Threat

At a quarter past midnight, the west corner gate of the Zhao Mansion.

Moonlight cut through the crack in the gate, a thin, narrow strip.

Li Tui stood with his back against the brick wall behind the gate, swallowed by shadow. Deep in his left shoulder, something throbbed—heavy and hot. He closed his eyes and suppressed the strange sensation, straining his hearing to its limit.

A soft click sounded outside the wall as a boot toe kicked aside a pebble.

He was here.

Li Tui didn't move.

The corner gate creaked open a crack. A lean, dark figure slipped inside and shut it behind him. The movement was crisp and silent, stirring not even a breeze.

It was Zhao Hao. He wore a dark gray martial outfit, his cuffs tightly bound and his collar deliberately pulled high to hide the outline of the Ink Jade Pendant at his throat. Standing in the thin moonlight, he swept his gaze over the area like a hawk's, then fixed it on Li Tui's hiding place.

"On time," Zhao Hao said in a low voice.

Li Tui stepped out of the shadows and nodded. "Young Master Hao is a man of his word, too."

Zhao Hao studied him for two breaths. "Lead the way."

The two set off, one behind the other, and disappeared into the night. Li Tui stuck to quiet alleys, his figure appearing and vanishing in the dark. Zhao Hao trailed half a step behind, his footsteps light as his eyes scanned their surroundings.

Neither spoke along the way.

Half an hour later, the outline of the abandoned Spirit Field in the West Suburbs came into view. Farther away, beneath an old locust tree, an abandoned well squatted in the darkness.

Li Tui stopped behind a patch of withered mugwort thirty paces from the well and lowered himself. Zhao Hao soundlessly crouched beside him.

"Up ahead," Li Tui whispered, his gaze sweeping toward the wellhead.

The area around the well was silent. Under the dim moonlight, the earth nearby seemed darker than the surrounding ground.

The two held their breath and watched for the time it took an incense stick to burn.

Nothing stirred at the wellhead.

Zhao Hao frowned. "He's not here?"

Li Tui furrowed his brow, too. He shouldn't be.

Unless...

The thought had only just flashed through his mind.

From the shadows on the other side of the mugwort, very close behind them, came a hoarse, dry chuckle:

"Heh heh... waiting for this old man?"

The hairs on Li Tui and Zhao Hao's bodies stood on end. They sprang up and spun around!

Less than five paces away, a gaunt, stooped old man had somehow crept right up to them! He brushed grass and dust from his clothes. Wrinkles crowded his old face, and his murky eyes glinted with mocking malice.

"Little brats, you came early." The old man grinned, showing yellowed teeth. "Saved this old man a bit of trouble."

His gaze first swept over Zhao Hao, pausing for a moment at the bulge beneath his collar. A trace of wariness flashed in his eyes. Then he fixed his stare on Li Tui, greed and malice utterly undisguised.

"Little mouse, it's been a few days. How are you finding the Blood Bodhi? Has it been treating you well?" he asked leisurely, rubbing his bony fingers together.

Li Tui's heart sank. The worst had happened. The Old Ghost hadn't been bluffed. He had come looking for them of his own accord, anticipating their move.

Zhao Hao stepped half a pace forward, subtly shielding Li Tui from the front and side. His voice was cold and hard. "Quit your cheap tricks!"

Before his words had faded—

A piercing shriek suddenly erupted from the well! It sounded like an iron blade scraping bone, sharp enough to stab at their ears.

Then a mass of dark red light burst from the bottom of the well with a boom!

The earth around the well lit up at the same time. Blood Fiend Qi surged skyward, twisting in midair into several scarlet chains that crisscrossed into a net, sealing off the wellhead!

"Go!" Zhao Hao barked, already shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its bow!

Li Tui followed close behind. They raced to the well, but the Blood Net had already fully formed, its red light flowing as a foul, bloody stench filled the air. Through its meshes, they could see into the well.

The old man stood in the center, his hands forming a spell as Gray Light surged around him. At his feet, the demonic corpse was engulfed by dark red fungal strands. The strands writhed like living creatures, drawing wisps of black qi from the corpse and funneling them into the air.

Just then, the fleshy lump in Li Tui's arms jolted violently and flew out on its own!

No, it could no longer be called a fleshy lump. It had swollen by nearly half again, its surface cracked and sticky, dark golden liquid seeping from the fissures. Wrapped inside the liquid was a blood-red bead the size of a pigeon's egg.

The Blood Bodhi.

With each beat of the bead, the Blood Fiend Qi at the bottom of the well grew stronger.

The old man tipped his face up, staring at the bead as greed spilled from his murky eyes. He grinned, and a strange, hoarse chuckle bubbled up from his throat. "It's done... finally, it's done..."

His laughter hadn't yet died when he whipped around. His gaze, sharp as a poisoned blade, pierced through the Blood Net and nailed Li Tui outside the well.

"Little mouse..." The old man's hoarse voice boomed, infused with spiritual power. "You dare steal the spirit creature this old man raised?"

As he spoke, he reached out with his right hand and seized at the air!

The fungal strands at the bottom of the well exploded upward, turning into countless blood-colored tentacles. They tore through the Blood Net and lashed toward Li Tui! In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of him!

Li Tui retreated at full speed, drawing his short blade. The blade flashed again and again, severing two or three tentacles. Foul-smelling liquid sprayed from the cut ends, sizzling wherever it struck the ground.

Zhao Hao moved.

He ignored the fungal strands whipping toward Li Tui. Twisting to the side, he charged straight for the wellhead! His right hand swept past his waist, sending a streak of dark light flying: a three-inch-long shuttle, its surface covered in runes. The moment it left his hand, the runes shimmered and it transformed into a streak of fire, slamming into the Blood Net!

Flames burst. The Blood Net shuddered violently and split open.

The old man's face changed. "A magical artifact?!"

The shock in his expression lasted only an instant before turning vicious. "You're asking for death!"

He swept out his left hand. Blood Fiend Qi surged from the bottom of the well, condensing into three scarlet spears that shot toward Zhao Hao with a whistle! Fiendish Qi gathered at their tips, warping the air.

Zhao Hao had just passed through the gap and landed when the spears were already at his face! He dropped sharply at the waist, bending backward like a bridge. The spears skimmed past the tip of his nose and embedded themselves more than a foot deep in the well wall behind him!

Taking advantage of the opening, Li Tui severed the tentacles wrapped around him and surged forward, crashing into the well from the other side. The instant he landed, he flung his short blade backward. It shot straight at the old man's back!

Without turning his head, the old man swept out his sleeve. A soft but powerful gust struck the short blade and knocked it off course. But in that moment of distraction, Zhao Hao had already flipped back to his feet. He crossed his palms, a faint golden light glimmering along their edges, and lunged at the old man!

"Get lost!" the old man roared. His right hand curled into a claw and reached straight for Zhao Hao's face. The claw wind was fierce, trailing a shrill whistle.

Zhao Hao didn't dodge. He met the attack with both palms!

Their energies exploded against each other, sending rubble pattering down from the bottom of the well. Zhao Hao grunted and staggered back three steps, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. The old man swayed, but didn't retreat a single step. The murderous glint in his eyes burned even brighter.

"Just a Tongmai cultivator, and you dare meet me head-on?!" He sneered and was about to attack again when his expression abruptly changed.

Off to the side, Li Tui had somehow crept beneath the Blood Bodhi. He clutched a piece of broken bone he'd just picked up from the ground, its tip coated in fragments of fungal strands and aimed at the blood-red bead throbbing in midair.

"Move again," Li Tui said. His voice was not loud, but each word crashed into the dead silence. "And I'll destroy it."

The old man froze. He stared at Li Tui, then at the Blood Bodhi, his eyelids twitching violently.

"You dare..." he forced out through gritted teeth.

"Why wouldn't I?" Li Tui shot back, pushing the bone tip half a fraction closer, until it nearly touched the bead. "This thing sucked half the life out of me. Destroying it would be a fine way to get even."

The old man's chest heaved violently. Killing intent almost congealed in his eyes, but he didn't move.

Silence filled the bottom of the well. The only sound was the Blood Bodhi's slow, pulsing throb, accompanied by a viscous little noise, like a living thing swallowing.