Poison of the Human Heart

"Faster... faster, a little faster."

The bald monk scrambled with all four limbs through the enormous stronghold, his legs trembling uncontrollably as he recalled the terrifying scene just moments ago.

"Those two monsters... how is that possible? How could such tiny brats use those kinds of ninjutsu?" Master Dinghong whispered, still shaken.

After crossing another tent, the bald monk's eyes lit up. A cave appeared directly ahead.

"As long as I can reach that place..."

"I'll survive!"

Gazing at the cave within reach, a look of uncontrollable joy spread across Master Dinghong the bald monk's face.

"Master Dinghong, you seem to be in a hurry. It would appear we haven't been hospitable enough," a faint voice drifted from behind. Shadows flickered through the trees.

"Why don't you stop for a moment? Let's have a heart-to-heart talk, shall we?"

Uchiha Kai's figure darted through the branches, elusive, like Yama, the king of hell, come to claim a life.

"I won't bother you further! This old monk has had a sudden enlightenment and needs to enter seclusion to face my Buddha for some time. Please, sir, turn back!" Master Dinghong shouted as he fled, his feet never stopping.

"Heh heh... what a coincidence, young man. I also understand a little about Buddhism," Uchiha Kai said faintly, using the Body Flicker Technique to close in on Master Dinghong.

"How about this, I'll be a good Samaritan and see you all the way..." the young man grinned, transforming into something akin to a bloodthirsty Asura.

"I'll personally escort Master Dinghong to meet the Buddha, how does that sound?"

"Go to hell, you bastard! You're going too far!" Master Dinghong finally couldn't hold back his curses. With a flick of his hand, he unleashed a spray of Senbon Needles towards the rapidly approaching youth.

The Senbon Needles, dense as an iron net, streaked through the air, reflecting a faint, dark green light. What poison had been applied?

In the next second, they eerily passed straight through the center of Uchiha Kai's face, embedding themselves in a tree stump behind him with a ding.

"How can a man of the cloth curse so? That's where you're wrong, you've broken your vows. I think keeping that tongue is just asking for trouble, so I'll do you a favor and help you break this calamity!"

Uchiha Kai spoke faintly, his body flashing as he suddenly accelerated, becoming a black streak of light.

A fierce wind swept up behind him. Master Dinghong cried out inwardly, hastily turning to raise his hands to block.

But his attack was casually brushed aside by Uchiha Kai, who then punched him squarely in the abdomen.

"Ugh... uh!"

A sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Master Dinghong, his stomach and intestines heavily impacted, immediately began to spew sour fluid, groaning in agony.

In the next second, Uchiha Kai struck again, his iron palm descending to clamp firmly onto the monk's chin, forcing his mouth open with increasing pressure.

Master Dinghong was held aloft by the youth. Due to the height difference, his lower body was in a kneeling posture, bowing to the air. His eyes began to tremble as he looked at the handsome, smiling youth before him, his heart freezing over.

"You... you, what... what are you going to do..."

With his chin held in place, Master Dinghong's words were broken and indistinct.

"Mmm..."

The youth remained silent, instead drawing a Kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch and grinding it against Master Dinghong's thigh twice, leaving two long, narrow gashes.

"Naturally, I'm here to remove the root of your troubles, Master, and broaden your path of cultivation..." Uchiha Kai said faintly.

"Don't worry, I'm not professional at all, so it won't be easy. I'll definitely make you wish you were dead, make you wish you had never been born..."

Gazing at the dark Kunai relentlessly approaching him, Master Dinghong struggled desperately to break free from the restraint.

But Uchiha Kai delivered a knee strike that made his eyelids roll back, nearly causing him to lose consciousness.

The sharp Kunai plunged into Master Dinghong's mouth. The youth smiled and continuously rotated his wrist, the blade easily slicing through flesh and blood.

Blood flowed freely. The pain inflicted upon Master Dinghong was unbearable for any ordinary person.

With the Kunai churning inside, the man's mouth had become a gaping mess of rotten flesh. It was impossible to tell if his tongue had rotted away or become mixed with other tissue.

"Wuwuwu...!"

Angry sounds were incessant, but due to the lack of a tongue, Master Dinghong could only emit muffled whimpers.

Uchiha Kai then tossed him aside, smashing him against the stone wall at the cave entrance.

Crack! Clang!

Master Dinghong slid down the stone wall and hit the ground. After struggling for two seconds, he actually managed to get up.

"Oh ho? Interesting."

Seeing this, the youth's eyebrows rose. He walked towards the monk with unhurried steps.

Thump~ thump~ thump. The combat boots stepped on the gravel road, the sound not actually loud.

But to Master Dinghong's ears, it sounded like the drumbeats of death, growing denser, louder, and closer.

Death was approaching him with light, brisk steps.

"Wuwuwu ahhh!"

Master Dinghong's face contorted in agony. He opened his bloodied mouth and let out a muffled cry of terror.

Using all four limbs, he crawled towards the cave entrance, like a broken-backed old dog slithering forward.

I can't die, how can I die? I can't die here... I've met my Buddha... Master Dinghong roared inwardly.

"How could I die in a place like this?! How is this possible?!"

Finally, he crawled to the cave entrance, and he could even hear the woman's cries from inside.

"I'm here, I'm here, I'm here hahahahaha!" Ding Hong laughed maniacally inside.

He scrambled into the cave in a sorry state and immediately saw a woman closest to him. The woman was disheveled, her face pale, but her vacant eyes flickered with something, making her seem a little strange.

He hurried over, intending to grab the woman as a hostage to threaten Uchiha Kai outside into giving up the chase.

"Hahahaha, after all, you're just a brainless, stupid kid. Your recklessness gave me an opportunity. Let's see if you can still be as righteous as before."

Thinking this, Ding Hong's eyes turned manic and fierce.

"Bang—"

The next second, a figure fell from above, smashing onto Ding Hong's back and pinning him firmly in place with a dull thud.

"What?" The man was horrified. He tried to look up but was unable to due to his position and the resistance. His entire face was pressed into the ground, blood occasionally flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"Scum, I'm going to flay you alive." The girl's cold voice rang out.

"Crack!" The girl swung her palm, and an invisible impact fell, shattering one of Ding Hong's arms.

"Crack!" His second arm was also smashed into pulp.

"Bang!" His left leg was forcefully broken.

"Wuwuwu—Ugh ah!"

Ding Hong's tears flowed like a breached dam, and he let out inhuman howls.

"Don't think you can die so easily... this kind of death is too gentle for the evil you've committed."

Hyuga Rei grabbed Ding Hong by the scalp, lifting his head so he could see the tragic scene inside the cave.

The mangled bodies of various sizes hanging high above, the women lying on straw mats, their fates unknown, and the piles of white bones deep within the cave.

With each item he scanned, the girl's eyes burned with more anger.

"He can't die like this! Kai!" Hyuga Rei's voice carried a faint sob.

The girl turned to Uchiha Kai and said.

"Of course not. I will make him understand the preciousness of life..." Uchiha Kai stepped forward, speaking softly.

The next second, the boy's pupils constricted. He instantly threw a shuriken towards the girl's back.

At that moment, Hyuga Rei also felt the twisted killing intent behind her.

A woman, scantily clad and covered in bruises, pulled out a crude blade from her embrace and fiercely stabbed towards Hyuga Rei.

The girl's pupils widened in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief and confusion.

Why would this woman, who had just been crying to her and looking so grateful, suddenly attack her like this?

She only heard a distorted voice filled with boundless hatred ring out.

"Why should I suffer like this! Why are you still so calm!"