Chapter 806: [Who Is the Mastermind] (Part 2)

Hu Xiaotian roared, "Look at the sword!" His voice was full of vigor, shaking the surrounding air with a hum; the sound lingered long in the valley.

Zhou Juetian was obviously disturbed again; after all, he hadn't reached that state of single-minded focus. Yesterday he was distracted by Huo Shengnan's bowstring sound, and today he was startled by Hu Xiaotian's booming bluster.

Hu Xiaotian threw the dagger in his hand at Zhou Juetian; actually, even without his interference, Zhou Juetian's slash could not possibly wound Huo Shengnan. Huo Shengnan's body tilted backward in midair, and the black spear viciously stabbed Cao Juexin's forehead; the sharp spearhead struck her forehead like hitting metal and stone, unable to penetrate at all. Many people train iron-head skill, but few women do.

Huo Shengnan was astonished at the hardness of Cao Juexin's forehead bone; in her surprise, Cao Juexin grabbed the spearhead with one hand—though she appeared frail, she actually cultivated an extremely domineering external hardiness technique.

Huo Shengnan twisted her wrist, trying to seize the black spear from her hand; both exerted force, but neither could take the spear. Cao Juexin pressed her body against the spear, advanced toward Huo Shengnan, and raised her right fist to strike Huo Shengnan's abdomen; the black hair bound around Huo Shengnan tightened like poisonous snakes.

Huo Shengnan stubbornly resisted, also throwing a punch toward Cao Juexin; their fists collided, both feeling bone-deep pain. Huo Shengnan hooked her right leg around Cao Juexin's ankle. Though her methods were certainly not as vicious as Cao Juexin's, Huo Shengnan, a veteran general who had endured countless battles, had faced every situation on the battlefield, fought many skirmishes with the Black Hu, and knew their wrestling techniques. In a life-and-death struggle, one cannot fuss over methods or decorum. Cao Juexin clearly had no defense against this Black Hu close-quarters wrestling; Huo Shengnan tripped her, losing balance, and they rolled together off the ancient tomb.

Zhou Juetian finally gave up on slashing Huo Shengnan, turned, and with one strike knocked Hu Xiaotian's thrown dagger away.

Hu Xiaotian's body fell to the ground; having not steadied his balance, inertia carried him forward two steps. Grinning, he looked at Zhou Juetian and said, "You little bastard! I have no grudge against you—why are you trying to kill me?"

Zhou Juetian gave a cold snort: "You're asking for death!" He brandished his long blade; the blade's light flashed, icy chill wrapped in a fierce killing intent sweeping toward Hu Xiaotian like a tide.

Hu Xiaotian reached to his waist and drew a soft sword; normally kept in its scabbard, it was extremely elastic. Once out of the scabbard—clang! —it straightened. This soft sword was the one Hu Xiaotian had snatched from the false eunuch Bai Desheng; though its power could not compare to the great sword Hidden Edge Sword, it was perfectly suited to the Spirit Snake Nine Swords that Mount Sumeru Heaven had taught him. Hu Xiaotian usually wore it as a belt; after drawing the soft sword, he gave it a shake, and like a spirit snake, facing the opponent's blade light that poured like liquid mercury, he thrust casually.

When one's martial skill reaches a certain level, flaws in an opponent's moves become easily apparent. Zhou Juetian's swordsmanship looks fearsome, seemingly flawless, but Hu Xiaotian instantly spotted its weakness; this thrust entered precisely through the gap in his blade's shadow.

Seeing the soft sword actually pierce through his blade light toward his throat, Zhou Juetian couldn't help but startle. He stepped back, intending to block the sword's approach, but unexpectedly the sword's direction shifted, tracing an arc in empty space and stabbing toward his neck from the side.

Zhou Juetian had to retreat another step, raising his long blade to block the soft sword, but unexpectedly the sword bent back like a spirit snake; Hu Xiaotian slid his wrist upward, and the blade edge continued thrusting toward Zhou Juetian's face.

Zhou Juetian hastily leaned his head back; even so, his face was sliced by the sharp tip, leaving a bloodied cut about an inch long.

Hu Xiaotian did not rush to attack, hehe laughing, "Let you in on a secret: my sword is poisoned!" In fact, it was just bluster—there was no poison on his soft sword. He said this because he noticed Zhou Juetian was timid; yesterday he'd been distracted by Huo Shengnan's bowstring, today startled by Hu Xiaotian's own loud shout. Though this man looks fierce, his mental fortitude is probably lacking.

Upon hearing the sword was poisoned, Zhou Juetian panicked at once—poisoning weapons was something they often did, but they could do it, and others could too. He roared, "Give me the antidote!" Then he backhanded a blade and launched an active attack at Hu Xiaotian.

Zhou Juetian's swordsmanship was overbearing and fierce, yet Hu Xiaotian's Spirit Snake Nine Swords were yielding and mysterious; having recently trained, he had grasped the essence of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds—perfectly countering Zhou Juetian, who relied on brute strength.

Although Zhou Juetian exerted all his strength, it was as if he were striking cotton; not only did he fail to land a blow, he was repeatedly wounded by Hu Xiaotian's mysterious sword technique.

Huo Shengnan and Cao Juexin rolled to the ground; in close combat the black spear was useless, already discarded by both. Cao Juexin's long hair was one of her killing techniques, tightly gripping Huo Shengnan's throat; Huo Shengnan used her long legs to strangle Cao Juexin's throat. Though beautiful, those legs could be deadly—lustrous hair and lovely legs, normally the features that attract men's attention and stir imagination, had now become their deadliest weapons against each other.

Huo Shengnan twisted Cao Juexin's ankle, both arms wrenching hard—crack! —she snapped Cao Juexin's right leg bone. Cao Juexin was in agony; she tried several times to pry Huo Shengnan's legs from her neck, but failed. In excruciating pain, she opened her mouth and bit down on Huo Shengnan's calf, while her black hair tightened, attempting to strangle Huo Shengnan first.

Huo Shengnan gritted her teeth, legs exerting full force—their strangling power surely surpassed her opponent's hair. As Huo Shengnan's consciousness blurred from lack of oxygen, she felt Cao Juexin's body go limp first, her bite loosening somewhat. Huo Shengnan twisted her legs—crack! —and broke Cao Juexin's cervical vertebra.

Under Hu Xiaotian's ghostlike sword technique, Zhou Juetian had completely fallen to a disadvantage; he retreated while walking, seeing far off that Huo Shengnan and Cao Juexin had already decided the victor, his alarm growing. After exchanging one move with Hu Xiaotian, he seized the chance to retreat hastily, his body flashing and vanishing from Hu Xiaotian's sight.

Hu Xiaotian lost sight of Zhou Juetian; yesterday's clash had let him recognize Zhou Juetian's traits—he knew the man was skilled at concealing his movements.

After giving up and after Cao Juexin's death, Zhou Juetian had utterly lost confidence; he decided to flee first and think later. With his talent for stealth and hiding, escape should not have been difficult, but he ran into Hu Xiaotian, who could even hear the faint rustle of wind-blown leaves—let alone Zhou Juetian's breathing and heartbeat, which not everyone can freely control.

Hu Xiaotian pretended to be searching for Zhou Juetian's trail; his eyes looked elsewhere, but his soft sword suddenly stabbed toward the right-side tree trunk.

Zhou Juetian's figure suddenly appeared, breaking free from the tree trunk to retreat toward a nearby rock; in an instant he vanished from Hu Xiaotian's view again. Hu Xiaotian's lip curled in a cold smile, he strode forward, relying on his keen perception to locate Zhou Juetian, and thrust another sword.

By now Zhou Juetian realized his invisibility was useless against Hu Xiaotian; helpless, he sprang out again.

The instant his body left its hiding place, a feathered arrow shot from afar—it was Huo Shengnan, after strangling Cao Juexin, using her bow to aid Hu Xiaotian from a distance.

Zhou Juetian swung his blade to knock down the arrow, but this slowed his pace. Hu Xiaotian caught up again; his soft sword fell like fine, continuous rain, enveloping Zhou Juetian. Zhou Juetian was completely disoriented; his arms were struck one after another by Hu Xiaotian. Another cold arrow from Huo Shengnan pierced his right thigh, making him grunt in pain. Losing balance, he dropped to one knee.

Hu Xiaotian rushed forward a step, pressing the soft sword against Zhou Juetian's throat.

Zhou Juetian's face turned ashen; countless martial heroes had died at the hands of those five siblings working together, yet he never expected to be subdued today by two youths. He clenched his teeth and glared at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly, "Baldy, I have no grudge against you, yet you used such underhanded means to harm me. If you want to live, better come clean and tell me who's the mastermind behind this."

Zhou Juetian closed his eyes, lifted his head, adopting a fearless demeanor: "Just kill me!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Grudges have heads, debts have masters; heaven cherishes life. If you honestly tell me who hired you, I won't kill you—I'll even let you go." From Zhou Juetian's several reactions, Hu Xiaotian realized that although he seemed fierce on the surface, deep down he was afraid of death.

Zhou Juetian opened his eyes, glanced toward the distant Huo Shengnan; Huo Shengnan, after this battle, had nearly exhausted her strength—though she wanted to walk over, she took two steps and had to stop again to rest.

Hu Xiaotian knew Zhou Juetian harbored doubts; although he had said he'd release him, Huo Shengnan could still kill him. Hu Xiaotian raised his voice: "Miss Huo, if he names the mastermind, shall we spare his life?"

Huo Shengnan nodded; she had never wanted to create more killing karma.

Only then did Zhou Juetian relax; seeing Hu Xiaotian's bright smile, he believed the words were true and whispered, "I won't hide it from you—the person I'm in contact with is a subordinate of General Dong Tianjiang. He paid ten thousand taels of gold for Huo Shengnan's head, and five thousand for yours."

Hu Xiaotian's heart skipped at the name Dong Tianjiang; he merely wondered why his head was worth half as much as Huo Shengnan's. He smiled: "How did you track us down, and why wait until now to strike?"

Zhou Juetian said, "The employer gave us some of your personal belongings; we five brothers are best at tracking techniques, following your aura all the way here. As for why we only acted now, it's because the employer demanded we wait until south of Uyang City to move against you." After speaking, he caught his breath: "I've told you everything I know—don't forget your promise."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Right, what name do you five go by in the jianghu?"

Zhou Juetian recalled his four deceased companions, his expression darkened, and said, "The Five Absolutes Hunters..."

Hu Xiaotian smiled, "Very good!" Then he thrust the sword into Zhou Juetian's throat.

Extra chapter Nine Chapters! Still owe five chapters! Need 11 more monthly tickets to reach 1700—1689+11=1700. Did Zhangyu miscalculate this time? Forced to bring out the big gun, the calculator—who dares laugh at my math now? (To be continued~^~)