Helian Zheng hurriedly chased after the figure, rushing to a corner only to see a body lying on the ground—it was one of his brocade-clothed guards. The chest was sunken, ribs piercing heart and lungs, likely killed by a heavy blow, kneeling on the chest, crushed straight to death.
Helian Zheng continued the pursuit and saw another person with a broken neck lying by the roadside.
This man had his throat locked, his throat bone pinched and then a punch broke his neck!
Burning with rage, he kept up the chase, and upon exiting the village, he saw three more bodies along the way.
Outside the village, several brocade-clothed guards each activated an Armored Horse Talisman, moving as swiftly as flying, chasing along the post road towards Chen Shi.
And Chen Shi, racing ahead of them, was running madly without the aid of an Armored Horse Talisman, yet his speed was even faster!
Helian Zheng called his men to halt. After a moment, the brocade-clothed guards returned, looking at Helian Zheng with a mix of fear, unease, and intense anger.
Helian Zheng, who seemed to have aged several years in an instant, shook his head and said, "Stop chasing. My brothers, just go. Heh, we failed to protect adequately—the Three Dukes and six others from the Zhao family died here, what is there left to chase? Even if we caught up, would that absolve our responsibilities?"
One of the guards, furious, said, "Sir! That kid has killed six young masters and ladies of our master, and so many of our brothers, should we just let it be? This blood debt must be paid with blood!"
"How much silver does the master give you a month?" Helian Zheng asked.
The guard replied, "Seven taels."
"Heh, seven taels a month. Is your life only worth so little?"
Helian Zheng, looking defeated, waved his hand, "The master gives me thirty taels a month, yet even I must leave, let alone you? Disperse now, everyone goes their own way."
The men hesitated, but gradually came to their senses and began to disperse.
Helian Zheng did not linger, determined his direction, and departed.
With the death of six talented youths of the Zhao family, a great fury was inevitable. These brocade-clothed guards, having failed to protect them, would face minor punishment at best, and possibly even lose their lives.
Even if they could capture Chen Shi, they could not escape their responsibilities.
Moreover, capturing Chen Shi was unlikely.
Thus, leaving was the best choice.
As Helian Zheng walked, contemplating his thoughts, he suddenly stopped, looked around perplexedly, then proceeded on.
After a moment, he stopped again, smiling, "Is it you, little talisman master Chen Shi? You have been tracking me for a long time, why not show yourself?"
As his words fell, Chen Shi emerged from behind a large tree nearby.
Helian Zheng, from a distance, clasped his hands and smiled, "Young brother, with so many brocade-clothed guards and experts in the temple, to be able to kill eleven of them and escape from me, your skills are truly admirable. What is your purpose in following me?"
"Revenge," Chen Shi said.
Helian Zheng slightly frowned, then smiled brightly, "Young brother, there has been no enmity between us. I was employed by the Zhao family of the provincial city to guard their children’s safety—it was my duty. If I have offended you earlier, please forgive me. However, I no longer serve the Zhao family and have no such duties, so our grievances should be cleared."
Chen Shi threw over a heavy object, which rolled to Helian Zheng’s feet.
"For him, I seek revenge," Chen Shi stated.
Helian Zheng peered closely and saw it was the barrel of a Three-eyed Fire Gun.
Confused, and noticing the blood on the gun, he suddenly recalled the farmhand whose brain he had smashed, and a chill ran through him, "Do you mean to avenge that farmhand? Young brother, he was just an illiterate peasant, why risk your life to kill me? Was he a relative? A friend? Or did he show you kindness?"
Chen Shi shook his head, "Not a relative, nor a friend, and he showed no kindness. We’ve just met."
Relieved, Helian Zheng laughed, "If he was but a stranger, why should we turn hostile? The world of martial artists is vast, and we might meet again. How about this."
He took out a silver ingot from his robe, about ten taels, stepped back, and looked at Chen Shi as he slowly placed the silver on the ground.
Helian Zheng’s expression was solemn as he said, "This ingot of silver, please take it back for the farmhand’s wife and children as my compensation. Ten taels for a life—not a small amount in the countryside."
He turned and walked away, but after a dozen steps, he stopped and looked back. Chen Shi was still following him, and the silver ingot remained on the ground.
Helian Zheng, unable to hide his anger, scoffed, "Young brother, don’t think I am afraid of you. You are just a slightly stronger youth, far less capable than me. It would be easy for me to kill you!"
Unmoved, Chen Shi said, "I have been following you, and there will be a time when you let your guard down, even if only for a nap, and I will take the opportunity to kill you."
Helian Zheng shivered and continued to walk forward, as did Chen Shi. When Helian Zheng stopped, Chen Shi also stopped.
"This kid is like a lingering spirit. How long does he intend to follow me?"
Helian Zheng suppressed his anger, secretly strategizing in his heart.
With Chen Shi’s speed, he clearly couldn’t catch up, so he could only wait for the moment Chen Shi attacked to use his Sword Qi to kill him!
However, Chen Shi merely followed him and didn’t make a move, clearly waiting for him to let down his guard.
During this time, Helian Zheng had continuously maintained the Divine Shrine Embryo, his True Qi was also being consumed constantly, and if this continued, he feared there would be a time he would be exhausted.
"That’s probably what this little thing is waiting for!"
Walking unknowingly for quite a while, Helian Zheng hadn’t eaten since noon, and his stomach was growling. Turning back, he saw Chen Shi still following him, making him grit his teeth in irritation.
"If this kid keeps following me, it’s going to get dark!"
He gritted his teeth and continued forward, looking up to see the sky gradually redden and the sun becoming slender.
Eventually, the sky grew dark.
The moonlight was cold and clear, shedding light on the earth, and strange cries seemed to come from the forest, as if ghosts were weeping.
At this moment, gigantic human heads slowly rose from the trees, rising higher while absorbing the moonlight and inflating like balloons.
The heads were of old and young, male and female, some with sparse hair, some with hair tied up, some with alluring eyes, and some rugged and efficient. They all bore strange smiles, rotating their eyeballs, watching the two men walking on the road.
"Hehe," they laughed, bobbing towards the two.
Helian Zheng’s scalp tingled—this was the most common type of evil, known as Drifting Skulls. Every night, the first to emerge was invariably Drifting Skulls.
He was extremely nervous, walking quickly while checking his surroundings to avoid the Drifting Skulls getting close to him, and continuously looked back to keep an eye on Chen Shi’s movements.
In just a short moment, he was sweating all over and found it hard to keep going.
He widened his eyes and looked back hard; Chen Shi, who had been following him, was now nowhere to be seen!
Just as he worried, a Drifting Skull silently arrived above him, opened its mouth, and a long, scarlet, thin tongue hung down from it. The tongue tied itself into a slip knot at its end, hanging right behind Helian Zheng’s head.
Seeing other Drifting Skulls floating towards him, Helian Zheng quickly turned and was about to hasten his step when suddenly he felt a tightness around his neck, and he was hoisted up by the Drifting Skull, uncontrollably floating upwards!
In this moment of crisis, he immediately grabbed the tongue knot of the Drifting Skull, but the tongue tightened further, preventing him from breathing.
Behind his head, the Divine Shrine shone brightly, emitting divine light. Sword Qi burst forth, slicing towards the tongue.
Just then, a figure raced like lightning, soaring into the air!
Chen Shi charged towards Helian Zheng in mid-air!
"He used the Armored Horse Talisman, moving faster than I anticipated!"
Helian Zheng was shocked, about to release the last burst of his Sword Qi when suddenly he felt a severe pain below his belly, as Chen Shi kicked him hard in the groin.
Chen Shi raised his right hand, two fingers driving into both of Helian Zheng’s eyes, exploding them. As he pulled his right hand back, his left fist, half-clenched, thrust straight out, crushing his throat bone.
Then, grabbing Helian Zheng’s shoulder with his right hand and using it to turn around, his bear-like thick palm swung back with a whoosh, striking the back of Helian Zheng’s head, driving the Jade Pillow Bone deep into his brain!
"It happened too fast, I couldn’t react in time!" Helian Zheng thought.
Chen Shi dropped behind him, landed lightly, and quickly moved away before Drifting Skulls could encircle him.
The twelve people of the ancient temple, annihilated.
Under the moonlight, Drifting Skulls laughed "hehe," flying higher and higher, carrying away Helian Zheng’s corpse to an unknown destination.
—Thanks to Venerable Duan zhu for sponsoring the 44th league, what a boss move!
In the new book period, another 4000-word Chapter, isn’t that generous? Let’s get a monthly ticket~