Chapter 93: Sick Cultivator

Critick's sudden appearance greatly surprised Darboynes. Their first encounter, in front of the general store, had left a deep impression on him; the foreigner had strange herpes lesions on his body, which so scared Darboynes that he repeatedly checked himself, fearing infection. The foreigner's way of asking for directions was also peculiar; he had come to Yaowanggou yet didn't know where to buy medicine. Darboynes had previously suspected his motives.

However, Darboynes hadn't realized one thing: this foreigner was also after Li Banfeng. Moreover, he hadn't bothered to investigate Li Banfeng's whereabouts himself; instead, he had directly used Darboynes' findings, waiting for Darboynes to locate Li Banfeng before swooping in to intercept.

Could something so convenient exist in the world?

Darboynes smiled. "Alright, I'll yield him to you. He's right here. Come and take him away."

Li Banfeng was surrounded by spiderwebs, and Darboynes wanted to see what Critick could do to reach him.

Critick blinked his emerald eyes and directly requested Darboynes, "Please remove the spider silk so I can get through."

Darboynes was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "Do you think that's a reasonable request?"

Critick shrugged. "Isn't it reasonable? If you don't remove the silk, how am I supposed to take him away?"

Darboynes chuckled, "I won't remove the silk. If you have the ability, come over. If not, get lost."

Critick nodded. "Remember what you said. Don't you dare remove the silk. If you do, you're not a man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Critick unbuttoned his top and scratched open a patch of herpes lesions on his chest with his fingernail. The fluid from the lesions splattered out, each droplet verdant and crystalline, like emerald dewdrops, coating every strand of spider silk.

Darboynes was stunned. It was the first time he had ever seen such a method of attack.

The next scene was even more astonishing: all the emerald dewdrops on the spider silk began to move on their own. These fluids from the lesions had a life of their own; they could travel along the spider silk. This meant that every strand of Darboynes' spider silk now served as a special conduit for the herpes fluid, allowing it to launch a full-scale attack on him.

What would happen if he came into contact with the fluid? Would he break out in full-body herpes, or would he die instantly? Darboynes dared not try. He immediately destroyed a portion of the spider silk, creating an exit for himself, and first escaped the predicament posed by the herpes fluid.

At the same time, Li Banfeng pulled the Tang Dao from his pocket and shouted, "Attack!" The Tang Dao immediately returned to its size of over a meter, clanged as it was drawn from its sheath, and sliced open a section of the spiderweb. Li Banfeng also rushed out through the gap.

Darboynes, holding the spider silk, leaped up and suspended himself in front of Li Banfeng. His arms suddenly elongated to seize Li Banfeng. If Li Banfeng were seized, Darboynes would immediately use the spider silk to fly onto the surrounding houses, then use a mouthful of venom to render Li Banfeng unconscious. If Darboynes had succeeded, Li Banfeng wouldn't have been able to escape, nor would Critick have been able to catch him.

Unfortunately, Darboynes didn't succeed. The Tang Dao blocked in front of Li Banfeng, unleashing a slash that severed one of Darboynes' arms, sending him crashing to the ground. Li Banfeng dared not linger in battle; behind him was Critick, oozing green fluid all over. One glance was enough to know that he was not to be approached. Li Banfeng threw a rust-inducing pill, hitting Darboynes' cheek, and then bolted away.

Darboynes pursued closely, as rust marks rapidly spread across his body. Critick, following closely behind, was very surprised. "What kind of disease is this? I've never seen it before."

"Are you so curious? I'll let you take a good look!" Darboynes' body trembled, and he shed a layer from head to toe. What exactly did he shed? Critick didn't know what it was either. There were clothes, hair, a top hat, a face, hands and feet, and shoes. Darboynes had shed his skin! The rust-covered skin nearly stuck to Critick. And Darboynes, after shedding his skin, was even more extraordinary. He had clothes on, shoes, and his top hat was still on his head.

"Your clothes are your skin. No, that's not right. Your skin has your clothes on it. No, that's not right either. To be precise... you're not wearing clothes at all; it's all your skin!"

Critick's comment displeased Darboynes greatly; at the very least, he shouldn't have said it so loudly. The private detective turned and flung out a spiderweb, saying to Critick, "Can you stop following me?"

Critick dodged the spiderweb, unfazed. "This road isn't yours. If you can walk on it, why can't I?"

Darboynes scoffed, "This is Prosperous State territory, and you're not from Prosperous State."

Critick replied, "I love Prosperous State. I have a Prosperous State tattoo. If you like, I can show you."

Neither of these two was a journey cultivator, so why could they keep following Li Banfeng? Because of the disparity in cultivation levels. Darboynes had a five-level cultivation. Although his speed was not equal to that of journey cultivators at the same level, he could keep up with a one-level journey cultivator. Critick's cultivation level was unknown, but it was higher than Darboynes'. If either of them made a full-effort attempt to capture him, Li Banfeng would have no chance of escaping. Fortunately, the two men were holding each other back, which gave Li Banfeng a slight opportunity.

Li Banfeng ran with all his might but still couldn't shake off the two men. Seeing Critick drawing near, Li Banfeng suddenly threw a blood-stained pair of scissors. The scissors flew towards Critick, aiming directly for his throat. Critick struggled to grab the scissors, and Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to bypass him.

Darboynes caught up shortly after. He stretched out his two long arms, seemingly about to trap Li Banfeng. The Tang Dao was drawn again, flying behind Li Banfeng and stabbing directly into Darboynes' chest. This strike was as quick as lightning. Darboynes struggled to dodge it and ended up lying on the ground.

Li Banfeng was overjoyed and commanded the Tang Dao, "Cut him down!" The Tang Dao quickly shrank and slipped back into Li Banfeng's pocket.

What was going on? Only three strikes? "You damn useless knife, calling you a 'two-strike' knife would be a compliment..."

Li Banfeng had no time to think further and continued to bolt away. These two obstructions bought Li Banfeng some time, and he bolted into a deep alley. By the time Darboynes and Critick pursued him into the deep alley, Li Banfeng had already vanished.

Darboynes searched for footprints on the ground, but they suddenly disappeared near the alley entrance. "Did he jump over the wall?" Darboynes searched the walls on both sides but found no traces of climbing.

"Where did he go?" Darboynes was very confused.

Critick nodded. "Indeed, where could he have gone?"

Darboynes suddenly turned around, looked at Critick, and roared, "Stop following me!"

Critick sighed. "My dear sir, how many times do I have to tell you, this street isn't yours, and Yaowanggou certainly isn't either."

Darboynes' body swelled, suddenly transforming into a massive spider. He leaped in front of Critick, trapped him with his spider legs, and pointed his two chelicerae at Critick's throat. "Do you want to die that badly?"

Critick chuckled. "You dare to come near me? I really wonder which of us wants to die more."

Herpes lesions erupted on Critick's face, and a little fluid oozed from them. Darboynes, with his eight eyes glinting, said in a mocking tone, "Come on, pass your germs to me. At most, I'll just shed another layer of skin!"

Critick shook his head. "Germs don't necessarily have to spread to your skin."

"They can also spread through the air, right? I can just stop breathing," Darboynes chuckled. "I can take your life first."

"That's not good," Critick coughed twice. "I have a fever. Treating a sick person like this is not very gentlemanly."

"A fever? That must be very uncomfortable, right? If I kill you, you won't suffer anymore." Darboynes extended his chelicerae, preparing to bite Critick's throat.

"Don't be so rough. I really do have a fever." Critick's body suddenly glowed fiery red, burning Darboynes and causing him to emit green smoke all over. He really did have a fever; his body temperature exceeded that of a red-hot iron poker. This was a special technique of an Illness Cultivator.

Darboynes had never encountered an Illness Cultivator. Under the intense heat, he was forced to shed his skin again, slipping out of his old skin and retreating to the wall. The old skin was burned to ashes, and Darboynes realized the opponent's formidable strength. He took out a cocoon from his outer garment, about the size of a ping-pong ball, and dangled it from his hand with a spider silk, slowly swinging it. This was a warning to Critick.

Critick looked at the cocoon and took a step back. "Is this Madam Minoga's item?"

Darboynes nodded. "You know your stuff." Critick indeed knew his stuff. He knew Madam Minoga's level and also knew that this cocoon possessed great power.

"To obtain this cocoon, it proves you sacrificed a lot."

Darboynes gritted his teeth. "So you should be aware of this cocoon's power."

But Critick didn't intend to stop. He continued to look at Darboynes and asked, "Are we still fighting?"

Darboynes shook his head. "Actually, we don't need to fight. Why should we fight? Don't we both want to catch Li Banfeng? But he's not here at all right now. To catch Li Banfeng, we first need to find him."

Critick nodded. "So, I believe you will definitely find Li Banfeng. In the coming days, I'll still be following you." Critick still didn't intend to investigate himself. He greatly trusted Darboynes' abilities and intended to continue pilfering the investigation results of the renowned detective.

The fine hairs on Darboynes' body trembled back and forth. His seven legs (one had been severed by the Tang Dao) rubbed back and forth on the surrounding spider silk. "Don't push me, you dead foreigner."

Critick smiled faintly. "I am pushing you, you fake foreigner."

The two men exchanged looks of contempt, spat at each other, and then successively left the alley to continue searching for Li Banfeng.

Two hours later, Li Banfeng emerged from his Portable Residence and sprinted away from Ligou.

Fight if you can win. Run if you can't. This time, Li Banfeng was certain he couldn't win. But without a travel permit, how could he escape Yaowanggou? Li Banfeng turned his gaze towards the train station. Just find a passenger, throw the key at them, and he would be able to leave Yaowanggou, right?

Just as Li Banfeng was about to set off, he immediately stopped. No, he absolutely couldn't go to the train station. Absolutely not.

The audience, drawing their blades, arrived and angrily shouted repeatedly, "Is there more?"

"Yes!" Salameh said fearlessly, "There's another chapter at eight."