I Was Terrified

Qin Xiaopang opened his eyes to the sound of fighting still echoing in his ears. He turned his head and saw Lao Yanpao still locked in a desperate struggle with Gold-Rimmed Glasses, his body already covered in bloody gashes. Lao Yanpao’s movements were sluggish, and behind him, Hu Gaozi was waiting for an opening. *This won't do. I have to get over there and help—Lao Yanpao can't hold out much longer.* Qin Xiaopang grabbed his axe and had just pushed himself up when he suddenly saw Gold-Rimmed Glasses slip behind Lao Yanpao and grab him by the hair in a tight fist. As Lao Yanpao’s head was wrenched back, Hu Gaozi stepped forward and slit his throat with a dagger. Blood spurted forth. Lao Yanpao went limp and collapsed to the ground. Staring at the spray of blood, Hu Gaozi let out an excited laugh, broken by a few ragged coughs. He had been corroded by the toxic mist and struck by Lao Yanpao’s smoke poison; his current condition was far from good. Gold-Rimmed Glasses, however, was in fine shape. As a Poison Cultivator, he possessed an immense resistance to toxic vapors. Of course, that did not mean he could remain on Bitter Mist Mountain indefinitely; his current cultivation was not enough to withstand prolonged exposure. But a single day was hardly an ordeal for him, leaving him virtually unaffected. Taking out a handkerchief, he wiped the blood from his hands and strolled over to Qin Xiaopang. "You should have heard what I said earlier. I hate talking to fools, and I hate wasting my breath even more. Compared to that old bastard, you probably aren't a fool. At least you're young and not nearly as stubborn. Hand over all your flowers, and I’ll let you walk away." "Not a chance!" Xiaopang clutched his bag tightly. "Why bother?" Hu Gaozi chuckled. "I already counted for you—you only picked twenty blossoms in total. Selling them at the foot of the mountain won’t fetch more than a thousand-odd bucks. Throwing your life away for a thousand bucks... is it really worth it?" "I'm not giving them to you!" Xiaopang tightened his grip on the axe. He knew full well his life was worth far more than a thousand dollars, but he would never allow anyone to take what was rightfully his. "You really don't know what's good for you!" Hu Gaozi lunged forward and kicked Xiaopang squarely in the chest. This time, Xiaopang was prepared. He blocked the blow with the shaft of his axe, then spun around and swung the blade at Hu Gaozi. Hu Gaozi dodged, but barely. Afflicted by the smoke poison, he was no longer certain he could beat Xiaopang in a one-on-one fight. Yet he had no need to fight alone, not with Gold-Rimmed Glasses standing right beside him. Gold-Rimmed Glasses stepped closer to Qin Xiaopang, waving his folding fan. "Brother, take my advice. Leave the flowers behind and get down the mountain while you can." "In your fucking dreams!" Xiaopang spat. "To think I actually trusted you! What a vicious bastard. You've been lying to me this whole damned time!" "Vicious?" Gold-Rimmed Glasses shook his head. "I think I've been quite aboveboard." "Bullshit!" Xiaopang spat again. "I was just unlucky to run into a bastard like you!" "It’s not bad luck at all. Even if you hadn't run into me, you would have run into someone else," Gold-Rimmed Glasses said with a smile. "Carrying an axe that huge made it obvious to everyone that this was your first time on the mountain. Plenty of people have had their eyes on you from the moment you left the inn." Xiaopang froze, suddenly remembering Shopkeeper Feng at the sundry shop. No wonder he had warned him against bringing the Azure Dragon blade up the mountain. Gold-Rimmed Glasses continued, "I know you feel wronged. You risked your life all day to pick twenty flowers, only to lose them like this. Anyone would feel bitter. But think about it—do those twenty flowers really belong to you? Are you worthy of them? You come to Bitter Mist Mountain for the first time and expect to make a fortune—do you have the qualifications for that? You know nothing. You don't know the trails, you don't know the rules, and you didn't even know what snake-spot chrysanthemums looked like. "I’ve taught you a great deal. At least next time you come, you'll know where to harvest, what kind of flowers to look for, how many you can pick and carry away, who you can trust, and who you shouldn't. You learned all of that and got to keep your life, all for the price of a thousand-odd bucks. Do you honestly think it wasn't worth it?" Hearing this, Xiaopang pulled a piece of dry rations from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. This was his last piece of rations, and his final reserve of strength. No matter what the man said, Xiaopang would never surrender the snake-spot chrysanthemums. Gold-Rimmed Glasses was thoroughly disappointed. He had wanted to wait until Xiaopang gave up resisting before taking his life without a fuss. But since Xiaopang insisted on stubborn resistance to the bitter end, he would have to change his approach. "Little brother, I'll give you five minutes to think it over carefully." Gold-Rimmed Glasses fanned himself slowly. As the hidden mechanism within the ribs activated, the fragrance infused into the fan began to drift into the air. The sweet scent spread, but Xiaopang noticed nothing amiss, unaware that Gold-Rimmed Glasses was a Poison Cultivator. When Lao Yanpao had realized Gold-Rimmed Glasses was a Poison Cultivator, Xiaopang had already been knocked unconscious. "I'll say it again: wasting a single word on a fool is a waste of energy. I believe you're no fool." Gold-Rimmed Glasses was still dispersing the poison when he spotted a figure sprinting toward them from the distance. "Brother Fatty! Friends! I found a wonderful spot—there are tons of snake-spot chrysanthemums over there!" Xiaopang looked back and saw Li Banfeng running up. Gold-Rimmed Glasses was taken aback and stepped back twice, while Hu Gaozi quickly readied his dagger. *Why is he back? Didn't he head down the mountain?* Li Banfeng rushed up to Xiaopang, panting. "We hit the jackpot! Not far ahead, there’s a bamboo grove, and beneath the bamboo, the ground is covered in snake-spot chrysanthemums! Hurry, let's go check it out!" Xiaopang grabbed Li Banfeng. "Brother, something's happened." "What happened?" "Lao Yanpao is dead." "Dead? How did he die?" "They murdered him!" Xiaopang pointed toward the corpse in the distance. When Li Banfeng saw the blood-soaked ground and Lao Yanpao's corpse, his legs went limp on the spot. "Wh-what's going on? Wh-what are you trying to do? Didn't we team up? Weren't we supposed to look out for each other?" Li Banfeng was so terrified he could barely form words. Qin Xiaopang yanked him back. "Brother, talking is useless now! They planned to rob us from the start! Let's fight them!" "F-fight..." Li Banfeng trembled all over. Hu Gaozi chuckled. "Big brother, you actually told me to watch out for this guy. Look at what a piece of trash he is." Gold-Rimmed Glasses let out a sigh. "Guess I misjudged him. Hey, your name is Baisha, right? You found a good spot?" "I... I did..." Li Banfeng was on the verge of tears. "You really saw it?" "I really did, I'm not lying to you!" Li Banfeng unfastened the sack at his waist, bulging full of something. "This is what I picked over there." Gold-Rimmed Glasses laughed. "You've done a great service. Squat right there for now, and you can lead us there in a bit." "A-all right..." Li Banfeng stood frozen in place. Hu Gaozi strode over and kicked Li Banfeng. "He told you to squat, didn't you hear?" Li Banfeng hastily squatted on the ground. Gold-Rimmed Glasses gave Qin Xiaopang an amused look. "Now what? Your friend here is utterly useless!" "You fucking coward!" Seeing Li Banfeng squatting on the ground wiping away tears, Xiaopang knew he couldn't count on him. He gripped his axe tightly, preparing to fight Gold-Rimmed Glasses to the death. Hu Gaozi rolled up his sleeves, ready to team up with Gold-Rimmed Glasses to finish Xiaopang off. Li Banfeng was still sobbing on the ground. "Didn't we team up? We promised to look out for each other, so how could you kill someone? Why do you have to kill people?!" *Whoosh!* Hu Gaozi suddenly felt an icy chill at his ankle. Before the pain could register, a warm stream of liquid poured from the joint. He was bleeding. Someone had slashed him. The cut was deep—so deep it felt as though his Achilles tendon had been severed. His foot would not obey him. Hu Gaozi looked down at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng was still squatting there, wiping tears. "Didn't you just want the snake-spot chrysanthemums? There are plenty over there! Can't I just give them all to you? Please don't kill me..." With that, Li Banfeng held out the sack, looking as though he was offering it to Gold-Rimmed Glasses. Gold-Rimmed Glasses hesitated for a split second, only to see Li Banfeng fling the sack straight at him. The sack was not aimed at his hands, but straight at his head. Within five meters, he never missed. Seeing the cloth sack hurtling toward his face, Gold-Rimmed Glasses raised a hand to block it. But the sack's mouth was wide open, and an entire bagful of vomit splattered squarely across his face. Sour, foul, and sticky. Gold-Rimmed Glasses could not open his eyes. "I gave you the flowers, please spare me!" Li Banfeng wept as he sprang to his feet, slipping a small sickle from his sleeve. In one fluid motion, he drew it across Hu Gaozi's throat. Hu Gaozi had no time to react. A journey cultivator was remarkably fast. At the same time, as a Dwelling Cultivator, Li Banfeng was naturally easy to overlook. He had just emerged from his dwelling, so his combat capability was at its peak. Furthermore, the poison from Bitter Mist Mountain had already been purged from his system, leaving him in far better physical condition than Hu Gaozi. More importantly, Li Banfeng's mental state was something Hu Gaozi could not begin to comprehend. In fact, even Qin Xiaopang couldn't comprehend it. He was crying. He was begging for mercy. Yet his blade was swinging, and he was taking lives. His behavior completely defied normal logic. Clutching his throat, Hu Gaozi collapsed to the ground. Gold-Rimmed Glasses had just wiped the vomit from his eyes and had not yet realized what was happening when the world plunged into darkness. Li Banfeng had yanked the cloth sack right over Gold-Rimmed Glasses' head. "I beg you, don't kill me! I'll give you all the flowers!" Li Banfeng wailed pitifully, swinging the sickle with all his might. "Let go! I won't kill you! I really won't!" Gold-Rimmed Glasses struggled desperately, but Li Banfeng held the sack in an iron grip. Trapped beneath the cloth, he could not break free. "I'm giving you the flowers! Don't kill me!" Li Banfeng cried continuously as the sickle drove down, piercing through the sack and hooking deep into Gold-Rimmed Glasses' skull. "I won't kill you! I swear I won't!" Unable to break loose and suffering catastrophic brain trauma, Gold-Rimmed Glasses lost control of his limbs. Li Banfeng wrenched the sickle out with force, then hooked it right back in. "I told you I'd give you the flowers! Why do you still want to kill me?!" "I really never intended to kill you! I definitely won't!" Gold-Rimmed Glasses shrieked at the top of his lungs. *What in the world is happening?!* Gold-Rimmed Glasses could not make sense of it. His grievously injured brain had lost the ability to think. "Do you really have to kill me?!" Li Banfeng kept sobbing, but his sickle never paused, driving into Gold-Rimmed Glasses' skull again and again. "I really didn't want to kill you!" Gold-Rimmed Glasses' voice distorted into an unnatural shriek. "Can't you just spare me?!" *Squelch!* The sickle punched back into his skull. "I won't kill you, I swear!" "I'm begging you, don't kill me!" *Crack!* Weeping, Li Banfeng yanked the sickle free. "I... I..." Gold-Rimmed Glasses could no longer speak. He tried to raise his fan, but it only hung trembling erratically in midair. Six times in total, Li Banfeng hooked the sickle into Gold-Rimmed Glasses' cranium. Red soaked through the sack. White oozed out from beneath it. Gold-Rimmed Glasses’ entire body convulsed. Li Banfeng let out a ragged sob. "I'm so terrified... Why did you have to kill me?!" Qin Xiaopang stood frozen, rendered completely speechless. Li Banfeng looked so frail, hardly the type built for fighting. Even Old Chen from the Dark Star Bureau had been unable to fathom how Li Banfeng could have fought five opponents alone, emerged victorious, and severely injured them all. If he had witnessed this scene, he might have finally understood. Watching Li Banfeng strike blow after blow until he peeled open Gold-Rimmed Glasses’ skull, Qin Xiaopang hastily called out, "Brother Li, he... he looks dead already." "Dead?" Li Banfeng blinked. The crying stopped, his expression returned to normal, and his voice steadied. It was as if nothing had happened. He looked at Qin Xiaopang and said with absolute earnestness, "You know, brother, I was scared to death just now." He claimed he had been scared to death. He said it with complete, deadpan seriousness. Qin Xiaopang felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He asked cautiously, "Brother Li... are you out of your mind?" Li Banfeng gave a firm shake of his head. "I'm not crazy. I went to the hospital, and the doctor said I'm perfectly sane."