Chapter 805

Hu Xiaotian's guess was correct; the Five Absolutes hunters lost two in today's daytime assassination, leaving only three. The three were hiding in the forest north of Grizzly Bear Valley, watching from afar as Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan led that horse swimming to the huge rock in the center of the mountain stream. Because the distance was great, and moreover the night was pitch black, they could not see clearly what the two were doing on the rock.

The vulture Zhou Juetian wore a grim expression; Hu Xiaotian and his companion were far stronger than he had imagined. Not only did they escape by breaking through despite the combined effort of the remaining four, they also slew two of his brothers. He had laid an ambush beforehand, ready to deliver a fatal blow, yet the two saw through it. For a mere fifteen thousand taels of gold to end up in such a predicament, this deal is beginning to seem unprofitable.

The bloodsucking demoness Cao Juexin was there again, muttering incantations while using the copper coins in her hand to perform divination.

The black-hearted urchin Xie Juehou said: "No need, you already divined yesterday that the third brother would die today, and indeed you got it right."

Cao Juexin did not toss the copper coins in her hand; her narrow eyes flashed with two chinks of cold light: "I didn't actually calculate that he would die; I just said it offhand." She paused, then said: "Elder brother, let's forget it—that lad is truly formidable, having actually reached the realm of emitting sword qi outward."

Zhou Juetian stood up and walked a few steps forward, driving his dark, heavy dagger hard into the trunk of the pine tree ahead; the tremendous force shook the pine cones loose, scattering them. He gritted his teeth and said: "Second brother, third brother cannot die in vain—what did we swear when we became sworn brothers?"

Cao Juexin and Xie Juehou exchanged a glance.

Xie Juehou said: "Although I didn't strike his vital spot, I had coated my dagger with Seven-Step Soul-Severing poison beforehand; he shouldn't be able to last through tonight."

Zhou Juetian turned and looked at him; Xie Juehou's childlike face showed a hint of helplessness: "Originally no one could last more than half an hour; I don't know what's special about him. Even if his physique is somewhat stronger than an ordinary person's, I think he hasn't gotten my unique antidote. He still has only a dead end."

Cao Juexin said: "Second brother's Black Water Lethal Needle also struck Huo Shengnan; she must have been poisoned as well."

Zhou Juetian said: "If your methods work, then what I should be seeing is their corpses."

The black-hearted urchin Xie Juehou timidly asked: "Boss, how did they escape from your men again?" Really, mentioning the pot that won't boil.

Zhou Juetian certainly could not let Huo Shengnan's mere feint of drawing the bowstring distract him, thereby affecting his certain strike; if it weren't for Huo Shengnan's interference at the critical moment, he might have already succeeded.

Seeing Zhou Juetian's face grow increasingly grim, Cao Juexin hastily gave Xie Juehou a look.

Zhou Juetian said: "Fifth sister, what do you think?"

Cao Juexin had actually wanted to give up already, but seeing Zhou Juetian's demeanor she felt she must avenge this blood debt; she bit her lip and said: "Since they have already been poisoned, we might as well wait a bit longer—perhaps a miracle will occur."

Zhou Juetian nodded. His gaze turned again to the distant hiding place of Hu Xiaotian and company, and he gritted his teeth: "I will surely have them die!"

When dawn arrived, a low sob came from the direction of Grizzly Bear Valley. Hu Xiaotian lay sprawled on the rocky beach, already motionless. Huo Shengnan flung herself beside him, weeping bitterly, while Little Gray circled around Hu Xiaotian's body, occasionally nudging him with its mouth.

Huo Shengnan cried for a good while. Then she lifted Hu Xiaotian's body, laid it sideways across the horse's back, mounted herself, and followed yesterday's road forward.

Hu Xiaotian reminded her via voice transmission: "Cry a couple more times, make it sound miserable, like a dead husband."

Huo Shengnan drew her dagger, making a motion to stab a hole in him.

Hu Xiaotian added: "Just pretend your father is dead!"

Huo Shengnan really had no way with him. As she led the horse by its reins, walking along, she recalled the injustice she had suffered, being forced to leave Da Yong, and then thought of how her adoptive father had suffered such unfair treatment, yet still had to march north to bolster Da Yong's northern frontier for the emperor; her sense of injustice and indignation grew, tears naturally streaming down, and once she started crying she couldn't stop.

Hu Xiaotian's ploy of feigning death was indeed a risky gamble for victory; those assassins were no ordinary folk, making it hard to guarantee fooling their eyes.

From the campsite to the ancient tomb where they had been ambushed yesterday, they encountered no further assassinations. Hu Xiaotian focused intently, paying attention to every movement around him to detect the enemy before they arrived. Little Gray had already reached the front of the tomb; the ground nearby retained only a few white bones, the corpses having been completely devoured by the ruthless Blue Wolves. As previously agreed between Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan, Huo Shengnan swayed her delicate frame, feigning lack of strength, and toppled headfirst from the horse.

Little Gray gave a gurgling call, nudging Huo Shengnan with its head; when she showed no response, it grew somewhat panicked, turned around and ran back toward the rear. In the jostling, Hu Xiaotian's corpse also slipped off the horse's back.

Huo Shengnan did not feign death; instead, she struggled to crawl toward Hu Xiaotian. After two steps, she suddenly heard Hu Xiaotian say: "The wolves are coming—find cover, prepare to shoot; my little life rests entirely on you!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a Blue Wolf lunged from the right; Huo Shengnan, sharp-eyed and quick-handed, loosed an arrow that struck the wolf's right eye, the arrowhead piercing deep into its brain. More than a dozen Blue Wolves surged from the thicket toward Huo Shengnan; she turned and ran toward the tomb, took a few strides onto it, glanced back at the moon, and—whoosh! —shot an arrow that killed the wolf trailing behind her.

Hu Xiaotian lay on the ground feigning death; several Blue Wolves that tried to approach were shot down on the spot by Huo Shengnan from above. Although Hu Xiaotian was bold, he too broke out in a cold sweat; this pack of Blue Wolves was likely sent by the assassins to scout them. If they discovered he was merely pretending, the hidden assassins behind would surely not reveal themselves. He and Huo Shengnan had already factored this possibility in: if the Blue Wolves came, Hu Xiaotian would continue to play dead, and his safety would be entrusted to Huo Shengnan.

Huo Shengnan's archery was indeed extraordinary—her arrows never missed; any Blue Wolf that approached Hu Xiaotian's corpse was shot before it could even get close.

This pack of Blue Wolves had already lost more than half yesterday; today fewer than twenty remained. After Huo Shengnan's successive shots, only four appeared to be left alive. These four surviving Blue Wolves evidently recognized her prowess and dared not attack further; with an "ah-woo" they each turned and fled into the forest.

Huo Shengnan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; she also did not continue the pursuit, for the number of feathered arrows in her quiver was limited—better to conserve them, since the greatest foe had not yet arrived. She wondered why the assassins had still not shown up; had Hu Xiaotian's feigned death been exposed? Suddenly, a black cord shot from a nearby large tree, winding around Hu Xiaotian's legs and hoisting him entirely aloft. Hu Xiaotian's skill at playing dead was already perfected; his body swayed with the rope, showing no sign of abnormality.

The tombstone suddenly split open, and a gray-clad figure emerged from within—none other than the vulture Zhou Juetian, brandishing a long blade to slash horizontally at Huo Shengnan's feet. Huo Shengnan had been watching her surroundings, yet failed to notice Zhou Juetian lurking nearby; she leapt into the air, nocked an arrow, and aimed its tip at his brow.

Zhou Juetian flicked his long blade, deflecting the incoming arrow.

Huo Shengnan drew backhand the black spear she had seized from Zhou Juetian yesterday, and, using the momentum of her airborne descent, thrust it at his throat. Zhou Juetian blocked the spear with a horizontal blade, while at that moment the bloodsucking demoness Cao Juexin appeared ghostlike from behind, her hair streaming like a black hurricane, sweeping toward Huo Shengnan and dividing into three strands that wound around her arms and throat.

While Hu Xiaotian hung from the rope, a black-clad dwarf scrambled down like a spider, holding the dagger used yesterday to stab him. The black-hearted urchin Xie Juehou was no ordinary figure either; at first he had driven the Blue Wolves to attack, and seeing that Hu Xiaotian had not moved at all from start to finish, he came to believe the man must have been dead for some time—otherwise it would be impossible to remain calm amid the wolves' frenzied assault. Naturally, Xie Juehou remained confident in his Seven-Step Soul-Severing poison; he had never failed, and when he was still five feet from Hu Xiaotian's corpse he detected no breath or heartbeat, convinced that no living person could escape his perception at that range.

Xie Juehou did not know that exceptions exist; just as he was about to stab Hu Xiaotian with the dagger to verify his death once more, Hu Xiaotian's body suddenly bent forward, and in an instant he was face to face with Xie Juehou.

Xie Juehou didn't even have time to let out a scream before he saw Hu Xiaotian's fist loom large before him; then he heard a clear crack of breaking bone—it was his facial bones. Hu Xiaotian's punch, put with all his strength, smashed Xie Juehou's face into a bloody pulp; his slender body flew like a leaf in the wind, shooting far into the woods, striking a trunk with another crack, then plummeting to the ground with a third thud—evidently he could no longer live.

Hu Xiaotian's left hand promptly caught the dagger Xie Juehou had dropped, slashed sideways, and his body regained freedom; he pushed off the trunk with both feet, then flew backward, face to the sky, diving toward the tomb.

Huo Shengnan collided with Zhou Juetian using the black spear, then, utilizing the rebound, she sprang into the air, somersaulting, stifling the sensation of suffocation from her choked throat, and from above aimed the spearhead downward at Cao Juexin's head.

Zhou Juetian planted his right foot, launched himself high into the air, raised his long blade with both hands, and slanted a reverse cut at Huo Shengnan's slender waist; should this blow land, it would surely cleave her in two.

Zhangyu admits, math was taught by the PE teacher, 5+3=7, how embarrassing—this is the eighth Extra chapter, I still owe six chapters, brothers and sisters, Lao Zhangyu is a living example telling you all that studying math is important, don't be lopsided like me! Any Monthly Ticket? Though I'm weak in math, I at least recognize what a Monthly Ticket is! 1599+2=1600, which kind-hearted brother can chip in that 2 for me! (To be continued~^~)