131: Isn’t the purpose of life to live?

The Fat Shopkeeper, deaf to his surroundings, continued to wail piteously.

Such bone-deep pain, how could an ordinary man like him possibly endure it?

The two brothers next door seemed to lose patience as well; they walked directly out of their room and approached Jiang Lan's door.

But upon seeing the scene inside Jiang Lan's room, both brothers were simultaneously stunned.

Inside the room, Jiang Lan stood to the side, holding his saber, while the Fat Shopkeeper, who was still wailing, tried to cover his wounds, but both of his arms were missing.

Beneath the Fat Shopkeeper were three severed limbs and a small pool of blood.

As for the side, there was a white-clothed woman... a malevolent spirit.

It wasn't that the brothers had keen eyesight to immediately identify the white-clothed woman as a malevolent spirit.

It was because the white-clothed woman had already transformed.

Perhaps it was due to the recent stimulation, or something else.

In any case, she no longer appeared as delicate and harmless as before.

At this moment, the woman's Face was extremely hideous and swollen, her head twice the size of an ordinary person's, her complexion bruised, and sticky water constantly dripped from her hair.

Of her two eyeballs, the left one had already ruptured, and maggots crawled in and out of the empty socket from time to time.

The right one, though intact, was pitch black and almost falling out of its socket.

Her dress was also tattered and full of wrinkles, clinging to her body which resembled a giant's corpse, the fabric torn, revealing patches of greenish-black skin.

The two brothers' eyes widened, and they instinctively took half a step back.

Although they were also Martial Artists and had seen demons before.

They had never seen such a ghastly and terrifying malevolent spirit, and combined with the horrific scene in the room, it made the brothers' hair stand on end involuntarily.

Hearing the movement, Jiang Lan turned around.

"Sirs, is there something you need?"

The two brothers swallowed and waved their hands in unison, saying at the same time:

"No... nothing..."

The older-looking one continued, "We apologize for disturbing your pleasure, brother. We'll leave now, we'll leave now..."

Originally, Jiang Lan hadn't intended to say anything, only planning to let the two of them leave.

After all, these two brothers had no grievances with him.

But suddenly, he seemed to think of something and raised his hand, saying:

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Wait here for a moment and help me with something."

The younger of the two brothers immediately wanted to refuse.

What kind of joke was this? With this scene, what good could possibly come of it?

Besides, we don't owe you anything. You say help you, and we just help you? Don't we have any Face?

But before he could speak, his older brother reached behind him, grabbed his hand, and pressed it down.

Then, the older brother said:

"Brother, what are your instructions?"

"Come in and wait a bit."

Jiang Lan said casually, then his gaze returned to the Fat Shopkeeper.

"Can you speak now?"

The Fat Shopkeeper gasped.

"Yes, yes! I'll tell you, I'll tell you! All... the Inn's... staff... have harmed... her..."

Jiang Lan's hand, holding the saber, tightened slightly.

He looked at the white-clothed woman again.

Seeing her transform again, Jiang Lan frowned slightly.

"Change back. You're giving me the creeps."

The white-clothed woman was obedient; her figure shrank, returning to her previous graceful appearance.

"This looks more pleasing to the eye..." Jiang Lan mumbled, then asked, "Is what he said true?"

The woman looked on the verge of tears.

Although he didn't know if she could actually cry tears, Jiang Lan could tell from her appearance that she was about to weep.

"Just tell me if it is or not. Why are you crying?"

The woman gritted her teeth.

"Yes."

Receiving an affirmative answer, Jiang Lan turned to look at the two brothers.

"I trouble you two, go downstairs and bring up all the Inn staff."

As he spoke, Jiang Lan's Aura burst forth from his Dantian.

The two brothers only felt an overwhelming pressure; the person before them seemed to transform into an unfathomable ocean.

This suffocating feeling immediately made the two brothers understand.

Jiang Lan was a master.

Although they didn't know exactly how powerful he was, it would likely be effortless for him to kill both of them.

Any dissatisfaction in their hearts was immediately cast to the winds.

The slightly older one nodded repeatedly, saying:

"Senior, rest assured, we will go at once!"

The younger one also abandoned his intention to leave.

He wasn't foolish either.

Even if they helped, they might not necessarily gain any benefits.

But if they didn't help... then they could only pray they wouldn't encounter Jiang Lan again in the future.

After all, the two brothers had only seen Jiang Lan once while eating on the first floor of the Inn, and they knew nothing about his character.

If he was magnanimous, it would be fine.

But if he was petty, and they left, if they met again next time, the outcome would be hard to say.

To offend a master whose temper they didn't know, over such a small matter that could be done with a flick of the hand—this deal, no matter how you looked at it, only someone with a screw loose would make it.

The two brothers quickly ran downstairs.

Jiang Lan casually slapped the Fat Shopkeeper, knocking him unconscious, and said to the white-clothed woman:

"Don't forget what you promised me. I'll help you get your revenge, and after the revenge is done, you leave on your own."

Upon hearing this, the white-clothed woman opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

But before she could speak, Jiang Lan cut her off.

"I know you could kill them yourself. You didn't act because you wanted them to die a more miserable death. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're satisfied."

The woman said no more, but her knees softened, and she was about to kneel before Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan reacted extremely quickly; a wisp of True Qi surged from his Dantian, directly supporting the woman's body.

"I've noticed, why do you all love to kneel so much? If your bones are harder, no one will dare to bully you."

The woman didn't understand the meaning of Jiang Lan's words.

Jiang Lan, however, continued speaking to himself:

"In this world, there are many pitiful people, but even if I encounter them, I don't meet many. Helping you isn't for your sake; it's entirely for a statement I made earlier."

The woman was somewhat puzzled.

"What statement?"

"May peace prevail under heaven." Jiang Lan smiled, "That sounds quite far-fetched and a bit overly kind. What does the peace of the world have to do with me?

"But besides this, I don't seem to have anything else to do. Life is about living for a thought, and now, I don't seem to have any thoughts left.

"Power, wealth, beauty, seeking immortality—if I wanted them, they seem to be within easy reach. But if a person truly has everything, what's the point of living? So my wish for peace under heaven isn't truly about achieving peace under heaven. It's just setting a grand aspiration for myself, finding a thought to live by."

After Jiang Lan finished speaking, the white-clothed woman fell into a long silence.

She didn't know why Jiang Lan was telling her these things, but honestly, she quite enjoyed listening.

"Isn't living just living? Must one have a thought?"

Jiang Lan looked deeply at the woman.

"I've heard something similar to what you just said before."