Chapter 55: Self-Destruction

  Huang Jinbo's words are a hint, I am no longer a living person.

  I cast a silent glance at Liu Weimin. He remained calm as usual. So I didn't say anything either.

  How was it played in the movie?

  Bad people will say a few true words at the last moment. And good person B who is eager to know the truth will definitely be killed by good person A, because he knows too much.

  Third Sister-in-law didn't follow Huang Jinbai's instructions to burn incense or pour tea for me. She handed Liu Weimin a cup of plain water, then pulled in Kang Jiuxiang who was closely watching us and softly comforted her.

  In the courtyard, a moment of silence. Liu Weimin held the cup in his palm, blew gently twice but didn't drink, and said with relish: "Speak up."

  Huang Jinbai was sipping his tea by himself, without casting a single glance at Liu Weimin, and replied: "What did you say?"

  "Tell me what I want to know!"

  Huang Jinbai raised his head and looked at him with a hint of disdain. He said in a measured tone, "What makes you think I would say anything?"

  After saying this, Huang Jinbai came in a rush. Wearing slippers and running wildly around the yard, he muttered to himself: "You think you've got me caught, everything is up to you? You have the upper hand? Let me tell you, Liu, I'm not caught by you, I'm staying here waiting for you to come over, I'm so fed up with life, I want to die!"

  Next came a torrent of curses and abuse, which Liu Weimin bore calmly. When Huang Jinbai had exhausted his insults and sat down again to drink tea and moisten his mouth, Liu Weimin frowned and said: "You know, I never thought of killing you."

  Huang Jinbai sneered: "But everything you've done has been pushing me to death, don't think about it, I won't tell you!"

  After finishing this sentence, Huang Jinbai's chest heaved violently, and his throat made a strange sound like a rooster crowing. Liu Weimin's face changed drastically as he pushed me away. At the same time, Huang Jinbai spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbled back several steps, and fell into the courtyard. His blood splattered onto the flowers and plants behind me, staining the green leaves with a thick layer of dark red blood, just like in martial arts novels, where only those who have been poisoned can spit out such blood.

  Different from before, there was no rustling sound of corrosion, and the flowers and grass did not wither quickly, only the color of blood was somewhat eerie.

  Ke Liu's expression was as if he were facing a great enemy, staring at the bloodstain, his eyes twitching constantly, his breathing slow and labored, with each breath drawn out, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, the blue veins on the back of his hands bulging like small snakes slithering across his skin.

  Kang Jiuxiang let out a loud cry and wanted to rush over to support Huang Jinbai, but the latter suddenly roared: "Don't come over!"

  Liu Weimin picked up the cup of Huang Jinbai's tea and sniffed it lightly, his old face suddenly turned iron-green. He looked at Huang Jinbai again, his expressionless face like a clay Buddha sitting on a high platform, coldly gazing down at the crowd, calm and quiet, but his tone was so cold that it almost froze the air into ice shards. He said: "I never thought of killing you, but you want to drag me down to hell with you."

  Huang Jinbai whistled softly, trying to laugh, but suddenly started coughing violently. After finally stopping, he smiled smugly and said: "Don't pretend anymore, this stuff can't kill you, it's just for the kids to see your true face."

  Liu Weimin took a deep breath again, already on the verge of eruption, and asked: "Are you still unwilling to hand over the key to me? What's the difference between giving it to me and giving it to others? You and I are fellow disciples, I won't monopolize it, why would I let outsiders take advantage of it for nothing and bring disaster to my own family?"

  Huang Jinbai sneered: "No difference? The difference is huge, surname Liu, you changed your name and really think you're a good person? Liu Wei Min? Haha, haha, for the people? Do you have that qualification? Huang Ze Ghost Valley, Cang Song Jin Bai, what a great name, you damn well changed it to Liu Wei Min! But it doesn't matter, I'll use this name for my son, from over 40 years ago, Cang Song has been my son!"

  Liu Weimin was furious and kicked a small stool flying. He took a step forward, beckoning to San Shu to bring Kang Jiuxiang over.

  "Hurry up and stop messing around! You can't intimidate me. I'll definitely die before you get within 0.5 meters of Jiuxiang. Don't believe me? Try it!"

  Third Sister's face turned red with anger, not daring to take another step forward. Huang Jinbai whistled loudly and boastfully said: "You can't threaten me, no one in the world can threaten me. I don't even care about my own life, what can you do to me?"

  Like a mad Huang Jinbao, the tragic atmosphere was extremely strong. Liu Weimin looked at him and asked in a low voice: "Is it worth it? I don't understand!"

  "Huang Jinbai sneered, 'You wouldn't understand, you're not even human!' He looked at me with a dissatisfied expression and said irritably, 'Kid, take good care of Jiuxiang from now on, or else... never mind, I won't become a ghost either. Come here, I'll tell you something interesting!'"

  For some reason, I suddenly felt that Huang Jinbai was more reliable than Liu Weimin. I hesitated and took a few steps forward. Liu Weimin didn't stop me, so I squatted down and said: "Let my cousin go, and I'll listen to you."

  "I found you're really blind," Huang Jinbai strained to lift his head, and with a muffled voice, he whispered into my ear: "I'm telling you, that whip of his can..."

  Before I could finish speaking, a sudden whooshing sound appeared in my ear, and at the same time, someone grabbed my collar and dragged me backwards. A black line flashed before my eyes, and I stared wide-eyed as a fine red line emerged from Huang Jinbai's forehead to his legs.

  The red thread blinked and turned into a black seam, gradually expanding, right in front of me, the Huang Jinbai split in two.

  The screams in the courtyard rose and fell, Kang Jiuxiang wanted to rush over, but was held down by You Wu and San Shu, while I regained my senses from the shock, and didn't care about what harm Huang Jinbai's blood had, struggled free from Liu Weimin's hand and rushed to his side, Huang Jinbai hadn't died yet, his whole body stained with black blood, but stubbornly used both hands to hold his head, trying to put his split body back together.

  I don't know why, but his miserable state and persistence made me inexplicably feel a pang of sadness, almost to the point of tears. I only managed to ask the question that I most wanted to know: "Don't die, please return my cousin to me, I beg of you, return Wenjing to me."

  Like a fish on the verge of dying from thirst, Huang Jinbai struggled several times but still couldn't utter a complete sentence. My heart was burning with anxiety, I turned my head and glared at Liu Weimin: "You killed someone, you son of a bitch killed someone!" Suddenly enlightened, Huang Jinbai split into two halves, and I immediately thought of the old tribal elder who had been in a similar situation, roaring: "You son of a bitch has been deceiving me all along, it was you who chopped up the old tribal elder!"

  Huang Jinbai's efforts were not in vain, he finally gathered enough strength to say his last words in this life. He strained his neck and looked at Liu Weimin with disdain, his voice weak to the point of being almost inaudible. He said: "Split open the old ancestral temple? Is he worthy?"

  Two arms fell down, half of the body rolled off my arm, at the wound, there was no bloody and blurry internal organs, but a black mass, a large area of squirming things.

  Kang Jiuxiang knelt on the ground, heavily knocking her head several times. Her white forehead was stained with a round patch of dust. Then she covered her mouth and stood up, walking out the door, disappearing into who-knows-where.

  Third sister wanted to stop her, but Liu Weimin said let her go, after all, they had to leave a way out for Ji Bai.

  I couldn't care less about Kang Jiuxiang anymore, I collapsed to the ground, my mind was filled with the thought that everything is over, Wen Jing is doomed. When I heard Liu Weimin call out to Jin Bai, I glared at him viciously and sneered: "Hypocrite, beast, scum."

  Liu Weimin didn't get angry, but instead smiled and told Yu not to help me up. He then ignored Huang Jinbai's two corpses and drank the cup of cooled white water. Only then did he say to me: "When have I ever deceived you? You also heard his last words, can't deny it, I couldn't split open the old clan head, as for what I said about killing people, why don't you report it to the police and see if they come to arrest me for taking the law into my own hands or praise me for getting rid of a pest?"

  I didn't know what he was saying, but suddenly he went crazy, like pulling a radish, and pulled my head off the body. Only then did I realize that the large area of blackness wasn't blood, but rather countless tiny insects smaller than grains of rice, as if Sun Wukong had drawn an uncrossable circle around them, all surrounding the body. Huang Jinbai's body couldn't even be called a corpse anymore, only a dry and shriveled human skin remained, no longer plump.

  I shouted and asked Liu Weimin why it was like this?

  Liu Weimin said: "I'll turn him into a worm, and then kill him with one whip. That way, I won't be killing a person, but a worm. Are you satisfied now?"

  "I'm too lazy to play word games with him. I cursed angrily: 'What about Wen Jing? What about my Wen Jing? You said she wouldn't be in danger!'"

  "I said Wenjing won't have any trouble, and she definitely won't," Liu Weimin said with a proud expression: "Old Third's wife, boil some water to scald these insects to death. You, find a knife and go to the willow stump at the entrance, cut out a small wooden stick from the center for me. Wang Zhen, you go to the reception hall alone, change into your official robes, and later accompany me up the mountain to open the Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master's coffin!"

  I pointed at Liu Weimin's nose and scolded: "Open the coffin? You open your own coffin, you've been using me all along. To save Wenjing, I've been compromising, but you're not done yet? I'm telling you, let Wenjing go now, or I'll kill myself immediately. I don't even care about my own life, what can you do to me?"

  There was also You Wu who didn't listen to Liu Weimin's orders. He stood shoulder to shoulder with me and said calmly, "Old master, at this point, I don't expect you to help me get promoted or rich either. You are a noble person, I am a petty one, I don't have your high awareness, if you want us brothers to listen to you again, besides Wen Jing, you also need to explain it to me."

  "You can't even point at San Sao and say: 'What's with the necklace on her neck? Where is Xiao Bai Jie anyway?'"