Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 505

"Eat it."

Concise and concise.

"Thank you for the reward, Godfather!"

Zhao Yi didn't hesitate and picked up his chopsticks, but as soon as they touched the boiling hot pot, they melted like paper.

"hehe."

Zhao Yi smiled, didn't take any more chopsticks from the chopstick holder, and directly put his hand into the hot pot.

"hiss……"

A sharp pain shot through him, and even though Zhao Yi had the dragon skin as protection, his skin was instantly burned red and quickly ulcerated.

But he still insisted on scooping the lazy dog ​​out of the hot pot.

"Huh...huh..."

While moving it back and forth with both hands, I kept blowing air into it.

Not daring to linger too long, Zhao Yi took a bite.

It melts at the entrance.

As for the taste, the nausea was beyond words. One wanted to gag but couldn't, because what was about to come out wasn't undigested food and acid, but rather the very soul that was rising to the back of one's throat.

If you really want to feel better and vomit it out, you'll just die.

Zhao Yi stiffened his neck and forced a smile at Old Zhai sitting opposite him.

"good to eat."

Immediately, Zhao Yi lowered his head and opened his mouth repeatedly, like a starving person finally getting food, wolfing down the food at the lazy dog.

Soon, a dog was gone.

He wiped his lips with his fingertip and then sucked on them again.

Zhao Yi's body trembled, and he immediately reached out to grab the corner of the table to maintain his balance.

He felt as if there was a pile of red-hot coals inside his body, scorching his internal organs.

Zhao Yi took a deep breath, because after inhaling the first half of the breath, it felt as if his mouth was a blower, and his skin began to itch and fester.

"Spicy...so spicy!"

Zhao Yi's eyes reddened as he reached into the clear broth pot again.

The burning sensation returned, but because the internal suffering was even greater, the stinging on the bottom of the pot was nothing compared to it.

Zhao Yi caught the second lazy dog. He could hardly maintain his balance, so he simply slapped the lazy dog ​​onto his mouth, as if he were forcing himself to eat.

Swallow, swallow, swallow... After swallowing, he scraped all the residue on his palms and face into his mouth. After swallowing the last bite, blue flames burst forth from Zhao Yi's body.

The body is riddled with holes, and the soul is ashen.

It should be noted that even Run Sheng, who has a constitution prone to fainting, would lose control the first time he ate offerings that were close to the statue of the Great Emperor. Zhao Yi, on the other hand, is a living person, and he is not able to adapt to this kind of food, especially since these two lazy dogs are the closest beings to the statue of the Great Emperor.

"what……"

The world is spinning.

Zhao Yi could no longer stand and fell backward, landing on the ground with a thud.

But during the landing process, Zhao Yi also spoke up:

"It was delicious..."

Whether it was the initial call of "godfather" or the subsequent series of remarks, it was less about flattery and more about resolutely preventing this "spectacle" from taking root.

This situation must continue. As long as the person on the other side doesn't pierce the hole, he has a chance to live; otherwise, he will surely die.

Lying on the ground is not the end.

Zhao Yi smelled the aroma of roasted meat. He sniffed it and realized it was his own. He turned his head and found himself lying on lava. The lava was flowing and moving his body like a conveyor belt.

The end of the conveyor belt is a huge abyss that seems capable of swallowing everything.

Zhao Yi immediately rolled over, trying to stand up, but as he stood up, the lava also rose up, so he had to give up and continue to lie down. Then he used his hands and feet to crawl against the lava.

The scorching heat of the lava dried out the moisture from his body, making him feel like a dried-out salted fish or a chicken skin that had been roasted to a crisp.

But he did not give up. No matter what kind of torture he endured, as long as he was alive and had a breath left, he had to keep crawling forward.

He must live!

In the coffin shop, Runsheng and Yinmeng finished painting the coffin, then walked out of the shop together to meet Zhao Yi at the hot pot restaurant.

As a result, Zhao Yi was not found at the hot pot restaurant.

The proprietress, who knew Yin Meng, took the initiative to bring over the packed dishes and also brought out the pot base filled with chili and butter.

"Mengmeng, bring me the pot when you're done eating, don't bother washing it."

"Oh, okay." Yin Meng took the pot and asked, "Where's the person who ordered?"

"He's gone. Wasn't that the guy? He ordered food, said he'd take it to go, paid, and settled the bill for an elderly person as well."

Which old man?

"He left. He took a phone call at the front desk, saying that the lab had made some progress. He left before he even finished cooking. He seems to be someone special."

Yin Meng and Run Sheng carried the pot and vegetables back to the coffin shop.

Zhao Yi would never leave without saying goodbye; something must have happened.

Of course, it would be a real surprise if he dared to appear in Fengdu at this moment.

Yin Meng walked to Ghost Street again, looking around, but couldn't see Zhao Yi in the crowd.

Runsheng walked behind the counter, picked up the phone, and dialed Xiaoyuan.

The call is connected.

"Xiao Yuan, it's me."

"Brother Runsheng."

"Zhao Yi came, then Zhao Yi disappeared again."

"Don't worry about him."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Runsheng shouted to Yinmeng outside:
"It's okay, let's have hot pot."

Siyuan Village, Nantong.

Li Zhuiyuan put the old mobile phone back on the desk, walked out of the room, and stood on the terrace, where he could see A Jing running towards him from a distance.

Behind A-Jing were the Liang sisters and Xu Ming.

However, after descending the village road, the Liang sisters and Xu Ming stopped, while only A-Jing happily ran to the threshing floor and shouted upstairs:

"Brother Yuan!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Tell them to go to Big Beard's house first, and you stay here for lunch."

Chen Jing: "Okay, Brother Yuan!"

In the previous wave, Li Zhuiyuan promised Zhao Yi that he would help his subordinates complete a round of promotions.

As for Zhao Yi himself, he went to Fengdu to pursue his career advancement.

He knew the emperor was angry with him, because he had offended the emperor more than once or twice. If the first sacrifice of the lazy dog ​​was an unintentional mistake, then the subsequent sacrifices were entirely due to his own initiative.

He went there to receive his punishment.

He knew he would be tortured and ravaged, but he was betting that the emperor would spare him because he was on his side.

Because the Emperor has made a large investment here and hasn't recouped his costs yet, he won't break his own plans.

As for such a powerful figure, you can let him manipulate you as he pleases. As long as he doesn't kill you, something will always slip through his fingers for you to catch.

If you ruin your body and break your soul, you'll find another way to mend it. The difference between the price of this transaction is your profit.

Zhao Yi went to Fengdu to stage an accident.

Just like when he first entered the peach grove, he was hung up and whipped by Qing'an. It was terrible, but afterwards, peach blossoms bloomed on the crack of his life and death.

Removing the plaque from the Zhao family's gate in Jiujiang is a reflection of Zhao Yi's bottom line.

But apart from this line, Zhao Yi had no other connections.

Even Li Zhuiyuan had to admit that if one were to step outside their own perspective and look at it purely from a third-party viewpoint, someone like Zhao Yi was truly frightening.

Historically, not all Dragon Kings were like the former Chen family Dragon King, who suppressed an era from the very beginning. Many were forged through hardship and perseverance, and some were even unknown in the early and middle stages, but rose to prominence in the later stages, crushing all rivals and finally achieving the title of Dragon King.

Sister Chen is blessed with many advantages, but her shortcomings are also quite obvious.

Considering the other outstanding lamplighters he had met, each with their own strengths, if Li Zhuiyuan were to choose who was most likely to have the last laugh, he would choose... Zhao Yi.

Unfortunately, I am also standing on this river.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze turned towards the east room, from where he could see a corner of the offering table inside.

There is only one Dragon King in each generation. Perhaps the ancestors of the Qin and Liu families once expressed the same sentiment as us.

The plight of "Qing'an and his ilk," who lived in the same era as Wei Zhengdao, was also a tragedy.
"Pfft!"

Zhao Yi didn't know how long he had been climbing on the lava. The pain repeatedly blurred his consciousness, only to bring him back to his senses time and time again.

He felt like a withered ghost, tormented beyond recognition.

Finally, when his hands grabbed forward again and dragged his body forward, he fell.

"Master, did you hear anything?"

"What...what sound?"

"It looks like someone has fallen into the water."

"no?"

"I heard."

"Hey, hey, don't move, you're not dressed yet."

The apprentice couldn't set up a fortune-telling stall, nor could he sell things. Before the master took the apprentice to Qinglong Temple, the two of them still had to make a living, and he still had to go to get his hair washed.

Therefore, Master Yang specially prepared an ancient costume for his apprentice and hung a red tag on his chest to make him look like a staff member of the scenic area, so that he could distribute free "fortune-telling tickets" to tourists.

Divination is free; interpret the hexagram using the original elements.

As long as his apprentices can direct customers to him, he has a way to get them to spend money.

The problem was with the costumes we received this time. You get what you pay for. They looked good on us, and they were period costumes, but something just seemed off. When I took a few steps back to look closer, I realized they were actually the robes of eunuchs from a theatrical troupe.

Grandpa Miguang still couldn't shake the commotion he had just heard. Ignoring his master's advice, he went to the dock and looked down carefully.

Suddenly, a withered hand emerged from underwater, grabbed his collar, and then a tremendous force pulled him into the water.

Master Yang was startled and rushed to the rescue, while simultaneously calling for help from those around him:
"A water ghost is pulling people away! Help! Quick, help!"

A Taoist priest and a eunuch were dressed up. The tourists thought there would be a scenic performance to watch as soon as they arrived at the pier. Many people were laughing, and some even took out their cameras.

Master Yang was extremely anxious, but fortunately, his apprentice soon surfaced, and he immediately reached out and pulled him ashore.

He slapped his apprentice's face hard.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"puff!"

Mi Guang spat out several mouthfuls of water.

"Master, I'm alright..."

Where are your clothes?

"Yes, where are my clothes?"

Mi Guang touched himself and found that his clothes were gone. Then, he felt something sticky on his hands. He opened his hands and saw a half-melted pill.

"What the hell is this?"

Master Yang brought his apprentice's hand to him, smelled it, and felt his energy instantly return after just one sniff.

"Like a tonic?"

Yang Banxian stuck out his tongue again, licked it, and smacked his lips to savor the taste. He paused for a moment, looked down, and saw that his penis had also become erect.

"Good stuff, good stuff." Master Yang took out a piece of paper. "Quick, scrape it off, don't waste it, wrap it up for your master."

"Master, you just saw it, didn't you? I was being held by a hand..."

"Nothing to do, nothing to do, this water ghost is a particular kind of ghost too."

Far from the crowds at the dock, a figure dressed in eunuch's robes emerged step by step from beneath the water on the river.

Beneath the clothing lay a severely atrophied and injured body.

But when Zhao Yi's figure was fully revealed above the water, a dragon's roar came from his throat, and the water around him spun rapidly.

As he raised his head, black energy surged rapidly from his body, forming the shadow of a black dragon above him. This dragon was eerily sinister; it was a ghostly dragon!
When the inheritance from that well was divided, Li Zhuiyuan took the dragon spirit, while Zhao Yi obtained the dragon skin. Since then, Zhao Yi has been relentlessly pursuing the development of the dragon skin.

This time, by utilizing the toxicity contained in those two lazy dogs, coupled with the scorching heat of the underworld magma, his dragon skin was completely integrated into his body, and even merged with his soul.

All the suffering and torment were worth it. Now, his own soul is a new dragon spirit, achieving a new leap in both physical and spiritual aspects!
A terrifying and gloomy aura spread outwards unchecked. Zhao Yi traveled all the way from Jiujiang to Fengdu, not only making no attempt to conceal himself but also deliberately drawing as much attention as possible to himself.

Right now, there must be many eyes watching her new changes.

Zhao Yi spoke up:

"Godfather, I'm sorry, I've let you down. I couldn't take advantage of this opportunity to kill him, but..."

After a pause, Zhao Yi smiled, and the ghostly dragon phantom roared, amplifying Zhao Yi's next words:

"Godfather still loves me!"

……

"Brother Shen, that's enough for now. You can go back to your work. I'm really sorry to have kept you up for so long."

"Since you call me brother, don't be so formal."

"Take these, Brother Shen."

"I'll only take the agreed-upon portion. I don't want the rest. If you try to force it on me, I'll get angry."

"Okay." Tan Wenbin handed He Shen a cigarette.

He Shen took out a lighter and lit a cigarette for Tan Wenbin first.

"Wenbin, I've had a lot of time out this time, so I've had a chance to think things through carefully. I plan to increase investment when I get back, and not just focus on the Western Regions route anymore. I want to expand as much as possible, betting that our country will build more and more roads, and that the logistics industry will have a bigger market in the future."

"Yes, Brother Shen, I believe you can do it."

"Wenbin, would you like to invest?"

"This is a lot of money..."

"Hey, let's not be so formal between brothers. You can contribute your technology as equity."

Tan Wenbin laughed, and He Shen laughed too. Ayou, who was chewing gum nearby, also laughed along with them.

Tan Wenbin knew what He Shen meant; he wanted to bring his own father along.

It's not easy. This is the first time in his life that Tan Wenbin has felt like a prince.

But he could never do such a thing. Putting aside everything else, if his own father found out, he would probably buy a box of belts overnight and drive his motorcycle all the way from Nanjing to Nantong to beat him.

“Brother Shen, all industries will only become more and more standardized in the future. I think that choosing a location is worse than choosing a headcount.”

He Shen nodded, knowing that this meant he was refusing.

Tan Wenbin: "However, if Brother Shen is really short of funds, I do have a friend who might be able to invest."

He Shen: "Oh?"

Tan Wenbin: "I will give him your contact information, Brother Shen, and he will contact you when he has time."

He Shen: "Since he is a major investor, I should be the one to visit him in person."

Tan Wenbin shook his head: "He should be in some remote mountain valley right now."

He Shen: "I see. By the way, Wenbin, what do you think I should name my new company?"

Tan Wenbin: "In the logistics business, you definitely need to be able to reach everywhere. And taking your name, Brother Shen, how about we call it..."

He Shen: "He Tong? This sounds a bit strange."

Tan Wenbin: "Just change one word."

At that moment, Tan Wenbin saw a van drive past him with the words "Sanxiang Mental Hospital" painted on it.

Although he hadn't activated his snake eyes, Tan Wenbin's basic vision was already far beyond that of ordinary people. He saw a person wearing a straw hat standing inside the van, while the rest of the medical staff were all sitting upright in the van, and even the driver's posture was extremely upright.

The van turned left at the intersection ahead and drove into the gate of the mental hospital not far away.

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Shen, let's part ways here."

He Shen: "It's just a short drive from here to Nantong, or maybe I should..."

Tan Wenbin: "We have other things to do."

He Shen: "Okay, you guys get busy."

The convoy left.

Tan Wenbin: "Ah You, did you notice that van just now?"

Lin Shuyou shook his head: "Is there something wrong with that car? I didn't sense any evil aura, and the vertical pupils didn't react."

Tan Wenbin walked across the street and sniffed: "There's definitely no evil smell. That must be someone from the Xuanmen sect."

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, are we going to say hello?"

Tan Wenbin: "Forget it, running into people from the Xuanmen sect isn't anything strange. We've just finished one wave, and there's no more to catch. Let's go back and meet up with Brother Xiaoyuan first; we need to build a kiln at home..."

Just then, another van drove up, still bearing the red lettering "Sanxiang Mental Hospital" painted on its side.

As the car passed by, Lin Shuyou also glanced at it intently.

Inside the vehicle sat a person wearing a straw hat, except that the person wearing a straw hat in the previous vehicle was a man, while the person in this vehicle was a woman.

The woman looked up; the upper half of her face was covered by a straw hat, and the lower half was veiled, leaving only her eyes visible as she glanced at the two fleeting "passersby" on the roadside.

After the car drove away, Lin Shuyou asked, "Brother Bin, were we too obvious just now?"

Tan Wenbin flicked his cigarette ash: "You saw the mental hospital's vehicle and just glanced at it out of curiosity. Is there anything strange about that?"

Lin Shuyou: "That's true. We weren't wearing straw hats."

"boom!"

A man in a white coat was seen pressed against the rear window of a passing van. The man looked terrified, as if he were screaming for help.

But the next moment, his eyes began to bloodshot, and he numbly turned around and sat back down.

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, is she controlling the doctor?"

Tan Wenbin: "It seems so."

Lin Shuyou: "Should we go take a look?"

Tan Wenbin: "Maybe the doctor is possessed by an evil spirit, and that fellow Daoist is resolving the matter. We should still try to think of this martial arts world in a more positive light."

"Tsk, never mind, Ah You, I'll wait for you here. Go check out that mental hospital and see what's going on. If it's just a normal exorcism, we won't bother you anymore."

Just as Lin Shuyou was about to move forward, a loud bang came from around the bend ahead.

Instead of slowing down as it turned, the van accelerated and crashed into the concrete pillar at the bend, flipping high into the air before plunging into a field on the side of the road.

Lin Shuyou looked at Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin walked towards the scene of the car accident.

The car accident was serious; the van was badly damaged, and there was bloodstains everywhere on the shattered windows.

But as he got closer, Tan Wenbin didn't hear any cries for help.

When they arrived at the van, a terrified scream came from the driver's seat:

"what!!!"

The driver was clearly not shouting about the car accident and injuries; he was expressing the psychological pressure brought on by another terrible event.

At the same time, a hand suddenly reached out, followed by the face of the person in the white coat.

"Wow!"

He smashed his head through the car window and climbed out, ignoring the cuts his head and body were getting from the glass.

The driver also climbed out of the front window of the cab, but only his upper body came out. He screamed and tried to escape, and he looked... very energetic.

The white coat that climbed out of the car crashed into the spot where Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou were.

"Buzz!"

A talisman was thrown out of the car and stuck to the man in the white coat. He staggered and stood still.

"boom!"

The deformed car door was kicked open, and a woman wearing a straw hat crawled out. Her head was broken and bleeding, and she was staggering, suggesting she might have suffered a concussion.

The woman in the straw hat ignored the two passersby watching and threw out another talisman. The driver, despite only having half a body, moved with lightning speed.

The talisman failed to hit the driver.

The woman in the straw hat swayed and knelt down. She took out a coil of fine silver chains from her sleeve and swung them out, wrapping them around the driver's neck. Just as she was about to pull the driver back, she suddenly vomited in front of her. This loss of force caused her to be dragged forward by the driver.

Tan Wenbin: "Get it under control."

Lin Shuyou's figure disappeared from the spot.

Tan Wenbin looked at the white-coated man standing motionless in front of him. This person was clearly not dead, but seemed to have lost the sense of pain. Moreover, this talisman was a very orthodox suppression talisman.

It has no evil aura, yet it can be suppressed?
The man in the white coat suddenly rolled his eyes upward, his red eyes fixed on Tan Wenbin.

"Child...come to me...child...come to me..."

A certain voice came from Tan Wenbin's heart, urging him to move forward, to embrace and accept.

"Crack!"

He lit another cigarette with a lighter.

The red eyes widened in surprise, seemingly not expecting the person she had bewitched to react this way.

Tan Wenbin exhaled a puff of smoke into those red eyes.

His red eyes narrowed sharply and convulsed violently. Soon, the white-coated doctor's eyes returned to normal, and two lines of foul-smelling bloody tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

Tan Wenbin: "That's interesting. So it spreads through evil thoughts?"

I remember that evil spirit I encountered in Dujiangyan could alter people's memories, but that's completely different from the current situation.

On the other side, Lin Shuyou appeared in front of the driver and grabbed him, lifting him up.

Despite being so badly injured, the driver didn't die. However, when Lin Shuyou lifted him up, the driver's eyes rolled upwards, revealing bloodshot eyes.

“Child…come to my arms…there is true warmth here…”

Lin Shuyou's vertical pupils have been activated.

Blood Eyes: "..."

Red blood gushed out, and the driver's waving arms fell limply; he was dead.

Lin Shuyou put the driver's body down, scratched his head, and couldn't understand how the driver could have done something so extreme when there was no trace of evil spirit on him.

"Young man, what are your thoughts?"

"My opinion is that we can ask that person when we get back."

"You don't need to tell me that."

Ayou walked towards the woman in the straw hat. After being dragged for a while, the woman was lying on the ground with blood flowing from her nostrils. This was a very serious concussion.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Judging from the previous behavior of the driver and the woman in the white coat, the woman in the straw hat was indeed the one suppressing them, so she belonged to the righteous path.

However, she must have made a mistake during the suppression, which led to the successful riot by the suppressors inside the car, and she was unlucky enough to be injured in the car accident.

Lin Shuyou squatted down, examining the woman in the straw hat as he whispered, "How can you be so stupid..."

Just then, two men wearing straw hats walked out of the mental hospital. They ran very fast, one drawing a knife and the other a sword, their killing intent palpable.

They saw Lin Shuyou lift up the half-driver, clearly having been misled, and they also saw Lin Shuyou preparing to "poison" his own comrade.

Lin Shuyou turned his head slightly to look at them, thinking to himself: It's been a long time since I've seen such slow opponents.

The two men in straw hats stopped halfway through their journey and began to spin in circles, as if they were dancing.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Tan Wenbin walked over to Lin Shuyou. Fearing that Lin Shuyou might go too far when he attacked, he simply hypnotized the two of them.

Ah You: "Brother Bin, why did they want to kill me?"

Tan Wenbin: "They probably suspect you've been misled."

Ayou: "So what exactly is this thing?"

Tan Wenbin: "It seems to be a special kind of evil thought. It's very weak and doesn't pose much of a threat, but its quality is surprisingly high. We can investigate it and report it to Brother Xiaoyuan. Brother Xiaoyuan might be interested."

As soon as he finished speaking, the white clouds above the mental hospital rapidly changed color and descended in all directions, enveloping the entire area.

Lin Shuyou: "Formation."

Tan Wenbin: "It started when the car accident happened, and it's only now that it's working."

Having grown accustomed to seeing Brother Xiaoyuan use formations, seeing this traditional craft is like going back to riding in a donkey cart after being used to riding in a car, cracking a whip and shouting "Giddy up!"

The gates of the mental hospital opened, and an old man wearing a straw hat and shirtless walked out.

The old man took off his straw hat and tossed it aside, his piercing eyes fixed on Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou.

Tan Wenbin stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "As fellow practitioners in the martial world, we should naturally help each other in suppressing evil. May I ask where you come from, senior?"

The old man said, "Stop your arrogance! How dare you bully me like this? Do you think I can't see that you've long been bewitched and controlled by the Demon Eye?"

Tan Wenbin: "Senior, you misunderstand. We were not misled. We did this out of fear of escalating the conflict."

As he spoke, Tan Wenbin snapped his fingers, and the two men in straw hats who had been spinning around stopped spinning. They both fell to the ground, their eyes rolling back in their heads from dizziness.

The old man said, "Hehe, one's head may be severed and blood may flow, but the spirit of righteousness must not be dissipated. In this life, I have no regrets if I can die in the name of suppressing evil spirits!"

A bloody line appeared on the withered chest. The old man drew a dagger and stabbed it into his chest. As his aura rose, his body began to swell from its thinness.

"Come, Demon Eye, let's fight to the death!"

“Senior, you have misunderstood. We are not evil spirits, nor have we been bewitched. We come from the Dragon King’s court…”

"Hahaha! I'm furious! Do they really think I'm a fool?!"

The old man took a step forward, the ground beneath his feet caved in, and then he shot towards Tan Wenbin like an arrow.

Tan Wenbin took a helpless drag on his cigarette, raised his hand, and flicked it forward.

Lin Shuyou rushed out.

The old man only felt an absurdly fast afterimage appear in front of him, and then his neck was grabbed. After a dizzying spin, he was thrown to the ground.

As he tried to struggle, a golden mace was placed in front of his face.

Old man: "You...you..."

Tan Wenbin walked over and said, "Senior, now we can confirm that we are not evil spirits, right? We have no reason to lie to you, because we can easily kill you."

The old man stared intently at Lin Shuyou: "You...you..."

Lin Shuyou leaned closer and asked, "Senior, what are you trying to say?"

The old man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "You...you..."

Looking at the old man's extremely excited expression, Lin Shuyou said with a headache, "Brother Bin, it seems that the senior still doesn't believe it."

Tan Wenbin: "No, the senior already believes it."

Lin Shuyou: "So what does he mean by that?"

Tan Wenbin: "It means you need to quickly pull the dagger out to stop the bleeding, otherwise he might really die."

"oh oh!"

Lin Shuyou pulled the dagger out of the old man's chest and then quickly followed up to stop the bleeding.

The old man immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Tan Wenbin squatted down next to the old man.

The old man pursed his lips and asked weakly:
"From the Dragon King's family?"

Tan Wenbin nodded.

The old man hesitated for a moment, then said, "I...we can barely be considered part of the Dragon King's family, haha, barely."

Upon hearing this, Tan Wenbin maintained a warm expression and asked:

"May I ask, senior, from which Dragon King's clan do you come?"

The old man's face flushed red, partly from the surge of blood and qi after the injury, and partly from embarrassment.

"Our family has no proper entrance..."

Tan Wenbin understood. This meant that since only one Dragon King had ever emerged, they could not claim to be the legitimate Dragon King lineage, just like the Zhao family of Jiujiang back then.

"Then who is the Dragon King from your family, senior?"

“Our family produced… the previous generation’s Dragon King.”

---

Tomorrow I'll write 15,000 words and fill in the missing 2,000 words for this chapter.

(End of this chapter)