Chương 107: They All Deserve to Die

Zhao Lian'er fell silent, staring at Fang Cheng without a word. Fang Cheng didn't rush her. He landed on Old Six's shoulder and watched her quietly. They stood there, frozen, neither moving. After a long while, Fang Cheng finally couldn't hold back. He flapped his wings and flew to Zhao Lian'er's shoulder, praising her.

"Dear girl, you really know how to keep your composure. And you're great at stalling. You think if you don't answer, I can't figure it out. But as an excellent detective, I specialize in hypothetical reasoning." Fang Cheng laughed, flapping his wings and circling around Zhao Lian'er. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached her clearly.

"One lie needs a hundred more to cover it. If you claim the kind soul was from the village, then our Old Six here would have to step in. Whoever you named, Old Six would know them. So you can't pin the lie on a villager.

"And if the kind soul wasn't from the village, if he just happened to pass through Zhujia Village and happened to pass by your house and happened to walk in, maybe thirsty, maybe just crazy, he'd see your mother lying on the bed, his heart would swell with righteousness, and he'd carry her all the way to the brothel so you could see her one last time. Then he'd vanish, never to be seen again, doing good deeds without seeking fame. Hahaha, I can't. I'm going to die laughing..." He laughed as he spoke.

"Even I can't keep that story going. How could you, my dear girl?" He flapped his wings and landed on her shoulder again, tilting his head and staring at her.

"My dearest, most lying girl, do you know where the biggest hole in your story is?"

"Hunger." Fang Cheng answered his own question. Before Zhao Lian'er could reply, he gave the answer, because he knew she wouldn't.

"When you said your mother was starving beyond help, that her stomach was completely ruined, I knew you were lying. Because I'm from Xijiang Prefecture too. After the great famine, grain production increased several times over. Deaths from starvation are rare now.

"More importantly, the Hall of Eternal Life and the Great Sheng court learned from that disaster and implemented a policy for Xijiang Prefecture. Old Six, you tell him." Old Six nodded and answered, "Every village in Xijiang Prefecture gets a Land God assigned to guide the people in prayer and farming."

"Haha, exactly. Xijiang Prefecture is the only province under Great Sheng where every village has a Land God." Fang Cheng flapped his wings and gave Zhu Old Six an approving look. He continued, "Zhu Youchang and I both benefited from this policy. Through the Hall of Eternal Life, we were chosen by celestial immortals to become Land Gods. Our job was to increase the village population. Zhujia Village's Land God would have done the same. He wouldn't let his villagers starve to death.

If word got out, his colleagues would laugh at him.

"Of course, things are different now. Since the celestial realm fell into chaos, the Land Gods lost their immortals. Most of them left to find other work and stopped caring about the villages. So my question about your father's whereabouts was just to establish the timeline and figure out when your mother died. Haha, didn't see that coming, did you? You're still too green to play games with me.

"Old Six and Old Eight told me on the way here that they worked for that great cultivator for years. That means your mother must have died before the celestial realm fell apart. And back then, with a Land God stationed in Zhujia Village, how could your mother have starved to death?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Zhao Lian'er's face darkened, her eyes shifting. She seemed to want to argue but held back.

In the end, she only said, "My mother did starve to death." Fang Cheng smiled and didn't argue. Instead, he pointed out the timeline.

"Either way, she didn't die in front of you. After you slaughtered everyone in the brothel and fled back to Zhujia Village, you went home. You found a skeleton on the bed, long since decayed. You confirmed it was your mother. And then your killing began again! Before that, you still held onto the hope of living quietly, hiding your identity. But losing your last family member shattered you. You stopped holding back. Hahaha, they all had to die. The villagers must have killed your mother. They all had to die!"

Fang Cheng grew more excited, as if he were the real Zhao Lian'er, the real mad killer. He flapped his wings, circled around her head once, and flew back to Old Six. In that short time, he'd already imagined the scene.

"It was a rainy night. Dark clouds, strong winds, thunder, and lightning. You, Zhao Lian'er, in white robes, walked out of the house, holding a freshly sharpened cleaver. Your black hair flew in the wind. Barefoot, you stepped onto the muddy path, like a fragile blade of grass swaying in the storm. Your eyes bloodshot, you kicked open the neighbor's door, grabbed the old man sleeping on the kang, and demanded, 'Why did you kill my mother?'

"The old man, confused, asked, 'Who are you? Who's your mother?'

'You don't even know me? Hmph. Die!' You laughed coldly and swung the cleaver, cutting off his head. Then you went to the next house.

'Why did you kill my mother?'

'I didn't kill your mother.'

'You say you didn't, so you didn't? Heh. Die!' Another cold laugh, another cleaver strike. You stepped outside and ran into a young man taking a piss. Hahaha, pissing in the middle of the night? Clearly his kidneys are weak. Die!

"And so it went, door to door, over and over. Die, die, they all had to die. Hahahaha... Until you'd killed everyone in the village. Covered in blood, you dragged yourself home and stared at the bones on the bed. You still didn't know how your mother died. The greatest pain you ever endured was hunger. So you blamed your mother's death on starvation. And you used her death to justify every evil you'd ever done, saying it was all for survival, for revenge against those who hurt you. That it was righteous.

"Haha, Lian'er, we've never met before. So why do you know me so well? You knew that if you convinced me, I'd let you go. Hahaha, impossible. No one in this world can out-argue me. Hahahaha. So, Lian'er, you still don't know me well enough..."

"Enough!" Zhao Lian'er screamed, her head snapping up, her eyes blazing as she stared at Fang Cheng.

"What did I do wrong? The madam kept me like a dog. Those thugs beat me. Those so-called sisters looked down on me, wishing I'd just die. Don't those ugly bastards deserve to die?"

"They deserve to die. Of course they do." Fang Cheng nodded in agreement. Zhao Lian'er continued, "The villagers of Zhujia Village were just as cold. They watched my mother die on that bed. Some even said she deserved it for having a slut for a daughter. Did I choose to be a whore? No one ever asked why I became a prostitute. They just called me a shameless bitch behind my back, while secretly envying me for making money lying down. Haha, don't those despicable bastards deserve to die?"

"They deserve to die. Of course they do." Fang Cheng nodded again. Zhao Lian'er pointed at the bloodstains on the ground.

"And those Land God Self-Help Association cultivators, setting up the Demonic Spirit Gathering Array here, luring people with gold, turning them into blood crystals. I killed them to survive. Was that wrong?"

"Not wrong at all. Absolutely not." Fang Cheng laughed.

"Dear Lian'er, everything you did was right. And me choosing to eat you, haha, that's right too. We're both right. We did great. Truly great. Hahahaha..." Fang Cheng flew up, his wings light and graceful like a dancing lark. The lark spiraled upward, its gaze fixed on the dazzling lotus Dharma Manifestation behind Zhao Lian'er. The lotus was like a delicious roasted sweet potato, radiating a captivating glow, making the lark want to sing.

"Look at this black lotus. How beautiful. How stunning. This is nature's primal power, the deliciousness born from nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium! One little lick, and my heart would soar. I'd faint from happiness. Hahahaha..." The lark laughed wildly, its voice chilling. Zhu Old Six was so terrified he pissed himself. It was over. Second had gone mad. No, wait, Second had been mad for a long time. Was there any hope for him? Could anyone save him?