Starting with the frog, he has ruled for eternity.

Chapter 41 Quack? Brothel?

"Hahaha, Old Li, you didn't see it! That little girl was standing in front of the master, with a frog on her head, saying she wanted to learn the Mountain-Shaking Strength!"

On the street outside the martial arts school, two young men dressed in coarse cloth shorts walked side by side.

The speaker was a robust man in his early twenties named Wang Daniu, a disciple of Chen Tieshan who had been a student for three years.

"Frog?" The tall, thin man next to him, called Old Li, raised an eyebrow. "What frog?"

"It's just a toad, what else could it be? One of those green ones, about the size of a palm... um, a little bigger than a palm, perched on that girl's head." Wang Daniu mimicked Nan Nan, making a ridiculous, affected pout, then laughed even harder.

"Isn't that hilarious? A six or seven-year-old girl, with skinny arms and legs, wants to learn the power to shake mountains? I doubt she can even lift a stone weight!"

Old Li laughed along, "That's true. Our Mountain-Shaking Strength is notoriously domineering. Who doesn't get their skin torn and bleeding when practicing it? That little girl will probably be crying and going home to her mother on the very first day."

To be honest, he didn't care about anything related to frogs.

But this is the first time I've ever heard of a little girl practicing martial arts!

"It's not just the first day!" Wang Daniu slapped his thigh. "I bet you, she won't even last half a day tomorrow! You know the owner's personality; he despises these pampered young ladies the most. I reckon she'll be kicked out in less than an hour."

"No way, at least an hour should be enough to last!"

"If you don't believe me, let's make a bet!"

"What are we betting on?"

"Let's bet..." Wang Daniu thought for a moment, "Let's bet on tomorrow's dinner, whoever loses treats!"

"Deal!" Old Li readily agreed. "But let me tell you, I don't think that girl can last more than an hour. You're definitely going to lose this bet."

The two were chatting and laughing, preparing to turn into the familiar alley to return to their residence, when they suddenly realized that the atmosphere on the street was a bit strange.

The streets, which should have gradually quieted down, were now bustling with activity. Groups of two or three men were gathering from all directions, all heading in the same direction.

Some of these people were dressed in silk robes, clearly from wealthy families; others were dressed as ordinary people, but all of them wore the same excited yet subtle expression.

"What... what's going on?" Old Li looked at the scene with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know," Wang Daniu scratched his head, a look of curiosity flashing in his eyes. "How about... we go ask them?"

The two exchanged a glance and quickly walked to a middle-aged man passing by. The man was wearing a worn-out blue robe and was walking hurriedly, as if afraid of being late.

"Excuse me, sir," Wang Daniu stopped him, "where is everyone heading?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback at first, then gave a knowing smile that all men understood, and lowered his voice: "Oh my, you guys don't know yet? A new brothel opened in the east of the city, and I heard the top courtesan is absolutely stunning! I heard about it too, so I'm going to check it out right away."

"A brothel?" Old Li's eyes lit up. "When did it open? How come I didn't know?"

"Today!" the middle-aged man said mysteriously. "And let me tell you, that courtesan isn't just beautiful, she can also sing, and her voice is incredibly melodious. A friend of mine has already gone, and just now she sent someone to tell me that he'll regret it for the rest of his life if he doesn't see her!"

"Look, see that red building over there? How festive! I'm going now!" The man pointed to a small building that was clearly several stories taller than the residential buildings. After saying that, he hurriedly left, afraid of being late.

Wang Daniu and Lao Li exchanged a glance, both seeing the interest in each other's eyes.

"Shall we go take a look?"

"go!"

The two immediately changed direction and followed the crowd towards the east of the city. Along the way, they saw more and more men surging in the same direction, each with an expression of anticipation and excitement on their face.

"How beautiful do you think that courtesan could be?" Wang Daniu asked as they walked.

"Who cares how beautiful she is? It's free to go and see her anyway," Old Li laughed.

They walked over with smiles on their faces.

But as soon as they turned the corner, the crowd on the street, especially those walking in the same direction... vanished into thin air.

The tall building that should have housed the newly opened brothel in the direction they had just been looking has also disappeared.

In its place was an ordinary residential area, with gray tiles and white walls, nothing special.

A few pedestrians occasionally walked by on the street, their expressions unchanged, as if nothing had happened. No one showed surprise, no one looked around, and no one discussed the suddenly vanished high-rise building or the people who had disappeared into thin air.

They seemed not to have seen Wang Daniu, nor Lao Li, nor the crowd of people walking in the same direction.

They turned a blind eye... no, it's not accurate to say they turned a blind eye.

Instead... it's like...

Wang Daniu, Lao Li, and the crowd that were all heading in the same direction were never the same people from the beginning.

!

!!!

……

As dusk fell, the setting sun shone like blood.

The noise coming from the next room made Lu Yong, who was lying on the bed, uneasy.

That's Nannan's room.

Ever since Nan Nan went in that afternoon carrying a huge pile of books and that frog, the door has been tightly closed.

First came the sound of pages turning, followed by a strange, crackling sound like bones popping, and then a rich, mouthwatering aroma of roast chicken wafted out.

Now, there were muffled "bangs" and "thumps," causing the ground to tremble slightly.

That's strange!

Of course, it's not that the roast chicken smells strange, but rather that the dull, muffled sound that even made the ground tremble slightly is very strange!

There shouldn't be anything in Nan Nan's room! Why is there a muffled sound?

No matter how hard Lu Yong thought about it, he couldn't come up with a solution, so he simply dragged his injured body to Nan Nan's house.

"Nannan?"

Lu Yong tried to shout, but his throat was still dry and hoarse, like a broken bellows.

But regardless of whether the voice is pleasant or unpleasant, Nan Nan will generally always answer him. Even if Nan Nan is engrossed in playing and forgets about it, she will subconsciously ask, "Who is it?"

But now...

No one answered.

A nameless unease welled up inside me.

The Lu family had just suffered a major misfortune: their father had gone missing, their second brother, that reckless fellow, was injured, and their mother was still in shock. As the eldest son, even though his tendons had just been reattached and he was still not fully functional, he still had to go and see them.

Lu Yong gritted his teeth and shuffled step by step to the front of Nan Nan's yard.

The sound inside is clearer.

"Ha! Drink!..."

That was Nan Nan's voice, panting, as if she was struggling to do something.

Then came a rough, hoarse sound, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other, yet carrying a strange sense of authority:

"Quack! Stupid! Get your waist and stance in harmony! Is your back broken? Straighten up! Didn't you eat? Push harder!"

Lu Yong's pupils suddenly contracted.

Who?

Who is talking in Nan Nan's room?

And that voice... it sounds like a man's!?

A strange man is in Nan Nan's house!?

And what's with that "quack" thing? Is it a verbal tic?

A chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head. Ignoring the pain in his body, Lu Yong pushed the door open forcefully!

"Nannan! Run!"

His shouting sound was stuck in his throat.

The scene before him made the former eldest son of the Lu family feel as if his mind had been hit hard by a sledgehammer, leaving him completely blank.

The room was a mess; the expensive mahogany round table was broken into several pieces and lay pitifully on the floor.

Nan Nan was sweating profusely as she practiced a horse stance in the corner, her face flushed. Although her posture was still immature, it exuded a fierce determination.

And directly in front of Nan Nan, where the table used to be...

A...monster was crouching there.

It was a frog.

Caw! ?

A frog!?

But it's definitely not the kind of frog that Lu Yong knew, the kind that only catches insects in the pond, or the tiny frog the size of his palm.

It's too big!

Squatting there, he resembled a dark green iron tower, almost as tall as Nan Nan's waist. His skin was like cast bronze, with a hard stratum corneum on top and full, clearly visible muscle lines underneath, looking so hard it felt rough to the touch.

It was holding a cleanly removed chicken leg bone in one of its webbed paws, and was stirring it around in its gaping maw as if it were picking its teeth.

this!?

It's a frog!?

This is... Little Frog?

The one that just spoke was a frog!

Lu Yong suddenly felt dizzy... Could it be that he had eaten too many mushrooms, which was why he was dreaming of this scene?!

But I haven't eaten any mushrooms lately!

"Croak? You're here?"

The monster turned its head, and its huge, gleaming green bean eyes coldly glanced at Lu Yong.

It opened its mouth, and that strange, hoarse human voice sounded again:

"Since you're here, don't just stand there like a doorman. Close the door, it's letting in the draft. Croak!"

Lu Yong: "..."

The frog spoke with a croaking habit, which was somewhat comical, but looking at the frog's size, he couldn't bring himself to laugh.

too big!

A frog that's half a meter tall!

Even more terrifying, Lu Yong still remembered that when the frog was about the size of a palm, it had blinded the armored soldiers chasing Nan Nan and Lu Feng!

Now, the frog has grown at least four or five times larger, and who knows how much stronger it has become.

Lu Yong gripped the doorframe tightly, his knuckles white, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You...you can talk?!"