Chapter 490: Monk Gu

"Run for your life?"

Lu Wushuang tilted her head, pointed her soft sword, which was still stained with blood, at the corpses on the ground, and said with a smile.

"Dead men tell no tales. Besides us and the corpses, there's only you here. As long as you don't go and report it..."

She flicked her hand, and the soft sword disappeared into her sleeve.

"Why run for my life?"

Miyoshi Ryota kept his mouth shut, unwilling to explain, repeatedly saying they should run for their lives, while trying to break free from Li Miao's hand.

After trying for a long time, Lu Wushuang didn't move, and Li Miao didn't let go; the two just looked at him with smiles, as if teasing a child. Only then did Miyoshi Ryota suddenly drop his shoulders.

"*Hiss~*"

He sniffled.

Tears actually welled up in his eyes.

He wasn't very old, about the same age as Nana-ko, and this was his first time traveling far from home, only to be inexplicably involved in a life-threatening situation. Teased by Lu Wushuang and Li Miao for a long time, he was both anxious and angry, and the adult facade he had put on couldn't be maintained.

"*Hiss~* I, I... I told you, I told you..."

"You just, just wouldn't listen..."

Seeing he couldn't even speak clearly, Lu Wushuang stopped teasing him, walked up to Miyoshi Ryota with her hands behind her back, and smiled.

Miyoshi Ryota stared with teary eyes at this mysterious woman who was overly beautiful, not knowing what she wanted to do. Just as he was puzzled, Lu Wushuang suddenly raised her hand and slapped Miyoshi Ryota on the chest.

*Bang*, Miyoshi Ryota's eyes rolled back.

He fell onto the ox cart without a sound.

"My Lord."

Lu Wushuang turned to look at Li Miao.

"It seems that the Japanese Buddhism isn't a good thing either."

Li Miao laughed.

"I expected as much; 'oranges grown north of the Huai River become trifoliate oranges' after all."

Lu Wushuang nodded and suddenly pointed at the unconscious Miyoshi Ryota.

"What's this kid's background?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

"You noticed?"

Lu Wushuang jumped onto the ox cart, flicked the reins, and said with a smile.

"How could I not notice?"

"When this kid tried to come over to help just now, he ran a few steps quickly. Although there was no technique to it, the way he exerted force in his legs and the *Zhenqi* surging in his body were the real deal."

"This kid isn't practicing Japanese swordsmanship, but authentic Central Plains martial arts. And no matter how you look at it, it looks like the foundation of Shaolin. What do you think?"

Li Miao wrapped his cloak tighter and smiled.

"About right."

"I probed him just now; it's at least of the same origin as Shaolin internal arts."

"Now he's full of thoughts about running away, and I'm too lazy to interrogate a child. Since he wants to run for his life, let's take him to Katsuragawa Mountain Castle and kill a few more monks with him."

He looked at the unconscious Miyoshi Ryota and laughed sinisterly.

"Once he becomes our 'accomplice,' he'll have to talk even if he doesn't want to."

The ox cart rolled over the monks' corpses, carrying Li Miao and Lu Wushuang's laughter, traveling along the road toward Katsuragawa Mountain Castle at a steady pace.

The corpses in the water fields stared wide-eyed, watching the ox cart disappear at the end of their vision. After Li Miao's group had gone far, crows that had been waiting for a long time landed on the corpses' faces, one pecking at an eyeball.

*Squish, squish.

The crow's head burrowed into the eye socket, pecked for a while, and then pulled out; the white slurry slid down its feathers, only to be pecked and fought over by other crows, nearly killing the crow that had burrowed into the skull.

Fortunately, there were many corpses.

These crows had red eyes, and their pecking was very skillful; they were clearly used to eating corpses. In just a moment, they had pecked clean the soft flesh on the corpses' heads and faces.

But strangely, these crows didn't continue to peck at the flesh elsewhere; after eating the meat on the faces, they all flew away together, as if avoiding some impending danger.

The surroundings fell silent.

After more than half an hour, a burst of hurried footsteps came from afar, and a dozen monks in black and white robes carrying weapons ran toward this side.

The leader was a sturdy monk with a face full of fat, who ran for a while and then turned back to ask.