Chapter 22

Holding the cat Yan'er, the old woman approached the place where the firelight was flashing. Just as they got close, they heard a shout of "Ouch!" The two of them quickly crouched down in the grass, and when they raised their eyes to peek again, a child had already rushed out from the mountain side as if flying!

The child's steps were light and hurried, his eyes panicked and flickering, as he rushed into the dense forest. After a brief moment, two burly men emerged in pursuit.

The two men had long strides, and in just a few steps, they had closed the distance significantly. Seeing that the trees ahead were slightly sparse, the man in blue picked up a dry branch and threw it— the branch hit the child's back with a whoosh, causing him to fall forward and roll several times in a pile of dry leaves.

The two men took advantage of the opportunity to catch up!

The man in black lifted the child into the air, turned him around, and the man in blue stepped forward, slapping the child twice, causing tears and snot to stream down his face, and his cheeks to swell up.

Yan'er, unable to bear the sight, whispered, "Grandma, he's so pitiful, can you...?" "Shh!" The old woman quickly covered Yan'er's mouth with her hand, "Don't make a sound!" She then lowered her voice, "Let's see what happens. We don't know the situation or the reason, it's not right to get involved."

Yan'er was also sensible and simply nodded, preparing to watch further. But before she could finish her "yes," she suddenly heard a fierce and angry shout from a distance:

"Stop meddling! Finish it quickly!"

Then a young man in white appeared, extremely thin and weak, his face pale with a flush of anger. He looked sickly, but anyone who saw him felt quite uncomfortable...

Like a snake, a venomous snake lurking in the dark moss, ready to bite you secretly!

"Grandma, Grandma..." Yan'er, sensing something was wrong, tugged at the old woman's clothes. But after pulling a few times, she felt something strange—turning back, she saw the old woman's eyes almost spitting fire, holding an eight-petaled iron lotus seed in her hand, her veins bulging, her strength reaching its peak!

Yan'er had no doubt that in the next second, the iron lotus seed would be deeply embedded in the man's forehead!

The two men were quite afraid of the sickly young man. Hearing his rebuke, they didn't hesitate. The man in black tucked the boy under his arm and grabbed his neck, about to twist it... but at this critical moment, the boy's eyes met Yan'er's!

"Ah—!"

Before he could exert his strength, the man in black's hand was suddenly hit by something, causing a searing pain to shoot through his arm, as if struck by lightning or burned by fire, making his hand instantly loosen.

He fell to the ground, convulsing and gagging, a pale gray spreading over his face. The man in blue and the sickly young man were stunned by this sudden turn of events, standing there motionless for a moment!

"Thud!" The child fell to the ground—shaken, he looked up and immediately rolled away, then got up and ran toward a pile of grass, in the direction of Yan'er.

What should they do?

This question swirled in Yan'er's mind, and she was already in a panic, but before she could decide, the old woman had already made up her mind—she hummed lightly, stood up, and walked directly toward the group.

After a few steps, the boy was already in front of her. The old woman reached out to shield the child behind her, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! As long as Grandma is here, no one can touch you..." As she said this, she only looked at the child, not even glancing at the man who was ready to kill, as if he didn't exist. "Yan'er, come, hold his hand and follow me. Let Grandma see what kind of people would try to kill a child!"

Lifting her head, her eyes were full of killing intent. The autumn wind was bleak, and the night seemed colder!

"My name is Yan'er," Yan'er timidly extended her hand, "Come, let's hide behind. Grandma will protect us." She held the boy's hand, "Why do they want to kill you?"

"My name is Zhi Zun Bao," the boy sniffed, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes, "I... I don't know... I got lost, met them... and they suddenly said they wanted to kill me... I didn't do anything wrong..." His lips quivered, and he finally couldn't hold back, suddenly bursting into tears, "Wah wah! Master! Help me... Master..."

"Really nice, really great, killing a child so easily!" Hearing this, the old woman laughed coldly, letting go of Yan'er's hand and walking forward, "Even if there's a grudge, it shouldn't involve a child, let alone when there's no grudge at all—fine, since you like killing, let's see if you can kill me too!"

The man in blue had already retreated a few steps and joined the sickly young man. They looked at the convulsing man in black, at a loss, and when they heard this, the young man tried to be tough, "What business is it of yours? If you pretend you didn't see, we'll give you a big reward. If you dare to meddle..."

He took a step back, shouting, "We'll finish you off too!"

His tough talk didn't have much effect, but it gave him a bit of courage, especially when he mentioned the Brotherhood Society, as if he had found a protector. But—

The man in black, lying on the ground, suddenly kicked his legs a few times and then... died!

"You, you killed him, you killed him!" The young man suddenly shouted, "You old hag, I, I'll fight you!" He made a move to charge, but his eyes showed no real intention of fighting. Instead, he pushed the man in blue forward, "Go! Kill him!"

"You, you, I, I..." The man in blue was already terrified and didn't dare to charge, but under the young man's persistent urging, he had no choice but to step forward, his knife swinging weakly!

In Sichuan and Chongqing, this move is called "begging for a living," meaning one doesn't really want to fight but has to for the sake of face. In such a situation, the opponent would usually snatch the knife, say a few words, and the matter would be settled without further conflict.

But this old woman wasn't from the Sichuan and Chongqing underworld!

Since she had made her move, she wouldn't hold back. A weapon suddenly shot out from her sleeve, clanging against the steel knife and sending it flying in a curve toward the man in blue's forehead!

This was a deadly move!

The man in blue ducked his head and leaned back to avoid it, his forehead and head covered in cold sweat. He realized the old woman was really trying to kill him and immediately rolled to the side, drawing the dagger from the dead man in black's body—this was expected by the old woman, who was prepared.

He drew the dagger and turned, slashing three times at the old woman's lower body, hoping to force her back. But just as he slashed halfway, he heard a whistling sound!

The object in the air had returned!

Twisting and turning, unpredictable and deadly.

A flying dart on a chain!

He leaped back, narrowly avoiding it, and then leaped again... but this time it was just an empty leap, because the flying dart didn't come again!

The man in blue was puzzled. Looking up, he saw the old woman holding the flying dart in one hand and forming a lotus leaf seal with the other, standing on one foot with her eyes closed, chanting:

"...Nine sorrows, divine power descends, to save the world, to eliminate disasters! Pray! Divine Thunder!"

Her eyes suddenly opened, and her right hand transformed into a palm, striking the air toward him!

"Oh no!" This thought hadn't even left his mind when a powerful force struck his chest, sending him flying backward like a leaf in the wind!

Thud!

He hit a tree and fainted.

The old woman didn't hesitate, rushing toward the cliff, "I'll chase him, you stay here!" Before she finished speaking, she was already several yards away.

Chase him?

Yan'er and Zhi Zun Bao only then realized the sickly young man had already run away!

The old woman, eager to finish the job, had noticed the young man's escape. To avoid being tracked, she had to use her magical powers, but it was too late...

The young man had already reached the edge of the cliff. Hearing the rapid footsteps behind him, he knew he couldn't escape and, in a fit of desperation, leaped off the cliff, disappearing into the abyss!

The old woman saw a white figure leap off the cliff, knowing he had chosen death and there was nothing she could do. She walked back, took a bottle from her pocket, and gave each of them a pill.

After a while, she turned the dead man in black over, pressing her fingers into several acupoints and massaging his chest and abdomen. A stream of foul black blood flowed out.

Something was moving in the blood, as if alive.

"Life is a gift from heaven, I won't take it, but you are evil and cruel, and I can't let you go—today I will use these pills to weaken your bodies, leaving you with only three pounds of strength, as punishment!" The old woman muttered, "Fate has its own course, if you are devoured by wild beasts, it's not my fault."

After finishing, she looked back and saw the boy, comforted by Yan'er's gentle words, had stopped crying and was munching on a cake—precisely the one she and Yan'er had been reluctant to eat, but had given to the child.

She smiled: children are so simple, everything is fine now.

Yan'er was laughing and asking, "Is your master powerful?"

"Uh-huh!" The boy swallowed the crumbs in his mouth and stretched his neck, "Of course my master is powerful, he's from the Five Wheel Sect, even ghosts are afraid of him."

...!?

The old woman's smile suddenly vanished!