C19 Life as a Guarantee!

Just when Zhan Tianming thought that there was no turning back from this assessment...

Mu Hai's voice came from outside the house.

"I am willing to use my life as a guarantee in exchange for Tianming's freedom during these ten days. If he escapes from the village, use my life as a sacrifice to appease the Mountain God."

The resounding proclamation of Mu Hai stunned everyone in the room.

Creak!

The door was pushed open, and Mu Hai donning a sober and solemn countenance, entered the room.

"Mu Hai, what are you doing? To use your own life as a guarantee, is he worth it? Humph!" Wang Sishi glanced at Mu Hai unhappily.

"Wang Sishi, who do you think you are? How dare you say that to Uncle Mu?" Zhan Tianming immediately scolded.

There were a few things that he just couldn't tolerate, and someone humiliating those he treasured was one of them.

If Wang Sishi dared to humiliate Mu Hai, he would repay this debt to Wang Sishi with interest. He couldn't care less that Zhang Yong, a top-tier Martial Practitioner, was standing next to Wang Sishi—he would berate Wang Sishi nonetheless.

Wang Sishi was so angry that his face turned green.

Mu Hai gave no heed to Wang Sishi's words and instead spoke to the few seniors in the group. "Uncle Chen, and the various elders, I remember there is a rule in our village: if there is someone in the village who is willing to use their life as a guarantee, as long as the person being guaranteed does not commit a capital offense, no one can hinder the guaranteed person's freedom, right?"

The few old men nodded when they heard this.

"Right, there is indeed such a rule."

"However, Mu Hai, have you truly thought about it? Are you really going to use your life as a guarantee for Zhan Tianming's ten days of freedom?"

"I've thought about it." Mu Hai nodded seriously.

"I object." Wang Sishi immediately stated his position.

"This Zhan Tianming is not an ordinary person—he is the successor selected by the Mountain God! If he were to escape in these ten days, the Mountain God's wrath would be aroused, and disaster would fall upon the village. What are we to do then?"

Hearing this, the few elders frowned.

That was indeed the truth.

Zhan Tianming's identity was not that of an ordinary villager.

If he were to escape...

What would happen to the village?

The Mountain God's fury was no laughing matter as it would bring disaster to the entire village. Carelessness in this matter wasn't something that villagers like them could afford.

"I'm also willing to vouch for Tianming!"

Just as the few old men were hesitating, another voice sounded.

After a while, Liu Yu walked in.

Liu Yu smiled at Zhan Tianming, then walked to Mu Hai's side and stood next to him. Mu Hai smiled and patted Liu Yu's shoulder.

Looking at the duo of Zhan Tianming supporters, those elders hesitated.

Mu Hai and Liu Yu were both members of the hunting team. So, if they were guaranteeing someone's freedom with their life, no one in the village could just shrug it off.

Consequently, they got into Zhang Yong and Wang Sishi's bad books as they looked at the duo with dissatisfaction.

Seeing the serious expression on Mu Hai and Liu Yu's face, one of the old men thought for a moment and finally said, "Since the two of you are willing to vouch for Zhan Tianming, we will grant him freedom for the next ten days."

After hearing the decision, the other oldies nodded in agreement.

Zhang Yong, who knew he could no longer imprison Zhan Tianming, stood up and said, "Elders, since you have already come to a decision, I have no problem with Zhan Tianming moving around freely. However, if he escapes, Mu Hai and Liu Yu will have to use their lives to appease the Mountain God's wrath."

"I already said this, didn't I? I won't run away with the fatty sister of yours!"

Zhan Tianming glanced at Zhang Yong and could not help but scold him.

"Zhang Yong, what the hell is in your heart? I was chosen by the Mountain God as the heir to the village chief position. Yet, you have repeatedly said that I'll run away. Are you questioning the Mountain God's judgment? Isn't that blasphemy? Do you know you are cursing the Mountain God? What will you do if the Mountain God was angered because of your impious talk? Will you be able to shoulder the blame if he destroys our village in anger?"

"You are deliberately ignoring the safety of the villagers! Don't tell me that you want to kill everyone in the village so that you can feel good?"

"Damn you! I didn't expect you to be such a vicious villain."

"Humph! What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhang Yong's face darkened.

The few old men from the village looked at Zhang Yong in shock, causing Zhang Yong to feel even more distressed.

Zhan Tianming rolled his eyes at Zhang Yong, his eyes full of ridicule.

'You wanna trash talk with this daddy?'

'Go back to your mother's womb and practice for a few more years!'

In the end, Zhang Yong and Wang Sishi left resentfully.

The few old men also left with them.

Right now, Zhan Tianming was feeling quite happy.

Having two people who would bet their life for you was something of dreams.

'Good!'

'These two are like family.'

After Zhang Yong and the others left, Mu Hai, who now had a hardened expression on his face, pulled Zhan Tianming to the side and whispered, "Tianming, take advantage of this ten-day time frame to find an opportunity to leave the village and never return."

"Uncle Mu, What...?"

"Well, don't think much about it. Tianming, I'm alive because your father saved my life. I promised your father that I will take good care of you. Now, Third Uncle can only do this much for you." Mu Hai's face was filled with guilt.

All these years, he felt like he couldn't take good care of Zhan Tianming.

Mu Hai felt ashamed as he couldn't even complete a simple request of his benefactor.

Zhan Tianming also became silent.

All these years, he could never find out the cause of his parent's death.

Every time he mentioned it, the villagers would suffer a sudden onset of stuttering.

"Third Uncle Mu, how exactly did my parents die?" Zhan Tianming asked once again.

Looking at Zhan Tianming's serious expression, Mu Hai frowned.

For quite some time, Mu Hai remained silent.

Mu Hai was hesitating.

"Third Uncle Wu, please tell me," Zhan Tianming said.

Mu Hai was still silent.

Following that, Zhan Tianming gave a meaningful glance to Liu Yu.

Liu Yu understood and immediately stepped forward to say, "Third Uncle Wu, Tianming has already grown up. He should know what happened to his parents."

Mu Hai raised his head and looked at Zhan Tianming, who was staring straight at him.

"Sigh. Whatever, I'll tell you then."

Mu Hai finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Your father died at the hands of a demonic beast. However, there were many peculiarities about that demonic beast. For starters, a demonic beast like that shouldn't even be there. And then there was timing at which that beast attacked."

Slowly, an old mystery began unfolding.

"After your father died, your mother took over as the hunting team's captain. One year later, your mother... she also died due to a crazed demonic beast's rampage."

"That demonic beast was a demonic wolf from the Wolf Valley."

After pausing for a moment, Mu Hai continued, "Over the years, I have sneaked into the Wolf Valley more than a dozen times to secretly observe that demonic wolf and did not discover anything abnormal. In the end, I concluded that your parent's death wasn't natural; it was a trap, a deadly trap."

After saying that, Mu Hai felt as if he was relieved from a heavy burden weighing on his heart.

He heaved a sigh of relief.

After a moment of silence, Mu Hai continued, "Tianming, all these years, the reason why we did not tell you about this was that we were afraid that you would foolishly run over to the demonic wolf to seek revenge.

"So, I hope you don't resent the villagers."

Zhan Tianming was silent.

'My parent's death wasn't natural?'

'Someone laid a trap to kill them?'