Decisive Yun Xiang

From beginning to end, he had truly never intended to run away.

The reason he had left was because of the news he had just heard.

Iron Calculation Immortal really did seem to be someone from the Bureau of Surveillance, but Yun Xiang had seized leverage against him because he had been lining his own pockets.

And when Yun Xiang had revealed Iron Calculation Immortal's weakness in front of him, it had obviously been to force Iron Calculation Immortal to kill anyone who had heard that news.

Thus, it was set in stone that Iron Calculation Immortal would try to kill him. He could not escape, but he could first put some distance between them and prevent Yun Xiang from joining the fight.

Yun Xiang had not acted immediately and had instead chosen to let Iron Calculation Immortal make the move, likely hoping he would buy them some time.

The facts proved that only Iron Calculation Immortal had come out, and Xu Bai had successfully killed him alone.

Maple Leaves Like Rain was indeed an outstanding skill.

The optimal range for a Ninth Rank Martial Artist was only within ten steps, but Maple Leaves Like Rain had expanded that range.

Xu Bai crouched and began searching Iron Calculation Immortal's corpse.

Before long, he found a yellowed book.

He opened it. The writing inside was obscure and difficult to understand, but that did not matter. What mattered was that the book had a golden progress bar.

"A huge haul." Xu Bai rose from the ground, a delighted smile on his face.

He had still been worrying about where to find something that could trigger a progress bar after this matter was over, yet he had obtained a book so effortlessly.

But now was not the time to fill the progress bar. There was still a bigger problem left unresolved.

"It's time to settle the score." Xu Bai tucked the book into his clothes, picked up the Iron Beads from the ground, and headed toward Yun Xiang.

In the open clearing, three men in black stood respectfully to one side, their hands hanging at their sides.

Yun Xiang was crouching on the ground, her head lowered as she carefully stitched together a corpse.

Every stitch and every thread was handled with extreme care, as though she were working on some rare treasure.

Every part of this corpse had been taken from a different body—its organs, limbs, torso, even its head.

"Those tortured to death again and again harbor immense resentment. If their organs are then dismembered after death and reassembled into one whole, that resentment will gather severalfold." Yun Xiang muttered to herself, though it sounded more as if she were speaking to someone.

Xu Bai appeared on the street, Ghost-Head Saber in hand, his entire body radiating murderous intent.

"There's no use explaining so much to me." Xu Bai spoke slowly.

Yun Xiang had her back to him, and her hands did not stop moving. "Once I begin, I cannot stop. I thought that useless Iron Calculation Immortal could buy me some time. It seems I miscalculated."

The final stitch was completed. The sewn-up corpse looked extremely bizarre, like an incomplete experiment.

"There are still conflicts. This experiment failed." Yun Xiang stood, her tone indifferent.

She said it as though discussing something utterly insignificant, rather than a matter of life and death.

"I have experimented for many days without success. It is time to give up. Fortunately, Iron Calculation Immortal did not kill you and has given me a new test subject." Yun Xiang turned around. Her eyes no longer held any charm, only icy coldness.

"Me?" Xu Bai pointed at himself.

Yun Xiang nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Perhaps torturing martial artists and letting them die will multiply the power. Don't worry, I won't kill you. I will gather enough martial artists to assemble a corpse, then slowly torture all of you."

Behind her, the three Black Robed Men moved. Blades in hand, they lunged toward Xu Bai.

"Three Ninth Rank Martial Artists?" Xu Bai was slightly surprised.

Before he could think further, the three had already closed in.

Xu Bai raised his hand, swinging Ghost-Head Saber at one of them.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal rang out as Ghost-Head Saber collided with the other man's long saber.

The other two Black Robed Men circled in from the sides, their weapons gleaming with cold light.

Xu Bai retreated two steps, opening up the distance.

At that moment, a fierce wind suddenly rose.

A thumb-length throwing knife was steadily closing in on him.

"Maple Leaves Like Rain?" Xu Bai froze for a moment, then casually leaned to one side and dodged it.

No one understood Maple Leaves Like Rain better than he did. His Maple Leaves Like Rain was already complete.

A Maple Leaves Like Rain skill that had directly reached full mastery had become as instinctive as muscle memory.

"Hm?" Yun Xiang withdrew her hand, slightly surprised.

"'Hm' my ass!"

At this point, Xu Bai knew he could no longer hold back.

Three Ninth Rank Martial Artists, plus Yun Xiang—if he was careless, he could truly capsize in this gutter.

He reached into the cloth pouch at his waist and grabbed a large handful of Iron Beads.

Whoosh!

His Maple Leaves Like Rain technique had long since returned to simplicity, reaching the realm where it moved as his heart desired.

The Iron Beads filled the sky in a dense swarm, piercing through the three Black Robed Men before him.

"Maple Leaves Like Rain!" Yun Xiang could no longer maintain her usual composure and cried out in shock.

She was more familiar with this technique than anyone, and his was even more exquisite than hers.

"You are not from the Yun Family. How do you know the Maple Leaves Like Rain technique? Could it be that, like me, you were expelled from the Yun Family?" Yun Xiang asked.

"The Yun Family? What kind of crap is that?" Xu Bai said.

As he spoke, his hands did not stop. He grabbed another handful of Iron Beads and threw them at Yun Xiang.

The wind rose, and the Iron Beads fell like rain, leaving no gaps.

Yun Xiang sensed a deep, instinctive danger. She hurriedly flashed backward while sweeping her right hand across her waist.

More than a dozen throwing knives streaked through the air, knocking down some of the Iron Beads while she dodged the rest.

"You've cultivated it to the pinnacle?" Yun Xiang's face was filled with disbelief.

"Is it difficult?" Xu Bai reached into his pouch again.

But before he could make his move, Yun Xiang suddenly did something that startled him.

Her knees gave way, and she dropped straight to the ground. She placed both hands on the earth and lowered her head.

"I surrender. I am willing to submit to you."

The surroundings were silent. Apart from the corpses on the ground, only Xu Bai and Yun Xiang remained.

From Xu Bai's angle, Yun Xiang's curves were exquisitely outlined as she prostrated herself on the ground, that posture forming a startling arc.

"Take whatever you want." Yun Xiang raised her head and added.

Her decisiveness in surrendering left Xu Bai somewhat unable to react.

"This is completely different from your earlier stubbornness." Xu Bai said.

"You have already cultivated Maple Leaves Like Rain to the pinnacle. I cannot defeat you, so I am willing to surrender." Yun Xiang lowered her head again.

"But if you surrender like this, there is no price you can pay to buy your life. Simply letting me take whatever I want will grow tiresome." Xu Bai spoke with interest.

He could see that Yun Xiang had lost all will to fight.

But to have hidden in this remote county town for so long, she had to be a clever person.

As long as she was clever, she should know that begging for mercy at a time like this was undoubtedly a dead end.

Yet Yun Xiang had begged for mercy so decisively. That meant she certainly had some bargaining chip that could keep her alive.

Sure enough, Yun Xiang reached into her full bosom and pulled something out.