Chapter 13

Brother Qu was finally filled with terror. "He intends to beat me to death with this small wooden stick, relentlessly pounding until I die!"

He truly wished that the opponent had a knife in his hand, even if it was a blunt one.

Although the power of the small wooden stick was not very strong, after being repeatedly struck, his swollen face had developed hematoma and pus-filled blisters. The swelling left only narrow slits for his eyes, and his vision was becoming increasingly blurred.

His skin had turned bruised and several muscles had been reduced to mush from the strikes. Qin Mu specifically targeted the ligaments and fascia around his joints.

Qin Mu's attacks were not directed at the bones of the joints but at the ligaments and fascia. The ligaments and fascia of Brother Qu's various joints had been shattered by the small wooden stick. Even the slightest movement caused a tearing pain.

To be beaten to death bit by bit with a small wooden stick was the most terrifying thing. The intense pain and fear were prolonged countless times, yet death did not come easily.

At this moment, the stampeding beast horde above their heads had disappeared, and they had already rushed out of the ruins' entrance, with the beast horde dispersing in different directions.

Qin Mu's strength was gradually weakening as well. After countless "swings of his blade," he couldn't persist any longer. He and Brother Qu had been fighting and dodging within the belly of the giant beast. Not only did they have to avoid each other's attacks, but they also had to dodge the hooves and claws of the giant beast. The continuous changes in footwork left his legs sore and swollen.

When he was training under the Butcher, although the Butcher often went mad, he still knew the importance of training within one's limits and wouldn't let him become excessively exhausted.

Now, he had no strength left to swing his blade. He could only rely on his willpower to keep going.

He knew that as long as he stopped, even if Brother Qu had a trace of vital energy left and could move slightly, he would be torn apart!

He could only continue to strike until he beat Brother Qu to death!

Thud.

Brother Qu finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, his cherished sword clattering as it fell.

Qin Mu let go of the wooden stick and grabbed the sword, but he couldn't lift it. His arm had lost its last ounce of strength.

Qin Mu slowly raised his foot and kicked the hilt of the sword, gradually aligning the blade towards Brother Qu. Brother Qu, barely able to see this scene, struggled and squirmed, trying to avoid the sword tip. However, his bones and ligaments were nearly rotten, and he couldn't move his muscles even the slightest bit.

He was immobilized, forced to watch as Qin Mu painstakingly adjusted the position of the sword tip and kicked the sword, slowly piercing it into his own throat.

Finally, the sword penetrated his throat, and a gurgling sound accompanied the bubbling of blood plasma. Before long, he took his last breath.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. It had been too arduous, the most difficult experience he had ever gone through.

A lifeless body lay beside him, and the feeling was unpleasant. Qin Mu attempted to move his body but found himself unable to do so. He had to give up on that idea.

This wasn't the first time he had seen a dead body. The woman who crawled out of the cowhide by the riverbank, as well as Brother Qu's two junior disciples, had all become corpses.

Once, Granny Si took him to a neighboring village to assist in delivering a baby. Granny Si, aside from being a tailor, was also a midwife who helped women in nearby villages during childbirth.

When they arrived, everyone in the village had already died, men, women, young, and old, including the pregnant woman.

At that time, Qin Mu's mind went blank, and he felt as if he were floating weightlessly in the air, observing the gruesome scene below. Later, Granny Si awakened him, saying that he had been scared out of his wits, his soul had left his body, and she had pulled it back and stuffed it back in.

Granny Si didn't mention who had killed the people in the village, only telling him that such occurrences were common in the Great Ruins, so...

"Never give your enemies any opportunity," Granny Si said to him sternly.

Brother Qu's corpse made him uncomfortable, but that's how it is in the Great Ruins. It's survival of the fittest. Qin Mu had grown up here, accustomed to the battles among the exotic beasts in the Great Ruins. Brother Qu's body was no different from the corpses of other exotic beasts.

He was adjusting his breathing when suddenly he heard footsteps approaching. Qin Mu strained his neck and looked in the direction of the sound. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Senior Sister Qing limping towards him, holding a sword in her hand. Her face was swollen like a pig's head, unrecognizable.

Qin Mu struggled to get up, every limb and muscle throbbing with pain and swelling. He had to pause and catch his breath, silently activating the "Bati Three Elixir Technique."

he gradually felt his vitality becoming more lively, surging and flowing towards his sore muscles and torn ligaments. Wherever the vitality passed, the swelling sensation eased, but his senses became even more acute, as the fiery and intense pain continued.

Senior Sister Qing was still limping towards him. During their confrontation, Qin Mu had kicked her legs, leaving them crippled, and her face had received countless kicks. The most brutal one was the final kick, where Qin Mu exerted all his strength.

That kick was like a venomous dragon's tail, flattening her beautiful face. Now it was swollen, like dough that had risen overnight.

Her teeth were probably all knocked out, and the corners of her mouth continuously dripped saliva mixed with blood, dripping incessantly.

But her hand remained steady, the sword in her hand still shimmering with a cold light. It was evident that her heart was filled with boundless hatred, intending to tear Qin Mu's body to pieces.

Qin Mu intensified the activation of the "Bati Three Elixir Technique," hoping to regain some strength. However, the intense battle from earlier had exhausted his body too much.

Only by opening the Ling Fetus Wall and absorbing the Ling Fetus Divine Treasury could he truly be considered a warrior. He was not yet a warrior, yet he managed to kill a warrior like Brother Qu. That was already a remarkable achievement.

But that was all.

He no longer had the strength to continue fighting against Senior Sister Qing.

Senior Sister Qing finally reached Qin Mu and tried to speak, but her swollen mouth and throat prevented her from making any sound. So, she lifted the sword and fiercely stabbed towards Qin Mu!

"What a lovely little girl. Granny is really fond of you."

Senior Sister Qing's body suddenly froze, the sword encountering an invisible obstacle and unable to stab down.

Fear appeared in her eyes as she saw an old lady approaching, carrying a basket and walking on tiptoes.

Senior Sister Qing trembled and slowly backed away. At this moment, a loud voice came from behind her, "Mu'er, you've turned my Pig-Slaughtering Knife Technique into a little twig. It took 5,476 strikes to knock down this brat, and in the end, he was killed by a sword!"

Senior Sister Qing reluctantly turned her head to look and saw several bizarre figures approaching. There was a blind person with a probing cane, a lame person missing a leg, a monster with four limbs cut off, and a burly man with only his upper body remaining, his face covered in horizontal flesh.

The burly man with only his upper body was placed in a bamboo basket and carried all the way here, while the monster with its limbs cut off was being carried by someone else.

These people all had a miserable appearance. The only one who seemed normal was the middle-aged man carrying the bamboo basket, but his face had been completely destroyed. His facial skin was scraped off, making his features terrifying and grotesque!

The one who had spoken earlier was the burly man with only his upper body. With a face full of flesh, he sat in the bamboo basket, furiously stroking his beard and glaring at Qin Mu. He reprimanded him from a distance, "It seems that your training is still lacking! Don't talk about not having a knife or a wooden stick. As long as your knife skills are exquisite, you can kill him even if you're empty-handed!"

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and hoarsely said, "Auntie Si, Uncle Butcher, Grandmaster Pharmacist, all of you are here?"

Granny Si chuckled and said, "We have raised you with great difficulty. When you left home for the first time and spent the night with a strange woman outside, we naturally couldn't rest assured. Of course, we had to come and take a look."

Qin Mu blinked his eyes and tested, "How long have you been here?"

The Butcher snorted, "We arrived when you were fighting that kid under the belly of the beast herd. How else would I know that you struck a total of 5,476 times?"

Qin Mu's face turned dark. These old folks had clearly arrived a long time ago but still let him fight for his life, almost losing his life in the process.

Only now did he understand why the beast herd hadn't attacked him and Brother Qu. It turned out that they were scared away by the Butcher and the others.

"People from outside the village say that Granny and Village Chief are all bad guys. Is that true? But I believe Granny and the others are good people. They must have thought I could defeat Brother Qu, so they just watched from the sidelines..." He comforted himself in his heart.

"As the transcendent Bati, to be beaten into such a miserable state, we are all very disappointed," the blind man, leaning on his bamboo cane, said with a smile.

Qin Mu coughed, "Uncle Blind, I'm here."

"I know you're here."

The blind man turned around, smiling, "You used the staff to defeat that kid, which shows that my teachings were good. But don't be proud. After all, you are a Bati, so it's natural that you're stronger than him! Your training will have to be doubled in the future, and you shouldn't have a gloomy face..."

The Butcher said coldly, "Blind man, he clearly used my knife technique. What are you proud of? And why are you talking nonsense to a corpse?"