Come Out and Explain Yourself

Come out and explain yourself.

A burly man in ochre clothes fled ahead, covered in blood and clearly grievously injured. He could barely run any faster than a walk. Two men followed close behind at an unhurried pace, their eyes gleaming with viciousness. One of them was the very Sun Shaochuan Wang Jian had called out.

"Senior Brother Shaochuan, why aren't we hurrying to catch up? He's badly injured. We could easily subdue him!" asked a young man in a green robe, who looked no older than twenty. He had a fair, handsome face and was now staring in confusion.

"Junior Brother Wu Xuan, when traveling the martial world, the most important thing is caution. Even a cornered rabbit will bite. Who knows if he's only pretending to be in this condition? What if we rashly approach and he suddenly strikes? What would we do then?" Sun Shaochuan said in a lecturing tone. He watched the staggering figure ahead, a sneer rising at the corner of his mouth. "Besides, he was poisoned with a special toxin I prepared. Once he's injured, he'll keep bleeding. Even if he's pretending, he won't be able to keep it up for long. We can just follow along leisurely. He'll stop sooner or later. Look, he's already slowing down."

Sure enough, Wang Jian, who had been running ahead, began to slow.

"Senior Brother Wang Jian, you should just hand over your Universe Bag. For the sake of our past friendship, I can give you a quick death. I promise you won't suffer."

"Bah! Sun, would you dare speak to me like that when I was at full strength? You beast! If it weren't for me, would you have advanced to the fourth level of the True Martial Realm? I treated you like a good brother, yet after I hunted the Cold Flood Dragon, you joined forces with outsiders to ambush me while I was exhausted. You're worse than a dog or a pig!"

The injured middle-aged man glared at Sun Shaochuan with a face full of resentment, his eyes brimming with hatred. His right hand remained pressed tightly against his chest, where blood seeped out in thin streams. Although he had been ambushed from behind and wounded by a sword, he could control the flow of his qi and blood to seal the wound. If he could stop the bleeding, he believed he would still have the strength to fight back. But his opponent had been too despicable, smearing the sword with a drug that made him bleed without end. Even sealing his qi and blood couldn't stop it.

Medicine King Valley? Zhang He was startled. He was now a pharmacist of the Pharmacist Association, and Lu Tiao had told him that the Medicine King Valley backed the Association. The Medicine King Valley's disciples enjoyed great prestige in the martial world; they were the sort people looked up to. He had never expected to encounter one of their disciples under these circumstances—and to see him doing something like this.

Hidden behind a clump of bushes, Zhang He was only twenty-one zhang away from them. They had no idea that someone was concealed nearby. From their conversation, Zhang He had already pieced together most of what had happened. The three of them had come together to hunt the Cold Flood Dragon, with Wang Jian as the main fighter. But after they killed it, Sun Shaochuan and Wu Xuan had ambushed Wang Jian from behind, intending to kill him and claim the Cold Flood Dragon for themselves.

People's hearts are unfathomable.

Once he understood what had happened, Zhang He narrowed his eyes slightly. No matter the circumstances, he could never casually turn his back on someone. Seeing this unfold before his eyes struck a chord in him and taught him to be even more cautious.

Just as he was reflecting on this, the three men ahead had already begun to fight.

"Junior Brother Wu Xuan, since this fool refuses to see reason, we won't hold back. Get ready." Seeing that Wang Jian still refused to hand over the goods, Sun Shaochuan's eyes flashed with menace. He turned to Wu Xuan, giving the long saber in his hand a shake. A fierce killing intent spread from it.

Wu Xuan, the young man, seemed rather timid as he stood nearby. One glance was enough to tell he was a novice. Hearing Sun Shaochuan's words, he gritted his teeth and stammered, "Senior Brother Wang Jian, since you insist on being so unreasonable, don't blame me, Wu Xuan."

As soon as he finished speaking, a strange glint flashed in Wu Xuan's eyes. His hands, which had been resting at his waist, suddenly moved like snakes. Three black pellets shot from his hands and hurtled toward Wang Jian with blinding speed.

Seeing the three black pellets, Wang Jian's eyes flashed with wariness. He flicked his saber, and three hazy streams of saber qi shot from it like pecking chickens, intercepting the pellets one by one.

Crack! Crack!

Two sharp cracks rang out in succession. Before they could reach him, two of the pellets were shattered in midair by the saber qi, releasing a cloud of ochre-yellow smoke. The wind swept across the hillside, scattering the smoke. But Wang Jian was injured, and moving his hand tugged at his wound, making the bleeding worse and draining his strength. His final slash went wide. Instead of knocking the pellet into the air, it burst between the three of them.

A gust of wind rolled the ochre-yellow smoke toward Sun Shaochuan and Wu Xuan.

"What are you doing?" A flash of anger crossed Sun Shaochuan's eyes, but he had been prepared. The moment he saw the smoke coming their way, he covered his mouth and nose and darted aside. Wu Xuan seemed not to have anticipated this. In a panic, he fumbled for pills, quickly swallowing one himself and giving another to Sun Shaochuan.

"Hahaha! That's what you get for hoisting yourself with your own petard!" Wang Jian laughed loudly at the sight. This was the perfect chance to strike. He lunged like a leopard, the saber in his hand radiating concentrated saber qi as it came crashing down on Sun Shaochuan, cleaving through the air.

Of the two men, Wang Jian considered Sun Shaochuan his greatest threat. Wu Xuan's clumsy performance had made it clear he was just a novice fresh out of the gate, nothing to fear. So Wang Jian resolved to kill Sun Shaochuan first and eliminate his greatest threat!

Wang Jian lunged forward, and Sun Shaochuan saw him coming. But instead of meeting his attack head-on, Sun Shaochuan withdrew, flicking the long sword in his hand. Its blade flashed as he held it before him. At the same time, he said, "Senior Brother Wang Jian, before you die, I'll tell you something so you can die knowing the truth. The child Shao Ying is carrying is actually mine. Hahaha."

"What?" Wang Jian's expression changed drastically. In an instant, he went berserk. "No wonder! That child really wasn't mine! You beast! I—I'll tear you to pieces!"

Wang Jian's eyes turned bloodshot, and his saber qi surged. He suddenly went mad and charged forward as if he were ready to die fighting. His saber swung wildly, without any form or technique, as he focused on nothing but cutting Sun Shaochuan down with one blow.

Swish, swish, swish!

The long sword in Sun Shaochuan's hand suddenly hissed like a snake's tongue. It shuddered, then flew straight out of his hand, transforming into a streak of light that shot toward Wang Jian's chest like lightning.

When Wang Jian saw that streak of light, disbelief flashed in his eyes. He saw the sneer at the corner of Sun Shaochuan's mouth and suddenly understood: Sun Shaochuan had said it only to provoke him and make him lose his reason. But it was too late to realize that now.

Thud!

A cold force pierced straight through his chest. A hole as large as a head had been punched through it, and his internal organs were smashed to pieces. All signs of life vanished. Wang Jian collapsed to the ground, eyes wide open, dying with regret.

"Alas, you really believed me." Sun Shaochuan watched Wang Jian fall and smiled scornfully. He walked over and kicked Wang Jian's body, making sure he was truly dead before untying an exquisite cloth pouch from his waist.

As it turned out, everything he had just said was a lie. Sun Shaochuan had simply exploited Wang Jian's deepest insecurity, enraging him and making him lose his reason so that Sun Shaochuan could seize an opening.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Sun." Wu Xuan came over, his face full of humble flattery.

"Mm. You still need to improve your experience in combat. Now that Wang Jian is dead, the Cold Flood Dragon belongs to the two of us. Don't worry, I won't shortchange you. Come on, let's clean up and make sure no one can tell what happened." Sun Shaochuan glanced at Wu Xuan and said coolly.

Wu Xuan nodded. As he turned away, he suddenly flicked a fingernail in Sun Shaochuan's direction. The movement was extremely discreet. Sun Shaochuan didn't notice it, but Zhang He happened to be on Wu Xuan's side and saw it clearly.

"He actually used poison?" A glint flashed in Zhang He's eyes. He suddenly realized that Wu Xuan's behavior earlier might have fooled everyone.

Wu Xuan had only taken a few steps when Sun Shaochuan behind him suddenly cried out in alarm, "What's going on? Why am I so dizzy? Isn't this the Soul-Bewildering Guide used against the Cold Flood Dragon? Wu Xuan, what's happening?"

Wu Xuan turned around with a bewildered expression. "Senior Brother Sun, what's wrong?"

Seeing Wu Xuan's confused look, Sun Shaochuan didn't suspect him. He immediately thought that the dead Wang Jian must have done it. He couldn't help cursing, "Damn it! I've been poisoned with the Soul-Bewildering Guide! Wang Jian was a despicable bastard. It's a good thing he's dead. If he were still alive, wouldn't I be at his mercy? Hurry, Junior Brother Wu Xuan, give me the antidote! I'm terribly dizzy!"

"Oh." Wu Xuan gave a mild response but stood still without moving.

At the sight of this, Sun Shaochuan suddenly understood. His face turned terribly grim. "I never thought that after hunting geese all day, I'd have my eyes pecked out by one! So be it, Junior Brother Wu Xuan. You really have some tricks. You can have the entire Cold Flood Dragon. I won't fight you for it. Give me the antidote, and from now on we'll each go our own way."

He had never imagined he would end up being tricked by a young novice fresh out of the gate! Sun Shaochuan's heart was bleeding.

"Do you think I can trust you?" The bewilderment vanished from Wu Xuan's face, replaced by cold indifference. "If I give you the antidote, the first thing you'll do once you recover is kill me. I don't want to leave myself such a formidable enemy. Only the dead are truly safe. Senior Brother Sun, off you go. No one knows I was with you. Now that you're both dead, at most people will suspect the Cold Flood Dragon ate you."

Sun Shaochuan was completely weak now, and he slumped directly onto the ground. As Wu Xuan walked toward him, fear finally appeared in his eyes. "I can swear I won't seek revenge on you. Junior Brother Wu Xuan, I swear on my parents' lives."

"Your oaths aren't worth a penny." Wu Xuan smiled coldly. Judging by the time, Sun Shaochuan should have no strength left, so he walked over, picked up Wang Jian's saber, and brought it down. The blow pierced Sun Shaochuan through the heart, pinning him to the ground.

Sun Shaochuan stared with unwilling eyes. He never would have imagined he would meet the same end as Wang Jian...

"Hiss..."

Even Zhang He couldn't help drawing a sharp breath at such ruthlessness. He looked at Wu Xuan, his gaze growing even more wary. He could tell that Wu Xuan had been playing the fool all along. When he killed Sun Shaochuan, he hadn't even furrowed his brow. That made it clear he was a ruthless man.

"You've been watching from the sidelines for so long. Shouldn't you come out and explain yourself?"

Wu Xuan took a cloth from inside his robe and wiped the faint traces of blood from his hands. Then he abruptly lifted his head and fixed his cold eyes on the clump of bushes where Zhang He was hidden, speaking in a chilly voice.