Above the Great Dao
Chapter 54 - 34 Must Kill Him

Chapter 54: Chapter 34 Must Kill Him

This household happened to be Fugui’s. Fugui’s face bore streaks of blood, marks left from whippings, as he stared in terror at Chen Shi climbing over the wall.

Fugui’s legs went weak, and he momentarily thought about kneeling down to beg for his life.

Chen Shi, unaware of Fugui’s thoughts, looked around and whispered, "Fugui, where are your parents?"

Fugui’s parents were not at home, only he was there.

Fugui, with a trembling voice, said, "Outside, cooking..."

"Cooking?"

Chen Shi slightly furrowed his brow, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Seeing him leave, Fugui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Previously, he did not recognize Chen Shi, so he dared to befriend him. Since Chen Shi had saved him and become his benefactor, he felt somewhat uneasy.

But later, when he heard that Chen Shi was the infamous "dead child," fear was all that remained in his heart.

"A child who comes back from the dead is not human anymore. Who knows if it’s the person himself or a ghost inhabiting that child’s body?"

His mother told him, "Even if it’s his own soul, it first became a ghost, and then came back as a person!"

Chen Shi walked out of Fugui’s house and followed the street inward, gradually hearing wails that emitted from houses on both sides of the road.

The moaners seemed to want to cry out in pain but dared not make a sound; they could only groan in a suppressed voice.

He looked around but still saw not a single villager.

He could only see a guard in brocade every few steps, standing on either side of the road.

These guards, seeing him as a child and coming out of Fugui’s house, did not question him.

The wailing sounds grew quieter but still continued from the houses on either side.

He arrived at the center of Huangyang Village, where there was an open space, apart from a temple in ruins, there were a few large trees, casting a broad shade.

There were about a dozen villagers from Huangyang Village, who had set up four stoves in the open air, placed iron pots on them with boiling water, and steamers steaming and billowing white vapor.

An old man was scalding chickens and ducks in the boiling water to facilitate plucking, while three villagers were stir-frying, several women sat near the well washing fruits and vegetables and cleaning meat and eggs, and others at the preparation table were chopping and arranging dishes.

A few guards in brocade stood around, watching them cook.

Despite the bustle, these villagers from Huangyang Village each bore injuries on their bodies and faces with traces of whipping.

It was almost noon, the peak time for cooking. Given the scale of Huangyang Village, it seemed they were preparing a banquet, exhausting every household’s reserves.

While Chen Shi was looking around, a guard in brocade, noticing his clean face, waved and shouted, "Boy, come here! You’ll deliver the food!"

Chen Shi walked over.

"After the food is stir-fried, you’re to take it to the temple."

The guard, holding a cowhide whip, said, "The temple houses nobles from the provincial city. You need to be discreet, ask nothing that shouldn’t be asked, and hear nothing that shouldn’t be heard. Understand?"

"Understood, understood!" Chen Shi nodded repeatedly.

The villagers from Huangyang Village, hearing his voice, all turned to look, staring dumbfounded.

The guard swung his whip and coldly laughed, "What are you looking at? Get back to work! You, get over there and stir-fry! Hurry up!"

He pointed at Fugui’s father.

Fugui’s father hurried over, glanced at Chen Shi, and dared not speak, lowering his head to stir-fry.

He was the village cook, invited for miles around for weddings and funerals. Although his dishes were not as exquisite as those of a master chef from the city, they tasted no less delicious.

In just a quarter of an hour, he had stir-fried four dishes.

Chen Shi, with a white towel draped over his wrist, carried a tray and walked toward the temple.

Fugui’s father opened his mouth but remained silent.

Chen Shi approached the temple entrance and caught sight of a person lying in the ruins of the palace, with a large hole in their head, blood and brain matter mixed and spilled all around, face down on the ground.

Chen Shi recognized that half-exposed face.

It was San Wang.

Blood surged in his chest, rushing up to his head, leaving his mind blank while the whooshing of blood in his ears roared like the wind!

In a daze, he remembered the peculiar dream from last night.

In the dream, San Wang had warned him, urging him to run!

So...

San Wang was really dead.

He stood silently for a moment, calming his mind.

Chen Shi, head bowed, stepped over the high threshold and entered the temple.

The old temple was no longer arranged as he had seen it last; previously, all was simple with only meditation cushions, offering tables, incense burners, Divine Shrine, and bronze statues. Now, the cushions, tables, and incense burners had been moved out.

The temple housed a couch and four armchairs, a young scholar sitting on the couch facing a woman, with a chessboard between them, both slightly turned for the game.

The other four armchairs each held a person, all dressed as scholars and appearing quite young, some drinking tea, others eating candied fruits, quite leisurely.

They were likely the Zhao family’s young members, accustomed to luxuriant lives, without a hint of murderous aura.

Around them stood a few brocade-clad guards, among them one exceptionally robust, towering over ordinary men by about two heads and as imposing as a standing brown bear, his face a sallow yellow and his gaze particularly fierce, carrying a Three-eyed Fire Gun with dried blood still on the muzzle.

In the center of the temple, there was an octagonal table of equal sides with six chairs beneath.

The temple was small, and with these items and twelve people, plus the table, six chairs, and a Divine Shrine with a bronze statue, it felt quite cramped.

Chen Shi’s gaze swept over the Zhao family’s members, who had no bestial aura, but the six guards behind them exerted great pressure on him.

The guards had Divine Embryos floating behind their Divine Shrines at the backs of their heads.

They continuously maintained their Divine Shrines, highly alert, far from being comparable to the useless followers of Li Xiaoding!

They were combat experts!

Chen Shi faced off against three of the Zhao family’s brocade-clad guards on the post road, relying on the element of surprise to eliminate one and the geographical advantage to dispose of another; he only managed to kill the last one by staging an ambush in the water. Had it been a direct confrontation, Chen Shi feared he might not even withstand a single one of their Spells!

Here, though, there were six guards with the same level of strength!

Among them, one was the strongest of the strong!

Chen Shi categorized the guards from left to right as Left One, Left Two, Left Three, Right One, Right Two, Right Three.

But what truly made him feel imperiled was Right Three, the bear-like guard. Not only was this man broad and brawny, but his aura of murderousness was intense, fierce in battle, certainly someone who had claimed many lives and a veteran of life-and-death fights!

Pairs of eyes focused intently on Chen Shi.

They had never seen Chen Shi before, but as soon as he stepped into this temple, their gazes locked onto him and did not shift.

As guards, their experience was too abundant.

Should Chen Shi reveal even the slightest flaw or an unusual expression, he would likely fall immediately to their Meridian Evil Slayer Swords!

"He will kill you!"

The fat man cowered in the corner, his excitement rising when he saw Chen Shi, shouting, "He is Chen Shi, the murderer, he will kill all of you!"

But aside from Chen Shi, no one heard him.

Chen Shi’s steps were steady, his demeanor unchanged as he approached the Eight Immortals’ table.

Sitting on the Arhat bed was Zhao Yue, the Zhao family’s Third Duke, and across from him playing chess was his sister, Zhao Xue’e, whose appearance was delicate and exuded the grace and beauty of a well-born young lady.

Zhao Yue straightened his back, sniffed the aroma of the food, and praised, "Rural cooks, yet the flavor of the food is quite good. Gentlemen, please, let’s take our seats."

Chen Shi set down the food, pulled out the towel draped over his arm, and began to wipe the table.

As Zhao Yan stepped forward, intending to pull out a chair, Chen Shi hurriedly bent down and wiped the chair clean with the towel.

Zhao Yan chuckled, "Third Brother, this kid is quite clever! It’s hard to find someone as clever as him in the countryside!"

Chen Shi methodically wiped down the other five chairs, then gestured for the other five young disciples of the Zhao family to take their seats.

During the cleaning process, he sensed the bear-like guard’s gaze fixed on him constantly, his hand always gripping the handle of the Three-eyed Fire Gun.

The pressure from this man was enormous; as he wiped the table and the chairs, he was actually looking for an opportunity to act, but this guard made him realize that if he made a move, his head would be smashed open in the next moment!

Chen Shi, silent, finished wiping the sixth chair clean, draped the towel back over his arm, and turned to leave.

He found no opportunity to act.

With no opportunity available, he decided to wait a bit longer; an opportunity would surely come.

"Hold on!"

The bear-like guard spoke up, his voice deep and resonant, causing a buzzing in the ears.

Chen Shi halted, his mind racing as he wondered where he had revealed any flaw, and the guard said, "Taste these dishes first."

Chen Shi turned around, picking up a pair of chopsticks.

Zhao Xue’e laughed and said, "Helian Zheng, you’re being overly cautious."

Helian Zheng said, "Carefulness is never a mistake. After all, someone was killed yesterday, and the whole village was subjected to torture, it’s hard to ensure that these crafty folk won’t harbor malicious thoughts and poison the food. Little guy, you need to taste each dish first. Don’t leave right after you have tasted."

Chen Shi agreed and reached out his arm to pick up the first dish.

The dishes prepared by Fugui were common countryside meals; the first was celery and black fungus. The celery was crisp, carrying a unique fragrance, and the black fungus was smooth and refreshingly delicious.

Chen Shi took a bite and picked up the second dish.

This dish was spicy chicken made from a rooster that had just crowed. The chicken was cut into small pieces, marinated with spring onions, ginger, and salt, then soaked in egg mixture, briefly fried in hot oil, and finally stir-fried with green and red bell peppers, resulting in a smooth, spicy, and fragrant bite.

The third dish was stir-fried duck blood, where the duck’s own blood was used to marinate the meat, stir-fried in a pan with various spices to lock in as much flavor as possible.

Chen Shi tasted three dishes, reached out his arm to pick up the fourth dish, but his arm was too short to reach it, so he walked around to the other side of the table.

He bent down and picked up the fourth dish, which was stir-fried frog.

The frog, in this case, was actually a toad. Its head chopped off, skinned, washed clean with water, then stir-fried with generous amounts of salt and oil, and just before being served, sprinkled with chili powder to make it spicy and delicious.

Just as Chen Shi was about to take a bite of one frog leg, he suddenly froze.

Now he had moved to the opposite side of the table, with only the table separating him from the burly Helian Zheng. He had reached the fourth dish, and while everyone around the table had relaxed, chatting and laughing, only Helian Zheng was still on alert, watching him intently.

Now was a relatively good time to make a move!

Chen Shi hesitated; although the timing was good, it wasn’t the best.

While eating the frog leg and holding the chopsticks, he was planning to retreat.

He still had a second chance to serve the dishes.

Zhao Xue’e, who was sitting next to Chen Shi, turned to the right towards Zhao Yue, the third young master of the Zhao family, and said, "Third brother, how long have Fu Shanke and the others been out? They haven’t returned yet."

Zhao Yue was also puzzled and said, "According to reason, they should have already captured Chen Shi... Wait a minute!"

He noticed Chen Shi’s exposed skin and a thought flashed through his mind, "Why doesn’t he have any injuries?"

Every person in Huangyang Village had been whipped, some to the point of fluttering between life and death, but this boy serving the dishes had not a single whip mark on him!

Zhao Yue, the deserved leader of this mission from the Zhao family’s Three Dukes, quickly figured out the key issue and looked nervously across at Helian Zheng, giving him a meaningful glance.

Helian Zheng, getting the hint without any outward change in expression, immediately stepped forward, planning to move around the round table while simultaneously reaching back for the Three-eyed Fire Gun.

Zhao Yue, equally unnoticeable, smiled and said, "Since there is nothing wrong with the food..."

"Shhhh!"

Zhao Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief as he saw a chopstick pierce in from the right temple and emerge from the left, with blood dripping from it!

Chen Shi had almost fully driven the chopstick into Zhao Yue’s head, leaving him stunned, "Why would he strike now?"

With his left hand, Chen Shi quickly stabbed another chopstick lightning-fast into Zhao Xue’e’s chest, piercing her heart.

Zhao Xue’e hadn’t even realized what was happening, as she was turning her head in this direction, and due to the quick stabbing, she didn’t feel the pain.

"Where did I slip up?" Chen Shi wondered inwardly.

—Thank you to Jin Buyi for the silver reward, which has upgraded Chen Shi to a two-star level!

With one star, one could create a character card, allowing book friends to heart their favorite characters every day, all helping together!!!

Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnovel(.)com

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