Unveiling Darkness

At this moment, Xiaoyun Village had turned into a hellish slaughterhouse.

Liu Xi and Wang Changtong tied their horses to a crooked-neck tree at the entrance of the village and slowly walked into the village.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood. A village woman, seemingly in panic, tried to escape but was struck from behind with a blade, causing her head to be split open. The tremendous force sent half of her head flying, and her brain matter spilled all over the ground.

Even Liu Xi, who had cultivated a righteous character from reading the classics for a long time, couldn't withstand such a strong atmosphere of death and killing. He couldn't help but turn his gaze away.

On the other hand, Wang Changtong was somewhat better off. After all, unlike Liu Xi, he was a martial artist and had naturally witnessed his fair share of blood. Although he had never encountered a scene like this before, he managed to hold his breath and face it.

The further they walked, the more gruesome it became.

Liu Xi saw a peasant man, impaled by a pickaxe and nailed to the wall of his own courtyard, curling his body to protect the mother and the new-born baby in her arms...

And there were many more villagers who had been killed with a single stroke of a knife while still in their sleep.

Liu Xi paused in front of a relatively larger storefront house. This was the residence of the village head of Xiaoyun Village and also the maternal family of his second younger brother's wife.

Wang Changtong's face turned purple with anger. "These are not even animals! They are worse than animals! Who on earth, what kind of deep grudge and enmity, would lead to such a situation! Ah!"

After saying that, Wang Changtong couldn't hold back his anger any longer and slammed his fist into a thick tree trunk in front of the courtyard. Countless new green leaves fell down, and faint cracks appeared on the trunk, showing the strength of his punch.

Liu Xi's hand, reaching for the door, trembled slightly but never pushed open the half-closed door. He was afraid of what he might see inside and even more afraid of how he would explain it to his second younger brother.

At that moment, with a fierce expression on his face, Wang Changtong suddenly shouted loudly towards the side behind him, "Who's there!"

Gu Qing originally planned to control the robot and launch a surprise attack, but he didn't expect Wang Changtong's anger to sharpen his senses to such a high degree. He immediately revealed himself without hiding, walking out boldly.

Liu Xi and Wang Changtong looked at the newcomer, and their intuition told them that this person was undoubtedly involved in the massacre of the village.

Wang Changtong drew his long knife from his waist and stared at Gu Qing cautiously, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

As a basic lifelike robot, Gu Qing only had an imperfect human-like appearance. It only looked similar to a normal human, but couldn't speak or even express emotions.

Therefore, in the eyes of Liu Xi and Wang Changtong, Gu Qing was a perfect suspect full of doubts.

Wang Changtong, being a martial artist, was already struggling to restrain himself. Now, seeing Gu Qing completely ignoring his questions and continuing to approach them, he said to Liu Xi, "Lord Liu, please step back and let me deal with this beast!"

As he spoke, his blade flashed, and he swung it towards Gu Qing, who was getting closer and closer.

Gu Qing didn't dare to directly confront Wang Changtong's knife. After all, the frame of this robot was made of ordinary metal. If Gu Qing had possessed the Silver Weave Puppet at this moment, he could have easily crushed Wang Changtong with a single breath. However, since Gu Qing was currently occupying a basic lifelike robot with a triple postnatal evaluation, he could only try to dodge the incoming strike.

But who was Wang Changtong? As the law enforcement officer of Yunlai Town, he had extensive combat experience and was not someone Gu Qing, a naive rookie, could compare to. The blade swiftly turned, directly aiming for Gu Qing's chest. Fortunately, Wang Changtong still had the intention to capture Gu Qing alive. In the critical moment, Gu Qing managed to evade the strike, but the blade only left a large gash on the coarse cloth robe he was wearing.

Liu Xi called out from behind, "Wang Changtong, do not take his life. This person might have information about the situation in Xiaoyun Village!"

Seizing this opportunity, Gu Qing took the wooden knife from behind and held it cautiously, observing Wang Changtong.

Upon seeing the knife in Gu Qing's hand, Wang Changtong thought of the gruesome deaths of the villagers in Xiaoyun Village, further confirming that Gu Qing must be involved in the massacre.

Perhaps Gu Qing was the one responsible for this incident!

"Watch my knife!"

Wang Changtong's knife technique was fierce, with wide swings and quick strikes, suppressing Gu Qing to the point of breathlessness.

Gu Qing thought to himself, "Damn it, he truly is a professional. If it weren't for the slight advantage in strength provided by my metal skeleton, I would likely have been defeated by him today."

"Splurt!" With a single strike, Wang Changtong slashed a large gash on Gu Qing's arm. This time, it was more than just a simple tear on his clothes. The lifelike synthetic skin of the robot was completely peeled back, revealing the metallic skeleton underneath, with a long scratch running across it.

Wang Changtong naturally saw this scene and was immediately shocked! He took two steps back, holding his knife, and looked at Gu Qing with astonishment. His brows furrowed tightly, lost in thought.

This turn of events truly caught him off guard. No one expected that the person he was fighting against would have a metal bone beneath the skin instead of flesh and blood. Coupled with the overpowering smell of blood and the chilling atmosphere, even a tough man like Wang Changtong couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

However, Liu Xi didn't have the same keen perception as Wang Changtong. He only saw Wang Changtong strike Gu Qing with his knife and then step back with a serious expression. Perplexed, he asked, "Wang Changtong, why are you retreating?"

Wang Changtong turned his head to look at Liu Xi, then turned back to Gu Qing. With his brows furrowed tightly, he gritted his teeth and raised his knife once again to strike Gu Qing.

At this moment, Gu Qing was no longer afraid. It was because the five robotic guards he had sent to chase Li Ergou had already arrived at the entrance of Xiaoyun Village and would soon be here.

Gu Qing immediately disregarded everything and threw away the wooden knife, rushing towards Wang Changtong recklessly.

Wang Changtong, despite his vast combat experience, had never encountered such a mutually destructive technique. He only had time for one strike with his long knife, but that single strike severed Gu Qing's entire left arm. The metallic bones were completely cut through, demonstrating the power behind Wang Changtong's attack.

At this moment, Gu Qing had already closed in and tightly embraced Wang Changtong with his remaining arm, refusing to let go no matter how much Wang Changtong pounded and hacked at his body. He held on firmly.

Meanwhile, the five robotic guards had entered their line of sight. As Wang Changtong looked and saw them, his face turned pale with fear.

The reason being that these five individuals, aside from minor differences in clothing, were identical in appearance, height, and every other aspect!

This situation was filled with eerie implications that went beyond Wang Changtong's comprehension at his level.

In the momentary distraction, the five wooden knives pierced into Wang Changtong's body.

"Roar!"

Wang Changtong, true to his title as the town's chief guard, let out a furious roar before his impending death. He unleashed a burst of power that far exceeded his own limits, forcibly breaking free from Gu Qing's embrace. Then, his knife flashed through the air.

The robot that Gu Qing was possessing was torn apart, scattered on the ground, and completely wrecked.

Although this robot was completely useless now, Gu Qing's true self was located in a distant and faraway place in the extreme north. It posed no threat whatsoever. Gu Qing simply possessed another nearby robot and swung the blade, instantly decapitating a large head that soared into the sky, landing right at the feet of the dumbfounded Liu Xi.

Liu Xi looked at the head and saw a pair of eyes filled with anger and fear that had not yet closed.

Meanwhile, a little further away, hidden within a pile of wheat stacks, Liu Lao San was witnessing everything that unfolded. He saw it all.

When he saw the butcher's knife once again approaching his elder brother, Liu Lao San felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't control himself. He felt a warm sensation in his lower body and realized he had wet his pants out of fear. But at this moment, he couldn't care less about that. All he wanted was for these five murderous figures to not notice him, so he could leave as soon as possible.

As for rushing out to help his elder brother? Liu Lao San admitted to himself that he wasn't ready to die just yet.