"Jiaqing, you're a good boy of the He family. You've made some mistakes in the past, but for the sake of us old fellows, the imperial court has let bygones be bygones.
"Sooner or later, the court will grant this territory to you. But before their official decree comes down, you cannot seize it by force. The most basic rules must not be broken.
"Hand over the covenant deed right now. We old men will take it back and deliver it to Lord Qiao. We'll kowtow, we'll bow, we'll cast aside whatever dignity our old faces have left, but we will keep you alive.
"You must not remain obstinate. The He family has produced generations of loyal and righteous men—this reputation must not be ruined in your hands!"
He Shengdong patiently tried to persuade He Jiaqing. He Jiaqing surveyed the crowd of land reclaimers before him. He had genuinely never expected that every one of these people was connected to the He family.
During this recent period, He Jiaqing had been saddled with mounting debts and had delayed wages time and again. No reclaimers had been willing to work for him anymore. Yet these people had come knocking on his door on their own initiative.
He Jiaqing should have noticed something was amiss long ago. It was only because he had been so anxious to reclaim the land that he had overlooked these red flags.
Under He Shengdong's introductions, He Jiaqing became reacquainted with these seniors. Quite a few among them bore the surname He. Some were his granduncles, some his great-granduncles, and another was He Jiaqing's senior great-granduncle. There were also those with different surnames who had been followers of the He family in years past.
The crowd chimed in one after another, all urging He Jiaqing to surrender the covenant deed.
He Jiaqing watched them, a single thought turning in his mind.
Just moments ago, he had tried to sever He Shengdong's hand tendons, but had failed. Just how strong were these elders?
Having heard out their advice, He Jiaqing offered a deep bow. "Great-Grandfather, every word you say is for my own good, but right now I'm riding a tiger and can't get off!
"I carry the reputation of the He family on my shoulders, and I also carry the Brotherhood Alliance. If I surrender the deed now, how will the He family ever hold its head high in Puluo Province again?"
He Shengdong sighed. "Child, there won't be any Puluo Province in the future. At the end of the day, isn't all of this the imperial court's territory? As long as we remain loyal to the court, who would dare gossip about our He family behind our backs? Us old brothers will sew their mouths shut!"
Several elders joined in from the side:
"Child, rest assured. Our He family has rendered meritorious service to the court. There's no need to pay any mind to those wagging tongues!"
"If anyone refuses to submit, we few will clean them up for you. However much infamy there is, we old men will shoulder it in your place!"
"No youth goes without making mistakes. When you're wrong, you must mend your ways—you can't keep blundering deeper! Sever ties with the Brotherhood Alliance cleanly; you must have nothing more to do with them from now on!"
He Jiaqing nodded repeatedly. "This junior knows his mistakes. Right now, I only beg you seniors to give me two days of grace. In two days, I will definitely surrender the deed."
He Shengdong frowned. "Why must you insist on stalling for two days? What are you planning?"
He Jiaqing glanced at Duan Shuqun lying on the ground. "I have to give my subordinates an explanation. Whether I coax them or deceive them, I have to persuade them to leave first so they don't mess things up!"
A granduncle beside them shook his head. "There's no need to waste words on them. Keep the sensible ones at your side to serve the court together. Kill the senseless ones outright. We of the He family cannot afford to be softhearted!"
Tears welled in He Jiaqing's eyes. "Elders, these men have followed me through life and death. How could I bring myself to lay hands on them? Just give me two days of grace so I can give them an accounting. That is all I ask."
He Shengdong weighed it carefully, then said to He Jiaqing, "I'll grant you one day. You must give me the deed tonight. Jiaqing, don't play any little tricks on me. From this moment on, I will follow you step for step!"
The rest of the elders voiced their agreement one after another. "We'll follow too! All of us must watch him!"
He Jiaqing entrusted Duan Shuqun to Zou Guoming. "Big Head, take good care of Old Duan. Don't go outside casually during this time. Whatever happens, don't handle it on your own. You must wait for my word."
Having seen Big Head and Old Duan off, He Jiaqing gave special instructions to Shen Rongqing: "Tell the newspaper offices to report heavily on the fighting during this period. Let all of Puluo Province know that our Brotherhood Alliance is fighting—fighting anywhere, anytime."
Shen Rongqing didn't know what to make of that. "Rather than having me scribble nonsense with a pen, I'd rather actually fight a battle on the front lines."
He Jiaqing fell silent for a moment, then smiled at Shen Rongqing. "In truth, we've been fighting all along. Our dream has never changed—it's just that the path has been a little winding."
"A dream?" Shen Rongqing gave an awkward smile. "That word is a bit too luxurious for me."
The members of the Brotherhood Alliance departed the newland one by one. He Shengdong said to He Jiaqing, "Time is about up. Give me the deed."
"Great-Grandfather, please wait just a little longer. The Bitter Crone is sending someone over tonight. I have to settle things with her as well."
Hearing that the Bitter Crone was sending someone, several elders grew reluctant to continue shadowing He Jiaqing.
"Jiaqing, there's no need to explain things so clearly to the Bitter Crone."
"Send the Bitter Crone's messenger packing as soon as possible. Our He family never had any dealings with Kucaizhuang anyway."
"That old woman is full of trouble. If you can say fewer words to her, say fewer words."
He Shengdong still shadowed He Jiaqing, though he kept a bit more distance.
When seven in the evening arrived, an ascetic indeed came looking for He Jiaqing, urging him to hurry to Wuyouping.
He Jiaqing said to the ascetic, "Please relay to the Crone that He Jiaqing has never feared battle. My heart is on the battlefield, and my person is on the battlefield as well!"
The ascetic glanced at He Jiaqing, turned, and left.
"What's the use of mouthing pretty words?" the ascetic spat on the road. "Hasn't even been to Wuyouping, yet dares to say he's on the battlefield."
The moment the ascetic left, He Shengdong immediately showed himself. "Jiaqing, matters are settled. Time to give me the deed."
He Jiaqing led He Shengdong into Liu Bufei's territory. Arriving in a stand of Korean pines, he dug up a covenant deed and handed it to He Shengdong.
He Shengdong inspected the deed back and forth multiple times, finding no flaws. The others examined it as well, and one of He Jiaqing's granduncles even tested it with an artifact; the deed was undeniably genuine.
Yet He Shengdong remained uneasy. "Jiaqing, come with me to Chaoge. I'll take you to meet a few lords."
He Jiaqing understood in his heart. To prove his loyalty to Qiao Yi, He Shengdong intended to escort him to the Shang State like a prisoner.
In fact, He Shengdong didn't plan to take He Jiaqing to Chaoge at all—he planned to take him to Zhen.
According to the rules set by Qiao Yi, aside from delivering messages to Qiao Yi, even He Shengdong himself was not qualified to enter Chaoge at will. Without Qiao Yi's permission, these He family members were normally forbidden from leaving Zhen. To send them out on this mission, their memories regarding the Grand Totem had even been erased beforehand.
Yet whether it was Chaoge or Zhen, neither was a good destination for He Jiaqing.
He Jiaqing wore a helpless expression. "Great-Grandfather, do you distrust me that much?"
He Shengdong frowned. "How can you call this distrust? Sending you to Chaoge is for your own good. If you wish to serve the court, someone naturally has to introduce you. To say nothing of anyone else, look at Liu Bufei—he fought with all his might his entire life and threw his life away in the end. Ask him if he ever had an opportunity like this!"
He Jiaqing sighed. "Great-Grandfather, I'll listen to you in everything. Just allow me to go back and pack a few things."
He Shengdong said, "No need to pack. Chaoge lacks nothing."
"You must at least let me bring a couple of changes of clothes." He Jiaqing stepped into a wooden cabin on the land. The others waited outside, while He Shengdong followed right in behind him.
"Jiaqing, there's one thing I haven't understood. You found someone to serve as the local deity in your stead. Now that you've dug up the deed, what happened to that person?"
He Jiaqing kept his head down, folding garments. "I sent him home. After some time passes, I'll explain the reason to him."
He Shengdong pondered. "I think that man hasn't had it easy. We serve the court, yet we've dragged him into this. Let's take him along to Chaoge this time. The medicine in Chaoge is something Puluo Province can't compare to. Going there will spare him some suffering."
For the sake of security, He Shengdong wanted to take Big Head along as well.
"Great-Grandfather truly thinks of everything. Could you help me look—is this robe suitable to wear there?" He Jiaqing lifted a satin-faced long gown.
"Let me see." He Shengdong stepped over to He Jiaqing's side, his right hand grasping the end of a rope concealed inside his lapel.
This rope was a rare cultivator-binding artifact. Once bound, all of a person's joints would lock up as if clamped tight, leaving them unable to budge an inch.
He Jiaqing draped the gown over himself. "Great-Grandfather, take a look. Does this outfit look presentable?"
He Shengdong reached out to feel it. "The fabric is passable, but the embroidery is a bit shoddy. Make do with it for now. Once we reach Chaoge, I'll buy you a few new sets."
"Putting you to such expense makes me feel quite embarrassed." He Jiaqing pulled the gown back, and his right hand suddenly shot toward He Shengdong's wrist.
"We're family—talking like that treats me like a stranger!" He Shengdong flipped his wrist, acting a step ahead, and bound He Jiaqing with the rope.
He Jiaqing took a sharp breath. "Great-Grandfather, what are you doing?"
"Child, when I was tumbling through the rivers and lakes, your grandfather hadn't even left his mother's womb. You want to try that on me?" He Shengdong seized the knot of the rope and hoisted He Jiaqing entirely off the floor.
"Great-Grandfather, I harbored no ill intentions!" He Jiaqing struggled desperately.
"Whether you harbor them or not, you know best in your heart! Do you know how grave a crime you've committed? If our He family hadn't been unswervingly loyal to the court for generations, even a hundred heads wouldn't be enough to chop off!"
He Shengdong cinched the knot tighter, expecting He Jiaqing to be completely immobilized. To his shock, He Jiaqing suddenly extended his left hand and grazed He Shengdong's right leg.
*Thud!*
He Shengdong was horrified. The tendon in his right leg had been plucked out by He Jiaqing, and he nearly collapsed.
He Jiaqing slipped free of the rope and brushed against He Shengdong's left leg as well.
With the tendons in both legs gone, He Shengdong could no longer stand and crashed straight to the ground.
He had no idea how He Jiaqing had broken free from the artifact. He only saw the rope lying on the floor, severed in two.
When had the rope snapped?
When had He Jiaqing cut it?
In his daze, He Shengdong shouted at the top of his lungs, "Quick, someone come!"
He Jiaqing lunged forward to pluck out his throat. He Shengdong parried with both hands, tangling in combat with He Jiaqing.
He was a martial cultivator beyond the clouds. Even without his legs, he could hold out against He Jiaqing for a time.
Hearing the commotion inside the cabin, the crowd outside rushed to charge in. Yet some artifact had been placed within the room; the moment they reached the doorway, a surge of brute force knocked them all back.
He Jiaqing's senior great-granduncle waved his arm, and a sharp blade tore through the air, carving an opening through the invisible barrier.
The crowd leaped through the breach into the wooden cabin, only to find He Shengdong collapsed on the floor, his body limp and his eyes wide open.
The senior great-granduncle stepped forward to check. He Shengdong was still breathing.
The others searched the room, but found no trace of He Jiaqing. The senior great-granduncle barked an order at once: "Pursue him outside! Catch that beast and hack him into ten thousand pieces!"
The crowd spilled out of the house, scouring the surroundings for He Jiaqing. Cradling He Shengdong, the senior great-granduncle shed tears. "Brother, you just wouldn't listen to me. We should have killed that little beast long ago, but you insisted on going soft on him."
He Shengdong blinked rapidly several times. The senior great-granduncle sensed something was wrong and whipped his head around, only to find He Jiaqing standing right behind him. With his left hand, He Jiaqing plucked out the man's throat; with his right, he ripped out his spine.
Both men lay together on the ground. He Jiaqing finished them cleanly with a blade each.
He vaulted onto the roof, watching the directions the others had taken.
Had they stayed grouped together, He Jiaqing would have had to keep maneuvering. But now that they had split up, things were far simpler. He Jiaqing shadowed a granduncle first, trailing him into the woods, and silently took his head.
***
Murong Gui stood on the second floor of the pavilion, coating his entire body in black ink. Under the saturation of the ink, the dense layers of wounds across his body rapidly closed and healed.
Behind the writing desk, the Writing Brush Scholar was still desperately scribbling those three lines.
Outside the pavilion, the Bloodfang Monster led the Four Stone Cultivator Prodigies and more than five hundred stone cultivators, poised to shatter the structure in a single strike.
The main gates had been battered open by the Bloodfang Monster and could no longer be shut. The stone cultivators were multiplying in number, and Murong Gui could think of no way to overcome them.
Standing beneath the pavilion, the Bloodfang Monster yelled up at Murong Gui, "Wisdom-Karmic Scholar, we've traded blows for a full day! You've kept your dignity, and you've kept your pride. Losing to me in the end because you were outnumbered won't be seen as humiliating, no matter who hears of it!
"Everyone calls you a once-in-a-century genius among scholar cultivators. It's only because I genuinely hold you in high esteem that I've fought you this long—otherwise, I'd have torn down this turtle's nest of yours ages ago!"
Murong Gui straightened his back, cleared his throat, glared at the Bloodfang Monster, and bellowed, "You're the turtle!"
"Fine! You've got guts!" The Bloodfang Monster chuckled. "On the verge of death, and you still talk this tough. Are you still waiting for Zhou Badou to save you?
"Let me tell you, stop dreaming! Shan Chengjun introduced me to quite a few old friends. Though he's dead, those old friends still listen to me.
"Artisan Cultivator Grandmaster Hao Shouyi—do you know him? Poison Cultivator Grandmaster Teng Chuanchang—you know that name, don't you? And Wind Cultivator Grandmaster Yun Dieqi, who clashed with you before! Right now, all three of them are keeping Zhou Badou company. Do you think Zhou Badou can spare a thought for you? Guess if Zhou Badou is even still alive!
"Murong Gui, I truly prize you. Stay by my side in the future and devise strategies for me, and all of Puluo Province will be ours. I've laid my words bare. How you choose to proceed—weigh it carefully."
As she spoke, the Bloodfang Monster even turned to ask the Four Stone Cultivator Prodigies behind her, "I didn't misuse the word 'weigh', did I?"
The Four Stone Cultivator Prodigies nodded together, affirming she had used it correctly.
The Bloodfang Monster truly wanted to recruit Murong Gui. She had crawled and climbed through Puluo Province for so many years and had once held the chance to reach the peak, only to fall short at the very end. Back then, she had never understood why.
Later, enlightened by Shan Chengjun, she had come to realize something: if one wished to achieve great things, one had to keep a man of letters at their side.
She knew educated men were not easily fooled, and had originally intended to move Murong Gui with sincerity. Never did she expect that he wouldn't appreciate the gesture at all. Even at his wits' end, he still stubbornly resisted.
The ink within the lake churned once more as Murong Gui prepared to strike back. This thoroughly enraged the Bloodfang Monster. "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! I'll tear down your wretched pavilion first, then fill in your miserable lake!"
At the Bloodfang Monster's command, a swarm of stone cultivators surged toward the pavilion. Murong Gui formed a wall of ink, intending to block them outside, but his strength suddenly flagged, and the ink wall loosened with it. What had been a continuous sheet of ink broke into gaping holes.
The stone cultivators seized the opening to close in on the pavilion. Murong Gui gripped the railing, gritting his teeth as he stood, yet he could no longer channel any techniques.
He had been cursed.
Throughout the battle with the Bloodfang Monster, Murong Gui had constantly guarded against curses. Yet after fighting for an entire day, a scourge had still been planted within him.
Seeing that the pavilion was about to be demolished, the Writing Brush Scholar hurled the sheets of paper in his hands out the window.
The three sentences inscribed upon them encircled the pavilion layer upon layer, forming a final barrier.
The stone cultivators slammed violently against the shield, battering the paper until it cracked and ink scattered through the air.
The Writing Brush Scholar wrote with frantic desperation, trying to patch the holes, but before he could finish half a page, the barrier had already fractured.
Bearing the curse, Murong Gui activated a sloth cultivator technique, hoping to slow the stone cultivators down even for a fleeting moment. Alas, their numbers were simply too vast and the technique's coverage too limited. The barrier was breached after all.
The Four Stone Cultivator Prodigies charged at the fore, preparing to bring the pavilion crashing down. Suddenly, dozens of willow trees descended from the heavens, encircling the pavilion in a tight ring. Their branches intertwined, blocking the stone cultivators.
As the Bloodfang Monster wondered where the willow trees had come from, she caught sight of a lean man standing upon the boughs. He had closely cropped hair, a square-jawed face, upright features, hollow cheeks, and a thin mustache above his lip.
That mustache had originally been black, but now it was stained red.
His ivory-yellow robe was riddled with countless tears and holes, and beneath the fabric, his flesh was a mangled mess.
"Zhou Badou!" The Bloodfang Monster grinned. "Wounded like this, and you still haven't died!"
"'Surviving calamity, brothers remain; a smile when meeting dispels past enmities!'" Boss Lu struck a match and lit the tobacco in his pipe. "After all, we're old acquaintances. They couldn't bear to see me die."
The Bloodfang Monster chuckled. "I can't bear to see you die either. Bring your disciple along, and tonight the three of us can reminisce about old times."
"Coming together—would that be proper?"
The Bloodfang Monster patted her chest. "I have a sturdy build. I can handle it!"
Boss Lu shook his head slightly. "Woman, the skin on your face is thicker than the bark of this century-old willow. It resembles an old pine at the village entrance—coarse beyond measure, yet smeared with greasy resin.
"Presumably, on some freezing night, that Mister Shan also secretly lamented that the eye for judging people he spent half a lifetime cultivating was inferior even to the stones on Bloodfang Mountain, or that some strange disease had festered in his brain for him to fancy a woman like you.
"So much so that when he fought Li Qi to the bitter end, he never once considered a retreat. So much so that he would rather descend to the Yellow Springs than look upon you for a single moment more."
"You bastard!" The Bloodfang Monster flew into a rage, ordering the Four Stone Cultivator Prodigies to swarm Boss Lu.
Boss Lu had already deduced her tactics. She sent the stone cultivators to the front, relying on their thick, durable hides to fight to the death, while she hid behind them, seeking an opening to cast curses while her opponent was distracted.
This strategy was indeed effective, but Boss Lu had already devised a way to counter it.
Manipulating the willow whips, he lashed the stone cultivators repeatedly, leaving the character for 'shatter' etched onto each one.
Once injured, a stone cultivator's method of treatment was exceedingly simple: they would directly detonate a layer of rock from their body, shedding the outer surface.
Whether the wound contained poison, parasites, flames, or other techniques, everything would be cleanly purged along with that shed layer.
This was the most troublesome measure a stone cultivator possessed, and Boss Lu had targeted this very trait.
Wounded by the willow whips, the stone cultivators repeated their old trick, detonating the mangled rock on their surfaces to shed it. Yet to their shock, once the explosions began, they couldn't be stopped.
The character for 'shatter' carved into them did not deepen their injuries directly, but it violently amplified their own technique.
Where they had only meant to shed the wounded spots, their entire bodies now detonated. Amidst a succession of crisp cracks, hundreds of stone cultivators blew apart from the outside in, bursting continuously until they were reduced entirely to powder.
Only a handful of stone cultivators remained. Terrified, the Four Prodigies cowered behind the Bloodfang Monster, not daring to advance.
Amidst the drifting dust, the Bloodfang Monster could not see Boss Lu's figure, only hear his voice: "Hen Wuyou, your lifespan draws to an end. When that Mister Shan learns you are coming to join him in the Yellow Springs, he will surely feel his death was not worth it."
The Bloodfang Monster rubbed her forehead, pressing back the bulging veins on her brow. A smile crept across her face. "Zhou Badou, do you think that just because I can't see you, I can't cast curses on you?
"Do you know what techniques the stone cultivators and virtue cultivators devised when they joined forces back then?"
Boss Lu chuckled. "That is a question for you. Every stone cultivator in Puluo Province was wiped out—where were their bones buried? Why is there such a massive Lie-Root Stone on Desong Cliff, and why did such an enormous Bloodfang Mountain suddenly emerge in the newlands?"
The Bloodfang Monster nodded slightly. "Zhou Badou, you truly haven't been idle these past few years. You know what you ought to know, and you've uncovered plenty of what you ought not to know. Did you record all of this from old newspapers?"
Dust mixed with ink, making the surroundings increasingly blurred. Boss Lu could strike at any moment, and the Bloodfang Monster seemed to have no defense.
Boss Lu kept talking to her, dividing her attention. "If you hadn't shown yourself at Moxiang Shop, I truly wouldn't have thought to trace your origins. Back then, when Shan Chengjun slaughtered the stone cultivators down to the last man, you had a hand in it too, didn't you?"
The Bloodfang Monster did not deny it. "You guessed right. I've done plenty of dirty things. In Puluo Province, how many people dare claim their hands are clean?
"Zhou Badou, do you count as a clean man? Back then, when a few of you ascended Sage Peak together and drove the Sage away, into whose hands did the Heirloom Seal of the Realm fall? Don't tell me you don't know.
"If you had handed the imperial seal to the peddler earlier so he could figure out its uses, he would definitely have been prepared for places like Jianren Ridge, Santoucha, and Suihuang Plain.
"Yet you hid the seal away and never gave it to him. And now Qiao Yi has somehow procured another imperial seal and turned Puluo Province into a sieve! Do you feel no guilt in your heart?
"You believed the peddler was unfit to be the Lord of Puluo and always wanted to replace him. Now you've ruined Puluo Province. Ask your own conscience—can you face Puluo Province with a clear heart?"
The dust gradually settled, and Boss Lu's figure slowly emerged.
He held a hand over his chest, resisting the Bloodfang Monster's technique with everything he had, yet his feet were turning to stone bit by bit.
Zhou Wencheng had never seen this technique before. It seemed to blend the methods of multiple paths; he could deduce some of its mechanics, but could find no way to unravel it.
"It contains virtue cultivator techniques, stone cultivator techniques, and curse cultivator techniques!" Murong Gui exerted every ounce of his remaining strength to awaken the ink within the lake. The ink gathered into clouds and then fell as rain, a shower of black droplets pouring over the Bloodfang Monster's head, constantly corroding her flesh.
Yet the Bloodfang Monster was fearless. She was even more resilient than a stone cultivator!
Smiling, she paid Murong Gui no heed and kept her gaze fixed on Boss Lu. "Zhou Badou, you truly know how to fight, and I genuinely admire you.
"But there are things you still don't understand. A technique that the stone and virtue cultivator paths poured their heart's blood into creating isn't so easily dissolved.
"Guilt festers in your heart, and in this matter, no one can save you. You can deceive the world, but in the end, you cannot deceive yourself!
"I didn't originally plan to use such a handy technique on you. I intended to save it for the peddler—he harbors guilt in his heart as well.
"Now that I've brought it out and let you see it, I cannot leave either of you alive.
"Zhou Badou, I don't know whether to call you lucky or not, but either way, you've broadened your horizons before you die!"
Boss Lu's eyes were bloodshot. Dragging his body with immense difficulty, he reached the first floor of the pavilion, intending to draw upon the books inside to catch his breath.
The books took flight, the words within eager to leap from the pages. Yet Boss Lu ultimately could not withstand the Bloodfang Monster's method. His knees struck the ground, and his body rapidly turned to stone.
"He knelt. What about you?" The Bloodfang Monster raised her head to look at Murong Gui. Under the control of the curse, Murong Gui had already collapsed beneath the railing.
"Shan Chengjun once said that you scholars are useful, but one cannot treat you too well. The way you scholars look when kneeling is the most pleasing sight.
"The way you two look kneeling here is indeed quite pleasing. But you knelt a bit too late. There are scholars aplenty in this world. If you two won't obey, I'll just find others. You can die right here on your knees!" The Bloodfang Monster pricked her fingertip with a sharp tooth and wrote the character for 'success' upon a sheet of yellow paper.
After being badgered by Qiao Yi all day, she was tired of it. It was about time to report her mission accomplished.
Far away at Jianren Ridge, Nian Shangyou received the message. Overjoyed, he hurried to report the good news to Qiao Yi: "Lord! The third column has succeeded! The Bloodfang Monster has captured Moxiang Shop!"
"Good!" Qiao Yi praised, immediately drafting a commendation for the Bloodfang Monster and ordering the entire army to stand by!
The Bloodfang Monster commanded the Four Stone Cultivator Prodigies to execute Zhou Wencheng and Murong Gui immediately.
The Writing Brush Scholar threw all the sheets of paper he had just finished writing down from the upper floor.
"The unlettered should feel shame!"
"The literate should strive!"
"All people should study letters!"
Three phrases, thirteen characters, encircled the pavilion to fend off the charging stone cultivators with all their might.
The Bloodfang Monster knitted her brows and glared at the Writing Brush Scholar. "What use is there in writing this nonsense?"
The Writing Brush Scholar didn't care whether it was of any use. This was his duty. As long as a single breath remained in him, he had to defend this pavilion!
Leading the surviving stone cultivators, the Four Prodigies moved to kill Boss Lu first, but those thirteen characters had become astonishingly solid, remaining an impassable wall.
The Bloodfang Monster's heart tightened. She realized another development might be unfolding.
Fine, intricate characters began creeping onto the stone cultivators, causing the Four Prodigies' movements to slow drastically.
Other characters crawled onto Boss Lu. The stone encasing his body began to flake off bit by bit, and his petrified flesh gradually regained some of its color.
He seemed able to move!
Still other characters crawled onto Murong Gui, considerably easing the curse upon him. Gripping the railing, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself up!
Dense, swirling characters lingered around the pavilion.
From the night sky came a weathered, deep voice:
"Young man, stand up!"
Chapter 831