Ling Xiao didn’t even glance at the bodies of Cold Face Warrior and the others.
Perhaps because he’d been killing so fiercely these past few days, these people, when entering the mountains, didn’t even wear storage rings, entrusting all their valuables to someone they trusted.
Cold Face Warrior was no exception.
A body without a storage ring held no interest for him whatsoever.
Having killed Cold Face Warrior, there was still Exquisite Fairy to deal with!
Just wait, Exquisite Fairy, we’ll meet again soon, and when that time comes, it’ll be your end.
…
Dawn.
Sunlight bathed the earth.
Deep in the Fulong Mountains, under dappled sunlight, a group of people were trekking.
They were martial artists gathering herbs, wearing special markers, fearful of catching the attention of that killing demon.
Fortunately, the journey had been safe.
“Hey, look at that!”
Amidst terrified shouts, several martial artists looked ahead.
What a scene—
In a clearing, all the trees were charred black, and in the centre of this scorched area, several bodies were strewn about.
Next to these bodies was a freshly filled grave, with a stone marker erected on it!
“Tomb of Moonlight Sect’s Iron Fir”.
Below these words were four more: “Died justly”.
The martial artists exchanged glances, shouted in alarm, and, forgetting about gathering herbs, turned and fled towards the mountain’s exit.
Soon, the entire Sha Family Fort knew about it.
“Hey, heard about it? That Cold Face Warrior by Exquisite Fairy’s side is dead, head severed, died horribly.”
“That’s nothing, Moonlight Sect’s Iron Fir, a seventh-level Mortal Realm master, was killed too.”
“It was that guy, right?”
“Definitely, it’s that bounty-hunted youth!”
“They say he’s only fourteen, how can he be so terrifying? Rumours say, to capture him, over a thousand martial artists entered the mountains, yet more than five hundred died, and the rest basically fled.”
“No surprise there, he can even kill a seventh-level Mortal Realm martial artist, sending any number is pointless.”
“Heh, that Exquisite Fairy, always so hypocritical, acting like a queen, who knows how many men she’s slept with.”
“Shh, keep it down, Sha Family Fort is still her turf, and this time she’s got a core disciple from Beast King Palace helping her.”
“Afraid of what? Cold Face Warrior’s dead, you think that kid will spare her?”
For a moment, Sha Family Fort buzzed with lively discussion, many who’d been suppressed by Exquisite Fairy but dared not speak out were secretly celebrating at home.
The person they couldn’t afford to provoke had finally hit a wall.
…
The atmosphere in Exquisite Fairy Palace grew even heavier and more oppressive, as if a dark miasma was constantly seeping out.
On the ground lay Cold Face Warrior’s body, and the charred remains of “Iron Fir”.
But this time, besides Wang She, three others were present, the remaining three of Meng Yuan’s Four Wood Guests—
Zhan Liu, Wu Yang, Qin Wu.
Looking at the charred body, their faces were grim, as if they might explode at any moment.
Their eyes burned with intense killing intent.
“Senior Brother, we must avenge Iron Fir, tear that Ling Xiao to pieces, leave no trace of him!”
Qin Wu roared in fury.
“Exactly, the four of us are like brothers, though not from the same clan, we came from the same small sect, swore brotherhood, vowing to live and die together!”
Wu Yang also bellowed.
Their eyes were bloodshot, their anger almost tangible.
Zhan Liu nodded.
He recalled Meng Yuan’s words when they left Moonlight Sect, telling him to keep a low profile, not to reveal his intent to kill Ling Xiao in front of outsiders.
But seeing Iron Fir’s body, how could he hold back?
Yet, he also felt disbelief.
He knew about Ling Xiao.
And Meng Yuan had given him all the detailed information about this person.
An outer disciple, a month ago, only at the peak of second-level Mortal Realm or early third-level.
What was going on now?
He could even kill Iron Fir!
Iron Fir was an early seventh-level Mortal Realm martial artist!
Unable to believe it, he initially suspected Wang She from Beast King Palace was behind it.
But Wang She had an alibi, when Iron Fir died, Wang She was discussing plans with Exquisite Fairy and other martial artists to hunt Ling Xiao in the mountains.
He’d get to the bottom of this, if it was really Ling Xiao, he’d grind him to dust.
“I advise you three to calm down.”
Wang She suddenly said coldly, “Iron Fir’s cultivation was slightly weaker than you three, but not by much, based on my inspection of the scene, that Ling Xiao wasn’t even seriously injured, he killed Iron Fir and left with ease, meaning his strength is far greater than Iron Fir’s!”
Of course, he hoped Moonlight Sect’s people would fight to the death.
But this was reverse psychology.
If he urged the three to kill Ling Xiao, it might not work and could raise suspicion.
But saying it this way changed everything.
He was sure these three fools would reject his advice and insist on going after Ling Xiao.
As for him, he could sit back and reap the benefits.
Though he wasn’t afraid of Ling Xiao, he sensed the kid’s trickiness, if Moonlight Sect’s people could mutually destroy each other, he’d solve the problem more easily.
“Thanks for your kindness, Brother Wang, but this villain dared slaughter a sect mate, our brother-like junior brother, he must die!”
As expected, Zhan Liu, Wu Yang, and Qin Wu’s thoughts were strikingly aligned.
Even Zhan Liu, who’d been somewhat calm, was now brimming with killing intent, completely unable to stay composed.
“Miss Exquisite, please do us a favour.”
Zhan Liu turned to Exquisite Fairy.
“Brother Zhan, just say it, I’ll do it.”
Anyone here was beyond Exquisite Fairy’s ability to provoke, this incident was her doing, and the fact that Zhan Liu and the others hadn’t taken it out on her was already lucky, she dared not show any neglect.
“Gather martial artists now, have them disguise as herb gatherers, this Ling Xiao is very hypocritical, these past days, though he killed many, he hasn’t harmed a single innocent, which means he’s selective in his killing.”
Zhan Liu said, “These people don’t need to attack Ling Xiao or show any hostility, they just go into the mountains to gather herbs, if they ‘accidentally’ spot Ling Xiao, they fire a.signal flare immediately, without hesitation.”
“Understood.”
Exquisite Fairy thought this was a clever plan, this way, Ling Xiao wouldn’t be able to distinguish real herb gatherers from hunters.
“I’ll handle it now, Cold Face followed me for years, I’ll avenge him no matter what.”
“No objections to me joining, right?”
Wang She asked with a smile.
“Of course not, as long as we can grind Ling Xiao to dust, Brother Wang can do as he pleases.”
Zhan Liu nodded.
