The game comes true, starting with the wandering spirits and gods.

He heard the sound of his ribs shattering.

He collapsed before he could even change the expression on his face.

Before he died, he saw a transparent hole.

It's right in my chest.

The courtyard was first deathly silent, then it erupted into chaos.

"Internal...internal energy?"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

That idea only lasted for a moment before everyone extinguished it themselves.

Internal strength?

Which of the martial arts guards present hadn't seen internal energy?

When they were young, they apprenticed under masters to learn martial arts. Their masters taught them, their senior brothers demonstrated them, and some even witnessed it firsthand in the martial arts world.

What is internal strength? It is the ability to shatter a brick in two with a single palm strike and crack a cowhide drum with a single punch.

Internal strength is an extension of external force, not sorcery.

But what is this in front of me?

Two fingers, without any gathering of strength, without any movement of energy, without any sign of exerting force, pierced through the chest of a living person.

He could cough up blood, lose his internal energy, struggle a couple of times, and then swallow his last breath.

But the current situation is that it has been completely breached.

This is not internal strength.

Internal strength isn't that outrageous.

"It's magic!"

Those martial arts masters who had practiced their fists and feet for most of their lives and boasted of their fighting prowess looked increasingly grim.

They are not afraid of fists or swords, but they are most afraid of this kind of strange and supernatural magic.

Some people in the crowd were already secretly regretting that they had come to stand up for themselves today.

If I get targeted by a Taoist priest, I'm doomed.

I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep day and night from now on!

"Go!" Huo Changmao's expression changed completely, no longer the hypocritical gentleness of before, but a kind of almost ferocious panic.

"You...you can throw things at her! Sticks! Stones! Anything!"

No one moved.

The hands of the guards, servants, and martial arts instructors holding the sticks were trembling.

They looked at each other, but their feet were unconsciously moving backward.

"Young Master, this guy is clearly no ordinary person!" a straightforward guard couldn't help but exclaim. "How can we send our brothers to their deaths!"

No one refuted him.

Because he was telling the truth.

Huo Changmao's face turned ashen, caught in a dilemma.

Of all those present, the one with the most interesting expression was Wei's father.

He stared blankly at the still-bleeding corpse beside the artificial hill, his pupils contracting.

"Red...red medicine?"

He shouted again, not even knowing what he wanted to say.

His mind went blank. Was this still his daughter?

Zhang Wenhao ignored him.

They weren't shouting for themselves.

His gaze passed over the timid guards and landed on Huo Changmao at the very back of the crowd.

Then he took a step.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The crowd parted to both sides like the receding tide.

No one wanted to stand in front of those hazy eyes, and no one wanted to be poked by those two fingers.

They lowered their heads and turned sideways, wishing they could squeeze themselves into a crack in the wall.

A large group of dozens of people made way for a straight road leading directly to Huo Changmao.

Huo Changmao's legs went weak.

He turned to run, but before he could even steady himself, a hand grabbed the back of his collar.

Huo Changmao's legs kicked wildly in the air, like a goose being lifted up and struggling.

"Heroine, spare my life!" His voice changed.

"Spare me! Spare me! I won't marry him! I don't want him anymore! Please put me down! Put me down!"

His crotch was soaked.

Zhang Wenhao glanced down, frowned, and straightened his arm to keep the wet thing away from him.

"Get your people away from here!"

Before Young Master Huo could even speak, the group of people retreated as if avoiding a plague.

In just a few breaths, only Zhang Wenhao, the fox demon, Wei's father kneeling on the ground, and Huo Changmao, who was being held in mid-air and trembling, remained in the courtyard.

Zhang Wenhao was very satisfied and spoke again.

"How much money did he charge you?"

"I don't owe you anything! I don't owe you anything!" His voice was shrill and urgent. "It was all given voluntarily! I had no ulterior motives."

Zhang Wenhao took two steps and then suddenly stopped.

"What do you mean you don't owe anything?"

He turned around, his gray eyes staring at Huo Changmao, who was huddled under the low bamboo.

"Just ask him for the exact amount you need."

Zhang Wenhao walked back, bent down, and reached out to grab the big, round red flower tied to Huo Changmao's chest.

Before Huo Changmao could react, he saw the big red flower being torn off his chest by that fair hand.

Then those five slender fingers gently clenched together.

The red silk crumbled into powder and fell softly through her fingers.

Huo Changmao kept his eyes tightly shut, not daring to open them.

"Understood, understood!" His voice squeezed out from between his teeth, sharp and thin.

This is enough.

Zhang Wenhao was very satisfied.

He suddenly laughed.

It's winter now, but the silvery sound sounds like a spring breeze.

Then Zhang Wenhao turned around and strode out of the Wei residence.

As soon as you step over the threshold, the street outside comes into view.

There were few pedestrians on the street. In the distance, a few wonton stalls were still lit up, steam rising from the pots.

Further away, the sound of a night watchman's clapper could be heard, one beat after another, unhurried and gentle.

It's the warmth and life of everyday people.

Zhang Wenhao stood in the middle of the street, barefoot, hopping and skipping.

Using a young girl's body in this way makes her seem innocent and naive.

If it were a grown man like myself, I'd be a complete idiot.

He said to Wei Hongyao from inside his body, "Now, you are free."

Wei Hongyao did not answer.

She stared blankly at the sparse pedestrians on the street, at the lights of the wonton stall in the distance, and at the night watchman carrying a lantern passing by the alley entrance. These were scenes she had never seen before in the dead of night.

She's out now.

become free.

But she only gave a soft "oh".

There was no sense of relief, not even any emotion.

Now that the cage door is open, she doesn't know how to fly anymore.

She had no direction.

I have no home, nowhere to go back to.

She never imagined that the price of freedom would be so heavy, so heavy that she could hardly breathe.

Zhang Wenhao remained silent for a while.

"Didn't you say you wanted to see the outside world?"

He spoke, his voice softer than usual, as if he were comforting a frightened little animal.

Wei Hongyao's soul stirred slightly deep within her body.

"I will teach you the Tao. When you achieve enlightenment, you can see for yourself. You can look for as long as you want and go wherever you want."

He paused, then added, "How is it?"

"Lord God of the Earth."

Her voice came from deep within her body, soft and nasal, as if tears were welling up in her eyes but she was holding them back.

"I do."

Three words, spoken lightly and steadily.

It's like handing yourself over.

Zhang Wenhao nodded.

"Then it's settled."

The fox demon, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly frowned.

"A bunch of annoying guys are heading this way."