The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 1 Zhou Yan
Unexamined.

My mind goes blank.

Zhou Yan struggled to gather his thoughts, but the last remaining memories hadn't returned. He only remembered that a group of people were hiking in the deep mountains near Mount Tai, and he, as a member of the city's volunteer search and rescue team, was assisting in the search and rescue. After that, he had no further recollection.

Did the horse stumble and fall?

My mom always says I'm a child she prayed for from the Goddess of Mount Tai, and she won't let me go up Mount Tai.

But I didn't go to the main peak of Mount Tai.

It's a bit hot...

My mind is a jumble of thoughts.

He seemed to be lying flat on a small cart, only able to look up at the narrow sky. Perhaps because he had survived such a close call, although his body was stiff and sore, he felt a great sense of relief and even had the mind to daydream. He thought the sky was exceptionally blue, comparable to the grassland on a sunny day.

The cart pulled him forward, and what he saw kept changing.

The ground was rugged, and the cart bounced around a lot.

My bones hurt.

Some people passing by greeted the man pulling the cart, and when they saw Zhou Yan lying paralyzed, they exclaimed in surprise:
"found it?"

"Well, I was lucky. I felt it was pointless to go to bed early today, so I went for a walk and found this person who fell down the mountain."

The conversation sounded like some kind of dialect, but Zhou Yan could understand it surprisingly well.

These people looked at Zhou Yan, talked among themselves, and finally just sighed:
"What a blessing."

Yes, they were really lucky.

Zhou Yan himself felt that he was still alive after falling down the mountain.

The ancestral graves must be set on fire.

My great-grandmother's credit card at Yama's palace must be smoking fast from all the swipes.

Zhou Yan swayed uncontrollably, and could only guess that the rescue team had probably found him and was being carried out of the ravine. In any case, he was alive at least, and his parents must have been extremely worried.

Mom must cry until she has no tears left.

She has a soft heart and cries easily.

I wonder how they'll feel when they see me come back.

As for those bad friends...

Ah... The mountaintop tumbles, and my clothes are slightly dirty.

Zhou Yan felt relieved. He was always carefree and thought about all sorts of random things. He was slightly looking forward to going home. He wanted to talk to the other person and ask for their phone to let his family know he was safe, but he was too tired. When he opened his mouth, he could only make a sound as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

The cart suddenly stopped.

A shadow seemed to fall from the front, blocking the increasingly harsh sunlight. Zhou Yan felt a little more comfortable and lay there, squinting his eyes. From the edge of his field of vision, he could see what appeared to be a shop.

It was a very sophisticated decor, with exquisite curtains hanging down that swayed in the wind, casting shadows on Zhou Yan's face. The ends of the curtains were cleverly designed with slits, so that as the wind moved, sunlight and shadow created a beautiful interplay.

Bang!

The two logs of the cart slammed to the ground, and the cart hit the back of its head with a thud.

The shock made Zhou Yan's head buzz.

Someone asked loudly with a laugh, "Is that Wang Chun? Buying meat?"

"This meat was just slaughtered today, all the blood has been drained. Want some?"

The gentle voice replied with a smile:
"Well, there's someone injured or sick at home, so I'm buying some meat to help them get some nutrition."

"Hey, that makes sense. So, what would you like?"

Wang Chun said, "Three catties of top-quality fatty pork tenderloin, plus half a thigh meat, to make wontons. You need to recuperate after getting sick."

"OK."

The shop owner was quite enthusiastic. Zhou Yan lay there and heard the sound of the owner drawing a knife and cutting meat. The owner's movements were quite swift. Finally, he wrapped up the meat, placed it on the cutting board, and asked familiarly, "Is it cash, or can it be written on the books to pay off the debt?"

"Cash, please."

"Then this number will do."

"...Why has it gone up again?"

"This is the price right now."

"Then let's keep track of it."

"Keep the books? No way!"

"No? Why not!"

"Of course not. You've already filled several notebooks with your names. The meat at the butcher shop doesn't come from thin air. We're on good terms, but I can't let you eat and drink for free like this. It just so happens that we can settle the bill together today."

"Come, let me show you the ledger. I've written down every single entry."

"You, you—" The clattering sounds were like someone using an abacus and flipping through ledgers.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Zhou Yan thought that it seemed that this benefactor's financial situation was not very good, and he had to buy meat on credit. However, the boss was quite nice. In modern times, where would you buy meat on credit for such a small business?

In that case, we should go back and properly thank our savior.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan's benefactor became anxious: "You, it's not time to settle the bill yet! Look at my situation, you know that, I, I, I don't have any money to give you!"

The butcher said, "Hey, hey, we have to follow the rules. How can you buy something without paying? No matter what you want to do, you can't take my meat for free."

"Either use the sheep you raise to pay off the debt, or don't buy it at all."

"There's no reason for you to eat for free."

The man pulling Zhou Yan, Wang Chun, seemed distressed, his face twitching. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "Alright, the sheep isn't fattened up yet. I was planning to raise it until the New Year to eat it. It would be a waste to kill it now. I can give it to you as compensation, but you still have to give me a thousand."

The butcher said, "Okay!"

Zhou Yan thought to himself, "What a good sheep!" Suddenly, the people in front of him made way.

A shadow fell, and a stench wafted over.

Then a hairy hand suddenly rushed over, grabbed Zhou Yan's collar, and yanked him up. The sunlight stung his eyes, and Zhou Yan's vision went black. He had been lying down, and being pulled up so suddenly made his vision blurry.

Just now, it seemed like my soul was floating outside, but now, pulled by this, it felt like it had returned to its place. As a result, all the colors and smells from all directions rushed in. The sunlight was dazzling, and dogs were chewing on bones by the roadside. There was a crossroads and a big locust tree.

He was having difficulty breathing and looked down.

The butcher, who was wearing only an oilcloth apron, had a thick beard, and a scar on his left eye, grinned and laughed. Saliva was sticky between his teeth, and his eyes looked slightly bluish as he looked at Zhou Yan.

A delicate abacus hung at his waist, adorned with a red armband, while the account books on the table were meticulously written.

The butcher pinched Zhou Yan's arm:

"Hahahaha, good sheep!"

He leaned in again, took a deep sniff, and exclaimed, "What delicious meat!"

"Wang Chun, you're so lucky!"

? ! ! !
What does this mean?!

Zhou Yan couldn't breathe. The luck and relief he had felt at being rescued instantly turned into absurd and bewildering fear. The sluggishness in his thinking caused by the intense exhaustion dissipated in an instant, and his gaze unconsciously shifted to the wasteland around him.

There is only one butcher shop in Shizipo.

A row of arms hung on the curtain of the butcher shop.

Her arms were long and graceful, her fingers slender, and her nails were deep red.

It looks like the forked end of a curtain.

As the wind sways, it casts gaps between shadows and sunlight.

It hit the face of the person who had placed it on the table.

So beautiful.

Extreme fear surged up, but beneath that fear, an unnamed rage exploded in Zhou Yan's heart. He tried to raise his hand, and as if his soul had returned, his limbs finally obeyed, and this time he was able to lift it.

But that hand was much smaller, and although it was wearing its own clothes, it looked much younger.

The immense shock caused him to pause for a moment.

He thought there were only two people talking, since only the meat sellers and buyers were talking.

Now, behind the butcher's shop, there are still more than a dozen people standing there quietly, each with a straw rope around their neck, not daring to move, their eyes blank.

In that instant, the butcher grabbed both of his wrists with one hand and lifted him up—it was incredibly strong. Zhou Yan watched as those greenish eyes looked him up and down. The butcher wiped the drool from his mouth and said, "..."

"Good meat, good meat!"

"My lord, you smell so good."

He stuck out his tongue, which was thick and yellowish, and licked it towards Zhou Yan, exhaling a foul odor.

A dry, scorching sun; curled leaves; a person bound by a thin rope.

The curtains made of fingers swayed in the wind.

Zhou Yan's heart pounded wildly with fear.

I'm so scared!
I'm so scared!

I……

Zhou Yan could lift his right leg, and then viciously kicked the butcher in the face.

The roar startled even the cicadas.

"I'll fuck you!!!"

(End of this chapter)