He spoke while lifting his tattered clothes, showing Lu Xi'an the whip marks on his body.

Those tattered clothes barely covered his body initially, so even without him lifting them, Lu Xi'an could already see the clear ribs beneath the skin and the twisted marks on the skin, thick and heavy, as if they were branded directly into his ribs.

"Keep talking."

Lu Xi'an said, "Don't talk about the past. Tell me what happened in the city after the boss died and before you left?"

"After the boss died, before I left... sigh..."

The man sighed wistfully, "We thought that with the boss dead, it'd just be a matter of changing bosses, and life would go on as usual. We'd still have to make offerings, still have to take punishments.

"But we didn't expect that after the boss's death, things would be worse than when he was alive. Several people suddenly emerged in the city, all vying to be the new boss.

"They couldn't overthrow each other, didn't dare to fight to the death, so they vented their anger on us nobodies. First, this one would come asking for offerings, then that one would.

"Damn it, it's just me, I can't even feed myself, where am I supposed to get so many things to offer them?"

Speaking in anger, he inadvertently let slip a few swear words, then realized it and hurriedly said to Lu Xi'an, "I didn't mean you... I meant those bastards in the city!

"They dare not act tough against the formidable, so they bully us! Many people in the city fled; partly because they were scared by the ghostly revenge and partly because they were forced to!

"Shit! They don't even consider—uh, I'm cursing them again, not you—they don't even consider, once people like us have all fled, who'll give them offerings then!"

"Serves them right to be haunted by ghostly revenge! They're being haunted too little!"

Lu Xi'an pondered thoughtfully for a moment, then asked another question: "When you left, how many bosses in the county city were asking for dues?"

The man, however, was somewhat confused: "Four? Five? Or was it six? Uh... too many people approached me, I can't remember..."

He spoke as if he were quite popular.

Lu Xi'an saw the confused look on his face and knew that further questions would yield nothing, so he asked no more, saying, "Alright, I'm done. You can go now."

The man was overjoyed, a bit incredulous, and asked, "Really?"

Lu Xi'an waved him off.

The man quickly turned and ran in a direction away from the gas station.

However, Lu Xi'an figured the man probably wouldn't go far and might even return once he left.

Once the man vanished from sight, Lu Xi'an got into the car and asked Yao Wei, "What do you think?"

Yao Wei replied, "Is it Chai Xin?"

As for Shu, she ignored him altogether. She wasn't much concerned with Shu.

Lu Xi'an thought briefly and said, "It should have been him at the beginning, but as for later... I'm not certain, it might be, or it might not be.

"Just now, that man said that when the county city's boss was found with a slit throat, the people present heard the laughter of a little girl and an old man.

"But when he himself saw a dead man with a slit throat at his residence's gate, he didn't hear the laughter of a little girl and an old man either.

"So the subsequent ghostly revenges could just be rumors, whether it was Chai Xin and Shu who did it is yet to be verified."

Yao Wei asked, "If it wasn't Chai Xin, then who could it be?"

Lu Xi'an replied, "It should be the people in the group turning against and assassinating each other.

"Didn't the man just say that factional forces are prevalent now in the county city, he can't even count how many people are demanding offerings from him.

"Those vying for power don't attack each other openly to avoid rivalries that outsiders can exploit, so they launch sneak attacks and frame the ghostly revenges. It's not impossible.

"But speaking of it, the south is indeed different from the north. In the northern Mozhou City, Yubei City, and Mengxin City, those people and forces aren't this chaotic.

"Even in Tongzhou county, though people split into a few factions, it's not chaotic like Yao County.

"Further north, it's even more desolate, let alone people fighting each other."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded, once again feeling that Lu Xi'an was really sharp, analyzing everything just from that person's few words.

"Should we enter the city?"

She asked Lu Xi'an again.

Lu Xi'an pondered for a while and asked, "What do you think?"

Yao Wei nodded, then shook her head, saying, "I can't say. This place is too chaotic, we should quickly leave, bypass Yao County, and not bother with it.

"But I can't help worrying a bit about Chai Xin. If she's still in Yao County city, might she be in danger?"

This woman, once having something to worry about, indeed wasn't as cold-blooded as usual.

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei, saying, "Then let's proceed slowly and cautiously, observing the situation.

"If we encounter people fleeing from the county city on the way, we can catch them to inquire about the city's detailed situation.

"Once outside Yao County city, let's not rush in; we'll wait and watch from outside first.

"In case Chai Xin and Shu are still in Yao County, we can storm in as needed.

"If they're not there, we just circumvent and move on. Whatever battles they're having in the city aren't our concern."

"Hmm."

Yao Wei found Lu Xi'an's suggestion quite reasonable, so she nodded.

Upon further thought, this was indeed the best approach at present.

Hopefully, Chai Xin is indeed out of the city, having left Yao County after taking out that boss and continued eastward.

Just like Lu Xi'an said, the later events are all due to internal fighting, sabotaging, and blaming it on ghostly revenges.

…

Having made up their minds, Lu Xi'an started the car, leaving the first gas station they encountered upon entering Pingchuan City.

By this point, they had exited Sword Mountain City and entered Pingchuan City.

Looking back, the towering mountains loomed majestically, stretching upward in steep inclines. The lush forests filled the distance, almost touching the sky.

From here, it wasn't as stark and grand as it appeared when entering Sword Mountain from Mengxin City, but nonetheless, it carried a majestic and overwhelming aura, captivating the soul.

Lu Xi'an suddenly couldn't help but think about whether the mysterious pressure resembling a "lid" from above Sword Mountain was intrinsic to the mountain itself. Anyway, from here it looked, and recalled from the view in Mengxin City, the mountain's presence was indeed imposing and awe-inspiring.

However, it shouldn't be possible, considering the inexplicable and eerie feeling under that skyborne pressure, and the peculiarities like Shu, Fish Rider, and Coffin Man on Sword Mountain, the fish in the river, Fish Rider's bear, all of which were extremely strange and unlike any other place.

It seemed everything could be connected by one secret—

That is the secret of the Ox Head Mountain observation point.

But what exactly the secret was, Lu Xi'an still did not know now. Nor did he know if there would be a chance to know in the future…

Retracting his gaze from the rearview mirror, Lu Xi'an no longer looked at the already distant towering mountains, shaking his head to dispel the chaotic thoughts from his mind.

He turned his head and saw Yao Wei's expression, subtly worried but not prominently, and reassured her, "Don't worry, regardless of whether it's Chai Xin and Shu afterward, they should still be safe.

"If it isn't them, that's best; they probably already left. If it is them, then that also means they're still alive and kicking in the city, which is good news, isn't it?"

"Hmm."

Yao Wei nodded, but suddenly thought of something and asked, "But what if after they killed that boss, they were discovered, leading to unexpected events?"

Lu Xi'an thought for a moment and said, "They shouldn't have, right? Both Shu and Chai Xin are quite proficient at concealing themselves, so it shouldn't be a problem..."

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