Chapter 222: Seeing Tears Seal the Throat

The summit of Yugui Shan.

At the edge of the cliff.

Jiang Li was covered in blood, his eyes gloomy, as he walked step by step toward that bald man.

A hurricane wildly tousled his black hair, making him look like a killing god.

The man slowly retreated until he had nowhere left to go.

He glanced back at the bottomless abyss behind him, and the fear in his eyes deepened bit by bit.

"Brother, we're all just trying to make a living; why go to the extreme of killing each other?"

The bald man clutched the child tightly to his chest, his expression somewhere between a smile and a sob: "Spare me today, and I will repay you with a spring of gratitude tomorrow. Tell me, do you want money or women? I'll get you both."

Jiang Li curled his lip coldly: "Sorry, I only want your life."

As his words fell, a shaft of cold light shot from his palm straight at the bald man.

The bald man's pupils contracted; he quickly lifted the child upward, trying to block his vital points.

Unfortunately, he was still a step too late; Jiang Li's flying dagger was too fast, giving him no time to react.

Ding, the flying dagger precisely *** the bald man's throat.

Only a small section of the dagger's hilt remained exposed.

Goo, goo…

The bald man's eyes widened wide, filled with disbelief, and blood quickly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but could only emit a croak like a toad.

The next moment, the bald man plunged straight into the abyss.

Perhaps it is true that when a person is about to die, their deeds become good.

The bald man did not drag the hostage down with him to death; instead, he chose to let go.

A seven- or eight-year-old boy fell to the ground, wailing loudly in terror, his body trembling violently.

Having dealt with the bandits' chief, Jiang Li's spirit finally relaxed a bit.

He walked over, patted the child's back, and softly comforted, "It's okay, don't be afraid; the bad man is dead, he can't hurt you anymore…"

The boy tightly hugged Jiang Li's thigh, his tears rubbing against the back of his hand.

Then, he lifted his delicately carved, jade-like little head and innocently asked, "Brother, will you always protect me?"

Jiang Li smiled and replied in a warm voice, "As long as you don't break the law, I will naturally protect you."

The boy looked at him and suddenly sighed like a little adult.

"What a pity you have such a handsome face, yet you're about to die soon; I'm actually a bit reluctant to see you go."

Jiang Li frowned, "What did you say?"

The boy blinked his eyes and said, "I mean, if you can't protect me unconditionally, what's the difference between you and others? If that's the case, there's no need for me to keep living in this world."

Having said that, the boy's innocent expression suddenly withdrew, replaced by something sinister.

"Go die!" he shouted, raising a small dagger and lunging viciously at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li sidestepped, at the same time lifting his foot to kick the small body over, stepping on it, and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

The situation is somewhat strange.

Logically, this child is a hostage taken by the bald man, an innocent civilian.

But his words and actions don't resemble those of a normal child at all.

He's practically a demon.

If he were an adult, Jiang Li would have already killed him, but faced with such a young child, he really finds it hard to bring himself to strike.

Moreover, he harbors doubts in his heart.

What if the boy merely has an eccentric personality, or has gone mad?

"Who am I?" the boy said, not struggling but smiling with a hint of triumph, "You'll never get the chance to find out in this lifetime."

Just then, Jiang Li's body shuddered violently, and the true qi within him began to dissipate.

Oh no, he's been poisoned!

His handsome face changed; he quickly pulled out from his bosom the detox pill his wife had prepared beforehand and popped it into his mouth.

The boy watched all this, his grin growing more manic: "Brother, you can't just take medicine randomly. You've been poisoned with Tear-Sealing Poison; I'm the only one in the world who has the antidote, but unfortunately, I've already used it up."

Jiang Li could finally be certain.

The boy before him is truly a genuine demon.

He no longer wasted energy on words, closed his eyes, and earnestly regulated his breath to help the antidote take effect.

The boy climbed up from the ground, tilted his head and stared at Jiang Li for a while, then shook his head with a tsk-tsk-tsk.

"Fortunately for you, you met me; if my master had seen you, he'd surely have dragged you back to torture you thoroughly."

Saying this, he dragged Jiang Li toward the cliff's edge, adding, "Since you tried to save me just now, I won't torture you—I'll just send you straight to your death."

Though small in stature, his strength is not inferior to that of a normal adult man.

Jiang Li opened his eyes, tone calm: "I advise you not to seek death."

"Rest assured, I won't die; who would harm such an adorable little kid like me?"

The boy hehehed with a laugh, then shoved Jiang Li off the cliff in one push.

Just as he was about to peek over to see if the person was dead, a heart-rending shout suddenly came from behind him.

"Jiang Li!"

He jumped in fright and abruptly turned around.

A woman with a face full of *** ran over here, her expression panicked; she was so anxious that she even tripped over a stone.

She's probably a relative of that official from just now.

The boy's black-and-white eyes shifted; he immediately sat on the ground, covering his eyes and began to cry.

"Sorry, big brother, it's all my fault—I'm too small and weak to pull you, waa... waa..."

Du Ruo had no time to deal with him, she staggered over to the cliff edge.

Below the cliff, mist filled the air, visibility under ten meters—there was no sign of Jiang Li.

Falling from such a height, unless one had peerless lightness skill, there was basically no hope of survival.

Du Ruo's hands and feet were icy, her vision kept going dark, and she nearly toppled over as well.

Jiang Li… Jiang Li…

You can't die; you promised me you'd come back safely…

Boundless blood-red spread in Du Ruo's eyes, grief gnawed at her heart bit by bit, she clutched her chest tightly, almost unable to breathe.

It hurts, it hurts…

Who is it? Who on earth harmed you!

Du Ruo's blood-red eyes shot toward the little boy beside her.

The boy's sobbing paused, then he hiccuped, pitifully explaining, "Sorry, sister, big brother was dragged away by bad people trying to save me; I, I couldn't pull him..."

Du Ruo slowly reached out and grabbed his wrist.

The boy's mouth corner twitched up with a barely perceptible mocking arc.

As expected, another foolish woman duped by his looks—he knew only his perverted master would dare harm him in this world.

After all, he's so small, so perfect, so innocent and pure.

Just as he thought that, the ugly woman lunged at him like a madwoman, punching and kicking.

Every punch hit flesh, every kick landed.

He was beaten until he screamed nonstop, wailed without end, his whole body felt as if run over by a carriage, everywhere hurting.

Except his face.

Look, even driven mad like this, she couldn't bring herself to strike his face.

Seeing that further beating would kill him, the boy endured the pain and desperately shoved his face toward Du Ruo.

Come on, come hit my face.

If you do that, you can go to hell together with that man!

Du Ruo picked up a stone from the ground and smashed it hard onto the boy's face.

Pu—blood spurted from his nose.

The boy staggered back two steps, covering his bruised cheek, staring at her in disbelief, "You… you really would strike me dead?"

Du Ruo's gaze was cold as thousand-year ice shards, looking down on him, "Old monster, you deserve to die."

The boy's pupils suddenly contracted.

In this world, besides my master and junior fellow disciple, no one knows my true appearance.

Who is this woman, how could she know?