Chapter 14 - Inhuman Acts.

"You actually eat people?" Hearing Ba Lao's reply, Mo Li's eyes showed a hint of anger as she looked at the three: "Tigers in the mountains, even when starving, would rather endure hunger than eat their own cubs. You actually did something worse than beasts?"

"We had no choice! We are also pitiful people!! If it weren't for the exploitation by the king 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 just cheap 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's lives cheap?" Hearing his words, Mo Li said coldly: "Then don't come begging me, a woman. Also, 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. Unfortunately, you are not Mohists. This time I won't kill you, but don't expect me to save you either."

"Your Excellency? This old man spoke wrongly! Women are very important!! Women are above all else!! Please don't mind 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 coldly, then took Xiaoyu's hand and walked towards another bonfire, preparing to distance herself from Ba Lao and the others.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan also prepared to follow, but to his surprise, a man grabbed him. He then knelt down before him. Immediately after, not just this man, but the remaining two also knelt down to Xu Xuan.

"Just now I saw you draw your sword, Your Excellency!! Unlike that woman, I believe you definitely won't stand by and watch us die!! You must be an expert with a solution, right?" While kneeling, Ba Lao spoke earnestly to Xu Xuan.

"I say, if they won't save you, why do you think I definitely will?" Looking at the three people present, Xu Xuan couldn't help but say. Originally, he didn't feel strongly about them, but after hearing that they killed and ate their own wives and children, and then killed and shared an unknown refugee girl, Xu Xuan lost his good impression of them.

Although they are pitiable, pity is 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 survive. If it weren't for the lack of food, we wouldn't have become like this!!!" Looking at Xu Xuan, Ba Lao pulled his leg and said: "In the end, this isn't our fault, it's the fault of the world. Why should those who forced us into this not receive retribution?"

"Retribution for those people? If Heaven truly has judgment, it will come sooner or later. But I really don't want to get involved in your matters." Looking at Ba Lao and the others, Xu Xuan said calmly: "Firstly, I don't have enough ability. Secondly, even if I did, 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 getting revenge?"

"Benevolence!! Yes, benevolence!!! The scholars in the city used to always talk about benevolence. Do you have no benevolence at all? Are we to die in front of you? Are you just going to watch?" Clutching Xu Xuan's leg tightly, Ba Lao's tone grew colder and colder. The atmosphere in the area suddenly became eerie.

"What I pursue is fairness." Looking at him, Xu Xuan tried to pull his clothes out of the man's grasp, but no matter how he pulled, he couldn't free his trouser leg: "Preventing someone from seeking revenge is inherently unfair to them."

"She was just a child, helpless and alone. 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 fell upon Mo Li. If that little girl hadn't died, perhaps she would have been saved by now, having traveled this far. Because Mo Li wouldn't ignore her.

"Please, I beg you!! As long as you save us, we'll serve you like oxen and horses!!!"

"Can you please let go of my clothes first?" Seeing Ba Lao's increasingly twisted face, the atmosphere on the scene also 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..."

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

"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's long sword was drawn, slashing at the arms on his body. In an instant, the three arms gripping him were severed by Xu Xuan, and he instinctively leaped backward a distance. At this point, three arms were still hanging from his body.

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?"

"Under fear, their psychological defenses collapsed, and immense malice was generated. Coupled with the inhuman acts they had committed before. This ultimately caused them to transform into demon-ghosts." Mo Li, from a distance, explained calmly.

In the forest, the second battle began. And this time, Xu Xuan finally understood the abilities of these demon-ghosts. This thing could move silently and instantly teleport to a spot next to Xu Xuan. Then it lunged, biting at Xu Xuan's head.

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

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

After 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 troublesome.

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

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

Carrying this 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 chopped into a dozen pieces in one go.

Taking a deep breath, he sheathed his sword, and the ink-colored glow on the blade also vanished. From this moment, 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?" Watching the two automatons cleanly dispatch the monsters before him, Xu Xuan couldn't help but exclaim.

"Let's go, let's find another place to camp. 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.

"Hmm, 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 to Xu Xuan with a smile.

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 home."

"Indeed, can you think of anything?"

"Could that monster have originally been one of Ba Lao's companions?"

"Yes." Mo Li nodded, and then said: "It seems they still concealed some things. Regarding Xiaoyu's village."

"Do you know about this?"

"It's just a guess, someone in Ba Lao's group probably 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, it's just speculation after all."

"Never mind, it's all in the past anyway."

"Hmm? 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 faint sound of a little girl humming a song...