Zhuiming Lost His Composure: I Was Worth Less Than a Servant?

When Shangguan Wuqing and Zhuiming returned,

they found several gaping holes in the house, with a figure lying at death's door in the clearing outside.

It was not Lin Mo, but the Enforcement Hall disciple Zhuiming had sent.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..."

Shangguan Wuqing and Zhuiming approached.

The Enforcement Hall disciple lay on the ground, his eyes vacant and lifeless, his entire body twitching.

It was as though he had lost all three souls and seven spirits.

A long saber wound slashed across his upper body at a forty-five-degree angle, stretching from his shoulder to his waist.

The wound was not bloody, but a withered, pitch-black color. It continued spreading outward, destroying his bodily functions while robbing him of his vitality.

Shangguan Wuqing recognized him.

He was Zhu Fan, an Enforcement Hall disciple of the Azure Dragon Squad.

Shangguan Wuqing did not know why Zhu Fan had ended up in such a state, nor did she care.

She shot Zhuiming a vicious glare and said coldly, "Senior Brother Zhuiming, you'd better prepare to answer to Master for your offenses!"

Then,

ignoring Zhu Fan, whose life hung by a thread, Shangguan Wuqing hurried into the house.

Inside, everything was in disarray, with signs of battle everywhere.

She searched all around for Lin Mo, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Little old man!"

For a moment, Shangguan Wuqing panicked.

Even after widening her search, she still found no trace of Lin Mo.

There were only two possibilities now.

Either Zhu Fan had ground Lin Mo's bones to dust and scattered his ashes, or he had escaped.

Judging from the scene of the fight and Zhu Fan's injuries, Shangguan Wuqing leaned toward the latter.

She then returned to the clearing, her eyes blazing with fury.

She strode up and slapped Zhuiming, sending him spinning several times on the spot like a top.

"Zhuiming! I respected you as my senior brother and gave you some face, but I never imagined you'd be so ungrateful as to send someone to force his way into my home!"

"From now on, unless it's absolutely necessary, never show your face before me again!"

Zhuiming clutched the scarlet side of his face, his pupils constricting, his chest heaving violently, his whole body trembling uncontrollably!

He had never expected Shangguan Wuqing to tear away all pretense and sever ties with him over a servant.

Her words were like the sharpest blade, plunging straight into his heart.

His mental defenses collapsed in an instant, and he felt as though the sky had fallen!

"Fine... fine! Just wonderful, Junior Sister!"

Zhuiming's expression was dark as storm clouds. Barely suppressing his emotions before they erupted, he said in a low voice, "In your eyes, I'm worth less than a mere servant, is that it? Fine. I'll remember this!"

With that, Zhuiming hoisted Zhu Fan off the ground and left.

Shangguan Wuqing paid no heed to his bitter words.

All she could think about was what had happened to Lin Mo.

Zhu Fan was at the foundation establishment middle stage, while the little old man was only at the foundation establishment early stage. To think he actually won!

Judging from Zhu Fan's condition, he probably would not survive.

But that was not necessarily true of Lin Mo.

Since he had still had the strength to flee, his injuries presumably were not fatal.

Her most urgent task was therefore to find him.

Otherwise, if his injuries worsened and endangered his life, things would turn dire!

Meanwhile,

Lin Mo fled the entire way, gradually leaving the First Saint Sect's central area and heading ever deeper into its remote reaches.

At last, he reached a small stream.

A mouthful of blood came gushing out.

"Damn it!"

Lin Mo clutched his chest, his breathing utterly erratic.

The fierce battle with Zhu Fan kept replaying in his mind.

At the time, Zhu Fan had unleashed a powerful spell.

But Lin Mo had unleashed Soul Hook at the same moment.

Soul Hook had stripped Zhu Fan of his three souls and seven spirits, but Zhu Fan's spell had injured Lin Mo as well.

Without the protection of his pure yang sacred body, that attack would have been enough to kill him!

Even so, Lin Mo's internal injuries were extremely severe.

He lay beside the stream, feeling increasingly drained and weak.

His vision gradually blurred.

"My combat experience... is still too limited. Otherwise..."

"Merely dealing with a foundation establishment middle stage cultivator wouldn't have left this old man... in such a sorry state!"

In fact, before this,

he had never experienced a proper fight.

His previous encounter with Yun Fei's ambush could hardly be called combat experience. It was more accurate to say that she had beaten him one-sidedly.

With his current cultivation, Soul Hook could indeed kill a foundation establishment middle stage cultivator.

Yet, because he lacked combat experience,

Lin Mo also struggled to evade his opponent's attacks.

Especially wide-area spells.

Buzz!

Suddenly, a buzzing filled his mind. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness, collapsing on the spot.

In the instant before he lost consciousness, Lin Mo seemed to feel a hand catching him from behind.

An unknown amount of time passed.

When Lin Mo awoke again, the first thing he saw was an elegantly antiquated room.

"Who... saved me?"

Holding his forehead, Lin Mo recalled the moment just before he had lost consciousness.

Taking his present surroundings into account, he could be fairly certain that someone had brought him back.

He simply did not yet know who his rescuer was.

His internal injuries, however, seemed to have healed considerably.

They were no longer as severe as they had been before he passed out.

His pure yang sacred body deserved some of the credit.

Strictly speaking, although the pure yang sacred body was a special constitution that attracted female cultivators, it also possessed a certain capacity for self-healing.

It simply was not as outstanding as special constitutions dedicated to self-healing.

Of course, Lin Mo believed his rescuer might also have played a part.

Creak~

Just as Lin Mo was pondering who had saved him, the door suddenly opened.

A voluptuous figure dressed in red slowly walked inside.

It was Hong Yue, the First Saint Sect's grand elder!

The moment he saw Grand Elder Hong Yue, the stone hanging over Lin Mo's heart finally settled.

He was about to get out of bed and pay his respects, but Hong Yue waved her delicate hand, her seductive red lips parting slightly. "You're injured. There's no need for all those tedious formalities."

"Thank you for saving my life, Grand Elder!" Despite that, Lin Mo still offered his solemn thanks.

Grand Elder Hong Yue smiled alluringly and teased, "Oh my, you were about to wander into the sect's forbidden grounds. If I hadn't caught you and brought you back, I'm afraid even I couldn't have protected you."

"Besides, I still need you to lure out that big fish, the Saintess, for me. Hehe, you can't die so soon."

"Otherwise~ wouldn't my deposit of ten thousand spirit stones have gone straight down the drain?"