Blood Bodhi

The first strike missed. A flash of gray light enveloped the man at the wellhead, and he drifted down like a ghost, landing steadily at the bottom of the well.

He was a withered old man, his gray cloth robes stained with grime. Upon landing, his first glance wasn't at Li Tui, but swept over the disturbed dark red fungal threads, the lime-covered scratch marks on the well wall, and finally settled on the monster corpse.

When he saw that the bulge wrapped in fungal threads near the wound on the monster's abdomen remained intact, the tension in his eyes eased almost imperceptibly.

"Little mouse," the old man said, finally turning to Li Tui, his voice raspy. "You hide well."

As he spoke, his left hand moved slightly within his sleeve. The dark red fungal threads on the well wall began to spread silently, sealing off Li Tui's room for maneuver.

Li Tui pressed his back against the well wall, his right hand hovering over his short blade. His left shoulder burned with pain. He stared at the old man, saying nothing.

"From the Zhao Family? Or sent by someone else to ruin my work?"

"This junior is just passing by," Li Tui said, his voice dry. "I saw something unusual in the well and came down to investigate."

"Investigate?" The old man sneered, his gaze sweeping over Li Tui like a bone-scraping knife, lingering especially on the bulging fabric at Li Tui's waist. "Investigating all the way to my doorstep?"

He suddenly took half a step forward.

The air at the bottom of the well suddenly solidified. The dark red fungal threads accelerated their writhing, emitting a faint rustling sound.

"What are you hiding in your clothes?" the old man's voice turned cold. "Take it out."

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Li Tui took a deep breath, his left hand slowly reaching toward his chest. His movements were hesitant, his face showing fear and struggle.

The old man's attention was successfully drawn.

Just as his left hand was about to reach into his clothes.

Li Tui kicked hard against the well wall behind him, his body lunging forward instead of retreating, slamming toward the old man's left flank! His right hand flicked out the short blade, a flash of cold light striking directly at the old man's ribs!

"Courting death!" The old man seemed to have anticipated this; he flicked his gray sleeve, and a gust of sinister wind rolled out.

But this strike from Li Tui was a feint! Using the momentum of his charge, his left hand pulled a large handful of lime powder mixed with chili flakes from his clothes, throwing it directly into the old man's face!

"Trifling tricks!" The old man closed his eyes and waved his sleeve, his spiritual power surging to shake off most of the powder. But a small amount still got into his eyes and nose, causing him to grunt in muffled discomfort.

In that split second of interference, Li Tui slipped past him like an eel, bringing his short blade back to slash fiercely at the old man's lower back.

"Clang!"

The tip of the blade struck an invisible barrier, emitting the sound of clashing metal. The blade could advance no further, and the dim gray light on the old man's body shook violently.

"How bold!" The old man laughed in extreme anger. His right hand curled into a claw, grabbing at Li Tui through the air!

On the well wall, countless dark red fungal threads erupted in response! Like blood-colored arrows, they shot toward Li Tui from all directions with a shrill, piercing whistle!

There was nowhere to dodge!

Li Tui's eyes sharpened. Instead of dodging, he charged toward the area where the arrow rain was thinnest! At the same time, his left hand reached into his clothes again, pulling out the coarse cloth bag containing the dark red tumor, and threw it with all his might toward the ulcer-like bulge in the center of the well floor!

"How dare you!!"

The old man sensed the aura of the object through his divine sense, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. However, he did not pounce toward the bag; instead, his left hand lashed out like lightning, clawing through the air toward Li Tui's back!

A sinister, viscous force suddenly entangled Li Tui's limbs, and his climbing motion stalled abruptly.

In that moment of hesitation, several dark red fungal threads bit into him like vipers, piercing his left shoulder and right leg! A cold, erosive power poured in, turning the blood at the wounds black and congealed.

Li Tui grunted, his internal Wood Essence Qi-Guiding Technique running frantically to barely resist the cold force dragging him downward. His right hand slashed back, severing a few threads wrapped around his ankles. Simultaneously, his left hand made a motion as if slamming the bag against the well wall.

But at the very last moment before release, he loosened his fingers slightly. The bag flew forward with the momentum of the throw, but its tail end was caught by an extremely thin, nearly invisible thread in mid-air!

That thread was a fishing line he had wrapped around his wrist before descending. The bag struck the well wall with a dull thud, the wet mud and grass stuffed inside scattering everywhere, while the real dark red tumor was pulled by the thread, tracing a highly concealed arc through the shadows and swinging silently back to Li Tui's side!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The sound of the bag shattering attracted the old man's attention; he glanced at the splashing mud and snorted, "Trifling tricks!"

In that moment of distraction, Li Tui tucked the swung-back tumor into his clothes, his left hand yanked hard to snap the thread, and he kicked off the well wall with both feet, grabbing the hemp rope with one hand and scrambling upward regardless of the cost!

"You want to leave?!"

The old man laughed in fury. Though he hadn't noticed the tumor was gone, he would not let his prey escape so easily. He gripped the air with his right hand, and the pitch-black short fork embedded in the well wall was "hummed" out, turning into a streak of black light that shot toward Li Tui's heart!

Mid-air, Li Tui heard the whistling sound behind him and twisted his waist to block with his blade.

"Clang!"

The short blade struck the side of the fork, sparks flying. The immense impact caused the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to split, and the blade flew from his hand. The fork was deflected, grazing his ribs and tearing away a patch of flesh before embedding itself deep into the well wall above.

The strike was powerful, but due to Li Tui's timely block and the twist of his body, the angle was subtly shifted away from a fatal blow.

Li Tui used the force to propel himself upward, his left hand gripping the hemp rope tightly. Ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder and leg, he climbed frantically using both hands and feet. His fingertips were shredded, blood mixing with the wet mud of the well wall, making it almost impossible to hold on. He gritted his teeth, the taste of copper rising in his throat, his eyes fixed only on the moonlight at the wellhead that was growing closer.

Finally, his fingers hooked over the edge of the well, and he used his last ounce of strength to roll over the top, collapsing into the weeds and gasping violently.

At the bottom of the well.

The old man stood silently in the darkness, looking up and listening to the stumbling footsteps fading away outside. Only when the sound had completely vanished into the night wind did he slowly retract his gaze.

There was no anger on his withered face; instead, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight arc.

"Taking it is fine, too..." the old man's raspy voice echoed low at the bottom of the well. "It saves me the trouble of constantly searching for monster parts. Using your living body, isn't that a hundred times better than those pathetic scraps of flesh?"

He had seemed furious just now, but in reality, his mind was clear.

The brat was slippery; even if he could have been killed on the spot, the commotion wouldn't have been ideal. Now, this... was just right.

"Grow well," the old man muttered, a glint of greedy coldness flashing in his eyes.