A Desperate Kill: Bloodhand!

"Parlor tricks!"

Bloodhand stopped dodging and giving ground, choosing instead to meet the attack head-on with his palms.

He struck twice with each hand, knocking two bamboo arrows away, then snapped his palms together and caught the last arrow firmly between them.

The sharp arrowhead cut his palms, but Bloodhand paid it no mind.

A mere flesh wound would do nothing to hinder his strength.

With all three arrows knocked down and nothing else in his way, Bloodhand leaped behind Qin Ming and brought his great hand down.

"You little bastard, you can't run anymore!"

A vicious grin curled Bloodhand's lips, but in the next instant, his expression changed drastically.

A searing pain suddenly shot through both his palms, as though red-hot tongs were stirring his flesh and blood.

"The arrows are poisoned!

You little beast, I'll butcher you!"

Bloodhand went mad, Qi and blood rushing through his body toward his palms. He meant to force down the centipede venom and kill Qin Ming first.

Clang—

A cold blade flashed before Bloodhand and stabbed precisely into an acupoint in the fascia of his right palm.

A light flick.

Pfft—

The sinews split in two.

Though Bloodhand had reached Skin-Refining Realm Perfection, he was still made of mortal flesh and blood. He could not withstand the sharp edge of a pig-slaughtering knife.

In the blink of an eye, the sinews in Bloodhand's right hand were severed.

"Argh!"

Bloodhand screamed and slammed his left palm into Qin Ming's shoulder. The tremendous force caved the entire shoulder in by half an inch and sent Qin Ming flying dozens of meters. He rolled several times across the ground before finally stopping.

"Pfft!"

Qin Ming spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face as pale as paper.

"The Perfected Skin-Refining Realm really is no small thing!"

Qin Ming felt half his body go numb. His arm hurt too much to lift, and waves of searing pain came from within him.

His internal organs had all suffered injuries to varying degrees.

Fortunately, Bloodhand was even more badly hurt than he was.

"You little beast, you used poison again!"

Bloodhand roared in fury.

Qin Ming had not only coated the pig-slaughtering knife with centipede venom, but also enchanted it with Fire Sand Palm, adding fire poison damage. The wound on Bloodhand's palm had been burned black by the fire poison and gave off a foul stench.

With both poisons taking effect at once, even Bloodhand, with his Perfected Skin-Refining Realm cultivation, could barely withstand them. His body swayed on the verge of collapse, and he could only prop himself up with the cold iron saber in his hand.

"If I'd known you were this despicable, I would've split you in two with my cold iron saber!"

Bloodhand's eyes turned red, and he gnashed his teeth with hatred.

Qin Ming was even more despicable than the other bandits of Clearwind Stronghold!

He was in an extremely bad state now. Not only was he gravely poisoned, but one of his hands had also been crippled. He had to leave as quickly as possible.

"Kid, I'm feeling merciful today, so I'll let you off for now. Next time we meet, I'll take your wretched life!"

With that, Bloodhand ran back the way he had come without looking back.

"Leaving now? Don't you think it's too late?"

Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, Qin Ming took the Spirit Pearl from his robes and put it in his mouth.

The Spirit Pearl from the giant centipede's body was also a spiritual object, formed from Spiritual Qi condensed over the centipede's many years of cultivation. It had all manner of marvelous, inconceivable uses.

It could counteract poison and quickly restore Qi and blood, and at a critical moment, it could forcibly give someone a last surge of strength.

Earlier, Qin Ming had been able to withstand the poisonous fog because he had held the Spirit Pearl in his mouth.

Now spiritual power poured endlessly from the Spirit Pearl into Qin Ming's dantian, and feeling quickly returned to the half of his body that had been too numb to move.

"It really is good stuff!"

Qin Ming raised his bow again.

This time, however, Bloodhand could no longer dodge as easily as before. After barely avoiding several arrows, he was struck in the lower legs by two in succession. As the centipede venom spread, both legs quickly lost feeling, leaving him with only one hand he could barely move.

Seeing Qin Ming walking toward him, Bloodhand finally grew afraid. He hurriedly raised his hand. "Wait, don't kill me! I can give you silver, martial arts, Qi-Blood Powder—whatever you want! And this cold iron saber is worth three hundred taels of silver. I can give you all of it!"

"If I kill you, those things will be mine anyway."

Qin Ming's face was expressionless.

"No, I don't have much silver on me. The martial arts and Qi-Blood Powder are hidden somewhere. As long as you spare me, I can take you to get them!"

"You think I'd believe you?"

Qin Ming sneered and showed no mercy, swiftly striking Bloodhand's neck with a Fire Sand Palm.

Crack!

Bloodhand's neck broke on the spot, but he did not die immediately.

"You little beast, I'll take you down with me!"

A short blade had appeared in Bloodhand's hand at some unknown point, and he stabbed it viciously at Qin Ming's chest, but the Centipede Inner Armor stopped it.

Qin Ming raised his hand again and struck with a Fire Sand Palm, driving Bloodhand's entire head into his chest and sending him on his final journey.

Bloodhand's eyes remained open even in death, unwilling to rest.

He could never have imagined that he, a dignified Perfected Skin-Refining Realm cultivator, would die at the hands of an inner-court disciple from a small-town martial arts academy.

Qin Ming lifted his clothes and glanced at the inner armor against his skin, secretly grateful.

A centipede does not stiffen even in death. Bloodhand had managed to stab him even with his neck broken. Fortunately, Qin Ming had worn the Centipede Inner Armor, or the fellow really would have succeeded just now.

Qin Ming stuffed Bloodhand's belongings into his bundle without examining them closely, then used the pig-slaughtering knife to thoroughly destroy Bloodhand's clothes and corpse.

That way, even if the people of Clearwind Stronghold came, they would not recognize the bones and scraps of flesh as Bloodhand's remains.

The Li Lineage certainly would not let the loss of its cargo go, and Qin Ming needed someone to take the blame. Bloodhand could not have been more suitable.

After doing all that, Qin Ming was ready to dust off his hands and leave, but just then, a somewhat disordered clatter of hooves came from the dense forest.

Qin Ming's expression tightened, and he ducked behind a tree.

Before long, a figure came into view.

It was Li Kui!

But Li Kui's face was ashen, his breath was faint, and he had only one breath left in him.

"Uncle Li!"

Qin Ming hurried over.

Seeing that it was Qin Ming, Li Kui's expression eased slightly. "Sheng... Shengnan?"

"She's over there."

Qin Ming pointed into the distance, where Shengnan sat on horseback.

"Bloodhand... you really killed him?"

Li Kui's pupils contracted as he looked at the pile of shredded flesh before him. He had seen Qin Ming kill Bloodhand from a distance just now, but only now did he fully believe it.

"It seems I underestimated you."

Li Kui coughed violently several times, and a trace of color rose in his face. He gripped Qin Ming's hand so tightly that Qin Ming's bones ached.

"Qin Ming, tell me, do you want to learn my Li Lineage's Savage Bull Strength?"

"Yes."

Qin Ming answered at once.

He made no secret of it. Horizontal Training Martial Arts like this was sought after wherever it appeared.

"Good. I can make an exception and teach it to you, but you must promise me one thing. Cough, cough."

Li Kui coughed up black blood, and his breathing began to grow uneven.

"Please tell me, Uncle Li."

Qin Ming's expression grew grave, and he sighed inwardly at the misfortune.

Li Kui was too deeply poisoned and already at death's door. Even the Spirit Pearl could not save him.

"Help me take care of Shengnan. After I die, she'll surely seek revenge on Clearwind Stronghold. With her strength, going there would be the same as throwing her life away, so I hope you can stop her for me."

Qin Ming pondered briefly, then nodded slowly.

"All right, Uncle Li, I promise you. I won't let Senior Sister go to Clearwind Stronghold and throw her life away."

"Good!"

A trace of relief appeared on Li Kui's face. "Then I can rest easy."

He took a cloth bag from his robes and handed it to Qin Ming. "There's some silver inside, and the cultivation method for Savage Bull Strength. Take Shengnan and leave here now, the farther the better. That Viper Elder will catch up before long. Remember, you must stay far away from Qingshan Town. If you really must go back, be sure to leave before the seventh day of the first month. Remember, remember..."

With that, Li Kui's head fell to one side, and he breathed no more.

"Isn't the Twin Martial Arts Academies Tournament on the seventh day of the first month? Why did Uncle Li say I had to get far away from Qingshan Town before then? Could something major happen that day?"

Qin Ming frowned deeply. The cloth bag in his hand felt rather heavy.

"No, Embroiderer is still at the martial arts academy, and Senior Brother Lu Liu and the others are there too. Even if I leave, I have to take Embroiderer with me and let Senior Brother and the others know!"

Qin Ming sighed inwardly. With no time to bury Li Kui's body, he swiftly swung himself onto his horse.

"Hyah!"

The two figures soon vanished into the night.