Beast, how dare you bully Sister Yu Feng, I'll kill you for that!"
At first, Wu Xiaoshan thought Qin Yufeng had taken up with someone else, which made his heart ache, but knowing now that the man wasn't Qin Yufeng's lover, he felt an unexpected surge of joy.
But that joy was quickly replaced by rage.
Thinking about how the woman he desired had almost been defiled by another man, Wu Xiaoshan grew angrier and angrier and rushed into the room to punch the man in the back.
The man winced with pain and stepped back guiltily, but upon seeing that it was Wu Xiaoshan, he became angry out of humiliation and bellowed, "You little bastard, you dare to meddle in my business? Do you have a death wish?!"
"Director? How... how is it you?"
The man was the village director, Zhang Dabao, who had bullied Wu Xiaoshan on many occasions. Now that he knew the identity of the other party, he felt naturally intimidated by the past authority of Zhang Dabao.
"Fuck your mother!"
Zhang Dabao roared and picked up a wooden stool from the ground, smashing it over the still-dazed Wu Xiaoshan's head.
The wooden stools in the countryside were made of solid hardwood, very hard; a blow like that would certainly crack a skull.
With a scream of pain, Wu Xiaoshan was struck to the ground, blood streaming from his head, and soon his entire face was blurred with blood.
"Xiaoshan... how are you?"
Everything happened too fast.
By the time Qin Yufeng came to her senses, Wu Xiaoshan had already been knocked to the ground, his head covered in blood.
Qin Yufeng cried out and threw herself next to Wu Xiaoshan, kneeling down to try to stop the bleeding.
Zhang Dabao eyed Qin Yufeng's behind, swallowing saliva, his eyes ablaze with lust.
Rushing to Qin Yufeng's back, he grabbed her hair, completely disregarding her cries of pain, and pushed her down while she was still on her knees, snickering, "Having someone here is even better. I will do it right in front of this little brat..."
Qin Yufeng's hair was yanked back by Zhang Dabao, and she cried inconsolably, unable to struggle, with tears streaming down as Zhang Dabao did as he pleased.
However, no one saw the blood on Wu Xiaoshan's head flow onto the Eight Trigrams jade pendant hanging around his neck—an heirloom left by his ancestor.
With a soft "bang", the Eight Trigrams jade pendant turned completely blood-red—the Blood Jade shattered, and a red aura entered Wu Xiaoshan's body through his eyes.
Wu Xiaoshan felt a buzzing in his head and then heard a hoary voice.
"My descendant, I am your ancestor, Wu Tao. In my lifetime, I was wronged by a villain and left my remnant soul in our family's ancestral jade pendant, to give the Wu Family a sliver of hope. I hope my descendants can carry on my will, helping the world and saving the people..."
"Now I pass on my life's work to you, in the hope that one day you will avenge me! I was fortunate to obtain the Qiankun Eye, which I also impart to you; I hope you do not stray from the right path..."
Immediately after, Wu Xiaoshan felt a sharp pain in his head and screamed, as a torrent of information poured into his brain like a deluge.
Zhang Dabao was about to begin his misdeed when suddenly he heard Wu Xiaoshan's scream, which scared him stiff.
Zhang Dabao was both angry and furious, cursing, "You bloody brat, sabotaging me again and again. Today I will send you to meet your dead swindler grandfather!"
With that said, Zhang Dabao forcefully pushed Qin Yufeng aside, picked up the stool again, and disregarding Qin Yufeng's efforts to stop him, was about to smash it down on Wu Xiaoshan, who was lying on the ground.
With a "swoosh", the stool flew out of Zhang Dabao's hand, heading straight for Wu Xiaoshan's head.
"No!"
Seeing this, Qin Yufeng screamed in terror, her eyes filled with horror and despair.
Then, biting her silver teeth with bitterness and anger, she glared at Zhang Dabao, "Zhang Dabao, you're no human. Murder is a crime, and you will suffer for this!"
"Hahaha, a crime? Here in Wolong Village, I, Zhang Dabao, am the law."
Zhang Dabao sneered, his beady eyes lingering on Qin Yufeng's body, "You spoiled my mood today, little bastard. When I feel like it another day, I'll come and give you some proper love!"
Laughing arrogantly, Zhang Dabao turned to leave under the gaze of Qin Yufeng's despair and agony.
But he had barely taken a step when he heard a sinister voice.
"Did I say you could leave?"