Hidden Blade

Chapter 2 Fat Sheep Are Slaughtered, But Men Die When They Prosper

As a result, a new grave was added to the mausoleum outside Shangyun City.

Twelve years.

The old beggar couldn't say how good he was to Xu Han, but if it wasn't for the flash of kindness in his heart during the snowy night back then, there would probably be no more Xu Han in this world.

Xu Han knelt in front of the grave for a long time, until the burly man who was watching him finally got up with a sign of impatience.

He looked at the tombstone on the grave and felt his heart surge.

"Sleep here. You have raised me for twelve years, and I will return it with my body."

"You and I don't owe each other anything."

"From now on, my own life will be left to me."

After saying that, Xu Han turned around and nodded towards the strong man who was following him.

At that time, the temporarily suspended snowstorm whistled towards him again.

Xu Han followed the sturdy man into the snow without turning his head.

At that time, he straightened his back, his eyes shining like snow, like an unsheathed sword.

…

The gambling house in Shangyun City was not simple.

The sturdy man named Lu Daniu led Xu Han through layers of hidden doors and finally entered the huge dark room beneath the casino.

There were forty to fifty children the size of Xu Han in the darkroom, and most of them were girls. Perhaps, as the old beggar had said, if they were born in chaotic times, the life of a girl would be even thinner.

And Xu Han lived in a small room that was twenty feet square. There were twelve boys squeezed into the room.

The twelve pale and skinny faces revealed twelve different types of fear. Xu Han knew very well that what they were afraid of was not him, but the strong man behind him.

"Go in!" Lu Daniu didn't give Xu Han any special treatment because of his extraordinary performance.

Being able to survive one out of ten was already considered good. As for the so-called respect?

That was a courtesy that only the living could receive.

Unprepared, Xu Han was forcefully pushed by Lu Daniu and fell into the room.

Immediately after, the iron door behind him let out a loud noise and was closed by Lu Daniu.

…

Even though he had already prepared for the current situation, when he really came here and faced the fear on the faces of those children, his heart still went cold.

In the end, he was only twelve years old this year.

Before this, he had seen the most amazing scenery. At best, it was the beautiful woman with heavy makeup and exposed breasts on the red makeup pavilion.

Just a quick glance caused his face to flush red and his heart to beat.

This kind of environment made him terrified, but subconsciously, he was eager to learn some information about this dark room from those children. Although it might not be able to save his life, at least his heart was at ease.

However, those children had already been frightened out of their wits, all of them hiding in the corners of the wall, their expressions numb and terrified, completely ignoring Xu Han's words.

Such a situation undoubtedly made Xu Han even more uneasy.

…

In the next few days, Xu Han had a very comfortable life.

Unexpectedly comfortable.

Food would be delivered every day. Not only would they be satisfied, they would also immediately have meat. In this year of famine, only wealthy families would receive such treatment.

Apart from eating, the rest were learning fist techniques and weapons from Lu Daniu every day.

Xu Han felt that things would not be that simple. Although Lu Daniu and the others had extremely bad attitudes towards them, punching and kicking them if they moved, these things should not be so frightening to the children.

It was already an extravagant hope for him to be able to eat a full mouthful of food before, how could he care so much about the future tomorrow?

He worked hard.

He practiced his fists and feet with all his might.

He cherished his vision more than anyone else.

His body was weak and his foundation was weak. There were inevitably inadequacies in his practice. He was punished for this, but he never slacked off. He even practiced repeatedly in his spare time.

After more than ten days, although it wasn't important, it already had some appearance.

Strangely enough, he could clearly feel that his body had begun to recover over the past few days. However, Xu Han could not tell whether this was the effect of that set of fists or feet, or whether it was something else.

On this day, after a day of kung fu practice, the children returned to their rooms one after another.

"I told you to be lazy! I told you to be lazy!" At this moment, a man's furious roar came from the corner.

Xu Han, who was walking towards his room door, turned around and saw a strong man holding a leather whip hitting a boy.

That boy, Xu Han, is known by his name, Liu Sheng .

He seemed to have stayed in this dark room for a long time. As far as Xu Han knew, none of the boys in his room came earlier than him. However, strangely enough, his fist and feet were the worst of all. Even Xu Han, who had just arrived for more than ten days, was slightly better than him.

Because, almost every day, he would be beaten up by the people on duty.

But Xu Han had never seen Liu Sheng cry.

From beginning to end, he only gritted his teeth and silently endured all of this.

He ate silently, used his fists and feet silently, and was beaten silently. From beginning to end, even the children were not surprised by this.

He felt that this Liu Sheng seemed very different.

After eating what was considered a sumptuous dinner for Xu Han, the ten other children in the room had already squeezed into the crowded bed and fell asleep.

Every day was torturous for them, perhaps only in their dreams could they get some comfort.

Xu Han, on the other hand, had no intention of falling asleep so early.

Just like every night before, he repeatedly used the fist and feet that Lu Daniu had taught him in the small open space in the room.

Although he did not know what the use of doing so was, it was better than doing nothing.

About half an hour passed.

Xu Han was already sweating profusely. He was just about to go to the bucket in the corner of the room to find some water to drink.

Squeak.

At this time, the iron door was pushed open, and the exhausted Liu Sheng dragged his wounded body into the room.

Xu Han was stunned.

Looking deeply at Liu Sheng , whose back was covered in blood and flesh, but he had always gritted his teeth without making a sound, he subconsciously wanted to ask something.

However, the other party turned a blind eye to Xu Han.

He walked straight to his bed, leaned against the pillar, took the powder, and began to clean his wounds.

Xu Han frowned and swallowed his words.

He thought for a moment and took out something from his bosom and handed it to Liu Sheng .

"Eat, I don't have much." Xu Han said.

It was a pancake that he had intentionally left behind for Liu Sheng .

Xu Han was not a bodhisattva.

It was just that he felt that his twelve years of life had been very difficult. It was too difficult for him to be born and survive.

Since living was originally an extremely difficult matter, then the heavens had given him life, so there must be a meaning to his existence.

Before he could find that answer, he wanted to work hard to survive.

Liu Sheng obviously did not expect Xu Han to do such a thing.

He was slightly stunned and raised his head to look at Xu Han.

He did not have much impression of Xu Han. He only knew that he was a boy who had recently come in and worked harder than the others. Apart from that, there was nothing special about him.

He looked at Xu Han silently, the meaning in his eyes inexplicable.

Xu Han felt a little uncomfortable from what he saw, but he still put the pancake in his hand in front of Liu Sheng .

For a long time.

"Why?" Liu Sheng finally asked.

"Huh?" This question obviously exceeded Xu Han's expectations. He was slightly stunned before he said, "I just happened to have an extra portion."

When he said that, his expression was extremely natural, as if everything he did was so natural to him, as he had said.

Unexpectedly, not only did these words not let Liu Sheng understand his kindness, his face instead revealed a mocking smile at that time.

"Have you ever raised any livestock in your family?" He asked.

This question was really too sudden, and Xu Han was stunned again.

"No, I'm a beggar" But he subconsciously replied.

"Then do you know what kind of animals die the fastest?" Liu Sheng didn't care about this and continued to ask.

Xu Han frowned. He did not like the malice Liu Sheng displayed at this moment. He shook his head and answered Liu Sheng's question.

Liu Sheng 's expression suddenly turned gloomy, reflecting the dark candlelight in the dark room, making him look extremely terrifying.

"The more you eat, the faster the animals will grow. They will always die in front of you."

He said this in a low voice, then took Xu Han's pancake, tore a small piece out of his hand, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it dry.

After that, he put the remaining large pancakes back into Xu Han's hands, turned around and laid down in his clothes, and never looked at Xu Han again.

Only Xu Han remained, staring blankly at the pancake in his hand, dazed.