Chapter 499: By the Stream

Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan were crouching in a bush, and through the gaps in the foliage, they saw a stream not far away.

That small stream flowed murmuringly through the dark forest, the water shimmering with a faint, greenish fluorescent glow.

Here, at a winding bend in the stream, three figures were standing.

Two men and one woman.

A burly man was standing under a large tree, and not far from his side stood a woman; this woman had a graceful figure and fair skin, and as she stood under the tree, the faint fluorescent glow of the stream cast her silhouette in light and shadow, adding a touch of allure.

And about a zhang away from the man and woman standing under the tree, there was another slightly thin figure, who, holding a Long Sword, was dodging and shifting while locked in a fierce battle with an entry-level Origin Beast...

That entry-level Origin Beast was a Tail-Eye Ni, and as it leaped about nimbly, the dense Blade Shadow surrounding its body seemed unable to harm it in the slightest.

The thin figure leaped into the air to stab at the back of the Tail-Eye Ni, but the Tail-Eye Ni, as if it had eyes on its back, twisted its hips and actually dodged the thrust with ease.

At this moment, the faint fluorescent glow of the stream had already shone upon the face of the thin figure.

Ximen Kankan's heart skipped a beat. "It's Liu Shushan!"

Duan Rong, however, remained expressionless; the reason he had brought Ximen Kankan to lurk here was precisely because he had discovered Liu Shushan was in this place.

Duan Rong's gaze swept coldly over the man and woman under the tree not far away; these two were clearly with Liu Shushan.

The Tail-Eye Ni dodged Liu Shushan's mid-air thrust, then suddenly leaped up and used its sharp claws to slash Liu Shushan's left shoulder.

Liu Shushan landed immediately, staggering back half a step, and his shoulder was already torn, with blood gushing out from three inch-deep wounds.

Having succeeded with one strike, the Tail-Eye Ni went mad at the sight of blood, attacking Liu Shushan even more fiercely with leaping claw strikes from left and right.

At this moment, a delicate, coquettish female voice rang out from under the tree over there.

"Oh my~ Disciple Liu, you can't even handle an entry-level Tail-Eye Ni. You really are too useless~ With you like this, how are Senior Brother Guo and I supposed to lead you?"

As the woman spoke, she looked at Liu Shushan by the stream, a flash of disgust clearly crossing her fair, tender face.

The burly man standing beside the woman had a cold expression and did not say a word.

Liu Shushan was clearly being driven into a corner by the Tail-Eye Ni, retreating step by step, but neither of the two under the tree had any intention of stepping in to help.

These two were both Elders of the Elder Council and personal disciples of Zheng Yi. The man was named Guo Tian, at the First Layer of the Qi Cyclone Realm, and the woman was named Xu Zhenwan, at the Fourth Layer of the Origin Qi Realm.

Liu Shushan had returned to the Sect from Shenyun Prefecture a few days ago and had only then become a disciple under Zheng Yi.

Liu Shushan's talent could be considered quite good.

With a Disciple of such talent, Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan should originally have led him well. But these two knew that Liu Shushan had originally studied under Ge Rusong, and because Ge Rusong's faction had been wiped out, he had become their Disciple the moment he returned to the Sect.

If it were any proper, old-school Disciple, the two would have led them well; otherwise, if any rumors reached the ears of their Master, they would inevitably be punished.

But for a guy like Liu Shushan who changed his allegiance and ran to their Yucui Peak, the two truly did not like him from the bottom of their hearts.

Seeing a Tail-Eye Ni drinking water by the stream, Xu Zhenwan said it was just an entry-level Origin Beast and immediately handed it over to Liu Shushan, who had only recently advanced to the Origin Qi Realm, to handle.

Liu Shushan was a newcomer and could only obey his Senior Sister's arrangements; after a round of fighting, he had exhausted all his trump cards, yet he hadn't even managed to harm a single hair on that Tail-Eye Ni.

Duan Rong, hiding in the bush, had his eyes flickering.

In fact, that Tail-Eye Ni was just an ordinary entry-level Origin Beast, and Liu Shushan's footwork was decent; he shouldn't have been in such a sorry state. But he didn't understand the characteristics of the Tail-Eye Ni at all, and Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan hadn't told him that there was an eye on the Tail-Eye Ni's tail. Moreover, the field of vision of that eye far exceeded the two eyes on its head.

Therefore, Liu Shushan's killing move, suddenly thrust out while in mid-air, was spotted by the eye on the Tail-Eye Ni's tail and easily avoided.

By the time Liu Shushan discovered the eye on the Tail-Eye Ni's tail, his shoulder was already injured, blood was flowing like a fountain, his movements were hindered, and he could only swing his sword to parry, barely protecting himself.

Liu Shushan already knew at this point that Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan were intentionally messing with him, so when Xu Zhenwan made sarcastic remarks over there, there was not a trace of expression on Liu Shushan's face; he understood that he just had to swallow this kind of thing.

Moreover, he also knew he wouldn't die; although Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan were messing with him, they would never let him die in this Dark Forest, as they wouldn't be able to answer to Zheng Yi if that happened.

Liu Shushan could see his own situation clearly, and Duan Rong, hiding in the bush, actually saw his situation clearly too; Liu Shushan appeared to be in constant danger, but Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan would never let him die. Therefore, Duan Rong had absolutely no intention of intervening.

The moment Duan Rong saw the man and woman under the tree, he had already guessed their identities. He had studied the information on Zheng Yi and his disciples in detail. After all, know yourself and know your enemy!

Just at this moment, the bush beside Duan Rong suddenly rustled, and Ximen Kankan, without a word, had already drawn his blade and darted out.

Duan Rong frowned and secretly thought: "This reckless guy!"

Ximen Kankan displayed his footwork, flickering through the darkness toward the stream.

The moment he darted out of the bush, the two under the tree had already noticed him. As soon as the two saw his build, they knew his cultivation level was similar to Liu Shushan's, not even having achieved the First Layer of the Origin Qi Realm yet.

Ximen Kankan drew his blade and stood beside Liu Shushan, his Blade Shadow flickering, instantly taking on the majority of the Tail-Eye Ni's attacks, and Liu Shushan immediately felt his pressure greatly reduced.

He turned his head and saw that familiar face illuminated by the fluorescent glow of the stream.

When he left the Tower Forest, Ximen Kankan had already lost quite a bit of weight, and his face now was even thinner than when he had left.

Liu Shushan hadn't expected to meet Ximen Kankan in such a situation, and a warm current immediately surged in his heart, so he called out: "Kankan!"

Ximen Kankan gave a grin and said: "Shushan, didn't expect to see me here, did you? Isn't it a surprise!?"

Liu Shushan gave a miserable smile and said: "This beast also has an eye on its tail, which allows it to see in all directions; it's very hard to kill."

"There's an eye on its tail too?" Ximen Kankan narrowed his eyes to look, and immediately discovered that the tail behind the Tail-Eye Ni was held high, and a greenish vertical eye on the tail was staring right at the blade in his hand.

"Holy crap! There really is an eye on its tail!?" Ximen Kankan had never seen such a thing, and he was immediately filled with excitement, immediately raining blade strikes down on the Tail-Eye Ni's tail.

With Liu Shushan and Ximen Kankan attacking from front and back, the Tail-Eye Ni soon couldn't hold out any longer.

Ximen Kankan nearly severed its tail several times, and the Tail-Eye Ni had no choice but to let the tail droop down; without that greenish vertical eye to see in all directions, it was soon beaten and wounded in many places by the two of them.

In desperation, it had to raise the tail it had let droop back up again, but not long after the tail was held high, it was severed by Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan gripped the severed tail in his hand, and the tail was still wriggling like a loach in his hand, the greenish eyeball on it revealing an extremely resentful look.

Ximen Kankan found it incredibly strange and was filled with excitement.

Ximen Kankan was only concerned with playing with the tail in his hand, leaving Liu Shushan alone to fight the Tail-Eye Ni; Liu Shushan's shoulder was bleeding and his movements were sluggish, and after the Tail-Eye Ni had its tail severed, it was also frightened, and taking advantage of Liu Shushan stumbling, it suddenly turned and tried to flee to the other side.

The Tail-Eye Ni had just run half a zhang when a graceful figure in the pitch-black tree shadows not far away flashed her waist and darted out, and with a slash of her Long Sword, she accurately and unerringly pierced the Tail-Eye Ni's heart.

The Tail-Eye Ni fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and breathed its last.

At this time, Guo Tian walked out slowly from the pitch-black tree shadows, his cold gaze sweeping over Ximen Kankan, who was holding a severed tail and looking excited.

Liu Shushan noticed Guo Tian's unfriendly look and immediately explained: "Senior Brother Guo, Senior Sister Xu, this is a friend from my hometown."

Duan Rong, at this moment, was still hiding in the bush and did not appear.

If Ximen Kankan could get away on his own, he didn't intend to show himself. If he showed himself and Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan saw through his identity, it would be troublesome instead.

However, watching the excited expression on Ximen Kankan's face as he toyed with the severed tail, Duan Rong could not help but sigh in his heart. This kid really didn't take the Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan before him seriously at all.

Xu Zhenwan flicked the blood off her Long Sword and sneered, "Friends from the same hometown? What a pair of losers. You two working together could even let that Origin Beast escape. I had to step in and clean up your mess."

Ximen Kankan saw that the severed tail in his hand was slowly starting to stop thrashing, and that greenish-dark vertical eye was also beginning to grow listless. He was just like a curious baby, incessantly poking at the spot where the greenish-dark vertical eye was, when he suddenly heard Xu Zhenwan's cold words calling him and Liu Shushan losers.

Ximen Kankan raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Xu Zhenwan's dough-like, fair and tender face, then he turned his head to look at Liu Shushan and asked, "Shushan, is this your Senior Sister?"

Liu Shushan gave a bitter smile and said, "Yes, it is Senior Sister Xu."

Ximen Kankan tossed the now-motionless severed tail in his hand onto the ground, looked at Xu Zhenwan, and said, "What kind of Senior Sister are you? Your own Disciple is there with a wounded shoulder, bleeding profusely. You hide under a tree and don't help, and now you're still there making sarcastic remarks. Who are you calling a loser? Your long face looks quite fair and tender, so why is your heart more vicious than a ghost's?"

"You..."

Xu Zhenwan had always been sharp-tongued and beautiful; when had she ever been scolded like this? Moreover, Ximen Kankan's rapid-fire words left her momentarily speechless, and she was so angry her face turned deathly pale.

"The family affairs of my Yucui Peak are not for a piece of trash like you to interfere with!" Guo Tian glared at Ximen Kankan with a chilling gaze, his words laced with anger.

Seeing these two, one calling him a loser and the other calling him trash, made Ximen Kankan very annoyed. His eyes shifted, and he laughed, "I was wondering why you two were hiding in the tree shadows instead of attacking, only letting your Disciple fight here in the stream. So, you two dog-like man and woman sent your Disciple away just to engage in some sordid business under that dark tree. Truly, public morals are declining and people are not what they used to be... letting your Disciple fight an Origin Beast by the stream while you two have a field tryst under the tree... tsk tsk tsk... you really know how to play..."

Ximen Kankan had intended to provoke the two of them from the start, and as he spoke, he stared at Xu Zhenwan's fair face and slurped his saliva.

Xu Zhenwan was trembling all over with rage, her beautiful face quivering, and she was so gritting her teeth that she couldn't speak for a moment. Her originally fair face had now flushed deep red.

"You're courting death!?"

Standing at the edge of the pitch-black tree shadows, Guo Tian's rock-hard, stern face muscles twitched. With a loud roar, he drew his broad-backed saber from his back, leaped into the air, and slashed toward Ximen Kankan.

Seeing Guo Tian's leaping figure, Ximen Kankan knew he was no match, so he immediately turned and bolted toward the bushes where Duan Rong was hiding, shouting as he ran, "Duan Rong! Save me!"

If he hadn't been relying on Duan Rong being there, he wouldn't have dared to be so arrogant.

In fact, there was no need for Ximen Kankan to call for help; the moment Guo Tian's figure leaped up, Duan Rong also sprang up from the bushes, kicking up a spray of grass and wood debris that drifted through the gloom.

The moment Duan Rong leaped up, the Frost Pattern Phosphorus Crystal Blade was already gripped in his hand. His figure moved like a hawk crossing the night sky, arriving in a flash to intercept Guo Tian in mid-air.

The instant the two blades were about to clash, Duan Rong focused his mind. The Gray Shadow sitting cross-legged in the center of his Spirit Sea suddenly brightened at the center of its brow, and almost simultaneously, Blade Radiance erupted from Duan Rong's blade edge!

In that instant, Guo Tian's pupils suddenly constricted!

The Blade Radiance that suddenly erupted from Duan Rong's blade edge appeared as if it were solidified, far surpassing his own.

The Blade Radiance collided abruptly in the dark night sky; Duan Rong's Blade Radiance flickered like fire and stood immovable as a mountain.

The moment Guo Tian's Blade Radiance made contact, it instantly deformed and receded at the point where the blades met, as if a gap had appeared in the Blade Radiance there.

Almost simultaneously, a great force was transmitted; Guo Tian's palm burst open, the web of his hand cracked, and the broad-backed saber in his hand was sent flying backward.

Guo Tian stumbled as he landed, blood streaming from the web of his right hand. He looked at Duan Rong, who had landed gracefully not far away, with an ugly expression.

Duan Rong stood with his blade sheathed and looked at Guo Tian, saying, "Offense taken!"

Then he turned his head to look at Ximen Kankan behind him and shouted, "Kankan, let's go!"

After saying this, Duan Rong's figure flickered and vanished by the dark stream. From beginning to end, he didn't even glance at Liu Shushan.

Seeing Duan Rong leave, Ximen Kankan immediately turned to look at Liu Shushan, but Liu Shushan lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan hesitated for a moment, then said to Liu Shushan, "Shushan, I'm leaving now." After saying this, he immediately chased after Duan Rong.

Ximen Kankan exerted his movement technique and ran a distance in the direction Duan Rong had disappeared, only to find Duan Rong standing there waiting for him.

He flashed over and called out, "Duan Rong!"

Duan Rong had been standing with his back to him, but upon hearing this, he turned around, looked at him with a cold gaze, and barked, "Don't just jump into things when you encounter trouble! You're causing me trouble!"

Ximen Kankan's expression froze; Duan Rong was clearly quite angry.

"I saw Shushan was in a crisis, so I helped out a bit. Later, as you saw, those Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters of his were clearly bullying him, calling him trash, and they dragged me into it too. I really couldn't swallow my anger..."

Duan Rong sighed and remained silent.

Ximen Kankan asked, "How did Shushan end up at that Yucui Peak?"

Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan and briefly summarized the sequence of events: Liu Shushan becoming a disciple of Ge Rusong, the struggle between Lv Zhongtang, Ge Rusong, Zheng Yi, and Zhu He for the position of the next Sect Master, Zhu He's plot to eliminate Ge Rusong, and Liu Shushan joining Zheng Yi's faction.

Although the matter was complex, Duan Rong's train of thought was clear; he only spoke of the general outline, often clarifying the situation in just a few words.

Ximen Kankan asked, "Why did Liu Shushan have to become Ge Rusong's disciple?"

Duan Rong was a disciple of Zhu He, and Lv Zhongtang and Ge Rusong were clearly in the opposing camp to Zhu He. Under such circumstances, Liu Shushan still chose to become Ge Rusong's disciple. From then on, they would serve different masters, and if they met Duan Rong again, they would be enemies!

No wonder Duan Rong had been so cold just now and hadn't even looked at Liu Shushan.

Duan Rong said, "That was the path he chose himself."

In fact, Duan Rong could understand Liu Shushan's choice; after all, Ge Rusong's strength was there, he was a Director of the Office of Transmission, and the terms he offered Liu Shushan at Longyu Hall must have been very generous.

Ximen Kankan's expression dimmed. He and Liu Shushan got along quite well; that guy always reminded him of his childhood playmate Jiang Qingyu from Xiangu County. When they were ambushed by the Filthy Blood Sect on the outskirts of Xiangu County, both Jiang Qingyu and Xia Shuangshuang had died there.

Ximen Kankan said, "Duan Rong, you once said that everyone has their own way of surviving."

Duan Rong said, "That's right. The path he chose, he must walk himself. Moreover, with the scene you just caused, I fear his situation will only get worse."

Hearing this, Ximen Kankan's gaze flickered in the gloom; he was pondering the meaning of Duan Rong's words.

By the side of the stream, Xu Zhenwan pulled out the weapon that had fallen from mid-air and stuck into the ground not far from Guo Tian's feet. She walked to Guo Tian's side, handed the weapon over, and asked with concern, "Senior Brother Guo, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Guo Tian wiped the blood from his hand and took the weapon.

At this moment, the look in Xu Zhenwan's eyes toward Liu Shushan had changed.

Guo Tian turned his head to look at Xu Zhenwan and asked, "Was that person just now named Duan Rong?"

Xu Zhenwan nodded. When Ximen Kankan was in crisis, he had shouted for Duan Rong to save him, and they had all heard it.

Guo Tian said, "This name seems to have been quite popular lately?"

Xu Zhenwan said, "He formed a Wheel within the Elder Council and triggered the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi Tide."

"Formed a Wheel?" Guo Tian's expression shifted.

It had only been a month since the rumors started spreading in the Sect. That meant that guy had only formed his Wheel a month ago!

But that Blade Radiance just now?! That Blade Radiance was far more solidified than his own!

Guo Tian suddenly turned his head to look at Liu Shushan and asked, "Shushan, do you know Duan Rong?"

Liu Shushan's expression flickered slightly as he said, "He is a friend from my hometown."

Upon hearing this, both Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan had their expressions change.

Guo Tian remained composed and said, "Liu Shushan, collect the corpse of that Tail-Eye Ni. We are leaving this place!"

"Yes, Senior Brother!" Liu Shushan walked over, took the cloth bag tied to his waist, and packed the corpse of the Tail-Eye Ni on the ground into it.

Guo Tian and Xu Zhenwan stood there, watching Liu Shushan's back, and the two exchanged a glance.

They both understood the meaning in each other's eyes; Duan Rong was, after all, a trusted disciple of Zhu He, and the downfall of Ge Rusong had a great deal to do with this person. Liu Shushan was actually a fellow townsman and close friend of Duan Rong; surely Master and the others did not know about this matter yet, right?!

(End of this chapter)