Counterkill

The surrounding conditions were improving, yet the expressions on Sister Hua and the motorcycle rider only grew graver. "Damn it, so many clumps of Guizu aura." "There are even grand knight-level ones," the motorcycle rider added, possessing a deep understanding of the Guizu himself. "Half an hour is almost up, isn't it?" "Visibility has improved," the yellow mist grunted softly. "If you two want to turn back, suit yourselves." "You..." The motorcycle rider's lips twitched, and he let out a sigh. "Faith Master Er Shan, are you really going to stay behind alone?" Even if he and Sister Hua turned back now, they would only have a rough bearing, with no guarantee of bypassing the clumps of Guizu aura. Without the yellow mist's assistance, the return journey would become vastly more difficult. When it came down to it, the man was banking on them lacking the guts to find their way back on their own. Speaking so brazenly—especially when visibility had visibly improved—was bordering on reckless arrogance. Without comparison, there was no anxiety; having seen what lay around them now, who would want to plunge back into the impenetrable fog where one couldn't even see their own hand in front of their face? The yellow mist did not even bother answering the question. *If you're not convinced, feel free to try!* "Then so be it," Sister Hua declared crisply. "I'm heading back. The density of the white mist isn't carved in stone." People from the Intelligence Bureau were ruthless to outsiders and just as ruthless to themselves; she wasn't having any of his threats! "Then let's go together," the motorcycle rider chimed in. Without ruthless resolve, one couldn't hold their ground—even within the same organization. "Faith Master Er Shan, take care of yourself!" "Another half hour," the yellow mist relented. "Even if we encounter nothing, twenty gold coins each upon return!" The motorcycle rider raised his wrist, his expression turning sour. "The watch has lost its signal!" "That little punk couldn't have gone far—" The yellow mist cut itself short. "Huh, what guts!" Taking a few more steps forward, the two saw the Jin youth sitting cross-legged on a boulder, watching them with an impassive gaze. Some thirty meters to his side hovered an enormous clump of Guizu aura, seemingly at the grand knight level. On the other side, a hundred-odd meters away, sat another cluster of Guizu aura; though slightly smaller, it was exceptionally dense. At the very least, it was remarkably close to the grand knight level. Wu Youren saw the two as well. Surprisingly, he offered a faint smile, waved in greeting, and produced an object. "Don't!" Sister Hua blurted out at the sight, hastily cupping her hands. "Let's talk this through!" Wu Youren paused, looking at her with evident suspicion, the question in his eyes clear as day: *Is there anything left to talk about?* "Sister Hua, you..." The motorcycle rider looked stunned. Shouting so loudly, wouldn't that draw the Guizu's attention? He couldn't clearly see what the youth was holding, but he was certain it was nothing good. "Holy fuck!" The yellow mist roiled violently. "A ghost-destroying mine?! You bastard!" Unfortunately, his reaction was a beat too slow. In the next instant, Wu Youren raised his hand and flung the object forward with blinding speed. His earlier suspicion had merely been an act to baffle them! Seeing the black dot hurtling over with tremendous speed, the yellow mist shivered slightly, whipping up a yellow current of air that snatched the dot and flung it into the distance. "Are you fucking crazy?!" Even this apprentice ability master was frightened by the boy's actions. Once a ghost-destroying mine detonated, the three of them would certainly be plunged into dire straits, but the kid... how could he fare any better? The distance between them was less than fifty meters; if the Guizu aura went berserk, nobody would make it out alive! Had he not harbored that fear, he would have swirled the mine straight back into the boy's face! "Then how about another?" Wu Youren chuckled softly, tossing out a second ghost-destroying mine. Yet his eyes held not the slightest trace of amusement. Throughout his flight, he had racked his brains, but could not for the life of him figure out how he had offended them! Perhaps the arrow that night had indeed wounded someone from the Intelligence Bureau, but did that truly matter? If that were an intolerable provocation, the Intelligence Bureau would have dispatched people to seize him the very next day. Yet that had not happened, and he did not believe Instructor Hong's influence alone could have held them back. In any case, he had remained inside the Martial Academy all along and they had never reacted—didn't that prove the point? As for being targeted the moment he came out this time, he didn't find it particularly surprising. Wu Youren genuinely understood that the gate guards at Red Pine were an independent system, incompatible even with the instructor hierarchy. The first time he went out, they hadn't even cared much about Hong Da's writ. The crucial point was that the malice these people displayed after intercepting him was far too blatant! The progression of this whole affair was contradictory and logically muddled; there had to be factors at play that he did not understand. As for whether he ought to figure out what was going on so he could better handle it? Sorry, but he didn't consider that important at all! Given his current circumstances, indulging a strong curiosity was ill-advised—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't afford to! When someone harbored malice, just slaughter them and be done with it. Any hesitation was sheer irresponsibility toward his own survival. "Again?!" Panicking at the sight, the yellow mist yelled, "Knock it away! Knock it away, quick!" While the yellow mist could sweep away small objects, he was merely an apprentice ability master. A shoe must fit the foot; overreaching would only bring disaster! He was incapable of continuous output, and the "Pitfall" he had unleashed earlier had depleted much of his reserves. There was no helping it; the gap between an apprentice and a full-fledged ability master was just that vast. Now, he pinned his hopes on his two companions releasing their battle qi to deflect the ghost-destroying mine—anywhere would do, just knock it aside! Raising his hand, the motorcycle rider fired three shots. His marksmanship was anything but ordinary, detonating the ghost-destroying mine right in midair! "You could fucking shoot the guy—" The yellow mist didn't even get to finish before the ghost-destroying mine erupted. First two, followed immediately by a third! In an instant, an immense shockwave swept outward. Torrents of air ripped through the space, sending mud, rocks, branches, and leaves dancing wildly across the sky! "Run!" Sister Hua reacted with startling speed, pivoting and tearing off at a desperate sprint without a second's hesitation. At this point, worrying about alerting the Guizu was a complete joke. Three ghost-destroying mines—what could possibly draw more aggro than that? The motorcycle rider's reaction was a fraction slower, but he had one redeeming quality: being a newcomer, he took advice! Without a second thought, the two turned and fled; as for direction, anything roughly away was good enough. "You two... you can't do this!" A despairing scream came from behind. This was rather dirty. Every martial artist in Liang knew that while ability masters were exceptionally powerful, they could also be fragile at times. For instance, while actively channeling their ability, they couldn't just up and leave whenever they pleased like a knight. By turning and running without hesitation, the two had essentially sold out their comrade. Yet could they really be blamed for this? Both of them had explicitly stated multiple times beforehand that they should call it quits. It was this fellow who insisted on pressing the matter, relentlessly hunting down the Jin hostage. Coincidentally, Wu Youren's perception had also remained locked onto this very fellow. Unknown strength, bullying the weak while flaunting power—a scoundrel like this could never be spared. The moment he threw the second mine, he had rolled behind the rock—he was also wary of them shooting at him. The explosion of the three ghost-destroying mines triggered utter chaos; beyond the violent energy unleashed, it also disrupted his perception. Even so, he still sensed the yellow mist's life force dissipating bit by bit, ultimately fading into nothingness. A moment later, a blurred figure drifted over. "Targeting me? You really overestimated yourself!" Wu Youren could roughly guess that this apprentice ability master harbored some sordid scheme. As for the specifics, he had no interest in finding out. All he wanted to confirm was whether the man was dead through and through. Immediately after, a massive wave of experience points flooded into him, warming his entire body... The next step, then, was to loot the corpse. Yet at that exact instant, a dark shadow abruptly drifted up from the corpse and shot straight for his face with blinding speed. "Holy shit..." Opening his mouth, Wu Youren expelled a blast of pure internal breath. He had no idea what this thing was; it felt somewhat like Guizu transformation, yet also like a disembodied soul attempting possession. Before this, he hadn't dared to break through to the knight realm, so his battle qi couldn't be projected outside his body; in his haste, he could only exhale a breath of Daoist internal breath. He wasn't sure what effect this breath would have on the shadow; it was purely an instinctive reaction. Simultaneously, he retreated explosively, raising his left hand to bring forth his biguijue. His right hand had originally been gripping his long saber, fearing the man wasn't thoroughly dead and might pull some trick. The sudden turn of events occurred without warning, so fast that he hadn't even had time to slash with the saber. Only as he shot backward did the long saber in his right hand finally cleave forward, his teeth clenched in grim resolve. If this strike proved ineffective, he would have to abandon the long saber on the return stroke and draw his daggers to attack. Coated in ghost-dispelling powder, of course. Truth be told, it was a bit embarrassing; although he had made a tidy sum recently, in a pinch, the only handy weapons he had were still the throwing daggers he had forged back during his destitute days. This string of thoughts flashed through his mind in a split second. Yet in the next breath, upon colliding with that mouthful of internal breath, the dark shadow instantly froze. This Daoist internal breath was truly extraordinary, managing to stop an incorporeal thing in its tracks—wait, no! The dark shadow wriggled a few times and rapidly solidified, as if it had ingested some potent tonic. Its figure grew distinctly clearer, to the point where its facial features were faintly discernible. Had the two knights still been present, they could have vaguely recognized that it was none other than the crutch-bearing apprentice ability master. Even as it solidified, the dark shadow surged forward once more, its speed increasing! At that exact moment, Wu Youren's saber swept forward, cutting straight through the dark shadow. Yet it was utterly futile; the blade passed through as if slicing through thin air, and the shadow slipped right through. A blade that could momentarily slice apart even Guizu was completely powerless against this shadow! Fortunately, just as Wu Youren flicked his wrist to discard the saber, the biguijue in his left hand suddenly grew searing hot. The heat rose so fast that he didn't even notice it initially. Only after his long saber clattered to the ground and he drew and hurled two daggers did he feel a twinge of pain in his left hand. "Holy crap... Just how hot is this thing?!"