Chapter 357

The two had charged about a zhang away when they saw two corpses lying on the ground.

One had a bluish-purple complexion, with countless Gu insects squirming beneath its skin.

One was covered in wounds, with blood gushing from the gashes.

Their masks had already been torn off; at a single glance, the two recognized the identities of the corpses.

Both were true disciples of famous major sects, people with names and reputations in the Wu Lin, yet they had died just like that—died without value, died without a sound.

But now was not the time for the rabbit to mourn the fox.

Rather, the corpses were resources for the two of them.

The masked man stepped forward, using his sword to slice at the corpses; in an instant, he had cut the two familiar bodies into several pieces. He tore their clothes into strips of cloth, tied them into a string, and held them in his hand.

Path-finding stones.

"Traps are divided into two types: those that trigger automatically and those that are triggered manually. The thick fog should also obscure An Ziyang's vision, so he also judges whether to trigger a trap based on sound."

"So using stones on the ground to find the path won't work; only the sound of flesh hitting the ground can test the mechanisms. And the pieces of the corpse cannot be too small; if they are too small, the sound isn't right."

"This courtyard is ten zhang square—these two corpses are only enough to test two directions. Removing the one used to chase An Ziyang, there is only one chance left."

The masked man scanned his surroundings.

"Which direction to choose?"

The woman's hand patted his shoulder and pointed to the ground on the right.

He turned his head to look; on the ground to the right, there were scattered spots of blood.

"Someone died there; perhaps it was the trace left by some senior brother or sister chasing An Ziyang, or perhaps it was the trace left when An Ziyang personally killed someone... no matter!"

Raising his hand, he threw the corpse pieces violently toward the right.

And then—puchi!

The trap was triggered, an explosion sounded, and firelight burst out!

In that instant, the masked man charged out from the firelight, throwing the corpse pieces in his hand toward the ground ahead!

"Seeking life in death! It's not like I haven't done it before!"

"Today—I will definitely live!!!"

Blocking the flying darts with his sword, Junior Sister Wan on his back also swung her sword to protect his back.

As if blessed by divine inspiration, or perhaps because his potential had been ignited between life and death, he felt that Junior Sister Wan's cooperation on his back was as smooth as an extension of his own arm!

It was as if the moment he swung his sword, Junior Sister Wan was in perfect harmony with his thoughts, automatically filling in the gaps for him.

This made him even more certain that he would survive today!

"Junior Sister Wan, listen well!"

He shouted in a low voice, suddenly turning, ignoring the path already cleared by the corpse pieces, and stepped to the side.

"Cannot rely too much on the path cleared by the corpse pieces; An Ziyang should have reacted by now. He will use this point to delay triggering the traps—must gamble!"

He took a step.

No trap.

"Gambled right!"

The masked man felt a surge of joy in his heart. After landing, he suddenly jumped backward, returning to his original spot.

Sure enough, in front of him, the trap triggered by the corpse pieces collapsed, and the flying mechanisms had already missed their figures.

A smile appeared on his face.

"An Ziyang, you really only succeed by relying on heretical paths! The difference between you and me is just these external objects!"

He threw the corpse pieces again to clear the path ahead, then charged out violently.

"Already charged out four zhang. Although I don't know the starting position, given the size of this small courtyard, no matter which direction we chose, we should be close to the boundary!"

"You're anxious, aren't you? It's time to make a move, don't hide anymore!"

"If you let us go, and the news of the Xuanlan location spreads, you won't be able to answer to the Four Seasons Pacification Office. The Tang Men, the witchcraft, the secret treasures of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—these are all things that this backer brought you. You cannot bear the consequences of losing his trust!"

He gritted his teeth violently, his pupils dilating with excitement.

"Come! Make your move! Tell us—your location!"

As if responding to his thoughts.

The next moment, Junior Sister Wan patted his shoulder three times.

He turned his head suddenly; Junior Sister Wan was pointing to the rear right.

At the same time, she kept throwing hidden weapons in that direction. Even though it was obscured by the thick fog, he could see hidden weapons being deflected and falling to the ground there.

"Right there!"

"Junior Sister Wan, hold on tight, the hidden weapons are up to you!"

There were three corpse pieces left in his hand.

He threw the first one, triggering two traps.

The distance was shortened by one zhang.

A figure could already be vaguely seen.

He suddenly raised his hand and threw the remaining two corpse pieces, which fell to the left and right respectively.

But this way, the distance the corpse pieces could clear was not enough!

He could feel Junior Sister Wan's hand on his shoulder tighten suddenly.

"Don't worry!"

"An Ziyang, let's gamble!"

"Left or right, a fifty-fifty chance, gambling with our lives!"

The masked man suddenly charged toward the front left.

Traps triggered one after another behind him, but they were a step slower than him.

It seemed as if An Ziyang hadn't been able to guess correctly.

The distance was shortened to a few feet; the figure in front retreated, appearing panicked and flustered, even his footsteps becoming stiff.

But there were no more corpse pieces to clear the path for these few feet in the middle.

At this instant, he suddenly swung his sword and cut off his own left arm!

Intense pain surged; he bit the long sword in his mouth, grabbed his severed arm, and threw it out.

"I am a right-handed swordsman; losing my left hand at most costs me thirty percent of my martial arts. It's not essential right now, so what does it matter if I lose it!"

He focused his attention on the front.

No trap.

The severed arm rolled a distance after hitting the ground and landed at the feet of that figure.

"Good!"

He raised his hand to take the long sword from his mouth and held it in front of his eyes.

True Qi poured in, force erupted!

A straight sword thrust!

The distance of several feet was crossed in an instant, the long sword thrusting straight at the face of that figure.

"Die!!!"

Amidst the masked man's roar, the long sword pierced into the skull, and blood burst out. His momentum undiminished, he pressed his whole body forward, pinning that head firmly to the ground!

Slicing left and right until the skull was cut in two!

"Die! Die! Die!"

"I won! I live, you die!"

He hacked crazily at the fallen corpse until his long sword was notched and the corpse had become a pile of meat paste, only then did he slowly stop.

He gasped for breath, using his long sword to support himself on the ground, barely maintaining his balance.

At the same time, the thick fog that had obscured his vision slowly thinned.

Only then did he set his mind at ease, reaching out to pat Junior Sister Wan's hand.

"Junior Sister Wan, we—survived!"

"Eh... your hand, why is it so cold?"

"Ah!"

Suddenly, an intense pain surged from his skull; his body swayed, and he was instantly drenched in sweat from the pain.

But at the same time, sound gradually appeared in his mind.

His hearing had recovered.

Hum—hum—

Click, click.

Countless noises gradually became clear.

It was as if the sound of massive numbers of insects vibrating their wings and the sound of countless mechanisms interlocking bit by bit were surrounding him.

Clap, clap, clap.

A series of applause slowly approached from the side, and at the same time, An Ziyang's mocking laughter rang out.

"Impressive, impressive."

"As expected of a true disciple of a famous major sect; solid foundation, sharp mind, and the courage to risk your life. If you had reached the Supreme Realm and weren't on my turf, I would really have to avoid your edge."

"Is it very painful? Hold your breath and regulate your breathing. I only just cultivated these deafening Gu insects, and they don't last long; you'll recover soon, don't worry."

"You killed one of my Gu soldiers, truly impressive."

An Ziyang walked out of the fog, smiling with his hands behind his back as he looked at the two.

And above his head and beside his feet were countless flying and crawling Gu insects, as well as mechanisms slowly unfolding, with countless wires connected in the middle, held in his hands.

"Did you feel like you had won just now, especially happy?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I really don't die that easily—are you angry?"

"Are you angry? Hahahahaha—"

The masked man gritted his teeth, wanting to rush forward and fight to the death.

But he had severed his own arm and hadn't stopped the bleeding in time; he was now at the end of his rope and had no strength left to move.

Looking at the wildly laughing An Ziyang, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Even if I die, I cannot let a villain like you succeed!"

He reached out and grasped the hand on his shoulder.

"Junior Sister Wan, get down."

"Although your legs are injured, if you force your True Qi, you can always run for a while—I will buy you time!"

An Ziyang, opposite him, heard this and tilted his head, looking at him with a sneer.

"Junior Sister Wan?"

"Oh... was that this woman's previous name?"

"Then you're going to be disappointed; she is not your Junior Sister Wan."

The masked man frowned.

An Ziyang didn't care about his feelings at all; he spread his hands and said cruelly and mockingly.

"Don't you find it strange?"

"Her martial arts are so much worse than yours, how could she survive until the end? When she charged at me, how could she suddenly cooperate with you so well, even though her martial arts are far inferior to yours? When she pointed out the direction for you, how was she so accurate?"

"The most critical thing is..."

An Ziyang revealed his stark white teeth and spat out cold words.

"Your hearing has been recovered for a long time, why is she—not speaking?"

The masked man didn't know what An Ziyang was talking about at all.

But he instinctively felt a chill.

Yes, Junior Sister Wan, why hadn't she spoken all this time?

He slowly turned his head, wanting to take a look with a dry laugh.

"Junior Sister Wan, you..."

Chirp.

That hand resting on his shoulder, which had pointed out the direction for him, suddenly gripped his throat and then pulled horizontally! It tore a long tube right out of his neck!

His eyes lost focus.

At the last moment before his vision darkened, he saw a face that was familiar, yet cold and strange.

The corpse fell to the ground.

"Junior Sister Wan" jumped down from the corpse's back and scanned the surroundings.

An Ziyang politely cupped his hands toward her.

"Eunuch Liu, was this play enjoyable enough?"

"Now that the mount is dead, the helper is dead, and the meddlesome people are dead, would it be convenient for you to tell me what you are here for?"

"So I can, on behalf of my Pacification Commissioner... oh no, now it's Commander—offer some hospitality."

"Junior Sister Wan" turned to look at An Ziyang, expressionless.