Dividing the Spoils

Wu Laochuan did not move at once. Instead, he glanced at the already-dead Lousy Liu, his expression shifting several times.

As for Qiu Qianhai opposite him, the bamboo rod had already beaten him black and blue.

He had originally intended for the two of them to attack together and slaughter Wu Laochuan. But since Ji Yuan had already said so, he did not say anything further.

"Heh, hehe... Truly, heroes rise from the young."

Wu Laochuan gave a dry laugh. "Who would have thought that Lousy Liu, who had run rampant through Zengtou City for over a decade, would ultimately die at little brother Ji's hands?"

"He deserved to die."

The water arrow in Ji Yuan's hand had not dispersed. It even looked as though it might fly free at any moment.

"He did deserve to die... Fine, then!"

Wu Laochuan tossed away the bamboo rod in his hand. "With Lousy Liu dead, there is no point in my holding out any longer. Today, I, Wu Laochuan, have fallen flat on my face. I admit defeat."

"You should have done so long ago."

Ji Yuan dispersed the Water Arrow Technique, seemingly letting out a breath of relief as well.

"But I have to admit, little brother Ji, you truly are formidable. You actually endured the pain of the Water Drop Finger, and you even carried two Middle-Grade Talismans on you. Truly impressive."

After speaking, Wu Laochuan even cupped his hands toward Ji Yuan with convincing decorum.

But at the very instant he straightened up, Qiu Qianhai's expression changed drastically. He did not even have time to speak, only hurriedly tossing out a water ball.

Even so, his first thought was still... too late.

Because at the moment Wu Laochuan had cupped his hands, a streak of blood-red light had already flown from his chest, shooting straight at Ji Yuan.

That Old Ghost had never intended to surrender from the beginning!

Damn it, Ji Yuan might be strong, but he had suffered for being young and inexperienced. How could he trust such a sly, treacherous rogue cultivator?!

In the time it took for that thought to flash through Qiu Qianhai's mind, he saw another streak of watery blue light.

It was the Water Drop Finger.

It was even faster than the blood-red light across from it. Not in speed, but because... it had struck first to gain the upper hand!

Ji Yuan had acted the moment Wu Laochuan lowered his head!

Sshk—

At such close range, that watery-blue spiritual radiance shot directly through Wu Laochuan's brow, then burst out through the back of his skull.

Thud—

His body crashed heavily to the ground. Falling with him was an Embroidery Needle that had already pierced Ji Yuan's protective golden light and was about to stab into his brow.

"Son of a bitch!"

Qiu Qianhai stepped forward and fired a water arrow, smashing Wu Laochuan's head to a pulp as though puncturing a watermelon. Red and white matter even splashed onto him.

Ji Yuan, who had been fine just moments ago, immediately turned pale upon seeing the headless corpse.

Qiu Qianhai glanced at him and could not help squeezing a smile from his swollen face.

"Get used to it. There will be no shortage of times for you to kill people in the future."

After saying that, he walked toward Lousy Liu's corpse, clearly intending to finish him off with another blow.

But who would have expected...

"You're fucking still alive?!"

Ji Yuan, who had been dry-heaving just moments before, immediately sprang to his feet. With a leap, he landed beside Qiu Qianhai, both hands already forming the Water Drop Finger.

Lousy Liu's forehead was split open, blood pouring from all seven orifices.

Though he was alive, he had more breath leaving than entering. Seeing Ji Yuan approach, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and spoke weakly.

"I used this very method to kill your father and mother back then. Do you know who called them out for me?"

"Who?"

Ji Yuan truly was curious about that.

"Come closer, and I'll tell you." Lousy Liu struggled to say.

Ji Yuan flicked out his right index finger. A Water Drop Finger shot through the web between Lousy Liu's right thumb and forefinger. He gave a muffled groan, an unnatural flush appearing on his face.

"Heh, you really are... a man with... with backbone."

"Fine, fine... It was Huang Laotou."

Lousy Liu gave the answer, then stared blankly at the clouds in the sky. Who knew what a man on the verge of death was thinking.

So it was him... Hearing the answer, Ji Yuan was surprised, yet not surprised.

What surprised him was that Ji Qingyun had once had a genuinely good relationship with Huang Laotou. Whenever holidays came around and they made something to eat, Ji Qingyun would specially save a portion for Huang Laotou. Who would have thought Huang Laotou would still harm Ji Qingyun?

What did not surprise him was that Huang Laotou truly was that sort of person.

One could tell from the way he treated Lin Hu's family.

"He's dead."

Qiu Qianhai stared at Lousy Liu's eyes for a while before speaking.

Ji Yuan gave an "Mm," then fired another Water Drop Finger, piercing Lousy Liu's brow.

Qiu Qianhai bent down and removed the Storage Bag from Lousy Liu's waist. Then he took out a small porcelain bottle from his own Storage Bag, poured out a drop of black liquid, and let it fall onto the corpse.

In an instant, the corpse melted and decayed.

Even the clothes vanished with it.

This was excellent for destroying corpses and erasing evidence. It could be called essential medicine for those who walked the martial world... Ji Yuan could not help feeling tempted.

Before Ji Yuan could speak, Qiu Qianhai took the initiative. "Corpse-Melting Water. Room Xu-9 in Zengtou City. Tell Lame Li that Qiu Qianhai sent you, and he'll sell it to you. One Spirit Stone per bottle."

"Alright."

Qiu Qianhai then used the same method to dissolve Wu Laochuan's corpse. He gathered up the bamboo rod and short blade on the ground, the two magical artifacts, while Ji Yuan picked up the Embroidery Needle Wu Laochuan had used in his final attempt to assassinate him.

"This is not a place to linger. Let's change locations before dividing the spoils."

Qiu Qianhai was clearly extremely experienced when it came to killing people and seizing their goods.

"Alright."

Not long after, a Spirit Vessel headed straight north, sailing deeper into Cloud-Rain Marsh.

Crouching Tortoise Island lay northeast of Zengtou City. An hour later, inside a small Reed Marsh northwest of Zengtou City, Qiu Qianhai dumped everything from the two Storage Bags out in one heap.

The first things they saw were several pink undergarments belonging to female cultivators. Judging by their appearance, they had even been worn.

"That dog Wu Laochuan."

Qiu Qianhai tossed them aside before finally beginning to divide the spoils.

Perhaps because Lousy Liu had just gone through a major battle in Cloud-Rain Marsh, he did not have much wealth on him. He had fewer than five Spirit Stones, only two Detoxification Pills among his remaining Cultivation Pills, and had already consumed all of his Hundred-Herb Pills for treating injuries. His Talismans were similarly scarce, with only low-grade Talismans such as Water Shield Talismans and Water Ball Talismans remaining.

As for magical artifacts, there was the dark-gold short blade from before, along with a blue-black Spirit Vessel.

"That old bastard must have suffered quite a bit over on Maple Leaf Island."

Qiu Qianhai muttered to himself.

Ji Yuan's gaze fell upon Wu Laochuan's possessions. With a single glance, a feeling rose in his heart... murder and arson truly brought golden belts!

The Spirit Stones alone were already piled up. He estimated there were nearly forty of them. There were also four bottles of Cultivation Pills: two bottles of Hundred-Herb Pills, one bottle of Detoxification Pills, and one bottle of Blood-Burning Pills.

As for Talismans, there were over a dozen low-grade Talismans.

There were two Middle-Grade Talismans: one Thunderstrike Talisman and one Water Shadow Talisman for escaping.

Unfortunately, he had died before he could use either of them.

He had one more magical artifact as well: a Spirit Vessel, that bamboo rod-type magical artifact, and the Embroidery Needle Ji Yuan had just picked up for surprise attacks.

"There are techniques here too."

As Qiu Qianhai spoke, he shook out three jade slips, each inscribed with the name of a technique.

Ji Yuan's sharp eyes spotted one, and he picked it up...

"Object Manipulation Technique."