Chapter 11

Seizing the opportunity, Ling Xia pulled Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu along and started to run outside. Shit, although these two had to pass through some dangers during ShaoYang Sect's registration in the novel, there certainly wasn't an assassination scenario!

That young boy swiftly sprung up, throwing the fire-attribute dagger in his hand at the three of them. However, it missed its target and firmly penetrated the wall, causing the nearby dead trees to catch fire.

This caught Ling Xia's attention in his periphery, causing him to jolt in fright. Without any hesitation, he used the full extent of his strength to hurl a handful of large rocks at the young boy to impede him. It was still heavily raining outside, with the downpour of water making it difficult to keep one's eyes open.

"Run, don't just stand there!" Ling Xia bellowed, looking at the two he dragged out here who seemed to be frozen from fright, tugging on them in preparation to keep running.

Yu ZhiJue suddenly shook off his hand, frigidly snapping back, "Idiot, what are you running for?"

Ling Xia paused, only now becoming aware that Yu ZhiJue didn't have an ounce of fear on his face, and while Song XiaoHu seemed slightly nervous, he didn't show a trace of fear either. At this moment, he remembered what kind of world this was.

Fuck, what's with all these belligerent people!

The young boy, already standing at the entrance of the cave, sneered, "Not running anymore? Finally realizing you can't escape?"

Yu ZhiJue gave Ling Xia a look of disdain, then turned to that youngster and asked, "Who are you, really? Unless I'm wrong, the fire-attribute dagger in your hand should be made from the rarely seen anti-cloud stone. As someone who can afford this kind of dagger, what need is there to attack people from poor families like us?"

That young boy exposed a mildly astonished expression, and putting the exquisite dagger away with a twirl, he coldly replied, "Your eyesight is quite good. And since you'll be dead in a while, there's no harm in letting you know who I am."

Finished talking, he slowly placed a medicinal pill into his mouth, and as the effects of the Appearance–Changing Pill gradually faded, a familiar face revealed itself.

Yu ZhiJue gave an icy laugh. "The one to die has yet to be decided!"

Ling Xia's lips twitched, having thoroughly been rendered speechless! During the previous sudden turn of events, he had pondered over a lot of possibilities, such as an enemy of Yu ZhiJue who came knocking on their door, someone seeing through the protagonist and the final boss villain's extraordinary physical constitution and becoming jealous, etc. What he'd never expect—not even in a million years—was that this youngster was actually the senior brother of Miss High-and-Mighty Cui Yu, that sonny boy who almost caused them to drown before—Shang Yan!

That girl was still only ten years old! Not to mention, Yu ZhiJue has absolutely zero interest in her! Just because of a dumbass reason like this, you'd go to such extremes as coming all this way after disguising yourself to kill a person?!

Cui Yu had waited at the Cloud–Gazing Pavilion for a long time, but it was her seniors who arrived first. Filled to the brim with unwillingness, she went back with Mo Dai and the others, grumbling and complaining the entire way while spouting a bunch of demands—along the lines of stopping Yu ZhiJue from applying to ShaoYang Sect and making him follow her back to YunXiao City to become her father's disciple.

Listening to that made Shang Yan feel endless hate and jealousy, so when he saw someone help and let out Song XiaoHu, he immediately ate an Appearance–Changing Pill and secretly followed, even knocking out a boy who registered for the test to track them all the way here. Due to the boundary barrier set up by the masters of ShaoYang Sect, using magic tools or techniques that were too powerful would easily result in being discovered; thus, up until now, he had hidden himself and only covertly shadowed behind the three of them.

He was the direct disciple of the governor of YunXiao City, and even if he hadn't been cultivating for very long, his strength was already quite exceptional; therefore, he was able to conceal himself with none of them noticing him trailing behind. Taking advantage of the abrupt change in weather, he decisively revealed himself and attacked.

"Hey!" No longer possessing the energy to retort against this situation, Ling Xia asked directly, "It can't be because of your youngest junior sister that you're here, right?"

As soon as Cui Yu was mentioned, Shang Yan immediately took out his lightning-attribute magic tool from within his storage bag and, making use of a boom of thunder from the sky, hurled a streak of lightning at the three of them. He's fully aware of his youngest junior sister's temperament; if he fails to kill these three and she finds out, she'll definitely ignore him and never talk to him again in the future!

As soon as Ling Xia saw him reveal that magic tool, he recalled what had happened back at the lake and instantly yelled, "Dodge!" Accompanying this warning, he picked up a huge rock and threw it at Shang Yan. Coincidentally, it crashed into the lightning's path, scattering onto the ground as it exploded into countless smaller pieces.

Both Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu's jumping power was excellent, and they leapt far away in a flash, resulting in the three of them being separated. Shang Yan briefly halted, then wielding his magic tool, he rapidly charged at Ling Xia, judging that the oldest of them was also the strongest. When the other had attacked him earlier in the cave, he was sent flying and heavily crashed into a wall—even now, his inner circulation is still blocked as a result of the impact.

Ling Xia dodged in a hurry but was soon forced into an utterly miserable state. With just a tiny misstep, he was hit on one side and promptly crashed to the ground, his entire body paralysed and unable to move.

Yu ZhiJue pulled the half-foot-long knife he took when he escaped from Holy Maiden Peak out from under the leg of his pants and threw himself at Shang Yan without a shred of hesitation. He had secretly learned a few techniques, but he did not know how to use spiritual energy yet. Shang Yan, brandishing a magic tool in one hand and holding a dagger in the other, exchanged blows with Yu ZhiJue, every strike showing off his superior proficiency and deftness.

Song XiaoHu hastily pulled Ling Xia up, wanting to move him somewhere safe, but his body was still too small; dragging along someone who was a head taller than himself was particularly strenuous. A streak of lightning struck him from above, and with a shudder, Song XiaoHu also toppled and fell down.

Seeing that two out of the three had fallen, Shang Yan was exceedingly pleased with himself. He put away his magic tool with a smirk, and sliding his dagger along Yu ZhiJue's blade, he stabbed it deeply into the other's palm. Yu ZhiJue gave a muffled grunt, and with a clang, his own knife fell to the ground.

Suddenly, Shang Yan nailed Yu ZhiJue's hand to a stone wall and taunted, "Weren't you acting all tough a moment ago? Why so silent now?" As he spoke, little by little, he pushed the dagger even deeper, observing Yu ZhiJue's expression of pain as the other bit his lips to endure—then, with a smug look, he sharply pulled the dagger out.

"Hurts, huh? Insignificant tramp, you dare fancy my youngest junior sister?" Pressing the dagger to Yu ZhiJue's neck, Shang Yan sneered, "You said earlier that it hadn't been decided who would die. In that case, who would you say is going to die now?"

Raindrops relentlessly splattered on Ling Xia's face as he was wretchedly drenched, lying helplessly in a mud pit. Although he couldn't move, he could still hear and see everything that was happening, and his entire body quivered incessantly from heartbreak and worry.

He no longer had the luxury to berate himself for thinking about things too naively; he could ascertain from Shang Yan's savage actions that the other was definitely intending to kill the three of them…

He continuously commanded himself in his mind: hurry up and move, just—move... He turned an expectant gaze towards the protagonist, but unfortunately, Song XiaoHu's eyes were currently tightly closed—he was obviously out cold!

Yu ZhiJue coolly glanced at the dagger in proximity, then glared resolutely at Shang Yan as he said, "This isn't the end yet." A strange, cruel thread of scarlet flashed across his eyes, and seeing this, Shang Yan gave a start, unexpectedly blanking out momentarily.

Under a surge of furore and distress, Ling Xia suddenly crawled up. With the strength he didn't know he had, Ling Xia grabbed a smattering of rocks and charged forward with a roaring howl, "Screw your frickin' sister! The hell is a minor doing, playing this kind of criminal underworld game? I'm warning you, you can't afford these stakes!"

Shang Yan jerked in alarm and swung his leg out in haste. Getting kicked, Ling Xia staggered a few steps back, but in spite of that, he flung the rocks in his hand with all his might, and one of them slammed into the corner of Shang Yan's right eye. All things considered, Shang Yan's cultivation period was still short; at the end of the day, he mostly relied on magic tools to defend himself. He had yet to pass the introductory stage in body cultivation, so being assaulted by Ling Xia's tremendous strength, his eye instantly swelled, and he reflexively covered it with his hand.

Suddenly, Shang Yan was struck with a chilling sensation and a stabbing agony in his abdomen. Stunned, he lowered his head to discover a knife sticking out of his stomach and a pair of unblinking eyes glaring ferociously at him.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind: Exactly how did the other move just then? Why did he not notice?… But before he could think of an answer, the half-foot-long blade inside his body was ruthlessly twisted around several times as indescribable agony and pain robbed him of the ability to even breathe.

Then, Yu ZhiJue abruptly pulled back, and Shang Yan let out a coarse, blood-curdling scream. A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and holding his stomach, he raggedly crumpled down, falling.

Ling Xia slumped to the ground, staring in disbelief at the scene before his eyes.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, and in the instant the light flashed by, he clearly saw Yu ZhiJue's expression, collapsed against the stone wall, and repeatedly gasped for breath. When their eyes met, that young and tender face held neither brutal violence nor ferociousness but was rather brimming with the hesitation and trepidation of a lost child.

A few more claps of thunder sounded, and as if suddenly jerking awake, Yu ZhiJue looked down at the knife in his hand and at the raindrops washing away the bloodstains, flowing down the weapon's body and down his wrist. Immediately, he let go of the weapon and lowered his head while leaning against the stone wall for support. He began to vomit forcefully, as if trying to rid himself of every drop of bile in his system.

He had poured all of his long-accumulated resentment and indignation from the discriminatory treatment he received into that stab just then, but now all that remained was unending and abominable nausea.

Even though he was completely terrified, Ling Xia still quickly stood up, and while shaking and stumbling, he carried the passed-out Song XiaoHu back into the cavern. Relieved after confirming the other's heartbeat and breathing, he walked outside without another pause, despite his body's uncontrollable trembling.

From his birth up until now, he had only encountered the deaths of three people, the first being when his grandfather passed away. He was still a child, and seeing the old man in the bed cease breathing, he could only ignorantly ask his mother, who was crying non-stop, "What happened to Grandpa?"

The second was on the road when he saw first-hand a mutilated body being rescued from a car crash by traffic officers, his heart filled with pity and sympathy.

The last was when the girl he was secretly in love with drowned. He was only sixteen at the time, and when he saw her corpse at the memorial service, he cried to the point of almost fainting. It was only with the support of two of his classmates that he didn't break down and collapse to the floor.

However, this was the first time he personally witnessed the process of someone being murdered, and this kind of inexplicable horror was a veritable fact—not a scene from a book. This was the harsh reality of witnessing a life disappear right before his eyes!

But at this juncture, he knew that he couldn't abandon Yu ZhiJue; he couldn't leave him on his own…

"This was a legitimate self-defence; otherwise, we would be the ones dead right now…" Ling Xia mumbled to himself over and over again, trying his hardest to make each step he took more firm and decisive, backed with more strength.

Before, all his words about saving the villain were merely a form of moral support in response to his mistakenly coming to this world. It wasn't until now, in seeing that heart-rending expression on Yu ZhiJue's face, that he genuinely, in all seriousness, had this kind of awareness and resolve:

He must protect this child!

By no means will he ever allow this child to fall into the darkness, to the point of no return!