Chapter 511: Tearing Off the Mask, Brothers Turn Against Each Other

Grass and trees were snapped, the ground was scorched, and the wind carried potent poison; wherever they passed, small beasts and insects died one after another.

On the boundless plain, two figures walked side by side, their footsteps causing the mud to churn like sea foam.

Although they tried their best to contain the potent poison, the Qi and blood radiating from their pores still dispersed into the air.

"This can't go on. Never mind our fellow sect members who know us inside and out; the poison gas is spreading into a trail, and the Witch-people will know we passed this way at a glance and easily catch up."

Du Yan Lu Zhigang and the strange scorpion Du Wuyao were rushing forward at high speed.

After obtaining the stone slab, they had decisively set out on the return journey, leaving the battlefield to head back to the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

But it was easy to come and hard to leave; there were constant troubles of all sizes along the way.

The Witch-people they had originally viewed as prey had now become eyesores blocking their path, and they wished there were as few of them as possible.

The two of them did not want to get entangled in a fight, but the Witch-people all knew about the sneak attack on the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop and gnashed their teeth in hatred for all Poison Martial Arts practitioners, fighting to the death whenever they met.

After fighting more than a dozen battles in a row, they finally encountered a companion...

"Aren't you two hunting Witch-people? Why are you heading back? I understand now; you got your hands on something good and don't want to risk your lives anymore."

"Hand it over. Those who see it get a share; you wouldn't want me to report you to Senior Brother Fu Manlun, would you?"

"Du Wuyao, Lu Zhigang, be careful or I'll shout it out and leave you with nothing, ending up with neither the chicken nor the eggs."

Since things had reached this point, what else could they do?

After joining forces to kill several groups of fellow sect members, both Lu Zhigang and Du Wuyao understood that the crime of harboring a treasure was now unavoidable.

There was no need for Wu Luoye to spread it far and wide; the movement patterns of the two of them had clearly exposed the fact that they were carrying a great treasure.

Although the brothers were of one mind and knew this opportunity was rare and concerned whether they could turn their fortunes around in the future, after fight upon fight, exhaustion and injury were inevitable, and the dispersing poison gas leaked their tracks.

To ensure the journey went smoothly, Zhou You also diverted most of his attention to this shell, switching 'Lu Zhigang' to Zhou You.

"I can't go on."

"I'm exhausted."

The two stopped in a shaded area and sat down on the ground, gasping for air.

Du Wuyao took out a water skin, drank a few mouthfuls, and then passed it to Zhou You.

Zhou You paused, took the water skin and set it aside, then took out his own canteen to drink.

In the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, there were taboos everywhere, and the first one was never to eat food or drink water handed to you by others.

Even for life-and-death friends or blood relatives, there were no exceptions; there were too many examples in the world, and the saying that disaster enters through the mouth was no exaggeration.

Du Wuyao sighed, "After this trip, our brotherhood will have cost us at least half our lives, but it's worth it."

"Zhigang, once we return to the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop and the Old Ancestor rewards us for our merits, you and I will both have an infinitely bright future."

"When the Old Ancestor promotes us to inner disciples, how glorious will we be then?"

As he spoke, he fell into a fantasy, his expression becoming increasingly intoxicated, "What Big Senior Brother or Junior Uncle? In the future, they will all have to be humble and subservient when they see us. How satisfying!"

Zhou You did not speak; he took this opportunity to recover his Qi and blood as much as possible, as there was still a long journey ahead.

From this location to the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, even if the road were smooth and unobstructed, it would still take more than ten days.

The two supported each other, and as long as they didn't encounter an opponent too strong—like Wu Luoye—there was always hope of finishing the journey despite the bumps.

"Hey, you didn't drink my water just now. You were right to do that; such caution is truly commendable." Du Wuyao's tone suddenly became eerie.

"Back in the day, when I and a few brothers first entered the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, it was because we didn't believe in this taboo that, after a single meal, seven and a half out of the eight of us lost our lives, leaving only half a life for me to survive."

"Ever since then, I have never trusted anyone."

"You are better than I was back then; even though I have been Taoxin Tuofei with you during this time, you never let down your guard."

"You are a natural for Poison Martial Arts. I had also thought about watching over and helping you, but unfortunately..."

Zhou You felt that something was wrong the more he heard, and just as he was about to secretly prepare, he suddenly felt his tongue go numb, then his wrists and feet, and finally, every part of his body where his mind reached went numb.

In the blink of an eye, he was poisoned, his limbs and torso unable to move like rotten wood.

Du Wuyao's voice came to his ears, "But you still underestimated my methods. Did you think you wouldn't be poisoned just by not eating or drinking and staying on guard?"

He slowly stood up, picked up the water skin, and poured out all the clear water inside right in front of Zhou You.

"To tell you the truth, the poison I used was in the Golden Money Scorpion egg I gave you back then."

"You relied on this Golden Money Scorpion egg to break through, so no matter how cautious you were, you left traces behind, and those traces were my opportunity."

So that was it. Zhou You recalled that when this shell of his broke through in Poison Martial Arts, it was by borrowing the sliver of life force from the hatching scorpion, realizing the secret of using life force to assist in breaking through realms.

After the Golden Money Scorpion hatched, he thought everything was fine, never expecting that this follow-up was hidden within.

Du Wuyao had endured until now, and in the long time they had spent together, he had never mentioned this matter, which showed how deep his city and how treacherous his schemes were.

Zhou You closed his eyes, reviewed their past interactions, and said, "I don't hold a grudge."

It was indeed not a grudge; for this moment, Du Wuyao had laid an ambush with fake affection for such a long time, which could be called deep-seated intent.

"Little Brother Zhigang, thank you for braving the wind and rain with me on the road before, but I want to walk the road ahead by myself."

Du Wuyao pressed his hands onto Zhou You's shoulders, "I was betrayed by that poisonous woman, and my whole life was ruined. When I learn the skills to take my revenge, that poisonous woman will kneel and beg for mercy; how pitiful."

"Guess how I treated her?"

Zhou You could not speak, but from his memories, he recalled that every night, the sound of a woman's wailing and screaming would come from Du Wuyao's room, never stopping, the cries heart-wrenching and tragic beyond words.

Could it be that Du Wuyao's wife was still alive?

Du Wuyao took a string of clattering wooden components from his bosom and muttered to himself, "Back in the day, I learned carpentry to amuse her, but by some twist of fate, I stumbled into the Secret Transmission of One Hundred Crafts and learned the tricks of the Artisan Puppets."

"She was still alive at the time, and I skinned her and removed her bones while she was alive, replacing them with a Puppet Hub. Look, these are those little objects."

"After seven days and seven nights of work without sleep or rest, I crafted her into an immortal and indestructible beautiful puppet to stay by my side."

"From then on, the poisonous woman would not change her heart, nor would she grow old. Even if I tortured her or abused her, she would never leave me or betray me, not in a hundred years, not in ten thousand years."

Du Wuyao pinched Zhou You's shoulder bones and collarbones one by one, praising, "Good bones."

"Zhigang, let's discuss this. I will craft you into a puppet in a moment. Don't worry, we were brothers once, I won't let it hurt too much."

"Once you become a puppet, even if you harbor monstrous hatred, you will only be able to submit to me and obey my orders."

"The story you told earlier, about how you escaped from Beijing, was a very good story, but it wasn't honest enough; you deliberately hid the plot point where you and Liu Fengji hit it off immediately and you helped him escape."

"Good brother, you have a big secret; you can transport a living person without anyone knowing, so a mere stone slab is even easier."

"If I didn't act first, it would be you plotting against me to take all the benefits for yourself."

(End of chapter)