Cooperation

Though the snakes' bodies had been mangled, their unique anatomy meant that even being torn in half did nothing to stop them from biting.

"Aah!!"

The Wang Family steward had never expected snakes to be hiding in that little bamboo basket. All his attention had been on finding the hidden attacker, and caught off guard, he was bitten repeatedly on the arm and shoulder.

But the Wang Family steward was ruthless, too. He knew these venomous snakes were far from the greatest threat.

He swept his other arm across his body, knocking the severed snakes off his shoulder and arm.

"You skulking coward, come out!"

The Wang Family steward stood where he was, his eyes fixed on Zhao Er's hiding place. As he spoke, he kicked sharply, sending a stone on the ground hurtling toward Zhao Er's hiding place like a cannonball.

"Here goes everything!!!"

Zhao Er was not looking at the Wang Family steward. His attention had remained on the net behind the man. The moment he saw a little head poke out of the net, he knew he could no longer stay hidden.

He sprang from the ground, dodging the stone and clearing the bushes ahead. While still airborne, he raised his woodcutting saber high, its blade aimed straight at the Wang Family steward's head.

Zhao Er was gambling that the trapped Venom-Eating Marten was vindictive enough to attack the Wang Family steward from behind. That was why he had waited until now to launch such a conspicuous attack: he wanted to draw all the steward's attention.

"It's you!"

Sure enough, the Wang Family steward recognized Zhao Er the instant he appeared.

"You dare attack me with those paltry tricks?"

The Wang Family steward gave a disdainful snort, then threw another punch. Completely ignoring the woodcutting saber in Zhao Er's hand, his fist drove straight toward Zhao Er's torso.

The instant the Wang Family steward struck, Zhao Er saw a white blur flash behind him, shooting straight toward his neck. Still in midair, Zhao Er knew his plan had worked.

At once, Zhao Er sharply curled his body in the air. Every muscle tensed, his abdomen drew back, and he brought both arms and legs up to shield his chest.

Like a centipede suddenly drawing in its shell and claws, Zhao Er curled into a ball in midair. Abandoning his attack entirely, he met the Wang Family steward's fist head-on.

This was Centipede Shell Retraction, a move from the Five Poisons Fist!

"Bam!!!"

Curled into a ball, Zhao Er felt as though he had slammed into an iron plate. His forward momentum stopped dead, and a force with terrifying penetrative power surged through his arms and legs into his entire body.

Then the punch sent Zhao Er, still balled up, flying.

Zhao Er's Centipede Shell Retraction instantly contracted his muscles and bones. It could be applied to a single body part or used to curl his whole body into one unified mass, as he had just done. Its advantage was strong defense; its drawback was that he lost all means of attacking while using it.

But Zhao Er had truly underestimated the strength of an Entry-Level Martial Artist. Even with his entire body curled into a ball, the Wang Family steward's devastatingly penetrative punch made his muscles and bones feel as though they had been knocked apart.

"Bam!!!"

Zhao Er's body had already uncurled as he flew backward. He hurtled through the air, only stopping when he crashed into a tree trunk.

Zhao Er felt as though his whole body had fallen apart. Yet after landing, he had no time to check his condition. Instead, he forced his eyes open to look at the Wang Family steward.

Through the drifting leaves, Zhao Er saw the Wang Family steward pull a porcelain bottle from his clothes with one hand and pour its contents into his mouth. His other hand held a little white creature. Nor was the man standing still: he was striding toward Zhao Er.

I'm done for!

Zhao Er's heart went cold at the sight. He had never expected that, even with things having reached this point, the Wang Family steward would be thinking not of neutralizing the poison, but of killing him.

Five meters, four meters... the Wang Family steward drew closer and closer. Clutching his woodcutting saber, Zhao Er struggled to get up, but after several attempts, he still could not stand. He could barely even hold on to the saber.

That punch had been monstrously powerful. Not only had it broken through his defense, it had scattered all the strength in his body, leaving him unable to exert himself again for the moment.

Only Centipede Shell Retraction had let him unite his muscles and bones into a single whole to disperse the force. Otherwise, even if that punch had not punched straight through his body, it would have broken the bones in his arms and legs.

"Thud..."

Yet just as Zhao Er was beginning to despair, the Wang Family steward suddenly went limp and collapsed before him, his face livid.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Only then did Zhao Er give up struggling and begin gasping for breath. He knew he had survived.

"Hiss, hiss..."

Just as Zhao Er relaxed, he heard a sound beside him like a cat hissing.

Zhao Er looked closely. It was the white marten.

The Wang Family steward seemed to have had a peculiar obsession with this marten. Even in death, he had shown no intention of letting it go.

The White Marten was struggling fiercely. But even after biting the steward's hand into a bloody mess, it still could not escape his grip. Instead, its struggles seemed to make breathing increasingly difficult, and even its tongue had begun to loll out.

Zhao Er hesitated, then picked up his fallen woodcutting saber and laboriously pushed himself into a sitting position. He suspected that if he did not act soon, the White Marten would be crushed to death.

"I ought to thank you for not running away. We worked pretty well together. You saved me just now, and now I'll save you. That makes us even..."

By now, Zhao Er had gathered a little strength again. As he spoke, he raised the woodcutting saber in his hand.

Whether or not the White Marten understood him, it immediately stopped struggling and simply watched Zhao Er with its round eyes. Even when it saw him raise the saber, it showed no fear.

"You're quite clever!"

Seeing the White Marten's reaction, Zhao Er smiled and brought the blade down.

The blow was not heavy, but it landed precisely on the tendons in the Wang Family steward's wrist.

After the cut, Zhao Er drew back his woodcutting saber and held it protectively before him.

He dared not gamble. This white marten's record was terrifying. Even with his poison resistance and his training in the five poisons returning to origin body, a bite to the neck would probably still leave him in a terrible state.

"Whoosh!"

With the wrist tendons severed, the White Marten instantly broke free of the hand and darted away in the blink of an eye.

But it did not attack Zhao Er. Instead, it crouched nearby and licked its body.

"Why aren't you running away?"

Watching the White Marten crouched nearby, Zhao Er secretly hoped it would repay his kindness. Still, he remained somewhat afraid, especially since he currently had no way to subdue it.

It was not that he had never considered capturing or slaughtering it earlier. He simply knew his own limits and understood that he could not subdue it.

More importantly, he knew the White Marten must only be worth two thousand taels alive. Otherwise, the Wang Family steward would not have gone to such lengths to capture it alive.