Chapter 19: Chapter Eighteen: Taking Action

The broken-tooth snake, skinned and cleared of internal blood stains, was roasted on the campfire until it oozed oil.

Wu Tie sat on a small earthen mound, roasting the snake meat while gazing at another small hill several li away.

Several of Shi Lingqing's subordinates chopped a large amount of fern branches and erected a crooked, rickety wooden shelter on the small mound.

They had just hunted a large gray-rock lizard, skinned it, smoked and dried the hide, then spread it over a thick pile of branches.

Shi Lingqing lay prone on the gray-rock lizard's hide, her body twitching spasmodically, her petite face deathly pale, looking extremely frail and pitiable.

She had already taken an antidote, and the broken poisonous fang remaining in her body had been pulled out.

Perhaps out of shyness, Shi Lingqing did not let those eight human subordinates do it; instead she chose to have a tall, sturdy ox-tribe guard with clumsy hands and feet pull out the broken tooth for her.

While roasting the snake meat, Wu Tie clearly heard the miserable cries coming from the shelter.

The cries were high-pitched and sharp, audible clearly even several li away.

The ox-tribe folk are honest, loyal, simple, and sincere, but they are rough and careless about details, incapable of fine work.

Wu Tie imagined a burly ox-tribe warrior seizing the broken tooth and, with all his might, violently yanking out the thorn-covered fang… He couldn't help but shudder.

"How pitiful." Wu Tie sighed, tore off a strip of snake meat, and chewed it slowly.

Two metal spiders lay in the mushroom patch behind him; hearing his words, Old Tie's stiff voice echoed faintly: "Pitiful? Bah, cut the nonsense—if you really have feelings for her, as a man, just charge forward."

The stiff voice suddenly grew somewhat excited: "Taking advantage of her ruined family and her utter helplessness, as a true man, this is the perfect moment to strike while she's down, using the fiercest assault to completely possess her, body and soul……"

Wu Tie listened, half-understanding; from his recent deep familiarity with Old Tie, he knew this certainly wasn't anything good.

He coughed heavily a few times, then took the snake segment from the fire and began gnawing at it in big bites.

In the metal spider's crimson ocular device, Blood Light flickered for a moment, and Old Tie gave a hehe laugh: "No guts? Then just watch from afar."

Far off, several li away, a campfire rose, and wisps of green smoke slowly drifted upward.

Wu Tie stood up and saw that, several li away, Luo Lin and his two companions had also lit a campfire; they had hunted a large white fish about two meters long, chopped it into pieces, skewered them on branches, and were now smoking it over the fire.

While busy, they kept a wary look around, resembling three sentinel pikas.

After a while, Shi Lingqing's subordinates had finished roasting that ill-fated gray-rock lizard; the man in a black robe, capable of emitting vast arcs of electricity from his wooden staff, respectfully presented a piece of the roasted meat and carried it into the shelter.

Four ox-tribe warriors, several human guards, and the group each took a piece of roasted meat, sitting by the fire and gulping it down in big mouthfuls.

They remained silent, eating while glancing toward the direction where Luo Lin and his three companions were.

After about half a quarter-hour, the man in the black robe emerged from the shelter, gnawed a couple of bites from a piece of beast bone in a so-so manner, wiped his hands clean, then picked up his wooden staff and strode purposefully toward Wu Tie.

A visible cyan wind ring circled his feet; his walking speed was extremely fast, his easy pace matching the full-speed sprint of Wu Jin and Wu Yin.

Wu Tie rose to his feet, gripped his spear tightly, and watched him warily.

The man stopped at the base of the small earthen mound, looked up at Wu Tie standing atop it, and bowed deeply with utmost respect.

"Honorable lord, we did not mean to intrude upon your territory; we are here only because a ruthless enemy is pursuing us…… We harbor no intention to offend."

"Please understand, due to certain sudden events, our young lady cannot personally come to express her apologies."

Wu Tie stared at the man without uttering a word.

The man straightened his body, glanced at Wu Tie, and said in a low voice: "I am Shi Dian, deputy commander of the guards of Qian Yu City; we fully understand that we should not use force in your territory……"

Wu Tie nodded; Shi Dian's words were gratifying to him. The feeling of being respected and feared was pleasant.

"But our enemies have also entered this place." Shi Dian looked gravely at Wu Tie: "If they resort to violence against us?"

Wu Tie glanced toward the shelter, where he could faintly see Shi Lingqing lying on the gray-rock lizard's hide. After serious thought, he slammed his spear hard into the ground: "If Luo Lin and his companions dare to harm you, I will punish them and protect you."

Having obtained the answer he wanted, Shi Dian bowed respectfully to Wu Tie, then produced a small pouch from his sleeve and placed it at his feet.

"Although it is merely an external object, it can represent our modest gratitude. Please accept it; this is the contribution of those in distress to their lord."

Shi Dian stepped back a few paces, then, treading on the wind ring, swiftly returned.

Although he had been pierced through the chest by an arrow earlier, after applying medicine and using an elixir, Shi Dian's movement was unimpeded; however, speaking much caused him to cough violently as he walked.

Wu Tie watched Shi Dian's retreating back, waved his left hand, and the small pouch flew up, landing with a tinkling sound in his hand.

After untying the thin leather cord on the pouch, Wu Tie poured out several thumb-sized, exquisitely cast gold coins.

The coins' edges bore fine serrations; the obverse featured a smooth, vigorous 'Stone' character, while the reverse bore two carved large fish chasing and playing.

The minting technique was superb, a faint reddish hue betraying high purity; held in the palm, they felt pleasantly weighty.

"Good stuff."

The Wu family also has gold mines, with their own slave laborers refining gold ingots.

However, the Wu family's refined ingots are tinged with bluish-yellow, low in purity; due to molds and craftsmanship, they are pitted and unsightly.

The pouch contained a full twenty gold coins, exquisitely minted and polished, with exceptionally high purity—clearly, the Shi Family represented by Shi Dian's Qian Yu City is a clan far stronger, wealthier, and more prosperous than the Wu family.

Wu Tie collected the gold coins into the pouch and, with a backhand toss, threw it into the mushroom patch.

A metal spider deftly extended a foreleg, hung the pouch on itself, and Old Tie's voice came lightly: "Gold coins? Shiny, tempting gold coins…… but in this godforsaken place, what use are they?"

Old Tie gave a cold snort: "Kid, trust this old man—these fellows have not an ounce of sincerity…… Rather than give you gold coins, they should just hand over Shi Dian's yuan-energy staff; truly."

Wu Tie said nothing, for over there Luo Lin and his three companions had already eaten their fill; after a brief rest, they advanced in a one‑front‑two‑rear formation, spaced about ten meters apart, with vigorous strides, quickly approaching the direction where Shi Lingqing was.

Wu Tie had not yet decided whether to intervene, when Luo Lin, leaving an afterimage, swiftly rushed to the front of Shi Lingqing's shelter.

With a loud shout, two ox-tribe warriors brandished their great axes and advanced to meet Luo Lin.

The youth behind Luo Lin, holding a long bow, suddenly drew it, and an arrow shaft whistled shrilly as it streaked toward the ox-tribe warriors.

Shi Dian gave a cold snort, gripped his wooden staff with both hands and slammed it into the ground; a gust of wind rose from the flat earth, a wall of wind several meters high howling forward from behind the two ox-tribe warriors and slamming hard into the arrow's silhouette.

Amid the piercing crack, the wind wall was pierced by the arrow, yet the arrow itself was deflected by the wall, grazing the neck of one ox-tribe warrior and leaving a faint bloodstain.

Sharp impact sounds continued as the two ox-tribe warriors swung their great axes and became entangled with Luo Lin.

Straight blades and great axes clashed violently; each impact caused Luo Lin's and the ox-tribe warriors' bodies to shudder violently. Clearly, the ox-tribe warriors excelled in innate physical strength, while Luo Lin surpassed them in cultivation realm.

Again, two more ox-tribe warriors launched themselves forward, and the four ox-tribe warriors surrounded Luo Lin on all sides.

Luo Lin suddenly bellowed, the air around him violently trembling; the thick pouch hanging at his waist emitted a 'ge‑zi' tearing sound, and two black blades of light shot out like snakes, sweeping fiercely across the waists and hips of two ox-tribe warriors.

The two ox-tribe warriors grunted; their already darkened skin turned black as coal, and a faint metallic sheen appeared over it.

In the black blade light, two handleless small straight knives just over a foot long tore open the waist soft armor of the ox-tribe warriors and fiercely struck their flesh.

Sparks scattered across the ox-tribe warriors' skins, and the two small straight knives were actually bounced off by their dark skin, flying backward.

Luo Lin spaced out, and an ox-tribe warrior whose skin had turned black suddenly swung his great axe, heavily striking his chest.

The youth who had been wandering several meters behind Luo Lin without joining the attack suddenly shouted loudly; a flash of light flickered in his left hand, the air around Luo Lin rushed toward his chest, and a blue-green shield two feet square burst forth, instantly condensing in front of Luo Lin.

The great axe struck the shield with a buzzing sound; the shield cracked in several places, and Luo Lin, startled, hastily retreated dozens of steps.

"You!" Luo Lin gazed at the two ox-tribe warriors, his expression wavering.

The two ox-tribe warriors panted heavily, white steam continuously jetting from their nostrils. Blue veins bulged beneath their skin, accompanied by faint stretching sounds of tendons and bones, and their height gradually swelled to about five meters.

Luo Lin suddenly roared: "Shi Lingqing, you have such powerful guards… are you just going to watch your people die?"

As he shouted, Luo Lin quickly glanced toward where Wu Tie stood.

Shi Lingqing's weak voice came: "Luo Lin, if they hadn't been out on business earlier, how could I tolerate you killing my people?"

Shi Lingqing walked out of the wooden shed.

Though she had taken an antidote, her buttocks still suffered severe injury, her body somewhat numb; Shi Lingqing walked step by step stiffly, as if she might collapse at any moment.

She walked behind several guards, gritted her teeth and whispered: "What's more, you shamelessly poisoned the castle's water source!"

She hurriedly said: "If it weren't for Jin San and Jin Qi being poisoned a few days ago, how could you… how could you?"

Shi Lingqing and Luo Lin faced off.

Wu Tie stood on a small dirt mound far away, giving him an excellent view.

He unintentionally saw a figure swaying in the distance, apparently coming from the riverbank where Shi Lingqing and Luo Lin had landed earlier.

They were several youths dressed like Luo Lin, also wielding straight knives, running quickly toward this side; from far away, their sharp whistles had already reached us.

Luo Lin and his two companions were overjoyed; they let out loud whistles together, then quickly retreated backward.

Shi Lingqing's expression suddenly changed; she pointed at Luo Lin's three men and shouted: "Surround them, encircle and kill them, otherwise wait for their companions to arrive…"

Four ox-tribe warriors strode after Luo Lin's three men, while several human guards were about to give chase; the youth with the long bow suddenly darted dozens of steps to the side, and Shi Dian immediately bellowed, ordering the human guards to halt.

One side fled at full speed, the other dared not pursue; after a short while, another five youths clad in tight uniforms, wearing black soft armor and wielding straight knives, joined Luo Lin.

The four ox-tribe warriors, holding great axes, faced off with Luo Lin's group for a moment; Luo Lin's eight then surged forward, and the ox-tribe warriors immediately retreated at full speed.

After a while of pursuit, the four ox-tribe warriors regrouped with Shi Lingqing and company; Shi Dian suddenly flung out three wooden staffs, and vast arcs of electricity surged forth with a howl.

Luo Lin's group immediately retreated backward, except the youth with the long bow, who fired three arrows straight at them.

Two arrows were shattered by the electricity, but one arrow, forged of pure metal, flashed— a human guard beside Shi Lingqing let out a horrible scream as the arrow pierced his abdomen and flew out his back.

After piercing the enemy's body, the pure-metal arrow burst with a bright light, arcing back swiftly into the youth's hand.

Shi Lingqing's face turned extremely grim.

Shi Dian shouted hoarsely: "Miss, be careful… I will give my life to protect the miss… this is the sole direct bloodline of my Shi family!"

Under Shi Dian's feet a great wind surged, while his hands sprayed forth vast sheets of electricity.

Among the five youths later, one who had shaved his head and tattooed a black scorpion on his scalp laughed: "The sole direct bloodline? Wrong— she is the Shi family's only blood… we were delayed this long because we hunted down and killed those Shi family members who tried to flee."

Shi Lingqing's body jerked violently; she let out a hysterical scream and suddenly flung her hands forward.

The vast ferns beside the eight youths suddenly writhed violently; some branches grew strangely long, lashing down at them like whips.

The eight youths seemed to have anticipated this; they leapt up, escaped the ferns' attack range, and then, under Luo Lin's leadership, charged again at Shi Lingqing and company.

The electricity emanating from the three staffs Shi Dian released gradually weakened; it looked as if Luo Lin's group were about to break into Shi Lingqing's formation.

Wu Tie could no longer suppress his inexplicable emotion; he drew his spear, leapt into the air, his body gliding like a bird, and swiftly swooped toward Shi Lingqing.

Still tens of meters away, Wu Tie waved his left hand; large chunks of stone flew up from the ground and pelted Luo Lin's group like rain.

"This is my territory… you are not allowed to fight here!"