Chapter 1603: [Poison Hand] (Part 2)

Xue Zhenhai's white beard was messed up by the cold wind, but he felt waves of panic inside. He was no coward; this was just a reaction to the poison. Given the situation, he had no chance of winning. He nodded, his dog‑beating staff fell to the ground, and he said in a low voice: "These two brothers of mine were fine just a moment ago, but after drinking the wine you sent, they turned out like this."

Yang Mingwei said indignantly, "How do you know it wasn't you who ate that poisonous scorpion and got poisoned? If our wine had a problem, why are we fine after drinking it?" Before his words finished, a thud sounded from behind—a warrior collapsed face‑up. Before anyone could grasp the situation, more than ten soldiers slumped onto the snow.

The military doctor who had just stepped out of the main hall felt his legs go weak and plopped onto the snow, wailing, "My… my stomach hurts…" In an instant, wails of agony filled the scene. Yang Mingwei stared in shock, asking, "What's going on? What's going on?" He also clutched his belly and squatted down.

In fact, more than half the people present showed some signs of poisoning. Seeing the scene, Weichi Chong silently thought, "Not good." Having experienced countless battles and faced dangerous situations before, he quietly circulated his inner energy and felt nothing abnormal, which put his mind at ease. Looking around again, seventy or eighty people had already collapsed, while the only ones still standing in the snow without any poisoning symptoms were Liang Wensheng and his few personal guards.

Liang Wensheng also looked stunned.

Xue Zhenhai could no longer worry about his own poisoning. He sat cross‑legged in the snow, circulating his inner energy to force the toxins out of his body, secretly panicking. Seeing that so many people on Weichi Chong's side had been poisoned, it seemed Chong was unaware of the poisoning; most likely the problem lay within his own ranks.

Liang Wensheng shouted, "Protect the Grand Marshal!" and strode toward Weichi Chong.

At this moment, cold sweat dripped from Weichi Chong's forehead; it looked like the poison was beginning to take effect on him as well.

Seeing Liang Wensheng try to approach Weichi Chong, Yang Mingwei struggled to his feet, drew his sword, and blocked Liang Wensheng's path, demanding angrily, "Stop!"

Liang Wensheng asked, bewildered, "Brother Mingwei, why is this?"

Yang Mingwei's hand gripping the sword began to tremble, and he quivered, "How… how can you be unharmed?"

This was exactly the question on most people's minds. Over a hundred soldiers, including Weichi Chong, had mostly shown poisoning symptoms, yet Liang Wensheng was completely unharmed, as were his six personal guards. Liang Wensheng himself didn't know how to explain, and he sighed, "Brother Mingwei, are you doubting me? We have lived and died together on the battlefield—who I am should be clear to you."

At this point, Yang Mingwei could no longer hold on; he lost the strength to grip his sword, which fell silently onto the snow. His legs gave way and he knelt on the ground.

Weichi Chong calmly gazed at Liang Wensheng.

Liang Wensheng wore a look of sorrow and indignation, saying, "Grand Marshal, do you believe me or not?"

Weichi Chong slowly shook his head, his gaze not on Liang Wensheng, and said softly, "The real culprit has arrived!"

In the blazing firelight of the front hall, a man walked out slowly. He held a long blade curved like eyebrows; its mirror‑like surface reflected the fire's pattern—it was the Blade Demon, FengXingyun.

Liang Wensheng bit his lip, offering no further explanation. Action was his strongest defense; he suddenly raised his long sword. His body vanished like a wisp of green smoke, reappearing instantly before Blade Demon FengXingyun. The Formless Sect's Phantom Shift is one of the most exquisite light‑foot techniques; in the past, the assassin Xin Yi, a subordinate of Ji Feihua, was one of its masters.

Liang Wensheng's sword thrust fiercely at the Blade Demon. A flash of cold light passed through FengXingyun's eyes; his Eyebrow Knife sprang up, its blade flashing. Despite being thin as paper, it struck Liang Wensheng's sword tip with perfect accuracy, ringing with a clear metallic clang—sparks flew as blade met tip. FengXingyun's sword speed and precision had reached perfection; his domineering blow numbed half of Liang Wensheng's arm. Without giving him a breath, FengXingyun slashed another blade straight at Liang Wensheng's throat. In the blink of an eye, the edge reached his throat. Before the blade's light passed, Liang Wensheng shifted his form, employing Phantom Shift again to dodge the attack.

The Blade Demon's strike hit only an illusion; FengXingyun saw that Liang Wensheng's movement came from the Formless Sect's Phantom Shift. That a mere body technique could evade his lethal strike showed Liang Wensheng had grasped the essence of Phantom Shift.

FengXingyun did not continue the pursuit; he fixed his gaze on Weichi Chong and stepped forward slowly but firmly.

Yang Mingwei struggled to his feet; at that moment, Liang Wensheng's six personal guards rushed forward first. FengXingyun gave a cold snort, shook his Eyebrow Knife, and a trembling, distorted blade of light shot out, instantly severing the bodies of the six warriors. Their blood bloomed like tragic flowers across the snow.

Liang Wensheng's body appeared behind the Blade Demon, and he thrust a blade toward its heart. The Formless Sect is not limited to Phantom Shift; its footwork serves to better conceal movement, and everything is geared toward assassination.

Yet as Liang Wensheng launched his attack, FengXingyun activated his own technique. Without even glancing behind, he shot toward Weichi Chong like an arrow released from a bow. His movement was no slower than Liang Wensheng's; despite Liang Wensheng's utmost effort, he could never close the one‑foot gap between them.

Yang Mingwei roared, leapt up, placed himself before Weichi Chong, and swung his sword at FengXingyun.

As FengXingyun approached Yang Mingwei, his body suddenly twisted, moving sideways three feet in an unbelievable maneuver. Liang Wensheng and Yang Mingwei suddenly lost their target, ending up facing each other. At first glance it looked as if Yang Mingwei was chopping at Liang Wensheng, while Liang Wensheng was stabbing at Yang Mingwei.

Both sensed the danger at once. Liang Wensheng hastily retracted his sword, not wanting to accidentally kill Yang Mingwei, but Yang Mingwei was slow to withdraw his blade, which continued to fall toward Liang Wensheng's shoulder. Liang Wensheng's superlative movement came into play again; his body swayed, and what Yang Mingwei struck was merely an afterimage.

With nothing between the Blade Demon and Weichi Chong, FengXingyun slowly raised his Eyebrow Knife, frowning, for Liang Wensheng had already reappeared behind him in the shortest time. The Blade Demon's blade gathered a trace of cold light and thrust backward violently.

The Blade Demon's inner energy surged, and an invisible blade aura detached from his sword, shooting toward Liang Wensheng. Liang Wensheng never imagined the Blade Demon could release and retract such aura at will, nor that he had been holding it back instead of releasing it outright, only unleashing it when their blades crossed. This was because FengXingyun had already learned to deal with Liang Wensheng's unpredictable footwork, so he struck when Liang Wensheng was unprepared, leaving him no time to react.

At the moment of life and death, Liang Wensheng reacted instinctively, throwing his body backward with all his might, pushing off the snow with his feet, sliding like a straight arrow across the snow. Even so, he could not fully dodge the blade aura; the icy, domineering aura split his chest armor apart, tearing a large swath of flesh. Had he reacted a moment slower, he would have faced disembowelment.

Yang Mingwei raised his sword with both hands and, taking advantage of the Blade Demon's focus on Liang Wensheng, swung a blow at his head.

The Blade Demon instantly drew his Eyebrow Knife; striking first despite coming second, the thin blade struck Yang Mingwei's longsword, cleaving it in two with a single blow. He then lifted his right foot and kicked hard into Yang Mingwei's abdomen. Yang Mingwei spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a broken‑kite, crashing into Weichi Chong.

Weichi Chong watched the oncoming Yang Mingwei, reached out, and lightly supported his body, easily catching him. He then seized Yang Mingwei's left wrist with a crushing grip; a crack sounded as the bones shattered, and the hidden dagger in his hand fell onto the snow.

Yang Mingwei's face was pure shock; he never imagined Weichi Chong had seen through his disguise. Weichi Chong said softly, "I also drank Wensheng's wine, so I know he wouldn't harm me. Your act was convincing, but you still gave yourself away. If Wensheng hadn't dodged in time just now, you would have killed him."

Yang Mingwei trembled, "Grand Marshal…"

Weichi Chong calmly regarded the Blade Demon and said, "Eyebrow Knife, FengXingyun! To deploy the Blade Demon against me must be someone extraordinary; you too can barely be called a famed figure under heaven, yet I never expected such underhanded tactics. Who is he to you?"

Blade Demon FengXingyun coldly stared at Weichi Chong, only then realizing that this Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of Da Yong was actually a hidden master.

Liang Wensheng, drenched in blood, rose from the snow and saw not far away the Beggar Sect's Enforcement Elder, Xue Zhenhai. Xue Zhenhai opened his eyes and tossed him a pill, saying, "Return‑Origin Pill; it will help your wounds." By now, Xue Zhenhai had already expelled all residual poison from his body.

Liang Wensheng swallowed the Return‑Origin Pill without hesitation and pressed several acupoints on his body to staunch the steady flow of blood.

Weichi Chong said, "If I'm not mistaken, his swordsmanship must share the same lineage as yours; you surely share a deep source. Hand over the antidote, and I'll spare his life."

FengXingyun slowly shook his head: "No!"

Weichi Chong nodded, then suddenly raised his hand and struck Yang Mingwei's crown with a palm, shattering his skull. He released Yang Mingwei's body, and the bleeding‑from‑all‑orifices Yang Mingwei fell flat on the snow. Weichi Chong's face showed no expression as he looked at Blade Demon FengXingyun and said, "Let me learn your supreme techniques!" (To be continued~^~)