Chapter 39: A Sudden Turn for the Worse

At this time Tian Shi had no spare attention for Qian Yang, but in his heart he was surely cursing this pig teammate.

All along he had used the name of Shaolin Temple to intimidate Niu Dajie and the others, and at first it really was someone else's family matter, still an elopement scandal, so Niu Dajie and them originally had no reason to take action.

Now because Qian Yang spoke rudely, those who had been watching the fight finally could not help but take action.

Most importantly, Cao Mao had been hit by consecutive Zhongping spears, and at this time his strength was exhausted, his spear thrust speed was no longer as swift as before, seeing Tian Shi was about to turn the tide, unexpectedly another expert joined in.

The space inside the Broken Temple was too small, only Niu Dajie and Lu Dage stepped forward to surround and attack Tian Shi.

Niu Dajie's four-cornered copper tong qian each weighed over twenty jin, the four edge ridges were not round like a spear shaft, and she had arm strength not inferior to Cao Mao's; Tian Shi, who had just suffered a loss, no longer dared to hard-block with Vajra Palm.

Two copper tong qian came howling, passed howling, every move not leaving Tian Shi's bright forehead.

Directly ahead was Cao Mao's ruthless Zhongping spear, spear like raindrops pointing straight at Tian Shi's center line.

Lu Dage held a double-headed short spear in each hand, the spear shafts made of white wax wood, extremely flexible, unlike Cao Mao's hard-on-hard style, he walked a flexible and changeable style, exquisite moves, sinister strikes, the double spears specifically stabbing at the openings Tian Shi could not withdraw in time after striking.

Most importantly his spear was not a Dianqiang that could only thrust straight, a shake of the double spears produced several spear flowers, simply no time to distinguish where the spearheads were stabbing.

In less than three moves Tian Shi was immediately injured, his footwork fast to the extreme, finally dodging the copper tong qian above his head and the Dianqiang thrust at his heart, who would have thought Lu Dage's spearhead like a poisonous snake brushed past his waist, in an instant his left waist was covered in fresh blood.

"Both of you, this matter has nothing to do with you; if you are willing to stop, Shaolin Temple will surely be grateful, and treat you as friends."

"I've said it, you two monks must be impostors using Shaolin's name; we, to uphold Shaolin's name, must eliminate you no matter what."

Everyone understood Lu Dage's thinking; he firmly refused to admit Tian Shi and the other were from Shaolin Temple, and since they had already taken action, they must cut the grass and remove the roots, leaving no future trouble.

In the time it took to speak, Tian Shi's body gained two more wounds; he could no longer hold on, continuing to fight would surely mean death, where would he care about treasure and his junior brother—survival was what mattered. He circulated his inner force throughout his body, holding nothing back, and unleashed the killing move of the Great Power Vajra Palm.

Left hand Vajra Push Mountain, right hand Vajra Shatter Stele, striking with full force at Cao Mao and Niu Dajie; Lu Dage's double-headed spear, as long as it didn't strike a vital point, would at most count as injury, but Niu Dajie's copper tong qian and Cao Mao's iron spear—one hit and there would be no more life.

As long as he could repel or injure either of these two, then hard-block one spear from Lu Dage, he could break out of the encirclement and kill his way out of the Broken Temple.

Just at this moment, seeing Tian Shi wanting to fight to the death, Lu Dage suddenly blew a whistle.

The situation on the field changed abruptly; Niu Dajie, who had originally been dancing her double tong qian like wind, roaring without cease, fighting more fiercely than Zhang Fei and Li Kui, suddenly had her sturdy body become as agile as a spirit monkey; with a turn of her feet she came to Tian Shi's left side, her double tong qian moves changed style, crossing and rising to block Tian Shi's Push Mountain Palm.

Then she exerted force from the left rear, forcibly deflecting the Vajra Palm pushed toward her, while Lu Dage seized the opportunity to thrust a spear into Tian Shi's left ribs; Tian Shi's left side immediately lost sensation, and his already-charged left hand Push Mountain Palm was cleverly transferred to before Cao Mao.

Cao Mao, having fought until now, had already exhausted his stamina, and his inner force was not a thread left; hard-blocking Tian Shi's Shatter Stele Hand was already extremely difficult. He never expected that these two who had just fought side by side with him would, at the critical moment, actually redirect disaster to him and pit him.

Tian Shi's full-body inner force was extraordinary; the Shatter Stele Hand smashed Cao Mao's Dianqiang away, and the Push Mountain Palm directly imprinted on Cao Mao's chest.

Cao Mao let out a miserable cry, was sent flying a zhang by the Push Mountain Palm, blood spurting from mouth and nose, falling to the ground unable to rise. If not for Niu Dajie dissipating part of the Push Mountain Palm's force, and Tian Shi's injured left ribs preventing full output, this palm would have been enough to take Cao Mao's life on the spot.

Cao Mao could no longer struggle; half his breastbone was shattered, leaving only a single breath. He looked weakly at Niu and Lu, wanting to speak and question them, but could not make a sound.

At the same time, just as Lu Dage blew his whistle and Tian Shi's double palms smashed Cao Mao away, Yu Xiaowu, who had been skirmishing at the side, suddenly threw out three Jili in succession with both hands. Tian Shi had lost his balance and had no chance to dodge; two Jili struck his knees, and the other struck his dantian.

Tian Shi's knees were shattered, his dantian was destroyed, and he lay on the ground. He could still speak, but could not accept the sudden turn of events before him, and could not say a word either.

The most surprised person on the scene was none other than Wu Chengyu. He had been guessing who Niu Dajie and the others were really targeting tonight; now he finally had the answer—they intended to kill everyone.

Could it be that the treasure secret Qian Yang had mentioned earlier was also known to Niu Dajie and them, and they had also come for He Zhiyu?

Wu Chengyu dared not think too much, nor speak too much. Holding A Ku, who was equally frightened and dared not open her eyes, he crouched quietly in the corner, afraid of being dragged into this.

The only one on the scene who reacted was actually Cao Mao's daughter Lian'er. Just now she had been clinging to He Zhiyu's leg, but now seeing her father seriously injured, vomiting blood, and falling to the ground, she cried and wanted to fly over to him, only to be grabbed by He Zhiyu.

Instead, He Zhiyu, who was being treated as the target, had a normal complexion. Except for a somewhat complex look when gazing at Cao Mao, her heartbeat was so steady that Wu Chengyu could hardly believe it.

Finally someone spoke first—it was He Zhiyu.

"You must be wondering why you've fallen into such a state, right? Husband."

"Back when my father passed away, the He Family's estate was coveted by villains, and it was you who came to help. In the years after, no matter what difficulties I encountered or dangers I faced, you would help me at the first moment, never making any excessive demands."

"Over time I felt that although you were coarse, you were at least reliable. Your sincerity moved me. Coincidentally, your wife had passed away, and with Lian'er depending on each other for life, whether moved or grateful, I still decided to marry you."

"In the two years after marriage, I bore no children, yet you still treated me as before, and Lian'er grew close to me. I truly felt I had found a good man to entrust my life to."

"It's a pity everything was fake. Half a year ago you took Lian'er to sweep her mother's grave. Perhaps by heavenly will, I entered your study looking for a storybook, and unintentionally opened the study's secret chamber."

When the words "secret chamber" were spoken, Cao Mao suddenly understood and finally knew the reason.

"Inside is all information about my He Family—going back three generations, every relative's name and where they lived; some relatives I don't even know. Then it records when and where they died by your hand, until only I, He Zhiyu, remained of the He Family."

After this was said, everyone present felt a chill, not because of He Zhiyu's words, but because of the bone-deep hatred in her voice.

After saying this, He Zhiyu closed her eyes and caught her breath for a while, then spoke again.

"The study also contained clues about the Wubei Cangbao. Only now did I know that your target was the treasure my He Family has guarded for generations."

Thanks to Xianyue Ban, San Yi Zang Cang, Ya Ya Ya, Yan Yu Ye Meng Meng, Liang Ren Ji Mo, Dong Xuan Zhou Ye, Reader 7818, A Novice's Counterattack, Xueding'e's CK Cat, Happy Monkey, Lao Sou, shafatieren, Xingchen Zifeng cj, Huanglong Laosou, Reader 5326, Reader 9424, Dongfang Cangqiong, Reader 3325, Treasure Seeker, Xiao Xiao Xuan, Da Shuai Bu Shuai, Jiannan Dongdao Jiedushi, Da Lu Wu Chen Tu, Reader 4048, Reader 5706, Reader 5823, Chu Yue Yan Zhao, Reader 6154, Free Maple Leaf 1990, and the monthly ticket of Don't Not Eat Snacks.

Yesterday's recommendation tickets were also unprecedentedly many; thanks to everyone.

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(Chapter End)