Chapter 44

"You....."

The bandit Zhang opened his mouth to speak.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a cloud of white ash shot up into the sky.

The group was instantly alarmed. As their vision was obstructed, a figure suddenly burst out from the white ash, landing a punch squarely on one of them.

Thud!

A bandit was sent flying, his chest caved in. It was clear he wouldn't survive.

"Eight Shadows of the Mountain!"

Wei He's arms moved like those of an ape, striking several times in the white ash with lightning speed.

The four bandits around him only managed to let out a loud cry before his fists hit their chests, sending them flying.

Two of them spat blood, while the other two barely managed to block, but their forearms and ribs were cracked.

In just a few seconds, all the bandits were on the ground, leaving only the bald one.

The bald bandit was terrified, realizing the situation was dire. Without a word, he grabbed a bag from his waist and was about to scatter its contents.

It was his specially prepared secret weapon, a highly toxic powder he had been preparing for a long time.

Once scattered, if inhaled through the nose, it would cause severe coughing and pain, rendering the victim unable to fight for a short time.

He had successfully used this trick to ambush a skilled fighter before.

Now...

He was about to throw the bag forward.

Suddenly, a large black shadow came flying at him.

Thud!

It turned out to be one of his bandit subordinates, who had been kicked into the air and crashed into the bald bandit. They both fell to the ground, rolling.

The bald bandit pushed the bandit away and tried to get up.

Suddenly, a huge fist appeared in front of him.

Ah!!

He roared, knowing it was a matter of life and death.

He was about to throw the bag, but—

Puff!

To his surprise, the fist held a handful of white ash.

The white ash hit his face directly.

Ah!!

He screamed in agony.

He hadn't expected the opponent to be so fast. Combined with the strength the opponent had shown earlier, knocking out four people in an instant, this kind of power and explosive force was something even he couldn't achieve. It must be a master who had reached the second level of qi and blood!

Such a master would be no match for him even in a direct confrontation.

What he hadn't expected was that the opponent, despite being able to defeat him, chose to use a dirty trick.

You're so strong, yet you still use dirty tricks, do you have any shame?!

The bald bandit felt like crying, his heart filled with despair.

A master isn't scary, but a master who uses dirty tricks is terrifying. This was simply not giving him a chance to live!

With the ash in his face, his eyes burning with intense pain, the bald bandit's thoughts raced, but he had little time to regret anything.

Puff.

A fist hit his forehead, sending him flying backward. Blood gushed from his seven orifices as he crashed into a tree trunk and fell, completely still.

Silence returned to the surroundings.

"I really wanted to leave... sigh... but now that I've started, I have to kill them all."

There was no other way in this world.

Wei He retracted his fist, picked up a few stones from the ground, and threw them forcefully at the bodies around him.

He made sure to hit each one on the forehead.

After confirming they were all dead, he began to search their bodies.

The ordinary bandits had quite a few useful items on them.

Three bags of what seemed to be knockout powder, four bags of toxic powder, five bags of dry rations and water, and a few gold beans, a smaller unit of currency than gold leaves.

There was also a special small bag and a small, yellowed booklet.

"What's this?" Wei He carefully pinched the small bag, opened it, and looked inside from a distance. It contained a light gray powder, but he didn't know what it was and would need to have it identified later.

He carefully tied the bag back up and attached it to the toxic powder bags.

Then he put the food and water into his waterproof backpack, separating them from the python meat, and finally picked up the small booklet he had found on the bald bandit.

The pages of the booklet were yellowed, and the corners were severely worn. The cover had a few large, crooked characters: "Li Family Apothecary Ledger."

"Ledger?" Wei He quickly flipped it open with a knife.

It wasn't a ledger at all, but a set of detailed exercise diagrams.

The text was on the left, and the illustrations on the right, with precise descriptions.

The ledger cover was likely a crude disguise by the bald bandit.

Wei He didn't have time to read more and quickly put it away, then began to deal with the bodies.

He piled all the bodies together and cut open the wounds on their chests with his knife to avoid being identified by their martial arts techniques.

The blood from the fresh wounds would quickly attract wild animals to eat the bodies, making it harder to determine the cause of death.

After doing this, Wei He quickly left the area, using a large branch to erase his footprints as he went.

After walking for a while, he was about to discard the branch.

Suddenly, a large, fat man in white walked toward him.

This was the path down the mountain.

This was Shaoyang Mountain.

White clothes, large and fat.

Wei He's heart raced as he carefully examined the man.

The fat man was nearly two meters tall and over a meter wide, almost like a ball.

Strangely, the exposed parts of his skin, including his face and hands, were not the usual pale and plump of a fat person but were instead firm and muscular.

It gave the impression that this was a fat man with very little fat, built entirely of muscle.

However, his body was shaped like a spindle, making him look fat from a distance.

"In such hot weather, you're still wearing a mask? Wrapping yourself so tightly, that's interesting. I've never seen someone like you on Shaoyang Mountain before."

The fat man's face showed a hint of curiosity.

"I have a disease," Wei He said in a muffled voice. "I'm afraid of scaring others, so I wrap myself up tightly."

"Judging by the direction you just came from, it's the same way Kong Yan and his group went. You weren't robbed by them?"

The fat man in white narrowed his eyes.

"You walk carefully and have a slight smell of blood and lime... Friend, you're quite bold to hurt Shaoyang Sect members on Shaoyang Mountain."

This fat man wasn't easy to fool!

Wei He's heart sank, knowing he had been seen through. There was no point in pretending anymore.

He narrowed his eyes and slightly arched his back.

"Sir, you're joking. I'm just a small hunter, I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Don't understand? It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You're about to..."

Puff puff!!

Almost simultaneously, both of them threw a handful of lime powder at each other.

Both pairs of narrowed eyes closed instantly, ready to defend against an attack.

The fat man knew he had met his match as soon as he threw the lime. He quickly pulled out a cylinder from his waist and aimed it at the front.

Puff!

A jet of black liquid shot out from the cylinder.

Unexpectedly, the other side also threw a bag from above the black liquid. The bag opened in mid-air, releasing a cloud of choking powder.

This time, both of their movements were almost simultaneous, and they both hit their targets.

Wei He's chest and abdomen were hit by the black liquid. He took a few steps back and looked up.

The fat man in white was also covered in lime, but he held his breath, eyes closed, and quickly wiped his face with his sleeve.

Without hesitation, Wei He pulled out a spike from his body and threw it at the fat man with all his might, using his qi and blood to enhance his speed and strength.

The fat man, caught off guard by the wind, took a few steps back and threw a black dart.

The dart hit Wei He's chest, breaking through his leather armor but hitting the iron plate inside.

The dart fell to the ground.

The fat man in white, however, couldn't avoid the spike in time. He immediately mustered his qi and blood, using his second-level qi and blood to enhance his strength.

But because he was a step slower, he didn't reach his peak when he met Wei He's punch head-on.

Clang!!

Their fists met, but instead of the sound of flesh hitting flesh, there was the sound of metal clashing.

Both of their hearts sank.

The fat man looked at his metal glove, which had lost a spike, and saw a blood hole between his fingers.

Wei He also looked at his fist, which was unharmed, but the spike between his fingers was now stained with blood and bent.

This blow had damaged the spike, making it unusable for the next time.

"Good, good, good!" The fat man thought he was already devious, but today he had been outsmarted.

He no longer held back, feeling the numbness and itching in his hand, knowing it was poisoned.

He let out a low growl, mustered his qi and blood, took an antidote, and charged forward.

The fat man, once in motion, moved like a mountain of flesh, stomping the ground and sending grass flying.

"Stay still for me!"

The fat man roared, his left hand like a knife, slashing diagonally at Wei He's shoulder.

At first, his movement was slow, but it suddenly accelerated, surpassing Wei He's reaction time and striking his shoulder.

Wei He also mustered his qi and blood, roaring.

"Divine Fist of a Hundred Steps!"

He kicked out, not waiting for the palm to reach him, and struck the fat man's abdomen.

Legs are longer than arms, a universal truth.

"You...!" The fat man was kicked off balance, passing by Wei He's side.

But the Shaoyang Palm was not only powerful but also agile in close combat.

As they passed each other, the fat man's hand quickly changed direction, turning into a fist and striking Wei He's back.

Thud!

The change was too fast, and Wei He didn't expect it, getting hit.

Unfortunately for the fat man, he hit an iron plate.

His punch dented the plate but also caused him pain from the impact.

Wei He, undeterred, pounced and pummeled the fat man with his fists.

The fat man, frustrated, also engaged in a direct confrontation.

Their fists and palms met, qi and blood surging.

After ten breaths,

The fat man's face turned blue, and he fell backward.

The poison from the spike and the toxic powder had finally taken effect...

Wei He was panting heavily, having pushed his combat skills to the limit.

This man was the strongest opponent he had ever faced since he started his career.

If he hadn't prepared thoroughly for this hunt, it would have been uncertain who would survive in a normal encounter.

He looked at the fat man, who was convulsing on the ground and gradually becoming still, and pulled out a poisoned spike, throwing it with all his might.

Even though he wasn't skilled with projectiles, at such a short distance, he could still hit the target.

After all, he had broken through to the second level of qi and blood, with physical attributes far surpassing those of ordinary people.

Swoosh.

The spike had just flown out when the fat man nimbly jumped up, avoiding the spike and throwing a handful of darts at Wei He.

Not just one, but a large handful, at least ten darts, flying directly at Wei He.