Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1288 610: A Virtuous Person
"As the New Year approaches, Ah Hui takes this opportunity to wish all the audience friends a happy early New Year. At the same time, I remind all listeners to avoid De Song Cliff during your travels and visits to friends and family.
I'm sure everyone has already seen the related news in the papers; the situation at De Song Cliff is extremely tense lately. Just yesterday, it's rumored that over two hundred people lost their lives in conflicts..."
Luo Zhengnan nodded slightly; it was always comforting to hear Ah Hui speak.
Li Banfeng thought the fierce battle at De Song Cliff was quite strange, so he asked Luo Zhengnan to investigate the situation. Luo Zhengnan worried that his subordinates might not handle things competently, so he came himself.
When Luo Zhengnan reached the entrance of De Yuan Village, he saw a group of people gathered at the village gate. He thought another fight was going to break out and considered finding a suitable spot to observe the battle.
Once he found the right spot, Luo Zhengnan realized it wasn't a battle at all; seven or eight people were beating a child, a kid only four or five years old.
What mistake did this child make? This group consisted of men and women, old and young, yet they were all attacking just this one kid?
A slap here, a kick there; they weren't trying to kill him, just tormenting the child, whose face was covered in blood. He couldn't even cry, barely clinging to life.
As they hit him, they laughed:
"Shameless and immoral brat, do you understand why today ends like this?"
"Don't pretend to be dead, get up now! Today, you will be taught to be a person of virtue."
"Your parents are immoral and unrighteous, it's your fortune to receive our guidance today!"
Early on, there's a saying in the underworld—Virtue Cultivation has neither father nor mother, renowned for miles more foul than a latrine, Virtue Cultivation's reputation in the Taoist Sect is worse than a toilet.
But Virtue Cultivation doesn't care; he said, the underworld is filled with immoral people. They slander Virtue Cultivation, proving he hit them where it hurts!
From the day he became Virtue Cultivation, this Taoist Sect gave up all dignity. Just look at the situation now; it's inhumane.
Luo Zhengnan couldn't stand it. During his time as Medicine King's Hall Master in Jiang Xiang Gang, he never allowed his subordinates to abduct children. How could he bear this scene now?
But if he were to confront these Virtue Cultivators, what about the tasks Seventh Master entrusted to him?
At this impasse, suddenly a blond man with blue eyes appeared among them and stepped forward to pick up the child.
Luo Zhengnan glanced at the man; he recognized him as Doctor Cui from the Boundless Hospital in Greenwater City.
What was he here for?
Cui Tiq held the child and silently scanned the crowd.
The group of Virtue Cultivators were a bit afraid; this foreigner suddenly appeared among them with hardly any sign, indicating his cultivation level was not low.
A man around thirty gathered his courage and shouted, "His parents are immoral, destined for him to be an immoral brat. Why meddle in our affairs?"
The man's words immediately bolstered the group's courage, and others surrounded Cui Tiq, endlessly whispering in his ear.
"Virtue is the foundation of life, regardless of age!"
"Immorality must be severely punished to correct behavior; we're doing this for his own good!"
"You're an outsider, what gives you the right to interfere in our village matters? Put down that brat and don't think De Song Cliff is easy to bully!"
Luo Zhengnan felt worried for Cui Tiq; if he fell out of favor in the confrontation, he might be overwhelmed by these Virtue Cultivators.
Cui Tiq didn't argue; he said nothing and left with the child.
The Virtue Cultivators didn't want to let Cui Tiq go; knowing the foreigner's cultivation was high and difficult to deal with, the current situation of surrounding him seemed just right to pressure him into silence, and with a little technique in words, they might just knock him down!
They were ready with their techniques, but now the foreigner turned and left, giving them no chance.
He even took that little brat with him, so they had to chase him!
Yet without a leader, they didn't dare pursue, as no one wanted to take the lead.
Seeing the foreigner walk away, an old lady gathered her courage and used a technique called Virtuous Achievement.
Cui Tiq was knocked over by a brute force, falling to the ground.
He guarded the boy in his arms, got up, and continued walking forward.
Seeing Cui Tiq was not badly hurt, the group of Virtue Cultivators dared not chase him but felt their pride restored due to that last blow and carried proud expressions on their faces.
The old lady who struck earlier clapped her hands and said, "Shameless foreigner, dare to come here and act wildly, not considering his worth!"
A young woman asked, "What's the background of this foreign devil? Could it be Deshan Village invited him for help?"
Beside her, an old man snorted, "Dare! This is the internal affair of our De Song Cliff. If Deshan Village dared to invite outsiders, they're forgetting their bloodline and ancestors!"
A woman in her fifties took a different angle, suggesting an unexpected viewpoint: "I'm telling you, don't you think that little brat doesn't look like someone from De Song Cliff, with his deep-set eyes and high nose. Could he be the offspring left by this foreigner?"
An elderly woman beside nodded, "Seems so. His mother looked like a witch when she was alive; with people like that, you can't expect them to adhere to virtue!"
"I think her man is also a good-for-nothing; such an immoral woman, how could he control her!"
"Exactly, that brat is definitely the mongrel of that shameless woman and this foreigner! Otherwise, why did this foreigner take him away?"
"This mongrel even brought outsiders into De Song Cliff; he deserves a thousand cuts!"
These words sound absurd; the child grew up in De Song Cliff, and now suddenly he's labeled as the foreigner's offspring.