Chapter 28 The Secret of Gourd Mountain

Ye had thought his blade would sever Lin Shen's arm but when it struck, it felt as if it landed on a steel wire rope of unmatched toughness. Not only did it fail to cut through, but the impact also sent a stinging pain through his wrist.

Just as Ye realized something was amiss and intended to withdraw his hand, a dark red shadow tore through the sleeve on Lin Shen's arm. Like a snake, it coiled around Ye's arm.

The blade Ye had brought down had sliced into the Death Powder wrapped around Lin Shen's arm. Lin Shen had known all along that his own attack couldn't possibly be faster than Ye.

Ye's reaction was lightning-fast. The very moment the Death Powder wound around his hand, his other hand shot out like a bolt of lightning, grabbing the Death Powder's head to pull it off.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the Death Powder. The moment he seized its head, the Death Powder's tail stabbed into his palm like a scorpion's strike and coiled around too, binding both his arms in an instant.

"What the hell is this thing!" Ye's expression shifted slightly. With that, he suddenly lashed out at Lin Shen, disregarding the Death Powder wrapped around his hands. Balancing on one leg, he lashed out with the other like an illusion, aiming a kick at Lin Shen's head.

If he could just kill Lin Shen and obtain the key to this bizarre pet, he could immediately turn the tide.

Lin Shen had anticipated this move well in advance. Before Ye could even kick, Lin Shen had already started to retreat, ordering the Supersonic Gunman to fire at almost the same moment.

As Ye kicked, Lin Shen's speed surpassed that of the bullet; he narrowly retreated, dodging the kick while the wind from it sent his hair flying in all directions.

The bullet from the Supersonic Gunman struck Ye, and although the gunman's hardness was slightly lacking, since it was Alloy Level, when the bullet hit Ye's strange scale-like carapace, it only sparked a few times before being deflected.

Both Ye and Lin Shen were startled—Ye at Lin Shen's ability to execute such speed repeatedly, having thought that such a life-saving maneuver couldn't be used more than twice, would be extraordinary. Lin Shen, on the other hand, was shocked that not only was Ye's speed impressive but the hardness of his Alloy Carapace was so high that the bullets from the Supersonic Gunman had almost no effect on him.

Ye exerted force in pursuit of Lin Shen, intending to kick again, but before his leg could lift, the Death Powder had already coiled around it.

Ye attempted to lift his other leg—only to have it bound by the Death Powder mid-rise, causing him to fall straight back like a mummy.

As Ye fell, another gunshot rang out. Lying on the ground, Ye saw Lin Shen's fingertip pointing to a spot just below his throat.

A flash of joy crossed Ye's eyes—no matter what life-saving methods Lin Shen had, it would be impossible to break through his Alloy Carapace with such little force.

But Lin Shen's approach gave Ye a chance to kill him directly.

As expected, when Lin Shen's finger made contact, it couldn't damage Ye's metallic carapace and felt like just a nudge from a stick.

Ye wanted to use his trump card, but suddenly found his mouth immobilized.

In fact, his entire body was paralyzed.

Eyes widened in horror, Ye now understood the real reason why the Supersonic Gunman had been subdued by a single poke from Lin Shen.

He had initially thought the gunman couldn't move because he was hit in a vital point, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Open his mouth," Lin Shen commanded Death Powder.

Death Powder's tail violently penetrated Ye's mouth, shattering his teeth before prying it open and extracting a thin, willow leaf-like sliver from inside.

The sliver, like a phantom green, was transparent and clearly made of Crystal Base material, thinner than the blade of a razor.

Lin Shen took the Green Leaf Blade and pressed a finger onto Ye's body again.

With several teeth shattered and his mouth full of blood, Ye instantly regained the ability to speak, "Lin Shen... no... Mr. Lin Shen... I should not have underestimated you... I should not have underestimated a member of the Lin Family..."

"Ye, has my Lin Family wronged you in any way?" Lin Shen asked coldly.

"No, the Lin Family has not wronged me," Ye said with a wry smile.

"If the Lin Family has done nothing to wrong you, and you are already so old, what use is obtaining the treasure inside Gourd Mountain to you? How many more years can you live?" Lin Shen tried to extract information about Gourd Mountain from Ye, who must have known something to be so desperate.

"It's precisely because I don't have many years left that I want to enter Gourd Mountain. Only by getting in can I continue to live. I haven't had enough of life, I don't want to die yet," Ye explained.

"What do you mean?" Lin Shen's eyes narrowed slightly, surprised by the information Ye was revealing.

"Lin Shen, I can tell you everything I know, just please spare my life," Ye pleaded.

"Speak," Lin Shen said, expressionless as he watched Ye.

"It was by chance that I overheard Mr. Lin Zongzheng and Fourth Brother talking about some secrets of Gourd Mountain. They were discussing Second Brother's affairs, saying that a long time ago, after Second Brother had been away for a very long time, he returned very excited. He told them that inside Gourd Mountain there was something that granted eternal life. When they were powerful enough, he would take them and Elder Sister to Gourd Mountain, so that the siblings could live forever in eternal youth..." Ye recalled.

"Do you really believe that there is something in this world that can grant eternal life?" Lin Shen asked with a frown.

"Second Brother would not lie, if he said it's there, then it must be," Ye said, his eyes filled with longing.

"Just for that sentence, you would stop at nothing to enter Gourd Mountain?" Lin Shen asked thoughtfully.

"The older one gets, the more one fears death. I really just don't want to die. In the future, I will serve you wholeheartedly, daring not to harbor any other thoughts," Ye said.

"You have no future," Lin Shen stated dispassionately.

Hearing this, Ye's face changed drastically, and he struggled to shout, "Mr. Lin Shen... you are a member of the Lin Family... you can't go back on your word..."

Before he could finish, the tail of the Death Powder fiercely pierced his forehead, penetrating through his head.

Ye was killed instantly, his eyes widening to an unimaginable extent, dying with his eyes wide open.

Ye never expected the usually jovial and pleasure-seeking Lin Shen to be so ruthless; nor did he expect a member of the Lin Family to break their promise.

"I never agreed not to kill you, and even if I had, I wouldn't have let you live. You pose too great a threat to me. If it weren't for the element of surprise, I would have had no confidence in defeating you. Giving you a chance would have been sending myself to die, and I don't want to die," Lin Shen said as he bent over to search Ye's corpse, taking everything he had on him.

He felt extremely disgusted in his heart, but surviving was more important than anything at that moment.

Before long, Lin Shen had taken everything from Ye.

An Alloy Short Blade, a Crystal Base Green Leaf Blade, two Alloy Pet Capsules, and three Capsule Keys.

Two of the keys were clearly meant to be used with the Pet Capsules, while the third key was of Crystal Base Level, clear and transparent like citrine, with a heart-shaped handle.

"Strange, why is there only a key but no capsule?" Lin Shen wondered, taking another look at Ye's corpse.