Chapter 18: Oscar-Worthy Acting
In the dimly lit, blood-colored forest, two figures zipped past the treetops one after another, stirring up gusts of wind and startling unknown birds into flight.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
*Bang!*
Xia Feng was struck again in the back and sent flying backward, crashing through several thick branches before falling into a large, uprooted hollow in the forest.
Thump, thump, thump— As he tumbled and collided, the crystal pocket watch hanging on his chest flew into the air and shattered, scattering crystal shards. A yellowed old photograph slowly floated down.
“Ptooey, ptooey!” Xia Feng struggled to get up, spitting out the dirt from his mouth. He caught the photo, carefully tucked it into his inner clothing, and then narrowed his eyes to look up.
The bald strong man stood at the edge of the hollow, looking down from above.
“Heh heh~ kid, any further in and you’ll be in the heavy calamity zone. Where else can you run?”
Seeing the strong man grinning arrogantly and unhurriedly, Xia Feng inexplicably thought of Han Xin dancing around Luban and repeatedly returning to base. Yes, he used to enjoy that trick with Han Xin; it was very annoying.
“Forget it, bald guy. Your grandpa isn’t running anymore.” Xia Feng flicked his long saber and beckoned to the bald man with his finger, “Come on, come here.”
“Seeking death!!” The bald strong man’s face instantly turned cold. Before he even finished speaking, he was in front of Xia Feng. *Scrape*— a sharp, piercing metallic clang erupted, and the wave of heat from the exploding flames directly sent Xia Feng flying.
“Pfft—” Blood sprayed into the air, but Xia Feng, spinning in mid-air, grinned and with a backhand, chopped Three Overlapping Waves towards the ground. *Bang!*
Using the recoil, he surged towards the higher sky, where a black hole, no longer possessing its devouring gravity and gradually shrinking, was located. This was the same black hole that had sucked Xia Feng into the Evil Dragon Forbidden Zone before!
Before entering the black hole, Xia Feng casually flipped his hand back and offered a middle finger, a ‘friendly gesture.’
The bald strong man smiled faintly, stomped his foot, and flew directly towards the black hole. It was just a black hole disaster; did this kid think he could escape by running in here? He was too naive.
In the blink of an eye, he entered a world of heavy snowfall. Night had fallen, and the mist in the sky was thick, obscuring the distant scenery.
However, the bald strong man instantly felt that the Calamity Force concentration in this place was abnormally high, estimating that he had run into a heavy calamity zone.
He looked around and saw that the black-haired youth in the distance, on the snowy ground, seemed to panic when he saw him follow. Then, he turned and continued to flee, even stumbling as he ran, nearly falling face-first into the snow.
The bald strong man gave a teasing low laugh and decided to end it quickly. “No time to linger here, kid. Old man isn’t playing with you anymore!”
With that, he unleashed his ultimate move, waves of white dust radiating from his feet. His eyes were also covered in a blood-red hue. *Swish*—
The falling snow in the air was instantly cleared, forming distinct upper and lower layers. The strong man, clad in mink fur, shot out like an arrow released from its bow. In an instant, his fist struck behind the black-haired youth, who was frantically fleeing and scrambling—ten meters away.
Xia Feng noticed the commotion, slowly rolled over, and the strong man’s soulless corpse, propelled by inertia, shot past him face-first, dragging a trough nearly a hundred meters long in the snow like a plow.
Seeing this, Xia Feng calmly clapped his hands and stood up, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Finally managed to trick you in here. My acting was exhausting.”
He carefully recalled his acting just now: panic, fear, the despair of facing death, and helplessness. In his haste, he had even stumbled into the snow several times, rolling and scrambling, only covering five meters in the last five seconds.
With such brilliant acting, winning an Oscar wouldn’t be too much, right?
“Save—save me!”
Suddenly, a hoarse, weak cry for help came from above. Xia Feng looked up and saw countless terrifying black mist coalescing around a distorted spirit body, like wolves tearing apart a young rabbit.
The spirit body’s face was ferocious and in pain, extending its hand desperately towards Xia Feng. “Save me!!”
“As expected of a Second-stage expert. I can still hear you speak in spirit body form,” Xia Feng mused.
“Black Moon Holy See! The person who sent me to kill you is the Black Moon Holy See!”
The black mist had already devoured his neck, and only his head was exposed, frantically extending misty hands towards Xia Feng, roaring anxiously, “Save me! I can help you kill them!”
The bald strong man was filled with terror and anger. He was a dignified Second-stage Spirit Master, even capable of fighting a Third-stage Spirit Master for a while, yet he was tricked by a mere brat!
He couldn’t understand what was going on in this damned place? And how was the kid named Xia able to remain unharmed?!
But no matter what, since Xia Feng could survive in this cursed place, he might have a way to save him.
For now, he would feign submission, and then he would kill this damned brat!
“You said the Black Moon Holy See sent you?” Xia Feng looked puzzled. “Who from the Black Moon Holy See?” *Who knows?* The bald man was anxious. The mysterious person wore a mask at the time, making it impossible to determine their identity. He deduced it was the Black Moon Holy See based on his years of experience in missions, but that was all he knew.
“Save me first, and I’ll tell you, I swear! I swear on the Star Gods!” The black mist spread past his nose. He mumbled indistinctly, his voice growing weaker. “Xia Feng, save…”
Xia Feng looked at his desperate, pleading gaze and nodded thoughtfully. “So, it seems you don’t know exactly who it was.”
“I do know…” The bald man’s eyes widened, his mouth agape.
“No, if I say you don’t know, then you don’t know.”
“!!!” Xia—” His last visible eye was filled with anger and regret for accepting this damn mission. The black mist engulfed his eye. “No!!!”
*Riiiiip—*
The black mist devoured the spirit body, and heaven and earth fell silent.
* * *
“Ten hours.”
Uncle Wei glanced at his watch, his expressionless face. “The longest ever. Acting President Zhao, aren’t you going to send someone in to check the situation?”
“No need.” Zhao Jie waved the sleeves of his martial arts robe and said coldly, “I know my disciple’s personality. It’s rare for him to enter the Evil Dragon Forest, so he won’t come out easily.”
*!*
“He’s probably wandering around looking for treasure. When he can no longer withstand the Calamity Force Erosion, he’ll naturally come out.”
As he spoke, a faint rustling sound came from the distance.
Both of them looked up simultaneously. Zhao Jie grinned. “Old Wei, it’s time for you to transfer the money.”
Uncle Wei, leaning on his cane, stood straight. His gaze lowered, about to say something, when he suddenly froze. He stared in astonishment at the black-haired figure leaping out from the trees ahead.
He suppressed the twitch of his lips with great effort and said calmly, “Really? Why don’t Acting President Zhao open his eyes wider and take a good look.”
“…”
Actually, Zhao Jie didn’t need Uncle Wei to say anything. The playful smile on his face froze the moment it appeared. The figure walking out from the distance was severely different from what he had expected.
A black-haired youth, clad in a tattered trench coat, his face covered in bloodstains, grinning with a mouthful of white teeth, shouldered his saber, catching Zhao Jie’s deepest gaze.
“Xia—Feng?”
Zhao Jie’s sharp eyes, marked by a fierce scar, flashed with surprise and doubt. He narrowed them, completely bewildered. How was this possible?
Uncle Wei, leaning on his cane, walked forward. As he passed Zhao Jie, he casually patted his shoulder and said indifferently, “Acting President Zhao, if your eyesight is poor, you can make an appointment at the hospital. Of course, if you’re having hallucinations, you can come to me directly. I’ll treat you for free.”
Zhao Jie: “…”
“Two masters, here are the Life Fruits you wanted.”
Xia Feng tossed the fruits over. “This means the competition is over, right?”
Zhao Jie caught the Life Fruit, glanced at it, and then looked up. “Where is Qi Xiao? Did you kill him?”
“Yeah, what else?” Xia Feng shrugged, answering casually.
“Impossible!” Zhao Jie’s eyes turned cold, and the terrifying pressure of a Third-stage Spirit Master instantly bore down on Xia Feng. “Speak! How did you kill him?!”
*Tap—*
The dragon-headed cane struck the ground. The middle-aged man in a suit and with slicked-back hair turned and stood in front of Xia Feng, his gaze indifferent. “Your Excellency Acting President Zhao! Are you openly going to defy the rules of the Six-Tails Sect?”
