Only when they drew close did they notice that the man's skin was red all over.
Clearly, he had a high fever!
This...
The three exchanged glances. Could these be Liu San's people?
Fate truly worked in wondrous ways.
Just then.
Something suddenly changed!
The man sprang up, driving a fist straight at Lin Jiu's face!
All three had remained on guard and reacted swiftly.
Lin Jiu raised his fist to meet the blow.
Lin Yuan caught Master Wu by the shoulder and slammed backward.
Before the soldier behind them could raise his saber, he was knocked off his feet.
Lin Yuan pulled Master Wu out of the encirclement. A muffled grunt came from behind.
Lin Jiu flew backward, then staggered back uncontrollably after landing.
He crashed into a large tree and vomited a mouthful of blood.
"Young master, run! He's in the First-Grade Qi and Blood Realm!"
Alarmed, Lin Yuan dragged Master Wu toward the bushes.
Liu Lie swayed.
His breathing was rapid, and white vapor rose from his head.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stared fixedly at Lin Jiu.
He hadn't died.
Had this high fever not dragged on for days, how could a mere martial artist at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment have withstood his punch?
Liu Lie's expression darkened. He had already gleaned something from the glances the three had exchanged.
His younger cousin Liu San had said he would go into town to find him a physician, only to stay out all night.
And these three before him happened to be physicians, with no small measure of strength.
The answer was obvious.
"Kill them! Leave no one alive!"
The soldiers raised their sabers and slashed at Lin Jiu, while others chased into the bushes.
Lin Jiu drew his saber and swept it across.
"Your opponent is me!"
Liu Lie's eyes nearly split with fury. He charged like a fierce tiger and punched at the side of Lin Jiu's face.
Lin Jiu brought his saber back to block.
There was a bang.
He was sent flying backward again.
With no one blocking them, six soldiers plunged into the bushes after Lin Yuan.
"Stop!"
Lin Jiu blanched and hurried after them.
But a saber thrust toward his waist.
He could only dodge it by a hair.
Liu Lie caught his breath and raised a hand, signaling the others to surround him.
"Speak! Did you kill Liu San?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lin Jiu denied it outright, shaking his head like a pellet drum.
"It doesn't matter if you won't admit it. None of you are escaping today!"
Lin Jiu watched Liu Lie gravely, fully aware of how terrifying his opponent was.
Had Liu Lie not been ill, he probably couldn't have blocked even one punch.
Even if he couldn't stop him, he had to!
His debt to his master was as weighty as a mountain.
Nothing could happen to the young master!
Lin Jiu steeled his heart and made his decision.
He could only stake his life.
He raised his saber and slowly drew his left hand across the blade. His blood turned into a bloody mist and was absorbed into it.
A faint red glow rose around him, and his presence climbed steadily.
"I have one saber strike. Please instruct me!"
"No!"
Liu Lie's pupils contracted, and he roared.
"He's using a secret art! Quick, kill him!"
Six soldiers lunged at once.
Lin Jiu's vision gradually blurred until he could make out only a few swaying shadows.
Dimly, he saw his master's tragic, heroic final moments.
And.
That saber strike.
He poured every ounce of strength in his body into the blade, sank his waist, twisted, and slashed horizontally.
The Lin family's life-staking secret art.
Life-Severing Saber!
The three sabers before him snapped at the strike.
Blood-colored Saber Qi passed through the padded armor. All six soldiers were severed at the waist and fell to the ground.
Shocked and furious, Liu Lie gathered all his Qi and blood into his arms and crossed them before his body.
Crack!
His bracers shattered. The Saber Qi pierced his leather armor and passed out through his back.
"How is that possible!"
Liu Lie looked down in disbelief and toppled heavily to the ground.
Elsewhere.
With Master Wu on his back, Lin Yuan ran desperately through the woods.
The pursuers behind them gave relentless chase.
Half an hour later.
Even at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment, Lin Yuan was breathless after running for so long.
"Brat, put me down!"
Master Wu spoke urgently.
Lin Yuan said nothing, gritting his teeth as he fled.
Suddenly.
Two soldiers had somehow circled ahead. They lunged from behind a large tree, slashing their steel sabers at Lin Yuan's neck.
Lin Yuan stamped down hard and shot diagonally aside, narrowly dodging them.
That brief delay was enough for the four soldiers behind to catch up.
All six surrounded them.
"Hah, hah, hah. Go on, brat. Keep running."
They panted, their faces flushed red.
Knowing there was no escape, Lin Yuan could only put Master Wu down.
He was in no better shape himself and spent a good while catching his breath with his hands braced on his knees.
Master Wu sighed.
He gave Lin Yuan's shoulder a heavy pat.
"Brat, stay alive. From now on, the Wu family's mission is in your hands."
Lin Yuan turned his head in confusion.
The old man took a needle pouch from inside his robe.
"I've lived most of my life. I've had my money's worth."
His gaze hardened as he drew out silver needles and moved to insert them into the major acupoints around his body.
The Wu family's legacy spanned centuries. Medicine and martial arts were inseparable; besides ways to save lives, they had preserved a few means of staking one's life.
Startled, Lin Yuan hurriedly caught his wrist.
"There's no need. I can handle this."
Master Wu looked up, plainly unconvinced.
"Have you forgotten the Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art?"
Lin Yuan bluffed without hesitation.
Master Wu froze. Could the Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art truly have some extraordinary quality?
Uncertain, Master Wu nevertheless stepped back, ready to see how things unfolded first.
"You're at death's door! What are you muttering about?"
Lin Yuan stared at the soldiers closing in.
From his observations, five were at Minor Accomplishment of Body Tempering, and one was at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment.
He was also at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment.
He could fight them!
Lin Yuan stepped forward.
"Let me make this clear first. The man behind me is Blackstone Town's renowned Divine Physician Wu."
"If you hurt him, your boss really will be beyond saving."
The soldiers looked at one another, unable to decide.
The man at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment made up his mind and was about to tell his brothers to take them alive.
Lin Yuan had already moved.
He stepped in. Caught completely off guard, the nearest soldier took Lin Yuan's fist squarely in the chest.
Though his padded armor absorbed most of the force, his chest still caved deeply inward.
The man staggered and fell, clearly beyond saving.
Lin Yuan immediately bent down to grab the man's steel saber.
"You little bastard!"
Enraged, the five raised their sabers and hacked at him.
With no time to stand, Lin Yuan raised his saber to block.
The blades collided, and he stumbled.
Another saber thrust in from the right, straight beneath his ribs.
Lin Yuan twisted at the waist and withdrew, his clothes slashed open.
A third saber came chopping down right after it.
He swept his saber upward, the tremendous force shaking his opponent into repeated backward steps.
Unable to pursue, Lin Yuan turned and swept his blade across.
The man behind him dodged the edge, but another seized the opening to close in.
Lin Yuan hurriedly retreated.
For a time, the fight reached a stalemate.
"Spread out! Don't meet him head-on."
"He doesn't know how to use a saber!"
Lin Yuan rubbed his nose. He had noticed the problem too.
He had strength to spare, but no martial techniques with which to wield it.
By contrast, these soldiers not only coordinated seamlessly, but every move of their saber techniques staked their lives.
"Kill!"
They clashed once more.
This time, Lin Yuan clearly felt the pressure.
The man at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment led the attack while the others spread out to pin him down.
For a moment, Lin Yuan was like a clay ox entering the sea, instantly falling into a disadvantage.
The fight shifted in the blink of an eye. Lin Yuan struggled to fend them off on every side, danger cropping up all around him.
Anxiety gripped Master Wu. He took out his silver needles again, ready to stake his life at any moment.