Chapter 271: Yin and Yang

Inside the cramped, oppressive woodshed, a young boy tied to a pillar screamed ceaselessly, tormented by his parents. His cries were so heartbreaking that even Li Huowang felt a pang of sympathy.

After a while, the iron frame finally loosened. The boy's head lolled to one side, and he gasped for air during this rare reprieve.

Immediately, the brightly dressed couple squatted down and carefully examined their son's lower body.

"How is it? Is it working? Has Jing'er's 'sparrow' retracted at all?"

Hearing the woman's question, the man carefully gestured with his fingers a few times, then said with a frustrated expression, "No! It's still retracting further. We can't delay any longer; we must apply the lock, or it will be too late!"

The child, whose hair was soaked with sweat, flinched in terror upon hearing this. He seemed to greatly fear the so-called "locking" procedure, and he pleaded tearfully, "Dad, I won't get locked, I won't get locked!"

The man also looked pained, but he finally sighed and gently stroked his child's head, saying, "Jing'er, be good. A real man isn't afraid of pain. It'll be fine once it's locked. It will only hurt a little. But if you lose your 'root of life,' you won't even be a man in the future."

"Then I don't want to be a man! I don't want to be a man!!" The boy cried out to his father repeatedly, as if grasping at a lifeline.

Hearing his son's cries, the man looked deeply distressed, but he still turned, tears in his eyes, and reached for an iron box on the ground nearby.

The box was opened, and he took out a small square silver lock with a silver chain.

The man first tied one end of the silver chain to his son's ankle, then opened the silver lock and moved its sharp head towards his son's lower body.

"Dad!! Dad!! No!!" The boy shrieked in despair, anticipating the intense pain.

Just as the sharp lock head drew closer, the woodshed door suddenly burst open. A gust of wind blew in, making it impossible for the three people inside to open their eyes.

Sensing danger, the man holding the bronze lock instantly turned around, frantically spreading his arms to shield his son and wife. "Who! Who is it! Guards! Quick, guards!! Someone is trying to assassinate me!"

Shortly after hearing the noise, several green-clad constables rushed in. Holding their straight swords, they clasped their hands together towards the man. "Lord Yang, what's wrong?"

Yang Hongzhi, the magistrate of Pi County, pointed with a trembling hand, full of terror, towards the open woodshed door, "The door suddenly opened; it's here!

That thing is here!!"

On the deserted street, Li Huowang walked back with a strange expression. Recalling what he had just witnessed, his mind was in a turmoil, and he kept repeating, "They... they..."

Just then, Li Huowang suddenly heard sounds from a courtyard beside him. He immediately turned invisible again, climbed over the nearby wall, and carefully pried open a paper window with his hand.

Soon, Li Huowang saw a thin man inside. He sat on the edge of the bed, half-bare, with his head tilted back, pulling open his clothes and displaying himself to the woman in front of him, like a dissected bat.

The man's expression was very uneasy, as if he were awaiting some final judgment. "Wife... wife, how is it? Has it gotten a little smaller?"

The woman carefully observed, then said hesitantly, with uncertainty in her voice, "Husband, I think... it probably hasn't gotten smaller."

To her surprise, upon hearing this, the man immediately exploded in agitation, his voice rising, "Liar!! My 'root of life' is clearly much smaller than yesterday! I measured it, it's over, it's over! Tying it with a rope is useless! I'm going to become a eunuch! I'm going to die from 'yang shrinkage'!"

Hearing her husband say this, the woman also felt a panic. "Then... what do we do? Even tying it with rope isn't working?"

The desperate man, upon hearing this, suddenly pounced on his wife like a hungry tiger, knocking her to the ground. The expression on his face turned from despair to grief and indignation.

"Damn it! No! I don't have a son yet! You must give birth to a son immediately!"

As he understood what they were doing and connected it to the boy tied to the pillar earlier, Li Huowang stood up again with a strange expression. "So everyone in Pi County is afraid of... 'yang shrinkage'? No wonder they were trying to pull it with chains before. But how is that possible?"

Suddenly, he felt a chill throughout his body. "Wait, is this... real or fake?"

"Ah! Husband! You're hurting me, it's locked!" The woman's cry of pain made Li Huowang look inside again.

The two tangled masses of pale flesh were not a pleasant sight. Li Huowang noticed the chain around the woman's chest.

Compared to the previous silver chain, this family could only afford an iron one.

The sharp chain was tightly wrapped around her chest, forcefully pulling her upper body. Where her skin touched the metal, it had already chafed and bled, and the chain itself had rusted from contact with the blood. This device was nothing short of torture.

Seeing this, Li Huowang finally understood where the scent of blood and rust on the woman had come from. To prevent their body organs from retracting, they were all using locks.

"Husband, don't panic. Look, I've got this chained and locked, so it won't retract. Maybe you should also chain yourself like me."

"Men are pulling, women are pulling; it's not just 'yang shrinkage' but also 'yin shrinkage'? What on earth happened to them to make them like this?" Li Huowang's heart began to grow heavy. Even with all his experience, he had never encountered such bizarre transformations.

Although he now knew what the people of Pi County were afraid of, Li Huowang was still like a headless fly, clueless as to what was causing the 'yang shrinkage' and 'yin shrinkage'.

He could handle other matters, but with 'yang shrinkage' and 'yin shrinkage' that defied all logic, he couldn't even find a target.

Li Huowang stood on a rooftop, surveying the desolate Pi County. He pushed off the tiles and directly rushed towards the inn.

"I can't waste any more time. Heaven knows what's causing this 'yang shrinkage' and 'yin shrinkage'. I must find the cause as quickly as possible!!"

Now, in Li Huowang's eyes, the entire Pi County was full of traps. Even using unconventional methods was better than simply waiting to die.

Clearly, the people of Pi County knew something, but they refused to tell him. Since gentle persuasion wouldn't work, he would have to resort to force.

As soon as Li Huowang entered the inn, he saw the Lu Family Troupe beginning to perform 'pink opera' in the quiet main hall.

Although there weren't many people, at least some were watching.

Gouwa, who was sitting with his legs crossed, embracing a pear-faced woman and watching the opera, saw Li Huowang approaching and waved to him. "Senior Brother Li, come quickly! The Lu Family Troupe's play has become much more interesting!"

Li Huowang glanced, then turned and walked towards his room, a hint of coldness in his voice. "Gouwa, tell the waiter to come to my room."

"Alright! Coming!"