A drizzle fine as ox hair drifted through the Maple-Red Forest, carrying waves of stench from rotting leaves and animal carcasses. Mu Bai stood tall atop the grass tips. He had come to the rendezvous to save someone, and he wanted to kill, too.
"Military Governor Mu truly is a man who values his bonds. Even this old man admires you greatly."
"You've lived to such an age and still can't show your face? Why wear a Ghost Mask?" Mu Bai smiled faintly and said mockingly, "Or are you simply not confident you can keep me here?"
"Very well, I'll grant your wish!"
The old man removed his Ghost Mask and flicked his wrist. A wave of force severed the falling rain and mist, while the plants and dead leaves beneath his feet surged toward Mu Bai like rolling waves. Just as the Ghost Mask came within a few feet of him, a cross-shaped White Ray flashed with a clang. The Ghost Mask split into four pieces that shot outward. With a series of thuds, four massive trees snapped, revealing four more masked figures.
A vicious look crossed the old man's face, his eerie green eyes drawing at the mind. Mu Bai had already brought out the Twin Fish Sword. Suddenly, the rain and mist burst apart as both men struck at once. Blood-red and dark blue-green light tore through the night, and Mu Bai moved with his sword, becoming a streak of light that stabbed fiercely toward the green-eyed old man. The old man shook his arms, his black robe billowing like a mass of black mist pressing forward. Two withered, blackened arms suddenly thrust out of it, their claws gleaming coldly as though forged from tungsten gold. One sweep knocked the Twin Fish Sword aside, and his right