The monkey didn't speak, but opened the hidden clasp on the suitcase and slowly lifted the lid. Inside, neatly stacked were bundles of bright red banknotes. The men's expressions immediately brightened; the dark-faced man laughed heartily, his eyes gleaming with joy. "With this money, we can live the life of the rich! We can travel wherever we want, tsk tsk, just thinking about it makes me happy!"
The man with the mustache sighed, his expression complicated. "Ah! If only I had this much money sooner!"
"Haha, Mr. Huang, stop thinking about that woman! With this money, there are plenty of beautiful women out there!" Brother Kun patted the back of the man with the mustache.
The ruddy-faced man next to him chuckled, "Brother Kun's right. These days, money can buy anything. It's her loss that the woman ran away! Besides, without a wife, aren't we more free? Haha!"
The monkey-faced boy nodded repeatedly, beaming with joy.
The man with the mustache nodded and looked up at Brother Kun: "Brother Kun, what should we do with Wu Changlin's son?"
Kun's face suddenly darkened, and he sneered, "Does Wu Changlin really think his son can go back?" He turned to the red-faced man and the weasel-faced man, "You two, tomorrow take Wu Mingming to that mass grave in the east and bury him alive!"
The two rosy-faced men nodded in agreement.
"Hiss~ Hiss~"
"Huh? What's that sound?" The four of them turned around and looked, but found nothing unusual.
"Hiss~ Hiss~"
The four men suddenly sensed something was wrong; the sound seemed to be coming from the leather suitcase on the coffee table. They all looked towards the suitcase simultaneously, only to find that the suitcase, which had been filled with old men's cigarettes, had somehow transformed into a box full of bright red venomous snakes! At the same time, as if sensing their gaze, the snakes inside suddenly raised their heads, hissing and flicking their tongues as they swiftly slithered towards the four men.
"Oh my god! A snake! Run!" The four of them rushed into the courtyard, but as soon as they stepped out of the room, they all froze.
...
The vast Gobi Desert was desolate, and several huge dinosaurs walked by in the distance with a thud, shaking the earth.
Looking at the scene before him, Kun felt like he was dreaming. He pinched his leg hard—ouch! Was this real? How could it be? He was just inside the house a moment ago. Right, the suitcase full of money had turned into venomous snakes, and then he rushed out the door and ended up here?
Did I travel through time?
Kun was dumbfounded, at a loss for what to do. Several enormous dinosaurs walked further and further away, gradually disappearing into the horizon.
After a long pause, Kun swallowed hard. Standing here wouldn't work; there was no food or water, and it was a dead end. It seemed the first priority was to familiarize himself with the surroundings and find water quickly. The best way to do that was to head towards the direction of the large dinosaurs. Having made up his mind, Kun followed the direction the dinosaurs had gone.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, all around him was still the endless Gobi Desert. Kun was exhausted and thirsty, and he desperately wanted to drink some water, but where was there any water?
A roar came from an animal. Kun shuddered and quickly looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a dark figure walking towards them from the horizon.
Oh no! Kun quickly quickened his pace and ran forward.
"Huff!~ Huff!~" Kun was panting heavily. The run had depleted the little water he had left, and he was now incredibly thirsty. His throat felt like it was on fire! He quickly glanced behind him. Thankfully, the terrifying animal was no longer in sight. However, this was not a place to linger; he had to leave quickly.
The sun baked the earth, making it crack and parched. Kun struggled to lift his heavy legs, his vision blurring. He was nearing his end; if he couldn't find water soon, he would die of thirst.
"Screech—" A bird's cry rang out in the sky. Kun looked up and saw a huge, long-beaked dinosaur flapping its wings and swooping down toward him.
"No!" Kun tried to run away, but his legs felt like they were tied to a mountain, too heavy to move. He could only look at the long-beaked dinosaur with a face full of despair. As soon as the long-beaked dinosaur got close, it fanned up a gust of wind on the ground, and a nauseating stench hit him. Then Kun found himself flying, higher and higher.
"Ahhh~ Ahhh~ Ahhh~" The screams pierced the sky and faded into the distance.
Perhaps the flying dinosaur was frightened by Kun Ge's shout, or perhaps for some other reason, in any case, the long-beaked dinosaur in the sky suddenly loosened its grip, and Kun Ge plummeted to the ground.
"Ahhh~ Ughhh~ Ah~ Ughhh~" Kun's face was contorted by the raging wind as he fell, his eyes filled with extreme horror. He watched as the ground got closer and closer, until he saw the earth crashing down on him. Kun closed his eyes in despair.
"Smack!"
"Ouch! It hurts!" Kun cried out, but suddenly realized something was wrong. Falling from such a height should have been fatal, so why did he only feel pain in his buttocks?
Slowly opening his eyes, what came into view was not a desolate Gobi Desert, nor a ground littered with blood and flesh, but... an imperial court. An ancient imperial court.
Kun was dumbfounded. What the hell? Am I crazy?
"mighty--"
Kun Ge shuddered in fright. Suddenly, a loud cracking sound rang out, followed by a booming shout from the imperial court: "Niu Kun! Tell the truth now!"
"..." Kun was still dumbfounded. He looked up and saw an official dressed in ancient court attire sitting behind a table, staring at him with wide eyes.
"How dare you! How dare you defy this official! Guards! Bring on the torture!" The official, seeing that Niu Kun hadn't reacted for a while, flew into a rage. Several yamen runners rushed over, pulled Niu Kun up, and then took a row of clamps and clamped them into Niu Kun's fingers one by one.
Huh? Why does this torture device look so familiar?
"1, 2, 3, pull!" The two bailiffs pulled the instruments of torture to both sides at the same time.
"Ah!~" Niu Kun felt a heart-wrenching pain. His fingers were connected to his heart, and this pain seemed to reach his very soul. It was a pain that came from the very depths of his being!
"Ah!~" Niu Kun finally remembered. This was an ancient form of torture called "Zha Xing" (漶刑). But whether he remembered it or not was irrelevant now, because it was fucking painful!!
Niu Kun's screams echoed throughout the entire imperial court.
"Stop!" The official waved his hand, then poked his head out from behind the desk and shouted, "Confess or not? Confess or not!"
"I'll confess! I'll confess!" Niu Kun quickly responded.
"You still dare not confess? Guards, continue the torture!" the official roared.
Niu Kun was dumbfounded. What the hell? Was this court official deaf?
"Ah!~" Another wave of excruciating pain shot through his fingers, and Niu Kun trembled all over, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
"Splash!" A basin of water was poured on his face, and Niu Kun shuddered, slowly opening his eyes.
"Will you confess or not?" the official continued angrily.
"I confess, I confess!" Niu Kun cried out, but considering that the official might be deaf, he used his still-bleeding fingers to tremble and write the word "confess" on the ground.