Su Hongtu's voice rang out like a bell, its echoes rolling endlessly through the valley. Each question was like the sharpest long sword, stabbing again and again into Si Peng's heart, turning his face pale and leaving his gaze somewhat unfocused.
Betrayal—this word could indeed be applied to him. He should have been the person Su Hongtu trusted most and relied upon for support. Yet when he saw the situation turning dire, he had withdrawn. Now, faced with Su Hongtu's accusations, he had no excuse. Betrayal was betrayal.
Still, he did not want to bear the name of traitor so easily. Even if it was confined to this valley alone, it still sat badly with him.
Though he knew that after the Evil Weapon entered his body and transformed him, Su Hongtu's martial arts had advanced by leaps and bounds, Si Peng still resolutely took a step forward. His face cold, anger brewing within him, he shouted,
"Su Hongtu, yes, I did fail you. When you most needed protection, I withdrew. But search your own heart—did you truly place such great trust in me?
"Look at what you have become. Neither human nor ghost—how are you supposed to accomplish the great undertaking we agreed upon?
"Besides, you said this was for cultivating a martial art, but you deceived me. So it was not I who betrayed you. You were the one who wronged me first."
Si Peng's reply sent Su Hongtu into a towering rage. Especially the words "neither human nor ghost"—they struck his reverse scale, for they were the truth, leaving Su Hongtu helpless to deny them.
He had never known that after the Evil Weapon entered one's body, such terrifying changes could occur—that it could become difficult even to maintain one's original human form. Had he known, he