Slaying the Liu Brothers

The rope net was abnormally tough. Zhang Zhu had been trying to untangle it for ages, but he'd made no progress.

Instead, his frantic fumbling had only worsened Shen Yuan's injuries. At last, she couldn't hold on any longer and passed out.

"Senior Sister Liu, Junior Sister Shen is deeply poisoned! Hurry and save her!" Zhang Zhu cried urgently.

Liu Xiange looked at Fang Huai. She had sensed the danger too, but Shen Yuan was her close friend, and the poison required a Blood Gu Centipede to remove. She had no choice but to go.

"I once heard a story. Why don't I tell it to you?" Fang Huai turned to Liu Xiange.

"An old man planted a calabash vine, and it bore seven calabashes. He named them the Seven Calabash Brothers.

"Later, a demon beast captured the old man. Knowing they were no match for it, the Calabash Brothers still went to rescue him one by one. In the end, they were all refined into Human Pills.

"Do you know what I'm trying to say?"

"Are you telling me how to cultivate spirit plants until they take human form, or that all things have spirits and can become pills?"

"No. I'm telling you not to imitate the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandpa. Otherwise, you'll all die."

Liu Xiange's expression turned complicated. She slowly said, "I understand what you mean, but I can't stand by and watch my close friend die."

"Senior Brother Fang, do you remember the promise the four of us made? If you were ever in danger, we wouldn't abandon you. So you won't abandon us either, right?"

Fang Huai fell silent.

Liu Xiange grabbed his hand and said, "Senior Brother Fang, I'll be counting on you in a moment."

A slick sensation passed through his palm. As Liu Xiange rushed toward Shen Yuan, Fang Huai turned and left.

"Pfft—"

The sound of something cutting through the air came from the distance, followed by the sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh.

When he looked back, he saw a Wooden Arrow embedded in each of the two.

The Wooden Arrows carried Paralysis Toxin. After being hit, the two fell to the ground, unable to speak or move, their eyes filled with terror.

The Liu Brothers emerged from the shadows, shaking off the yellow dirt and dead leaves they'd used for cover. One of them said,

"Fang Huai, you're so heartless! Aren't they your close friends? Why didn't you save them?"

"I, Fang, don't save fools!" Fang Huai said as he retreated.

"You came here, and now you think you can leave?" The Liu Brothers closed in.

"Whoosh!"

A Wooden Arrow shot through the air. Fang Huai dodged it. "Looks like we can't settle this peacefully today!"

"What do you think?" Liu Kui charged at Fang Huai with his blade, attacking head-on.

The cleaver clashed against the Stone Blade. Fang Huai didn't budge, while Liu Kui's webbed hand went numb from the impact.

Fang Huai's body was more powerfully forged than Liu Kui's, giving him the advantage in strength. Taking advantage of Liu Kui's numb hand, he drove his raised knee into the man's lower abdomen.

After taking the blow, Liu Kui broke into a cold sweat. Clutching his stomach, he staggered backward.

Fang Huai was about to pursue him when he heard another arrow whistle through the air. He could only dodge.

Liu Kui had gotten clever too. Whenever Fang Huai advanced, he retreated and let Liu Wu harass him.

When Fang Huai tried to kill Liu Wu, Liu Kui rushed forward with his blade to hold him back.

One wielded a blade, the other a bow. The two had fought their way through the mundane martial world for many years, and this tactic had worn countless experts to death. Their teamwork was already seamless.

With those two clinging to him like dog-skin plasters, Fang Huai could neither kill them nor escape. His strength was draining away fast.

He glanced toward the three in the trap. Liu Xiange was all right; she had a Gu Poison Body, so the toxin had only paralyzed her.

Zhang Zhu had been poisoned too, but his life wasn't in danger.

But Shen Yuan was in a terrible state, her whole body black and purple. It was impossible to tell whether she was alive or dead.

Seeing the Liu Brothers keeping him pinned down, Fang Huai realized that if he let this drag on, the question wouldn't be whether he could save the others. He'd be the one to die.

Suddenly, Fang Huai twisted his ankle, his face contorting in pain.

The Liu Brothers were delighted. They redoubled their efforts to wear him down.

As they wore him down, Fang Huai gradually ran out of strength. Liu Kui slashed him again and again, leaving him covered in horrifying wounds.

At last, Fang Huai stumbled and exposed an opening. Liu Kui seized his chance.

"Crack—"

Liu Kui leaped up and brought his blade straight down on Fang Huai's shoulder. The blow was so powerful that the blade lodged in it.

After striking, Liu Kui quickly retreated and waved for Liu Wu to shoot from a distance.

"Whoosh!"

The Wooden Arrow hit Fang Huai in the thigh. Under the numbing effect of the toxin, Fang Huai finally couldn't hold on and collapsed.

Seeing that his shot had hit, Liu Wu stopped hiding and walked over.

He no longer needed to hide because the poisoned arrow had been laced with Numbing Snake Grass. Its toxin could quickly paralyze the muscles, leaving a person unable to move.

Fang Huai landed face-first on the ground with a heavy thud. His limbs convulsed as blood sprayed everywhere.

The Liu Brothers didn't hurry. They waited quietly nearby.

"Brother, this kid must have plenty of good stuff on him. I'll search him."

"No rush. Wait until he's completely dead."

Before long, Fang Huai stopped convulsing.

Liu Kui sneered. "Using dual cultivation to improve your Body Forging Technique is a crooked path. A strong body is useless if your brain doesn't work!"

Liu Wu lowered his bow and came to stand in front of Fang Huai. He reached inside Fang Huai's robes, feeling around for his Storage Bag.

"I had a good impression of you and wanted to be friends. But someone offered us a fortune to kill you, so don't blame us for being heartless."

Suddenly, his wrist was seized. Fang Huai pushed himself up, and his Stone Blade pierced Liu Wu's throat.

"I don't blame you. You're about to die."

Liu Wu staggered backward, clutching his throat, his face full of disbelief. The arrow had clearly been poisoned. Why could Fang Huai still get up?

And Fang Huai had been so badly wounded. How could he look as if nothing had happened?

"You! Why..."

"If you can't figure it out, stop thinking. A strong body is useless if your brain doesn't work!"

Fang Huai stabbed Liu Wu in the chest again. Liu Wu collapsed in despair.

"Brother!" Liu Kui howled toward the sky.

Something was wrong with his body. It felt as if all his blood had been drained. His head spun, and he no longer had the strength to hold his blade.

Fang Huai had seen through the fact that Shen Yuan's plight was part of a chain of traps long ago.

He had stayed put and pretended not to care about Liu Xiange, Zhang Zhu, or Shen Yuan simply to lure out the person behind it all.

He feared no open attack. It was the hidden arrows he feared.

Looking at the [Blood Drain] label on Liu Kui, Fang Huai felt a lingering fear. Though he'd planned everything carefully, he had still underestimated the two men.

If his opponent hadn't let his guard down and failed to finish him off, Fang Huai would surely have met his end here today.

Thinking of this, he grabbed Liu Kui by the throat and demanded, "Who sent you?"

Liu Wu had said someone paid them a fortune to kill him. He probably wasn't lying.

After all, if the Liu Brothers could really afford to use two stalks of Clear Spirit Grass as bait, they wouldn't have risked blocking the entrance just for a few Miasma-Clearing Pills.

Liu Kui's face twisted into a snarl. "Keep dreaming! You killed my brother. I'll make sure you live in fear for the rest of your life..."

Fang Huai sneered and tightened his grip. Liu Kui's face turned red, and he couldn't get another word out.

Since the other man had dared to rob and kill, Fang Huai figured he must have Hemostasis Pills. He reached into the Storage Bag on Liu Kui.

Just as he'd expected, it held several Hemostasis Pills labeled [Hemostasis and Fluid Generation].

A flash of cold light, and the tendons in Liu Kui's hands and feet were severed.

Fang Huai tossed Liu Kui onto the ground and ignored his curses. First, he took a Hemostasis Pill, then bandaged his own wounds.

He picked up Liu Kui's blade and slung Liu Wu's bow and arrows over his back.

The blade was a good one, and so was the bow. In the mundane world, either would fetch a thousand gold coins.

Weapons that could have sparked a scramble among the powerful in the mundane world had now both fallen into his hands.

Seeing Fang Huai ignore him, Liu Kui snarled, "If you don't kill me, you'll regret it. One day, I'll have my revenge!"

Before he could finish, a flash of cold light passed before his eyes. A metallic sweetness welled up in his throat.

Fang Huai wiped the blood from his blade, glanced down at Liu Kui sprawled on the ground, and said evenly, "You won't get the chance."