Chapter 409

The two rushed out about a zhang away and saw two corpses lying on the ground.

One had a purple-blue face, with countless Gu insects writhing under the skin.

One was covered in wounds, with fresh blood flowing out from the wounds.

The masks had already been torn off; with just one glance, the two recognized the identities of the corpses.

Both were true disciples of famous major sects, people with names and surnames in the Ordinary Jianghu, who had died just like that—died without any value, died silently.

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

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

The masked man stepped forward, cutting the corpses with his sword; in an instant, he divided the two familiar bodies into several pieces. The clothes were torn into strips of cloth and strung together in his hand.

Probing stones.

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

"So using stones on the ground to probe the way won't work; only the sound of flesh and blood hitting the ground can test the mechanisms. And the pieces of the corpse cannot be too small; if they are too small, the sound is wrong."

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

The masked man scanned the surroundings.

"Which direction to choose?"

The woman's hand patted his shoulder, pointing to the ground on the right.

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

"Someone died there; perhaps it was a trace left by some senior brother or sister when chasing An Ziyang, or perhaps it was a trace left by An Ziyang when he personally killed someone... Never mind!"

Raising his hand, the corpse pieces were thrown violently toward the right.

And then—puchi!

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

In this instant, the masked man rushed out from the firelight, throwing the corpse pieces in his hand toward the ground in front!

"Seek 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 waved her sword to protect his back.

It was as if he were inspired, or as if his potential had been stimulated between life and death; he felt that Junior Sister Wan's coordination with him on his back was simply like an arm directing a finger!

It was as if the moment he thrust his sword, Junior Sister Wan was in tune with his heart, automatically filling the gaps for him.

This made him even more convinced that he would definitely survive today!

"Junior Sister Wan, listen well!"

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

"Cannot rely too much on the path probed by the corpse pieces; now An Ziyang should also have reacted, and he will use this point to delay triggering the traps—must gamble!"

Stepped down.

No traps.

"Gambled correctly!"

The masked man felt joy in his heart; after landing, he suddenly jumped backward, jumping back to the original spot.

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

A smile appeared on his face.

"An Ziyang, you really only succeed by relying on evil and unorthodox ways! The difference between you and me is just these external things!"

He threw the corpse pieces again, probed the path ahead, and then rushed out violently.

"Already rushed out four zhang; although I don't know the starting position, given the area of this small courtyard, no matter which direction we chose, we should already 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 will have no way to answer to the Four Seasons Pacification Envoys. The Tang Men, Witchcraft, and Embroidered Uniform Guard secrets—these were all brought to you by this backer; you cannot bear the consequences of losing his trust!"

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

"Come! Make a move! Tell us—your position!"

As if responding to his thoughts.

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

He turned his head suddenly, and Junior Sister Wan pointed toward the right rear.

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

"Right there!"

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

Three pieces of the corpse remained in his hand.

He threw the first piece, probing two traps.

The distance was shortened by one zhang.

A human figure could already be vaguely seen.

He raised his hand suddenly, throwing the remaining two pieces of the corpse, falling toward the left and right sides respectively.

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

He could feel the hand of Junior Sister Wan on his shoulder tighten violently.

"Don't worry!"

"An Ziyang, let's gamble!"

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

The masked man rushed toward the left front suddenly.

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

It seemed as if An Ziyang hadn't gambled correctly.

The distance was shortened to a few feet; the figure in front retreated backward, as if already panicked and at a loss, and even his steps began to stiffen.

But in the distance of these few feet in the middle, there were no corpse pieces to probe the way.

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

Severe pain came; he bit the long sword in his mouth and grabbed the severed arm to throw it out.

"I am a right-handed swordsman; losing my left hand at most removes thirty percent of my Wu Gong, which is not something essential at the moment; what does it matter if I discard it!"

He stared intently ahead.

No traps.

After the severed arm landed, it rolled for a distance and fell under the feet of that figure.

"Good!"

He raised his hand to take down the long sword he was biting in his mouth. Lifted it before his eyes.

True energy poured in, force burst out!

A sword thrust straight!

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

"Die!!!"

In the masked man's roar, the long sword penetrated into the skull, and fresh blood burst out. His momentum did not decrease, and his whole body pressed down violently, nailing that head firmly to the ground!

Cutting left and right, until the head was cut into two halves!

"Die! Die! Die!"

"I won! I live, you die!"

He slashed wildly at the corpse on the ground like a madman, until the long sword rolled its edge and the corpse became a pile of meat paste, only then did he slowly stop.

He gasped for breath, using the 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 faded.

Only then did he feel relieved, reaching out to pat Junior Sister Wan's hand.

"Junior Sister Wan, we—survived!"

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

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a severe pain came from his skull; his body swayed, and he was instantly covered in cold sweat from the pain.

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

Hearing was restored.

Hum—hum—

Crack, crack.

Countless noises gradually became clear.

It seemed like the sound of a massive amount of insects vibrating their wings, and the sound of countless mechanisms biting together bit by bit, surrounding him.

Clap, clap, clap.

A series of applause slowly approached from the side front, and along with it, An Ziyang's mocking laughter.

"Impressive, impressive."

"Worthy of being a true disciple of a famous sect; the foundation is solid, the brain is useful, and you dare to fight for your life. If you were in the Peak Realm and not on my territory, I would really have to avoid your edge."

"Is it very painful? Hold your breath and adjust your breathing; these Gu insects that make people deaf were also just cultivated by me not long ago, the duration is not long, and it will recover soon, don't worry."

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

An Ziyang walked out of the fog, smiling and looking at the two with his hands behind his back.

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

"Did you feel like you 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 up and fight for his life.

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

Looking at the wildly laughing An Ziyang, a thought suddenly arose in him.

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

He reached out and grasped the hand on his shoulder.

"Junior Sister Wan, you get down."

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

An Ziyang opposite him heard these words, but tilted his head, looking at him with a sneer.

"Junior Sister Wan?"

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

"Then you will be disappointed; she is not your Junior Sister Wan."

The masked man frowned.

An Ziyang didn't care about his feelings at all, spreading his hands, cruelly and mockingly saying.

"Don't you find it strange?"

"Her Wu Gong is so much worse than yours; how could she live to the end? When she rushed toward me, how could she suddenly coordinate with you so well, even though her Wu Gong is far inferior to yours? When she pointed out the direction for you, how could it be so accurate?"

"The most critical point is..."

An Ziyang revealed his stark white teeth, spitting out cold words.

"Your hearing has been restored 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 has she been silent all along?

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

"Junior Sister Wan, you..."

Chirp.

That hand placed on his shoulder, pointing out the direction for him, suddenly gripped his throat, and then pulled horizontally! It tore a long tube out of his neck!

Eyes lost focus.

At the last moment before his vision darkened, he saw a familiar, yet coldly strange face.

The corpse fell to the ground.

"Junior Sister Wan" jumped down from the corpse's back, scanning the surroundings.

An Ziyang bowed to her politely.

"Eunuch Liu, was this play enjoyable enough to watch?"

"Now that the mount is dead, the helper is dead, and the person in the way is dead, would it be convenient for you to tell me what you came here to do?"

"So that I can, for my Pacification Envoy... oh no, now it's Commander—fulfill some of the duties of a host."

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

(End of chapter)