The bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups on the table were mostly untouched, save for Hu Chai, who ate meat and drank wine with gusto.
Compared to Hu Chai's casual demeanor, Yan Shouyi and the others became rather reserved.
Yan Shouyi felt he shouldn't be outdone, so he took the initiative to raise his wine cup and said to Hu Chai:
"Helm Master Hu, I'll toast you!"
Hu Chai's eyebrows shot up, a look of delight crossing his face. "You're too kind, President Yan. You're my idol. I'll drink this one, you take your time!"
Despite his words, Yan Shouyi still downed the wine in one gulp.
Setting down his cup, Yan Shouyi suddenly asked, "How did Helm Master Hu's wife die?"
Hu Chai, who had been in control and seemed to have the upper hand, suddenly froze. His movements also became stiff.
He slowly put down his chopsticks, blew his nose, and poured himself more wine.
"Why is President Yan interested in this matter?"
"Curiosity," Yan Shouyi said with a slight smile, his tone as if joking.
At these words, everyone clearly saw the veins on Hu Chai's forehead bulge for a second.
Even the madman Hu Chai had a soft spot in his heart, and Yan Shouyi had precisely struck his weak point.
Long Feicheng was very anxious. He felt Yan Shouyi shouldn't have brought up Hu Chai's painful past at this moment. If this madman went berserk again, they wouldn't be able to leave.
However, the Dog Taoist and Miaoji exchanged knowing smiles.
Since entering the courtyard, Hu Chai had been leading them by the nose, steadily suppressing Yan Shouyi.
After all, this was Hu Chai's territory, and it was understandable that he held the advantage.
But now that Yan Shouyi understood Hu Chai's objective, there was no need for further politeness. He should show the proper imposing manner to counter Hu Chai.
Only by doing so could Hu Chai understand that Yan Shouyi was not a pushover.
Otherwise, Hu Chai would keep pushing his luck!
Therefore, Yan Shouyi deliberately chose Hu Chai's greatest pain and delivered it with the most jesting tone, stinging Hu Chai's nerves.
Hu Chai suppressed his anger and smiled faintly at Yan Shouyi.
"My wife came from a family of spirit mediums, but she had no interest in spirit mediumship at all. Instead, she yearned for the life of monastic practice and seclusion typical of major sects. Therefore, she eloped against her father's and my wishes to seek immortality on Kunlun Mountain, joining a small Taoist temple as a nun. That temple was indeed a direct descendant of a major sect, but the Taoists within had impure intentions."
"They compiled a spurious 'Héhuān Gōng' (Joyful Union Technique) and enticed my wife to cultivate it with them. My wife, bewitched, actually agreed to practice this method. Later, the Taoists' intentions became more audacious, and the cultivation methods they compiled became increasingly unethical. To make their days in the mountains more interesting, they even invented a wondrous technique of 'joyful union with wild beasts'."
Upon hearing this, everyone found it hard to contain themselves.
They never expected that Hu Chai's wife's ordeal would be so tragic.
Even Yan Shouyi felt a pang of regret for bringing up Hu Chai's scar; it was truly an act that harmed one's virtue.
However, they were now clear enemies, and it was possible he might have to kill Hu Chai later. In comparison, this small matter was not worth mentioning.
Changshan clasped his hands together and couldn't help but say, "Amitabha... Benefactor Hu, your wife shouldn't have..."
"She did it all."
Hu Chai's lips twitched, a perverted smile appearing on his face. "When my father-in-law and I found her, my wife was already mentally deranged, her mind filled with notions of seeking immortality. She had been misled by the major sects and had become a bitch raised by the Taoists! She could be played with and insulted at will, they even starved her and denied her water, calling it 'cultivating grain abstinence'!"
"My father-in-law and I wanted to rescue her, but she insisted on staying at the temple. She rejected her identity as a descendant of a folk sect and was extremely keen on being a disciple of a major sect."
"In our rage, my father-in-law and I killed all the Taoists in the temple. We thought this would save her from her suffering, but she ended up following those Taoists."
"She said she was a disciple of a major sect and was ashamed to associate with us, 'short-lived demons.' She would rather be a dog to those Taoists in hell than return to us!!"
Saying this, Hu Chai slammed his palm onto the dining table.
Fortunately, he was merely a descendant of ancient medicine, and his physique was not much different from ordinary people.
If it had been Yan Shouyi, not only the dining table but perhaps the entire courtyard would have sunk by a third.
"Ridiculous, truly ridiculous! Disciples of major sects mock our folk sects for lacking faith, but what gods do they burn incense and pray to every day? Gods who condone their evil deeds?"
"If that's the case, major sects are worse than our folk sects. Although we lack faith, we are never hypocritical. Compared to us, they are the true beasts in human clothing!"
Yan Shouyi listened to the story silently and finally understood why Hu Chai hated major sects so much. He also understood why Ji Bing and Wu Shen Shan were so radical.
Although he sympathized with Hu Chai, it was only sympathy.
If Hu Chai had chosen rational revenge, perhaps the two could have become friends.
But the current Hu Chai was merely another butcher wielding a cleaver. He had a past worthy of sympathy, but a present that was more hateful.
Listening to Hu Chai's bitter recount only strengthened Yan Shouyi's resolve to go to Changbai Mountain.
Only by resolving the conflict between the two factions at its root could he prevent tragedies like Hu Chai's from recurring!
As everyone fell silent, Xu Shengnan returned.
She was dragging Han San, who was covered in wounds, into the courtyard by a chain, as if leading a dog.
At this moment, although Han San was wearing a Taoist robe, it was tattered and stained with blood.
Yan Shouyi could vaguely see that Han San's fingernails had all been pulled out, one of his arms seemed to be broken and hung limply, his right lower leg was pierced by a steel nail, and the rotten flesh around the wound had already festered. The left half of his face was scalded, with no good skin left, and even a piece of skin hung from his face, connected only by a few bloody threads.
Seeing Han San's miserable state, the sliver of sympathy everyone had felt for Hu Chai moments ago vanished instantly.
Hu Chai had surpassed the demonic Taoists who had tortured his wife back then!
"Senior Brother!"
"Senior Brother Han San!"
The seven disciples of Maoshan were heartbroken to see Han San in his current state, and some couldn't help but shed tears.
However, Han San merely glanced at them faintly, then followed Xu Shengnan in silence.
It seemed that after enduring inhuman torture, Han San's mental state had deteriorated.
"Damn folk sects, damn Wu Shen Shan, I'll fight you to the death!!"
One young Taoist couldn't help himself and charged at Xu Shengnan bare-handed.
Xu Shengnan let out a cold snort, flashed behind the young Taoist, and then calmly snapped his neck.
The corpse, propelled by inertia, rushed forward another meter before weakly slumping to the ground.
The remaining six Taoists, upon seeing this, wore expressions of grief but also became considerably calmer, no longer rashly rushing to fight.
Han San, seeing his junior brother die, showed no reaction. He simply stood there, like an emotionless puppet, his eyes hollow and vacant.