"Did it work?"
Hu Ma looked in the direction of the sound, but he couldn't see clearly at that moment.
He hadn't fully refined his Seven Apertures, so his eyesight wasn't sharp enough. Coupled with Ji Tang's swiftness, Hu Ma could only vaguely see a few silver needles embedded in his body.
They weren't inserted deeply; some were merely on the surface, looking as if they would fall off with the slightest movement.
Shousui men cultivated their Five Organs; even deep wounds to them wouldn't necessarily be fatal. Moreover, Ji Tang had Entered the Mansion, making him undoubtedly more formidable and mysterious. These were just silver needles barely entering his body; why was he so afraid?
However, while doubt flickered in Hu Ma's heart, Miss Red Wine maintained a calm demeanor. Ji Tang, too, seemed to sense something unusually terrifying. With a roar, a fierce yin qi surged from him, and the large sword in his hand seemed to brim with an Evil Spirit.
Facing this fierce energy, Hu Ma was startled. He suddenly drew his sword and stepped in front of Miss Red Wine.
He had just seen Miss Red Wine duel Ji Tang. It was clear that after only a few exchanges, Miss Red Wine was already in a perilous situation, visibly struggling.
His own skills were certainly not as great as Miss Red Wine's, but in close combat, he could still be of some help.
"Huh?"
After retreating, Miss Red Wine pulled a red thread from her sleeve. She didn't even glance at Ji Tang, who was posturing as if to charge. However, when she saw Hu Ma step in front of her, a hint of appreciation showed in her eyes.
Both were Shousui men, but Old White was far less skilled than this Beggar Gang leader. Yet, Hu Ma had instinctively dared to shield her; he was quite a man of responsibility.
No wonder Bai…
As her thoughts raced, her hands didn't stop. She put one end of the red thread into her mouth, holding it gently. Then she lifted her gaze towards Ji Tang.
WHOOSH!
Across from them, Ji Tang appeared furious and menacing, as if ready to charge desperately. But unexpectedly, it was a feint. After taking two steps forward, he abruptly spun around and fled, his feet kicking up two trails of dust. He was even a fraction faster than a galloping warhorse.
He escaped?
Hu Ma hadn't expected this from Ji Tang, who had been so ferocious just moments ago, ready to kill without so much as a greeting.
Now, his escape was just as decisive—again, without a word.
Unexpectedly, Miss Red Wine, standing behind him, laughed softly. "That is the most annoying thing about Shousui men; they can fight and they can flee, like a wild ass, no one can catch them.
"But today he won't escape…"
…
Amidst her soft laughter, Ji Tang had already fled a dozen zhang. As he ran, he hurriedly reached to pull out the silver needles recently stuck into him.
Yet, unexpectedly, these silver needles, which seemed as if they would fall out with a mere shake, behaved strangely. When he reached to pull them, just as his fingers gripped the end of a needle and applied a little force, it was as if the needle came alive, burrowing deeper into his body instead.
The more force he used to pull, the faster the needles burrowed into his body.
This bizarre development shocked him. He no longer dared to pull at them and instead quickened his pace, desperate to get as far away as possible.
He hadn't covered much distance when he suddenly felt a scorching, smoky sensation on his right side, as if someone were pressing burning paper money to his eye.
He hastily turned his head. In a nearby field sat an abandoned grave. Beside it, an old man in a black cotton jacket and a melon-rind cap held three incense sticks high, then bowed forcefully downwards.
Before the old man, the object of his worship was, surprisingly, a red bodice.
Amidst his confusion, Ji Tang felt a jolt. That red bodice… why did it look so much like the 'mandarin ducks playing in water' one belonging to his mistress?
Just as this thought arose, he inexplicably felt his head grow dizzy and heavy. It was as if he had momentarily forgotten he was fleeing, and his pace slackened.
A strange mood suddenly overcame him. He felt as if his hastily fleeing self had lost great face, as if the little shopkeeper and Lady Han were behind him, pointing at his back and roaring with laughter.
He suddenly had no desire to flee. He felt that his honor at this moment was more important than anything else. He just wanted to turn back and fight them again!
Not good…
This urge didn't make Ji Tang actually turn back to fight, but its mere emergence in his mind significantly slowed his escape.
After several breaths, his muddled mind finally recognized the problem: Am I insane? Go back and fight again? The time for One Incense stick to burn is already up! Kill if possible, retreat if not—wasn't that the rule I set for myself?
Each time he acted, he set a limit for himself: the time it takes for One Incense stick to burn. This was to remind himself: a Shousui man, when undertaking a task, has the duration of One Incense. If it can be done, it must be done within that time. If not, he should be aware of the situation and retreat.
It was precisely because he had strictly adhered to this rule for many years that, even in his current muddled state, he could retain that last shred of rationality and make the correct decision.
Realizing this, he roared furiously, dispelling the fog in his mind. Simultaneously, he twisted his body, veering off the main road and bolting directly into the adjacent field. He cut across the farmland, desperately trying to get away.
Lady Han has set traps for me; I can't take the main road anymore.
Holding this thought, he pounded across the soft earth of the fields, each step sinking deep as he charged forward.
He hadn't fled far when he spotted a narrow, weed-choked path ahead in the fields. A woman was seated sideways on a donkey. She was buxom, her features delicate and charming, and her clothes were soft and expensive. She looked like someone from a wealthy city family, someone who shouldn't be in a place like this.
She watched Ji Tang approach, neither dodging nor evading. Holding a peach blossom plucked from who-knows-where, she smiled gently and tapped the donkey on its head.
The donkey immediately let out a bray, its belly spasmed, and it discharged a stream of acrid yellow urine.
The urine soaked into the muddy field. As Ji Tang sprinted, he suddenly felt the ground beneath him turn slick and soft. He was taking large strides, but the earth felt like a marsh, and he nearly stumbled.
Worse, this marshy patch reeked of donkey urine.
Has Lady Han also deployed masters here to intercept me?
Ji Tang seethed inwardly, feeling an overwhelming urge to rush forward and tear the woman on the donkey to shreds. However, he clenched his jaw and suppressed it. He wrenched his right leg free from the mud, planted his left foot firmly, and launched himself forward in a powerful leap.
When running on both legs, his momentum was like a charging warhorse, powerful and imposing. But now, using only his left leg, he leaped over a zhang high and covered three to four zhangs in distance. Upon landing, he pushed off again, jumping even higher and farther, rapidly pulling away.
"Flying Leg?"
Even the woman by the field path on the donkey looked slightly surprised. Then, she pursed her lips in a smile and said, "A pity it's a lame one."
There's no other way…
Ji Tang knew this situation was even worse than he had anticipated. After fleeing for so long, he felt the silver needles had already burrowed halfway into his flesh. The unknown danger filled him with dread.
Steeling himself, once he escaped the field, he abruptly changed direction and rushed towards a mountain ravine outside the town. This was the rendezvous point where he had told the elder and the Eight Great Vajra to gather the minor chieftains, divide the spoils, and then disperse.
If he could escape on his own, he would never lead danger to them. But now that he was in dire straits, he had no choice but to rely on their strength for protection. Once he reached a place with many of his men, his options would multiply. Even if they only managed to shield him temporarily, giving him a chance to pull out the silver needles, it would be worth it.
However, just as he sprinted at full speed and finally reached the small mountain ravine where his men were supposed to be gathered, an overpowering stench of blood assaulted his nostrils. He froze for a moment before realizing the blood wasn't his own.
The first thing he saw upon arriving was a lone figure.
He was a man in a black robe, his hair disheveled, his age impossible to discern. He squatted before a bonfire, roasting the blade in his hand over the flames.
Or rather, he was roasting the blood on the blade.
It was almost dry, SIZZLING and emitting a scorched odor.
And behind this man, Ji Tang saw the Eight Great Vajra of the Beggar Gang, the elder who had been attending him just moments ago, and all the minor chieftains he had summoned from various locations.
They had all been slaughtered. Their bodies were piled up like a small hill behind the black-robed man. The fresh blood on the blade he was currently roasting had undoubtedly been drawn from them.
"Gang Leader Ji, don't worry. Your men… I've already helped you dismiss them…"
Sensing Ji Tang's desperate approach, the man roasting his blade slowly looked up. He gave Ji Tang a brilliant, amiable smile.
But in that instant, Ji Tang felt his scalp tingle and his eyes almost bulge from their sockets.
The rationality that, just moments before, had urged him to flee with all his might, vanished without a trace.
He couldn't even form a complete sentence. Instead, with a sudden, furious roar, he used his forward momentum to leap high into the air. Gripping the stolen treasure sword with both hands, he brought it down with the force of a thunderbolt upon the man before the fire pit.
The man in the black robe, however, merely tilted his head up, grinned at Ji Tang, and with a flick of his wrist, the blade in his hand swept upwards.
As his blade arced upwards, it seemed to ignite the very flames in the fire pit, which surged forth like a fiery dragon to meet Ji Tang's descending strike head-on.
Ji Tang's strike, imbued with the full power of a Shousui man who had Entered the Mansion, was met and completely neutralized by this figure.
Only the corners of the man's robe fluttered, and sparks swirled around him; his body itself remained utterly still.
Ji Tang drew a deep breath. He finally understood what kind of setup he had walked into.
「…」
「…」
"He's run off…" Hu Ma looked at the empty path ahead, then turned back to Miss Red Wine, unable to resist reminding her.
"He's completely vanished…"
"He can't escape…"
But Miss Red Wine merely held the red thread in her mouth and smiled faintly. "I'm just letting him run around a bit to see for himself how completely all his paths are blocked.
"When he himself is convinced that there's no escape, that's the true moment to close the net on a Shousui man."
…
As she spoke, she held her fingers in an elegant orchid gesture, winding the red thread. Her little finger then gently hooked the thread, and the taut red line suddenly emitted a sharp BUZZ.