Chương 277: The Truth

Moon-Lacking Pavilion, Pavilion Master's Courtyard. Hearing Master Song's question, the people in the courtyard fell silent enough to hear a pin drop. The foolish bear finally understood what was happening. Gripping his Heavenly King Hammers tightly, he glared viciously at Tianji Zi. His posture clearly read: One wrong word and I'll smash you into meat paste! Sensing the layers upon layers of oppressive Qi locking onto him, Brother Tianji was so terrified that a cold sweat ran down his spine.

Forcing a stiff smile, he opened his mouth:"Pavilion Master Song must be joking..." Bang! Fast! Too fast! This swindler with guts the size of the sky didn't even have time to register what happened before his left eye was punched, turning black like a panda's. Only when the pain finally registered did Old Demon Song's cold voice ring in his ear:"Too bad, you guessed wrong!"

"This Young Master will give you one more chance. Am I going to chop off your left arm first, or your right arm?" Tianji Zi felt as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern. Sensing the overwhelming, heaven-covering murderous intent radiating from the young man before him, he couldn't control his trembling limbs. Panicking, he truly wanted to turn around and run away immediately!

"Run. I'll even let you run out of the city first, and this Young Master can still catch you within the time it takes an incense stick to burn and chop you into a human stick!" Gulp! Looking at the expressionless face so close to his, and remembering the speed of the other party's strike just now—so fast that he couldn't even react—this guy obediently crushed the dangerous thought that had just popped into his head.

"Pavilion Master Song, I..." Bang!

"Ouch!" Brother Tianji's remaining good eye also began to swell.

"Cut the crap!" - Master Song's voice had turned indescribably gloomy and chilling. Thud!

"Master Song, spare my life! Master Song, spare my life! This lowly one knows his crimes! I shouldn't have come to deceive you! I beg Master Song to raise your hand high and let me off this once! I have an eighty-year-old mother above and an unweaned child below! I was just forced by circumstances and made a foolish mistake in a moment of desperation!" Fucking hell!

Seeing this dog kneel down and cry his eyes out without putting up the slightest resistance, Song Que and the others in the courtyard almost cursed his mother aloud. Where is your dignity as a 6th Grade expert?! Where is your martial artist's bloodlust?! In terms of realm, this guy was the highest one here! Yet right now, he showed absolutely no backbone. Getting scared into shivering like a wet dog from a single threat truly broadened their horizons. I really don't understand how he cultivated to this stage!

Grandee Song also felt mentally exhausted.

"Stand up and explain clearly!" Looking at him fearfully for a moment, 'Brother Tianji' finally stood up, trembling and cowering, and spoke:"Master Song, it was like this: this lowly one was passing through the Yangnan Circuit and heard tales of your deeds. I thought that since you were young and inexperienced in the ways of the world, I had a sudden bout of greed and wanted to swindle some travel money. I absolutely had no malicious intentions!"

"Is that all?"

"It's the truth, Master Song!" The man opposite him nodded like a pestle pounding garlic.

"Sigh..." Hearing this, Song Que sighed, drew a small throwing knife from his waist, placed it on the table, and looked the man up and down with eyes full of malice.

"I wonder if we still have enough mercury in the storehouse?" Tianji Zi felt as if he had turned into a tiny mouse, and the person opposite him was a cruel cat leisurely considering how to toy with him. Instantly, all the hairs on his body stood on end, and an intense feeling of unease washed over him. With a bad premonition rising in his heart, he asked in a trembling voice on the verge of tears:"Master Song... what do you need mercury for?"

"Nothing much. You lying just now made this Young Master very unhappy. I will now use this small knife to shave off all your hair. Then, I'll bury you firmly in the ground with only your head exposed. After that, I'll cut a small slit on the top of your head and pour the mercury in." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"Tsk tsk, mercury is very heavy; it won't stay put in one place. It will seep into your flesh and separate your skin like peeling bark from a tree. As the mercury flows down, your entire layer of skin will be completely peeled off intact." Saying this, Old Demon Song smiled happily and patted the man's shoulder:"You might feel a tiny bit of pain during the process, but rest assured, with your cultivation, this minor injury won't be fatal. Afterward, I'll set you free to return to your family.

Consider this layer of skin a small punishment. Be a bit more mindful in your future endeavors." Devil! Tianji Zi screamed frantically in his heart. Grandpa Song, spare me! Seeing this guy acting so evil, speaking of murdering and skinning people as lightly as floating clouds without a change in expression, Brother Tianji almost wet his pants in terror. His legs gave way uncontrollably, kneeling down once more as he wailed:"Master Song, spare my life! This lowly one won't dare do it again! The truth is this..."

"Insolent! Still trying to deceive this Young Master?! It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin!"

"I wouldn't dare, Master Song! Everything I just said is the truth!"

"Hehe, then explain to me how you could see the anomalies on Xiong Ba's body?"

"Th... this lowly one was just spouting nonsense." The guy's voice grew noticeably weaker.

"Hehe, is that so?" Old Demon Song laughed chillingly. Ultimately, he had to resort to the 'needle piercing acupoints' method before this swindler honestly confessed everything. This guy's real name was Zuo Mu, a wandering vagabond and street rat. Originally, going by this trajectory, he could never hope to achieve anything outstanding in this life, let alone become a 6th Grade expert like he was now. Everything changed when Zuo Mu turned fourteen.

During a fight over alms with other beggars, he was gloriously knocked unconscious with a brick to the head. When he woke up, Old Zuo's world had changed. This guy had suddenly awakened a pair of eyes similar to Hui Wu's Heavenly Eyes—he could see the destiny on people's bodies! From his initial fear and confusion to his eventual understanding and excitement, using his sharp mind and glib tongue, Zuo Mu embarked on the path of a divine swindler, never looking back.

"You say you can actually see a person's destiny? Then why do you still need to run around pretending to be a swindler like this?" Song Que was still full of doubts regarding this.

"Master Song! I'm afraid people won't believe me! Moreover, aside from seeing the destiny on each person's body, these eyes don't have much other use. I can't see the past or the future; at most, I can just sense whether someone's destiny will rise or fall in the next three or four days. As for disasters or murderous tribulations? There is absolutely no indication of those in their destiny!"

"If I stay in one place for too long, I'll quickly be exposed. Therefore, this lowly one has to constantly move and change his territory. This time, I came to Qinghe out of admiration for the Blazing Fire Liquor and for you. I originally only planned to freeload a few meals and drinks for a couple of days. Who knew..." Zuo Mu pulled the gold ingots out of his robes with a grimace. Earning money too easily really makes one lose their rationality! Old Zuo was also quite unlucky.

In the past, he relied on his miraculous eyes to practice his trade everywhere. Mostly, he would randomly pick a person on the street with massive destiny, approach them, and pretend to be a divine fortune-teller. First, he'd spout some ambiguous nonsense that could neither be proven right nor wrong, then point out whether they would encounter good or bad luck in the immediate future. That part was absolutely accurate!

Many people, after verifying his 'divine calculations' a few days later, would believe him wholeheartedly. They would begin treating him as an honored guest, providing him with fine food, luxurious clothing, and a carefree life. But this couldn't last long. One or two inaccurate readings would make the other party suspicious. Once his cover was about to be blown, this guy would immediately find an excuse to slip away secretly, spend all his money, and then go look for his next prey.

During the process of clinging to these tycoons, Zuo Mu accidentally discovered that by staying close and absorbing a portion of the prey's destiny, his cultivation progressed incredibly smoothly. He broke through to the 6th Grade without much difficulty at all! This drove Zuo Mu crazy with excitement! Therefore, he began planning to find targets with even greater destiny, no longer purely for money. First-Tier factions and First-Tier martial artists entered his sights.

A while ago, this guy was still an honored guest at a First-Tier faction in Jiangdong. After eating and drinking his fill, he made an excuse to slip away. On his way, attracted by the fame of the Blazing Fire Liquor, he ran over here to take a look. By chance, he saw Song Que walking down the street. Seeing the heaven-covering destiny radiating from his body, Old Zuo was truly scared shitless on the spot! Following that was boundless excitement.

He almost couldn't control himself from immediately rushing over to hug Master Song's thigh and leech some luck. And then... there was no 'then.' He just ended up with panda eyes like he had today........ Carefully analyzing this guy's words, Song Que felt he had caught a talent today! Was Zuo Mu's superpower useful? Very useful! Extremely practical!

Putting aside seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster, just being able to see people's destiny meant that even in the dead of night, they would stand out clearly like lanterns. In his eyes, there was nowhere to hide! He was the absolute perfect candidate for guard duty! Moreover, he could also function like Hui Wu to seek out and discover talents, along with many other miraculous uses that Song Que hadn't fully thought of yet. He just knew it was incredibly useful! As for this guy's combat power?

That was all just floating clouds! Treat him as a mascot; why expect so much? At this moment, Master Song also began to develop an appreciation for talent. But first, he needed to verify things thoroughly.

"You said you saw my heaven-covering destiny. Then tell me, what does the destiny on my body look like?" Zuo Mu answered without the slightest hesitation:"Master Song, your destiny is like a blazing golden sun! It is countless times larger than those First-Tier Faction Masters I've seen before! Even that so-called number one expert of Linjiang Commandery, surnamed Du, cannot compare to it by a long shot!"

"Furthermore, what's even stranger is that your destiny is enveloped by a layer of purple clouds! In my entire life, I have only seen such purple destiny on the direct descendants of the royal family. It was because of this that this lowly one couldn't suppress his curiosity and wanted to visit you to study it." A golden sun... isn't that exactly the current form of the Tesseract? As for purple clouds? Royalty?! Could it be that Master Song has another hidden identity?

Like the illegitimate son of the current emperor?! However, searching his memories and recalling his mother in this life, she was just a very ordinary woman. This line of thought probably wasn't very reliable. Although he didn't yet understand the reason, Song Que now believed Zuo Mu's words without a doubt. Consequently, Master Song's tone softened significantly, making Zuo Mu feel overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

"Mister Zuo, could you trouble yourself to tell me what the destiny on Xiong Ba and Nie Feng looks like?"