Chapter 678: Kill

Chapter 678: Kill

With a soft thud, Chi Baishui’s head fell to the ground and rolled, finally coming to a stop right against the bound feet of Yang Xiaohai's eldest sister.

Her expression shifted from cold indifference to shock, and from shock to stark terror, as tears welled up in her eyes. "Father!!"

Those words seemed to flip a switch, and the surroundings erupted with a sudden roar of rage as curses and fishing spears flew together toward Li Huowang.

A spear pierced into Li Huowang’s chest and emerged straight through his back, leaving him entirely unhindered.

Li Huowang stamped his feet hard against the ground, brandishing his Purple Tassel Sword as he charged directly toward them.

He was busy now, with no time to waste bickering with these people.

Moreover, considering the wounds on Yang Xiaohai, the old man’s previous attempt to steal the Rotten Wood Ruyi, and the presence of that Fajiao woman, there seemed little left to discuss; direct action was far more practical.

Seeing that Li Huowang was alone, the younger, able-bodied Dan people attempted to use their seafaring fishing techniques, coordinating their movements to encircle and slay him.

But the moment Li Huowang truly began to move, the scent of blood rapidly filled the air, and he commenced a slaughter that allowed for no suspense.

The tattoos that made them feel as comfortable as fish in water could offer no protection now; the sword in Li Huowang’s hand repeatedly cut through the bodies of the Dan people, slicing apart their dragon-scaled skin.

Yang Xiaohai and Zhao Xiumei stood off to the side, watching open-mouthed as more and more corpses accumulated on the ground, all of whom were his relatives.

At that moment, Yang Xiaohai wanted to shout something at Li Huowang’s retreating figure, but for a time, he did not know what to call out.

The battle was over almost before it began; witnessing Li Huowang’s terrifying power, the anger that had just risen within the Dan people vanished in an instant.

They scattered like frightened birds and beasts, fleeing desperately toward the distant seashore, turning themselves into helpless targets for Li Huowang without offering the slightest resistance.

"Senior Brother Li!! Enough! That's enough!!" The words finally burst from Yang Xiaohai’s mouth.

Li Huowang did not stop, though he ceased pursuing the others and charged straight toward the woman with the bound feet who wore the black cloth on her shoulder, for she was the only Fajiao follower among them.

Just as Li Huowang reached the bound-footed woman and raised his long sword, Yang Xiaohai’s voice echoed from behind him, "Senior Brother Li!! Don't!!"

The blade meant for her neck shifted down an inch, severing her left foot instead.

Holding the dripping sword, Li Huowang turned around and looked at Yang Xiaohai a short distance away. "What? Do you know this Fajiao cultist?"

"I... I..." Yang Xiaohai looked at the decapitated Chi Baishui and the Dan people collapsed in pools of blood; his trembling lips parted once more as he spoke with painful conflict, "No... I don't know her."

With a swift swish, the blade whipped a line of blood onto the ground, and before Yang Xiaohai’s wide-staring eyes, his eldest sister's body slid apart diagonally, splitting in two.

In the next instant, Yang Xiaohai’s entire body went limp, and he collapsed directly onto the ground.

Had Senior Brother Li done wrong? No, he had not; he had come to save him, yet Yang Xiaohai did not know why he felt things should not have happened this way.

"Father," Li Sui said as she walked over from afar, followed by the carriages of the White Lotus Sect.

At this moment, Bai Lingmiao also approached, her expression somewhat conflicted; she seemed to have overheard something, looking now at Li Huowang, now at Yang Xiaohai, and then at Chi Baishui’s corpse on the ground, the sarira within her allowing her to hear much further than anyone else.

"Are the Fajiao followers in Later Shu all this weak? Is it because they expanded too quickly?" Li Huowang kicked the bloody, three-inch bound foot by his side, thinking with some perplexity.

The Fajiao cultists he had encountered before, regardless of their actual strength, would at least not flee after losing so few people.

After pondering for a few moments, Li Huowang lifted his long sword, wiped both sides of the blade on his red Taoist robe, and sheared it back into the scabbard on his back.

He walked back to Yang Xiaohai, looking down at him with some displeasure. "What is wrong with you? You knew Later Shu was plagued by the Fajiao, so why did you still come here? Do you care nothing for your own life?"

"When you saw that things were getting unsettled, your first instinct should have been to return to Niuxin Village! You should have waited until this wave of trouble passed!"

Yang Xiaohai sniffled hard, holding back his tears as he looked at the senior brother before him. "Senior Brother Li, how did you get here?"

"I came to Later Shu to handle some matters, and while visiting Sun Baolu in Qingqiu, he told me you were heading this way too."

"It’s a good thing I knew you were ahead and hurried along; if I had been a step slower, you and your wife would have been killed by the Fajiao."

As Li Huowang spoke, he reached out, pulled the fishing spears from Yang Xiaohai’s hands and feet, and produced the Huoao Sutra to begin healing him.

Accompanied by the crackling of burning flames and Yang Xiaohai’s agonizing screams, the bleeding holes were gradually replaced by horrific burn scars.

Once Li Huowang finished, Bai Lingmiao stepped forward from the side, took out some gauze, and began to bandage Yang Xiaohai, while Li Huowang looked up at the dark sky and then out at the black sea in the distance, frowning in thought before speaking to Yang Xiaohai, "I don't feel safe letting the two of you return the way you came. Follow me for now. Once we find the Jiantian Directorate of Later Shu, I will have them send a few men to escort you back to Niuxin Village."

Yang Xiaohai clutched his injured hand and nodded silently. "Understood."

"What kind of creatures are these three?" Li Huowang turned his attention toward the three children.

Though dressed as children, they behaved exactly like monkeys and looked exceedingly bizarre; at first glance, that profound sense of disharmony made Li Huowang suspect they were three anomalies.

"They... I saved them on the road. They are pitiful souls, just like us." Yang Xiaohai then explained the origin of the monkey children to Li Huowang.

As he spoke, he gradually calmed down, his emotions becoming less volatile.

Even though his biological father had just died, he truly could not find it in his heart to grieve for a man who had wanted to sell his wife.

That man was not his family, and none of the Chi family were his family; Senior Brother Li and the others were.

Yet he still felt a pang of sorrow for those relatives and his eldest sister; they had indeed wronged him, but their sins surely did not warrant death.

"Let's go," Li Huowang said, leading Yang Xiaohai toward the dirt road along the distant seashore.

Because of his injured foot, Yang Xiaohai walked with a heavy limp and seemed to be in great pain; though the wounds had been treated, the burns were still excruciating.

Seeing this, Li Huowang turned his head toward the carriage behind them and shouted, "Xiucai! Come over here and carry Xiaohai to the carriage!"

"Right away, Master," Lu Xiucai said as he walked over, lifting Yang Xiaohai onto his back without another word and heading toward the carriage.

Leaning against Lu Xiucai’s back, Yang Xiaohai looked at his somewhat haggard face, as if recalling something, and asked with a touch of hesitation and caution, "Xiucai, is your eldest brother, Juren, doing well?"

(End of Chapter)