Chapter 12: Wow Haha

At this moment, in this place, there was nothing else to discuss but retrieving the treasure Shi Chun had stolen.

They hadn't yet seen what the treasure looked like; they had only heard the mine overseer mention it previously. This unexpected delight, now recovered after being lost, filled them with joy.

Shen Youkun, who had returned, was also greatly agitated, a fierce kind of excitement. Before he could utter any words threatening Shi Chun, his uncle’s stern, icy glare silenced him.

Qi Ziru anticipated his nephew’s intentions. He wasn't trying to prevent Shen Youkun from venting, but he didn't want his nephew to speak recklessly before the treasure was recovered.

The reasoning was simple: it wasn't yet confirmed if the treasure was on the gang leader. If it was hidden elsewhere, and his nephew’s words made the opponent feel they had nothing to lose, it could provoke them to fight desperately, which would spoil everything.

The family had entrusted him to handle the situation personally, a testament to his capabilities. He would not allow himself to make such a rookie mistake.

The masked man, having received his orders, nodded and then lunged at Shi Chun. He leaped into the air, reaching out to place a restraining spell on him, intending to immobilize him first before removing the existing binding talisman.

Behind Shi Chun, Wu Jinliang witnessed the scene, his heart filled with despair. He knew that this time, he and his brother were truly finished, completely trapped.

He couldn't help but inwardly lament, remembering how he had repeatedly urged Shi Chun to leave earlier. But Shi Chun had stubbornly refused, insisting on coming here to seek adventure. Now, look what happened.

Just as he was wallowing in despair, his eyes suddenly lit up. He wondered if he was mistaken, but it looked as if Shi Chun, who was still immobilized in front of him, had moved.

The masked man, whose hand was outstretched towards Shi Chun, also thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. What on earth? He seemed to have seen the immobilized man move.

Before he could collect himself and look closer, the astonishment in his eyes morphed into sheer terror. The immobilized man had truly moved, distinctly turning his head to glare at him. The knife in Shi Chun’s hand had also changed direction, and his gaze was utterly horrifying.

Qi Ziru, who had been calmly reclining in his chair, also believed he was mistaken. The faint smile on his face instantly froze, replaced by an expression of utter shock.

Shen Youkun, whose eyes had gleamed with ferocious excitement, was utterly dumbstruck. His mouth gaped open, and his eyes widened in an instant, as if he had just seen a ghost.

It was no illusion; Shi Chun had indeed moved. The surprise of his liberation in his eyes instantly transformed into a ruthless resolve. His blade trembled and then swung down, cleaving towards the leaping masked man.

The masked man, utterly terrified, found himself with nowhere to evade. He had just leaped into the air, unable to brace himself, and the blade was already upon him. In a desperate rush, he twisted his body to avoid a fatal blow.

His head was spared, but the blade diagonally sliced through his shoulder and neck.

In a sudden, unheralded motion, a head and a shoulder, still attached to an arm, flew through the air, accompanied by a spray of blood.

Shi Chun simultaneously drew his knife and kicked, his foot connecting with the spurting, leaping torso. Using the momentum in mid-air, he twisted and lunged towards Wu Jinliang behind him. He knew he had to rescue his companion immediately while their opponents were distracted, otherwise the immobilized Wu Jinliang would be a defenseless live target. Not to mention thrown knives or swords, even a casually hurled stone could be fatal.

He flipped and extended his body in mid-air, first tearing off the talisman from his own chest, then reaching out to grab and rip off the talisman from Wu Jinliang’s chest.

Through the peculiar vision of his right eye, he clearly saw the torn talisman pull out numerous glowing filaments, as if it were extracting tree roots.

This sight, witnessed in a flash, left a profound impression on him. Though these glowing filaments were imperceptible and existed between illusion and reality, the talisman paper could manipulate them as if they were tangible objects.

It wasn't hard to understand, as the talisman paper itself was essentially a vessel for these glowing filaments.

The moment the talisman was ripped away, Wu Jinliang’s eyes lit up as he instantly felt liberated. As he swiftly landed, he instinctively raised his arm to push Shi Chun forward. Then, seeing Shi Chun twist, flip through the air, and launch a mid-air kick towards him, Wu Jinliang immediately met it with his horizontal saber. Their coordination was wordless and flawless.

Shi Chun pushed off Wu Jinliang’s saber with his foot, propelled forward by Wu Jinliang's arms, and then lunged towards the two armed and wary sedan bearers.

Though he couldn't truly fly, this series of actions – killing and rescuing – was executed seamlessly in mid-air.

The masked man died instantly, unable to even utter a scream, his body severed in the gushing blood.

Qi Ziru’s face contorted in shock, and he abruptly rose to his feet, his eyes wide with disbelief. He desperately wanted to know how this was possible. The talismans he had brought were of no low grade; their power could easily subdue even practitioners of the higher martial arts realm. How could they fail to restrain a cultivator of unremarkable skill?

By rights, these talismans should have maintained their power for at least half an hour before dissipating. Could he have encountered a counterfeit or inferior batch?

A sudden commotion erupted nearby as Shen Youkun frantically fled once more. In his extreme panic, he lost his footing and tumbled head over heels down the hillside, desperate to escape.

He was aware of the formidable power of the Dongjiuyuan leader, but he had never imagined such an extent—that even an immobilization talisman couldn’t hold him. How could they possibly fight against that? It was too terrifying; his face had drained of all color, and his sole thought was to escape. He deeply regretted coming back to witness the spectacle.

While his peripheral vision registered his nephew's cowardly flight, Qi Ziru ignored everything else. He urgently retrieved two talismans from his sleeve.

In this dangerous situation, such talismans were vital for emergencies. He couldn’t afford to give them all away; besides the two he’d given to the masked man, he always kept two for himself as a precaution. He never expected them to actually be needed.

However, the incident unfolded with such abruptness, and Shi Chun’s series of actions were so incredibly fast. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell from his clean, decisive movements that he was a seasoned veteran forged in countless battles. He not only completed the killing and rescuing process in an instant but also seamlessly transitioned into a counterattack, like flowing water, giving his opponents absolutely no time to react.

As a result, he didn’t even have time to hand the two talismans he'd retrieved to the sedan bearers.

Just as he moved to give them the talismans, the two sedan bearers had already flashed forward to shield him. With his cultivation crippled and his spiritual power gone, he was unable to activate the talismans himself.

He had to improvise. To protect himself and avoid being a liability, he swiftly turned away from the lounge chair, urgently retreating down the hillside. As he ran, he waved the talisman in his hand and shouted, “One of you, come here!”

He meant for one of them to engage the opponent while the other came to get the immobilization talisman.

The two sedan bearers, however, were unable to disengage immediately. They had already advanced shoulder-to-shoulder, simultaneously swinging their swords to stab the charging Shi Chun.

Shi Chun, airborne and attacking, shifted his stance in mid-air, holding the back of his saber vertically against his brow. Facing the two flashes of cold steel thrusting towards his face, he neither dodged nor retreated, appearing as if he would deliberately collide with them.

This maneuver slightly surprised even the two sedan bearers who were attacking, but they both knew things wouldn't be that simple.

Indeed, the saber suddenly thrust forward. The instant it reached between the two swords, it abruptly rotated like a Tai Chi movement, disrupting their combined attack. Seizing the opportunity, Shi Chun discarded the saber, delivered a palm strike to its back, pressing it down until it intersected with the two swords. His five fingers then fiercely gripped the point where the three weapons overlapped, attempting to forcibly disarm both men with an aggressive surge of power.

The two sedan bearers, chosen by Qi Ziru as bodyguards, were no pushovers themselves. They instantly activated their techniques, combining their power, intent on cutting Shi Chun down together.

The attacking Shi Chun seemed for a moment to be suspended in the air by the two swords.

This moment, however, was fleeting. Shi Chun realized that the two men’s cultivation was no weaker than his own. Seeing that a forceful disarmament wouldn't work and might even endanger him, he decisively abandoned the attempt. With his other hand, he unleashed an upward palm strike, a powerful thrust that smashed into the three overlapping weapons, sending them flying skyward. He then seized the opportunity to collide with the two sedan bearers.

The two sedan bearers hastily responded with their free hands, launching a barrage of punches and palms. Yet, Shi Chun’s two palms seemed to pass through them like fractured light and shifting shadows.

Amidst the bewildering flurry of palm strikes, the moment their four hands connected, Shi Chun executed a seamless sequence of piercing, slicing, deflecting, and blasting techniques. The two men were utterly bewildered; they felt their hands forced aside, leaving them completely exposed. As terror seized them, a dull, resonant thump of expelled air simultaneously echoed in their ears, followed by the declaration, "Demonic Dispersal Hand!"

*Thud! Thud!* Two resounding impacts.

The two interwoven palm strikes slammed into the sedan bearers’ chests, destabilizing them. Their swords clattered as they stumbled backward, almost simultaneously spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

They heard the sickening crack of their own breastbones shattering. The intense pain and the sudden disruption of their vital energy made them realize their grim fate, but regret was already too late.

Running and looking back to call for the talismans, Qi Ziru not only witnessed the sedan bearers’ severe injuries but also saw two wriggling masses suddenly erupt from their bare backs. They resembled tormented human faces trying to break free from the flesh, or malevolent spirits attempting to escape their bodies, before instantly solidifying into two blood-red imprints resembling skulls.

He initially dismissed it as an illusion, but the clear moonlight allowed him to see it distinctly.

As Shi Chun’s foot touched the hillside, he reached up and seized his falling saber. He launched himself forward once more, slashing down to strike the intersection of the two swords. *Clang!* The two swords, hastily raised to defend, were simultaneously knocked from their wielders’ hands.

Immediately, the saber spun like a disc, protecting Shi Chun as he whirled between the two men.

Almost simultaneously, two heads *thumped* and rose into the air, and two geysers of hot blood sprayed skyward like a crimson rain.

Shi Chun, having sliced through the space between the two, disregarded his rear. While still airborne, he casually flung his saber forward.

*Swish!* The rapidly fleeing Qi Ziru skidded to an abrupt halt as a cold glint descended from the sky. A large saber embedded itself directly in front of him, quivering ominously as a clear warning.

He had nearly run onto the blade. He stopped and made no further attempt to flee, knowing there was no point.

Immediately afterward, a figure landed gracefully beside the upright saber: it was Shi Chun!

As Shi Chun landed, a breeze ruffled his loose hair, revealing a handsome and determined face under the moonlight. Qi Ziru saw it—a youthful countenance that nonetheless radiated an unquestionable resolve, hinting at unknown past experiences.

He then turned back to look at the two headless sedan bearers, who were now swaying and toppling down the hillside. He knew his last shred of hope had vanished.

Before collapsing, the two sedan bearers’ backs appeared to be bleeding profusely beneath the skin. Large red patches rapidly bloomed across their backs, quickly dissolving the skull-like blood imprints. Despite this, Qi Ziru narrowed his eyes.

“Wahahaha!” Wu Jinliang cackled wildly as he flashed past them like a gust of wind, completely ignoring the two fallen men, as if he couldn’t even be bothered to look. Dragging his large saber with a clatter, he charged after the fleeing Shen Youkun, crowing menacingly, “Hey, Shen! Last time I took your pants, this time I’m taking your skin! Where do you think you’re running, Grandpa’s coming for you!”