Chapter 13 - The Inhuman Transformation.

“You actually eat people?” Hearing Ba Lao’s reply, Mo Li’s eyes showed a hint of anger as she looked at the three men: “Tigers in the mountains will only endure hunger when there is no food, and will not eat their own cubs. You actually do something worse than beasts?”

“We had no choice! We are also pitiful people!! If it weren’t for the exploitation by kings and officials, and those demon-ghosts, we wouldn’t have become like this!!”

“They aren’t human, but did they force you to eat people? And your own wives and sons? Don’t you feel guilty?”

“Wives are worthless lives, aren’t they? It’s their duty to help men survive. As for children, as long as we men are alive, the family line won’t be broken.” Hearing Mo Li’s words, Ba Lao couldn’t help but say, “And that girl, we didn’t know her at all; she was just a little girl we met on the road while fleeing famine.”

“Are women worthless lives?” Hearing the other party’s words, Mo Li said coldly, “Then don’t come begging me, a woman. Furthermore, I won’t save you. You want to live, but didn’t that little girl also want to live? Yet, for your own sake, you deprived them of their right to survive. You deserve to die. If you were Mohists, I would personally chop off your heads. Because you violated the Mohist taboo of Universal Love and Non-Aggression. Unfortunately, you are not Mohists. This time I won’t kill you, but don’t expect me to save you.”

“My lady? This old man spoke wrongly! Women are very important!! Women are above all else!! Please don’t take offense at this old man, save us!! If this continues, our family line will be cut off!!”

“You yourselves committed heinous acts and received retribution. This is only natural, why should I help you? Do you really think Heaven is blind? In fact, Heaven is watching everything you do, and good and evil will eventually be repaid. Go.” Mo Li said indifferently, then took Xiaoyu’s hand and walked towards another bonfire, preparing to keep a certain distance from Ba Lao and the others.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan was also about to follow, but to his surprise, one of the men grabbed him. He then knelt down before Xu Xuan. Immediately after, not just this man, but the other two also knelt down to Xu Xuan.

“Just now I saw you draw your sword, my lord!! Unlike that woman, I believe you definitely won’t stand by and do nothing!! You must be a master with a solution, right?” While kowtowing, Ba Lao spoke earnestly to Xu Xuan.

“I said, if she won’t save you, why do you think I definitely will?” Xu Xuan couldn’t help but say, looking at the three people present. Originally, he didn’t feel much about them, but after hearing that they killed and ate their own wives and children, and then killed and shared an unknown girl fleeing famine, Xu Xuan lost his good attitude towards them.

Although they were pitiful, pity was never a reason for them to deprive others of their lives.

“It’s normal for that woman to lack foresight, but I believe you can understand us. In the end, we just want to live. If it weren’t for the lack of food, we wouldn’t have become like this!!!” Looking at Xu Xuan, Ba Lao said, pulling his leg, “Ultimately, this isn’t our fault; it’s the fault of the world. Why should those who forced us into this situation not receive retribution?”

“Retribution for those people? If Heaven truly has judgment, it will come sooner or later. But as for your matters, I really don’t want to get involved.” Looking at Ba Lao and the others, Xu Xuan said calmly, “Firstly, my ability is insufficient. Secondly, even if I had the ability, I couldn’t interfere. Don’t forget, you killed that little girl, and now she’s back for revenge. Why should I stop her from seeking revenge?”

“Benevolence and Virtue!! Yes, benevolence and virtue!!! The scholars in the city used to always talk about benevolence and virtue. Do you not have any benevolence and virtue at all? We are about to die in front of you? Are you just going to watch?” Clinging tightly to Xu Xuan’s leg, Ba Lao’s tone grew colder and colder. Suddenly, the atmosphere became eerie.

“What I pursue is fairness.” Looking at the other party, Xu Xuan tried to pull his clothes back from their grip, but no matter how he pulled, he couldn’t free his trouser leg: “Hindering someone from seeking revenge is inherently unfair to them.”

“She was just a child, without support. Even if we hadn’t eaten her, she was destined not to live long.”

“What if she met a kind person? If you hadn’t eaten her, maybe she would have been saved by someone by now.” As he spoke, Xu Xuan’s gaze unconsciously turned towards Mo Li. If that little girl hadn’t died, perhaps she would have been saved by Mo Li along the way, because Mo Li wouldn’t ignore her.

“Please, I beg you!! As long as you save us, we’ll be your oxen and horses!!!”

“Can you please let go of my clothes first?” Seeing Ba Lao’s increasingly twisted face, the atmosphere began to grow stranger.

“If you agree, we’ll let go.” As Ba Lao spoke, the other two men also stepped forward and grabbed Xu Xuan’s clothes: “If you don’t agree, we’ll…”

“Hm? What are you going to do?” At this moment, Xu Xuan had completely sensed that something was wrong.

“Then we’ll kill you!!!!!” As his voice fell, right in front of Xu Xuan, Ba Lao suddenly transformed. His body began to stretch, his head grew larger, his facial features continuously shrunk, but his mouth became increasingly wide. Xu Xuan had seen this appearance before; it was exactly like the monster that killed Xiaoyu’s entire family in her village.

The moment he saw this, Xu Xuan drew his long sword and slashed at the arms clinging to him. In an instant, three arms gripping him were severed by Xu Xuan, and he instinctively leaped back a distance. At this point, three severed arms were still hanging on him.

The other two men also underwent the same transformation as Ba Lao.

“Those who commit inhuman acts often become inhuman beings.” On the other side, Mo Li said calmly. As she spoke, two automatons had already charged towards two of the monsters. Only Mo Li herself once again covered Xiaoyu’s eyes.

“Hey, hey! What happened to them?”

“Their mental defenses collapsed under fear, and they generated immense malice. Coupled with the inhuman acts they had committed before. This ultimately caused them to transform into demon-ghosts.” Mo Li explained calmly from a distance.

In the forest, the second battle began. This time, Xu Xuan finally understood the abilities of these demon-ghosts. These things could move silently and instantly teleport to a spot next to Xu Xuan, then bite down on his head.

However, facing such an attack, Xu Xuan shot a flying sword into the monster’s mouth.

He then continuously controlled the flying sword in his hand to spin and sweep inside the monster’s mouth. Almost instantly, its head was split in half. But to Xu Xuan’s surprise, the monster could still move. Its limbs were still continuously trying to attack Xu Xuan’s position. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

In two clashes, Xu Xuan was actually sent flying over ten meters by the monster’s terrifying strength. After all, this monster was the type that could easily tear human bodies apart. If it were Xu Xuan before descending the mountain, dealing with such a monster alone would have been impossible. However, for the current Xu Xuan, it wasn’t that much trouble.

Readjusting his breathing technique, as the Mountain-Moving Qi was activated by Xu Xuan’s breathing method, the long sword in his hand drew a black sword light in mid-air. It was like an ink-wash painting stroke added to an ancient mountain forest, the black sword light accompanying Xu Xuan’s sword swings in the air.

It was as if someone was painting in mid-air with a giant brush.

With such sword light, Xu Xuan charged towards the monster in front of him. After an Ink Shadow flickered, the demon-ghost instantly appeared on Xu Xuan’s other side, its remaining hand reaching for Xu Xuan’s arm. But just as it grabbed one of Xu Xuan’s arms, Xu Xuan had already turned and swung his sword. In a flash of light and shadow, the demon-ghost was instantly chopped into more than a dozen pieces.

Taking a deep breath, he sheathed his sword, and the black radiance on the blade also vanished. From this moment on, Xu Xuan knew that his long study of Mohist Swordsmanship with Mo Li had finally reached the introductory level. He looked up at the other battlefield. The other two monsters had already been dismembered by the two automatons.

“These things are really strong? Speaking of which, just how strong is Mo Li?” Seeing the two automatons cleanly dispatch the monsters before him, Xu Xuan couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Let’s go, let’s camp somewhere else; this place is clearly not suitable for camping.” Looking at the bloody scene all around, Mo Li held Xiaoyu, covering her eyes with one hand, and spoke to Xu Xuan with the other.

“Hm, it seems finding a good place to rest isn’t easy.”

“Don’t worry, the night is still long.” Looking at the sky, Mo Li’s expression returned to normal, and a smile once again appeared on her lips.

“Mo Li, just how strong are you?”

“Very strong! At least in the world today, there aren’t many people stronger than me.” Mo Li said with a smile to Xu Xuan.

After some time, the two found another suitable spot and lit a bonfire. Before long, Xiaoyu fell asleep again in Mo Li’s arms. Seeing Xiaoyu asleep, Xu Xuan finally couldn’t help but speak.

“The monsters Ba Lao and the others turned into are the same as the one from Xiaoyu’s family.”

“Indeed, what can you infer?”

“Could that monster have originally been Ba Lao’s companion?”

“Yes.” Mo Li nodded, then spoke, “It seems they still concealed some things about Xiaoyu’s village.”

“Did you know about this?”

“Just a guess. It’s likely that someone in Ba Lao’s group couldn’t withstand the pressure first and turned into a demon-ghost, and Ba Lao and the others, to escape, led the monster to Xiaoyu’s village. This also explains why we encountered them in the woods near the village.” Mo Li thought for a moment and said, “But there’s no evidence, so it’s just speculation.”

“Never mind, it’s all in the past anyway.”

“Hm? It’s not over yet. Next, there’s your question.”

“My question?” Hearing Mo Li’s words, Xu Xuan was about to ask something when the next second he heard the soft humming of a little girl singing some kind of ballad…