The master and his disciple sat on the roof of the abandoned house.
Zheng Fengdao's body was kicked down by Yin Ci for "being unsightly", leaving only bloodstains on the roof. The dark red blood flowed over the green tiles, and was reflected in the moonlight as a dark patch.
Yin Ci urgently treated the wound on Shi Jingzhi's limb. After stopping the bleeding, he bit his sleeve and ripped off a large piece of cloth: "Take off your shirt, let me see the wound."
Shi Jingzhi blinked.
His shirt was torn to shreds by the wind from the knife and soaked in blood, so it was difficult to take it off. In the darkness of the night, his apprentice frowned slightly and waited patiently.
The look on Shi Jingzhi's face when he said "I prefer you like this" just now was still lingering in Shi Jingzhi's mind.
When he said this, Yin Ci was not like those people before him—those people were fooled by his disguise, and even if they looked seriously, they were looking at a non-existent person. However, his apprentice looked straight into his eyes, nailing his soul to the spot.
A strange and wonderful feeling of satisfaction came over me.
The only flaw was that he couldn't see through Yin Ci. Shi Jingzhi observed very carefully, but he only found a few flaws.
In order to hide his identity as the heir of the Su family, Yin Ci deliberately entered a small sect. This was not surprising in itself. However, he was a martial arts expert and had a young master. He should have been perfunctory, but he became unnecessarily close to him.
In Qizhou, it was not uncommon for them to share a bed in a shabby house. But now that they were staying in a decent inn, it was natural for Yin Ci to share a bed with him - Yan Qing and Su Si both knew how to draw lots and take turns sleeping on the floor.
But Yin Ci was very quiet when he fell asleep and never moved around. At most, he would reach out his hand when he was about to wake up to make sure there was a living person sleeping next to him, and his behavior was not at all intimate.
It was at that moment that his disciple revealed a hint of sincerity.
What is hidden in the heart of man
"We'll burn the body later, and your swordsmanship won't leave any traces." Shi Jingzhi said carefully. "But there are many eyes in the city, and the news that I killed Zheng Fengdao will spread sooner or later. Then the Kushan Sect will definitely attract attention. Are you okay?"
"Nothing." Yin Ci lowered his head and continued to clean Shi Jingzhi's wound without raising his eyes.
Shi Jingzhi held his breath, but didn't wait for the next word. Yin Ci still looked dead, as if he couldn't even fart after three beatings.
… It’s just abominable.
As Shi Jingzhi was thinking, his disciple put his hand on his naked chest. The other party's fingertips were warm, and Shi Jingzhi shuddered.
"Master, what is it?"
Yin Ci pointed at a strange mole on his chest.
The mole was on Shi Jingzhi's chest, the size of a copper coin, and dark blue in color. Blood vessels-like things stretched out from the edge of the mole, densely packed and spreading out. Against his fair skin, it looked particularly thrilling.
Like a malicious spider.
"Hmm? Oh... I had a high fever when I was a child, and after the fever, this thing appeared. Maybe it is related to my strange disease, but I didn't find any relevant clues." Shi Jingzhi had long been accustomed to this mole that didn't hurt or itch, and his tone was light.
Yin Ci wiped the blood off Shi Jingzhi's chest, looked at him carefully again, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly.
After a while, he sighed, "... I haven't seen it either, but it looks familiar."
"Well, people with liver disease also develop spider nevi, but they are red. Ah Ci may have remembered it wrong."
"Yeah." Yin Ci withdrew his gaze and wrapped up another knife wound.
After bandaging his master, Yin Ci dragged the bodies on the ground into the abandoned courtyard, chopped the wounds with a knife, and then skillfully set them on fire.
Finally, he turned Shi Jingzhi on his back and left behind the night watchmen who came when they saw the light.
The master and the disciple plunged into the dark alley. The alley was dark but clean, with a narrow starry sky above their heads. The stench of burnt flesh and blood completely dissipated, and even the pain from the wounds faded a little.
"Come to think of it, since the Ling Cult has discovered us, will Yan Qing and Su Si also...?" Shi Jingzhi asked casually while lying on his disciple's back, playing with the white jade headband.
"About eight or nine."
Shi Jingzhi froze: "What should I do then?"
"No big deal." Yin Ci said calmly, "I'll just take care of you. Yan Qing has Su Si and Bai Ye with her. If nothing goes wrong, they will come back on their own. If something does go wrong, they will be dead long ago."
Shi Jingzhi: “…”
Shi Jingzhi: "Aci, we in the Kushan Sect still need to have some moral principles."
Yin Ci said without even turning his head: "Since Master said so, I will go look for them later."
When they arrived at the inn, he placed the fox zongzi covered in strips of cloth on the bed and slowly boiled a pot of hot sugar water: "Master, take care of your wound yourself, I'll be back soon."
"Be careful."
"yes."
After Yin Ci left, Shi Jingzhi drank the sugar water slowly, and his cold hands and feet barely regained some strength. He did not apply medicine immediately, but instead burned the powder and summoned the sparrow.
Maybe it was because he had been out of contact for too long, three sparrows flew back at once.
Shi Jingzhi glanced at his bloody right arm and sighed, "Writing is also troublesome... Send back a message saying that I'm fine."
Three fat birds stood in a row at the window, all with their heads tilted.
"I'm fine. Forget it." Shi Jingzhi trembled as he peeled off the thin silk. After reading the letter, he did not mix cinnabar, but wrote back with blood instead.
A few streets away.
Yin Ci was also watching birds, but they were not sparrows, but top-grade gray pigeons that delivered messages.
After living for so many years, Yin Ci saved money in various cities, so he didn't have to worry about not being able to afford to rent a carrier pigeon. With the status he had saved, it was easy for him to get news from the underworld even if his ghost leather jacket was damaged.
Shi Jingzhi is by no means just the son of a drug dealer.
Sun Huaijin has never been afraid of power, and now he is on the decline. There is only one reason why the old man Sun lied to him face to face - Shi Jingzhi has a close connection with Sun Huaijin.
When Sun Huaijin was young, he had no other problems except lust, and he had more than 50 children. Now he is old enough to be a great-grandfather, so his descendants must be several hundred people.
After so many deaths, Yin Ci rarely invested too much emotion in the people around him, let alone caring about such a huge family. But now, he has to care even if he doesn't want to.
After delivering the letter, Yin Ci dusted off the dust on his body and went to find Yan Qing and Su Si.
at the same time.
"Ah Si, let's take action." Yan Qing said in a deep voice.
The atmosphere would have been more serious if the two of them hadn't been carrying huge vegetable baskets and squeezed together under the ditch.
As an experienced escaper, Su Si spotted the Lingjiao members who were following him from the beginning. Su Si and Yan Qing took advantage of their acquaintance since childhood. They didn't need to say anything, but moved around in tacit understanding, and neither of them fell behind. The two of them hugged Mr. Bai and twisted and turned, and got rid of seven or eight of them, but there were only two that couldn't be shaken off, and they were as sticky as taffy.
"The corpse-raising team, I'm really..." Su Si picked the vegetable leaves off his head and tried hard to swallow the curse words. "I'm really confused. First it was the Red Scorpion Foot of the Red Hook Sect, and now it's the corpse-raising team of the Ling Sect. Am I destined to be a member of the Demon Sect in my next life?"
"Corpse Squad?"
"They are similar to the Red Scorpion, both are extremely powerful killers. However, the Corpse Resurrection Team only obeys the orders of the leader of the Ling Cult, and they do not accept jobs of hiring or killing people."
Yan Qing: "...Okay, then let's not take action. They should be coming for the leader, they won't fight us to the death."
Mr. Bai nodded in agreement.
Su Si sneered: "Third son, do you still think you are in Taiheng Sect? The Demon Sect does not have the concept of 'letting people go'. You are like a scabby dog. It is useless to scare or run away. You have to let it see its own blood before it will consider retreating."
The implication is obvious: they are going to have a fierce battle.
Yan Qing thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go out and lead them away, and you can run away. You can run faster than me, and you can hide better than me. It's better for one person to die than two people to die."
In the dark basket, the shadow could not cover Su Si's disappointed look: "You have really been spoiled by the Taiheng Sect. I finally found you, how could I just leave you alone?"
"Do you have any other ideas?"
"Bite them to death. If you can't kill them, you have to tear off a piece of their flesh. Risk your life. Maybe you can still have a chance of survival."
Yan Qing frowned, obviously not thinking that this was a good idea.
Su Si would not run away even if he was beaten to death, and he would not be stupid enough to go forward and die alone. The two of them discussed it and finally decided to launch a sneak attack with a vegetable basket.
The two zombie killers finally found the ditch.
A large white goose flew up into the sky and landed on one of the men's faces. The other man was about to draw his sword when Su Si kicked him away. Yan Qing wielded his sword unskillfully to deal with the killer with a goose on his head, temporarily dispersing the enemies.
He just needed to buy time, and when Su Si killed the other person, they could join forces to kill the other one.
Unfortunately, his martial arts were learned secretly, and his foundation was not stable. How could he possibly defeat the masters of the Corpse Raising Team? The opponent threw Master Bai onto the earth wall. Master Bai screamed and immediately lay down and pretended to be dead. Yan Qing gritted his teeth and used several Taiheng sword moves back and forth, but his opponent saw through them.
The killer easily countered Yan Qing's moves, obviously seeing through his bad intentions. Seeing his colleague in a tough fight, the killer was about to get rid of Yan Qing and kill Su Si, who was more threatening.
Yan Qing couldn't hold back his opponent, so he just yelled angrily and opened his eyes.
The sky was dark, but not dark enough to cover the ghost's eyes. A pair of red eyes reflected light in the night, which was particularly eye-catching.
The killer froze in place. Yan Qing had just let out a breath when he was knocked off balance by the murderous aura rising into the sky.
"Where did you come from, little bastard, to dare to pretend to be the descendant of the Holy Lord?!"
Yan Qing: “…” It is indeed a demon cult, their reaction is so unreasonable.
He thought of his father's broken leg and was not surprised - in the Ling Sect where crazy people gathered, being weak was the most serious sin.
The killer's attention was indeed diverted from Su Si. Under the overwhelming killing intent, Yan Qing couldn't even stand straight, let alone defend himself with his sword. He subconsciously took a half step back, stepped on the bloody mud, and fell to the bottom of the ditch in a mess.
He didn't even have a chance to escape.
That's fine, Yan Qing thought. If he died, Su Si could escape alone.
After all, the difference between the enemy and us was right in front of us, like a natural chasm. No matter how angry or frightened he was, he couldn't conjure up strength out of thin air, let alone throw beans to make soldiers and grab any reinforcements.
There was nothing he could do about it. He was lingering on like a weed, and since he had no ambitions in his life, his death would have been insignificant. Now that he had died at the hands of a powerful enemy, and it had also freed his friends from being a burden, it was a worthy death.
The killer stabbed with a sword, and Yan Qing couldn't help but close his eyes.
A moment later, warm blood splashed onto Yan Qing's eyelids.
"Asshole, what are you doing?!" Su Si roared.
He flashed over without knowing when, and the killer's dagger passed through his palm. Su Sifei did not let go, but took advantage of the situation to hold the hilt of the sword, restraining the killer's movements.
"Stand up!" Su Si's voice was a little hoarse.
Yan Qing was stunned for a moment: "I..."
"Stand up for me, or you will die standing up!"
Su Si snatched the assassin's dagger and pulled it out from his palm, causing a string of blood to bloom. He protected Yan Qing behind him and stared at the two assassins opposite him with a sinister look.
The blood-stained dagger was thrown to Yan Qing's hand, brushed against his palm, and sank diagonally into the mud.
The two killers joined forces and formed a formation again. Their childish surprise attack was in vain. Yan Qing slowly grasped the dagger, feeling mixed emotions.
"Ah Si, I'm sorry."
“… It’s good that you’re sober.” Su Si smiled briefly.
"What should we do next?"
"We have to separate them, you... Third Son?!"
Yan Qing rushed forward again.
He was not charging without thinking, his red eyes seemed to be burning. The two killers had just gained the upper hand, so they relaxed for a moment. Yan Qing picked the one who had been injured by Su Si again, and with all his energy, he actually knocked the man back several feet away.
He was right in his guess. When the other killer saw the ghost eyes, he was also stunned for a moment.
This moment was all he wanted—whether it was followed by rage or murderous intent, it didn't matter.
Yan Qing opened his arms and hugged the killer. His hands were covered in blood and wounds, wet and weak, so he drove the dagger into his left arm with all his strength, getting it stuck between the two bones of his forearm. His right hand tightly grasped the rough hilt of the sword, locking it tightly.
When the killer reacted, he was already trapped between Yan Qing's arms, unable to exert any strength. Yan Qing saw the killer struggling, and bit down on his neck, blood spraying all over his face.
He did not possess any powerful martial arts skills, but only had a bit of strength, and a heart full of sorrow and surprise.
It turns out that I can no longer die casually.
He clenched his teeth regardless, his jaw aching. No matter how hard the killer struggled, he would not let go, and the flesh and blood of the man filled his mouth, bringing with it a disgusting fishy smell.
In this way, Yan Qing was restrained, but his back was completely exposed, and the other person could pierce him through the heart at any time.
The other person failed to do so.
Looking at Yan Qing and the enemy falling far away, Su Si let out a long breath, with a hint of self-mockery in his eyes.
"It has come to this, but I still kept it a secret from him." He gritted his teeth and said, "I have no choice, I have to make sure none of you can escape..."
The remaining killer was furious, and didn't care about the boy's mumbling. He drew out a dagger and attacked directly.
Su Si was still standing there, but his breath suddenly disappeared.
The evil spirit in his eyes disappeared without a trace, leaving only an empty and wooden look. Facing the killing move, Su Si put away the meat knife. He just dodged one by one with empty hands. The killer's moves were deadly, but the attacks seemed to hit cotton and could not hurt the opponent at all.
At the moment when the killer was confused and his movements slowed down, Su Si rushed forward and grabbed the enemy's throat with one claw.
The move was twisted and tricky, and it was very difficult to defend. The killer twisted his joints and used the dagger to defend himself. In an instant, the metal dagger made a slight sound, and the five fingers made of flesh broke on the spot.
Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the body hit the ground.
The slender five fingers contracted and expanded, actually hollowing out the killer's throat.
"It's all your fault. If you hadn't come to kill me, I wouldn't have to hide it from him in person... This is more painful than I thought." Su Si shook the blood off his hands, his tone grim.
"Just now... you..." The killer moaned silently, and the light in his eyes quickly faded.
Su Si mercilessly raised his foot and stomped the killer's neck hard, crushing the wound into a ball of meat paste. Then he picked up the meat knife, grabbed the killer who was restrained by Yan Qing, and stabbed him in the back of the head.
The blood mixed with the mud at the bottom of the ditch, and the stench became more and more obvious. Yan Qing lost a lot of blood. Su Si carefully let go of his arm, but he was already unconscious, and his red eyes had lost focus.
Su Si's lips turned pale as he threw the dagger far away: "Third son, thank you for your hard work."
"Well… "
"Let's go home."
Dawn was approaching, and the two were covered in blood and mud, with a goose pretending to be dead. If they hadn't met Yin Ci on the way, they might not have made it back to the inn before dawn.
Shi Jingzhi had just finished bandaging himself and now had to take care of two servants. The medicine box that had just been filled was half empty again, and Master Shi's heart was bleeding from the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, everyone is young and strong, so no one was injured and it wasn't a big problem.
The three injured patients lay in the room for a whole day, but they were able to get out of bed the next day. The Ling Cult suffered a great loss and did not send any more people, so the pursuit came to an end.
But after waking up, Yan Qing was absent-minded, as if he was thinking about some important life event. Su Si was still the same, and his noisiness was comparable to that of Mr. Bai.
"Let's go tomorrow? Master, if we just go through the formation like this, won't there be any problems? Sanzi's arm injury won't heal in a short time, and my whole body aches... How about we rest for two days? Three days?"
"Time waits for no one." Shi Jingzhi hugged the medicine box tightly and said coldly. "The Buddha Heart Formation was created by Jianchen Temple. It is not a dangerous formation. Minor injuries are not a big deal... Don't cry, my injury is more serious than yours."
Yin Ci echoed the sentiment: "Yes, the Buddha Heart Formation has been there since Jianchen Temple was completed, and it has been known for nearly a thousand years. Although the formation is difficult to break through, it is not a dead end."
After these words came out, even the dazed Yan Qing couldn't help but look sideways—
Is that human language? What does “not all roads lead to dead ends” mean
Su Si lay on the floor like a dead fish, determined to jump over the eldest disciple with a brain problem: "Okay, Master, at least wait until our martial arts recover..."
Shi Jingzhi shook his head: "There is no point in resting any further. I have investigated the Buddha Heart Formation - no matter how strong your inner strength is, once you step into this formation, you will be sealed completely. Once you enter the mountain, everyone is no different from ordinary people, and can only rely on external skills. It's a waste of time to stay here, so why not enter the formation and rest?"
Su Si: "Wait, the Buddha Heart Formation is that simple? I don't believe it."
Shi Jingzhi hesitated for a moment: "... There is indeed another theory. However, the Buddha Heart Formation is only opened once every hundred years, and there are too few relevant clues. I don't know the details."
"What do you mean?"
"The Buddha Heart Formation focuses on examining one's heart. Once you enter this formation, you will face the demons in your heart."