Chapter 160: Revenge

Only after the evil thoughts were purged from each and every one of them did these villagers of Three Kings Village begin to regain their senses. Some burst into tears, while others were utterly consumed by remorse.

Especially Zhu Zi and the village chief, who wept profusely and wailed as they sobbed to Princess An Yi, "What a monstrous sin we have committed! How could we treat our benefactors like this? We have caused you such terror."

"Strike us to vent your anger! Kill us if you wish! We have wronged you deeply," several of the men knelt before An Yi, weeping and pleading with looks of genuine repentance.

Although she had witnessed the power of the green crystal before, Princess An Yi had never imagined it would be so overwhelmingly potent in actual use. Even so, recalling what had transpired earlier, her resentment still lingered.

She shoved Zhu Zi aside fiercely and asked Wu Jue, "What should we do with these people? Are we just going to let them go like this?"

Wu Jue pressed his palms together and said devoutly, "Since they have already been granted a chance to start anew, we should forgive these villagers. After all, they did help us previously."

"Right now, the most important thing is to find Boss Wu. You and I still need to rendezvous with Huron." Wu Jue met up with Xiao Han and the others, keeping the sole surviving member of the South China Gang under guard as they prepared to depart.

Before leaving, however, he said to the surviving villagers, "Though we do not intend to hold you accountable, you ought to feel ashamed. To make amends for your past wrongs, properly bury those fallen members of the South China Gang. Furthermore, we are soon heading into the city to neutralize the zombie crisis and rescue some of the survivors."

The village chief took the lead in agreeing, watching them all the way until they departed before heading back.

The four of them boarded the car and drove back toward the city. An Yi said with lingering indignation, "They got off far too easy! I have never been molested by anyone in all my life. Wu Jue, you've really turned back into your old self—so merciful and good-tempered that it's almost hard for me to stomach."

Hearing this, Wu Jue smiled and replied, "Is that so? Perhaps I've simply been through some things and experienced a sudden great awakening."

Halfway through the journey, the car suddenly broke down, forcing Wu Jue and the others to step outside. At that very moment, they spotted two members of the South China Gang rushing past and managed to catch them red-handed.

Wu Jue asked the two men why they were in such a hurry, and they replied, "It's terrible! Boss Wu and Sister Gui failed to reach an agreement during their negotiations, and a fight broke out between the two sides. We were just on our way to fetch Big Brother Wu so he could come back and uphold justice."

"They've had a falling out?" Wu Jue could not help but be startled. After making clear where Sister Gui was located, to his surprise, it turned out to be the exact center of the city—the place where the zombies gathered.

Now a problem had arisen: figuring out how to get there.

Wu Jue smiled and said, "I have a way, but I need to return to Three Kings Village once. How about this? You go on ahead, and I'll be right back."

With that, he returned to Three Kings Village alone.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived back in the dilapidated village. The twenty-odd remaining people in the village had mostly dispersed.

Only the elderly village chief remained at the village entrance, staring blankly out at the long-abandoned fields, lost in thought. Wu Jue walked up to him and asked with a smile, "What is it, having regrets? After living as a nameless bandit for so many years, it's finally time to become a human being again."

"Indeed, I regret it beyond words," the village chief sighed, taking a drag from his dry tobacco pipe before wiping away a tear. "When I was young, I was ruthless and harmed countless people. Just a moment ago, it was I who suggested drugging your companion to make a move against her, though I never expected so many people would fail to subdue her. I still remember how that woman was bound like a rice dumpling and struggled so bitterly—and these hands of mine..."

"They're useless, so there's no need to keep them." Wu Jue struck without warning, his palm chopping down like a blade, cleanly severing the village chief's hands right off at the wrists.

The excruciating pain caused the village chief to roll on the ground instantly. Even so, because of the green crystal's lingering influence, sweat poured from his brow, yet he was utterly incapable of generating any intent to retaliate against Wu Jue.

"Once you abandon hatred, all that remains is to await death," Wu Jue's face still bore a smile. "And what did you expect? Did you really think I wouldn't avenge my own woman?"

"Remember, Princess An Yi belongs to me, and no one is permitted to violate her!" Wu Jue picked up a stone from the ground and smashed it viciously down onto the man's head until his life was extinguished. "Otherwise, death is the only outcome."

When the village chief could no longer move, Wu Jue tossed the stone aside, dusted off his hands, and unconcernedly walked into the village to search for the room where Princess An Yi had been imprisoned earlier.

That place was already damaged beyond recognition. Wu Jue searched for keepsakes there as if no one else were around, until the other villagers were awakened, at which point he finally retrieved a weapon from the ruins.

It was a piece of purple crystal that Princess An Yi had carried with her—one even larger than the purple crystal he had swallowed into his own body. Wu Jue gripped it in his hand, then turned around, looking coldly at the villagers who had gathered around, and said, "Let me tell you some bad news: the zombies in the city have gone berserk, and we have no way to control them."

"No way to control them? Then what are we supposed to do?" The villagers of Three Kings Village were somewhat alarmed. At that moment, someone discovered the village chief's corpse and shouted from inside, "This is terrible! The village chief has been beaten to death. What is going on here?"

Amidst the general astonishment, Wu Jue said with calm composure, "This is undoubtedly the work of the South China Gang. They have manipulated the zombies, and we must avenge the village chief."

"Avenge him? How?"

The villagers asked hesitatingly, for they possessed no such capability.

Calm and collected, Wu Jue loaded the purple crystal into his shotgun and said, "I have a way, and I can help you right now!"

With a deafening blast, ammunition infused with the power of the purple crystal erupted outward, instantly cutting down a large swath of the villagers.

Another slaughter began, yet an elegant smile still lingered upon Wu Jue's face.

Those who trespass against my woman shall die!

Shot after shot, he dealt with these villagers who were like lambs waiting for slaughter. In the end, one by one, under the influence of the purple crystal, they transformed into frenzied zombies.

Guided by Wu Jue's influence, they charged toward the city, unleashing a rampage of unbridled slaughter.

Another fine show was about to begin!

The sole purpose of Wu Jue's return was to utilize these villagers to deal with the zombies.

Smiling, he finished dispatching everyone, leaving only Zhu Zi, who was cowering and trembling in a back room.

Because he had been affected by the green crystal, Zhu Zi had been stripped of all cruelty and murderous intent. As the terrified Zhu Zi watched all his fellow villagers turn into mere pawns in Wu Jue's hands, an overwhelming sense of dread welled up within him.

It was a fear unlike anything he had ever known—a sensation he had never experienced during all his countless past days of ruthless and violent contention.

Wu Jue had long since sensed his presence, but because Zhu Zi had committed the most egregious offenses against An Yi, he wanted to deal with him last, which was why he had left him for the very end.

When all the villagers had finally departed, Wu Jue put away his shotgun, turned back, and walked step by step toward the room where Zhu Zi was hiding. He could even hear the man's terrified heartbeat.

Yes, trembling with such utter panic—even evildoers would eventually face their hour of retribution.

Wu Jue suddenly realized that he had found an outlet to vent his malignant thoughts: fighting evil with evil.

Thus, reveling in this unbridled murderous intent, he drew closer to Zhu Zi and raised his pistol toward him.

"You are the only one whom I will never spare."

Zhu Zi struggled desperately to crawl out from the debris, shaking his head incessantly as he stammered, "Don't kill me! I know I was wrong! I truly shouldn't have been so lustful and shameless, I..."

*Bang!* A single shot struck Zhu Zi squarely in the thigh, and fresh blood immediately gushed out like cheap syrup.

"No, I have already forgiven you," Wu Jue said expressionlessly. "If placed in the exact same situation, I would be just as shameless as you."

Immediately afterward, another shot slammed into Zhu Zi's back, piercing straight through his ribs.

"The only difference is that I would do it more stealthily and with a lower profile, ensuring that no one would ever find out what I had done."

Lowering his head and crouching down close to Zhu Zi's face, Wu Jue pressed the muzzle of the gun directly against the man's forehead, slowly squeezing the trigger bit by bit.

He whispered softly, "Farewell!"

*Bang!* The bullet instantly pierced through Zhu Zi's forehead, spinning rapidly inside his skull and bursting his mind into a messy fog of blood and gore.

Wu Jue stood up, pocketed his pistol, and walked away in long strides without sparing him another glance.

It was as though everything that had just happened behind him had nothing to do with him at all.