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Chapter 97 Eliminate the Weeds at the Root

The Star-Picking Gang.

Once all the valuables were packed up, Lu Chen decisively discarded them after they had served their purpose.

Zheng Tianlei was very fortunate that he might still be of some use, so he wasn't killed immediately.

"Let's go, now take me to where Qingzhu is."

Lu Chen looked at Zheng Tianlei.

This thing smells like urine.

Zheng Tianlei led Lu Chen cautiously all the way, following Lu Chen's instructions to take secluded paths with few people, until they arrived at the villa.

Lu Chen gestured with his eyes to ask a question.

"Right here?"

Zheng Tianlei nodded.

"Knock on the door."

Zheng Tianlei hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and knocked on the door.

"Lord Qing, it is I, Tian Lei."

He said in a low voice.

A moment later, a sound came from inside.

What are you doing here?

The voice was soft and feminine; Lu Chen confirmed that it was indeed Qing Zhu.

He immediately drew his knife and kicked the door open.

The Green Master inside was still a little confused. Why was Zheng Tianlei looking for him at this time? Shouldn't he be busy with his work?

No one expected that the door would suddenly be kicked open.

The broken wood had left a bloody scratch on his face.

Qingzhu sensed the killing intent almost instantly, and his face immediately turned extremely gloomy.

"You dare betray me?"

His eyes widened, and his expression was extremely sinister, like a jackal lurking in the shadows, ready to devour its prey.

"Thinking about betrayal at a time like this? Shouldn't you be thinking about your own life?"

Lu Chen slashed with his sword, not wanting to waste any words with Qing Zhu.

Qingzhu's expression was cold as he struck out with a palm.

"Where did this insect come from, daring to—Pfft!"

Before he could finish his harsh words, Lu Chen severed both his arms.

Lu Chen kicked out, and Qingzhu flew backward like a rag doll, crashing into the wall and sliding down softly.

"Wow!"

He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, which contained hard lumps of internal organs.

"Who, who are you!" His mouth was full of blood, and he pointed a trembling finger at Lu Chen.

"You don't recognize me anymore so quickly? I was on that tower when you were teaching Zheng Tianlei breathing techniques! I was above you when you and Yang Ce went to inspect the goods. We're old friends!"

Lu Chen hadn't noticed until he pointed it out that he had been sitting on top of Qing Nu's head these past few times.

Qingnu stared wide-eyed at Lu Chen.

"You, you—pfft!"

His pale face suddenly turned bright red, and he spat out another mouthful of blood, seemingly enraged.

Lu Chen shook his head.

"You wicked and immoral people, you actually know how to be angry? What right do you have to be angry? When you trafficked children, did you ever think about the despair and pain of those parents? When you used children to make elixirs, did you ever think about the fear those children were experiencing? Forget it, you beasts would never understand."

Lu Chen didn't want to say anything more and raised his knife.

"Heh, those lowly commoners, as dirty and stupid as mud, what can they do? Their lowly lives become provisions for the nobles, that's their good fortune!"

"You should keep this good fortune for yourself!"

Lu Chen slashed down with his sword.

Qingnu was split in two.

Lu Chen was still not satisfied, so he slashed horizontally with his sword.

His furious strike was so powerful that it cleaved the air into a white sonic boom cloud. The violent shockwave blasted into Qingzhu's body, turning him into a bloody pulp, with blood and foam exploding everywhere.

There wasn't a single spot the size of a fingernail on his entire body.

It atomized directly!

[Under the host's influence, Qingnu's fate has changed.]

[Life Points +1105, Total 38678]

[Luck value +40, total 581]

Zheng Tianlei watched from the side, his eyes brimming with terror, his body trembling violently.

The Qingzhu, who was incomparably powerful in his heart, couldn't even withstand a single move, and now his body can't even be found?

Who exactly is this person?

When did I offend such a powerful person?

No, this has nothing to do with me!

"Take me to your house!"

Lu Chen's voice was icy cold.

Zheng Tianlei looked into Lu Chen's eyes, which seemed bloodshot, and immediately knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly: "Master, Master, please, release my family! They know nothing! Really! Master! I beg you, kill me! They really know nothing!"

"I won't say it a second time! Lead the way now, and they might still be alive. If you don't lead the way, do you think I won't find them?"

Lu Chen showed no sympathy whatsoever.

He wasn't afraid; he just knew he was going to die, and his family was going to die!

"Sir, don't punish family members! I was wrong, I was really wrong, I'm a beast, I deserve a terrible death, but my family did nothing wrong!"

Zheng Tianlei pleaded desperately, tears streaming down his face.

Lu Chen sneered.

How can you say that misfortune should not extend to family members?

Since they have enjoyed the benefits and wealth brought by your evil deeds, and every grain of rice they eat is soaked in the blood of others, and every piece of clothing they wear carries the blood of countless wronged souls, then they must bear this karmic consequence!

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't say anything and just stared at him coldly, Zheng Tianlei felt utterly desperate.

He roared, "What did I do wrong?! If I don't do it, plenty of others will. You think I'll die if I don't?! I was trafficked too, what does this have to do with me? Did I have a choice? Who gave me a choice?"

Lu Chen just stared at him coldly, without any intention of saying a word.

Zheng Tianlei's initial courage vanished completely. In order to survive, he could only lead Lu Chen to an extremely luxurious mansion in a daze.

"Oh, Master, you're back?"

The gatekeeper greeted Zheng Tianlei with a beaming smile and approached him eagerly, but when he saw Lu Chen holding a knife behind him, his expression immediately darkened.

He assumed Lu Chen was Zheng Tianlei's subordinate and immediately started cursing: "Are you blind? Who gave you permission to carry a knife here? You've offended some important person in this family, don't you know any rules?"

Zheng Tianlei froze, staring in disbelief at the doorman he used to think was very perceptive. His heart sank completely.

Lu Chen scoffed.

With a doorman like that, how can you expect his family to be any better?

"Pfft."

He chopped it down with a single stroke.

The annoying noise disappeared.

Zheng Tianlei looked like a wilted eggplant, his face ashen.

I went inside; it was very spacious.

"Where do you hide all your valuables? Be proactive."

Lu Chen asked.

Zheng Tianlei, like a puppet, mechanically led Lu Chen to his study.

Along the way, the servants watched in astonishment as their master walked ahead in a daze, followed by a man with a knife. They were too frightened to speak and quickly lowered their heads, fearing that the man might kill them at any moment if he was displeased.

Such things have happened before.

"Hey, sir, why are you back so early today?" a somewhat shrill voice came from not far away. "Who is this person? He stinks! Why did you bring him in?"

She was a plump woman, adorned with gold and silver. At that moment, she glanced at Lu Chen with disgust, then swayed her hips as she tried to grab Zheng Tianlei's arm.

Zheng Tianlei's face twitched, and he sighed.

Lu Chen casually slashed.

"Mother? Mother! You wretched woman, give me back my mother's life! Laifu, bite him to death!"

A seven or eight-year-old child was walking behind the woman and happened to see this scene. Surprisingly, he wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he ferociously unleashed his dog to bite people, and his movements were very practiced.

The dog was so frightened that it peed itself and didn't dare to go any closer, lying on the ground whimpering.

"Laifu, get up! Bite him to death! Laifu!"

The child was dressed in fine clothes and carried a small leather whip, which he was now brandishing as he punched and kicked the dog.

The dog didn't dare to move at all, trembling with fear.

Seeing the dog remain still, the child gritted his teeth and stepped forward, brandishing a whip to lash Lu Chen: "You dog servant, I'll beat you to death! You lowly servant!"

"puff!"

Zheng Tianlei turned his head away, his body trembling.

Along the way, Lu Chen met many of Zheng Tianlei's wives, some of whom were sharp-tongued and mean, while others were fierce and vicious.

He solved them all.

"Your family doesn't seem to have good manners. Not a single person in this room has any manners. They all started cursing at me as soon as they saw me, leaving me no chance to spare their lives."

Lu Chen shook his head.

Zheng Tianlei had completely given up hope.

"All my possessions are in there, kill me now."

His eyes were unfocused.

The children are all dead.

All his wives are dead.

He felt that he had no chance of surviving.

"As you wish."

Lu Chen slashed down with his sword.

[Under the host's influence, the fates of Zheng Tianlei and twelve others have changed.]

[Life Points +1125, Total 39803]

[Luck value +6, total 587]

After searching the house thoroughly, Lu Chen looked around again to make sure that Zheng Tianlei's entire family was dead before leaving and returning to the Zhaixing Gang's territory. He then packed the valuables there into two large sacks.

Then he went to the dungeon.

In the dimly lit underground, with a similar layout, there were rows of iron cages, each containing a group of children covered in injuries.

On the other side was a row of wooden crates, inside which lay more than a dozen unconscious children of varying ages.

Lu Chen sighed upon seeing this scene.

This world—

"With so many children, how can I have time to find their parents one by one? I don't even know Tianmu County—wait, isn't Li Zhuo from Tianmu County? No, I can't look for him, it might implicate him."

Lu Chen pondered for a moment.

He recalled the intelligence he had seen from the Black Kill Pavilion.

A county constable in Tianmu County was an upright man who hated evil, but because of his personality, he was never promoted.

He didn't know if the news was true, but he could ask.

Ask Li Zhuo.

Remembering Li Zhuo's address, Lu Chen turned and left.