Chapter 62: Ambush Down the Mountain, Hire a Killer to Murder!

On the other side, Fang Xu was grabbed by the throat with that pair of slender jade hands; his meridians throughout his body seemed to be sealed, and he couldn't muster a shred of strength.

But the owner of those slender jade hands didn't seem intent on killing him, merely hoisting him as they darted through the forest until they reached a roaring waterfall, where the figure finally flung Fang Xu to the ground!

The moment he gained freedom, Fang Xu immediately rolled like a donkey, kicked off hard, and shot straight at the hemp‑clad figure ahead!

Apart from his odd methods, Wu's own strength is not high.

Lu Zhiyuan had mentioned this to him before.

The hemp‑clad figure before him was very strong; Fang Xu knew that only close‑quarters combat gave him any chance.

Bang!

But as his body surged forward, a snow‑white leg kicked him.

Moreover, Fang Xu didn't even see how the opponent attacked; a flash of white passed before his eyes, and he was hit.

That kick carried great force; Fang Xu was sent flying three or four zhang, then stumbled back a few steps before barely regaining his footing in a sorry state.

"Is this the master chosen by the Divine Attendant?"

"He's not just weak."

A hoarse voice came from beneath the bronze mask, and Fang Xu furrowed his brow slightly.

"You know the Divine Attendant?"

"Could it be…?"

Fang Xu was somewhat startled!

"Could it be that the power behind my master Lu Zhiyuan is actually Wu?!"

"Since the Divine Attendant acknowledges you as master, it shows you still have some potential."

"Li Xun, as a disciple of that butcher Zhao Wuji, is sure to die today, so don't get involved going back."

The hemp‑clad figure finished speaking, slowly turned to face the rushing waterfall ahead, and showed no concern that Fang Xu might suddenly attack.

"How should I address you, senior?"

Knowing he was no match for this person and realizing the individual was connected to his master, Fang Xu instead did not continue his attack.

"Just call me Nan Wu," the hemp‑clad figure said lightly.

Nan Wu?

What a strange name.

The person called Nan Wu is certain to be able to kill Li Xun; it seems everything that happened today is a carefully designed trap aimed at Li Xun.

Sinking his consciousness into the depths of his sea of awareness, Fang Xu saw that in the friend list, Li Xun's life value behind his name had dropped to 60%, lower than the original 75%, yet it seemed he still wouldn't die.

"Senior Nan Wu, you should still go back and have a look; kid, I'm afraid your prepared backup might not be able to kill Li Xun."

Hearing this, Nan Wu slowly turned, looked curiously at Fang Xu, and said, "How do you think we can't kill him?"

Fang Xu said nothing; anyway, the system shows Li Xun definitely cannot die now.

"Follow the river downstream; once out of the mountains, that's the river outside Maple Forest Town—go on your own."

Li Xun had beside him Xu Liang, a Martial Sovereign Third Level cultivator; although he was just recovering from serious injury, he was nonetheless a true Martial Sovereign, so Nan Wu was indeed uneasy, and after telling Fang Xu, he hurried straight back the way they came.

"Senior!"

Fang Xu shouted loudly, but saw Nan Wu's silhouette already vanish into the forest behind him.

"You might as well beat me up; better to look seriously injured while actually it's not that bad…" he muttered, then Fang Xu helplessly gazed at the waterfall before him.

He had been abducted by Wu right under the noses of Li Xun and the others.

If Li Xun and the others suffered heavy losses while he returned unharmed to Maple Forest Town, there'd be no way to explain it!

Or, should he just jump down from here?

Looking at the cliff over ten zhang high before him, an idea popped into Fang Xu's mind.

But he immediately rejected it.

This is deep in Lift Blue Mountain; if he jumped down and got hurt, and hadn't yet made it out, he'd surely encounter a high‑level ferocious beast and die without doubt.

Better to first head outward from the mountain; once he reached the outskirts and was safe, he could then think of ways to make himself look miserable.

Without bothering to check how the battle on Li Xun's side was going, Fang Xu cautiously walked along the river toward the outside of the mountain.

It seemed this area was originally the range of Nan Wu and her clan's activities, or perhaps the ferocious beasts living here had been summoned by Nan Wu's people to deal with Li Xun.

Fang Xu proceeded all the way and actually encountered no ferocious beasts.

After advancing for two hours, the dense forest ahead finally grew much sparser; he knew he had finally reached the outskirts of Lift Blue Mountain.

Here, compared to the depths of Lift Blue Mountain, it was much safer.

Just as he was thinking about how to add some color to himself to make it look like he had fought desperately to escape, two figures suddenly appeared in the nearby woods.

A hunting party?

Fang Xu blinked slightly, then realized something was off!

Hunting parties usually have at least a dozen people; it's rare for just two to enter the mountains.

Moreover, his current position is the transition zone between the outskirts and the depths of Lift Blue Mountain, where high‑level ferocious beasts are likely to appear, so hunting parties seldom come to such a place.

Fang Xu hid behind a large tree, quietly watching the two approach him.

"Brother Liu, do you think the Wu family ancestor is lying? A mere Martial Disciple Second Level kid with a fifty‑gold bounty—has he gone mad?"

As the two drew near, Fang Xu faintly heard the lanky martial artist on the left complain to the bearded martial artist beside him.

"Hey! Who cares!"

"Going into the mountains today is just about luck; if we happen to run into him, we'll casually kill the kid and take his head to claim the Wu family reward."

"If we don't find him, we can also hunt a few ferocious beasts on the side to supplement our blood food," the bearded martial artist said optimistically.

The lanky martial artist nodded, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a garment corner flashing behind the tree ahead.

"Who's there?!?"

Who's there!?

The bearded martial artist, seeing this, immediately grabbed the axe in his hand and warily looked ahead.

"Brother Liu, there's someone behind that tree!" the lanky martial artist pointed at the big tree where Fang Xu was hiding and said quietly.

The bearded martial artist glanced at the big tree, then pursed his lips at the lanky martial artist, signaling him to flank left and right with him.

The two slowly approached the tree.

Behind the tree, Fang Xu leaned against it, his expression calm.

From these two, he obtained two pieces of information.

First, that Wu Huan indeed started hiring assassins, with a bounty of fifty gold, a full five thousand taels of silver to kill someone like me, a Martial Apprentice Second Realm martial artist, and I believe many would be tempted.

Second, someone knows I entered the mountains and has leaked it to nearby martial artists.

Looking at it this way, there won't be few martial artists in this mountain right now who want to kill me.

If I kill these two, I must not cause too much commotion, otherwise the other martial artists around will surely swarm over.

Open spears are easy to dodge, hidden arrows hard to guard against; the martial artists who often operate in Ti Lan Mountain are mostly skilled hunters by origin, and they are very professional at setting traps and firing cold arrows from dark places.

I can easily kill most Martial Apprentice Realm martial artists, but I am still a mortal flesh.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

While thinking of countermeasures and listening to the two's steadily approaching footsteps, Fang Xu's muscles tensed all over, his fists clenched tightly.

The footsteps grew closer, Fang Xu's eyes sank, and his body explosively shot out!

Boom!

A punch gathering twelve percent of his full strength directly blasted toward the bearded martial artist wielding double axes!

The terrifying force, plus the unexpected speed, smashed the fist directly into the bearded martial artist's head!

Pfft!

The bearded martial artist's head instantly caved in a large chunk, half of his skull shattered by Fang Xu's punch!

With that punch, the bearded martial artist didn't even utter a scream before instantly dying!

After dealing with him, Fang Xu pressed his body against the tree, gave a nimble push, and instantly moved behind the lanky martial artist!

Before he could react, Fang Xu immediately threw a punch at his back!

With this punch, even someone like Wu Yuanqing, a Martial Apprentice Great Perfection, could not withstand it; this martial artist before me, only at Martial Apprentice Seventh Realm, would surely die.

Bang!

The fist solidly struck his back, but Fang Xu sensed something off!

Logically, this punch should definitely break his spine and shatter his organs.

But when the fist hit his body, it was blocked by a hard object!

The lanky martial artist took the punch, spat a mouthful of blood, and his body flew out, yet he did not die instantly.

"It's you...... Fang Xu!"

"Fang Xu is here!"

Having seen his companion's half-head smashed by Fang Xu's punch, and his own soft armor, obtained by chance, nearly beaten to death by the opponent, the lanky martial artist knew he was no match for Fang Xu, so he ran while shouting.

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(End of chapter)