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One month later, a man and a woman, who were covered in dust, arrived at a certain village.
The manâs face was slightly pale as he coughed from time to time. There was a spear on his back. On the other hand, the woman was petite while her face was alluring. There was a sword in her hand.
They were none other than Yang Kai and Luo Ting He, who had come all the way here from Grand Qi Temple.
It was just an ordinary village. Beside the dilapidated walls were kids who were playing around. Smoke could be seen billowing from the chimney of every house as the smell of food lingered in the air.
There were some plump women who called out to their kids to go home and have a meal.
The kids, who were playing around with some weapons made from wood in their hands, were curious about these visitors as they surrounded and examined them.
Xiao He sniffled and stroked her flat belly, âIâm hungry.â
She then looked pleadingly at Yang Kai.
Following a sigh, Yang Kai took the pouch from his waist and fished out a silver coin. He then said to the kids around him, âWhoever can bring us to have some delicious food will get this.â
The eyes of those kids brightened as they streamed towards him.
âI have some delicious food in my house. Iâll bring you there!â
âCome to my house!â
âTheyâre lying. They donât eat meat at all. Thereâs salted fish in my house!â
âŚ..
After a tug of war, a slightly older kid managed to grab the silver coin. Although he was punched a bit by the other kids because of that, he didnât mind it. As he clenched the silver coin in his hand, he took Yang Kaiâs clothes with his other hand and said, âCome with me!â
Yang Kai nodded and motioned for Xiao He to follow him.
They soon arrived at the kidâs house. His parents were around, wearing simple clothes that most farmers would own. Years of hard work had left some clear marks on their bodies.
The man wasnât good with words as he smiled like a fool. Realising that Yang Kai and Xiao He were wealthy though, he treated them in a friendly manner.
On the other hand, his Wife was stocky, but she was pretty hospitable.
Seeing the silver coin presented to them by their son, they generously gave Yang Kai and Xiao He two bowls of rice as well as a salted fish they had kept for quite some time.
Xiao He picked up the bowl and wolfed down the meal.
The man was squatting at the door and smoking while the woman stood on the side with a smile. The kid was seated by the table as he watched Xiao He devour the food with a pair of curious eyes.
âAre you not going to eat?â After finishing her own food, Xiao He looked up and realised that Yang Kai hadnât had anything.
âYou can have it.â Yang Kai put on a smile.
Without hesitation, Xiao He picked up his bowl of rice and gobbled it up.
It was hard to imagine that such a small woman had such a big appetite. In fact, Yang Kai had brought quite a bit of money with him when he left Grand Qi Temple, but barely one month later, he had used up almost all of it to buy food for Xiao He.
âMy sister was born to have a big appetite. Please donât mind her, Madam.â Yang Kai turned to look at the smiling woman.
Although the woman was hospitable, she wasnât good with words. Upon hearing that, she waved her hand and said, âItâs fine. We still have quite a lot of rice. She can have as much of it as she pleases.â
Yang Kai then gazed at the kid beside him, âYouâre still growing. Why donât you eat something?â
The kid replied with a smile, âYou can eat first. Iâll eat later.â
In response, Yang Kai nodded and stopped objecting.
All of a sudden, Xiao He raised the bowl and said to the woman, âMore rice, please.â
Upon hearing that, the man, who was smoking at the door, started coughing violently. He almost couldnât breathe because of that.
The womanâs eyelids twitched as she took the bowl with an awkward expression before she entered the kitchen to get more rice for her.
Xiao He proceeded to devour that bowl and then asked for more.
One hour later, the woman took the empty bowl with a bitter expression and looked at Xiao He, who was still asking for more rice, âThatâs all we have.â
The man was no longer in the mood to smoke. Since Xiao He asked for more rice for the third time, he had kept turning his head to stare fixedly at her.
The kid beside Yang Kai sported a cold expression.
A disappointed Xiao He said, âIâm not full yet.â
Disbelief was written all over the womanâs face as she gazed at Yang Kai. She couldnât figure out how he managed to raise his sister. This kind of appetite was enough to make a wealthy family go broke.
âWas the food delicious?â Yang Kai gaped at Xiao He.
âIt was delicious, but there was a bitter aftertaste,â Xiao He replied honestly.
âOf course the food was bitter since there was poison in it.â Yang Kai chuckled.
As soon as he finished speaking, three figures came right at Xiao He and him at the same time.
The man, who had been seated by the door, suddenly attempted to tackle them. The saber in his hand flickered as he was engulfed in murderous intent.
The woman tossed the bowl away as she took a step forward and pushed out her palm towards Xiao He.
Even the kid beside Yang Kai suddenly fished out a sword and tried to stab it into the latterâs heart from a tricky angle.
The next moment, Xiao He made a move.
The man and woman grunted before they were sent flying away while spraying a mouthful of blood.
Yang Kai extended two fingers and gently caught the blade. Regardless of how hard the kid tried, he was unable to retract his sword as his face started flushing.
A furious Xiao He snapped, âWhy didnât you tell me earlier that there was poison in the food?â
âArenât you immune to all kinds of poison?â Yang Kai batted his eyes.
âOh, right.â Xiao He calmed down instantly, but she still felt aggrieved, âBut you should have told me about it.â
âWould you not eat it if I told you?â
A bashful Xiao He replied hesitantly, âI would still eat it anyway.â
âSee?â Yang Kai shrugged and extended his hand. The kid grunted and fell backwards. Then, he was shocked to realise that he was unable to move as a mysterious force passed through all his meridians.
âWho are they?â Xiao He frowned. The three of them were cultivators, and they put poison into their food. It was apparent that they were ill-intentioned.
âTheyâre disciples of White Lotus Sect.â Yang Kai rose from the chair, âThis place is one of their secret hideouts.â
Upon hearing that, Xiao He was astounded. She just followed Yang Kai wherever he went and didnât care about anything else, so she was surprised to learn that he had brought her to this kind of place.
It wasnât that she was afraid. Given their strength, there were rarely any cultivators in the world who could harm them if they were in a one-on-one fight.
The reason Yang Kai knew this was one of the secret hideouts of White Lotus Sect was that he had been the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple for three years.
He was also aware of other hideouts like this. The reason he didnât tell anyone to destroy them previously was that he didnât want to alert the enemy to his knowledge. Nevertheless, since he was no longer the Temple Master, the previous arrangements didnât matter anymore.
âWhat are we doing here?â
âLooking for someone.â As soon as Yang Kai finished speaking, he frowned and looked out the door.
He could sense that many people had surrounded the house. It was apparent that the fight just now had caught the attention of other White Lotus Sectâs disciples.
âIâll deal with them.â After having some poisonous food, Xiao He was furious. Then, she raised her sword and dashed out of the house.
Soon, shrieks were continuously heard from all directions.
The woman and the man, who were lying on the ground, finally had their expressions changed drastically.
The woman asked, âWho are you?â
Turning to her, he slowly spoke his name, âYang Kai.â
Upon hearing that, the man widened his eyes and started trembling. With a pale face, the woman exclaimed, âGrand Qi Templeâs Temple Master, Yang Kai?â
The war between good and evil had raged for hundreds of years. Even though the grassroot disciples of White Lotus Sect had never seen Yang Kai before, all of them had heard his name at least.
To them, the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple was just as noble as their own White Lotus Matriarch. The average person wouldnât have a chance to see either of them.
No one could have expected that the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple would appear in such a remote village.
âIâm no longer the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple.â Yang Kai shook his head. His words confirmed the womanâs speculation.
The woman appeared dejected. Just now, she was trying to come up with a way to flee; however, upon learning that the man before her eyes was the legendary Yang Kai, she gave up on the idea. The gap between their strength was insurmountable, so how was she supposed to flee?
âWhat are you doing in our White Lotus Sectâs stronghold?â the woman asked.
âI already said Iâm looking for someone from White Lotus Sect.â
âWho are you talking about?â
âItâs none of your business. Just tell your higher-ups about it, and the person Iâm looking for will come to see me.â
A myriad of expressions came over the womanâs face. With her hand pressed against her chest, she got to her feet slowly. Then, she forcefully moved backwards and destroyed the wall behind her before running away at full speed.
Then, she heard Yang Kai saying, âIâll wait here for a month. If I donât see the person Iâm looking for by then, Iâll personally visit the eight secret hideouts of White Lotus Sect.â
The woman shuddered and ran faster.
Xiao He dashed into the house and looked around, âShe fled?â
âItâs fine.â Yang Kai waved his hand and took a look at her sword, which was soaked in blood, âHave you killed all of them?â
A nonchalantly Xiao He replied, âYes. You wanted some of them to live? You shouldâve told me earlier.â
Then, she gazed at the man and the kid on the ground as her murderous intent surged.
âWell, you should probably keep them alive to cook for you. I donât know how to cook.â Yang Kaiâs words were effective in stopping her from killing the last two survivors.
Although the man and the kid had escaped from deathâs door, they felt devastated; after all, as disciples of White Lotus Sect, they had fallen into the hands of these two. It was expected that life would be like living Hell for them.
They could already imagine the kind of torture they would face.
In reality, things were different from what they imagined. In the following days, they were not tortured in any way.
The man was responsible for cooking meals for Xiao He and Yang Kai every day. On the other hand, the kid had no choice but to play some childish games with Xiao He.
During this period of time, they repeatedly tried to flee using many different methods.
However, what was a matter of life or death to them was like another game in Xiao Heâs eyes.
She would always appear at the most unexpected moments and capture the two of them, who were ready to run away or had already left the village.
Every time they were captured, some of their hair would be cut as a punishment.
After just half a month, both of them became bald.
Since there was no hair left on their heads, Xiao He said to them in a serious manner, âIf I catch you again, Iâll have no choice but to cut your heads!â
Their hair would grow back after it was cut, but their heads certainly wouldnât.
They wouldnât dare to find out whether Xiao He was serious, so after that day, they became obedient and didnât dare to flee again.
Meanwhile, having lost a source of entertainment, Xiao He found it to be boring and soon regretted threatening them in such a way.