Chapter 75: The murderer is indeed you
In the dense forest, Hu Bing leaned against a large tree, his body covered with wounds deep enough to reveal bone. His left forearm had been severed, and he had lost three fingers on his right hand. However, he still firmly gripped his sword, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at the masked assassins closing in on him.
“Why are you killing me?” Hu Bing asked unwillingly through gritted teeth.
None of the remaining five assassins spoke, slowly approaching like killing machines.
“Even if you don’t say it, I know. Someone in the HongHua Sect, being guilty of their own crimes, must have hired you, right? Bah!” Hu Bing spat fiercely, then propped himself up with all his might, drenched in blood.
The assassins were momentarily stunned by Hu Bing’s imposing aura and stopped their advance.
“Come on, my blood hasn’t run dry yet. You can’t complete your mission yet!” Hu Bing, with his remaining two fingers trembling, gripped the sword hilt, but his gaze was exceptionally firm.
The assassins exchanged glances, then lunged at Hu Bing.
“Disciple, this Master is useless. I still couldn’t get justice for you.” Hu Bing muttered, his face filled with resolve. Instead of retreating, he charged forward unsteadily.
Just as they were about to clash, Hu Bing saw a bizarre scene. Four of the five assassins, who had been lunging at him a moment ago, suddenly fell straight in front of him like zombies, clutching their heads and convulsing, groaning in pain.
The leader, seeing this strange scene, dared not advance further. Holding his long saber, he vigilantly scanned his surroundings and said in a faltering voice, “Who? Who ambushed us?”
Before he finished speaking, a slender figure descended from the sky, accompanied by a burst of fragrant wind. The leading assassin immediately felt as if a mountain had pressed down on him, and he fell face-first onto the ground.
“Spiritual Sense pressure of a Huashen mighty expert!” The assassin’s exposed eyes were filled with terror, not even daring to struggle.
“Hong Ling… Junior Martial Nephew Hong Ling!” Hu Bing stared dumbfounded at the gracefully descending woman. Although she was wearing a veil, he immediately recognized her as Cheng Hong Ling, the peerless genius of the HongHua Sect.
‘Why… why is she here?’ Forced into a desperate situation, Hu Bing had imagined countless possibilities for survival, but none included this scenario. Why would the peerless genius of the HongHua Sect suddenly appear here, and coincidentally save him?
Hu Bing couldn’t figure it out, and his physical condition didn’t allow him to indulge in further thought. As his nerves relaxed, his legs gave way, and he was about to collapse.
Qi Huang landed in front of her master and quickly hobbled over to support him, her lips trembling as she said, “Mas… Deacon Hu, you’ve suffered.”
“Junior Martial Nephew Hong Ling, why… why are you here?” Hu Bing asked, his lips quivering.
Qi Huang had many things she wanted to say to her master, but her current identity didn’t permit it. With tear-filled eyes, she could only say, “I… I happened to be passing by, saw you being surrounded, so… so I intervened to help.”
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have died today!” Hu Bing could no longer stand and slumped down.
“Hu… Deacon Hu, does it hurt?” Qi Huang looked at her master’s mutilated body, and tears finally couldn’t help but well up.
‘She’s actually crying for me. Are we that close?’ Hu Bing was somewhat bewildered, but he was still moved. He shook his head slightly. He truly didn’t feel much pain now because his wounds were too many and too large, rendering him numb. The only sensation was exhaustion from excessive bleeding.
“But you…” Qi Huang bit her lip, sobbing uncontrollably.
“It’s okay. I have a few pills in my pocket that can stop the bleeding quickly. I won’t die.” Hu Bing comforted her, then extended his right hand with its remaining two fingers to take out a bottle from his pocket.
Qi Huang quickly retrieved the bottle, poured out a pill, and gave it to her master. Hu Bing took the pill and swallowed it. The simple action seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and his chest began to heave violently.
Seeing her master’s mangled state, Qi Huang was filled with rage. With a movement of her spiritual sense, a nearby saber moved on its own, flashing out like lightning and directly passing beneath the leader of the assassins.
The assassin leader felt a chill on his left arm. Upon looking, he saw that his arm had suddenly separated from his shoulder without warning. The wound was as neat as if cut with a knife through tofu. Only then did the intense pain surge through his body.
“Ah!” The assassin leader let out a pig-like scream, lost his balance, and fell prone on the ground.
Qi Huang, having vented some of her frustration, found some herbs nearby and began to provide simple bandaging for her master. The wound on his severed left arm was too severe; if not treated quickly, the blood would likely drain before the medicine could take effect.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine! Do you know why I left the HongHua Sect three years ago?” Hu Bing asked with effort after comforting her.
“I know! For your disciple.” Qi Huang lowered her head deeply, guilt-ridden.
“That’s good. These people are inexplicably pursuing me. I suspect the assassins were hired by the person who harmed my disciple. If you interrogate them, you can find the mastermind. This is also a very important matter for the HongHua Sect,” Hu Bing urged impatiently.
Qi Huang was worried about her master but didn’t want to disobey him. She turned and hobbled towards the assassin, then questioned him from above, “Speak! Who sent you?”
The assassin leader merely grunted, seemingly unwilling to speak easily. Qi Huang’s spiritual sense moved, and a long saber flashed past the assassin’s feet again. The assassin felt a chill on his right foot. He looked down and saw that the tips of his five toes, along with the front of his shoes, had fallen off his foot. Then, boundless pain stimulated his nerves, and his screams intensified. He begged for mercy, “No, no… Immortal Fairy… I’ll say… I’ll say… I don’t know who they are.”
“Courting death!” Qi Huang’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed. Three long sabers appeared around her, ready to slice the assassin into a thousand pieces.
“Spare my life… Immortal Fairy… Everything I say is the truth. We are just killers, doing our jobs for money. How would we know the client’s background?” The assassin leader explained, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“Then how can I find him?” Qi Huang asked, suppressing her anger.
“He… he only gave a deposit, Immortal… Immortal Fairy, if you want to find him, take this waist token from our ‘Viper Killer Organization’ to the Lishui Liufang Inn, tell the owner that mission number five is completed, and have him use the Thousand Li Sound Transmission Device to inform the person. That person will naturally come to pay the remaining commission,” the assassin leader said breathlessly.
“Where is the waist token?” Qi Huang demanded.
To save his life, the assassin leader didn’t dare to play any tricks. With his remaining hand, he tremblingly took out a waist token from his embrace. Qi Huang took it and saw that there were no words on the waist token, only a carved red-eyed viper.
“Thank you! I’ll end your suffering now!” With a movement of her spiritual sense, a saber precisely slashed across the assassin leader’s throat.
Next, Qi Huang didn’t dare to delay. She rolled up her master with her spiritual sense and headed towards the nearby Changming County town.
“Junior Martial Nephew Hong Ling, have you reached the Huashen realm? You can actually fly?” Hu Bing asked incredulously.
Qi Huang couldn’t tell the truth, so she could only vaguely nod.
“A Huashen realm expert at fifteen or sixteen years old. Such talent is unique throughout the Xihui Dynasty. Heaven truly blesses our HongHua Sect.” Hu Bing’s pale face showed excitement, and his spirit and energy instantly recovered significantly. He then looked at Qi Huang’s leg with some doubt and asked, “Since you are already a Huashen realm expert, what about the injury on your leg?”
“It’s nothing, I encountered a relatively strong demonic beast.” Qi Huang still couldn’t explain, so she continued to lie.
“What kind of demonic beast can injure a Huashen realm expert? Could it be the source within that fierce land in Meng County?” Hu Bing’s face turned serious, and he began to speculate to himself.
Upon arriving at the county town, Qi Huang helped her master into a medical clinic for proper treatment, and she also took this opportunity to carefully bandage her own wounds. Because Hu Bing’s injuries were very severe, the doctor, to be on the safe side, suggested he stay for a few days of observation. Qi Huang found an inn nearby to stay. After a thorough wash, she took out the Tongming Comb to restore her spiritual sense. Due to the immense expenditure, she was feeling quite drowsy. The Tongming Comb, nourished by Ghost Tomatoes several times, although unable to increase the upper limit of spiritual sense, could still replenish it.
A few days later, when her master’s condition had stabilized, Qi Huang disguised herself as a man and went alone to the prefecture capital of Lishui County, preparing to expose the person who hired the assassins. If nothing unexpected happened, this person was likely the one who poisoned her or their accomplice from back then.
Qi Huang arrived at the Liufang Inn, presented the killer organization’s waist token to the owner, and informed him that mission number five was completed. The owner, without any suspicion, went into the back room and soon returned saying that the client had been notified and would come to pay the remaining money in two days. Qi Huang was overjoyed and stayed at a nearby inn for the next two days, spending them in anxious anticipation.
On the third day at noon, the employer finally arrived to pay the remaining commission, but wore a mask. Unfortunately, this could not block spiritual sense.
“It really is you…” After Qi Huang “saw” the person’s appearance clearly, her long-held suspicions were finally confirmed.
