Chapter 44: Outsider, Game Changer

  As soon as I saw the raging flames, I was in such a hurry that I didn't care about anything else. I put Liu Weimin on the ground and ran over with all my might, shouting loudly, "It's on fire! Come quickly to rescue people!" The houses along the road lit up one after another, but by the time they got dressed and understood the situation, even Yu Mo's bones were gone.

  The ancestral hall had two rooms, one with memorial tablets and many curtains, the other stored things for worshiping on ordinary days. Both houses were extremely flammable. When I rushed over, the fire was blocked by the wall, but both houses had already been engulfed in flames. Fortunately, behind the ancestral hall there were still large tracts of houses connected, and many villagers arrived before me and had organized to put out the fire.

  I asked the villagers if they had seen You Wu, and everyone said they hadn't. A few people also said that this fire was strange, it suddenly burned down two rooms in an instant, even if there were people inside, they must have been burned to death.

  I glared at him fiercely, grabbed a basin of water to wet myself, gritted my teeth, and was about to rush in to rescue You Wu. The people on the side quickly held me back, saying that the fire was too fierce, the house might collapse at any time, and going in would mean not coming out again.

  I let him go, but instead more people came to block me, and while I was struggling, an older man said to me: "Little Master Tian, don't get agitated, I know who set this fire."

  He nodded his head, indicating for me to look at the dirt road not far from the temple.

  There were three black sedans parked by the side of the road, with seven or eight men standing with their hands behind their backs. The old man who was talking to me wanted to say something else, but I didn't quite catch it. I ran over and said to those men: "Lend me a car, if I damage it, I'll pay for it."

  As I spoke, I was about to drive around them and crash into the fire to rescue You Wu, but unexpectedly someone pushed me hard on my shoulder, and with great force, directly pushing me to the ground.

  It was only then that I saw clearly, these few people were dressed very neatly, with a proud look between their eyebrows, they didn't seem to be villagers who received official charity, but rather seemed like bodyguards or henchmen of some big shot.

  The villagers saw me being bullied and several young men rushed over, some holding basins and others picking up pots. The black-clad men in front of me welcomed them, standing in a line, fearless.

  In my heart, I was thinking of You Wu, and at this time, I didn't have the mind to fight with them. Just as I was about to make a polite request, the window of the car in the middle rolled down, and an old man with a head full of white hair stuck his head out and said to the men in black: "Be polite, we're not here to cause trouble, apologize to this young brother."

  Eight men in black clothes didn't say a word, but simultaneously bowed to me with a well-trained appearance. Seeing that the old man was polite, I hurriedly shouted: "Old man, I want to rush into the fire to save people, can I borrow your car? I'll pay for it!"

  The old man with white hair smiled and said, "Young man, your courage is commendable, but the car will explode if it goes in, and judging from the current fire, there can't be anyone alive inside. You should calm down and accept the reality."

  The situation forced me, and I didn't say anything more. No matter how fiercely the fire was burning, no matter whether he was dead or alive, I had to go in and take a look. I couldn't just stand there doing nothing while others said he was dead.

  Three or five villagers pulled me and wouldn't let go, just as we were at a stalemate, the roar of an engine came from behind, a motorcycle rushed over, someone jumped off, ran to the front of the car with a bow, and said to the white-haired old man: "Old master didn't even say hello before coming, heh heh, I didn't welcome you properly either."

  The old man got off the car, wearing a purple Tang suit, with a dragon-headed cane in his hand. He was not tall but had an elegant demeanor. He said: "After all, it's one's own place, and one has to be more careful. However, your village's ancestral hall is burned down, which is a bit of trouble. Never mind, take me to the place where the zombie is buried, and if there's a chance, let's solve him tonight."

  "Goodness, the old man is indeed getting more vigorous with age." The man was fawning all over the old man, but suddenly caught sight of me and jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at me and saying: "Old master, this young fellow is a disciple of Xu Daozhang from Dragon Tiger Mountain."

  Everyone looked at me, the old man showed a hint of surprise, and then chuckled: "Not bad, not bad, just wanted to rush into the fire to save people, worthy of being a disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain, later generations can be feared. Alright, you kneel down and promise for your master, from now on don't interfere with the official village's affairs again, I can let you go, otherwise don't blame me for bullying the weak."

  I was confused, but when I saw the man jumping off the motorcycle, I roughly understood. He was the demolition man who had been inciting villagers to demolish their homes at the village chief's house. The old man getting off the car should be a developer or something?

  I didn't want to get involved in this mess, nor could I, so I continued to struggle and try to break free from the villagers' blockade. Without paying attention to the old man, four men in black clothes suddenly pushed their way over, shoving the villagers aside. They treated me like a prisoner, with two of them pinning my arms behind my back, while another raised his hand and slapped me twice, saying coldly: "Mr. Zhao is asking you questions!"

  These two slaps have stunned me, my ears are ringing, and half of my cheek is swollen. In the more than 20 years I've lived, I haven't suffered as much humiliation as I have in less than ten days in Guan Cun Village. Whoever wants to hit me just hits me - Jiu Ge hits me once, villagers hit me once, and a group of people with unknown backgrounds also come to hit me once.

  Who isn't born of a father and raised by a mother? I didn't come into this world to be bullied.

  My arm couldn't move, I jumped up and was about to kick someone, but these men in black were obviously trained, their movements were quick and coordinated, the one in front of me grabbed my ankle, the ones on either side immediately let go, allowing him to grab with one hand and support with the other, lifting me over his head and slamming me heavily to the ground.

  Luckily, the villagers grabbed my clothes in time. Although they didn't catch me, their inertia pulled them down too, which weakened the force of my fall to the ground. Otherwise, I estimate that my head would have splattered blood and brains five steps away.

  The fire in the ancestral hall can no longer be stopped by human power, and when the villagers realized they were just a drop in the bucket, they all gave up. Seeing me being beaten, they rushed over, scolding and cursing, to help me up but nobody helped me fight back. Originally, I wasn't familiar with them anyway, it was just because of the face of Mount Longhu that they came to my aid, but after the defeat of the Little Heavenly Master of Mount Longhu, they wouldn't even lift a finger for me.

  But scolding people still have the guts, all rushed to that demolition man, saying he was behind Xu Daolong, leading people to bully Xu Daolong's apprentice, and will definitely not die well in the future.

  The demolition man retorted: "This kid is too useless, what does he have to do with me?"

  The curses and shouts were endless, I just knew that the demolition man was also a deputy village chief, who had been brought down by Xu Shulin's gang.

  The people on both sides confronted each other, I looked at the temple burning fiercely behind me, and the grievances of being beaten and the pain for You Wu all came out.

  Negative emotions have always been like a flood, once opened, it is unstoppable. The grievances, heartache, the pain of being deceived by Kang Jiuxiang, the worry about Wen Jing's safety, and the anger of being repeatedly deceived by Liu Weimin, all made me collapse instantly.

  If someone had told me ten days ago that I, a big man, would cry like a child, I definitely wouldn't have believed it. But right there on the road in Guan Cun Village, in front of dozens of people, under the gaze of the person who had just hit me, I wailed loudly and cried like a shrew, sitting on the ground and making a scene.

  Everyone was stunned, but no one laughed at me. I guess the scene of a big man crying his nose off was too shocking, and they didn't even know how to laugh.

  Someone said to the demolition man: "Oh! You're done for, you bullied Master Xu's apprentice until he cried. Just wait for Master Xu to deal with you!"

  The villagers comforted me in a cacophony of voices, like coaxing a child, but every comforting word was like fine salt sprinkled on my already mangled and bloody wound. They said I had a short apprenticeship, to follow Master Xu Qi well, and I would definitely have skills in the future.

  Someone else told me not to be afraid, Xu Qi will definitely help me get out of trouble.

  No matter what kind of comfort it is, it all means one thing: I'm not capable now.

  It's not anyone else's fault that I'm incompetent, I just can't figure out why it is that when I'm at my most useless, hardships keep coming one after another, taking away many people I want to take care of.

  The old man in the purple Tang suit suddenly sighed, took out a white handkerchief and wiped my head, muttering: "Ah, Dragon Tiger Mountain, one generation is not as good as the next, it's really disgusting, crying after just two hits?"

  I wiped away my tears and got up to fight him, but at the end of the dirt road, a sea of people rushed towards us. The ones running in the front and shouting the loudest were none other than You Wu and Village Chief Xu Shulin.

  He rushed to me like a sharp arrow, I was covered in dirt, but he was clean and tidy. He looked at me with a surprised expression and said: "Why are you crying? Did you think I got burned to death?" He hugged me tightly and patted my back heavily, saying: "I'm so touched! Really, as long as you don't sleep with me, I'll do whatever you want."

  The villagers whispered: "Little Tian Shi was beaten."

  Don't push me open suddenly and ask: "Who hit? I'll pinch him to death."

  The villager pointed at the man in black, I was about to persuade him not to be impulsive, he looked at the man in black and said to me with some embarrassment: "I don't think I can beat them up? Why are they beating you?"

  The village chief, Bi You, also arrived with some people, and judging from the situation, the ghost on his body should have left. However, I don't know what happened in the temple after Liu Weimin and I left, and now is not the time to ask questions.

  Xu Shulin brought a vote of villagers, all holding shovels and hoes, loudly cursing the demolition man and telling those uninvited guests to get out of Guanxi Village. The old man in Tang costume slowly walked forward and said to Xu Shulin: "Village Chief Xu, you can't harm everyone for your own position, can you? Everyone gets compensation, moves into a new house, isn't that good? Why insist on guarding the ancestral teachings and worry about being bitten to death by zombies? I came this time to catch zombies. If you agree to move away, I'll take action to solve the zombie problem immediately."

  The villagers whispered among themselves, human life is more important than heaven, the village chief only said that Xu Qi will come back to save everyone, but who knows when?

  The village head and deputy village head kept making eyes at me, letting me represent Xu Qi to say something, but I had just done that kind of thing, not to mention prestige, and it was already a laughing stock.

  Just then, two villagers supported Liu Weimin, who was pale, to come over. Liu Weimin pushed away the people supporting him, adjusted his clothes, and walked steadily, one step at a time, to stand in front of the old man in Tang suit, and calmly asked: "Was it you who set the fire?"

  The old man in Tang suit stared blankly, revealing a look of sudden realization, and asked: "You set up the Tiger Trap Formation? No wonder we were confused and arrived at the temple gate. It turns out that there is a mastermind in the village!" He clasped his hands together and smiled: "May I ask for your esteemed name, sir?"

  Liu nodded and didn't respond, turning around to say to me and You Wu: "Let's go."

  Those eight black-clad men, who looked like bodyguards, were about to block our way again. I was worried that Liu Weimin had just coughed up blood and wouldn't be able to fight them off, but then I saw the old man in traditional Chinese clothing wave his hand and tell them to back off. The old man shouted at the top of his lungs: "Sir, please don't make a big splash at the Dragon King Temple, let's just report our names instead... I am..."

  Liu Weimin suddenly turned around, the jumping flames flickering on his face, bright and dark, he smiled coldly, with a bloody and cruel breath, saying: "You will report to the dead? Wait until you see King Yan, ask him!"

  The old man in Tang suit's face solidified for a moment, then he also smiled and said: "Interesting, interesting, we'll wait!"