The Unruly Immortals

In the oppressive, cramped woodshed, a boy tied to a pillar screamed incessantly, tortured by his own parents. His cries were so pitiful that even Li Huowang found it unbearable.

After a while, the iron frame that was being pulled finally loosened. The boy's head slumped to the side as he took the rare opportunity to gasp for air.

The brightly dressed couple hastily crouched down, scrutinizing their son's lower body with great attention.

"How is it? Does it work?"

Upon hearing the woman's question, the man carefully measured with his fingers and then said with a disheartened expression, "It won't do! We can't delay any longer. We must lock it, or it will be too late!"

The child, his hair soaked with sweat, was startled upon hearing this and pleaded with a crying voice, "Dad, I don't want the lock, I don't want the lock!"

The man could hardly bear it either, but he ultimately let out a sigh and gently stroked his child's head.

"Jing'er, be good. A true man does not fear pain. Once locked, it will all be over, you'll just feel a bit of pain. But if you lose your 'roots', you won't even be a man anymore."

"Then I don't want to be a man! I don't want to be a man!!" The boy, as if clinging to a lifeline, kept shouting loudly at his own father.

Hearing his son's cries, the man showed an unbearable look but still, with tears streaming down his face, turned around and picked up an iron box from the ground.

Upon opening the box, a small silver padlock with a silver chain was taken out.

"Dad! Dad! Please, no!!" Anticipating the excruciating pain, the boy screamed in despair.

Just as the sharp end of the lock was getting closer, suddenly, the door to the woodshed burst open, and a gust of wind blew in, causing all three inside to squint their eyes.

Sensing danger, the man with the lock in his hands instantly turned around, his expression frantic, spreading his arms in front of his son and wife, "Who's there! Who is it! Help! Help! Someone is attempting to assassinate an official!"

Shortly after the shout, several constables in green rushed in. Holding their swords, they saluted the man with clasped hands. "Magistrate Yang, what's the matter?"

Pi County Magistrate Yang Hongzhi pointed shakily and fearfully toward the open door of the woodshed, "The door suddenly opened, it's here!

It's here!!"

Walking back down the deserted street with a perplexed expression, Li Huowang recalled what he had just witnessed, his mind in turmoil, repeating to himself, "They... they..."

Just then, Li Huowang heard some noise coming from the courtyard beside him. He immediately went invisible again, climbed over an adjacent wall, and pried open a paper window.

Soon, Li Huowang saw a gaunt man inside. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, tilting his head back and opening his clothes, exposing himself to the woman in front like a dissected bat.

The man's expression seemed anxious as if awaiting some final verdict. "Wife... wife, how does it look? Has it gotten smaller?"

The woman carefully discerned for a while, uncertain in her voice, hesitantly said, "My husband, I think... it probably hasn't shrunk."

To her surprise, the man became instantly agitated upon hearing this, raising his voice, "Liar!! I've measured it, it's over, it's over, tying it with a rope doesn't help! I'm going to become a eunuch!"

Hearing her husband say this, the woman also started to panic, "Then... what do we do? Even tying it with a rope doesn't work?"

The desperate man, hearing this, immediately pounced on his wife like a starving tiger attacking its prey, his face transforming from despair to grief and anger.

"Damn it! No way! I don't have a son yet! You must give me a son right away!"

When he understood what they were doing and thought back to the boy who had been tied to the pillar, Li Huowang's expression turned bizarre as he stood up again.

"So everyone in Pi County is afraid of this... No wonder they had to drag with chains earlier, but how could this be?"

Suddenly, he felt a chill in his body, "Wait, is this... real or fake?"

"Ah! My lord! You're hurting me, it's locked!" The woman's cry of pain made Li Huowang look back into the room.

There was nothing pleasing about the sight of two clumps of pure white flesh entwined together, and Li Huowang noticed the chains at the edge of the woman's chest.

Compared to the previous silver chains, this family could only afford iron ones.

The sharp chains tightly wrapped around her chest, forcibly pulling at the other person's front, and at the spot where skin met metal, blood had already been worn away.

And with the corrosion from the blood, the chains had also rusted, making the device seem like no less than a form of cruel torture.

Seeing this scene, Li Huowang finally understood where the smell of blood and rust on the woman's body had come from earlier; to prevent their internal organs from shrinking, they were all locking themselves with chains.

"My lord, don't panic, see, I've locked it with a chain, it won't shrink inward. You should also tie yourself up with a chain like me."

"The men pull, the women pull, what on earth have they encountered to become like this?" Li Huowang's heart began to weigh heavily, witnessing an eerie change he had never seen before despite his extensive experience.

Although he now knew what the people of Pi County were afraid of, Li Huowang still felt as clueless as a headless fly, not knowing what had caused this.

There were other matters he could resolve, but with no rationale to this one, he couldn't even find a target.

Li Huowang stood on the rooftop, surveying the eerily quiet Pi County, then kicked off the tiles beneath his feet and dashed towards the inn.

"I can't dawdle any longer, heaven knows what caused this, I must find out the reason quickly!!"

Now, the entire Pi County, in the eyes of Li Huowang, was filled with traps at every corner, and he found the idea of resorting to unconventional methods more appealing than continuing to sit and wait for death.

Clearly, the people of Pi County knew something, yet they stubbornly refused to inform him. Since a soft approach had failed, he would have to resort to a tougher one.

As soon as Li Huowang walked into the inn, he saw Lv's Troupe taking advantage of the deserted lobby to begin performing operas.

Though the audience was sparse, there were still people watching.

Gouwa, sitting cross-legged with a pear-shaped faced woman and enjoying the performance, waved Li Huowang over as soon as he saw him. "Brother Li, come quick, the performance by the Lv's Troupe has gotten a lot more interesting!"

Li Huowang glanced over and turned to head towards his own room, his voice tinged with a hint of coldness. "Gouwa, have the runner come to my room."

"Eh! All right!"