Chapter 36: The Pig Lives, the Person Dies
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The three stronghold chiefs of Yuan Mountain Stronghold indeed held the power of life and death over their thousand-plus bandits. Even if Lu Hai killed Xu Yan, no one would dare say a word, let alone about a little pig.
Lu Hai wasn’t actually craving food – he just remembered the pig urine incident. His recent busy schedule had made him temporarily forget this grievance, but seeing Xu Yan today immediately brought it back to mind.
He wasn’t interested in killing this foolish little Taoist yet, but that black pig – he was definitely going to eat it today.
In the kitchen’s vegetable garden, Lu Hai saw the little black pig wagging its tail foolishly in the pen, so he ordered Xu Yan: “Bring the pig out.”
“Third Chief, here’s the knife.” The fat head chef eagerly brought over a sharp knife used for slaughtering pigs, its blade gleaming coldly.
“I have my own knife.” Lu Hai reached back and drew the long blade from his back, flipping it with a flourish. “When an innate martial artist slaughters a pig, why would I need a pig-slaughtering knife? I’ll show you all what it means to cut something in two with one strike!”
The Third Chief drawing his blade naturally drew cheers from the group of cooks. They all said why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken – today the Third Chief was using true qi to kill a pig. This would be quite a show.
Standing beside the pig pen, Xu Yan seemed somewhat hesitant. He looked at Lu Hai, then at the little black pig wagging its tail and grunting, his face full of distress.
“Hurry up!” Lu Hai shouted from behind Xu Yan. “If you don’t bring out that pig, I’ll slaughter you instead!”
“Alright, alright!”
Xu Yan agreed while fumblingly opening the pig pen door. The little black pig had been waiting for ages, thinking Xu Yan had come to feed it. Taking advantage of its small size, it squeezed to the front, while two cooks stood outside the door, blocking the other fat pigs from coming out.
These cooks all knew the little black pig was close to Xu Yan. Being able to watch the black pig get slaughtered today, they all wore expressions of schadenfreude, happily watching Xu Yan grab the little black pig’s ears and pull it out.
Xu Yan, bent over pulling the pig, no longer wore a foolish expression but had a face as dark as water.
He saw once again the dim aura appearing on Lu Hai’s long blade.
The true qi of a first-meridian innate martial artist!
Using true qi to kill a pig would definitely be fatal in one strike. The little black pig, unaware that death was approaching, grunted and nuzzled into Xu Yan’s arms, thinking its master was playing with it.
The cooks’ schadenfreude, the Third Chief’s sinister killing intent, the little black pig’s innocent ignorance – what seemed like a hopeless situation actually wasn’t unsolvable. Just as Xu Yan led the little black pig out of the pen, one hand hidden by his Taoist robe had already grabbed the little black pig’s tail, then gave it a fierce yank.
Grunt grunt grunt!!!
As if stabbed by a needle, the little black pig let out a wail and charged straight out from the pen door. A cook beside them tried to block it but was directly knocked aside by the little pig.
“The pig’s escaped!”
“Catch it!”
“Lock the door, quickly lock the back door!”
Lu Hai, who had been circulating his innate true qi, was nearly driven to qi deviation by anger. He shouted orders for the cooks to catch the pig, but that little black pig seemed to have gone mad, charging straight through the fence-woven courtyard wall and disappearing into the deep mountains in a flash. By the time the group of cooks chased out of the kitchen, they couldn’t even see the pig’s shadow.
“What kind of pig runs that fast?”
“I told you it was a wild boar – it can even break through walls.”
“Xu Yan, are all the people at your Taoist temple blind, raising a wild boar as a domestic pig?”
Unable to catch the little black pig, the cooks turned to scold the little Taoist. The fat head chef glanced sideways at Lu Hai, seeing that the Third Chief’s expression was growing darker, and quickly stepped forward: “Third Chief, there are still several fat pigs in the pen. How about we slaughter another one?”
He wasn’t pleading for Xu Yan but trying to flatter him. After all, he was in charge of this kitchen – if he didn’t serve the Third Chief well, wouldn’t he get the cold shoulder in the future?
“Get lost, you bunch of good-for-nothings!”
The fat head chef never expected his flattery to backfire. Not knowing that Lu Hai had a grudge against Xu Yan, after being cursed at, he immediately didn’t dare speak and led the other cooks out of the vegetable garden.
As they left, Zhang He, who had been hiding to one side, glanced at the helpless little Taoist and thought to himself: Xu Yan, oh Xu Yan, you’re on your own now.
Everyone in Yuan Mountain Stronghold knew very clearly that Third Chief Lu Hai was ruthless and merciless. Making him unhappy really could cost lives.
After all the cooks had retreated, Lu Hai narrowed his eyes, staring at the little Taoist before him, and said coldly: “You did it on purpose. You deliberately let that black pig escape.”
“I… I didn’t do it on purpose!”
Xu Yan quickly waved his hands in denial, his expression showing extreme fear.
“If I say you did it on purpose, then you did it on purpose.” Lu Hai stepped forward, the dim aura appearing again on his long blade, his voice growing colder: “Since I, Nine-Headed Snake, have drawn my blade, blood must be seen. If I can’t kill the pig, then I’ll kill a person instead. The pig lives, the person dies!”
The moment he saw the aura emanating from the other’s long blade, Xu Yan’s heart immediately sank. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at several suitable stones on the ground.
He had indeed deliberately let the pig escape, because the little black pig had a quirk – whenever someone yanked its tail hard, it would run wildly like it had gone mad, so fast that even Xu Yan couldn’t catch up.
Having let the pig escape, Xu Yan had once again put himself in danger. He hadn’t expected Lu Hai to be so ruthless – unable to kill the pig, he actually wanted to kill a person.
His panicked expression became calm in the next moment. Xu Yan didn’t know martial arts and had no experience fighting martial artists, but his exquisite stone-throwing skills allowed him to face wolves and tigers without fear. Now facing an innate martial artist, he might not be without a chance to escape.
There were two stones right at his feet. As long as Lu Hai took one more step, Xu Yan was determined to immediately counterattack, even if it meant mutual destruction.
Lu Hai had already lifted his foot, the long blade in his hand faintly rising. Before he could take that step, a figure moved at the side of the vegetable garden, and a sweet female voice came from afar.
“Oh my, our Third Chief likes bullying children, does he?”
With swaying hips and approaching fragrance, Mei Sanniang walked into the vegetable garden carrying a bamboo basket, saying with a charming smile: “Third Brother, if you want to eat something, just tell sister-in-law. Sister-in-law will personally make it for you. I know much more than this little Taoist. How about it? Would you like to try? Giggle giggle giggle.”
Mei Sanniang’s appearance reduced the killing intent in Lu Hai’s eyes by more than half. Seeing this woman, Lu Hai felt his brain aching.
He and the Head Chief weren’t blood brothers, and the ranking of Yuan Mountain Stronghold’s three chiefs was also based on strength. Previously when Mei Sanniang had tried to seduce him, it was always when no one else was around. This time she dared to act this way in front of the little Taoist. If Liao Jiuming found out, he might not say anything openly, but secretly he would hate Lu Hai to death.
“Sister-in-law, I was just talking.”
Lu Hai knew that Mei Sanniang had heard what he said to Xu Yan at the wooden house door. Now, never mind eating pork – even if someone offered him dragon meat, he wouldn’t be in the mood. The farther he stayed from this woman, the better.
“I had a bit of appetite earlier, but now I’m not in the mood. Ha, sister-in-law is here to pick vegetables again? You go ahead with your business. I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll leave first.”
Sheathing his blade, Lu Hai didn’t linger, striding away from the vegetable garden. As he left, he glared viciously at Xu Yan, clearly indicating that Xu Yan should wait – this matter wasn’t over.
The crisis was thus resolved, and Xu Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, blinking his eyes and looking at Mei Sanniang with a smile.
“Of all people to provoke, you had to provoke Nine-Headed Snake.”
Seeing Lu Hai walk away, Mei Sanniang scolded Xu Yan: “You little Taoist aren’t a worry-free master either. If I hadn’t seen Lu Hai call you over and followed, you’d be dead by now.”
The woman’s willow brows furrowed slightly as she pointed at Xu Yan’s nose and said in a low voice: “Go on, leave Yuan Mountain Stronghold. Leave tonight and never come back.”
Just as Xu Yan was about to say something, Mei Sanniang interrupted him, saying: “I’ll transfer Zhang He away for a day. Lu Hai is the type who holds grudges and seeks revenge for the smallest slight. Listen to Third Sister – go!”
