Chapter 135: Live Flaying

Duan Rong retreated violently, standing three zhang away, watching Liu Ao from afar.

The Corpse Rot Poison on the Poison Needle was so potent; after only a few breaths, Liu Ao was completely blind, the surface of his eyes gradually turning into a layer of pus that flowed down from his eye sockets...

"Little thief, come here, let me hack you to pieces!"

Liu Ao was now shrouded in immense terror; holding his Ox-Tail Saber, he poured his Internal Breath into it, waving it wildly in front of him. The blade edge emitted short, faint popping sounds in the air, as slight as the sound of bubbles bursting in water.

This was a phenomenon that occurred after achieving the Small Success Realm of the Inner Breath Third Layer...

Duan Rong stood three zhang away, observing carefully without approaching. The last two Poison Needles he had left behind had indeed proven effective!

Duan Rong observed for a while, seeing Liu Ao still there, waving his saber incessantly, his body moving in chaos, while his two eyes had completely rotted and blackened, leaving only two hollow eye sockets...

Duan Rong suddenly executed the Cloud Snake Step, silently closing in on Liu Ao, and suddenly sliced a large piece of flesh off Liu Ao's thigh with one stroke!

Liu Ao felt the pain and waved the saber in his hand even more densely. "Little thief! Come here! I'm not afraid of you!"

It was not that Duan Rong did not want to finish Liu Ao off with one strike, but that carried risks; Liu Ao's saber technique had been tempered between life and death, and he seemed to have a natural muscular reaction regarding his own vital points...

And with the battle in its current state, Duan Rong no longer needed to take risks...

Every few breaths, Duan Rong would silently close in on Liu Ao and slice a piece of flesh from his body...

Half a stick of incense passed, and Liu Ao was already drenched in blood, with white bone visible in several places on his body, as if he had been flayed alive...

But he still gasped for air, refusing to fall, and the saber in his hand was still waving in a weak and listless manner...

Duan Rong no longer approached; the wounds all over Liu Ao's body were still bleeding, and Liu Ao had lost too much blood to hold on much longer...

Sure enough, not long after, Liu Ao collapsed with a boom!

He lay face down on the ground, his whole body like a blood gourd...

Duan Rong stood there, his eyes flickering. After a while, the Ox-Tail Saber in his hand suddenly whistled as it was thrown through the air; the blade was sharp and pierced into Liu Ao's body from somewhere on his back, right at the position of the human heart!

As the Ox-Tail Saber entered his body, Liu Ao twitched twice before finally lying still!

Duan Rong felt his heart lighten and let out a breath of turbid air, raising his hand to wipe the layer of sweat from his forehead; he had also expended a great deal of energy to kill Liu Ao.

Duan Rong walked over slowly, pulled the Ox-Tail Saber from Liu Ao's body, shook off the blood, and returned the saber to its sheath.

Duan Rong glanced at the copper-coin-sized black mole on the back of Liu Ao's neck, spat, and said, "The physiognomy books are right, a monkey riding the neck is a sign of great misfortune!"

As he spoke, Duan Rong used his foot to lightly nudge Liu Ao's body, preparing to flip him over to loot the corpse.

But, the moment Liu Ao's corpse was flipped, a Crossbow Arrow suddenly shot out diagonally from beneath the body, whistling through the air, grazing past Duan Rong's temple, cutting off a few strands of his hair that floated in mid-air...

Duan Rong froze in place, a chill rushing from the soles of his feet straight to his crown...

That was fucking close! One more inch, and that Crossbow Arrow would have shot straight into his head!

Liu Ao's eye sockets were already festered, staring hollowly at the sky. His left hand, which had just been pressed under the corpse, was still tightly gripping a small crossbow, his thumb stiffly pressed against the trigger!

Although Liu Ao was dead as could be, before dying, he had actually used his own corpse to set up a killing move; if Duan Rong's luck had been slightly worse just now, he would have been done for here.

Duan Rong touched his temple, the fear in his eyes slowly dissipating. He kicked Liu Ao's corpse and cursed, "You son of a bitch, you won't even rest in peace after dying! Still trying to drag me down with you!"

Although he was resentful, he glanced at the sky and dared not waste any more time. He immediately squatted down and searched the inner pocket of Liu Ao's clothes, first taking the undelivered Letter Escort, then finding two hundred taels of silver notes and some loose silver; other than that, there was nothing else of value.

"It seems the life of an Escort is also quite poor!" Duan Rong sighed, glancing at the crossbow in Liu Ao's hand.

Duan Rong did not go to take the crossbow; while this crossbow was indeed a very good hidden weapon mechanism, it was far inferior to his Plum Blossom Needles!

Duan Rong quickly searched the battlefield, recovering only about a dozen Plum Blossom Needles; after all, this was the wilderness with overgrown weeds, so how could they be easily recovered?

Duan Rong put the cork holding the dozen Plum Blossom Needles back into his pants pocket; the lost needles would have to be replenished after returning to the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Duan Rong stood in a patch of wild grass, looking at Liu Ao's corpse, his eyes flickering. He suddenly gathered some dry firewood, piled it on Liu Ao's corpse, then took a Fire Folder from his clothes and lit the firewood!

Under the bright sunlight, the dry firewood crackled and burned; soon, the faint smell of roasted meat mixed with the acrid smell of smoke drifted over...

Seeing that the fire had started, Duan Rong executed the Cloud Snake Step, his figure flickering, and he soon left the place.

Although killing Liu Ao was somewhat risky, it was worth it. There was still a month of escorting ahead; if Liu Ao kept lurking on the sidelines, looking for opportunities to stab him in the back, it was better to just kill him outright.

After removing this thorn, he would at least be able to sleep soundly in the Escort Team!

Duan Rong walked along the Official Road back to Wancheng County!

On the main street of Wancheng County, Duan Rong looked at the Letter Escort in his hand; the address written on it was: Su Family Dyehouse, Wancheng County, to be received by Su Tianyun.

Duan Rong strolled to the side of the street, bought a sesame seed cake, and asked casually, "Uncle, how do I get to the Su Family Dyehouse?"

The middle-aged man, his face covered in charcoal ash but still kneading dough with his hands, pointed his chin at the street in front of him and said, "Just go straight along this street, to the second intersection, the shop on the east corner is it!"

Duan Rong thanked him with a smile and headed toward the Su Family Dyehouse while munching on the sesame seed cake!

Duan Rong arrived at the Su Family Dyehouse, handed over the Letter Escort, collected the payment, and walked toward the inn where the Escort Team was staying!

In the lobby of the inn where the Escort Team was staying, Xiao Yu limped to the door, looking anxiously at the street. At this time, Sun Huang walked over from the Back Courtyard, looked at Xiao Yu, and asked, "Liu Ao and the others haven't returned yet?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yu turned back and said, "It's been over an hour. Could they have run into some trouble?"

"Don't let your imagination run wild," Sun Huang said. "Even if they ran into trouble, that kid Liu Ao could handle it."

Although Sun Huang said so, he was also puzzled in his heart: What is that kid up to? Two Letter Escorts, taking so long to deliver; don't tell me he went to a tavern to drink on the sly.

One was not allowed to drink while on an escort mission, but Liu Ao was quite fond of alcohol; he had committed this offense twice before and had been severely punished by Sun Huang both times, which had made him restrain himself.

As the two were talking, Duan Rong walked into the lobby. Duan Rong glanced at Xiao Yu, then, with a normal expression, handed the money received for the two Letter Escorts to Sun Huang.

Sun Huang took the money and asked Duan Rong, "Why so long? Where is Liu Ao? Didn't he come back with you?"

Seeing Duan Rong return, the heart Xiao Yu had been holding dropped; she sat down at a table in the lobby, poured herself a cup of tea, and began to drink it with feigned leisure.

(End of this chapter)