Chapter 74: Collision

The road from here to the town is not far, just a short distance of less than 100 meters. At a corner, you can come out of that alley and turn onto the main street of the town.

As soon as I turned onto the main street, a strong smell of blood stimulated my nasal cavity, making me cough involuntarily. The master walking next to me changed his expression, and even the confident Ah Maodou’s face suddenly became heavy. I heard him curse in a strange Miao language, and then he explained to me in Chinese, “These sons of bitches really dare to…”

What did he dare to do? Ah Maodou didn’t elaborate, but I could still hear the suppressed anger and uncertainty in his tone. He really didn’t believe that someone would do such a ‘mess’ on their territory.

I sighed inwardly. This Ah Maodou may really have stayed in the mountain village for too long. He can’t possibly understand that in this world there is a type of person called a “madman,” and there is really nothing they are afraid of doing. Yang Sheng is a typical example of such a person. What is there that he is afraid of?

There was no moon tonight, only stars in the sky… On the mountain, the stars were bright and clear, just like the starry sky I saw in this town the night before. The kind of light that penetrates the heart, and now that I have just turned into the main street of the town, I feel that the stars in the sky seem to have been stained with a layer of blood, dim and hazy, giving the whole town a few tragic breaths.

Unlike yesterday, when the town was dark early in the morning, at this moment, all the street lights on the main street of the town are on. Although the lights are dim, they are bright enough to see everything in the town.

At this time, I realized why the town was so quiet. The two groups of people who had fought fiercely in the morning were now standing at opposite ends of the town, facing each other. No one was talking, only the occasional rustling of footsteps and the sound of dragging something.

The two gangs were cleaning up the bodies on the street.

Those who were alive in the morning have now become cold corpses, hastily dragged to the two corners of the street and then laid flat together.

Everyone was silent, the cleaners were silent, and the onlookers were silent. This scene added a few more sad and desolate tones to the town’s tragic scene… As we walked down the street, Ah Maodou saw this and kept muttering in his throat. From the tone of his voice, he was probably cursing something, and I was speechless.

Because I think that sometimes, on some level, human nature should not be divided into enemies and allies. Just like war cannot stop the brilliance of human nature.

I don’t agree with your position, and I can even fight you to the death to protect what I want to protect… But this cannot diminish my humanity. This kind of humanity can be understood as having settled scores, and I will no longer take it out on others. I can even respect your death, and I feel sad for this kind of struggle, rather than continuing to hate.

Thinking like this, we have already unconsciously approached the opposing groups. Those approaching the entrance to the mountain pass are naturally the people of the town, who absolutely have to protect the entrance to the mountain pass, while the other group is naturally Yang Sheng’s people.

The streetlights were dim, and there were people back and forth in the middle cleaning up the bodies, so I naturally couldn’t see clearly who was on the other side, but on this side, before we had completely squeezed into the crowd, I heard Ah Maodou next to me yell, “Daxing Da Wu, Darong, Daxing Da Wu, Darong…”

I was still deep in thought, but Ah Maodou’s loud voice suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts. My first reaction was to try to stop him, but in this quiet town, his voice was so abrupt that it was too late to stop him.

I didn’t expect Ah Maodou to choose such a way, and I was also a little surprised, as was Master. After all, the atmosphere on the street was tragic, sad, and had a subtle seriousness and heaviness. Such a voice almost attracted the attention of everyone. My and Master’s identities were sensitive in the first place, so…

But it was too late to stop it, and it was even more impossible to accuse Ah Maodou of anything, or was his personality like that?

But in fact, everyone’s eyes were on us. At first, the people in this town looked at Ah Maodou with blame, but for some reason, after they realized it was Ah Maodou, many of their eyes turned to awe, and they bowed their heads and stepped aside.

It seemed that Ah Maodou enjoyed this feeling, and he straightened his back a little more. This behavior was somewhat childish, and it was completely different from the smooth-talking man on the mountain before… but it also made it more difficult for me and my master to say anything.

I really wanted to observe the reaction of the people on the other side, because Ah Maodou was shouting so loudly that the people on the other side must have heard him. He was with us, so it was impossible that the people on the other side hadn’t seen us. But before I could even look over, I felt a figure rushing over. Before I could even react, I felt an arm suddenly circle my neck, and then a warm and surprised voice rang in my ear: “Brother, why are you here?”

“Qiangzi!” My mind had not yet reacted, but I subconsciously called out Qiangzi’s name. Who else’s voice could it be?

I can’t describe the joy of meeting an old friend in this chaotic situation. All the words I want to say have turned into a fierce bear hug!

Behind me, another somewhat aged voice appeared: “Jiang, you really are still alive… You think you won’t die so easily! Don’t say you’re going to Kunlun, even if you go to the Heavenly Court, you’ll still come back alive.”

“Haha, Mu Lao, you really did serve for ten years and then retired… it seems like you’re still living a very comfortable life.” As he spoke, I saw my master quickly walk up to him and hug the old man.

Compared to me and Qiangzi, Master and this old man Mu obviously seemed more relaxed… Perhaps they had worked together and experienced more life and death than me and Qiangzi, and this kind of affection had long since transcended the distance brought by time.

Such a reunion is joyful, but it would be even more enjoyable if it weren’t for the sudden sound of applause.

When the sound came, my heart inexplicably became agitated. I turned around and saw a person walking out of the crowd. Although I couldn’t see him clearly in the dim light, I recognized him the moment he walked out. It was Yang Sheng!

Is this what they call a lingering spirit? Where there is me, there is him? Is it the poor and strange spirit here that attracts him, or is it the presence of my master and I that attracts him?

“Chen Chengyi, for someone like you who is so cloying, are you moved to tears at this moment?” Yang Sheng spoke, and this time when he spoke, I froze.

You know, a long time ago, Yang Sheng’s voice changed, becoming a hoarse and unpleasant sound that I can’t describe. It was as if his vocal cords had broken, but today, when he spoke, I heard the familiar sound of the past, as if it had never changed.

However, apart from shock, I no longer had any emotional fluctuations. I just wondered what had happened to him that had changed his voice back to the way it used to be. After so much had happened, I had forgotten about his departure, my endless regret and sadness.

“Can you not show yourself? If you don’t say anything, no one will think you’re dumb!” I didn’t expect that I hadn’t made any reaction yet. Sun Qiang, who was originally very happy to see me and was hugging me, suddenly let go of me and said this sentence in an unusually angry tone.

I looked at Qiangzi in surprise. In my memory, Qiangzi was initially a bit shy, and later, when we were fighting the little devils, he was a bit aggressive, but he wasn’t this kind of ‘fireworks’ personality that ignited at the slightest thing? What’s going on?

“I just spoke? What can you do about it?” Compared to Qiangzi’s bad tone, Yang Sheng was unusually calm. He walked to a position near the middle of the confrontation between the two sides, stopped, glanced at Qiangzi slightly, and spoke calmly.

Faced with such Yang Sheng, I couldn’t help but sneer. Yang Sheng has completely changed. Not only does he know how to play conspiracies, he has even learned to speak “cleverly.” The strangeness can no longer be stranger.

I don’t think it’s necessary for Qiangzi to argue with him. After all, even though Qiangzi has become so hot-tempered, I still believe that he is the original, simple Qiangzi. And Yang Sheng is here for me, so why should Qiangzi argue with him? With this in mind, I just wanted to pull Qiangzi over and talk to Yang Sheng myself…

But then, Qiangzi suddenly rushed out of my side. The next moment, I heard him yell, “I’m not that great either. I’ll just fucking beat you up, okay? You abandoned your wife and child, betrayed your friends, and went crazy!”

“Qiangzi, come back!” I shouted, and I couldn’t help but rush out after him… I’ve seen Yang Sheng’s strength. How could he possibly be Yang Sheng’s opponent?