Li Xiaoya seized the opportunity and stumbled a few steps, scrambling into the woods.
Scarface Chen flailed both hands, unleashing a crackling barrage of palm strikes. The gusts sealed off every direction so tightly that neither wind nor rain could have penetrated, scattering the lime dust hanging in the air. Only then did he cautiously open his eyes. Luckily, he had reacted quickly enough to keep the lime out of them. Otherwise, he would truly have capsized in a gutter-an eighty-year-old mother knocked down by a child. If word spread through the martial world, he would become a laughingstock.
"You little bastard! If I don't kill you, I'm no man!" Scarface Chen roared and darted toward the woods. The brat was injured; he could not have gone far. Only one thought filled Scarface Chen's mind: catch the boy and teach him what it meant to wish for death! As he reached the edge of the woods and passed a large tree, something unexpected happened. A hand suddenly swept upward toward his face. It all happened so abruptly. Blinded by rage, Scarface Chen was moving far too fast. Before he could think, a cloud of white had struck him in the face.
"Aah! My eyes!" Scarface Chen screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his face with both hands.
Suddenly, a chill touched his chest. With a wet puncturing sound, pain stabbed through him. Scarface Chen roared and thrust a palm forward. A bang rang out as it struck something soft.
"Aagh!" Li Xiaoxiao screamed as she was sent flying.
Pain flared in Scarface Chen's chest as whatever had pierced him was pulled out. Something spurted from his heart, and his body went limp. Only one thought remained in his mind: This time, I really have capsized in a gutter.
Li Xiaoya lay on the ground, a blood-drenched dagger in his hand. His eyes were wide, his face full of terror as he watched Scarface Chen collapse with blood spurting from his chest.
When he had crawled into the woods, he had not gone deeper among the trees. He knew he was injured and could not get far. Instead, he had hidden directly behind this tree, clutching a handful of lime in one hand and drawing a dagger with the other, waiting to give Scarface Chen a taste of both when he charged in. He was certain Scarface Chen was thoroughly enraged and would rush in without thinking the moment he recovered. The tree he had chosen was the nearest large one at the edge of the woods. Under normal circumstances, he could never have escaped Scarface Chen's search; his labored breathing and pounding heart alone would have betrayed him to the man's keen ears. But rage had clouded Scarface Chen's mind, and he had never imagined Li Xiaoya would stay here to ambush him instead of fleeing.
As for that dirty trick of throwing lime, Li Xiaoya had learned it half a month earlier, when the Heavenly Money Gang had disguised themselves as bandits to commit a robbery. They had attacked a group of traveling merchants, only to encounter an expert passing through. Caught off guard, the expert had taken a faceful of lime and been blinded. If not for his superb ability to hear danger from every direction, he would almost have been killed. After losing two or three men, the Heavenly Money Gang had realized they could gain nothing and hurriedly retreated. Li Xiaoya had been sleeping in a tree at the time and had seen the whole affair clearly. He had taken that lime-throwing trick to heart and usually carried several packets with him for emergencies. He had never expected to use it today and succeed in a single stroke.
Li Xiaoya stared in panic at Scarface Chen lying motionless on the ground. That fellow's probably dead, he thought. Although Li Xiaoya was always swindling people, this was the first time he had killed anyone. His thoughts tangled like hemp, and all sorts of chaotic notions flooded his mind. He tried to sit up, only to feel a sudden pain in his chest. Looking down, he pulled his clothes apart and saw a red palm print on his chest. Another wave of pain came from his shoulder and thigh.
Only then did Li Xiaoya realize that he was in considerable trouble himself. If I hadn't killed him, he would have killed me. I just don't know who sent him. He was probably an assassin! He deserved to die. I'd better get out of here first! Xu Dagang and his people might catch up again! These thoughts made him feel a little better, and he slowly climbed to his feet. Without bothering to check whether Scarface Chen was dead, he decided to go home first. He could not pull out the throwing knives yet; he had neither medicine to stop the bleeding nor bandages. With that in mind, Li Xiaoya began inching his way home.
From that day onward, Scarface Chen of the Iron Palms and Flying Knives was never seen in the martial world again. Some said he had committed too many evil deeds and been slain by a righteous expert. Others said an eminent Buddhist monk had reformed him and he had taken refuge in the Buddha. But whether Scarface Chen lived or died, the martial world carried on!
After walking two or three li, Li Xiaoya felt his chest growing tighter and tighter, his steps heavier and heavier. The wounds on his back and thigh hurt more and more.
"Master! Look, someone down there seems to be hurt!" A girl's clear voice rang out in surprise from a hundred zhang above Li Xiaoya's head. It was the girl in palace attire and the young woman mentioned earlier. The young woman held the girl's hand as she surveyed their surroundings, while the girl pointed at Li Xiaoya below.
"How strange! Now that we're here, I can't find any trace of the Five-Element Rainbow Lingzhi. Could it have run into that little town?" The young woman ignored the girl and murmured to herself.
After a few more steps, Li Xiaoya finally could not hold on any longer. His consciousness grew increasingly hazy, and only one thought flickered through his mind: Father! Mother! I'm coming to see you! With a thud, he collapsed to the ground and knew nothing more.
"Master! That person really is hurt! Look! He's fallen over!" The girl saw it clearly and tugged at the young woman's robe.
"Xian'er, stop fussing! I'm searching for the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma!" the young woman said impatiently. Then she closed her eyes and spread her Divine Sense through the surroundings, searching.
"Hmm? There are fluctuations of Five-Element Spiritual Qi coming from that person! Let's go down and take a look!" the young woman suddenly said in surprise. Taking the girl with her, she floated lightly down toward the spot where Li Xiaoya had fallen.
The young woman descended beside Li Xiaoya with the girl, then crouched down to examine his body. Why could she sense fluctuations of Five-Element Spiritual Qi coming from this person? Yet they were somewhat different from those of the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma. After examining him for a while, she grew puzzled. There was no sign of the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma! She lowered her head in thought, then suddenly made a strange gesture with one hand. Blue light flashed in her eyes as she scanned Li Xiaoya several times. "To think his spiritual root has such attributes!" she exclaimed.
The girl watched the young woman's every movement curiously. When she heard her speak, she asked, "Master! What sort of spiritual root attributes does he have? You seem so surprised! Could he have a heavenly spiritual root, just like Xian'er?"