Chapter 541: Is There Any Need to Be This Desperate?

Seeing that Yuan Fang still had the energy to grumble about such things, Guan Fangyi thought about it and decided he was probably fine. He was a Golden King Bear, after all. His physical body was far tougher than an ordinary person's, so she left him alone for the moment.

A sound came from behind them.

Yuan Fang turned and saw one of the assassins give a muffled groan and stir. It was the very man Yuan Fang had crashed into earlier, now struggling laboriously to sit up.

Yuan Fang immediately looked left and right. Half crawling, half rolling, he threw himself to one side, snatched up a sword, and charged over.

Puh!

The assassin had only just propped himself up on one arm when he collapsed again, Yuan Fang's sword driven straight through his chest.

Yuan Fang pulled the sword out.

Then stabbed again.

Pulled it out.

Stabbed again.

Only after thrusting the blade into him several times, until the man lay motionless on the ground, did Yuan Fang finally stop. Leaning on the sword, he panted heavily while blood dripped steadily from his mouth and nose. His internal injuries were clearly not light.

He slumped down beside the corpse, took out some medicine and swallowed it, then immediately began feeling around the assassin's body.

He found gold notes and other valuables and promptly stuffed them into his own sleeves.

Guan Fangyi was speechless.

After finishing with Uncle Chen, she went on to find Old Six Xu and Old Thirteen. Both were unconscious with severe injuries. She treated them one by one.

Only at the end did she find Yuan Gang.

This time, his injuries were worse than they had been inside the Illusory Realm. He was unconscious, a great deal of blood had flowed from his mouth and nose, and both arms were twisted into horrifying, unnatural angles.

Finding that he was still breathing, Guan Fangyi took out another Heavenly Succor Pill and was about to feed it to him when Yuan Gang suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her.

“No need.”

His voice was weak, but still steady enough.

Guan Fangyi did not understand. “You're badly injured.”

“No need. Just set both arms back into place for me.”

Guan Fangyi scoffed.

Fine. If he did not want it, so be it.

She put the precious pill away, but still went to work resetting both his arms.

Even if Yuan Gang had said nothing, she would have done the same. With his arms twisted like that, merely taking a spiritual pill would accomplish nothing.

As she manipulated the broken arms back into position, Yuan Gang's breathing visibly quickened. Cold sweat broke across him from the pain.

Once the twisted fractures had been set straight and laid flat, Yuan Gang closed his eyes, beads of sweat covering his face.

His breathing gradually settled into a rhythm.

A red mist began cycling in and out through his mouth and nose.

Gradually, a spherical bulge rose beneath his abdomen and began rolling up and down.

Guan Fangyi watched for a while in startled uncertainty, unable to understand what exactly was happening.

She did not remain there guarding him.

Turning back, she flashed toward Niu Youdao's side, though she did not dare get too close. She kept some distance as she watched.

Niu Youdao turned his head toward her. “Are you all right?”

Guan Fangyi stared at Yin'er, both angry and afraid. “How could I be all right? This old lady had only three Heavenly Sword Talismans in total, and I've already used two of them, both on her!”

“And then there are Uncle Chen and the others. If I hadn't had the Heavenly Succor Pill, a sacred healing medicine, they probably wouldn't have kept their lives.”

“What about the Heavenly Succor Pills we've consumed? And all those Mountain-Splitting Talismans? How are we settling that account?”

She had charged every last loss to Yin'er.

Niu Youdao raised one hand and pointed toward the sky. “They're all yours.”

Guan Fangyi looked up and froze.

Ten enormous flying mounts were circling overhead.

Three of them were Scarlet Hunting Eagles.

Her bright eyes blinked several times.

“Easy for you to say. In the end, won't you still dispose of them however you please?” Guan Fangyi gave two cold snorts.

Niu Youdao said, “Clean this place up quickly. Check whether any of them are still alive. Leave no survivors. Destroy the corpses and erase the traces.”

Guan Fangyi turned and roughly judged the places around the grassland where Yin'er had hunted people down. Then she looked back.

“Should we uncover their faces and see who they are? Maybe we can investigate their origins.”

“There's no need.” Niu Youdao continued dissolving the demon power inside Yin'er as he spoke.

“Xiaoyue Pavilion reacts faster than we do. The moment these people lose contact, Xiaoyue Pavilion will immediately sever every trail connected to them. We won't uncover anything meaningful.”

“And we have no time to waste here. Once they fail to contact this group, Xiaoyue Pavilion will certainly send people to investigate.”

“Don't dawdle. Move quickly!”

Guan Fangyi thought about it and knew he was right. She immediately flashed away.

After searching the surrounding area, she found that quite a few assassins were still alive. Most had merely been beaten into severe injuries.

Guan Fangyi also noticed something interesting.

Those who had resisted or attacked Yin'er had mostly been killed.

Those who had not resisted were, for the most part, still alive.

She and Yuan Gang were exceptions.

She had protected herself with the power of a Heavenly Sword Talisman.

As for Yuan Gang, his physical body was simply too abnormal.

As Niu Youdao had ordered, none of the survivors were spared.

Guan Fangyi killed them all.

Under the lingering glow of sunset, Niu Youdao released Yin'er's hand.

Yin'er, now restored to her usual appearance, opened her eyes and looked at him. Her face was innocent as ever.

“Dao-Dao!”

Niu Youdao asked, “Do you know what you just did?”

Yin'er looked puzzled.

Niu Youdao pointed toward the devastated grassland.

Yin'er turned and looked around, then turned back to him, still completely bewildered.

Niu Youdao had nothing to say.

He suddenly looked up.

The flying mounts circling above were coming down in a group, landing one after another nearby.

Guan Fangyi jumped down.

She held up both hands.

Ten finger bells gleamed across her ten fingers.

Excitement shone on her face.

They had struck it rich. How could she not be delighted?

Then she saw Yin'er and could no longer feel happy.

Niu Youdao tilted his head toward the setting sun, which was almost touching the horizon.

He unfastened his robe.

Under Guan Fangyi's puzzled gaze, he took off his outer garment, lifted one sleeve to his nose, and sniffed it.

He smelled nothing unusual.

So he held the garment toward the sunset and slowly examined the place he remembered Yucang touching.

Sure enough, around the arm where Yucang had clasped him, a faint oily sheen reflected the light.

It looked like the thinnest trace of wax.

“What is it?” Guan Fangyi asked.

“I knew something was wrong. We were riding flying mounts. How could anyone intercept us with such precision?”

Niu Youdao's eyes darkened.

“We nearly capsized in a gutter.”

“Yucang tampered with me. That old bastard's technique was practiced enough to fool even my eyes.”

With a casual shake of his hand, the garment shattered into powder and scattered on the wind.

Guan Fangyi asked, “What do we do now?”

“They already know we were heading for Boundless Pavilion. We can't go there anymore. Otherwise, who knows what other trouble is waiting on the road?”

Niu Youdao tipped his chin toward Yin'er.

“And we can't rely on her.”

Guan Fangyi nodded deeply in agreement.

This demon king was certainly terrifyingly powerful, but no one knew when she would erupt.

Once she did, she was even more frightening than the assassins sent to kill them.

She distinguished neither ally nor enemy and knocked down everyone alike.

At least an assassin could still be resisted.

Against this one, there was no resisting at all.

Guan Fangyi did not have enough Heavenly Sword Talismans to keep saving her life like this.

And who could guarantee Yin'er would always stop after one strike?

If she followed with a second blow, even a Heavenly Sword Talisman would not save Guan Fangyi.

They truly could not treat her as reliable protection.

Yin'er did not seem to realize they were talking about her.

She kept lowering her head and tugging at her clothes, picking at the holes with her fingers as though wondering how they had appeared.

“If we don't go to Boundless Pavilion, where do we go?” Guan Fangyi asked. “They won't let this end.”

“Have the others find somewhere to hide for now. The two of us are going back to the Qi capital.”

Niu Youdao's voice was calm.

“We're going to settle accounts with that old bastard Yucang.”

Guan Fangyi's eyes widened. “Back to the Qi capital? Have you gone mad?”

“Mad?”

Niu Youdao gave a faint sneer.

“Don't worry. I'm not mad.”

“Before, I wasn't completely certain. I intended to find somewhere safe to establish myself first, then deal with him.”

“Now that it's confirmed, there's no need to keep pretending.”

“If someone pays you a visit, courtesy demands you return it...”

He suddenly stopped and stared into the distance.

“What is Yuan Fang doing?”

Guan Fangyi looked back.

Yuan Fang, still moving awkwardly from his injuries, was nevertheless hurrying all over the grassland.

“He said to leave destroying the corpses and erasing the traces to him.”

“He says he's a monk and needs to perform rites for the dead.”

“Perform rites?” Niu Youdao looked suspicious. “A monk? Who's he fooling? Since when was he that kindhearted?”

Guan Fangyi smiled bitterly.

“He seems to be searching the corpses for valuables.”

“He's injured that badly and still has those things on his mind. For the sake of it, he's running himself ragged and ignoring his own injuries.”

“I really have to hand it to him.”

“I don't short him on money normally, and I've never seen him have much to spend it on.”

“Is there any need to be this desperate?”

“Heh. Now that's more like him.”

Niu Youdao shook his head helplessly.

The group moved quickly after that.

They loaded the badly wounded men onto flying mounts.

They had more than enough mounts now, and the three people still capable of using spiritual power to control them could look after the others.

After traveling far from the battlefield, they found a secluded valley and hid there.

The group had also lost contact with the outside world.

The Goldenwings Old Thirteen carried in cages had all been smashed into bloody pulp by one sweep of Yin'er's wing.

Every last one was dead.

Their channels of communication would have to be rebuilt.

After settling the wounded, Niu Youdao left Yuan Fang behind to watch over and care for them.

Yuan Fang instantly felt the weight of responsibility.

“Master Dao, where are you going?”

“Don't ask. And don't guess. Just keep an eye on them.”

Yuan Fang looked uneasy.

“Master Dao, if you and Hongniang both leave, everyone here is injured like this. I'm afraid I can't take care of them alone.”

“What if Xiaoyue Pavilion's people find us again? I can't stop them!”

“We've already broken the trail they were using to track us. They shouldn't be able to find you.”

Niu Youdao looked at him.

“If they really do find you, don't try to stop them. Don't resist either. Let them capture you.”

“They'll have to release you before long.”

Yuan Fang stared at him in startled uncertainty.

Niu Youdao did not explain further.

Under cover of night, he and Hongniang mounted one flying beast and departed...

Dark clouds covered the Qi capital, and a fine drizzle fell over the city.

It was already deep into the latter half of the night.

Inside Fufang Garden's bamboo grove, a Moon Butterfly rested on a pavilion beam, shedding its soft radiance.

Yucang stood beneath it with his hands clasped behind his back.

He had been there silently for a long time, watching rainwater drip steadily from the eaves.

His mood seemed much like the weather.

Dugu Jing flashed in through the drizzle.

Before he could speak, Yucang had already asked, “Still no news?”

“The two sides already fought at the ambush site we prepared. The men sent to investigate found the battlefield.”

Yucang turned. “I'm asking what happened.”

Dugu Jing's expression was grave.

“We don't know.”

“Niu Youdao probably discovered that something had been planted on him. The tracking trail has been broken.”

“Our people near Boundless Pavilion have seen no sign that Niu Youdao is heading there.”

“And the men we placed in ambush have disappeared as well. We can't contact a single one of them.”

“The situation may be bad.”

Yucang asked urgently, “Not a single one? Not even one message came back?”

Dugu Jing shook his head.

“Nothing. We've completely lost contact.”

Yucang was stunned.

“Impossible.”

“With an assassination force of that strength, even if I personally faced them—even if several of me joined together—it would be impossible to prevent every one of those men from breaking away.”

“If things turned bad, given their strength, how could not even one of them escape?”

“Unless one of the supreme experts beneath Heaven personally intervened?”

He shook his head sharply.

“That is absolutely impossible!”

Dugu Jing considered the matter before saying, “Master, the viciousness of the human heart is often more frightening than cultivation.”

“That Niu thief is extraordinarily cunning.”

“He may have anticipated our plan and laid a trap we knew nothing about.”

“Perhaps we walked straight into his trap.”

Silence.

Master and disciple faced each other without speaking.

Only the rain outside continued to patter...

[End of Chapter 541]