A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

"Thanks to 'I Love Durian' for the rocket! Thank you, boss! You're so generous! Boss, good health! Boss, all the best! Boss, get rich! Boss—here, add another hundred dollars to the boss's account!"

Ji Zuodao spoke very quickly, like a comedian, one sentence after another, without even a stutter.

After he finished speaking, he quickened his pace.

The blade flashed in the air, so fast that its trajectory was impossible to discern. One strike after another, relentlessly, rained down on the evil cultivator like a storm.

The evil cultivator's screams grew even more mournful.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh! Kill me! Please, just kill me!"

The evil cultivator's voice was hoarse and broken, carrying a despair worse than death.

Ji Zuodao, however, turned a deaf ear.

While he was cutting, he was also interacting with the viewers in the live stream:

"Family members, if you think the streamer's skills are good, type '1'! If you think the streamer still needs to improve, type '2'! Any opinions or suggestions are welcome in the comments section! The streamer will humbly accept them!"

"A fancy design? Sure! This 'Braised Pork Lover' owner, what kind of design would you like to see? Peonies? Or a dragon and phoenix? You name it, the anchor will arrange it for you!"

As he spoke, he twirled the knife in his hand and actually began to carve patterns on the evil cultivator's body.

As Zhao Ya watched the video of the young man smiling brightly while carving patterns on a living person with a knife, she felt her heart sinking little by little.

The feeling was like she excitedly opened a beautifully packaged gift box, only to find a bloody human head inside.

Her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she found that she couldn't utter a single word.

What could she possibly say?

They say her son is a psychopath? They say her son is a serial killer? They say her son is a demon?

But what right does she have to say that?

What right does she have to judge him?

The video is still playing.

Ji Zuodao has finished carving a peony flower and is showing it off to the viewers in the live stream:

"Family members, look! Peonies! Aren't they beautiful? Aren't they exquisite? If you think they're beautiful, type '666'!"

His face held a childlike pride, as if he were showing off a painting he had just finished.

A blood-red peony was blooming on the body of that evil cultivator.

The petals, layer upon layer, with clear veins, were so lifelike that it seemed as if a peony was truly blooming on his body.

The evil cultivator was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, only able to make "hoarse" sounds, like a broken bellows struggling to turn.

Zhao Ya finally couldn't stand it anymore.

She reached out and turned off the video.

The screen went black, and the screams, the laughter, and the scrolling of the comments all disappeared.

The living room fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Ya stood there, head down, hands on the edge of the table, shoulders trembling slightly.

Wang Gang stood behind her, looking at her like that, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to comfort his wife, but the words stuck in his throat.

He didn't know what to say, nor did he know that saying anything now would be of any use.

After a long while, Zhao Ya finally spoke.

"This child..."

She paused, took a deep breath, as if to calm herself down.

"This child, how much suffering has he endured..."

"Suffering?"

Wang Gang stared wide-eyed at his wife.

No, where do you see that he's suffering?

Didn't you see the smile on that kid's face?

That smile was so radiant, it was practically bursting with happiness!

Although Wang Gang is not a psychology expert, he can still tell whether a person is genuinely happy or pretending to be happy.

The kid in the video, he looks genuinely happy.

That kind of happiness comes from the heart, it emanates from the very core of one's being.

Can this be called enduring hardship?

This is called enjoying yourself, isn't it!

Zhao Ya glared fiercely at Wang Gang.

Those eyes were like two knives, carrying a murderous aura that said, "If you dare say another word, I'll sew your mouth shut."

"How do you think a newborn baby, a child who knows nothing, could become the ruthless killer in the video, laughing and joking while slowly torturing people?"

"Who from a good family would want to learn these things? They must be forced to!"

Zhao Ya's eyes reddened again, and her voice began to choke.

"If you don't learn it, you might be whipped, go hungry and cold, and even be forced to kneel in the snow in the dead of winter..."

"My poor child..."

She had already begun to imagine her son being forced by a group of wicked people to learn those evil things—

On a cold, windy night, in a dilapidated house, a thin figure knelt on the cold ground, holding a thick book of evil magic in his hands, reciting it with trembling hands.

Beside him stood a grotesque old evil cultivator, holding a barbed whip in his hand, which he occasionally lashed out at the ground with a sharp "crack," all while cursing under his breath.

"Memorize it! Memorize it now! If you can't, you're not eating tonight!"

The small, thin figure trembled with fright, tears welling up in her eyes, but she dared not let them fall, and could only continue to bury herself in her studies.

Zhao Ya's heart ached at the thought of that scene.

However, she was completely mistaken.

Back when Ji Zuodao was learning these things, he was incredibly enthusiastic.

How proactive are they?

The notes were filled with neat handwriting and clear organization. Important points were marked in red, and there were many diagrams drawn next to them. It looked just like a top student's class notes.

If you didn't look at what was written above, anyone who did would praise you as a good student.

But if you look closely at what's written in that notebook—

"Detailed Explanation of Skinning Techniques: Step 1: Locate the entry point. Make an incision about three inches below the mandible. The incision should not be too deep to avoid damaging the subcutaneous tissue..."

"Acupoint Correspondence Chart: Tanzhong (CV17), stabbing pain; Guanyuan (CV4), severe pain; Yongquan (KI1), numbness and pain..."

"Illustrated Explanation of the Thirty-Six Forms of Lingchi (Death by a Scale): First Form, Dragonfly Skimming the Water; Second Form, Spring Breeze Swaying the Willow; Third Form, Peeling the Cocoon and Unraveling the Silk..."

Those notes were incredibly detailed, with both pictures and text.

When Zhou Langchen first peeled off the skin, he was worried that the kid wouldn't be able to handle it.

When he first skinned a meat, he vomited for three days straight, even bringing up bile. He couldn't eat for several days and felt nauseous at the smell of meat.

He specially prepared a bucket and placed it next to Ji Zuodao's feet, in case Ji Zuodao didn't have time to find a place to vomit.

The results of it?

After Ji Zuodao peeled off the first layer of skin, he was trembling all over.

When Zhou Langchen saw this, he thought: Oh no, I'm scared.

He was about to go up and say a few words of comfort, such as, "It's okay, it's okay, everyone's like this the first time, you'll get used to it."

Upon closer inspection, however, something seemed amiss.

Ji Zuodao trembled, not from fear, but from excitement.

His face was flushed with an unnatural redness, his breathing was rapid, and he was in a state of extreme excitement.

Zhou Langchen fell silent.

He looked down at the bucket he had prepared, then looked up at the little brat in front of him who was trembling with excitement.

Then he kicked the bucket aside.

Damn it, all that preparation was for nothing.

This is a born demon!

Sometimes, even Ji Zuodao's three masters were worried.

Don't actually raise a monkey like Sun Wukong.

They don't have the abilities of Patriarch Bodhi; they can't bear the blame for their disciple's rebellion.

Although they are heretical cultivators and commit all sorts of evil deeds such as murder and arson, they still have their bottom line.

Their bottom line is—

You can be bad, but you can't be stupid.

You can be wicked, but you can't be brainless.

You can be lawless, but you need to know who you can mess with and who you can't.

They didn't want their apprentice, whom they had painstakingly raised, to end up being slapped to death because of his arrogance.

Therefore, their education of Ji Zuodao has always been based on two approaches.

On the one hand, they taught him those unorthodox methods so that he would have the ability to protect himself and the means to survive in this cruel world.

On the other hand, it also subtly teaches him about interpersonal relationships, how to assess situations, and how to protect himself in this complex world.

To put it bluntly, you can be a jerk, but be a jerk with a brain.