Chapter 67
Volume 1
Chapter 51: Mystic Arts Temple (6)
"Spare me!" Zhang Shucheng was facing the storm outside, his face full of terror. He slowly turned his head to look at Miao Yi.
"Speak! Who gave you the order??" Miao Yi asked in a cold tone, his hand holding the spear penetrating the other man.
Even an ant desires to live, and in this situation Zhang Shucheng would naturally reach for the faintest trace of hope. He anxiously replied, as his breath became more hurried, "It was Xiong Xiao, I was ordered by Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao."
"I’ve long since suspected it was him, but we barely interacted the few times I met him. We hardly ever talked, and shouldn’t bear any resentment towards each other. Why is he targeting me?"
"I don’t know, I really don’t know…. Miao Yi, spare me, please spare me!"
"Coming this far, you still hide the truth?"
"I really don’t know, he didn’t tell me, I wish to know why he’s targeting you, too. Spare me, I beg you…."
Pu! Abruptly, Miao Yi retracted his spear, and sent Zhang Shucheng flying with a kick. At the same time, the silver spear in his hand flew out with momentum, impaling Zhang Shucheng’s head and nailing him to a stone pillar under the temple’s eaves.
Miao Yi walked towards the stone pillar, reached out and grabbed the end of the spear, and simply said, "Your wounds are too dire to be saved, so I might as well just give you a swift end!"
The people inside the temple looked at one another.
With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi pulled the spear out. Zhang Shucheng’s corpse slowly slid down and slumped to the ground. Half his body still hung under the stone path, the blood under the eaves flowing away along with the running water.
The spear was slowly extended out of the eaves, allowing the trickling rainwater to wash away the blood staining it. As lightning flashed, the silver spear gleamed coldly.
Miao Yi looked at the spear being cleansed by the rainwater, his face expressionless. He was contemplating the source of the problem. He really couldn’t understand why Xiong Xiao wanted him dead. Meeting someone with such a position and cultivation, and then to be targeted by him—how should he proceed from now on?
It was late at night, and the booming sounds of rolling thunder in the night sky began to slowly subside until all was utterly silent. Even the noise from the torrential pouring rain began to quiet down. In the hall, the billowing flame started to stabilize, eventually being left with only the sound of water dripping from the eaves outside.
The dark clouds in the night sky slowly dispersed, and the sound of bugs started to echo from the surroundings. From the back of the dark clouds, the moon had revealed its timid face. It shone on Miao Yi’s face, and his previously motionless self moved slightly.
The rain stopped? Under the eaves, Miao Yi snapped out of his contemplation. He retracted his spear and lifted his head to look at the bright, flawless moon in the night sky.
Suddenly, a cold piercing aura slowly emanated from the courtyard, and the bug cries that resounded moments ago abruptly came to a halt. The horses tied at the corridor were nervously moving about, as if they were afraid.
Having noticed something was off, Miao
Ghost aura!
Miao Yi was startled. Thinking back on what was lurking around these parts, he cursed inwardly, while thinking, he couldn’t be this unlucky, could he? Having just killed off the two "accomplices", the thing decides to show up now?
He wanted to run away at that moment, but realizing there were still people inside, he hastily dashed back. "The rain has stopped, you all should quickly leave this place!"
Unexpectedly, he was left speechless when he saw that group of people, including the Lady Boss, were looking at him in trepidation. They bunched together, trembling in fear and cautiously said, "Great Immortal, please don’t kill us."
"Why would I kill you all for no reason? I still haven’t thanked you for tipping me off." Miao Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but now was not the time for idle chatter. He immediately shouted, "There might be something foul around here, you all should leave quickly."
Like a poor defenseless girl, the Lady Boss pinched her skirt anxiously, and meekly asked, "What sort of foul thing?"
Miao Yi stared at her and said, "Ghosts!"
The group was apparently shocked. The Lady Boss’s reaction was even more exaggerated; with both her hands covering her mouth, as though she was a helpless and terrified girl, she pleaded, "Is what Great Immortal said true? But this is the wilderness, and after such a heavy downpour, the mountain paths are sure to be muddy. That will make it even more difficult to find our way in this darkness!"
Miao Yi felt a sense of resignation towards her. At this point in time, she was scared witless, yet she could still afford to be troubled over walking in the rain and dark.
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with her, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside, "Leave everything unnecessary behind, only carry your important belongings with you. There are six of us including myself, and there are four horses. You can forget about the one carrying the luggage, and as for the remaining three, we will ride each one in pairs. Before all else, we must leave this place immediately."
"Great Immortal is right, but….." The Lady Boss knitted her brows, and said in hesitation, "But I am already promised to someone, I can’t be so close to another man, let alone share a horse together. If word of this got out, how will I face the public?"
Miao Yi was speechless, and couldn’t help scrutinizing her. Reflecting on how enticing her attire was, she should be braver than even a cavewoman, yet she still had the gall to say she was promised to someone—it was hard to imagine where on earth her husband could go to cry.
Obviously, these were thoughts he kept to himself. Dragging her outside, he straight up placed one of the reins in her hands, and exclaimed, "You ride one on your own, my leg power is quite strong, so I won’t be any slower than you all. Let’s go!’
"But I don’t know how to ride a horse, what if I fall down?" the Lady Boss said meekly, her subordinates had all come outside as well.
Now that the gloomy clouds had already completely dispersed from the night sky, the bright moon was s.h.i.+ning upon the vast land.
Miao Yi was once again rendered speechless, he could already feel the Yin energy within the whole temple slowly becoming heavier under the light of the moon. He helplessly shook his head and said, "Then pick someone that you fancy to ride with you! Our first priority is to leave this place, don’t think too deeply about anything else."
The Lady Boss reluctantly replied with an "Oh", cast a glance at him and said, "Then it’s best if I ride with Great Immortal! I am timid, and I will feel safe if Great Immortal is with me."
When he heard this, Miao Yi who was holding the reins, subconsciously leaned against the saddle in order to support himself. Just now she was going on about how it was inconvenient for her to ride with another man since she was already promised to someone, and moments after, she decides to come at him. Miao Yi thought to himself, I am the one who should be worried about my sanct.i.ty here.
Actually, he now had some reservations—he had yet to ride a horse with a woman before, especially not one so beautiful.
The Lady Boss saw him pretending to steady himself with the saddle, and couldn’t help rolling her eyes, wondering whether she was really that scary? Normal men couldn’t even hope for this, and he was pretending to be all righteous.
Miao Yi did not think that now was the time to worry about these trivial matters, so he decisively untied the other two reins to pa.s.s to the other four, and took over the one from the Lady Boss. He anxiously said, "Then let it be so! Everyone follow my earlier instructions, we must quickly leave this place."
The four of them looked at the Lady Boss in puzzlement, as if asking, Lady Boss are you sure about this, sharing a steed with him?
The Lady Boss obviously knew what the four of them were thinking. She quickly glared at them, pointing towards the figure currently pulling a horse down the stairs. Behind Miao Yi’s back, she opened her mouth and made an ‘O’ shape. The meaning was clear—she was messing with him.
Then immediately after, as though she were a feeble girl, the Lady Boss sheepishly followed after Miao Yi.