Free Web NovelThe catfish Demonic Energy became docile.
Decades ago, he followed many Demonic Energies into Human City, then hid in the small river in front of Yinma Town, staying hidden until today.
At first, he only knew how to eat. At that time, Human City was in chaos, and he, along with other Demonic Energies, devoured hundreds of people without anyone to stop them.
Later, as he ate more people, his intelligence gradually increased.
It was on that day, decades ago, that a man holding a Hammer, accompanied by a group of Executioners, found their lair.
Those people were not ordinary martial artists; they could actually use power almost like Demonic Energy!
Especially the leader, covered in blood, he hammered to death one powerful being after another in his eyes.
It was too terrifying.
Fortunately, there was a hidden river in the lair, which gave him a way to escape.
After that, as a Demonic Energy, he learned to take the long view and cooperated with boatmen; the boatmen sought profit, and he took lives.
He originally thought that today he would also have a full meal.
But he never expected that these escorts were actually Executioners from Mo City in disguise, and he was still found.
What he didn't expect even more was that a passing young man would be so strong, injuring him with a single Hammer blow.
Even so, he remained fearless.
This was on the water, and now he had even broken free from the fishing net. Once he entered the water, no one could do anything to him.
Yet, by some strange coincidence, he smelled a familiar scent of fish.
And there was a woman calmly drinking fish soup.
Rage surged in the catfish's heart, and malice grew in his gut!
His second uncle was raised by him to help him reach a higher level, and now he had actually been cooked and eaten!
How dare she!
He opened his mouth, intending to chew and swallow the entire carriage along with its occupants.
At this moment, the woman suddenly looked up at him.
She didn't run away.
Was she scared silly?
Wait a minute... how come he suddenly felt unable to move?
No, it wasn't that he couldn't move; it was that the surrounding time had slowed down, even the speed at which water droplets fell became incredibly slow.
By the time he realized this, even his thoughts were paralyzed.
He could only watch, wide-eyed, as a Hammer shadow rapidly magnified in his vision.
The Hammer wind pressed down on him, like Mount Tai crushing him.
No.
How is the force of this Hammer much greater than the last one? Did that young man hold back in the last Hammer blow, not using his full strength at all?
No, something's not right!
Long-sealed memories surfaced before his eyes; the young man holding the Hammer in front of him seemed to overlap with the shadow from many years ago.
He escaped the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth.
Bang—
The Hammer landed squarely on the catfish's forehead. The Demonic Energy instantly went rigid, and the powerful force created a ripple across his massive body.
Blood rained down from the sky.
The river immediately fell silent.
Dong Ge Yu and the Executioners disguised as escorts stood stunned, thinking to themselves, who exactly was the Demonic Energy.
Dong Ao looked at the young man on the bow of the boat and opened his mouth.
His grandfather was probably getting old, and his memory had been getting worse lately.
But his grandfather always talked about one person, that person's deeds, that person's character, that person's words—each detail was incredibly clear.
The figure he had been influenced by and imagined for so long seemed vaguely similar to the person before him.
But he was too young to remember when that person died, yet the young man before him was just barely an adult!
Strange, it was too strange.
"You... are you human or ghost?" Dong Ge Yu asked tremblingly.
"Hehehe..."
Li Mo smirked, causing the latter to lean back slightly in fright. He immediately became helpless:
"You dare to fight Demonic Energies, yet you're so superstitious."
"No, I mean seeing you is like seeing a ghost."
Dong Ge Yu, somewhat questioning life, looked at the Hammer in Li Mo's hand, then at the one in his own:
"Who taught you your Hammer Technique?"
"What Hammer? I clearly used Sword Technique just now."
Li Mo calmly put away the Hammer and waved his long sword, which hadn't even left its sheath.
Dong Ge Yu: "..."
The other party seemed to care a lot about whether it was a Hammer or a sword... Before she could speak again.
Li Mo had already gone to the carriage and, seeing the Heavenly Immortal Young Miss looking completely unperturbed, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She seemed so calm. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Knowing her extraordinary skill, Li Mo originally thought she was a Young Miss from another prominent family in Earth City, but now he had changed his mind.
To be honest, facing Demonic Energy for the first time, he had been in a moment of urgency just now, and afterwards, he felt a sense of lingering fear.
But she had remained unruffled from beginning to end, which suddenly made her seem mysterious... "How does it feel to be a hero acting righteously?"
Ying Bing served the fish soup, which had been kept warm, and asked with a light laugh.
"Anyway, this Jianghu is not quite what I imagined."
Li Mo clicked his teeth, feeling somewhat dispirited.
But catching a glimpse of the faint serenity in Ying Bing's eyes, he smiled and said:
"Saving the beauty is quite interesting, though."
"..."
Ying Bing froze for a moment, then pursed her lips.
Following her gaze, Li Mo looked out of the carriage curtain.
He saw that Dong Ge Yu was no longer pretending to be a Young Miss; finding her clothes cumbersome, she had torn off both sleeves and was now interrogating the surviving boatmen, her Hammer whistling as she wielded it from time to time.
"Speak, how many lives have you taken? If you're not honest, I'll wring the pee out of you."
"??"
Well, well, a perfect young female Master.
"You don't think I meant... her when I said 'beauty,' do you?"
"Then who else..."
Ying Bing's eyelashes fluttered, realizing she had made a fool of herself.
Being too strong, she subconsciously didn't consider herself the one being saved.
It was also Li Mo's fault.
Even after forgetting his past, he was still so frivolous.
Yet, the way he looked at her made her feel that he was speaking from his heart.
Li Mo was like this when he was in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Li Mo entered the Tianhuang Domain, and he was still like this after two lifetimes.
Li Mo... Han Xianzi was usually as cold and serene as her appearance suggested. If she looked a bit dazed, it meant her brain was poisoned.
"I've thrown all those accomplices into the river to feed the fish. I'll have the boat dock in a moment. What are your plans? Do you want to come with me to Mo City?"
Li Mo came back to his senses and nodded: "Okay, then we'll go together."
"You agreed so readily?" Dong Ge Yu was quite surprised, not even getting to say the words she had prepared.
"I was going to hitch a ride with her to Mo City anyway, and..."
Li Mo shrugged, embarrassed: "I don't know the way."
"Oh, oh..."
Dong Ge Yu glanced at Ying Bing, her mind momentarily stuck, captivated by her beauty.
Then she realized something was wrong.
You're hitching a ride, and you don't know the way.
She doesn't know the way either?
What were you two doing wandering around outside? Could you really just wander all the way to Mo City?
...When the caravan could see a towering city in the distance, Human City also experienced its first snowfall.
The city, surrounded by fields, wasn't large, but the number of people entering and leaving was exceptionally high, even in winter, and the city looked completely new.
Despite being in the dead of winter, the entire city exuded a vibrant vitality that even the snow couldn't cover.
Upon returning here, the group's tense nerves finally relaxed.
Along the way, the number of battles they experienced was neither many nor few.
Li Mo saw the true Jianghu.
Those images of carefree swagger, spending lavishly, and exhilarating moments seemed to gradually fade. What they experienced most along the way was: what to eat today; whether they could reach the next town before dark; where to find a place to bathe... Xiao Li suddenly realized that leaving home, it was still all about the trivial matters.
In fact, besides the trivial matters, there was also the added fatigue of travel.
But every time he resolved a Demonic Energy disaster and saw life and hope in the eyes of ordinary people, he felt it was all worth it.
This was probably also the reason that supported him in coming to Mo City.
"Finally, we've arrived."
Dong Ge Yu pointed above the city gate.
Li Mo looked in the direction she pointed.
There hung a plaque with not-so-grand calligraphy:
【Mo City.】
A flag also fluttered on the city wall, with a pattern drawn on it.
The pattern swayed in the wind and snow, yet it was exceptionally vivid.
"Hmm?"
Li Mo suddenly froze in place, as if under a immobilization spell.
"What's wrong?" Ying Bing poured a cup of hot tea and looked up from her needlework.
"What is that?"
"Mo City's ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) flag."
"I mean the pattern on the flag." Li Mo's tone was a bit urgent.
"Oh, that... it was left by the founder of Mo City."
Ying Bing's gaze was as gentle as autumn water rippling:
"He said he didn't want to be remembered, so the city's name was changed, but everyone still drew what he used most often, and the Foundation upon which this city was built, on the flag."
"The founder of Mo City..."
Xiao Li leaned back slightly, gazing at the unfamiliar yet familiar city.
Could it be that he was also a Transmigration?
And a Master?
...At the same time, Dong Ao had already left the caravan and arrived at a courtyard in the city center.
An old, ordinary farmer was lying in a rocking chair, dozing, with a dark fire poker beside the chair.
His ears twitched, and he asked:
"Who's back?"
"Grandpa, it's me, Xiao Ao."
Dong Ao respectfully stepped forward.
"It really is you. I'm getting old and my eyesight isn't good; I thought it was your father. You're back, why aren't you going to your wife and children? Why are you coming to me? You haven't encountered something you can't handle, have you?"
Dong Changtian asked casually.
The old man had been guarding this land, from Great King Village to now, and was the most senior person in the city.
Except for a small number of Celestial Clan members, almost no Demonic Energy could threaten him now.
"There is something I need your decision on."
"Tell me."
"I met someone who looks very much like him."
"Like who?"
Dong Ao then recounted everything he had seen and heard after Yinma Town.
He watched his grandfather stand up abruptly, his old eyes wide open, a sharp glint in their cloudy depths, his body trembling... After entering the city, Li Mo followed Dong Ge Yu all the way to the city center, walking on the mottled bluestone road.
Dong Ge Yu had asked him on the way if he was willing to be an Executioner.
Li Mo naturally agreed.
So Dong Ge Yu said she would introduce him to the Dong family's Old Master, take him to get his uniform, and register his name.
"Hey, where's your Heavenly Immortal Young Miss?"
"She said she'd go home first, tidy up, and wait for me to come home."
"Is she from Mo City? How come I don't remember her?"
Dong Ge Yu didn't think much of it, then nodded and smiled: "That's good too, this way you'll have a place to stay in the city."
Li Mo suddenly remembered: "I don't think I asked her where she lives..."
"Ah, it's a small matter, I'll help you inquire later."
Dong Ge Yu, with great 'manliness,' patted him on the shoulder.
"Then I'll trouble you."
"Ah, we're brothers, we hit it off. Why don't we become sworn brothers later? We won't forget each other if we get rich."
Dong Ge Yu knew that with Li Mo's terrifying martial Dao talent, let alone the future, he was already enough to rank among the top Executioners now.
How could one not befriend such a person?
In the Executioners' mission hall, there was an ancestral statue that had always been the spiritual pillar for all Mo City residents.
It would be a perfect witness then!
Dong Ge Yu excitedly led him to the Wind Catching Hall, then found some incense sticks from somewhere.
"First bow to Heaven and Earth!"
"Hmm?"
"Uh, I got it wrong, again, Heaven above!"
Dong Ge Yu was serious.
Li Mo, however, stared at the statue, lost in thought.
The statue was tall and strong, holding a sickle in its left hand and a Hammer in its right, as if always full of vigor and hope.
Could it be that the founder of Mo City just happened to like using these two weapons, and they were passed down as symbols?
Is it a coincidence?
But what was this inexplicable feeling of familiarity?
Before he could figure out the question, incense was shoved into his hand.
Dong Ge Yu continued loudly: "Today, I and Brother Li become sworn brothers..."
"Unworthy descendant, silence!"
A sudden shout rang out.
"Hmm?" Dong Ge Yu was stunned. Did the ancestor manifest?
Then he felt a slap on the back of his head.
Li Mo looked and saw an old man with white hair and a beard standing at the gate in the wind and snow, his eyes gleaming with a strange light.
He had spoken with such vigor just now, but now, looking at Li Mo, he couldn't utter a single word.
"Young man, what... what's your name?"
"Li Mo."
"That's right, that's right, indeed... I knew it..."
The old man smiled, tears welling in his eyes.
"You are..."
"This is my great-grandfather." Dong Ge Yu whispered meekly.
Li Mo bowed: "Elder, have we met before?"
"No, no, first time meeting. Calling me 'elder' is too formal, just call me Little Dong."
"Huh?"
Dong Changtian excitedly came over, grabbing his hand. He seemed to have many things he wanted to say to him but didn't know how to start, so he asked about his background and experiences.
Although it felt strange, the other person was an elder after all, and the Executioners were all quite respectful to the old man.
Well, if he was joining, it was reasonable for them to ask about his background.
So Li Mo began chatting with Dong Changtian.
"Uncle Ao, what's going on?"
His great-granddaughter Dong Ge Yu looked bewildered.
"Probably... a feeling of instant familiarity." Dong Ao said, not quite sure.
What he wasn't quite sure about was whether to remove the 'familiar' from 'instant familiarity'.
"But this is too familiar. I've never seen great-grandfather like this..."
As Dong Ge Yu spoke, her expression suddenly changed.
He saw his great-grandfather enthusiastically trying to get Li Mo to become sworn brothers, muttering something about 'making up for it'.
"This isn't right!"
"Hmm..."
Dong Changtian hesitated for a moment, looking at the statue for a long time:
"Worshipping this isn't right. Let's worship the Heavens. Actually, let's just go worship your sister-in-law."
"Who is sister-in-law? Why does she sound even more authoritative than the Heavens?"
Xiao Li had one question mark after another on his forehead.
