"Killing… killing is wrong. I… I don't dare. Let's tie him up and send him to the Five Elements Hall to face legal judgment."
Bao Bao looked up, gazing at her three companions with a pitiable expression.
"We came out to administer punishment ourselves. What's the point of sending him to the Five Elements Hall? The journey is long, and we won't get mission points."
"But…"
"We are out here to train. If you don't even dare to kill someone, what will you do on the battlefield in the future? Will you stretch your neck out for the demons to kill you?"
Xia Bingbao glared with fierce intensity. Fortunately, he didn't have a beard yet, or it would have been bristling with indignation.
Seeing this, Wan Lei and the other two stopped in the distance, not getting involved.
This was, after all, a domestic affair among these young ones. Moreover, Wan Lei felt that since they were out for training and their families had set a mission of ten thousand kills for each of them, the intention was to toughen their courage through killing. There was no need for him to meddle.
At this moment, Bao Bao was steadily retreating under the pincer attack of the other three. Her expression grew increasingly wronged, and tears welled up in her big, innocent eyes. Her lovably pitiful appearance tugged at the heartstrings of any observer.
And this observer was Wan Lei.
"No, you have to do it. If you don't, do you expect us to complete the mission for you? Even if we help you, it will be like this, tying him up for you to kill, and you have to do it yourself!"
Xia Bingbao remained aggressive. Han Xiaoyun stood by, arms crossed, watching coldly. Wan Qianxin's eyes showed a flicker of concern.
"Don't force me, please~~~"
Bao Bao attempted to elicit sympathy through cajoling.
"It's useless. We won't fall for that. We're not the adults in the family."
Xia Bingbao was unyielding.
Wan Qianxin pulled Xia Bingbao aside and looked at Bao Bao, his tone gentle.
"Bao Bao, these people are all wicked villains who deserve death many times over. Before they robbed us, they had already killed countless innocent people. Such individuals need us to wield the sword of justice to punish them."
"But… but this kind of thing should be left to the professionals. Bao Bao is still young. Bao Bao is only fourteen years old. Bao Bao…"
"Bao Bao is a brave man."
Xia Bingbao used words her father used to encourage her to encourage Bao Bao.
Bao Bao looked up at Xia Bingbao, her gaze filled with confusion and shock.
"But… Bao Bao is a girl~~"
Her good friend Han Xiaoyun, unable to watch any longer, took Bao Bao's hand and earnestly persuaded her.
"You are fourteen this year, but you will grow up sooner or later. You are already an immortal. In the immortal realm, every immortal yearns to fight on the battlefield of suffering and achieve merits, yearns to protect their homeland. Now, our parents can shelter us, but later, we will need to protect them. If enemies come to harm our parents, shouldn't we take up our own weapons to protect them?"
"But, the enemies who can deal with my mother, can I possibly resist them? My mother is…"
"Ahem, be careful. Don't reveal family information. Bao Bao, your mother doesn't need you to protect her, but what about your father? Your father isn't as powerful as your mother."
Wan Qianxin's tone remained gentle, a smile in his eyes.
"Your father is known as the number one 'relying on wife' in the immortal realm. Such a useless person, when others attack him, it's as easy as lifting a hand. Don't you want to protect your father?"
Hearing this, Wan Lei's interest was piqued, and he became curious about Bao Bao's father. What kind of man could be called the number one "relying on wife" in the immortal realm, even more so than the number one "relying on wife" of the Thunder Wind Realm in his past? In the past, when Wan Lei was still weak, he had been scolded by countless people for being a freeloader because of Fang Xiaoyu. Later, Wan Lei proved with his actions that it wasn't him latching onto the Fang family, but the Fang family latching onto him.
"My father? Yes, my father is such a good-for-nothing. He will definitely need my protection in the future. I must cultivate diligently and strive to break through soon…"
As Bao Bao spoke, she retreated. However, Wan Qianxin picked her up like a chick.
Seeing that reasoning with Bao Bao was proving difficult, Wan Qianxin changed his strategy and decided to use the captured cultivator as a breakthrough. He turned his head towards the cultivator, his face as calm as still water, and asked in his somewhat immature voice, "What is your name, and when did you join the Weeping Desire Sect?"
"I… I am Zhang Ping. I am a native cultivator from the Luan Star Domain in the Andromeda Galaxy. My family is poor, and I have always been a rogue cultivator. After breaking through to the Immortal Realm, I joined the Weeping Desire Sect."
The man was already thoroughly scared. He had never expected that disciples of the Weeping Desire Sect, who were overbearing in the outside world, would one day become targets, their lives used for others to practice on. The sense of shame was strong, but it was no match for his will to survive. He still wanted to live.
"Tell me about the evil deeds you've committed."
"My lord, I swear, I haven't done anything bad! I joined the Weeping Desire Sect for better cultivation. When I was a rogue cultivator, I was a good person, often robbing the rich to help the poor and acting with chivalry. After joining the Weeping Desire Sect, I also didn't do any bad deeds, only using my meager spirit stones to support my mother, who is two thousand years old, and my child. I was forced by that senior brother to come and rob you all. I really didn't want to attack you. My mother and child are still in the sect, and I dare not disobey their orders. My child is only three years old, please spare me. My death is insignificant, but my child cannot be without a father. My dao companion died early. When I was still in the mortal realm, she was captured by a group of evil cultivators and tortured alive for three days before dying. It's hateful that I lacked the strength to avenge her."
Upon hearing this, the four youngsters reacted differently. Bao Bao immediately showed a compassionate expression, her heart aching as if she wanted to cry. Han Xiaoyun's expression also became hesitant. Xia Bingbao frowned, feeling that something was not quite right. Wan Qianxin, however, let out a scoff.
"You really lie without blushing. Your dao companion was tortured to death when you were in the mortal realm, so how is your child only three years old? Unless, in just three short years, you cultivated from the mortal realm to the late stage of the Tai Xu Realm?"
With Wan Qianxin's words, the three children immediately understood, and Wan Lei also figured it out. He hadn't noticed any flaws earlier because he had cultivated from the mortal realm to the peak of the Tai Xu Realm in just over half a year. He subconsciously thought the time span wasn't significant, but that was for him. For ordinary cultivators, it took a very long time to go from the mortal realm to the late stage of Tai Xu.
"You wicked scoundrel, how dare you lie to us!"
Han Xiaoyun, enraged, kicked him.
"This is understandable. To survive, killing is normal, let alone lying. There's no need to criticize him over this matter."
Wan Qianxin finished speaking and took out a Taoist charm from his怀. The charm burned in his hand.
"True words of Taoism, words become deeds."