Chapter 364: Two Kills: Ou Laosan

The Five Birds Palace is in an uproar!

Someone actually snuck into the Ku Lin, killed the fifth, Xiao Gu, and left without a trace.

This was intolerable; the remaining four birds were furious and ordered a full-scale search, vowing not to stop until the murderer was caught.

Following Xiao Gu's death, the countless jewels and wealth looted within the Ku Lin were all listed as a bounty for hunting down the murderer.

Wealth moves the heart, and many martial artists began to act on their own! Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhou You brought Mao Lang to sneak into Tianjing Fang; revisiting the old place, he saw the environment had become increasingly desolate.

The weeds were taller, even climbing up to the eaves, and thin vines wound and twisted along the pillars, the dead and the new intertwined, covering the faded paint.

There were fewer people in the city, but there were more wild small beasts in the abandoned workshops, with nests of rabbits and foxes visible everywhere.

"I will leave you one month's worth of rations; go and survive on your own!"

After being captured, Mao Lang had suffered greatly, being beaten and abused, and even going hungry; his body was covered in scars, with marks everywhere where iron chains had worn through skin and flesh to reveal white bone.

He was already weak to the extreme; even if he left the Five Birds Palace, he could not escape Gongliang City.

Zhou You threw him into a dry well, then tore open a Hunger Pouch and gave all the supplies inside to him.

Having done this, he had already fulfilled his duty; after all, he still had to eliminate the remaining four birds.

"I recognize you, Du Yan Lu Zhigang."

Mao Lang stared at Zhou You, "At the time, the whole city was hunting you down, but I didn't go; you are a good person."

Zhou You nodded, "Since we are old acquaintances, live on, and we shall meet again in the future."

When he left Tianjing Fang, Mao Lang's voice came from behind, "I will surely repay this great kindness in the future."

The Five Birds Palace...

Zhou You turned back again; this was applying the principle of "it's darkest under the lamp"—no matter how the remaining four birds thought, they would assume he had fled far away after succeeding and would never return to the enemy's lair.

Because, even if Zhou You stood on the main street and said his target was not a single person, but all five birds, everyone would likely think he was foolish or insane.

Yet, Zhou You was determined to do something big and slaughter all the Five Birds.

Inside the palace, most of the Five Birds' lackeys had already been dispatched, and the remaining ones were enforcing martial law everywhere, searching the ground inch by inch.

"The eldest master, second master, and fourth master are all discussing matters at the Yingchao, and have ordered me to go to the Ou Zhao to call the third master over."

Zhou You heard the voice of a lackey and nodded; since that was the case, the next target was Ou Laosan.

Ou Laosan practiced the "Green Wave Gull Art"; this fist technique had the greatest power in water, and if he encountered an Intermediate Martial Master who did not understand water, he could even kill enemies above his rank.

Even if he could not fight them head-on, he could hide in the water, and no enemy would be able to find him.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Ou Laosan was unwilling to leave his lair unless the eldest master specifically requested him to go.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Zhou You killed the messenger lackey with one palm and dissolved the corpse with Palm Poison.

He then took his place, disguised as the messenger lackey, and traveled all the way to the Ou Zhao.

What a coincidence, the entrance to the Ou Zhao was the very lake where Qi Fengzhang had once invited him to be a guest; looking out, the misty waves stretched for dozens of miles, vast and endless.

"Fourth master, the eldest master requests your presence; you are ordered to go immediately, no mistakes allowed."

"Fifth sister-in-law has been killed, something big has happened!"

Zhou You shouted loudly, and suddenly, a patch of white flowers rose from the mirror-like water surface, flying rapidly toward the shore.

In the center of the white flowers was a human figure, with the Qi and blood level of a martial master; it was indeed Ou Laosan.

"A new face, how come I haven't seen you before?"

Ou Laosan was very cautious; he stopped just as he was about to reach the shore, frowning as he interrogated Zhou You about his identity.

Zhou You said with a smile, "Ou Laosan, why so much nonsense? Your boss invited you over; why don't you think about the consequences of defying the order?" Ou Laosan's expression changed drastically, "You are not from the palace; speak quickly, what is your true intention?"

"Of course, it is to kill you!"

As soon as Zhou You finished speaking, two poison fangs condensed in his palm shot out directly, hitting Ou Laosan's body squarely.

Ou Laosan had already been very careful, but the power of this move was immense and its speed was as fast as lightning; he simply could not avoid it.

He timely executed his fist technique, and a great force in the water pulled him down, allowing him to avoid the vital points, but the poison fangs were embedded in his left and right shoulders.

With a cry of "Ah!", the white flowers scattered, and Ou Laosan plunged headfirst into the water.

The space under the water was vast; once he went in, it was like a fish returning to the sea, and it would be difficult to find his whereabouts again.

However, this time the enemy was 'Lu Zhigang'.

*Swish*, a line of water pierced from the shore into the lake, flying faster than an arrow toward the direction where Ou Laosan had disappeared.

Zhou You executed Stealth; the surrounding lake water pushed and squeezed against his skin, helping to increase his speed inch by inch.

His vision was brighter than on land, and he saw the ribbons of blood seeping from Ou Laosan's wounds in the water.

Ou Laosan was not idle in the water either, desperately squeezing his wounds in an attempt to pull out the poison fangs.

But the poison fangs condensed by the Poison Palm were not so simple; they were not only barbed structures that bit deep into the flesh, but also a poison-within-poison that had been compressed and refined.

The poisonous blood flowing from the wounds had now spread into the lake, and the surrounding ten acres of area instantly turned into a dead zone, with fish and shrimp wiped out.

Even a giant soft-shelled turtle the size of a square table, which had lived at the bottom of the water for many years, was poisoned to death on the spot.

The poison fangs pierced into the flesh and were still constantly shrinking deeper into the wounds, attempting to lock his meridians and make his shoulders numb and powerless.

Ou Laosan saw Zhou You approaching rapidly underwater, his eyes wide open, as if he had seen a ghost.

Well, when Xiao Gu discovered Zhou You sneaking up behind her, she had the same shocked expression.

He pulled a rusted iron spike from under his feet, about 5 or 6 meters long, and thrust it directly at him with intense Qi and blood.

The water surged with a *splash*, rushing toward Zhou You like a mountain collapsing.

What a fine Water Gull Fist; borrowing momentum, gathering power, and accelerating in the water, the processes were all done in one breath, moving like a thunderbolt or a mountain collapse in the blink of an eye.

The tip of the 5 or 6-meter-long iron spike exploded a vacuum the size of a small hill underwater, smashing toward Zhou You.

This was still in the state where Ou Laosan had been hit by two poison fangs and his strength was greatly reduced.

Zhou You brushed his arm, and the scales of the Thousand Snake Myriad Scale Garment vibrated in unison, with countless water currents turning into fine threads weaving through the gaps in the scales.

Pushed by the myriad water threads, the water waves behind him suddenly recoiled, creating a shockwave over a hundred meters long.

Ou Laosan's eyes went wide; this speed was too fast, and he shook the iron spikes into an inverted cone shape, shrouding Zhou You's trail.

The next moment, Zhou You's figure became incomparably supple, winding and twisting flexibly along the water currents.

Level 10 Basic Lightness Skill could be executed without hindrance even underwater; in a rapid dash that covered several hundred meters in a single breath, he suddenly veered out of the iron spikes' lethal range at a speed that exceeded reaction time.

Ou Laosan felt as if he were dreaming, because Zhou You's trajectory did not resemble a human, but rather a water snake dancing in the water.

*Ssh! * A dagger scraped up a large patch of rust, deflected the iron spikes, and pierced into his heart from the front, exiting through his back.

Ou Laosan still wanted to struggle, but Zhou You rotated his wrist, and the sharp Hidden Charm Treasure (Damaged) shredded his internal organs to pieces.

His eyes bulged, a string of bubbles spat from his mouth, and he was thoroughly buried at the bottom of this water.

(End of this chapter)