Chapter 302: Fan Yuanhai

A Mo stood at the edge of the dense forest, her gaze sharpening as she looked at the headless corpse on the ground.

That was the corpse of Tao Rong; the severed neck was no longer oozing blood, clearly having been dead for a while.

A Mo stood there, scanning her surroundings, when suddenly she lunged forward and veered off along the edge of the dense forest in a certain direction.

After turning past that patch of dense forest, A Mo saw a dilapidated temple not far away. Just as she was preparing to go over and investigate, she suddenly saw a figure walk out from the temple entrance.

A Mo's heart leaped with joy. If that wasn't Lv Qingzhu, then who was it?

"Miss! Miss!"

A Mo immediately lunged into a wild sprint, not even bothering to maintain her form, causing the ground to tremble with every step.

Lv Qingzhu's face was somewhat pale and her expression melancholy, when suddenly she saw A Mo, covered in blood, sprinting toward her.

The two met a few yards in front of the dilapidated temple.

"Miss, you aren't hurt, are you?" A Mo looked Lv Qingzhu over repeatedly.

Lv Qingzhu's face went pale, and she said, "I'm not hurt."

"Miss, you scared me to death!" A Mo said. "I asked so many people, and they all said they hadn't seen you. I was worried sick."

As A Mo spoke, she actually began to cry.

She appeared calm, but her heart had long been crushed by anxiety and worry. At this moment, seeing Lv Qingzhu, she felt as if she had been reborn.

Lv Qingzhu looked at A Mo, gave a miserable smile, and said, "A Mo, why is your face covered in so much blood?"

A Mo said, "I killed quite a few people; those people were so annoying!"

Thinking of that beggar and the dwarf, A Mo felt a surge of ferocity in her heart, wishing she could kill them all over again.

Lv Qingzhu said, "Crouch down, I'll wipe it off for you."

Hearing this, A Mo obediently crouched down in front of Lv Qingzhu. Lv Qingzhu took a handkerchief and wiped the dried bits of flesh off A Mo's face bit by bit.

Just as Lv Qingzhu was wiping, she suddenly saw Duan Rong standing at the temple entrance, looking at her and A Mo.

Lv Qingzhu's expression did not change; she simply continued to carefully wipe the bloodstains from A Mo's face.

"Miss, is it done?"

"Just a little more." Lv Qingzhu wiped away a bit of blood from the corner of A Mo's mouth and said, "Done."

Lv Qingzhu threw the blood-stained handkerchief onto the ground.

A Mo stood up, and Lv Qingzhu said, "Let's go."

Just as A Mo was about to leave, she suddenly saw Duan Rong standing before the temple door, looking somewhat dazed.

A look of confusion appeared in A Mo's eyes; after all, Miss had also just walked out of that dilapidated temple.

Walking by Lv Qingzhu's side, A Mo suddenly asked, "Miss, you and Duan Rong both came out of the dilapidated temple. Is there something inside?"

Upon hearing this, Lv Qingzhu's face darkened instantly. She turned her head to look at A Mo and snapped, "Don't you ever mention that person again! If you mention him again, I'll tear your mouth open!"

A Mo was startled by Lv Qingzhu's demeanor. Lv Qingzhu had never been this fierce with her before.

After saying this, Lv Qingzhu walked forward on her own.

Although A Mo felt somewhat aggrieved at being snapped at for no reason, she immediately followed.

Duan Rong stood at the temple entrance, watching Lv Qingzhu's back disappear around the corner of the dense forest.

After Lv Qingzhu had walked for quite a while, Duan Rong suddenly looked at a patch of grass a few yards away. He walked over slowly and picked up the blood-stained handkerchief.

Duan Rong unfolded the handkerchief and held it in his hand. Although it was covered in blood, one could still faintly see a winter plum blossom embroidered on one corner, standing alone on a cliff.

On the Official Road, Fan Yuanhai's expression was somewhat desolate. He had never imagined that one day he would lose a hand.

Although he could get a prosthetic limb and wear a glove to cover it, it was still a hand lost...

Fan Yuanhai panted for a long while before steadying his breath. He stood up and looked at the Iron Fan in his hand; the Iron Fan had a Soft Sword wrapped around it, but where the hilt of the Soft Sword should have been, there was only a thin copper sheet clamped in place.

Fan Yuanhai bit the fan handle with his mouth, used his one hand to remove the Soft Sword and toss it aside, then closed the Iron Fan and hung it back on his rear waist.

He sighed, tore off a corner of his robe, and wanted to bandage his severed arm, but having only one hand made it quite difficult.

After a great deal of effort, he had barely managed a messy wrap.

Fan Yuanhai walked to the side of the road and picked up his severed hand.

He looked at this severed hand, a hand that had been with him for over twenty years; it was so familiar.

He gave a miserable smile, threw it with force, and tossed the severed hand into the nearby dense forest.

Fan Yuanhai watched the place where his severed hand had disappeared, his gaze flickering as he muttered, "Mother-Child Soft Sword, wearing Inner Armor—who exactly are you?"

Fan Yuanhai turned his head to look at the Official Road ahead.

At this moment, the thick black smoke at the site of the explosion a few yards away had already dissipated.

The eight large craters blasted into the ground were quite striking. Fragments of the shattered carriage were strewn all over the ground.

Fan Yuanhai gazed into the distance and could see that on the other side of the explosion, three figures were entangled in a fight with two blood-shadows...

Although it was far away, Fan Yuanhai could faintly make out that Zhu Qunxiang was among them.

Although Fan Yuanhai had lost a hand, he was, after all, a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm Second Layer. The True Qi in his dantian, though depleted from the bitter fight, was not yet exhausted.

He still had combat strength!

But he had no intention of going to help Zhu Qunxiang and the others.

A Mo was covered in blood, clearly having killed many people. The people who had ambushed them should have already been swept away by A Mo.

In other words, the danger here had basically been resolved.

The fact that Zhu Qunxiang and the others were surrounding the two blood-shadows was proof enough; at the very least, they were outnumbering their opponents.

Since the danger was basically resolved, Fan Yuanhai immediately returned to his original mission.

Why had he ridden his horse at a wild gallop to get here? Naturally, for Duan Rong.

So, where was Duan Rong? Was he dead or alive at this moment?

Fan Yuanhai truly did not want Duan Rong to die, because only by capturing him alive would the chain of evidence be complete.

Fan Yuanhai stood by the Official Road, looking at the dense woods and wild fields on both sides; he was wondering whether he should wait here, or go into the dense woods to look for Duan Rong?

Just then, Lv Qingzhu and A Mo turned out from the edge of the dense woods and walked toward the Official Road.

Fan Yuanhai smiled slightly, walked up to meet them quickly, and said, "Miss Qingzhu, A Mo is so capable, I knew you would be fine."

Seeing Fan Yuanhai speaking in such a glib manner, Lv Qingzhu did not want to pay any attention to him at all.

But Fan Yuanhai suddenly asked with a serious expression, "Miss Qingzhu, A Mo! Have you seen Duan Rong?"

Lv Qingzhu's expression was icy, but upon hearing Duan Rong's name, her gaze clearly flickered slightly, her lips trembled, and she said coldly, "No."

A Mo had clearly seen Duan Rong just a moment ago, but since the young miss said no, she naturally kept her mouth shut.

After finishing her sentence, Lv Qingzhu walked past Fan Yuanhai and headed straight toward the other side of the Official Road.

Fan Yuanhai watched Lv Qingzhu's back, his gaze narrowing; when Lv Qingzhu said no just now, her eyes had flickered slightly and her lips had trembled.

A Mo, who was by her side, also had a look of wanting to speak but holding back, and when she left, she even gave me a strange look.

Fan Yuanhai's suspicions grew, and he turned his head to look toward the dense woods where Lv Qingzhu and A Mo had turned out from.

Lv Qingzhu and A Mo both had simple minds and were not old hands in the pugilistic world; when telling lies, some subtle movements were hard to hide from a wanderer like Fan Yuanhai, who had grown up mixing in the markets and streets of the pugilistic world.

Fan Yuanhai's eyes flashed, and he walked quickly toward the edge of the dense woods; he turned past the edge of the dense woods and immediately saw a figure standing a few zhang in front of a ruined temple, one hand raised, holding open a handkerchief, looking at the handkerchief with a focused expression.

Fan Yuanhai's heart suddenly filled with joy.

That person was indeed Duan Rong.

(End of this chapter)