Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

No. 12, Sanmin Road, West of the City.

The sky was dark and heavy, and the continuous autumn rain slanted down onto the gray tiles of the houses in the Wu family courtyard, splashing up tiny water droplets.

In the east and west wing rooms, separated only by a courtyard, Wu's mother and Wu Laosi began to tell their stories to Daoist Tianyi and Zhao Zheng respectively.

In the east wing.

With the help of her eldest son and others, Wu's mother sat on the edge of the bed, wiping her eyes repeatedly, and choked out a sob as she spoke to Daoist Tianyi.

"I'm not afraid to tell others, Taoist priest, that back then, my eldest son was forced into a corner and accidentally killed a local thug, committing a capital offense..."

When Wu's mother finished speaking, Wu's eldest son's expression changed drastically. He looked at his mother with a wry smile, as if to say, "Why do you tell everyone everything?"

Master Tianyi frowned but didn't say anything. Wu's mother wiped away her tears and talked for a while about how her eldest son was forced to accidentally kill that thug.

Then she continued, "But my eldest son can't leave. My father passed away early, and the family relies entirely on me and my eldest son. If he leaves, how will the family survive? So, I came up with a way to draw lots so that one of my third and fourth daughters could take the blame for his eldest brother..."

"...In the end, Xiao Si drew the death lot. It's also my fault as his mother. I couldn't bear to see him go to his death, so I secretly sent him away from Anping County overnight..."

At this point, Wu's mother wore a wry smile and said, "...It's a mix of luck and bad luck. Once Xiao Si left, Da Chen was gone, and the government naturally couldn't send anyone to look for our Xiao Si anymore. Those thugs who came to our door also stopped coming soon after..."

"...Then we started looking for Xiao Si, but we couldn't find him anywhere. Just when we, his mother and I, had given up hope, Xiao Si came back, but he was no longer the gentle and obedient Xiao Si we used to know..."

"...He went insane, started torturing the boss and the others, and would talk to thin air from time to time. If he hadn't been possessed by evil spirits or vengeful ghosts, how could he have become so heartless and unrecognizable to his own family..."

"Mother, please don't cry..."

The eldest, second, and third brothers cried as they spoke…

……

West Wing

Bound hand and foot, Wu Laosi lay on the bed, banging his head against the bed frame repeatedly. His knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white, and his face was contorted as he glared at Zhao Zhengdao, saying, "Possessed by evil spirits? Me, possessed by evil spirits? Do you even know why I left my hometown..."

"...The one who drew the death lot back then was the third son, the third son. He secretly switched my lot and forced the death penalty on me. But what did they do? They all pretended to be deaf and dumb. My old mother even knelt down to force her son to leave. Otherwise, how could I have left this family? Do you know how I got through this past year... Hahahaha..."

"..."

Zhao Zheng paused as he put away his gun, his slightly furrowed brows furrowing as he spoke to Wu's mother in the east wing.

……

East wing room.

Mother Wu lowered her head, her shoulders trembling, and said in a sorrowful voice, "You know, Xiao Si used to be so kind that he wouldn't even step on an ant, but now he's fixated on the fact that Lao San married his fiancée, and he's finding all sorts of ways to torment the whole family. This kind of grudge-holding, this kind of obsession, what else could it be but evil spirits possessing him..."

……

West Wing

Wu Laosi's eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched, and his teeth were grinding together: "That's my betrothed since childhood! I risked my life countless times to come back from there. Do you know how much suffering I endured on my journey? I'm only sixteen! I'm only sixteen!"

"...But what about them? They're living a peaceful life at home. The third brother even brazenly married my wife. They even had the audacity to tell outsiders that it was so that I could know in the afterlife. If I knew in the afterlife, I would want to turn into a zombie and kill all of them right away..."

As he spoke, Wu Laosi was about to bang his head against the bed again, which made Zhao Zheng silent for a moment before reaching out to stop him.

Thud! Thud! Thud—

Seeing Zhao Zheng's large hand under his head, Wu Laosi stopped banging his head against the bed and just sobbed.

……

East wing room.

Wu's mother cried, "Ever since he left, I've been burning incense and kowtowing every day, begging the gods and Buddhas to bring him back. But he did come back, yet he's become so unrecognizable to his own family. Could it be that he's been possessed by evil spirits outside...?"

……

West Wing

Wu Laosi lay on the bed, weeping bitterly. He opened his mouth and made a hoarse sound for a long time before finally catching his breath.

"Master...you know...I squatted in the corner outside the door for three days before I went home...but I didn't hear my name mentioned even once by any of those four...but my fiancée kept asking about my whereabouts, but they all said I was dead, waa ...

"Alright, I'll kill them all!"

Zhao Zheng expressionlessly pulled out his Colt from behind his back and cocked it, causing Wu Laosi's expression to freeze for a moment before he quickly said something.

"No, no, no..."

Having spent nearly a year struggling in the outside world, how could he not see that Zhao Zheng was serious? But Zhao Zheng ignored him and went straight into the room.

Thud! Thud! Thud—

A series of gunshots rang out.

"No……"

Wu Laosi roared furiously with bloodshot eyes, then fainted from lack of breath. Inside the east wing, Daoist Tianyi was trying to persuade Zhao Zhengdao, who was about to take action.

"Stop hitting me..."

It wasn't that he didn't want to stop him, but that he was too old... Never mind, he just didn't want to stop Zhao Zheng.

He heard everything clearly in the west wing, and by comparing the two accounts, he could easily tell who was telling the truth and who was lying.

Although Wu Linshi didn't say it was a lie, Daoist Tianyi could tell that Wu Linshi and the other three had been hiding a lot.

Everyone knows what kind of people Wu Linshi and the others are. The fact that he was able to block four bullets fired by Zhao Zheng and prevent Zhao Zheng from killing all four of them already shows that he has a high level of self-cultivation.

The screams continued.

A dozen minutes later, Zhao Zheng looked expressionlessly at Wu Linshi, whose mouth he had beaten raw, and Wu Laosan, whose leg he had broken, and took out a silver note and threw it at them.

"Your fourth son isn't possessed by an evil spirit, but the four of you are terminally ill... Forget it, I'm too lazy to reason with you. You don't deserve to listen. If you four want revenge, remember to find out about Zhao the moneylender first, so no one will be there to collect your corpses!"

After Zhao Zheng finished speaking, he turned and left. If he didn't leave, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist shooting these four humanoid creatures that looked like humans.

Also, he suddenly felt that the saying "Humans know how terrifying ghosts are, but ghosts know how vicious people's hearts are" was quite true. At least, he saw how vicious people's hearts can be today.

Master Tianyi stared expressionlessly at the four women, including Wu Linshi, who were hiding in the corner with terrified expressions. A flash of golden light appeared in his eyes.

After confirming that the injuries on the four men would not leave any lasting effects, he glanced at the silver note that was just enough for the cost of their medicine and then turned to leave.

He didn't mean anything by it; he just shared the same sentiment as Zhao Zheng: these four creatures who looked like humans weren't worthy of his reasoning.

The two left Wu Linshi's house, got into a carriage, and left. They did not speak until they left the western part of the city.

Master Tianyi looked at Zhao Zheng, who was staring blankly at the Taoist scripture, opened his mouth, hesitated several times before finally speaking.

"You don't need to be angry!"

"I'm not angry!"

Zhao Zheng looked away from the Taoist scripture in his hand, shook his head and retorted. He had a feeling and shouted to Er Gou, who was driving the carriage, to stop before Daoist Tianyi could speak.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Daoist Tianyi frowned and looked out at the street, which had become deserted at some point.

"Master Zhao, you killed the person I sent to invite you without a word. Don't you owe me an explanation...?"

A faint voice came from a middle-aged man in a black mandarin jacket who was strolling down the street ahead.

Zhao Zheng ignored him and simply handed the Taoist scripture in his hand to Daoist Tianyi, who subconsciously took it and looked at it.

The first thing that catches the eye is a passage from a Daoist scripture titled "Dao Shu: On Sitting in Oblivion": "Sitting in oblivion is the foundation of longevity. Therefore, one should summon the true self to refine the body, and when the body is pure, it unites with the qi; one should contain the Dao to refine the qi, and when the qi is pure, it unites with the spirit; one should calm the spirit to unite with the Dao, and when one unites with the Dao, one assimilates into the formless."

"I'm just unhappy!"

Zhao Zheng's voice rang out, but when Daoist Tianyi looked up, the other person was nowhere to be seen in the carriage.