Mutated Tao

Chapter 983: Murderous Aura

as lu xiucai retreated without turning back, the woman's voice trembled, her emotions overwhelming her.

“fine, you said it! you think i don’t have other options? i’ll feed another man with the crops i grow from your land! by the time you come crawling back, you’ll regret it!”

her sobs and footsteps faded away. lu xiucai sighed deeply and continued on.

as he walked through the green woods, he began singing a verse his father had taught him. “on my journey under autumn skies~ i come to pay respects in zhuanzhu alley!”

an old voice from behind joined him, singing, “a true man will create a world-shaking enterprise~”

tears glistened in lu xiucai’s eyes. he turned to see his father, lu zhuangyuan, singing the familiar lines. though he was still mad, he continued the verses by instinct.

lu xiucai continued, “turn the world around~ wash the sun in the milky way!”

the voices of the old and young overlapped, echoing down the road. “heroes gather, and stars in the sky exchange words!

“dragons and snakes of the great marsh rise~ march joyfully down the road!”

the night grew deep, and lu xiucai reached a small town before midnight.

he walked through the silent streets, searching for an open inn. he glanced back and saw his elderly father and young niece asleep on the cart. then, he continued onward.

suddenly, he heard the crash of ceramics breaking, followed by an angry woman’s voice from a nearby house. “chen! i’ve had it! i can’t live like this!”

“crazy woman! you think i’m afraid? i’ll write you a divorce letter right now!”

recognizing it as a domestic quarrel, lu xiucai relaxed and kept walking. however, only a few steps later, another argument reached his ears.

“are you trying to kill me? have you ever done a day’s work after coming into this family?”

before he could do anything, the opponent spoke with a haughty and rather impatient tone, saying, “ao jing sect? your elders approved the murderous aura command. do you dare defy your sect’s elders? the surveillance bureau is operating here. leave!”

“surveillance bureau?” lu xiucai stared at her in disbelief.

he would have never imagined that the people sneaking around in the middle of the night and harming the people here were the great liang’s surveillance bureau!

the great liang’s surveillance bureau, meant to help the empire protect the realm, orchestrated this chaos.

glancing at their waist badges, lu xiucai asked in disbelief, “why are you doing this? do you understand the consequences of infecting this town with this murderous aura?”

the group exchanged glances, then looked at him with puzzled expressions. “of course. the murderous aura will lessen their fear, driving them into a rage and making them seek revenge for their past grievances. the town will descend into chaos, and a few hundred will die.

“leave now, or you’ll find yourself in trouble. this is an imperial order. every place in the great liang is to be infected with the murderous aura. no exceptions!”

“an imperial decree? by gao zhijian?”

even after recalling the evil acts of the white lotus sect’s spirits, lu xiucai struggled to understand why.

he wondered why his previous acquaintances became so cold-blooded and distant. do they not view people as living beings anymore? don’t they know how many people are going to die here?

“hold on, did you say the entire great liang will be infected with the murderous aura?

“even cowheart village?”

a lump caught in his throat.

“cowheart village? the one at the back? of course, my senior has already taken his bloodthirsty blade there.”