Cui Liu cursed as he led the two men over, hearing Liu Er's cry for help. He mockingly taunted,
"Hey, Liu, Liu Er, did your old mother beat you up again? You, you're so useless, you can't even beat a blind old woman, what's the point of you being out here?"
"Brother Cui Liu, it wasn't my mother, it was a little brat who hasn't even grown any hair yet."
Liu Er felt unlucky today, he really shouldn't have come out without checking the almanac. Everything was going wrong.
"What, you were beaten by a kid who hasn't grown hair? Haha, no way."
Cui Liu laughed so hard his stutter disappeared.
To watch a good show, for once he shuffled his feet, urging his two followers to hurry.
No, not walk, but run to join the commotion.
By the time they arrived, laughing and joking, they saw a handsome boy about ten years old sitting on Liu Er, punching him like he was fighting a demon.
Liu Er was groaning loudly.
"Hahaha, it's true. Liu Er, you're such a loser, you can't even beat a kid. Hahaha, you're a complete wimp."
The three men's ridicule was like an invisible sharp blade, constantly provoking Liu Er's nonexistent rationality.
Qi He had been watching Yu'er and Liu Er. Seeing Liu Er about to flip Yu'er onto the ground, he rushed forward, scooped Yu'er up, and quickly moved to the side.
"Oh ho, there's someone else."
Cui Liu, with his hands behind his back and his shrimp-like old back hunched, said with a fake smile.
The two behind him, upon receiving a signal, lunged at Qi He.
Qi He thought: Do I look easy to bully?
He immediately let go of Yu'er and, without any effort, caught the fists of both attackers.
The two who attacked him gritted their teeth, clutching their arms, and cried out in pain.
"You are truly useless. Go back and call more people."
"Yes." One of the men turned and ran back.
Fu Xin Ci frowned, glanced at the sky, and said casually, "It's getting late, let's go back."
"Mm, let's go."
Fu Yu also suggested returning to the inn, but Ning'er was still holding the little boy's hand.
"Dad, what about little brother?" Although Ning'er was young, he knew he couldn't let go, or the bad guys would snatch the little brother away.
The boy clearly understood and shrunk closer to Ning'er.
The young woman had been watching them. Seeing that they were about to leave, she rushed over and knelt before the family, saying mournfully, "Esteemed Sir and Madam, this humble woman begs your forgiveness. Please, I implore you, buy my little bull. He is very well-behaved, all you need to give him is a meal."
The young woman had finally realized that she and her mother-in-law were weak and powerless, unable to protect her son.
Rather than let her son be sold by that scoundrel to a place she didn't know, it was better to sell him to this family.
At least, she felt that her son would not go hungry or suffer from the cold if he went with this family, and would be able to live well.
"This..." Fu Yu had not expected the young woman to make such a request.
The man who had just gotten up nearby, upon hearing the young woman say she was going to sell her son to these people, immediately became agitated.
He lunged forward recklessly, about to beat his wife. The young woman, clearly not the first time facing such a mad dog, turned and began to fight with him.
Seeing them grapple, twist, scratch, and bite, the onlookers were incredulous.
This wife was not like a wife, and this husband was not like a husband. Truly a sin.
The little boy, afraid his mother would be at a disadvantage, was about to run over to help.
Fu Xin Ci, however, stepped forward with understanding. The crowd saw a blur, and the young woman was pulled away by her.
Only the man was left struggling in his place.
Cui Liu was enjoying the spectacle. Seeing a delicate-looking young girl pull the young woman away,
He chuckled. This wouldn't do. He hadn't had enough yet.
He propped himself up on his large yellow teeth and was about to sidle up to the girl to say a few words when a tall, slender youth blocked his path.
"Oh, you dare block the way of your Cui Liu Master? Don't you want your arms and legs, kid?"
Hearing his voice, deliberately imitating the honking voice of a eunuch, and a stutter, Fu Xin Ci couldn't help but smile.
Cui Liu, hearing the girl's chuckle, was instantly enraged. He extended his right hand, missing one finger, pointed at the girl, and was about to spew filth.
Fu Xin Ci looked up at the night sky, thinking how wonderful the night was, not only for its allure but also for hiding her methods.
She wouldn't indulge trash like him. With a casual wave of her hand, a vine as thick as an adult's thumb silently wrapped around Cui Liu's neck.
Cui Liu tried to shout, but suddenly felt something constricting his neck.
It tightened, and the suffocating sensation of approaching death squeezed his throat.
"Gurgle~" He managed a difficult sound from his throat.
"Gurgle~" He strained to break free from the suffocation.
But his struggles were in vain. Only when his body went limp, seemingly about to suffocate, did the constriction on his neck instantly disappear.
"Cough, cough, cough." He coughed violently, kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath. He was terrified. He didn't dare to close his mouth, fearing that the feeling of being strangled would return at any moment.
He had killed many people before, and had been strangled himself more than once.
Today, he realized how painful strangulation was.
The onlookers nearby had no idea what had happened.
Suddenly seeing Cui Liu thrashing as if possessed, they all recoiled in horror, no one daring to step forward.
It wasn't until the man who had gone for help returned, followed by over a dozen others, that they saw Cui Liu kneeling on the ground, gasping like a fish stranded on a beach, and realized something might be wrong.
Those men rushed forward, surrounding Cui Liu and asking loudly, "Brother Liu, what happened to you?"
"Cough, cough, cough. Quickly, quickly, carry me back."
In front of so many people, Cui Liu dared not mention ghosts.
Yes, there must be a ghost here, otherwise, why would he have felt something constricting his neck?
He had roughly checked, and there was no rope around him.
No, the thing that choked him just now seemed to be a vine. But where would vines come from in this city?
Oh god, this only proved that there was a ghost here.
A ghost, a real ghost.
It must be the people he had killed, coming back to claim their lives.
Cui Liu wanted to leave as soon as possible, his speech becoming even more disjointed.
"...???"
The onlookers were all bewildered. What was wrong with Cui Liu? Why was he acting so differently from his usual self?
And that voice just now, it sounded like his neck had been stepped on.