Swordholder

"It's alright, he won't hurt you."

Chen Yuan looked at Li Wei and spoke solemnly.

Immediately, my mind was filled with doubt.

Uncle Lu, are you fighting with a tree?

"Okay... alright."

Li Wei swallowed hard, feeling apprehensive, but could only nod helplessly.

He believed that Chen Yuan would not harm him.

He then nodded to Chen Zhaoning as a guarantee.

For Xiao Nuomi's sake, Chen Zhaoning could only nod slightly.

Now that she'd come this far, even though Uncle Lu wasn't a normal person, she was powerless to escape any further.

……

Tonight, Chen Yuan and Li Wei will share a bed, while Nuomi and Chen Zhaoning will share a bed.

As for Lu Chengfeng, he stayed in his room and did not appear.

There was no breathing or any movement inside, as if no one was there at all.

However, Li Wei and Chen Zhaoning were certain that Lu Chengfeng had not come out after he went in.

……

in the room.

Chen Yuan and Li Wei reunite in another world. Li Wei is extremely excited and pulls Chen Yuan aside to talk in a low voice.

Firstly, she was afraid of Lu Chengfeng, and secondly, she was genuinely excited.

From the next room, Nuomi and Chen Zhaoning's voices could be heard from time to time.

It wasn't until two or three in the morning, when Chen Yuan was so tired that he couldn't be bothered with Li Wei anymore, that he fell asleep on his own.

Before long, Nuomi next door also fell asleep, snoring softly and mumbling in her sleep, "Delicious, delicious."

··········

However, Li Wei and Chen Zhaoning, who were new to the area, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

As the red moon hung high in the sky, the distant mountains echoed with the loud, eerie cries of infants.

The two, who had been unable to sleep, suddenly heard rustling sounds coming from the living room and instantly became tense.

"A-Yuan... A-Yuan..."

Li Wei gently nudged Chen Yuan beside him and spoke in a low voice.

His voice trembled, and his body huddled under the covers, shaking.

Chen Yuan, who was sleeping on the outside, ignored him but was already awake.

He sensed someone approaching, so he stood motionless in front of the bed.

The other person's shadow shone through the dark red moonlight shining through the window onto his face.

Chen Yuan closed his eyes tightly, his fists clenched in the blankets.

Although he knew Lu Chengfeng wouldn't harm him, he couldn't guarantee that the other party wouldn't lose his mind.

Li Wei, standing next to him, tried his best to pretend to be asleep, but his body was trembling violently and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, feeling somewhat helpless.

It's normal for Li Wei to be scared since he's only been awake for a short time.

He had already been in this world for a year and was at the Great Perfection of the Spiritual Aperture Realm, so he was naturally not afraid.

At that moment, the burly figure slowly approached, and a chilling killing intent spread out, causing the room temperature to plummet!

"No way?"

Chen Yuan's heart sank.

The baby's cries outside suddenly ceased, and the surroundings became deathly silent!

The room was so quiet that only the faint snoring of Nuomi next door could be heard.

Chen Yuan and Li Wei both felt extremely depressed, their nerves stretched to the limit!

They seemed to hear the burly figure sniffing slightly.

You can even picture him baring his teeth.

It's like smelling incredibly tempting food; you want to eat it, but you can't bear to take a bite.

This made the two of them even more nervous, their palms sweating profusely.

However, the other party has yet to make a move.

Chen Yuan remained in a state of readiness to resist, his mind highly tense, a fine layer of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

quiet!

Suppressed!

Just as Chen Yuan was about to explode, the shadow that had been looming over his face finally began to dissipate.

The soft footsteps gradually faded into the distance...

Chen Yuan quietly looked up and, in the dim light, saw the burly figure walk out of the house. He then breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body drenched in cold sweat.

He didn't want to fight Lu Chengfeng, who was not only his master.

He was also his benefactor.

"Eek...you scared the hell out of me, A-Yuan, Nuomi's dad...what on earth is that?"

Li Wei spoke in a trembling voice, his teeth chattering.

"Want to see? Why don't you come along and take a look?"

Chen Yuan said in a low voice.

"You go if you want, I'm not going!"

Li Wei shook his head like a rattle.

Chen Yuan remained silent. He knew Lu Chengfeng all too well.

"Awooo..."

Soon, the howling of wolves could be heard outside, and it went on for a long time.

------

On the hilltop next to Qingshan Village, Lu Chengfeng ran up here, muttering to himself.

"fragrant……"

"They smell so good..."

"No...you can't eat this..."

"They are Ayuan's friends..."

"You can't eat it..."

……

Lu Chengfeng had disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes.

He suppressed the urge to devour human blood and rushed swiftly into the forest, heading towards the evil creatures.

"I don't have much time left..."

"Sticky rice……"

"You can follow them from now on..."

"That little girl must be from a wealthy and noble family, and both A-Yuan and that chubby boy are exceptionally clever, possessing divine seeds within them..."

"Nuomi followed them..."

"It should be good..."

"but……"

"Their flesh..."

"It smells so good..."

……

As Lu Chengfeng ran, he muttered to himself, his expression growing increasingly frenzied. His eyes alternated between lucidity and madness, filled with ruthlessness and bloodlust.

Before long, his imposing figure disappeared into the depths of the mountains and forests.

……

Inside the room, Chen Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring the trembling Li Wei, and prepared to go to sleep.

But the next moment, he realized something was wrong and yelled, "You fat bastard, don't do that kind of thing in my bed! It's fucking disgusting!"

"I……"

Li Wei looked embarrassed and said helplessly, "I just wanted to relax and calm my fear."

"Depend on!"

Chen Yuan was furious. He turned to his side, but then realized it was dangerous to have his backside facing the other person, so he had to lie flat again and warned, "If you let your hand show off again, I'll chop it off."

"Uh, should I chop off my hand or that part?"

Li Wei asked with surprise and doubt.

"Chop them both up!"

Chen Yuan rolled his eyes and said irritably.

"Um... okay... alright."

Helpless, Li Wei had no choice but to turn to the wall and bend over.

However, his hand stopped moving.

……

The latter half of the night eventually passed peacefully, and Chen Yuan slept exceptionally soundly.

Perhaps it was seeing my childhood friend that brought a touch of warmth to my lonely heart.

Or perhaps...

It gives me more hope for the future.

······

······

The next morning arrived.

The sunlight, as if veiled by a black gauze, shone through the window; though not warm, it was still somewhat comforting.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes.

The space beside her was empty; Li Wei was no longer there.

He got up, put on his worn-out cotton-padded coat, and went to the hall.

He glanced around the house and, finding no one there, walked outside.

Passing by the small courtyard and arriving at the wooden gate, I saw Lu Chengfeng standing there with his hands behind his back.

He held in his palm a 50-60 centimeter-long iron spike used for stirring the fire in the kitchen.

Chen Yuan was puzzled.

What is Uncle Lu doing with those iron spikes?

At the same time, a commotion came from the village road outside.

"Uncle Lu, what happened?"

Chen Yuan asked curiously, then looked towards the village road about forty or fifty meters away.

The next moment, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"The officials have arrived, saying they're arresting escaped slaves and lucky pigs."

Lu Chengfeng seemed to have returned to normal, slightly tilting his head and giving Chen Yuan a cold look.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's gaze turned icy, and he stared intently ahead.

He had never liked the officials in this world.

Moreover, the other side came here to capture slaves?

He had a bad feeling.

His gaze fell ahead, where a group of burly men dressed in disheveled clothes appeared. Most of them held long knives, had deep-set cheekbones, and fierce eyes.

Among them were three men dressed in matching blue uniforms, who were officials from Wuqiao Town.

The official constables and the law enforcement guards of the law enforcement department are slightly different.

The officials were under the command of the garrison commander and only obeyed his orders, carrying out the tasks assigned by him.

The Enforcement Division, which is under the Ministry of Criminal Law, is the agency responsible for investigating and enforcing the law.

Within the territory ruled by the Great Xiang Empire, all regions are divided from smallest to largest as follows:

Town, county, prefecture, and finally the capital city.

The Great Xiang Empire has twelve prefectures.

Among them, the garrison commander, county magistrate, prefectural magistrate, and prefectural governor were all the highest administrative officials in their respective regions.

For example, the garrison commander of a town has both government officials and law enforcement guards under his command, led by the chief of the law enforcement department.

Of course, there was also an organization that struck fear into the hearts of many—the Formless Sect.

The Wuxiang Sect is the highest ruler of the Divine Court, and they call themselves the Xiang Emperor's Guard Army.

Its power is immense; it can oversee numerous officials above and supervise all living beings below.

However, there is one more fearsome presence in every prefecture city, and that is—the prince.

The place where Chen Yuan was located belonged to Wangdong Prefecture.

In Wangdong Prefecture, the highest-ranking person is not the Lord of Wangdong Prefecture, but that person—the Prince of Zhendong.

……

Chen Yuan's mind raced, his gaze fixed on the front, and he instantly froze.

The two men were tightly bound on the ground, surrounded by a crowd.

It was Chen Zhaoning and Li Wei.

Not far from them lay Chen Zhaoning's knife.

And, several large, decapitated male corpses.

……