Nine Nether Heavenly Emperor

"Ah! Brother! What is this!" In the glow of the fire, Shi Ling saw the mess behind Shi Feng and a large pit, and the little one exclaimed loudly.

Shi Feng also turned his head and glanced behind him, then turned back to Shi Ling with a wry smile.

Seeing Shi Feng's wry smile, Shi Ling's small body trembled, and two lines of clear tears fell from her big black eyes, "Wu wu, brother... you lied to me, you said mother wouldn't have any problems, wu wu... mother... mother..." Shi Ling said with a trembling voice, her voice becoming choked, she crouched down, burying her small face in her knees, and continued to sob.

Upon seeing this, Shi Feng broke out in a cold sweat; he knew the little one had misunderstood. He took another careful look at the pit he had dug and indeed, it did somewhat resemble a grave.

He had mistakenly raised quite an alarm.

Shi Feng hurried over to pat Shi Ling, comforting her, "Little thing, don't think nonsense, mother is fine, let's go and check if you don't believe me."

Shi Feng said this, picked up Shi Ling, and walked towards Bai Yue'e.

Bringing Shi Ling to the bedside, in the light of the fire, Shi Feng said, "See, mother is alright, isn't she?"

After that, Shi Feng saw the little one actually extend her delicate hand to check her mother's breath. Shi Feng gave a wry smile—the kid knew quite a bit.

Once it was confirmed that Bai Yue'e was still breathing, Shi Ling took on the demeanor of a little adult, sighing silently; her little mannerisms made Shi Feng unable to resist pinching her little face.

"Brother, I think mother's complexion seems to be getting better and better," Shi Ling said. Bai Yue'e's face, originally pale, now appeared somewhat rosy under the firelight.

"Yes, mother's illness will get better soon, and you, little one, should not think wildly after this," Shi Feng said as he stroked her little head.

"Come out, Bai Yue'e, come out quick!" Just then, a shouting voice came from outside the house, and the tone seemed quite unfriendly.

Shi Feng frowned. He remembered that just before, Shi Ling had come to tell him that many people had arrived outside.

"Who are they all?" Shi Feng asked Shi Ling.

"Oh, it's the people from the village, and it seems the village chief has come too," Shi Ling answered.

Setting Shi Ling back on the ground, Shi Feng said, "Stay in the house, behave yourself, brother is going to take a look outside."

After saying that, Shi Feng stepped out, prepared to exit the house. He had just taken a few steps when something occurred to him; he turned back, walked to the edge of the pit, and with a few gestures, he sealed it, and soon an invisible barrier was in place.

Shi Feng set up this barrier to prevent the strong Dark Evil Qi from bursting out and harming Shi Ling and their mother Bai Yue'e. As long as he was there, constantly absorbing the Dark Evil Qi into himself, naturally, there would be no problems, but once he left without the barrier's containment, the Dark Evil Qi would permeate within the house.

"Ling'er, remember not to get close to this pit," Shi Feng instructed.

"Okay, brother, I understand," Shi Ling obediently nodded. His sister always listened to him the best. Hearing her affirmation, Shi Feng then left for the outside with peace of mind.

The shouting continued unabated: "Bai Yue'e come out, the village chief himself has come, how dare you not show yourself, if you don't come out we are going to break in."

"Come out Bai Yue'e, hand over your son Shi Feng, we are going to take him to see the officials."

With a "crack," the door swung open wide, revealing a young silhouette stepping out, "Who dares to bark at my doorstep late at night? Take your barking back to your own house."

Shi Feng came out with a loud shout; he saw around thirty people standing beyond the fence, many of them holding torches, illuminating the night as bright as day.

The one leading the group was an old man slightly hunched over, using a cane, with a full head of white hair, dressed in a blue cloth garment. This person was the village chief of Xiuling Village, Yang Dexian.

"Village chief, he's the Shi Family's kid. What should we do now? Do you want me to go over and tie him up to take him to the officials?" A burly man next to Yang Dexian spoke.

Yang Dexian waved his hand, signaling the burly man not to proceed, and leaned on his cane to take a few steps forward alone. He only stopped when he almost brushed against the hedge, looking at Shi Feng and said softly, "Shi Feng it is." His voice was elderly and deep.

Although Shi Feng was from Xiuling Village, his family seldom had dealings with other villagers, especially after Bai Yue'e fell ill and had difficulty getting out of bed, his family had virtually no interaction with the village folks.

If no one had mentioned Shi Feng to Yang Dexian today, he would have almost forgotten that there was such a household in the village.

"What's the matter?" Shi Feng looked towards Yang Dexian with half-closed eyes, retorting coldly.

"Audacious! How dare you speak to the village chief like that," the same burly man who saw Shi Feng's indifferent demeanor, quickly scolded angrily.

"Indeed, this youngster is too disrespectful."

"Just by the way he treats the village chief, according to village rules, his legs should be broken."

"Exactly, this boy is too arrogant! Looks like that big horse must have been stolen by him!"

Many people voiced their agreement.

Yang Dexian raised his right hand again and waved, signaling them to quiet down. The villagers saw Yang Dexian's gesture and once again fell silent.

Yang Dexian looked at Shi Feng again, but since he had spoken gently to Shi Feng, yet Shi Feng had still responded with a face of disrespect, his own expression had cooled down. Assuming the posture of someone in authority, he asked with an accusing tone while pointing at the black horse in the courtyard, raising his voice, "I'm asking you, where did you get this horse from?"

"Why should I tell you!" Shi Feng responded coldly with a sneer.

Yang Dexian, upon hearing Shi Feng's words, was about to explode, but then, Shi Feng's next words were delivered in a deadpan voice, infuriating him further, "You old fossil, have you eaten too much and looking to make trouble, coming here in the middle of the night to see a horse. You really are regressing the older you get."

"You! How dare you!" Yang Dexian was so angry that he slammed his cane down onto the ground. In the village, he was highly respected, and the villagers were always reverent towards him. No one had dared to speak to him like that.

Yang Dexian's old face had turned beet red, he was puffing out his beard and glaring, pointing at Shi Feng and bellowed, "You! You have committed the serious crime of stealing someone else's horse. According to village rules, we should break both your arms and legs, then take you to see the officials."

"You senile old fool, you can eat food without care but words must not be spoken recklessly. Which of your dog eyes saw me stealing someone else's horse? Following your logic, for your slander against me, should we first cut off your tongue?" Shi Feng retorted with another cold sneer.

"How audacious!"

"Such insolence!"

"Unforgivable!"

By now, the people behind Yang Dexian could no longer stand by and watch. This kid actually dared to insult the village chief, repeatedly calling him an 'old fossil'—this was a great disrespect. Just for insulting the village chief, they could directly have him caged like a pig in the village.

Suddenly, six stalwart men burst out from the crowd, filled with towering rage as they rushed towards Shi Feng.

One of them shouted, "Your family is so poor you can't even afford to eat, if the horse isn't stolen by you, could it possibly be bought by you?"

"Hmph, whether I bought this horse or stole it, what business is it of yours!" Shi Feng looked at the six men charging towards him, his face full of disdain. Let alone six men like them, even sixty would only take a minute to topple.