Chapter 565: Killing and Fleeing

Huhuhu!

A light breeze stirred.

Fang Xing walked through the darkness, his body merging seamlessly into the shadows, nature itself concealing his traces, making him seem like the most skilled wilderness wanderer, slipping into a cluster of wooden huts.

Squeak!

In the dark, several rats scouted ahead, while sparrows perched on the roof kept watch.

Fang Xing stood in the shadows and saw several connected wooden huts not far off.

One hut still held a shadowy figure awake—clearly on night watch.

'It seems Xing San knows he's made too many enemies… Even with a senior disciple protecting him, he still has to guard against revenge.'

Fang Xing considered himself someone who repaid both grudges and kindnesses; Tao Hong had once cared for him, and though she'd demanded two blood papers in return, the debt was settled—but the favor remained.

He'd long harbored murderous intent, but revealing it would be foolish; better to keep playing the fool.

Now that he was preparing to flee, he could act without restraint, slaughter without mercy.

'At the very least, I should steal ten blood papers and give them to Tao Hong…'

As for more, Fang Xing couldn't manage it.

Tao Hong wasn't him—she hadn't gained the 'Carp Transformation' to escape smoothly.

Fang Xing had never intended to drag a burden along on his escape.

'Repaying a debt means repaying it until I feel it's enough—that's when it's enough.'

He certainly wouldn't sacrifice himself for Tao Hong.

At this moment.

The night was deep.

Inside the hut, a man with a triangular eye dozed off, beside him a jar of strong liquor and a chipped blue-and-white porcelain bowl.

Standing watch alone at night was exhausting work.

So their gang tacitly allowed one jar of strong liquor as a perk—not just to ward off the cold, but crucially, to stay alert.

Even so, the triangular-eyed man remained drowsy.

This dulled his usual sharpness, and he failed to notice Fang Xing creeping closer through the shadows.

Fang Xing pulled out a paper dagger and gently slipped it into the door crack.

The wooden door bolt parted like tofu; he slipped inside, clamped a hand over the man's mouth, and slashed the blade across his throat.

Ssssh!

The man's head dropped clean off.

'Hmm? This paper weapon is even more effective than I expected…'

Fang Xing placed the corpse and head neatly, and in the silent night, made almost no sound.

Then he moved from room to room.

Xing San's entire crew died peacefully, without a trace of suffering.

Only Xing San himself, perhaps due to too many guilty deeds or an acute sensitivity to blood, stirred differently.

Yet he was only slightly quicker to wake—just as he opened his mouth to shout, Fang Xing drove a dagger straight into his heart.

'Hmm? Golden Silk Soft Armor? He sleeps wearing this legendary martial artifact?'

'How many wrongs must he have done to be so paranoid—even with his own men?'

Fang Xing tore open Xing San's clothes, retrieved a money pouch and several blood papers, and beneath them, a gold-threaded vest.

This was the famed 'Golden Silk Armor' of the martial world—capable of deflecting blade strikes, praised by all who'd used it.

Unfortunately, a small hole gaped in the chest, stained with fresh blood.

'To others, perhaps you'd rise, exchange a few blows, exchange a few words… But for me, the true warrior leaves no glorious deeds—quietly eliminating foes is best.'

Fang Xing murmured, pulled out a steamed bun, broke it in half, and tossed it on the floor.

Squeak! Squeak!

Several rats immediately pounced, eagerly devouring it.

'Eat your fill, then get to work.'

Fang Xing smiled.

Though his dried bun tasted ordinary, it had been nourished with plant essence—its allure to rats surpassed even meat.

As a Druid, he could even expend his own essence to cast 'Wisdom Awakening' on these creatures, granting them sentience and turning them into spirits.

But that was unnecessary.

Squeak!

The lead rat twitched its nose, then began digging frantically beneath the bed.

Soon, it dragged out a money pouch.

Fang Xing glanced inside—it was filled with gold coins.

Soon, other rats discovered hidden treasures in every corner, and most importantly, more blood papers!

Fang Xing examined Xing San's corpse, pressed on the bedframe, then shoved hard.

Crack!

The bedboard shattered, revealing a stack of blood papers tumbling out.

'Huh… That's close to a hundred, isn't it?'

'Shouldn't Xing San have handed over the bulk of these stolen papers to the senior disciple in exchange for his silence? How did he get so rich?'

'Did he not yet submit this offering… or has he decided to go rogue?'

Fang Xing sucked in a breath, but found it irrelevant.

He stepped out of the huts, then smiled: 'Survival of the fittest—this too is the Way of Nature…'

…

Having done this, Fang Xing had no intention of returning—he left immediately.

But before departing, he visited Tao Hong's hut and tossed a bundle through her window.

Inside the bundle: all his spoils, far exceeding ten blood papers. 'I won't run with you…'

'But these resources—if used well—could keep you alive, even give you a chance to escape this hell…'

Fang Xing turned and walked away, arriving at a secluded spot to dig a hole and strip off his clothes…

Hmm, a Druid's transformation is perfect—it grants all the abilities of a wild animal.

But conversely, now that he's become a carp, he truly is just a carp—no adult human strength, vulnerable to a single spear thrust.

He can't even carry his clothes!

Only the paper dagger is slightly special—foldable, small enough to hide inside the fish's mouth.

Everything else—gold coins, blood papers—cannot be carried.

Since he couldn't take them, better to make a generous gesture.

He buried his clothes, concealed the site, then walked farther before reaching the riverbank.

Only his natural affinity for concealment saved him—if a paper slave had been patrolling, they might have witnessed a man moonlighting in his underwear…

!. ead

'It seems I've been subtly influenced by my wild transformation after all…'

Fang Xing stared at the river, calmly analyzing his own mind.

'Though to me, face and reputation are fleeting—tonight felt a bit too unrestrained? I'll need to be more careful going forward…'

He fell silent, then leapt into the water.

—Wild Transformation!

Mid-air, his body twisted and shrank into a black-backed carp, over a foot long, splashing into the water with a splash.

Glub glub glub!

The carp clutched the paper dagger in its mouth, occasionally exhaling bubbles, swimming instinctively through the water.

Whoosh!

Fang Xing locked onto a direction and swam swiftly toward the valley's exit.

'Though there are no paper fish in the water, the Blood Shadow Sect won't be this foolish… There must be some traps here too.'

'But… my greatest weakness in Wild Transformation is that I'm truly just a carp—and that's also my greatest strength… It's no illusion; no one can detect a flaw.'

'If other wild fish can swim and survive here… then so can I!'

Fang Xing thought to himself.

This confidence came from the Druid path—never before seen in this world!

Guided by an intuitive sense, he arrived at a spot where ahead lay rows of black metal bars.

The gaps between the bars were wide—but an adult human could never squeeze through.

'But I'm a fish… I'll slip through.'

Fang Xing flicked his tail and glided effortlessly through the steel mesh.

As he passed through this 'iron gate,' his fish-eye caught several motionless corpses nearby.

'Water corpses?'

'No—they're specially crafted traps!'

Fang Xing understood at once.

Though the Blood Shadow Sect was famed for shadow puppets and origami arts, to claim they had no other methods would be absurd.

Although the Corpse-Control Sect is most famous for raising zombies, it's perfectly normal for the Blood Shadow Sect to know a few tricks too!

"These aquatic zombies excel in underwater combat and can detect the breath of living humans… anyone who swims through will never escape their notice!"

Fang Xing swam past one of the water corpses and saw its bloated face and limbs, closed eyes, and blackened nails.

The zombie remained motionless, clearly mistaking Fang Xing for an ordinary fish.

Swish!

Fang Xing swiftly swam through this dangerous zone and entered a hidden current.

After an indeterminate length of time, the heavens and earth suddenly opened up.

"I must have already swum out of Paper Slave Valley, but it's still not safe enough… keep going…"

Fang Xing briefly oriented himself and pressed on without pause.

Anyway, before his 【Wild Transformation】 duration expired, he intended to run as far as he could.

…

Two hours later.

In a dense forest.

Splash!

A black-backed carp leapt from the water and transformed into a naked man.

"Cough… finally escaped."

Fang Xing spat out the paper dagger and began searching for suitable vines and green leaves to weave himself a pair of grass sandals and a vine skirt.

After all, Druids must draw close to nature—he was already accustomed to this.

"Alone, completely naked, with only a knife to survive in the wild… kind of interesting."

"But I still can't let my guard down… the Blood Shadow Sect might be hunting me…"

Fang Xing walked through the dense forest as if it were his own home.

Not only did small animals grow affectionate toward him, warning him of dangerous areas.

Moreover, due to his Druid's 【Silent Passage Through Forest】 talent, he left almost no trace behind, and what little remained would vanish within days.

In short, the forest was his domain.

Trying to pursue a Druid through a forest was a fool's errand.

"Hmm… next, I should head toward the orthodox regions as much as possible."

Fang Xing oriented himself and plotted his course.

The Outlands are ruled by the Ten Great Sects of orthodox and evil factions; under the evil sects' rule, commoners are truly like ants.

The so-called righteous sects, by contrast, at least pretend to maintain decorum.

Yet what ordinary people truly long for is the Northern 【Zhou Shenchao】—unfortunately, it's utterly unreachable.

The 【Zhou Shenchao】 has erected the 【Three Absolute Passes】 along its border to block outsiders from entering; reportedly, even Foundation Establishment cultivators struggle to infiltrate its territory!

(End of Chapter)