Dark Curtain (Part One)

"What was that sound? I think I heard someone shouting?"

Zhang Rongfang turned his head to look into the distance, where there was hardly any light in the dark Woodland.

Only faint human voices drifted by.

"Are they robbers?" Nubaen asked hesitantly.

"Perhaps." Zhang Rongfang stood up, intending to go and take a look.

"By the way, were there many robbers around here before?" he asked.

"The intelligence data shows very few people. There are even very few people around, but perhaps we'll just happen to run into them?" Nubaen replied. "Does Your Excellency wish to go and take a look?"

"Well, I'm just killing time anyway," Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Our priority now is finding the Treasure Medicine, and you are all alone, so let's not cause any more trouble," Nubaen advised.

Right now, it's just the two of them. Even if the adults are highly skilled in martial arts, if they encounter any trouble, they'll be outnumbered. If a fight breaks out, anything could happen in the desolate wilderness.

Therefore, for safety's sake, he didn't want Zhang Rongfang to meddle in other people's business.

Zhang Rongfang also understood his meaning.

"Alright, let's wait until we find the medicine." He sat down again.

"That's just how the world is, and adults often don't need to care. Those who rob others aren't necessarily bad people, and those who are robbed aren't necessarily good people." Nubaen seemed to have a deep understanding of this.

"That's true. It's all one-sided talk, just a contest of who can speak better and be more persuasive."

"And some people can even call black white." Zhang Rongfang nodded, picked up a leg of lamb, and took a big bite.

"Speaking of which, we set off fireworks, so why wasn't there any noise nearby?" he asked, puzzled.

"They might not have seen it. I'll send it again later, just with a slightly longer interval," Nubaen said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned.

"I originally planned to send it later, but since you're in such a hurry, I'll give it another try." He took out another firework, lit it over the campfire, and pointed it at the sky.

Laugh.

Fireworks shot into the sky, exploded in mid-air, and formed a cross shape.

A bright yellow light illuminated the surrounding mountains and forests for a fleeting moment, like a flash of lightning.

The two waited quietly for a while.

But there was still no movement around.

Zhang Rongfang frowned slightly and looked at Nubaen.

Are you sure the Sky Peak Cave is nearby?

"Confirmed!" Nubaen also sensed something was wrong at this point.

He stood up and looked around at the night sky.

But apart from the chirping of insects at night, there were no other sounds.

"If the location is confirmed to be correct," Zhang Rongfang said calmly, "Then something might have happened."

"My lord." Nubaen wanted to say something more.

"Alright, you stay here, I'll go check around. Wasn't there some voice just now? I'll go grab someone and ask them." Zhang Rongfang stretched his neck.

"In this desolate wilderness, we might be able to find some natives to ask about the situation."

In a flash.

Before Nubaen could speak, he had already retreated and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

***In the dark Woodland.

An indescribable sense of frustration surged within Ding Luo, making him feel so distressed he felt like he was about to vomit blood.

That Black Tiger, and the Black Tiger Ghost Mask Man behind it... Why? He just wanted to be a good person. He ran wildly, charging madly towards the increasingly dense Woodland ahead.

At first, his senior sister pulled him along, but now he's pulling his senior sister along as they rush forward.

Survive! You must survive, no matter what.

Then, go find that person and take revenge!

Pain, hatred, and anger surged within him, all mixed together.

"Little brat, you're fast enough, aren't you?"

Suddenly, a gray shadow floated down lightly in front of them.

They happened to block Ding Luo and his senior sister Mu Chunxiu's path.

The two stopped abruptly, their faces streaked with tears, staring intently at the man.

Clang! Senior sister stepped forward and drew her sword.

"You go first! Junior brother, remember to avenge me!!"

She was always quiet and reserved, but now she charged at the Ghost Mask Man with a loud roar without stopping.

"Senior Sister!!" Ding Luo's vision blurred.

But he dared not linger. He gripped the knife hilt tightly, turned around, and ran in a different direction!

He knew that as long as he escaped, as long as he could... "Unfortunately, none of you can escape. Since you've seen me and Little Black, it's your fate."

The Ghost Mask Man let out a strange, chuckling laugh.

The precious Treasure Medicine Sky Peak Cave are extremely rare, and anyone who dares to covet them will die.

Even if this group of people were just passing by, if someone asks about it, it could still lead to a search on him.

So don't blame him for being ruthless in order to eliminate even the slightest clue.

The slight relaxation of restrictions on herb gatherers has led to so many unexpected incidents.

This time, he first wiped out the entire convoy before chasing after the two kids who had gone astray.

We must ensure that nothing goes wrong.

After killing the two men, he immediately went to Sky Peak Cave.

He finally understood that sometimes, the more you feel you're in the safest place, the more likely you are to run into trouble if you let your guard down.

Therefore, this time, we must act swiftly and decisively!

We must remember this lesson from the future.

"Die!"

The ground beneath the Ghost Mask Man's feet exploded, and his body shot out like an arrow in a very short time.

He sidestepped the blade of the cleaver. He activated his Lieshan Finger Technique, pointing a finger at Mu Chunxiu.

Fingertips moved rapidly closer, like sharp thorns, aiming for the side of the other person's neck.

Bang!

Suddenly, a loud explosion occurred.

A burst of flames suddenly erupted from Mu Chunxiu's body.

Those are fireworks!

More than one firework exploded simultaneously, illuminating the sky with blinding brilliance.

Caught off guard, the Ghost Mask Man quickly withdrew his hand and retreated.

But he was still a step too late; his arm and the back of his hand were completely blackened by the Signal Flare.

Similarly, Mu Chunxiu, who triggered the fireworks, was in an even worse situation.

To conceal the fireworks explosion, she hid it completely under her clothes.

After the explosion, her injuries were even more severe.

The force of the impact sent her flying, and she crashed to the ground, her clothes catching fire.

"Senior Sister!!" Ding Luo heard the noise, turned around and looked up, her eyes wide with shock.

"Run!!" Mu Chunxiu rolled on the ground a few times to extinguish the flames, struggled to her feet, and charged at the Ghost Mask Man again with her knife in hand.

"You little brat, you're asking for death!!" The Ghost Mask Man raised his hand and looked at his skin, which was scorched by flames and had many burns.

His eyes immediately darkened as he looked at the woman in front of him, a silver Flying Dagger sliding into his hand, ready to be thrown.

"Could you please pause for a moment?"

Suddenly a voice drifted from the side of the three people.

Under the cover of night, a blurry, strong figure had appeared on the thick tree branch to the right.

The Ghost Mask Man suddenly stopped and looked to the side.

"Who is it!?" He suppressed his anger. The other party had managed to get so close without him noticing.

This demonstrates that his movement techniques were both stealthy and powerful.

"Don't get angry." The newcomer lightly leaped from the tree branch and landed, standing up straight.

"I have no intention of stopping you from fighting."

The newcomer raised his head, revealing a dark face with narrow eyes in the pale moonlight.

"It's not too late for you to kill me after I've found out what's going on."

The Ghost Mask Man was about to reply when he noticed that Ding Luo, not far away, hadn't stopped moving at all and was about to disappear from sight. He immediately became furious.

"Get out of here! If you delay my important business, I'll kill you too!!"

Before he finished speaking, he turned and rushed towards Ding Luo.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow flicker before his eyes, and the mysterious person actually crossed more than ten meters and arrived in front of him.

Without time to think, he instinctively lunged forward, Thousand Refinements his honed Lieshan Finger, striking the man squarely in the chest.

Smack

The fingertip precisely strikes the opponent's vital point on the chest.

Strangely, the Ghost Mask Man felt a sudden weakness in his fingers and couldn't muster any strength at all.

He was horrified to discover that a finger had been gently touching the area where his arm and torso connected under his armpit.

That spot happens to be the core point of power for his finger technique.

With his point of leverage disrupted, his entire arm felt weak and powerless, leaving him unable to exert any strength.

I saw your weakness.

The newcomer smirked.

"Impossible!!" The Ghost Mask Man had never heard of such martial arts!

Whether it's Buddhist School, Daoism, Sensing Gate Ling Ting, no one has ever heard of a martial art that can easily defeat an opponent's moves simply by striking acupoints.

Moreover, the opponent clearly used far less force than he did.

He was immediately filled with shock and anger, unleashing his Prairie Fire Movement Technique at full speed, along with his finger techniques.

The Prairie Fire Movement Technique is a renowned superior body technique in his Thousand Stone Sect. When practiced to its extreme, it causes the body's blood and qi to burn like wildfire.

It can ignite its entire body in flames in a very short time and burst into enormous speed over short distances.

At this moment, combined with his incredibly powerful and fierce Lieshan Finger, he could unleash a terrifying speed approaching that of Super Grade External Medicine.

This is the essence of Sensing Gate! "Elm Branch Snap!"

The Limit State technique of the Lieshan Finger suddenly erupted.

The Ghost Mask Man's arm muscles swelled, and streams of blood flowed through his veins into his palms, turning his hands dark red and large.

Then, with two fingers raised like sharp steel spikes, and aided by the Prairie Fire Movement Technique, they struck the opponent at a terrifying speed.

Under the cover of night.

His hands, like two dark red spears, were straight and parallel, fiercely thrusting towards the chest of the newcomer.

"I've already said it." The newcomer raised his hand, and with one hand forward, slapped left and right with lightning speed.

Smack

He flicked his hand between the Ghost Mask Man's arms, making a crisp sound.

"I saw your weakness."

Bang!

The Ghost Mask Man struck the man's chest with both arms, but his original full strength was now reduced to only 30%.

The rest of the force dissipated completely with that seemingly insignificant, light tap.

Bang.

Even if you use 30% of your strength to strike the opponent, it's like a tickle, leaving no trace.

The Ghost Mask Man was terrified. At this moment, he knew perfectly well that he had encountered a powerful opponent far stronger than himself.

He immediately pushed off with his feet and retreated rapidly.

To his horror, as soon as he exerted force in his legs, he suddenly felt numb, as if his blood and energy had abruptly stopped, and he lost all sensation.

Puff.

He fell backward onto the ground, his whole body crashing heavily onto the grass, the impact sending shivers down his spine and making his lungs go numb.

"What... what did you do to me?!"

Just then, Ding Luo and Mu Chunxiu were also casually thrown onto the grass by that person.

Like him, both of them had numb legs and were completely unable to move.