Chapter 855: Honored Ancestor, You’ve Worked Hard

“Ahaha, it’s been a long time since I’ve met such an honest person!”

Lou Benwei walked over to Zheng Wu, helping him up with both hands, his face full of appreciation.

“Since you’re so honest, why don’t you stay here from now on and work for me?”

“Thank you, respected sir.”

Zheng Wu quickly bowed, thinking to himself that his life seemed to be spared for now.

But work for Lou Benwei?

He shook his head in his heart. Sure, Lou Benwei was incredibly powerful, but so what? Wasn’t it more comfortable being the revered ancestor of his own Three Lives Sect?

Who in their right mind would willingly become someone else’s subordinate?

This was just a temporary solution; he still needed to find a way to escape eventually.

“What about these people?” Lou Benwei turned his gaze toward Sun Li and the others.

“Sir, feel free to deal with them as you please!” Zheng Wu replied with a sly grin.

“Good.”

Lou Benwei nodded in approval, then turned his cold, eerie gaze toward Sun Li and his group.

Seeing this, Sun Li and the others collapsed to the ground, their faces as pale as death.

Lou Benwei glanced at them indifferently, not particularly interested. With a mere wave of his hand, a piercing, terrified scream erupted from beside them.

In the blink of an eye, Sun Li and the others visibly aged, as if they had experienced thousands of years in a single moment. Soon, they withered into piles of bones that crumbled into dust.

In just a few breaths, everything was over.

Witnessing this, Zheng Wu’s legs turned to jelly. What kind of terrifying power was this? He had initially thought Lou Benwei was at the “Convergence of the Dao” realm, or at most the “Proof of the Dao” realm, but now it was clear that Lou Benwei was far beyond even those levels. He was a super-existence that surpassed the Dao realm entirely.

Thank goodness, he patted his chest. Thank goodness he had started flattering Lou Benwei in time, buttering him up to save his own life. Truly, flattery had worked wonders here.

However, not everyone turned to dust like Sun Li and his companions. A few unremarkable men had also survived the ordeal, trembling as they witnessed the deaths of the others. They secretly rejoiced that they had maintained some shred of conscience and had spoken out against attacking Lou Benwei earlier. It was this small act that had spared their lives.

“You all, come with me.”

Lou Benwei puffed out his chest, clearly in a good mood. After all, he had secured the money without a hitch and even encountered a few honest and eloquent talents. With a wave of his hand, he led them all back to Shadow Island.

“Yes, yes, sir.”

Zheng Wu and the others followed Lou Benwei respectfully, having now grown accustomed to his miraculous abilities. Seeing that he could transport them to a new location with a mere gesture no longer shocked them.

Lou Benwei, walking ahead with his hands behind his back, gestured toward the front.

“Hey, you, come here.”

“Y-Yes!”

Poor Lu Dasheng, who was carrying a pair of manure buckets, hurried over at Lou Benwei’s call.

“I’m leaving these people in your care. Assign them some work.”

Lou Benwei instructed.

“Yes, Lord Lou.”

Lu Dasheng bowed respectfully.

“Good, you all will work hard here.”

Lou Benwei patted Zheng Wu’s shoulder and then walked away with his hands behind his back.

“Come with me.”

After seeing Lou Benwei off, Lu Dasheng beckoned to Zheng Wu and the others, thinking to himself that since these people were introduced by Lord Lou, they deserved some extra attention.

In his world here, those who were not favored didn’t get to carry many loads of manure, and without manure duties, they couldn’t possibly comprehend the “Dao of Manure.”

He happened to be planning to expand the manure pit and was just wondering who to hand this wonderful task to. Well, it seemed like these newcomers would be perfect for the job.

Soon, under Lu Dasheng’s guidance, the group arrived at a manure pit. The stench hit them like a wall, and Zheng Wu and the others immediately pinched their noses, holding their breath.

“Let me introduce myself—I’m the Manure Overseer of Shadow Island. Since Lord Lou has entrusted you to me, you will follow my instructions. Of course, with Lord Lou’s orders, I’ll make sure to take good care of you.”

“Your task is to expand this ten-meter-wide manure pit to thirty meters. The tools are in the storage room over here; go get them yourselves.”

“Remember, work hard. This is a coveted job, and many people would love to have it.”

“How much you can learn from it depends entirely on you.”

With that, Lu Dasheng turned and left.

Zheng Wu and the others were left utterly confused.

“Dig a manure pit? I, the revered ancestor of a Dao sect, am here to dig a manure pit?”

“Is this a joke?”

At that moment, Zheng Wu felt a deep sense of resentment toward Lu Dasheng. What a way to assert dominance!

Zheng Wu clenched his teeth.

“Honored Ancestor, what should we do? Are we just going to stay here forever?”

The others gathered around Zheng Wu, unable to hold back their questions.

“How could that be?”

“I’m the revered ancestor of the Three Lives Sect—how could I possibly tolerate this?”

Zheng Wu gritted his teeth and said, “But right now, the situation isn’t in our favor. That skeletal man’s power is far too overwhelming, so we’ll have to stay put for now. Once we’ve spent enough time here and built a better relationship with him, we’ll find a way to leave.”

But the others looked at him with strange expressions, their gazes full of unspoken meaning.

“What? What do you all think? Do you feel that I, your ancestor, am embarrassing?”

“Hmph! Don’t think I’m doing this for myself—it’s all for you!”

“Do you really think I’m a coward who fears death?”

“Wrong! Let me tell you this: every person dies, but some deaths are as heavy as Mount Tai, and others as light as a feather. Do you think I’d choose to die as lightly as a feather?”

“Besides, have you thought about what would happen to the Three Lives Sect and its countless disciples if I were to die here?”

“You think I enjoy flattering him? No, I’m enduring this humiliation for the sake of our sect!”

“With my unyielding, upright nature, if it weren’t for you all, I would’ve long since confronted that skeletal man head-on. But for *your* sake, I must endure this. But in truth, my soul has already died—only my body remains alive.”

As he spoke, Zheng Wu adopted the look of someone bearing a heavy burden, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes moist with tears as he gazed up at the sky, filled with bitterness and a lingering sense of regret.

But as soon as he finished, his legs gave out, and he fell to his knees.

“Ah, my goodness! Greetings, respected sir!”

For some reason, Lou Benwei had suddenly returned. Spotting him from afar, Zheng Wu immediately transformed into a sycophant, kneeling on the ground and diligently brushing the dust off Lou Benwei’s sneakers.

“Hm, I’m just passing by. Keep up the good work.”

Lou Benwei patted his shoulder and left, satisfied once again.

“Take care, sir.”

Zheng Wu watched as Lou Benwei disappeared into the distance, only slowly getting back up after he was gone.

The others stared at him, stunned.

“Our Honored Ancestor has truly suffered…”

“Yes, for the sake of our Three Lives Sect, he’s sacrificed so much.”

“If it were me, I could never do what he did.”

“Truly, he’s our revered ancestor.”

The others spoke with deep emotion, tears of gratitude welling up in their eyes.