Chapter 25#

He thought, I no longer owe you. Everyone in this world owes me.

This equally vicious resentment sprouted from the young man’s heart, irrigated by the killing intent in the Flower Heart Mantra, burning into a prairie fire, blooming and bearing fruit in an instant. A forbearing smile appeared at the corner of Hua Jinian’s mouth. He smiled grimly, gritting his teeth word by word: “I’m afraid you don’t have the ability!”

As soon as this sentence came out, two fierce killing intents collided and burst under the stage, piercing people all over with cold. Before they could gasp, they were dazzled by the sword light that followed. Yi Xinchou abandoned her usual Cloud Mara Gauze and used a small dagger, attacking the young man instantly as if wind was born under her feet.

The dagger slid past Hua Jinian’s nose bridge. The young man took a wrong step and narrowly avoided this move. Unexpectedly, Yi Xinchou’s footwork became faster and faster, and finally the whole person was like a blurred white shadow. After blocking a few moves, Hua Jinian found himself forced to the edge of the stage. The killing intent in his eyes became even more intense. He assumed a starting posture with both hands, stood firmly with both feet, and facing the dagger the woman attacked in the next instant, his right hand shot out like lightning, clamping the blade. Immediately, his left hand extended, grasping the woman’s arm. With a pull and a push of both hands, exerting force on his palms, Yi Xinchou vomited a mouthful of blood with a “wah”, retreated four steps, then another three steps, and half-knelt on the ground.

Everyone under the stage thought the outcome was decided. Just as they took a breath, they saw Hua Jinian step forward a few steps, bend down and pull up Yi Xinchou’s arm again, shouting loudly, swinging her body and throwing it hard on the ground. A muffled sound of flesh hitting the wooden board, blood mist, and then a few crisp cracking sounds, getting louder and denser. Immediately with a boom, dust filled the air, and the grandstand collapsed just like that.

Hua Jinian laughed loudly, raising his fist to continue hitting. Abbot Jiechi shouted loudly: “Enough!” Separated by the vague smoke and dust, the young man finally put down the fist that was still raised. After his mind cleared, he looked blankly at the woman under his feet whose life or death was unknown, standing there dazedly. The waves of noise and cursing on the grandstand were strange to him. This dusty place splashed with blood was as silent and desolate as the beginning of the wilderness. It was so quiet that even the sound of blood flowing could be heard, but his eyes became drier and refused to shed tears.

In his gentle nature, he always remembered the insignificant kindness others treated him with. He looked at the blood-stained hand outside the woman’s sleeve and couldn’t help reaching out to touch it. It had pulled him out of death, it was always used to pulling his rough cuffs, it wiped the cold tears when the owner cried, it tied the praying jade on his neck. For a moment, a deep and profound helplessness appeared on Hua Jinian’s face. He tried to clasp his hand tightly with that blood-stained hand. While reaching out, wanting to help the woman up, he turned his head to look at his father.

He wanted to ask him why, how could it be like this? Why was he foolish enough to want to become stronger? Why didn’t he choose to hide within the high walls of Futu Fortress for a lifetime? Why did he want that man to look up to him! Why did he chase… chase until the end of the road, only to discover his own weakness and incompetence. Wanting to look back, he saw his past crooked and stumbling footprints, every step bloody and unbearable to look back on—he regretted it—

He was about to speak, but saw that tall man who had never been moved suddenly stand up from the chair, knocking over the low table in front of him, looking at him with some panic, his lips opening and closing, seeming to be shouting something. The young man was ignorant, looking slowly towards the man’s line of sight in confusion, and saw the scarred woman had opened her eyes at some point, her blood-red lips smiling word by word to him: “Want your life.”

The young man saw a small round bamboo tube held between her silver teeth. With a bite of her teeth, dazzling light burst out from the round tube. What kind of calculation was this, risking being bruised all over, just to exchange for such a moment of negligence and distraction, and then a fatal blow. The young man had no intention to avoid, no power to avoid, no way to avoid. Watching the hidden weapon shooting out from three feet away, on his pale and lost face, he couldn’t even squeeze out a bitter smile.

The abbot exclaimed: “This is… the Soul-Falling Nail! Bad!”

Before the cry fell, a heavy object fell from the grandstand of Futu Fortress onto the ruined ground with a boom. When everyone looked closely, it was actually a disciple of Futu Fortress, thrown out alive by that man with heavy force, just blocking in front of the young man. Presumably, he had foresight and was ruthless enough to protect Hua Jinian’s life in the lightning flint.

A set of three hundred Soul-Falling Nails in the round tube hit the meat shield unceremoniously, instantly piercing him like a hedgehog, too horrible to look at. What was even more creepy was that the needles were actually poisoned, instantly dyeing the disciple’s body into a mass of scorched wood color.

Only then did Hua Jinian turn his head, let out an “Ah”, let go of the hand he was holding, retreated three steps, pushed the corpse away, and never looked at the woman again. Upstairs, Hua Qianjue also snorted coldly, jumped down, pulled up the young man’s hand, and said coldly to the abbot: “What a great assembly, Futu Fortress will remember this account.” Saying this, he strode out of the Hero Tower with the young man. Wherever they went, the wall of people like an iron bucket also pushed and shoved to make a wide road, but finally couldn’t help stealing a few glances at this father and son, and the group of beauties following closely behind them.

Yan Yong beat his chest and said: “I… I really didn’t know such a thing would happen. This is completely different from what Shen Pinzhen said!”

The abbot was taking the pulse of the unconscious Yi Xinchou on the stage, frowning: “I see, this is a private grudge of this female benefactor. Young Master Shen… no, Villa Master Shen is probably not aware of it yet.”

Yan Yong stroked his beard and said: “Then shouldn’t we inform him? In this way, alerting the snake, the plan might have to change.”

The abbot sighed, let go of the hand taking the pulse, and whispered: “Not necessarily. Since Villa Master Shen has set this plan, then no matter what happens, there are ways to continue the plan.”

Yan Yong laughed: “Abbot has always been the most accurate in judging people. Villa Master Shen even kept it from Nephew Ruan this time. Yan really doesn’t know what idea he is playing. Abbot, what kind of person do you think he is?”

Abbot Jiechi hesitated for a moment before whispering: “This poor monk can only use two words. One is hiding one’s light under a bushel, and two is enduring humiliation.”

Outside the Hero Tower.

Hua Qianjue held the young man’s hand and walked a hundred steps away, still resentful and uneven, with a layer of frost on his face, obviously moved with killing intent. Walking a few more steps, he felt the hand he was holding getting colder and colder. He couldn’t help turning sideways slightly and comforted the young man: “You must be scared today too, your hands are so cold. Never mind, let’s go home now, rest well for a few days, you also—”

Before he finished speaking, the young man suddenly leaned slowly into his arms. Hua Qianjue was stunned for a moment, his gaze gradually softened, reached out to stroke the young man’s hair, and laughed low: “How old are you, why still…” Speaking of this, his gaze suddenly became sharp, seeming to think of something. He immediately supported the young man with both hands, only to see Hua Jinian lowering his head, eyes closed tightly, a layer of deathly gray already appearing on his face.

Hua Qianjue’s face changed drastically instantly. This person who had always been calm in the face of changes, his hands were trembling a little at this moment. He tore open the young man’s chest clothes forcefully, and saw a piece of jade on the young man’s slightly fair neck, a small silver nail piercing the jade, nailed to the young man’s chest.

Hua Qianjue squeezed a low scream from his throat: “This is…”

More than ten shadow guards suddenly appeared at this time, kneeling behind him. Hua Qianjue shouted in a low voice: “Go! Go to the branch and call Wu Qiuping. A moment late and I’ll take your lives!” As he spoke, his hand unhesitatingly brushed over the young man’s major acupoints. Just after finishing, Hua Jinian vomited black blood continuously with a “wah…”, staining the pure white clothes filthy.

Fire almost burst out of the man’s eyes. The pitch-black eyes that were originally like a beast were faintly glowing with a layer of blood color at this moment. He grabbed a strand of the young man’s hair and shouted sternly: “Hold on for me. If you dare to die like this, I will throw you into any ditch casually, let you rot there and stink there!”

The young man’s brow was covered with cold sweat, but the black blood at the corner of his mouth flowed down trace by trace as if it couldn’t be stopped. Hua Qianjue’s eyes were about to split. Just at this time, Wu Qiuping finally stumbled and arrived. Without even caring about saluting, he put his hand on Hua Jinian’s wrist to check the pulse carefully, and glanced at the wound, almost gasping, before saying tremblingly: “This is the Soul-Falling Nail!”

Hua Qianjue crushed his steel teeth before squeezing out a sentence: “Correct… but I clearly blocked it! Why—” Wu Qiuping checked quickly and carefully, suddenly closed his eyes, and whispered: “This set of Soul-Falling Nails is refined. It is not the original set of three hundred nails, but composed of one main nail and three hundred auxiliary nails. Just speaking of this main nail, not to mention flesh and blood, even layers of iron armor can be penetrated. Thanks to the Fortress Master and this piece of jade blocking it a bit, it didn’t pass through the chest… But what is truly fatal is this poison, this… this is an insoluble poison, this is Soul-Demanding!”

Hua Qianjue’s hand trembled slightly, retreated two steps, and then sneered: “So what if it’s an insoluble poison? The soul that Impermanence wants to demand, if I want to keep, they can’t demand! And you… besides Taoist in the Flowers, don’t you also have the title of Poison Hua Tuo? Could it be that people call you that for nothing!”

Wu Qiuping’s forehead was covered with cold sweat. After a long time, he replied carefully: “Since it is poison, there will naturally be a cure for it. It’s just that developing the antidote will take at least three years, or as many as thirty years, three hundred years. This cannot be rushed. But the Little Young Master’s life is only in a moment. Forget it, forget it. If the Fortress Master intends, I can use the Rejuvenation Hand, piercing acupoints back and forth with gold needles to stimulate the potential of the human body. Maybe it can extend his life for half a month… It’s just that after running out of oil, it will hurt the brain…”

Hua Qianjue sneered three times, reached out a palm, and the tree as thick as a hug beside him broke in response, leaves falling all over. He said word by word: “Cannot use the Rejuvenation Hand. I only allow you to use a method that can save him without hurting him.”

Wu Qiuping smiled bitterly: “If you can give me a three-year deadline, I can still try my best to prepare the antidote. But this immediate method of extending life, isn’t the Fortress Master making it difficult for me… No way is no way, might as well give me a quick stab.”

Hua Qianjue sneered a few more times, killing intent fully revealed. Just as he raised his palm to slap Wu Qiuping’s head, Hua Jinian in his arms suddenly sprayed a large mist of blood from his mouth. It was unknown where so much blood came from in the human body, spraying scattered blood beads on the surrounding vegetation. Both of them were frightened by this and stopped arguing, looking at the young man’s face in bewilderment.

At this desperate point, footsteps came from afar. Hua Qianjue didn’t look back, roaring: “Who!” The person over there replied respectfully: “Huanzhen Villa, Shen Pinzhen.”

Hua Qianjue laughed endlessly, but his face was full of sharp and bone-chilling killing intent. He asked in a low voice: “Are you here to die?”

Shen Pinzhen bowed slightly, saluted, with genuine but reserved compassion on his face, and whispered: “Fortress Master Hua, I am not happy to see your son suffer misfortune. What Qiuyi did was not instigated by me.”

Hua Qianjue sneered: “Could it be that you can cure the Soul-Demanding poison?”

Shen Pinzhen whispered: “If I have a way to extend your son’s life to three years later, is the Fortress Master willing to write off this debt with Huanzhen Villa?”

Hua Qianjue was stunned, but couldn’t suppress a few traces of joy in his eyes. He replied quickly: “If you can really save him, I will naturally not trouble you anymore.”

Shen Pinzhen nodded, took out a small goose-yellow round-bellied porcelain bottle from his bosom, and presented it with both hands. Hua Qianjue reached out to take it, looked closely, was silent for a moment, and then asked: “Return to Truth Pill?” Seeing Shen Pinzhen nod, he said disdainfully: “Although the Return to Truth Pill is powerful, it cannot cure insoluble poison. This thing just dissolves a few traces of toxicity, extending life for half a month at most. Why do you say it can extend life for three years!”

Although his words were harsh, his fingers unhesitatingly crushed the porcelain bottle, took out the golden pill, stuffed it into the young man’s mouth, and covered the young man’s mouth tightly to prevent him from spitting it out, until he saw Hua Jinian’s Adam’s apple twitch slightly before letting go. Shen Pinzhen seemed to have expected this question long ago, but just lowered his head and replied respectfully: “Huanzhen Villa is weak, and this is all we can do. The rest, I’m afraid, depends on Futu Fortress.”

The killing intent in Hua Qianjue’s brow had not receded. He sneered and asked: “If we had a way to save him, do you think you could still stand in front of me unharmed?”

Shen Pinzhen shook his head and smiled: “Why doesn’t the Fortress Master listen to me finish? I mean, Huanzhen Villa has wonderful medicine, doesn’t Futu Fortress also have divine pills? That is truly a divine medicine that can revive the dead and grow flesh on bones!”

Hua Qianjue’s face stiffened, but slowly relaxed: “You said it well. Correct, you have the Return to Truth Pill, and we also have good medicine.”

Wu Qiuping stood up hissing, pointing at Shen Pinzhen and cursing: “You, you, you have ulterior motives! Fortress Master, this must not be done!”

Hua Qianjue glanced sideways, then said coldly: “Why not? One drop of Condensed Essence Dew can extend life for one day. It doesn’t take much time to brew. I will use Condensed Essence Dew to save my son for three years. Wouldn’t this matter be solved easily?”

Wu Qiuping said tremblingly: “Is the Fortress Master crazy? The ingredients of Condensed Essence Dew gather the world’s rare treasures, using mermaid tears as a guide and hibiscus mushroom as a supplement. One drop is worth a thousand gold. No matter how wealthy Futu Fortress is, how can it withstand drinking Condensed Essence Dew like water for three years! I’m afraid… I’m afraid in less than half a year, the foundation of Futu Fortress for thousands of generations will only be a skeleton… Who can Futu Fortress be passed to then?”

Hua Qianjue hugged the young man in his arms tightly disapprovingly and laughed low: “So what if it’s a skeleton? Who do you think Futu Fortress will be passed to in the future? If he dies, this foundation for thousands of generations… is truly unknown who to pass to.”