"Look over there!" It was Ruan Er, the shop assistant. He had clearly spotted the wrapper Chu Yun had deliberately left behind.
"This is the wrapper for Tasteless Powder. I think he's not far away." The voice of the man with triangular eyes reached Chu Yun's ears. It was cold and sinister, rustling like a snake flicking its tongue.
"The tracks lead that way. He's just a brat, and he'll run out of steam soon. Move!" The burly man shouted in a hurry. Then the sound of the men running together reached Chu Yun, gradually fading into the distance.
Chu Yun let out a long breath. He had finally managed to fool them. A long while passed; only when a faint scream sounded did he crawl out of the dead tree and gulp down fresh air.
A moment later, the unnatural flush on his face faded, and his weakness gradually ebbed. His clothes clung to him. A gust of wind swept by, and he shivered.
He struggled to his feet, left the Fragrant Locust Wood Stick inside the hollow, and set off along the path he had come by, carrying the Iron Vine Hemp Rope and the Mountain Chopping Blade. He began setting a trap.
It was simple. He tied both ends of the Iron Vine Hemp Rope tightly around tree trunks on either side of the path. The rope stretched taut, hidden in the grass like a tripwire. Then, gripping the Mountain Chopping Blade in his right hand, he found a spot not too far away to lie in ambush and began his nerve-racking wait.
The wind howled past their ears, their throats burned dry, and fear and shock filled their hearts. The forest and ground in their field of vision seemed to shake violently.
Their mouths gaped wide, their chests heaved like bellows, and they panted hard. The burly man and his companions wished they could grow a third leg and run faster!
None of them had expected a Phantom Scorpion Bat to be lurking on the outskirts of the forest!
With nineteen years of cultivation and a fierce, domineering art of venomous shadow, it had killed the Drunkard Dog with a single strike.
Without the Drunkard Dog to back it up, the Green Blade Mantis alone stood no chance against the Phantom Scorpion Bat.
After the Green Blade Mantis also fell victim to the Phantom Scorpion Bat's deadly scorpion tail, the burly man and the others' morale plunged to rock bottom. Their fighting spirit vanished, and they turned and fled in disarray.
The Phantom Scorpion Bat naturally wasn't about to let these audacious fools go after they had barged deep into its territory and delivered themselves as a meal.
Screams rang out one after another. Each one meant another life had been snuffed out.
The burly man and the others at the front felt a chill creep through them and congeal into an iceberg weighing on their hearts. Fear surged like a tide, sweeping away every thought.
Run, run, run!
Their minds went blank. They couldn't think of anything; all they wanted was to escape with their lives.
"Ah!"
Another scream rang out, echoing for miles. Only three were still running.
The burly man, the man with triangular eyes, and Ruan Er, the shop assistant.
Yet the Phantom Scorpion Bat still pursued them, as if it were their shadow. Its shell gleamed dark blue, its great pincers swaying before it. Bat wings sprouted from its sides, and the scarlet stinger on its foot-long tail radiated an aura of death that filled them with despair.
It flew silently, making scarcely a sound, true to its name as a phantom. Suddenly, it beat its wings and rapidly closed in on the three runners.
Its scorpion tail whipped around. A pinpoint of scarlet light, like a throwing knife or a firefly, struck the man with triangular eyes in the back.
Thump!
Without any chance to resist or struggle, the man with triangular eyes fell. His momentum sent him tumbling again and again until he struck a tree trunk and finally came to a stop.
His mouth twitched. The bright gleam that had once filled his eyes was gone.
The next instant, the Phantom Scorpion Bat pounced on his face.
That was the last thing he saw.
"Good heavens!" Ruan Er, the shop assistant, screamed at the top of his lungs, giving vent to his overwhelming fear. Spirit Beast Masters were far stronger than ordinary people. His luck wouldn't hold a second time. Ruan Er felt he had finally reached his limit. His pace slowed sharply, and the burly man pulled farther and farther ahead.
"Please, don't leave me behind!" He reached out to grab the burly man.
"Get lost!" The burly man flung out an arm and shoved Ruan Er hard. Ruan Er lost his balance and cried out. He stared in horror as the ground rushed up toward him.
But the next instant, two bodies hit the ground with a pair of thuds.
Ruan Er fell hard, while the burly man tripped over the tripwire Chu Yun had set. He landed face-first and slid along the damp moss, leaving a long streak of blood behind.
"It's over!" The same thought exploded like thunder in both their minds. They flipped around as if jolted by an electric shock, eyes wide with terror as they looked behind them.
The Phantom Scorpion Bat rose slowly into the air again, leaving behind the man with triangular eyes, drained dry and reduced to a corpse.
Ruan Er was sobbing and blubbering. He kicked against the ground, scraping himself backward in a desperate attempt to put as much distance as possible between himself and death.
He succeeded.
The Phantom Scorpion Bat circled lazily overhead, then, evidently satisfied, turned around and slowly flew back into the depths of its territory.
Huff, huff, huff...
The two survivors stared dumbfounded at the darkness, their faces still frozen in terror, as it gradually swallowed the Phantom Scorpion Bat's silhouette.
Chu Yun's heart sank. The Phantom Scorpion Bat lives on blood and likes to feed on it fresh, so it doesn't store food away even after eating its fill. Looks like I'll have to take care of the rest myself.
He sighed inwardly, but his fighting spirit surged.
Age may be young, but the heart is old and the blood still burns!
It was as if a ball of fire had burst into life in his chest. His blood grew hot in his veins, and his heart pounded.
He slowly closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. The frigid air seemed to cleanse his soul, making his whole body tremble faintly.
His enemies were exhausted, but they still had strength to spare. At his current level, unless he struck a decisive blow this time, he would have only one chance in ten of surviving. But he was decisive and ruthless. Once he set his sights on a goal, nothing—not the upheaval of heaven and earth, nor collapsing mountains or raging seas—could sway his resolve!
His eyes snapped open, bright as lightning in the darkness.
Fight!
His right hand tightened around the Mountain Chopping Blade. He turned abruptly. Moving like a nimble cat, he slipped forward with barely a sound, quietly closing in on the burly man.
"Ha! Hahaha! Hahahaha! It's gone, it's gone! We're saved! Did you see that? We're saved!" After sitting stunned for a while, Ruan Er suddenly burst into laughter. He was so overwhelmed with joy that his whole body shook, and he wept with relief.
Having escaped certain death, the burly man also let out a long breath. Joy surged through him, only to be replaced at once by fierce regret and hatred.
"I regret it so much! If I'd fed the Drunkard Dog pills earlier, it could've joined forces with the Green Blade Mantis and killed the Phantom Scorpion Bat! Damn it, damn it! It's all that brat's fault! He lured us here and set us up!"
The burly man screamed in hysterical fury. His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing ragged, and his hatred seemed endless. Ruan Er watched from beside him, both shocked and frightened.
At the thought of Chu Yun, Ruan Er shook his head and sighed. He already knew how cunning and clever Chu Yun was, and had warned the others. If the burly man and his men hadn't underestimated him, how would they have ended up in such a state?
After venting his rage, the burly man suddenly clutched his head and wept. "My Drunkard Dog! My Drunkard Dog! I spent so much effort raising him, and lost half my life's savings! I'll catch that brat and tear him apart with horses! I'll torture him to death! I'll grind his bones to dust! Huh?!"
A breeze seemed to brush his face. By the time the burly man sensed something was wrong, it was too late.
Chu Yun had been poised and ready, striking like lightning while his opponent was unprepared. One slash, and the man was dead!
Splurt!
The Mountain Chopping Blade was so sharp it took the burly man's head clean off. His head flew away as blood gushed from his neck like a waterfall. His headless body fell with a thump, like a discarded sack.
"Ah, ah?! It's you! It's you!" Ruan Er was stunned by the sudden turn of events. He slumped to the ground, trembling like a leaf as he stared in terror at Chu Yun slowly approaching.
Moonlight spilled down in jade-white radiance. Tree shadows swayed, moonbeams scattered, and a dark breeze stirred.
Chu Yun's face was as handsome as jade, his eyes cold stars. In the moonlight, his smooth, youthful skin shone in harmony with the moon, draping him in a dazzling, peaceful glow. He approached at an unhurried pace, not at all like someone who had just killed. There was not a trace of killing intent about him. He seemed more like an immortal from the Moon Palace, or a forest spirit, untouched by the mortal world.
Ruan Er was on the verge of collapse. His gaze involuntarily fell on the Mountain Chopping Blade in Chu Yun's right hand.
The blade was a foot and a half long, with a straight head and no hook or point. Its body was thick and heavy, its handle stout and short. As light and shadow shifted, the blade gleamed dark green, with drops of scarlet blood still clinging to it. It had once been a tool made for chopping trees and felling wood, but now it was a lethal weapon in every sense!
The man was a graceful young lad.
The blade was an instrument of death.
"Don't... please, please don't come closer..." Looking at the Mountain Chopping Blade, Ruan Er couldn't help imagining the bloody sight of his head flying from his body. He regretted everything and hated himself for picking a fight with this killer!
The outcome was already decided, and Ruan Er had no fight left in him. Chu Yun walked up to him and swung his hand.
Green light flared. Hot blood sprayed.
With a thump, Ruan Er's body hit the ground like a broken sack. His eyes bulged, terror frozen on his face, and warm crimson blood quickly stained the ground around him.
The reek of blood filled the air, and the forest fell silent again.
Chu Yun stood still and caught his breath, his fighting spirit slowly settling. He thought of how perilous that battle had been. The slightest mistake would have doomed him beyond redemption.
A wave of lingering fear made the arm gripping the Mountain Chopping Blade tremble faintly.
But a man was made to kill his enemies and prove his mettle. What kind of man could hope to achieve great things while fearing for his own skin?
A moment later, his expression settled into calm. He composedly put away the Mountain Chopping Blade.
Then, with light steps, he began to clean up the battlefield.