Chapter 16: Change of Fortune

“Lead the way. If we can leave this forest safely, I promise I won’t kill you.”

Cang Yin Yue flipped onto the mule, gesturing to Yu Changlu, whose arms hung limp, to walk ahead on the mountain path.

Yu Changlu offered no resistance, immediately shuffling forward with his arms swinging.

He knew he had no choice; under these circumstances, only submission could buy him time until reinforcements from the alliance arrived.

So as long as Cang Yin Yue didn’t kill him, he’d do anything she asked.

Li Muxian observed everything, said nothing, and slapped the mule’s back, letting it follow slowly.

He had no intention of confronting Cang Yin Yue’s misunderstanding with a punch that would shatter mountains and crumble earth, forcing her wide, Kala-zi eyes to witness the true might of a Wu Dao apex master.

Unnecessary. He had long passed the age of seeking dominance or proving himself.

All he wanted now was to wander the world, seeking the chance to transcend Wu Dao—and Shangyang City in Da Li was his first stop.

…

The long stretch that followed was quiet, with no more members of the Blood Alliance encountered and no traces of battle along the way.

Yet Yu Changlu’s expression grew increasingly unnatural.

Ever since the bald giant sent the signal, he had rushed with his men to ambush the nearby mountain path.

But Meng Shan and Yuan Mei were too formidable; despite losing several men, he failed to stop them—and they escaped.

And since he lacked agility, he had no choice but to stay behind and guard the path.

Logically, by now, the Blood Alliance’s elite should have seen the signal and arrived, just as he had.

Yet throughout this journey, he hadn’t seen a single elite of the alliance—not even a lowly thug.

“Could it be that something’s happened within the alliance? Are those bastards from Yinshan Gate and Yanjiu City attacking?”

Yu Changlu trudged along the rough mountain path, frowning deeply in thought.

He didn’t notice a blood-drenched hand, emerging from waist-high weeds beside the path, suddenly gripping his ankle.

Instantly, Yu Changlu’s eyelid twitched; though his tendons had been severed and his martial skill reduced to less than one-tenth, he wasn’t utterly panicked.

He stomped hard, shaking off the hand, then sidestepped sharply, exploding power from a single leg to kick violently into the bushes.

Thud!

With a muffled crack of breaking bone, a figure flew out from the bushes, tumbling through the air before rolling onto the path.

At this point, Yu Changlu finally saw the figure’s face—and froze.

He realized the hand that grabbed him belonged to the bald giant.

Yu Changlu had just seen the man moments ago; the giant had been chasing Meng Shan and the others—so why was he hiding in these weeds?

“What happened?”

Yu Changlu rushed forward, swinging his arms, but found the bald giant barely breathing after that kick—on the verge of death.

At that moment, Cang Yin Yue spurred her horse forward, frowning as she scanned the corpse on the ground.

The man’s condition was horrific: his eyes gouged out, blood streaming from all seven orifices, his skin a strange, unnatural bluish-black—clearly poisoned.

“Tell me—who did this to you?”

Yu Changlu leaned close, urgently questioning, but the bald giant could only struggle to open his mouth, then died without uttering a word.

“If you hadn’t kicked him, he might have spoken a few words.”

Cang Yin Yue shook her head, her expression thoughtful:

“From the martial style, he was wounded by a sinister claw technique. Doesn’t look like something Meng Shan or Yuan Mei would do—but then again, someone might have secretly mastered such a skill.”

She had observed Meng Shan and Yuan Mei’s techniques before, so she knew them well.

Though the bald giant’s condition didn’t seem like their work, she couldn’t rule it out entirely.

Beside her, Li Muxian stared at the corpse, lost in thought, yet said nothing. He turned to Yu Changlu and smiled:

“Let’s keep moving. If you encounter something like this again, remember to be gentler—leave your own men alive.”

Hearing this, Yu Changlu’s face flushed and paled in turns, but he dared not reply. He left the bald giant’s body behind and continued along the path.

What followed made Yu Changlu’s face grow darker and more terrified with every step.

Every so often along the path, several corpses appeared.

Each corpse was gruesomely mutilated—eyes gouged, hearts torn out, blood pouring from all seven orifices, poisoned to the core.

And without exception, all were members of the Blood Alliance; not only common disciples, but several sect masters—cultivators of the Primordial Stage—were dead.

“It must be those bastards from Yinshan Gate—their techniques are the most cruel and venomous!”

Yu Changlu’s face darkened like a storm, fear creeping into his heart.

Given this situation, he knew rescue from the alliance’s elites would never come.

Those sect masters, stronger than him, died so pitifully—what chance did he have now, in this state, if he met Yinshan Gate’s people? He’d die worse.

“Young master, young lady, you’ve seen the situation. If we keep going, we’ll surely meet those bastards.”

Yu Changlu suddenly stopped midway and pleaded desperately to Li Muxian and Cang Yin Yue:

“Let’s turn back now while we still can. I swear on my life—I’ll get you both safely out of Chongzhou via another route.”

At this, Cang Yin Yue’s expression also darkened; for the first time, hesitation flickered in her eyes.

She had seen everything along the way.

And she saw deeper than Yu Changlu—clearer about what was truly happening.

She realized these dead members of the Blood Alliance were not killed by an opposing force.

There was only one killer—throughout.

In Cang Yin Yue’s view, this killer was not only brutal but also possessed martial strength surpassing her own.

More importantly, he was exceptionally skilled in poison arts.

Whether facing Primordial Stage masters or ordinary disciples, he always used poison—without exception.

Cang Yin Yue had examined the toxins on the corpses and realized: this man wasn’t just killing—he was cultivating his poison art.

The further back the corpses, the stronger the poison on them—indicating the killer’s poison art was growing stronger with each kill.

(End of Chapter)