Chapter Ninety-Three: Ambushed on the Road

Deep within the dense undergrowth, a tall, straight-backed youth was moving slowly forward. He wore a white robe and carried a long, snow-white blade upon his back. It had no scabbard, only the binding of ironwood vines, narrow and keen; whenever sunlight fell upon it, flashes of cold gleam shone from its edge.

Clang!

Suddenly, the clean ring of a drawn blade rang out. With a dull thud, a jet-black leopard collapsed to the ground, its throat gushing blood as it splashed across the earth.

Hissss!

From within the youth’s hair, a pale pearl gave a faint hiss as though it were writhing slowly. Seeing this, the youth lifted a finger and flicked it hard, forcing the “pearl” to remain still.

Half a day earlier, because the bloodline of ferocious beasts had great use for Little Gold, Lin Fan had waved a hand in a fit of indulgence and spent one hundred thousand points of negative emotions to buy another vial for it.

Little Gold had swallowed it in excitement, only for nothing at all to happen.

Lin Fan was deeply troubled. That had been one hundred thousand points of negative emotions, after all. He could not help asking Little Gold about it, and with the tacit understanding they had built over this period, he could roughly grasp some of Little Gold’s meaning.

Yet Little Gold’s answer was that if it wanted to condense another crimson bloodline thread, it would need a full hundred vials to do so.

Because after swallowing the first vial, it had gained one more crimson bloodline thread, and the effect of the ferocious beast bloodline on it had dropped to merely one percent.

In other words, swallowing another vial would bring it no real benefit at all; perhaps it would only satisfy its craving for the taste.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan was instantly enraged. Damn it, one could be prodigal, but not like this.

At once, he gave Little Gold a thorough beating, causing negative emotions to surge continuously from it. Lin Fan even entertained the idea of having Little Gold make up the full one hundred thousand points of negative emotions.

Sadly, in the end he only managed to draw two or three thousand points from Little Gold, far short of that enormous sum.

As punishment, Lin Fan cut off Little Gold’s rations for an entire day and refused to let it eat.

The king called me to patrol the mountains, to catch a monk for supper...

Seeing Little Gold not daring to move, Lin Fan’s mood eased a little. He could not help but hum a tune. In this peopleless forest, he still dared to sing.

From Little Gold, negative emotions, plus 30, plus 54, plus 60...

Suddenly, a prompt for negative emotions appeared. Lin Fan froze, black lines rising across his face. What the hell, even a silkworm found his singing unbearable?

No food for two days.

The simple sentence rang in Little Gold’s ear, and its negative emotions instantly refreshed again. Just then, Lin Fan abruptly lifted his head and looked toward the distance.

Big brother, take the young lady and run!

Two groups of people were locked in a furious slaughter. It was obvious that one side was losing ground and fleeing, while the other was in pursuit.

The fleeing side numbered seven or eight, all sturdy men, each and every one stained with blood. Five or six remained behind to hold the enemy back, while two others were escorting a white-clad girl of eleven or twelve, trying to break out of the battlefield.

At that moment, the girl’s face was deathly pale, her eyes tightly shut. Clearly, she had already fainted, and one of the burly men was carrying her on his back.

The other pursuing group numbered more than twenty. Their faces wore ferocious smiles, hideous and terrifying. Blades flashed in their hands as they hacked at the men before them without pause.

Where do you think you are running? Since that lord has said she must be brought back, Ximen Yiyi will not escape!

One of the men in this group, seemingly the leader, grinned savagely. With a single slash he hacked down one of the men trying to hold them off, then shouted toward the front.

Qing Luo, I advise you to surrender at once. You have seen that lord’s strength for yourself. Hand over Ximen Yiyi, and the rest of us may yet have a way to live; otherwise, we all die!

A lean man in front, escorting the girl, was in terrible condition. He had been cut dozens of times all over his body. The wounds were so deep one could see bone, and blood kept pouring down.

His face was ashen, and the only reason he could continue escorting the girl was by clinging to a single breath. After hearing the shout, he jerked his head around and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Bah!

Bai Sha, you filthy beast cut to pieces a thousand times over. You are nothing but a coward. How did the boss take care of us back then? And yet you, damn you, actually sold your soul to the enemy out of fear of death?

I am ashamed to have ever stood beside you as one of the Blood Fiend Mercenary Corps’s famed Rakshasa pair. You are nothing but a beast. Yiyi grew up under your eyes, and for seven or eight years she called you uncle for nothing? Are you not afraid that word of this will spread and leave you unable to survive in the mercenary world?

Qing Luo cursed angrily while looking back, his eyes blood-red, as he protected the trembling girl and fled.

Victory makes the king. Once you are all dead, who will know what happened?

Bai Sha paid Qing Luo’s abuse no mind. While continuing to slaughter the man before him, he said coldly, If I do not surrender, I die. Ximen Shuhua is already dead, and I do not wish to die with him. If I bring back Ximen Yiyi, riches and glory beyond measure await me.

This is a chance to rise in a single step. I am already at the peak of the Meridian Realm, but that is my limit. If I capture Ximen Yiyi, that lord said he will grant me a Barrier-Breaking Pill, allowing me to advance into the Pulse Opening Realm, and will even take me as one of his men. Once I swear the contract, I can follow him to the Ximen family of the Eastern Pole Empire.

You must know that even the guards of a minor family in the Eastern Pole Empire could strut across the Kingdom of Ice and Snow without anyone daring to provoke them, let alone the Ximen family, one of the empire’s four great families!

Having said this, Bai Sha’s face was full of longing, as though he already saw himself leaping skyward in a single bound and becoming an existence the Kingdom of Ice and Snow could only look up to.

A fine man you refuse to be, only to insist on becoming a dog. Truly the thoughts of a born lackey!

Qing Luo spat another mouthful of blood, set the girl onto the back of another man, and came to a halt. He then abruptly turned, raised his long blade, and lunged back into the fight.

He had seen his men falling one by one, utterly unable to withstand the siege from Bai Sha’s people. In the blink of an eye, two had already died.

This was no time to weep. He understood his injuries; he would not survive. Even if he kept taking Yiyi and running, they would not get far, because his strength was already failing him.

So it would be better to let his men carry Yiyi away on their own while he remained behind. Perhaps he could hold Bai Sha off for a little longer.

What is wrong with being a dog? A master’s casual crumbs may be more than you could win through a lifetime of blood and struggle.

Seeing Qing Luo stop and turn back to fight, Bai Sha’s mouth curled into a mocking smile. He stamped the ground and met him head-on.

He understood that Qing Luo was surviving on his last breath. Once that breath was spent, he would die.

But Qing Luo was, after all, at the peak of the Meridian Realm, while his own men were all no more than mid-Meridian Realm cultivators or lower. If he did not personally hold Qing Luo in check, they would likely suffer devastating losses in an instant, with many experts cut down.

At the same time, Qing Luo turning back was exactly what he wanted.

Back in the Blood Fiend Mercenary Corps, despite the words Rakshasa in their title, many people believed Qing Luo was stronger than him.

Even among the men at his side now, there were quite a few who thought the same.

Today, he would kill Qing Luo to establish his authority.

And with Qing Luo returning to the fight, Ximen Yiyi would never escape again.

Kill!

Qing Luo shouted. He saw Bai Sha coming and knew his grievously wounded body was no match for him, but he feared nothing. So long as he could buy Yiyi a little more time to flee, that was enough.

Blades howled as Qing Luo and Bai Sha clashed. In an instant, swords and sabers flickered everywhere, vital energy thundered, and wild gales rose in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the two were already locked in brutal combat. Qing Luo fought with ferocity, trading injuries for injuries, because only in this way could he hold Bai Sha back.

Do you truly know you will die, and so it does not matter whether you are wounded?

Bai Sha asked with a sneer. Around his waist and abdomen was a long wound, blood steadily seeping out, though it was not deep, merely a flesh wound. Yet he had also left two deep gashes on Qing Luo. Qing Luo’s current condition drew his utmost attention.

This was a man who knew he would die and still wanted to drag someone down with him.

Heh. As long as I kill you, that is enough.

Facing Bai Sha’s mockery, Qing Luo grinned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His clothes had already been soaked through and turned into a blood-soaked robe, clinging wetly to his body.

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Qing Luo caught sight of a flash of white. His expression changed at once, and he hurriedly looked over.

There he saw Ximen Yiyi being dragged back by the throat by a lean man. Her brows were faintly furrowed, as though she were about to wake.

You bastard, have you gone mad? What are you doing?

Qing Luo’s eyes burned red as he stared in fury. Clearly, in that moment, he had never imagined such a scene.

That was the brother he trusted most!

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