Overbearing

A group of them moved through the dense forest. Zhang Yuezhen looked at the occasional bloodstains on the ground, her expression stirred with excitement.

The Zhang Family hated Sun Shu to the bone. As long as Zhang Yuezhen seized this chance to kill Sun Shu, her standing in the Zhang Family would be secure, and no one would dare gossip about her position as manager of the Medical Hall.

A temple appeared ahead, long since fallen into ruin. There was no shortage of anything around Pingyin County except ruined temples like this. It had not completely collapsed only because passing merchant caravans occasionally camped here and tidied it up a little.

"Everyone, take Detoxification Pills!"

At Zhang Yuezhen's command, the guards hurriedly took out their Detoxification Pills. Chen Fei stood at the very back and swallowed one as well.

"Whoever kills Sun Shu, I'll give him half the main family's reward this time, and triple his wages from now on!"

Zhang Yuezhen turned to the guards and said in a low voice, "Sun Shu is already badly injured. Be careful, and there should be no problem. Now, you three, go in first!"

Zhang Yuezhen pointed out three guards. The three exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and charged straight toward the ruined temple.

Half of the Zhang Family's reward was simply too tempting. They had never imagined that Zhang Yuezhen would be willing to offer so much. And with their future wages tripled, their lives ahead would be completely secure.

Most importantly, Sun Shu was injured.

As long as they were cautious, they might have a chance to kill Sun Shu. If they killed Sun Shu, their lives would be set for good.

The other guards were breathing faster as well. A few of them even wished they could rush inside immediately, afraid that the first three would truly kill Sun Shu and leave them without a chance.

Chen Fei stood at the back and watched the three men kick open the ruined temple's doors before pouring inside. In no more than a moment, cries and furious roars rose from within.

"He really is here. You five, go!"

Zhang Yuezhen's eyes lit up as she pointed out another five people and sent them rushing in. The five were wildly excited. The sounds of fighting continued to ring out from the ruined temple. It seemed the first three had already tangled up Sun Shu; once these five rushed in, they would likely be able to kill him.

The other guards had apparently thought of the same thing. Seeing that Zhang Yuezhen had not chosen them, they could not help growing anxious.

Zhang Yuezhen stared fixedly at the ruined temple's entrance. Out of caution, she had not sent everyone inside at once, fearing there might be an ambush within.

But now, it seemed Sun Shu truly could not hold on any longer. He had yet to deal with those guards despite their prolonged entanglement.

"Manager, should we go in too?"

The two remaining guards moved close to Zhang Yuezhen and spoke anxiously. The fruit was clearly ready to be picked. If they went in any later, they would probably see only Sun Shu's corpse. How could they accept that?

Cries continued to spill from the ruined temple, and the clash of weapons rang without end, as though the battle inside had reached its final stage.

Chen Fei stared at the ruined temple. Suddenly, his wrist turned icy cold. Looking down, he saw that the mark left behind by that strange entity was unusually active.

Chen Fei's pupils contracted. This bone-attached sore was usually quite quiet, and as his cultivation steadily improved, it had gradually been worn away. Why had it become like this now?

"You all go in!"

Zhang Yuezhen selected the last two guards. The two answered excitedly and rushed in without delay.

"You too!"

Zhang Yuezhen looked at Chen Fei and said, "Don't say I never gave you a chance. It should be ending inside soon. You might even get the chance to add one more slash!"

"Something is wrong inside. Listen—the sounds coming from there, don't they seem somewhat similar to before?"

Chen Fei looked at the ruined temple and could not help taking a step back. He had felt nothing earlier, but after the bone-attached sore mark began acting strangely, he listened carefully to the sounds within.

What horrified Chen Fei was that although the cries in the ruined temple sounded fierce, anyone listening closely would discover that many of them were repeating over and over.

In the heat of fierce battle, one might instinctively overlook such a thing. But if one observed carefully, something strange could still be detected.

"I told you to do something, not to listen to your opinions. Get in there now. Don't force me to act!"

Zhang Yuezhen shouted furiously, turning to glare at Chen Fei. "Either go in obediently yourself, or I'll throw you in! At this Medical Hall, what I say goes!"

"There's a problem inside now. Listen carefully!" Chen Fei looked at Zhang Yuezhen and raised his voice.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Yuezhen barked. The long sword in her hand slid halfway from its sheath as her imposing aura pressed down on Chen Fei. "Last chance. Are you going in, or not?"

"I'm an alchemist of the Medical Hall. I'm not responsible for frontline combat at all. You have no right to order me!"

"You let Sun Shu escape. For that alone, I could kill you right now without any consequences! Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, don't blame me!"

Zhang Yuezhen sneered and flashed before Chen Fei, reaching out to seize his collar.

At North City Medical Hall, Zhang Yuezhen allowed no one to defy her words. What she demanded was absolute obedience. With Sun Shu's death at hand, she did not mind making Chen Fei understand once more who the true leader of the Medical Hall was.

"Go to hell!"

Chen Fei roared. His long sword left its sheath and stabbed toward Zhang Yuezhen.

A triumphant smile appeared on Zhang Yuezhen's face when she saw Chen Fei move. He had dared draw his sword against her first. If she could only teach Chen Fei a lesson just now, then now, even if she crippled him, no one would say a word.

A mere Skin Tempering Realm cultivator truly did not know the immensity of heaven and earth!

With that thought, Zhang Yuezhen was just about to accelerate her grappling move when she suddenly discovered that the sword in Chen Fei's hand had vanished, leaving only a flash of light in her vision.

"Something's wrong!"

Zhang Yuezhen's heart jolted. Just as she was about to twist aside and dodge, a sharp pain suddenly tore through her chest, followed by complete numbness there.

Zhang Yuezhen lowered her head in disbelief. A wound had pierced straight through her chest, blood continuously gushing from it. She instinctively covered the wound, but no matter what she did, she could not stop the blood from flowing.

Zhang Yuezhen raised her head to look at Chen Fei, her eyes filled with utter disbelief. How could someone in the Skin Tempering Realm possess such a sword technique, one she could not even react to?

Chen Fei did not look at Zhang Yuezhen. Instead, he looked toward the ruined temple.

As Chen Fei and Zhang Yuezhen clashed, the ruined temple, bustling with noise just moments ago, suddenly fell silent. Faintly, Chen Fei saw a pair of scarlet eyes shining out from within the temple, staring straight at him.

"There really is a strange entity!"

Chen Fei kicked Zhang Yuezhen in the abdomen, sending her flying backward toward the ruined temple.

"No... don't!"

At this point, Zhang Yuezhen seemed to have sensed that something was wrong behind her as well. She screamed in a final struggle, then was completely swallowed by the temple doors.

Chen Fei pushed off with both feet and fled rapidly away from the ruined temple, his heart still pounding violently.

He was not nervous because he had killed Zhang Yuezhen. He was worried whether he could escape this strange entity alive.