Lime Martial Saint

Beneath the dripping eaves, Big Yellow Dog, who had been lying down asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

He pricked up his ears, wariness showing in his gaze.

The next moment, Big Yellow Dog sprang to his feet and fixed his eyes on a shadow that had appeared in the courtyard.

He was just about to bark loudly.

When his expression abruptly changed.

Doubt, realization, delight...

His tail began to wag!

Zhang Yuan silently approached Big Yellow Dog and reached out to pat his head.

At the same time, he deftly stuffed a strip of smoked meat into his mouth.

Big Yellow Dog immediately narrowed his eyes, his tail wagging as if fitted with an electric motor.

Zhang Yuan smiled faintly.

This was Hunter Gao's mountain-guarding dog.

Mountain-guarding dogs were strong and alert, loyal to their masters and vicious toward enemies—the finest helpers a hunter could have.

Had anyone else sneaked in under cover of night like this,

Big Yellow Dog would certainly have howled an alarm and launched a fierce attack.

Even against overwhelming odds, he would fight to the death!

But this big yellow dog named Da Hu had not only been bought by Zhang Yuan and Hunter Gao together at the county town market.

Zhang Yuan had also raised him with his own hands.

Hunter Gao was cold by nature, harsh and ungrateful even toward people.

Naturally, Da Hu received no special treatment. He was often shouted at and kicked, and frequently did not get enough to eat.

So although Hunter Gao was Big Yellow Dog's master, Da Hu was actually closer to Zhang Yuan.

Having received a fragrant strip of smoked meat, Da Hu obediently curled back into the corner beneath the eaves.

Happily enjoying his midnight snack.

At that moment, Zhang Yuan stood before the door, removed his conical hat, and drew his firewood knife!

Inside the room, the oil lamp on the table was still lit.

Hunter Gao lay on the bed, tossing and turning.

What he hated most was rainy weather.

Whenever the air turned damp, his injured leg began to ache faintly, the pain clinging to his bones like a ghost that would not depart.

It often hurt all night long!

Tonight, the wind howled and rain poured without end.

For Hunter Gao, it was undoubtedly another agonizingly long night.

He truly wanted to grab the long blade beside his pillow and chop off the injured leg that had tormented him for years.

Bang!

Just as Hunter Gao raged helplessly, the room's wooden door was suddenly smashed open with tremendous force.

The flimsy door panel shattered into pieces!

"Watch the Hidden Weapon!"

A figure rushed in at once, flinging a dark mass toward Hunter Gao on the bed.

"Courting death!"

Hunter Gao had not been asleep to begin with. He immediately let out a low shout, sprang up, and swung his blade at the incoming "Hidden Weapon."

The blade struck its target in an instant.

Pfft!

The "Hidden Weapon" burst open, and the grayish-white powder packed inside sprayed straight onto his face.

Hunter Gao instantly felt as if his eyes had been set ablaze.

In a flash, he could see nothing!

Lime!

Hunter Gao immediately realized what vile trick he had fallen for, and his heart sank halfway into an abyss.

He had never imagined that this sudden enemy would use such a sinister method against him!

Hunter Gao raised a hand and wiped at his eyes, desperately trying to see his opponent.

At the same time, he roared, "Who are you?"

His voice brimmed with grief and fury.

But how could Zhang Yuan possibly answer him!

Zhang Yuan had borne Hunter Gao no grudge in the first place. He had even been grateful for the man's help.

When Hunter Gao had cast him aside like worn-out shoes, Zhang Yuan had not complained.

Originally, Hunter Gao could walk his broad sunlit road while Zhang Yuan crossed his own single-plank bridge; they could part ways, each minding his own waters.

But Hunter Gao had actually used Zhang's Mother to threaten him, intending to force Zhang Yuan into serving the Chen Family's descendants like an ox or a horse.

That had touched Zhang Yuan's reverse scale!

His achieving Entry Strength Overnight was not entirely unrelated to Hunter Gao's help.

Yet Zhang Yuan, who always planned before acting, did not dare underestimate this lame hunter in the slightest.

Hunter Gao's strength was absolutely above Sun Bodyguard's!

Over more than three years, Zhang Yuan had come to understand Hunter Gao quite well.

But he would never dare claim to know him like the palm of his hand.

Thus, from the moment he struck, he went all out and stopped at nothing!

He had also chosen the most suitable moment.

What truly answered Hunter Gao was Zhang Yuan's firewood knife, chopping down with all his strength.

The blade gleamed like snow, charging onward without hesitation!

Clang!

Yet this surely victorious strike was actually blocked by Hunter Gao's long blade.

Their violent collision threw off dazzling sparks.

Though Hunter Gao could not see, his long years of fighting through life and death allowed him to discern Zhang Yuan's position by listening to the wind and block his killing blow.

Zhang Yuan's tiger's mouth jolted violently, and he involuntarily staggered back two steps.

A piece of blade the size of a fingernail had already chipped off the firewood knife clenched in his hand.

In a head-on clash of strength, Zhang Yuan had clearly lost by half a move. Neither his power nor his weapon could match his opponent's.

But he felt no fear at all. Instead, he became even calmer.

Zhang Yuan abruptly bent low and lunged forward, swinging the firewood knife again.

This time, he activated the Black Giant Ant's empowering force to its utmost limit.

His strength surged fourfold!

Zhang Yuan's right arm, which gripped the blade, swelled at terrifying speed. Sinewy muscles nearly burst through his skin, and tiny beads of blood even seeped from its surface.

The force poured into this strike had already exceeded a thousand jin!

By the time Hunter Gao sensed the danger coming from below and hurriedly swung his blade to block...

It was already too late.

Slash!

Both his thighs were cleanly severed, blood gushing wildly from the smooth wounds.

"Aah!"

Hunter Gao let out a shrill scream despite himself, his upper body crashing to the floor.

Bang!

Zhang Yuan leaped up and kicked him heavily in the face, cutting off his wail as well.

Hunter Gao's mangled body spun through the air, slammed into the wall behind him, then bounced onto the bed. The splattered blood was a horrifying sight.

His face was utterly ruined—his nose and facial bones crushed, and who knew how many teeth had been knocked out.

Yet Hunter Gao had not died on the spot.

Lying on the bed with his eyes bulging in fury, he used the last scrap of his strength to force a few words from his throat.

"Y-you... Zhang..."

Though he could not see, he had still guessed Zhang Yuan's identity.

Zhang Yuan nodded. "That's right. It's me."

But at that very moment, Hunter Gao swallowed his last breath with his eyes still open!

Zhang Yuan stepped forward and added another slash, severing his head.

Only then did he feel completely at ease.

The next moment, Zhang Yuan suddenly turned around.

Da Hu had appeared in the doorway at some point!

The bloody scene in the room had clearly left the mountain-guarding dog at a loss. He wagged his tail, lowered his head to sniff, and kept whimpering from his throat.

Zhang Yuan waved a hand. "Go back!"

Da Hu hesitated for a moment, but obediently turned and left.

Zhang Yuan let out a breath.

That battle just now had truly been perilous.

Hunter Gao's strength was indeed formidable. Had Zhang Yuan not deliberately bought lime in the county town earlier and used it as a Hidden Weapon to catch him off guard and ruin his eyes in one stroke,

it would still have been uncertain who would die and who would live!

Lime truly deserved its reputation as a weapon of battle.

Zhang Yuan suspected that Hunter Gao's strength had already reached the Second Order of Dark Force.

It was only because his leg was crippled and his eyes blinded that he had died so miserably at Zhang Yuan's hands.

Now that the dust had settled, Zhang Yuan had no time to dwell on it. He immediately began carefully searching the room.

He had long suspected that Hunter Gao was hiding treasures!