"Courting death!"
Another Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master who had been guarding the carriage all along leaped up, drawing his blade and slashing at the Blood Feather Eagle.
"Shriek!"
The Blood Feather Eagle let out a piercing cry and shot skyward.
Drops of blood rained from its lower belly. It had been cut open by that Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master's earlier slash.
The Blood Feather Eagle soared four or five zhang into the air, then suddenly circled and dove at the carriage again.
As it dove, dozens of blood-colored feathers abruptly detached from its body and rained down upon the carriage like a storm of arrows, blanketing the entire vehicle.
The Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master's expression changed drastically.
No matter how skilled he was, he could not block feather-arrows that covered the entire carriage.
Just then, a figure swept out from the carriage. A streak of black light then flashed through the air like lightning.
Half-feathers of blood-red plumage fluttered down from the sky.
Almost at the same time, the diving Blood Feather Eagle's massive body suddenly exploded in midair, splitting into two halves before crashing to the ground.
Xu Shixiong stood proudly upon the carriage shaft, his narrow, elongated starry eyes sweeping the surroundings with cold indifference as he took out a spotless white handkerchief and gently wiped a bloodstained precious sword.
The sight made Xia Daoming's scalp tingle and sent chills through his entire body.
He had actually failed to see how Xu Shixiong had drawn his sword just now.
The fact that the precious sword could release sword radiance likewise filled him with shock.
Good thing I didn't act rashly just now. Otherwise, I'd probably have died young for the second time!
A wave of lingering fear rose in Xia Daoming's heart, and he acted even more "flustered and helpless" in the face of the Blood Feather Eagle attacks.
Xu Shixiong soon returned to the carriage.
The Xu family's horse convoy had originally lagged behind the crowd, but since most of the Blood Feather Eagles had been drawn to the crowd, the Xu family's convoy quickly passed them. The occasional Blood Feather Eagle attack was easily dealt with.
The Xu family's horse convoy traveled farther and farther away, soon vanishing from everyone's sight.
Xia Daoming secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
By then, the crowd was gradually fighting its way out of the forbidden gorge.
But quite a few people remained in that forbidden gorge forever.
The moment they broke out of the forbidden zone, everyone ran madly toward the southern valley entrance without looking back. As long as they remained in the gorge, there was no such thing as safety.
Xia Daoming did not race along with the crowd. Instead, he hid alone in the shadows and followed far behind them.
As he neared the valley entrance, Xia Daoming deliberately concealed himself behind a cliffside boulder. After waiting for nearly half an hour without seeing or hearing anything unusual, he finally stepped out of the valley with peace of mind.
Clearly, the Xu family's Seventh Young Master was an aloof and confident man. He disdained slaughtering people at the valley entrance who posed no threat whatsoever to the Xu family.
Beyond Crimson Flame Valley lay a scene utterly different from the northern wasteland.
Rolling mountain ridges stretched everywhere, layer upon layer, lush and verdant.
Several roads wound through the mountains. The forests blocked the view ahead, making it impossible to know where they led.
Still, there were relatively distinct roads here, bearing traces of people having recently passed over them.
Unlike the wasteland, where every place seemed to be a road and yet no place truly was one. Only those who frequently traveled the wasteland could judge a route by relying on distinctive landmarks.
Xia Daoming quickly chose a road.
There was evidently little travel between the north and the south.
The road was overgrown with weeds, and many places bore clear signs of having only recently been trampled down or even cleared. Otherwise, some paths would have been so concealed by weeds and shrubs as to be difficult to make out.
Though Southern Mangzhou had many mountains, it also had plentiful rain.
With mountains and water, one could at least find food somehow.
After leaving the Vast Mountain Range for some distance, signs of human habitation gradually became more frequent.
After casually crossing one or two mountains, he could always spot villages and fields at the foot of a mountain or within a valley.
That put Xia Daoming much more at ease.
At the very least, even if he took the wrong path, he would not have to worry about finding no one to ask for directions.
He walked for half a day.
The sun gradually slanted westward.
Mist rose from the mountain forests, and the sky gradually turned hazy and dim.
Xia Daoming had just crossed a small mountain. Standing atop it and looking over the land, he saw dusk smoke closing in on all sides, but no village or trace of human habitation. Just as he was feeling somewhat frustrated, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of part of a Daoist temple hidden among the trees halfway up the mountainside.
Not bad. I'll finally have somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain tonight! Xia Daoming rejoiced inwardly, hurried down the mountain, and headed straight for the Daoist temple halfway up the slope.
When he was still some distance from the temple, Xia Daoming became light-footed and carefully restrained his breath.
That was because he not only saw a mess of footprints on the ground, but also vaguely heard the voices of men and women.
Inside the ruined Daoist temple's main hall, a young man lay dead in a corner.
The young man's face was covered in pockmarks. He was unmistakably the glamorous young matron's cousin.
Before the incense burner in the center of the hall, two men held down the glamorous young matron's limbs, one on each side.
"Let me go! Let me go! You beasts!"
The glamorous young matron struggled desperately. Her voluptuous body twisted with her struggles, only making the two men pinning down her limbs swallow repeatedly.
"Hehe, Madam, go ahead and scream. The more you scream, the more excited I get!" The Fourth-Rank Martial Master with mung-bean eyes stepped forward with a lewd grin.
Rip!
The mung-bean-eyed Martial Master tore open the glamorous young matron's collar, exposing a portion of her proud, pale, tender flesh.
All three men's eyes immediately gleamed with lust, their Adam's apples bobbing up and down in their throats.
Bang!
At that moment, the door was kicked open.
The three men jolted in alarm. The mung-bean-eyed Martial Master reacted with astonishing speed, spinning on the spot before dropping to one knee, one hand pressed to the floor and the other at his side. His eyes flashed viciously as he stared at the doorway, fully braced for a fierce attack at any moment.
"It's you!"
Once the three saw the newcomer's face, they first cried out in surprise, then all relaxed.
"I never expected you to still be alive. It seems I underestimated you!" The mung-bean-eyed Martial Master slowly rose to his feet.
Xia Daoming glanced at the woman behind the mung-bean-eyed Martial Master. Her full figure was indeed alluring.
But Xia Daoming withdrew his gaze decisively the instant it touched her.
"I also underestimated your beastly nature. To think you would commit such acts, worse than beasts, against a companion!" Xia Daoming said coldly.
"Hehe, men are born to crave food and sex! If you're interested, little brother, you can watch from the side first. After us three brothers have had our fill, you can have your turn.
Otherwise, find somewhere else to rest. Don't go looking for trouble." The mung-bean-eyed Martial Master spoke.
"You want to be beasts, but I still want to be human! Release this madam, then break your own third leg. I may consider sparing your lives." Xia Daoming said coldly.
"Brat, you're courting death!" The mung-bean-eyed Martial Master's eyes immediately flashed with killing intent. He stamped hard against the ground, raised both hands into claws, and lunged at Xia Daoming like an eagle.
"You're the one courting death!"
Xia Daoming shouted coldly. Instead of retreating, he advanced, raising both hands in the Serpent Head Fist and striking directly at the mung-bean-eyed man's claws.
A vicious grin appeared on the mung-bean-eyed Martial Master's face.
He had practiced the Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique for more than twenty years and often tempered his claws with secret medicines.
As a result, his claws possessed not only immense strength, but were also incomparably hard and sharp. Countless Martial Masters of the same rank had had their hands broken beneath those claws.
Yet Xia Daoming had not only failed to evade his fully charged claw strike, but even dared to openly meet his eagle claws head-on with the Serpent Head Fist. To the mung-bean-eyed Martial Master, this was simply delivering himself to death's door!
The two men holding down the young matron clearly also knew how formidable their companion's Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique was. Relaxed, mocking smiles appeared on their faces.
Bang! Bang!
Crack! Crack!
But as two impacts of fist against claw and the sound of bones breaking rang out, the relaxed, mocking expressions on the two men's faces instantly froze.
Meanwhile, Xia Daoming's two punches sent the mung-bean-eyed Martial Master sliding back to the wall. His face was deathly pale and drenched in sweat, while both hands hung limply from their wrist joints.
At that moment, the glamorous young matron, whose arms were being held, suddenly twisted her body like a serpent. Following the movement of her body, her right leg swept up, her pointed toes flying like a dart from below toward the left man's groin.
"Ah!"
The man was still stunned with terror. For a moment, he had not realized that without the mung-bean-eyed Martial Master's suppression, most of the glamorous young matron's body had regained its freedom apart from her arms.
The kick was fast and sudden, like a venomous snake suddenly darting out from the shadows. It struck the left man in the groin, and he immediately clutched his crotch, screaming and hopping about, cold sweat covering his forehead.
The moment her left arm was freed, the glamorous young matron's left palm moved like a turning serpent's head. Her index and middle fingers pressed together like a snake's tongue, shooting out as she thrust straight toward the right man's eyeball.
The right man finally reacted, hurriedly releasing her and retreating rapidly.
Just then, a cold, fierce gust struck at the back of his neck. The right man felt tremendous force and searing pain at his neck.
He pitched forward onto the floor. His vision went dark, and he soon stopped breathing.
After killing a Third-Rank Martial Master with a single hand-blade strike, Xia Daoming flashed over and blocked the Daoist temple's exit.
"Spare me, hero! Spare me, hero!" The mung-bean-eyed man, who had tried to flee through the door, turned pale as he repeatedly begged for mercy upon finding his path blocked.
"My apologies, but I'm no hero. So you're begging the wrong person!" Xia Daoming gave a cold smile, raised his Serpent Head Fist, and struck straight at the mung-bean-eyed man's Adam's apple.
The mung-bean-eyed man hurriedly dodged.
But Xia Daoming's Serpent Head Fist was not only fast, but also extraordinarily nimble. Like a shadow following its form, it followed the mung-bean-eyed man's Adam's apple.
Crack!
The fist landed solidly on the mung-bean-eyed man's neck and Adam's apple.
The mung-bean-eyed man's eyes widened, filled with terror, unwillingness, and disbelief.
"Ah!"
As the mung-bean-eyed man crashed to the ground with his eyes wide open, a scream came from beside the Daoist temple's incense burner.
Xia Daoming looked up to see the glamorous young matron gripping a sharp knife and stabbing the man lying on the ground like a madwoman.
Again and again.
Blood splattered across her pale, proud bosom, yet she seemed utterly unaware.
Xia Daoming secretly sighed and stepped forward. "Enough. He's already dead!"
There would be another chapter later.
Before you continue