Chapter 45: Fierce Woman

Chapter 46: I Can't Bear to See Him Suffer

Li Banfeng threw the Rust Pill into the old woman's throat.

It happened just as Li Banfeng had kicked the old woman in the stomach, causing her to gasp for air in a spasm. With that inhaled breath, she swallowed the Rust Pill.

A burning sensation struck her. The old woman knew she had been poisoned and immediately tried to vomit.

Li Banfeng didn't give her a chance to throw up. He seized the opportunity to get behind Decai, pulled out his short knife, and began hacking at the old woman's head, strike after strike.

Initially, the old woman dodged smoothly, but as the poison took rapid effect, her throat felt as if it were on fire. Acidic, metallic-smelling fluid constantly surged upward, not only causing unbearable pain but also severely affecting her breathing.

During the struggle, the old woman was drenched in sweat. Her sweat was reddish-brown, and her face was mottled, as if it had rusted.

Li Banfeng was very familiar with this process!

The old woman was detoxifying!

Although she couldn't vomit, she had other ways to detoxify, and this method was very similar to Li Banfeng's own.

She was a Dwelling Cultivator!

Dwelling Cultivators could hide their presence, causing opponents to overlook them. The coachman had once said that Journey Cultivators couldn't sense the danger posed by Dwelling Cultivators, which was why Li Banfeng had never perceived the old woman's malice.

But the old woman's two sons weren't Dwelling Cultivators, so why couldn't Li Banfeng sense their malice when they poisoned him?

Li Banfeng quickly thought of the crucial point.

It had to do with the location of the incident.

The incident occurred in this house.

This house was the key to everything!

This was the old woman's house, a Dwelling Cultivator's house.

A Dwelling Cultivator, within their own house, was protected by the Dwelling Spirit.

The old woman, recognizing Li Banfeng as a Journey Cultivator at a glance, used her Dwelling Cultivator powers to shield her own malice and that of her two sons.

Was her cultivation level that high?

Could her power extend to her two sons?

Her cultivation level wasn't that high; she was merely a first-level Dwelling Cultivator. If she had reached the second level, Li Banfeng wouldn't be alive now.

With her strength, she definitely couldn't influence her two sons outside the house.

However, inside the house, with the aid of the Dwelling Spirit, the old woman's techniques were enhanced. This made her faster than a Journey Cultivator, more ruthless than a Martial Cultivator, and more resilient than a Body Cultivator.

Having a Dwelling Spirit was truly beneficial!

This made Li Banfeng incredibly envious.

If I kill this old woman, will this Dwelling Spirit become mine?

The peddler had said that an ownerless Dwelling Spirit could be taken over by the next master.

The more Li Banfeng thought about it, the more excited he became, and he fought the old woman with all his might.

With the help of the Dwelling Spirit, the old woman continuously sweated to detoxify, but the Rust Pill's potency was simply too great, and sweating was too inefficient a method of detoxification.

Li Banfeng wanted to conduct an experiment himself: could a Dwelling Cultivator inside their house resist the Rust Pill's corrosion?

Of course, conducting an experiment personally didn't mean using himself as the subject. The most important thing was attitude: to approach the experimental results with a scientific mindset.

Based on tonight's experimental results, a first-level Dwelling Cultivator could not withstand the Rust Pill if they couldn't vomit freely.

According to Li Banfeng's estimation, in less than two minutes, the old woman's combat ability had dropped by more than half.

Another two minutes passed, and the old woman's movements became increasingly sluggish, her speed even slower than an ordinary person's. Eerie grinding sounds emanated from her joints.

Li Banfeng dodged the old woman's hairpin and kicked her in the stomach.

The old woman coughed and gasped, astonishingly spitting out a mouthful of reddish-brown fragments.

She was rusting; her entire being was rusting.

Li Banfeng quickly moved away from the old woman.

He wasn't sure if this "rust disease" was contagious.

The old woman walked step by step towards Li Banfeng, cursing fiercely as she approached: "Little bastard, don't run, come here! If you don't run, I'll give you a quick death. But if you dare to take another step, I'll slice you into a thousand pieces! You can't escape. This is my house, heh heh heh. Once you're here, don't even think about leaving. You'll never leave in this lifetime!"

Her words were venomous, but the old woman was terrified inside.

Every part of her body felt as if molten iron had been poured over it, scorching her flesh layer after layer and continuously permeating deeper.

Her son was a Poison Cultivator, and she had seen many poisons, but she had never encountered one as terrifying as this.

Although the intense pain was unbearable, it wasn't the most frightening part.

The most terrifying thing was the numbness that followed the pain.

She felt her body rapidly losing sensation amidst the agony.

Aside from the foul-smelling, acrid rust foam in her mouth, she could barely feel her own body. Even if she could vomit, it wouldn't help.

She wanted to return to her room; she wanted to hear the sound of the old grandfather clock.

But if she returned to her room now, her son would surely die.

The old woman took a few steps forward, moving slower and slower, each step becoming more difficult.

Rust powder flaked from her body, rust foam spewed from her mouth and nose, and her graying hair turned yellow strand by strand, crumbling into rust fragments that scattered with the wind.

Crack!

The old woman stumbled and fell to the ground.

She glanced back and saw half of a lower leg broken off on the ground, its bone rusted through and its flesh turned to rust fragments.

She saw that bone.

Many other bones had also broken; she couldn't see them, but she could feel them.

Her body was crumbling apart.

Her eyes were fixed on her own room, the largest one in the courtyard.

She longed for the clock to chime, even if only once.

But the chimes never came.

She saw Decai lying on the ground, convulsing and struggling. She thought of Demao, whose whereabouts were unknown.

How could this have happened?

How could she die at the hands of a mere youth?

No, not just this detestable youth, but also that shameless pair of hussies. From the moment they entered, she should have killed them. She shouldn't have let those two hussies tempt her son.

My son is mine, only mine, always mine...

"You, spare my son. I, I'll give you something good..." The old woman looked at Li Banfeng, her voice tinged with pleading.

Li Banfeng looked at the struggling Decai, sighed, and said, "I don't want to kill, but I can't bear to see her suffer."

The old woman shook her head. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"How can you not understand?" Li Banfeng said, approaching Decai with his short knife. "When the mother is dead, what's the point of letting the child live? Wouldn't it be suffering to leave her alone in the world? Better for her to go along with you — weren't those your exact words just now?"

"Bastard, how dare you touch my family! I'm from the Jiangxiang Gang, and the Jiangxiang Gang will never forgive you..." The old woman roared.

The Jiangxiang Gang again.

The Jiangxiang Gang's prestige must be respected!

Right in front of her, Li Banfeng decapitated Decai.

"Mother, save me..."

Decai's voice abruptly ceased.

Watching Decai's head fall to the ground, the old woman's body twitched uncontrollably.

She remembered how she had previously killed other people's children, and how their parents' bodies had also twitched.

Red spots dotted her vision, she couldn't tell if they were rust or bloodstains.

Her consciousness faded, and along with her body, she turned into a pile of rust fragments.

A cold gust of wind blew, scattering the old woman's large pile of fragments everywhere.

Xiao Yeci looked at Li Banfeng, her face showing admiration but her heart filled with fear. Her hands remained clapped over her daughter Lu Chunying's eyes.

The old woman was dead, and Decai was also dead.

Although Xiao Yeci had long wished to kill this evil family, seeing them truly dead filled her with genuine fear.

She didn't know Li Banfeng's background, nor could she discern his sect or cultivation level.

He moved so quickly. Was he a Journey Cultivator?

But what had happened to the old woman, why had she rusted?

He saved us, so he should let us go, right?

But what if he didn't let them go?

Li Banfeng's expression was somewhat crestfallen, as if he felt pity for the old woman.

Xiao Yeci noticed Li Banfeng's regret.

Feeling sorry for a wicked person, he must be a good person, right?

Perhaps he could help them once more...

Looking at the rust fragments scattered across the floor, Li Banfeng's expression was grave as he let out a long sigh.