A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

dusk.

The setting sun cast a vibrant red glow, bathing Zhujia Village in its light.

On the estate of Vice Minister Zhu, each guard held a knife and spear, watching warily as a person carrying a knife slowly walked in. The setting sun shone on each of them, making them look as if they were splattered with blood.

Zhu Da felt that if he didn't fight for his pride, he would never be able to hold his head high in Zhu Family Village for the rest of his life.

He had no other choice but to fight to the death.

Before leaving, he told Lai Liu to disperse and that if he died, his house deed would be at home. He should find it, sell it, and give half to Zhu Tietou and half to Lai Liu.

Lai Liu followed Zhu Da all the way, and when they were almost at Zhu Shilang's house, Zhu Da punched and kicked him.

"I told you to get out, didn't you know to get out?!"

Zhu Da kicked Lai Liu over again and cursed.

Lai Liu said, "Boss, if you die, I'll be right here to collect your body. Someone has to give you a proper burial, at least a proper ceremony."

Zhu laughed loudly: "Then get lost, or you'll get covered in blood."

Lai Liu laughed, "I'm clever enough not to get splashed."

Zhu was furious and said, "If I didn't get splashed, you don't need to come and collect the body. Get out, or my property will just go to Minister Zhu's family."

He knew that if he died, his house would still be worth some money, and the Vice Minister's family would definitely not let it go. Even if the Vice Minister's family didn't care, what about those lackeys?

Anyway, Lai Liu couldn't be driven away, so he just followed from a distance.

Having no other choice, Zhu Da could only slowly walk toward the Zhu family's manor, carrying his knife.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was very somber.

Even in the tense atmosphere, beads of sweat were dripping down.

Everyone assumed it was sweat, but...

It's raining!

The rain wasn't heavy; it fell drop by drop, like silent tears, carrying a slight earthy smell as it slid down.

The leader was Chen Hu, who held a long spear and looked coldly at Zhu Da.

Zhu Da...

Ha! What a dog-like person, actually trying to go against the Zhu family. Although the Zhu family's status declined after Zhu's death, they are still not someone that a local thug can shake.

Now that he's come knocking on my door, I might as well kill him; nothing will happen.

So Chen Hu is here today to claim credit; killing a thug is like killing a dog.

Zhu Da stopped, and Lai Liu, who was in the distance, also stopped.

Zhu Dayong wrapped his hands and the hilt of the knife together layer by layer with strips of cloth, fearing that if he didn't have the strength to swing the knife, it would be knocked away and he wouldn't be able to kill anyone.

Killing one will break even, killing two will be a profit.

While wrapping his hands, Zhu Da muttered to himself, "I've lived for twenty or thirty years, and only today did I realize that I'm not even as good as a child. But now that I think about it, it's not too late to change things a little."

Chen Hu silently watched Zhu Da, not taking advantage of the situation. If he did, he would be ridiculed. He wanted to use his spear to pierce Zhu Da's throat, so that everyone would think he was a hero.

"Are you done yet?"

Chen Hu shouted.

"All right!"

Zhu Daye responded loudly, slowly raising his knife, gathering his strength, ready to charge forward.

"A divine ox, it's a divine ox, it really is a divine ox!"

Suddenly, a child's voice, like a sharp arrow, pierced through the tense atmosphere of the sky, as if a cold wind had torn the curtain apart.

Then the opening got bigger and bigger, and it felt like cold wind was blowing in.

Everyone looked towards the path to the south.

A little boy ran briskly towards them, shouting as he ran, "My dad can walk again! He's all better! He's a real miracle worker!"

It seemed that a group of people were following the little boy at a distance.

They were all villagers, and the person walking in front of the group was indeed the little boy's father, Zhu Decai. Although he was still very thin, he clearly walked with more strength, almost like an ordinary person.

Chen Hu was stunned.

They actually stood up?

His hand holding the spear trembled involuntarily. He turned to a guard beside him and said, "Immediately inform the master that things are not going well."

The guard ran off quickly.

Seeing Tie Tou running towards him, Zhu Da couldn't help but laugh, but then he started crying. He couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You little rascal, who told you to come over here? Don't you want to die?!"

Tie Tou came to his side, looked up at Zhu Da, and laughed: "If you hadn't made me make a wish to the sacred ox last night, there wouldn't be a deity coming to my house to save my father today."

Zhu Da nodded and smiled: "He's a grateful person. I've lived for so many years, and only today have I come to understand life a little better. Good, good. When he grows up, he'll definitely be a good man."

Tie Tou nodded and said firmly, "Yes!"

At this moment, the villagers stood behind Zhu Da, and Zhu Decai also stood beside Zhu Da with Tie Tou in his hand, while Lai Liu, who had already walked over, stood on Zhu Da's other side.

"Boss, I knew it... you're incredibly lucky, you're destined to make a fortune. That white ox is back in our hands now, isn't it? Hehe..."

Zhu Da also laughed.

At this moment, a group of people walked out of the manor. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man in his forties. He had a thin face, a long beard, and slightly narrowed eyes with a piercing light. If his eyes were knives, they would seem to want to kill the villagers in front of him.

"I've met the head of the family!"

Chen Hu and his guards bowed to the middle-aged man.

Zhu Shangli, the eldest grandson of Vice Minister Zhu, was a scholar with official rank.

Zhu Shangli coughed lightly, and his authoritative voice, facing the villagers, silenced the somewhat noisy crowd below.

"What are you doing? Trying to cause trouble at my residence? Believe me, I'll write a letter, and the Prefect will come to collect the quota, then I'll throw you all in jail one by one..."

"Haha, Master Zhu, you just wrote a letter and the governor is willing to risk his life for you? How much influence do you have? Are you really that close to the governor? Is he willing to disregard the law for you?"

At this point, Zhu Da began to speak sarcastically.

"I've also heard that the governor and the head of the Zhu family don't get along very well. You can scare them, but don't try to scare me. Do you think I'm just some nobody in the city?"

Zhu Shangli was taken aback, but then laughed and said, "You stole a cow from somewhere, claiming it was an auspicious omen, but it brought disaster to the village..."

"Bah! Bringing trouble upon us? Aren't those people your farmers? They rent your land, cultivate your fields, and they all speak on your behalf. But... Tie Tou's father, paralyzed for many years, has now stood up. It's because his wish to the sacred ox came true. So what? You took my ox away with just a word?"

Zhu Da questioned loudly.

Zhu Shangli sneered: "The ox was a disaster, and I've already slaughtered it. You have nothing left to lose. Besides, I don't know where you stole or tricked this ox from. If I report it to the authorities, you'll be arrested and imprisoned."

Zhu roared in fury, "You're shameless!"

Zhu Shangli sneered: "I'm shameless? You're the one who's shameless!"

The villagers couldn't stand it anymore. An old woman couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Sigh, they're supposed to be a family of scholars, yet they're so unreasonable."

As soon as these words were spoken, a buzz of discussion immediately broke out among the crowd.

Zhu Shangli snorted coldly: "Believe it or not. Anyway... the slaughtered cow doesn't exist."

Zhu Da: "I want to see the ox alive or dead!"

Zhu Shangli retorted angrily, "What I said is right, and you still dare to argue? My grandfather was the Vice Minister of Rites, and he was extremely knowledgeable about etiquette and manners. Our family has always been known for its literary traditions and the importance of proper conduct. Am I wrong?"

Standing some distance away by a haystack, Zhang Zhengdao smiled and said to Tieguai Li, "Are you angry?"

Tieguai Li chuckled: "What do I have to be angry about? This is quite common!"

Zhang Zhengdao lamented: "Those who uphold etiquette play with it; those who know etiquette desecrate it; those who control etiquette manipulate it. On the contrary, those who seem to know nothing about etiquette are the ones who know propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame. Is this the true state of the world?"

Tieguai Li also said, "It has always been this way."

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Isn't there any way to punish these morally corrupt people?"

Tieguai Li said, "That's why there are chivalrous knights who uphold justice and cultivators who eliminate demons and protect the righteous path."

"Haha, naive. What can you do with just these?"

As Zhang Zhengdao spoke, he noticed that the village suddenly seemed to be in chaos.

"Your white ox has finally reacted!" Tieguai Li laughed.

Zhang Zhengdao said, "Let's see how she does it."

Just then, a huge fire suddenly erupted in the village. People were shouting for help to put out the fire.

Zhu Shangli was taken aback and turned to see what was going on.

Suddenly, a white ox charged out of the manor, followed by a large crowd shouting, "The white ox has rushed into the kitchen, and a fire has broken out! Master, quickly put out the fire..."

Zhu Shangli turned to leave.

The white bull saw him and charged at him.

Eager to save his master and eager to achieve great merit, Chen Hu thought, "What's a bull?" He thrust his spear at the white ox. Unexpectedly, the white ox suddenly leaped into the air, rolled, and a woman appeared, dressed in white, wielding a long sword, who then thrust it towards Chen Hu.

"Demon...cough cough..."

He had barely uttered a word when the sword tip pierced through the back of his neck. Then, the sword tip retracted, and a spurt of blood gushed out. All the strength in his body dissipated with the withdrawal of the sword tip, and his body became as limp as a noodle. With the force of the sword tip retracting, he took two steps forward and collapsed softly to the ground.

The corpse collapsed onto Zhu Shangli, causing the middle-aged man to let out a sharp, woman-like scream.

His eyes widened, and after a few rapid breaths, blood gushed from his mouth. He was then knocked to the ground, convulsing, and it was clear he was not going to survive.

Upon seeing this, the villagers realized that a demon had appeared, and they scattered in all directions.

They no longer cared about the public's impassioned desire to seek justice for themselves.

In the face of fairies, nothing else matters; escaping is the only priority.