Chapter 140: Movement Injury Secret Technique

While the bandit gasped in pain, He Lingchuan poured the insect powder into his mouth, forced two sips of water down, and made him swallow it.

Wu Shaoyi, however, swallowed the mother grasshopper's abdominal sac along with the larvae inside, even chewing it twice. He Lingchuan heard a distinct crunching sound.

"What else should I do?""Nothing. Just wait."

About a dozen breaths later, He Lingchuan heard Wu Shaoyi's breathing become increasingly steady, and his pulse felt stronger.

He unwrapped the bandages from Wu Shaoyi's body, discovering that the horrifying large blood holes were slowly contracting.

On the other side, the bandit was screaming continuously in agony. One by one, wounds appeared on his body, mirroring Wu Shaoyi's injuries in size and location, and blood began to flow. Then, with several cracking sounds, some of his bones successively broke.

Within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Wu Shaoyi's wounds had mostly healed, leaving only red marks on his skin. He Lingchuan cautiously pressed a few spots and found that his broken ribs had also mended.

Looking at the bandit again, Wu Shaoyi's previous injuries had almost entirely transferred to him. He was now barely breathing, his life hanging by a thread.

"Aside from significant blood loss, your injuries have largely recovered," He Lingchuan remarked, observing Wu Shaoyi with astonishment. "Can you draw that yellow talisman?"

Wu Shaoyi had indeed not lied to him; the ritual for this secret art was not difficult, anyone could learn it by observing, and He Lingchuan could even deduce most of its principles.

There's an old saying that grasshoppers in autumn don't live for long. In reality, the mother insect quickly weakens after laying its eggs and soon dies from cold or starvation. The newly hatched larvae, however, grow rapidly underground.

In essence, this was the intergenerational transfer of life essence.

Wu Shaoyi leveraged this connection to transfer the bandit's life force to himself and project his own injuries onto the bandit.

The key to the ritual lay in the talisman paper and the turtle pearl.

Earlier, when He Lingchuan had received the yellow talisman paper, he had examined it closely. The characters on it were drawn with cinnabar ink. Strangely, no matter how intently he focused, the lines appeared increasingly blurry, making it impossible to memorize them.

Advanced talismans often had this anti-copying feature; otherwise, anyone could easily replicate them once obtained.

Wu Shaoyi shook his head. "I'm just a rough man; how could I know such things? The Sage Master said that no more than three people in the world understood this secret art. Now that he has passed away, only two remain."

He slowly sat up, his face still very pale. He Lingchuan even thought he looked several years older.

Yet, the turtle pearl had provided him with such abundant energy.

"The Sage Master said I was destined for a great tribulation that would be hard to overcome, which is why he gave me this talisman paper," Wu Shaoyi said with a bitter smile. "But this magic is too malicious, harming the harmony of nature. Even though my injuries have healed, I can at most live for another three to five years. All my cultivation is gone, and at this time every year, my old wounds will resurface, and I'll have to endure a full day of pain again!"

"That sounds like a lot of suffering," He Lingchuan thought, secretly unconvinced. In a world where humans were treated worse than dogs, what "harmony of nature" was there to speak of? "I've spent a lot of time here already. It's time to find the main group. Can you ride a horse?"

Wu Shaoyi stood up and moved his limbs. "No problem."

He was simply unable to fight and had lost too much blood, requiring rest. But both understood that there was no time for him to recuperate right now.

At that moment, the bandit took his last breath and died.

If the ritual hadn't been performed in time, it would have been Wu Shaoyi who died.

Wu Shaoyi bowed solemnly to him. "Thank you for finding me a substitute!"

As he walked out of the house, he finally asked He Lingchuan's name. He Lingchuan told him his name, then, seeing the giant crocodile sunbathing on the beach, he couldn't help but ask, "By the way, I saw the crocodile demon attack you on the west road and drag you directly into the water. How did you get a chance to fight back?"

Even an ordinary crocodile demon over three meters long, let alone a powerful crocodile deity, makes it very difficult for a human to resist alone without assistance from others.

Wu Shaoyi sighed. "It first dragged me to the bottom of the water and swam for a while. Then it quickly surfaced, preparing to reposition me for easier swallowing. I seized that opportunity to brace my long spear."

He Lingchuan suddenly understood.

Crocodiles, lizards, and birds all primarily swallow their food rather than chew it. If a mouthful of prey is sideways and cannot be swallowed, they will briefly toss and reposition it to swallow it in another direction.

Wu Shaoyi exploited this brief moment to successfully save himself.

It sounded simple, but He Lingchuan was still deeply impressed by Wu Shaoyi's composure in a crisis. Putting himself in Wu Shaoyi's shoes, if he had dozens of fangs embedded in his body and wounds constantly gushing blood, could he remain as calm?

Just then, scattered figures appeared on the road outside the village. Seeing Wu Shaoyi, they rushed forward, overjoyed. "General, you're alive!"

These were, naturally, Wu Shaoyi's subordinates. Earlier, when Wu Shaoyi was ambushed by the giant crocodile, the leaderless bandits scattered after being attacked by Lu Yao.

Except for those recruited by Lu Yao, the rest had been lingering not far outside the village, preparing to select a new leader.

For so many people to move, eat, and drink without proper command would be a disaster.

Wu Shaoyi commanded immense prestige among his troops. When Zidiao went to rally them, followers gathered in droves.

In less than half an hour, most of the men had returned.

He Lingchuan roughly counted them and was secretly delighted to find there were five to six hundred people.

Such numbers and strength, if used properly, could become a formidable surprise force.

When asked, Wu Shaoyi didn't hold back, recounting his solo battle with the crocodile deity, earning continuous admiration from his subordinates.

The bandits also spoke kindly to He Lingchuan, as Wu Shaoyi had directly called him his savior. To the bandits, anyone who could return with their leader by riding a crocodile was implicitly no ordinary person.

Given that several giant crocodiles were resting by the lake, no one doubted their words.

With so many people, the area became noisy. The crocodile deity, finding the place no longer quiet, slowly turned its head, preparing to return to the lake.

He Lingchuan, sharp-eyed, quickly approached. "Hey, Crocodile Deity, wait a moment!"

The giant crocodile stopped.

Previously, it had ignored all humans except for Hong Xiangqian. However, He Lingchuan had helped it before, and it was a creature that clearly distinguished between favors and grievances.

"What is it?"

"Why are you working for Lu Yao?" He Lingchuan asked, echoing Wu Shaoyi's question. "Hong Xiangqian is dead, so why would you attach yourself to Lu Yao?"

"Hong Xiangqian once possessed a drop of Black Dragon's essence blood. Lu Yao offered that as payment for me to act twice," the giant crocodile slowly explained. "Using red quinoa powder as the signal, this is the last time."

Oh, right. These scaly creatures were obsessed with dragon blood; it seemed to be greatly beneficial for their cultivation. He Lingchuan's eyes darted around. "Why did Lu Yao bring you to Immortal Lake?"

"He said this place needed my help."

Hearing this, the bandits under Wu Shaoyi's command all looked furious.