2 - Pursued

Chapter 2 – Pursued

The leaves in the mountain forest were dense and occasionally, tiny rays of shimmering sunlight streamed through the gaps between the leaves. He estimated he had walked an entire day and he was very hungry. To stem his hunger, he used sound to discern the direction and caught a fat bug. He did not know if the bug was poisonous but anyway it did not matter as he was already poisoned and did not know how long he could stay alive. Using one hand, he broke off the bug’s head and ate it raw. With this appearance, he looked more like a Shura* that had crawled back from hell.

(In Buddhism, Shura or Asura is a demi-god of war and Shura-do [Shura world] is one of the six worlds in hell. Shura-do is a world governed by anger and pain and the Shuras who live there are always angry and fighting for victory.)

Unexpectedly, that voice sounded again……..

“I offered you pheasant meat but you refused and insisted on eating the bug. It’s so ugly and you can even eat it!”

Suddenly, blue veins on the forehead of his calm and angry face jumped.

This woman is infuriating! Does she think the bug is ugly? Is she making fun of his blindness?

He did not want to bother with her and was too lazy to even tell her to shut up. It is better to save some energy.

He walked in the forest for three days. When he was hungry, he ate weeds and insects and when he was thirsty, he drank tree sap. When he felt tired, he would climb up a tree to rest and the sword would never leave his hand. The moment he sensed even the slightest movement, his killing aura would shroud all around him.

When he was resting, he heard the woman’s voice coming from a far distance.

“Take a good rest. I have to go and erase your footprints, lest you are discovered. While I’m not around, you have to hold on.”

Si Liujing was silent and did not respond. After a while, he could not hear the woman’s voice anymore. Although she said she was going to help him erase his footprints, she may have gone to inform on him. He waited for a while and when he did not hear any sound, he immediately jumped down from the tree and seizing this chance to get rid of her, he continued on his journey.

He did not know the direction he was going and kept moving as long as there was a path. He did not know how long he had walked and did not know whether it was day or night. His head felt heavy and his footsteps were unsteady. His body felt inexplicably cold and he was sweating profusely while his wounds felt scorching and painful.

The poison must be starting to take effect.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hasty footsteps and Si Liujing instantly gathered his thoughts. His nerves tensed up and he gripped the handle of his sword as he exuded a murderous aura like the aura of a Shura from Hell.

“Who is there?” He asked with a shout and then realized that there was not only one person but at least five to six people had arrived.

“We finally found you, Ling Wang ! I didn’t expect you would still be alive!” The person who spoke was a man.

Si Liujing felt hatred in his heart. That woman really went to inform on him! No wonder she no longer pestered him.

He sneered. “Who sent you to kill Benwang *?”

(Instead of using ‘I’ to address himself, a Prince will use the royal term ‘Benwang’. Si Liujing is a Prince and one of the Emperor’s brothers. He has the title of Ling Wang meaning Prince of Ling.)

“We’re sorry, Ling Wang . We undertake tasks for money and the other party offered a high price. We only recognize money and can only let you be an ignorant ghost. When you reach the Palace of Hell, you can ask the King of Hell who is your enemy.” The man who spoke did not answer his question and he was obviously the leader.

Si Liujing was secretly annoyed. Since the situation had already reached this point, the man still refused to let him know the name of the mastermind. Since he is so cautious, it could be he is afraid of leaving behind any clues.

Now that he had fled to this place, Si Liujing was already exhausted but was still able to carry on with perseverance as his support.

Can it be today is the day of his, Si Liujing’s death?

“Don’t talk nonsense! Make your move!”

As Si Liujing shouted, a murderous air rose all around the place and he swung his sword to resist. He felt angry and was unwilling to accept his fate.

Even if he dies, he will die with pride. Are these lowlives who kill for money worthy of taking his life? He can’t wait to dismember them into pieces!

The assassins were very surprised. They did not expect the injured and poisoned Ling Wang ’s fighting power was still as fierce. They were temporarily unable to get close and he had injured several assassins. If it was not for the fact that he was blind and all those injuries were not struck on their critical points, otherwise it was afraid many lives would have been lost in vain.

However, they did not know that these days since Si Liujing was poisoned, he consumed insects and snakes which irritated his body, throwing his blood and qi into chaos. His pulse was in retrograde and there was a tendency for him to go crazy. In addition, he had not been sleeping day and night and had slowly begun to turn into a demon.

When he swung his sword, a cyclone rose around him blowing the leaves up to swirl around his body. His hair flew wildly in the fierce wind and his blood-stained body and face gave him an appearance of a ghost in the forest. The assassins could not help but watch in awe.

This Ling Wang was still good at this point and Mount Tai* still did not collapse. The assassins were forced to retreat step by step and they watched with wide eyes as Ling Wang left.

(When a person is compared to Mount Tai, it means that the person is strong, powerful, and stable.)

The assassins exchanged looks hesitantly and finally looked at the leader.

“ Laoda* , what should we do now?”

(Laoda can mean the Leader, the Boss, or the Superior.)

“Let’s follow him. I don’t believe he can last for long but his endurance is really great. How can he carry on when he is already poisoned?”

“ Laoda , I think the poison in him is not the ‘Hundred-Paces Powder’…….”

“What?! It’s not the ‘Hundred-Paces Powder? Where’s Old Nine? He is responsible for poisoning him! Call him over!”

(Hundred-Paces Powder is a poison that is usually mentioned in ancient martial novels and this powder is very toxic. Once consumed, the person cannot take more than one hundred steps otherwise his internal organs would start to rot and death would be imminent.)

(Old Nine is the nickname of an assassin and usually, this nickname will denote the rank of the person in the group. Actual names would not be used as they would leave behind clues if the victim survives.)

Hiding at the side, the assassin named Old Nine was feeling guilty and stammered. “Sor…….sorry, Laoda ……..I brought the wrong poison………”

The assassin leader had a dumbfounded expression and resented him for failing in his task. “You’re a pig-head! How can you bring the wrong poison?! What kind of poison did you give him?”

“ Laoda , don’t be angry. Although it’s not the ‘Hundred-Paces Powder’, it is an ecstasy powder. If he doesn’t find a woman to *** within five days, he will undoubtedly die! Hehehe. ……ouch! !”

(The asterisks *** are as shown in the raws.)

The leader gave Old Nine a kick.

Humph!…….he thinks that if he hides far from him, his feet won’t reach him? He can still fly over!

“ Hehe – – your head! He will only die in five days? It’s currently only three days and we have to wait for another two more days?! Don’t you know I’m very busy?………your grandmother!” The leader was still furious and he trampled on him a few more times.

Another assassin was watching as Ling Wang moved further and further away and he asked. “ Laoda, should we continue to chase?”

“Of course, we will chase! In case a woman pops out of nowhere and Ling Wang drags her off to detoxify himself, then wouldn’t our efforts be all wasted? F***k! Poisoning him and at the same time letting him enjoy himself, isn’t this pimping?!” The leader trampled a few more times on him again.

“How can there be a woman in this wild deserted forest? If there is, I would like to give it a try.” An assassin laughed deviously and everyone revealed lewd smiles.

Suddenly there was a ‘ Pa ’ sound and everyone was shocked. When they turned to look, they saw Old Seven slapped himself.

“Old Seven! If you want to hit mosquitoes, you can do so, why scare us?”

“That’s not it, Laoda! A bug stung me!”

As soon as he finished speaking, another assassin also slapped himself.

“There’s a bug! I was stung by it!”

“How can there be so many bugs?!”

“Ah! It’s so f**king painful!”

Bugs appeared from nowhere and attacked them making them scream and jump. Taking this opportunity, Bai Yuxiao used her concealed weapon to knock several people unconscious.

“It’s an ambush! We’re ambushed!”

“Quick! Retreat! ”

The assassins who were still conscious fled in a panic. They were stung by the bugs and they were jumping and hopping as they fled creating a comical scene.

Earlier on, Bai YuXiao was busy laying down tracks to throw off the pursuers. When she returned to look for Si Liujing, she discovered the six assassins. Fortunately, they were only a small group. When she noticed they were standing right under a bug’s nest, she simply struck a hole in the nest. Once the bugs were disturbed, they were so angry that they stung the people in the vicinity. Seizing the opportunity while the men were being stung and jumping around, she knocked out a few of them.

After settling all those people, she hastily chased after Si Liujing. It did not take her long to see his staggering figure and the direction he was moving towards. In her heart, she was crying out – – No!

Although Si Liujing was drenched in cold sweat, he felt a scorching heat in his body. It was probably the poison acting up and currently, his body was unbearably hot, so much so that he could not wait to jump into a pool to soak in it.

At this moment, a woman’s shout came from behind………

“Si Liujing! Don’t run!”

It’s that woman’s voice!

At first, Si Liujing was startled then he sneered. It turned out the woman knew his identity and she was really in cahoots with those assassins. Without looking back, he dragged his injured body and continued to move on.

“Don’t go over there! There’s a cliff ahead!”

Cliff? He does not believe her, she must be lying to him!

With this thought in mind, he suddenly stepped on air and his whole body instantly became weightless as he fell.

His heart constricted with great shock. He did not expect it would really turn out to be a cliff but unfortunately, it was too late for regrets. With much difficulty, he had escaped the assassination attempt but did not expect his final ending would be a fall to death.

However, he had only fallen for a little while when he felt his waist suddenly tightened as if something was wrapped around his waist. He realized he had stopped falling and was firmly tied up, hanging in the air.

“Hurry, climb up!” The woman’s voice came from above.

Si Liujing was surprised. She actually saved him? Did he misunderstand her? She did not come to kill him and instead, she came with the intention to save him?

At this time and this moment, he only has two choices. One is to fall and be smashed into pieces and the other is to climb up.