Chapter 240 2. Human is neither human nor demon (4k)
A meteor streaked across the sky. Some people made wishes, some cried, and some woke up from a long sleep.
Everyone looks at this shooting star with different joy in their eyes.
Under the dark night, the long lines formed by the firelight divided the sky, leaving a long silhouette for the people on the ground.
Finally fell into a corner of this inconspicuous world.
"Boom——!"
The air waves expanded, bringing amazing pressure, knocking down many trees, raising smoke and dust, and burning with dazzling light in this dark corner.
Strong winds hit the village.
"What the hell?" Li Chengqi, who had already carried the twelfth bucket of water, was stunned. The violent shaking made him unsteady, and the well water he had finally collected was knocked over to the ground.
Even he stumbled and fell to the floor, his butt wet from the spilled well water.
Now he didn't care about the demeanor of the head of the Li family, and immediately cursed.
"Who does the underworld work in the middle of the night? Huh? Is it you, Cow Cripple! Last time you went to the woods to drag wood back in the middle of the night, but one of them was not tied up properly, and it smashed into my house. It scared me half to death... "Li Chengqi pushed the door open, only to find that the lame man he was scolding was standing in front of his house. Not only the lame man, but also many people in the village had walked out of the house. They were looking in the direction of the mountain when they heard Li Chengqi yelled and cursed, and everyone looked over.
"Mom, why is this uncle's pants wet?" a child asked.
Li Chengqi was stunned.
Before he could react, the child's mother's voice came, "Don't look, kid, don't look!"
It was originally dark and no one could see anyone, but the book in his house was glowing, and the area around his house was as bright as day. Pushing the door open was like standing under the sun.
But the scene, which was so embarrassing that the head of the Li family wanted to commit suicide by throwing himself into a well, was interrupted by another scene.
firelight.
To the south of the village, where every door and window faced, the mountains lit up with light.
The entire sky was burned into dark red, and occasionally accompanied by expanding heat waves, bringing with it the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke.
"There's a fire?" Li Chengqi was shocked.
The mountain is on fire. If this trend continues, the village where he lives will obviously be affected. What's more, their village relies on this mountain for its livelihood, wood, and wild animals. Now the mountain is on fire, burning their future livelihood.
The dark red sky illuminated Li Chengqi's face.
"The gods are wrathful, this must be the wrath of the gods!" cried an old man in the village. He knelt down and shouted, saying things like blessing, calming down, and asking for mercy from the gods.
"There must be a demon, there must be a demon in this mountain!" The old man got up and looked around with his eyes wide open.
"God will not punish us for our good deeds. It must be because of the demon! Folks, don't you think so? It must be because of the demon!"
Suddenly, there was a chorus of harmony.
Li Chengqi only felt a little tired.
Demon? Bullshit monster! Whenever these people encounter trouble, they just think about God and throw it at some made-up things. Li Chengqi has been deep in the mountains all year round and has never encountered anything evil at all. Where did the monster come from? If a fire is coming, can't we just think about running away? Are you still begging for mercy? Whether gods exist or not is another matter. Li Chengqi only knew that monks existed in this world. Maybe it was a natural disaster, maybe it was the monks in the records, but in any case, it had nothing to do with ordinary people like them.
Just run and that's it.
He turned around and found that the lame cow was also indifferent.
It was rare that he had some appreciation for the lame man and had some opinions of his own.
Unexpectedly, the lame man suddenly shouted: "Li Chengqi is a monster!"
This voice attracted everyone's attention.
"I have long felt that something is wrong with this kid. He must be a monster! Everyone, look at the smell floating in his room. It must be the traces left by people who have just eaten. Those are the innocent souls! The innocent souls!"
"Really? Look at the light in that room, is it our kind of light?"
"Don't tell me, there was a matchmaker for this guy a few years ago? Guess what, the matchmaker never showed up again, and those girls disappeared too!"
"This kid Li Chengqi is not from our village, remember? He is from outside the village!"
The crowd was whispering and talking to each other, but a wall was erected between Li Chengqi and them.
At this moment, the crowd drew a line.
Li Chengqi took a few steps back and looked around. Everyone's eyes were turned away from him at this moment. Even the owner of the teahouse he frequented was unwilling to look at him again for fear of getting involved with him.
Finally, his eyes fell on the lame cow.
"Damn you!" He rushed forward. The lame man wanted to run away, but how could he outrun Li Chengqi? He was caught up in a few moments, and when he leaned on his shoulder, he fell to the ground and punched him in the face!
"Monsters are eating people! Monsters are eating people!" Niu Laizi yelled, snot, tears, and saliva rolled out of his nose. Li Chengqi couldn't tell how stinky his hands were.
Another punch!
Another punch... someone rushed forward and knocked Li Chengqi down.
"Damn it! Let me beat this idiot to death! You disgusting thing!" Li Chengqi roared.
But another person rushed towards him. He was a blacksmith from the village who was repairing hoes for the villagers. He was so strong that Li Chengqi could no longer struggle and was completely knocked down.
The lame cow got up, wiped the saliva and tears from his face, threw it at Li Chengqi's face, and suddenly smiled, "Kill you monster!"
At this time, the sound of the cane was obvious. The old man walking on crutches came out, and the crowd cleared the way for him. Li Chengqi calmed down slightly when he saw the visitor and stopped scolding.
"Old village chief!" he shouted.
"Chengqi." The old village chief said. The villagers with noses and eyes told the old village chief how they discovered the monster Li Chengqi and how they subdued him. The crowd gathered around and saw that Li Chengqi was being pushed down. They could not resist and seemed to be gone. Fearful.
"Yes, Li Chengqi must be a monster!" Niu Laizi said.
"Ah——!" A scream made everyone become frightened again. They followed the scream and looked over, and a big man fell to the ground with his hands covered.
"There is a book that is shining! It is as bright as the sun. Just as I was about to reach out and pick it up, the book ate my right hand! A monster, it must be a monster!" the big man shouted in pain.
The old village chief withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Chengqi.
"That's something passed down from my ancestors! It has nothing to do with demons. Just tonight this book suddenly changed like this. I was afraid that my house would be on fire, so I kept pouring water on it! Those are fogs, do you understand? Old village chief? I have lived here for so long, how can I be a monster?" Li Chengqi forced himself to calm down. The old village chief has some knowledge, and he may be the only person who can help him.
"No matter what, there must be a monster in our village, otherwise how could we arouse the wrath of God!" The old man who was kneeling stood up and cursed angrily.
Everyone looked at the raging fire deep in the mountain, their faces reflected bright red.
"As long as you throw that monster into the fire, you will be blessed by the gods, and we will have a good harvest next year!"
"You blabbermouth old guy knows nothing! You call yourself a half-immortal. How can you guess which year it happened? You bastard!" Li Chengqi scolded.
"A perfect weapon! Don't be rude to the half-immortal!" The old village chief said in a deep voice. The crowd was talking, and they seemed to be talking about throwing Li Chengqi into the fire and hoping for a good harvest next year.
"I believe in your origin..." the old village chief continued, but was interrupted by the lame cow.
"Old village chief, you know people but don't know their hearts! I am his neighbor, do you always know how miserable I am? I discovered Li Chengqi's secret of cannibalism one night, so he kept staring at me, even when I was sleeping I can’t even sleep well! Do you remember when Li Chengqi almost beat him to death in the village? If Blacksmith Deng hadn’t arrived, I would have been beaten to death!”
"Why do you think he beat me to death? Is it because I knew his secret? I guess you must have asked this kid the reason at that time, right? Did he hesitate and refuse to answer? Because he is a monster! The man-eating monster! ”
"Fart!" Li Chengqi roared, his face ferocious, like a beast that chooses people to devour.
Several strong men barely managed to resist him.
"Yes, Chengqi. Why haven't you told me the reason for this? It can't really be like what you said at the beginning, and you don't like him, right?" said the old village chief.
Li Chengqi took a deep breath and was silent for a long time.
He looked at a corner of the crowd, a young girl whose appearance could not be concealed even in coarse linen clothes.
The other person's eyes met his, but he quickly glanced aside.
Li Chengqi suddenly looked very tired.
"Old village chief, can you come closer? It's best not to let too many people know about this matter."
"That day, Ox Lame deceived Xiaomei into his home and wanted to taint her. I happened to come back from hunting in the mountains and found him. I beat him up. I said, if you dare to do this again, you will be beaten to death! I I don’t want to say it, because this is about Xiaomei’s innocence. Now, since you ask, old village chief, it doesn’t matter if I say it.”
"Hahaha! What a joke!" Niu Laizi laughed, "Li Chengqi actually slandered me and wanted to taint Xiaomei?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone present changed, especially the beautiful girl in the crowd.
"How could you hear what I said to the old village chief?" Li Chengqi's voice calmed down, and he seemed to have found a way to break the situation.
"Your voice is not quiet. How could I not hear you when I'm right next to you?" Niu Laizi asked with a smile.
"You said I defiled Xiaomei, let's ask in front of so many people in the whole village? Are you a monster, or am I?"
In an instant, everyone turned their heads and forced a young girl out of the crowd.
Xiaomei looked at Li Chengqi who was pushed to the ground by several strong men, her eyes were very sad, her throat was rolling, she wanted to say something, but she couldn't.
"Don't be afraid, Xiaomei, the old village chief will make the decision for you." The old man walked on the ground with his cane to signal everyone to be quiet.
"I...I..." Xiaomei's eyes were panicked.
If she admits what Li Chengqi said, this past that she doesn't want to mention will be bloodyly torn apart.
How else could she... find the husband she wanted?
How should people treat her?
"I..." She was still hesitating, struggling between conscience and reality. No, maybe this was not her conscience, but rather her goodwill towards Li Chengqi. This is her kindness. If she wants to, no one will know. This is the kindness she can show to Li Chengqi, but if it is kindness, it doesn't seem to matter if she doesn't give it... right?
Everyone is waiting for the answer from the most beautiful girl in the village.
Answer this question that will determine a person's fate.
Xiaomei smiled and said, "Brother Chengqi is joking. Xiaomei actually doesn't believe that Brother Chengqi is a monster. I know you are very anxious, but don't ask Xiaomei. This matter... has never happened. It was just Brother Niu that day." Just invited me to get some tea..."
"I knew Xiaomei was innocent!" A man walked out and kicked Li Chengqi hard in the stomach.
"You man-eating monster, how dare you slander my daughter? Huh?"
This kick was too heavy on his stomach, and Li Chengqi vomited blood, but he was still smiling.
"Haha...hahaha!"
The faces of people in all directions were distorted, and they were all scolding him with righteous faces, wanting to kill him. Only the old village chief could hear the conversation. The old man knew that Niu Lame could not hear their conversation. But Xiaomei is famously beautiful in the village. I heard that she will be taken over by a rich man in the city, so that the village will have a lot of money. This is more practical than cutting firewood and farming, isn't it?
There is something wrong with Xiaomei, and it is not easy for him to be the village chief.
Killing one person makes everyone happy, and it is even righteous in conscience. After all, you have killed a monster, and you will even have bragging rights in the future.
So Li Chengqi could only laugh.
Even he didn't know whether the smile was bitter or whether he really saw the joy of people's hearts.
"I really think I'm a monster," he said, his mouth filled with blood. "You'd better pray that I'm really not a monster, otherwise, you... will all die."
There was no rage or indignation. The voice was very soft, but it made everyone shudder.
"Bad luck!" Another kick.
As if knowing that he was going to be a dead man, everyone lost their politeness and greeted him one after another.
"Throw him into the mountains! Let the wrath of the gods burn him alive!"
"Burn to death!"
"Burn to death!"
"Burn to death!"
…………
The center of the flames.
Deep in the mountains, the earth is sunken and broken, and the mountains are imprisoned by eight arms descending from the sky.
The entire area is cordoned off.
Li Xi'an looked at the twisted human form accompanying the fire with an expressionless expression.
"Red Jiao, how about we make a deal? I can send you back to Kyushu. As long as you let me go here, this is just a small world and it won't harm your homeland. How about calling it a day?" the humanoid asked.
"What do you think?" Li Xi'an asked.
"Red Jiao, don't go too far!" The humanoid was furious.
"Did I go too far?" Li Xi'an looked to one side, and there was a mole sitting there. This guy blocked the space, and the filth in front of him couldn't fly out even if it had wings.
"Is this too much?" Compared to the almost inorganic face of the red dragon, the mole's expression was much more flexible, and he immediately showed a surprised look.
Li Xi'an raised his sword and pointed the blade at the huge human figure distorted by the fire.
"If you can survive, it's not too late to talk."
Hey, the 6,000-word update has made up for yesterday’s shortcomings in a small way.
(End of chapter)