A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch

Chapter 197 55: Big Fish, Big Flood Dragon (Part 4)

"Miss, let's go. Within the next five years, I'll find a way to have this villain killed! To bring peace to the old master!"

Luo Zhaopeng comforted.

He pushed the wheelchair, turning it around, ready to leave this high slope, when he saw a figure in a Celestial Cyan Robe suddenly appear, blocking the path.

"From Meridian Sword Sect?"

After clearing away the Hidden Pavilion assassins, Ninghai Zen finally resumed his original attire and appearance, walking forward with his hands behind his back.

"Ninghai Zen?"

Luo Zhaopeng instantly became alert as if facing a formidable enemy. This villain was a notorious figure who had wiped out the four families of Yihai Prefecture, a terrifying existence that still made the Thirteen Merchants shudder at the mention.

"Correct."

Ninghai Zen nodded.

"Quite the aura."

Luo Zhaopeng was greatly surprised. He had seen depictions of this villain more than once: cold eyes, sharp brows, broad shoulders, and a wide back, yet the real presence differed even more starkly. He couldn't help but find it strange; this villain, despite his notorious killings, seemed to have no murderous aura about him?

Putting aside past memories, at first glance, he seemed more like a carefree wanderer of the Jianghu.

"That girl, is she a survivor of the Su Family?"

Ninghai Zen asked softly.

"Ninghai Zen, you are a Fourth Qi Cultivation Barrier, a master akin to a First Generation Grandmaster; must you torment a crippled and blind orphan girl?"

Luo Zhaopeng took a step forward, positioning himself fully in front of Su Wan'Er, completely blocking her slender figure.

"Ten years ago, in the Su Family's backyard, you had twin bun hairstyles tied with red ribbons, correct?"

Ninghai Zen's calm gaze gently swept over Luo Zhaopeng, lightly brushing against Su Wan'Er's finely narrow shoulders.

"It was me! Villain!"

At hearing that familiar, terrifying voice from countless midnight dreams, Su Wan'Er's entire body trembled, and she cried out hoarsely:

"You killed my father! My elder brother! My uncle... villain! Villain—"

She roared like a young beast; if her eyes weren't blind, they would certainly be filled with the deepest hatred, the densest vengeance, the maddest killing intent.

"How did you become blind? How did you become disabled?"

Ninghai Zen approached slowly, the heavy rain pouring on him, causing his long hair to cling together, and the Celestial Cyan Robe with cloud and dragon patterns to be thoroughly drenched, revealing even deeper hues.

As a Fourth Cultivation Grandmaster with Qi Blood flowing outward, he should have been impervious to rain.

How could he be soaked?

"Ninghai Zen! What exactly do you want? Wan'Er practiced dangerous Qi Cultivation techniques, resulting in blindness!

Afterwards, she hastily consumed potent elixirs, causing cold toxins to accumulate in her legs, resulting in immobility!

Her life, so filled with solitude and suffering, is all thanks to you!"

Luo Zhaopeng shouted in anger.

He knew well that if it came to a true fight, he wouldn't stand a chance against Ninghai Zen, so he could only attempt to counter with words.

"Villain! Why didn't you eradicate all traces back then and kill me! Why did you let me live in this world?"

Su Wan'Er seemed to be laughing and crying, resembling a withered, wilting flower.

"I, Ning Mou, have never killed the old or weak, nor the innocent."

Ninghai Zen's tone was as invariably calm as an endless, undisturbed ocean.

"When you were young, culpability lay with your father, brothers, and elders, and had nothing to do with you, so why should I have wiped out every trace, down to a young girl of a ruined family?

Precisely because of this, there are the lonely souls and wild ghosts of the four families today."

During the conversation, Ninghai Zen walked seventy to eighty steps, coming to stand atop the high slope.

"The grudge between you and the Su Family is immense and ought to be resolved! The entire main branch has perished, leaving only Wan'Er, who lacks the talent for cultivation and the aptitude for martial training, and is crippled. Will you still not relent?"

Luo Zhaopeng, at Third Training Minor Achievement and just beginning to cultivate, faced a Grandmaster of the Fourth Cultivation Barrier, feeling as if two mountains were pressing down on his shoulders, unable to move an inch.

He breathed deeply, his Qi Blood rising like a blazing furnace, sending a straight plume of smoke several meters high.

"As I said, I do not kill the old, weak, and innocent."

Within Ninghai Zen emanated a divine brilliance, layer upon layer of radiance swelled like vibrant waves, like temples offering tributes to deities, reciting scriptures, imbuing him with great power.

"Qi Blood like a sea... such terrifying substance!"

Luo Zhaopeng's face trembled, seemingly suppressed heavily, unable to move even a finger.

Yet, he was not anxious at heart. A Grandmaster of the Fourth Cultivation Barrier, unless fallen into the Turbid Tide, losing humanity, would have no reason to harm a blind and crippled orphan girl.

Once such a deed spread, it would invoke the world's scorn!

"Don't cry."

Ninghai Zen reached out to wipe the tears from Su Wan'Er's face.

This gentle gesture made Luo Zhaopeng's heart move.

Could it be that this villain held onto guilt all these years?

That he could not bear to see Wan'Er in such misery?

Indeed.

No matter how shameless a Fourth Cultivation Grandmaster is, they must retain some honor.

No reason would lead him to harbor murderous intent against a defenseless, disabled orphan girl.

"No peace in the three realms, like a burning house."

Ninghai Zen stood calmly before the wheelchair, as a twisted, hate-filled face looked up at him, closely watching.

"As a child, you were like a demon devouring people, yet an infant demon may not be bloodthirsty; therefore, I spared you.

Ten long years, bearing the bitter fruit of hatred, like a fruit soaking in poison, harms not only others but oneself.

Young lady, today, I will bring you fulfillment, grant you release."

Ninghai Zen's voice was serene, with no hesitation or confusion entangled by causality or enmity.

Under Luo Zhaopeng's astonished gaze, two fingers lightly touched Su Wan'Er's brow.

The once pallid, icy face suddenly flushed with a touch of blood, like a brilliantly blooming rose, adding a touch more radiance to her.

Her slender, delicate body stiffened, then gently lay back on the wheelchair.

The last traces of tears were wiped away by Ninghai Zen.

The fierce downpour, roaring and long, couldn't touch her in the slightest.

"You…"

Luo Zhaopeng was in disbelief, a defenseless orphan girl—and you killed her?

Ninghai Zen, you are unworthy of being a Grandmaster!