Chapter 68: I Am Xu Xiaoshou

Shao Yi had no such reservations; thinking less meant living better. He suddenly turned back toward the artificial rock garden...

Hmm?

No one!

From the corner of his eye, he caught a black shadow nearby, and he quickly turned to look.

There stood a man in white robes, hands clasped behind his back, hair disheveled over his shoulders, head bowed in silence.

This was the one who had been on the rock garden earlier...

But now, face-to-face!

Shao Yi's pupils contracted. He couldn't make out the man's face since his head was down, but it was clear from the tattered clothing that he was injured. Sword slashes marred the fabric, and the exposed skin was bruised and purple. Faint bloodstains on his chest had been washed away almost completely by the rain.

Shao Yi wasn't foolish; he just couldn't keep up with the terrifying depth of thought from the other two. He could still make basic judgments.

The wounds—sword marks, bruises...

Xu Xiaoshou had Xiantian Jianyi and Xiantian Rourou...

So, this man wasn't Xu Xiaoshou!

But he had fought Xu Xiaoshou!

The real Xu Xiaoshou...

Was dead!

“This...”

The rain poured wildly, and the person beside him didn't even dare to turn around. Shao Yi just stared at the white-robed figure in the rain, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.

“Boom!”

A thunderclap echoed, and the white-robed man suddenly lifted his head.

“Damn it!”

Shao Yi recoiled in fright, backing up until he pressed against the Jie Jie wall, exclaiming in horror, “Xu Xiaoshou?!”

This was insane!

He had just deduced that this person wasn't Xu Xiaoshou, but as soon as the man looked up, his pale, bloodless face was identical to Xu Xiaoshou's!

No wonder Ge A'kong was so scared. So, thinking things through could be this terrifying?

“He is Xu Xiaoshou!”

At the sound of the startled cry, Feng Kong could hold back no longer and whipped around.

Another flash of lightning arced across the night sky, briefly illuminating the white-robed man's face.

Both of them saw the disheveled man twitch his mouth into a forced, unnatural smile, as if the face didn't belong to him at all. It was utterly out of place.

Goosebumps erupted all over their bodies!

This was way too terrifying!

Forget Feng Kong, who was already too overwhelmed to think straight—even Shao Yi, who had just started to think critically, now felt like his mind had short-circuited.

“Is he really Xu Xiaoshou?!”

The same thought flashed through both their minds.

“I am Xu Xiaoshou!”

The white-robed man seemed to see right through their doubts, grinning again with that skin-crawling smile.

Like hell we believe you!

Their hairs stood on end as they exchanged glances, seeing undisguised fear in each other's eyes.

Even if this was Xu Xiaoshou, they couldn't fight anymore!

This was just too damn scary!

“Run!”

“Run!”

The two shouts came almost simultaneously. Shao Yi gripped his short sword and slashed at the Jie Jie wall, creating a booming rupture and forcing open a gap.

“I'm tired of playing with you two. Why not stay and rest instead of running?”

Xu Xiaoshou said coldly.

The information panel finally stopped updating, but not because they had confirmed his identity. On the contrary, he had guided them toward an ambiguous direction.

Not Xu Xiaoshou, yet also Xu Xiaoshou!

This fear from the unknown was what truly panicked them. Whether he was really Xu Xiaoshou no longer mattered.

Well...

At least, not to them.

Though he wanted to let them go, the act had to be complete.

Maybe this was all part of that deep schemer's plan?!

He couldn't afford to gamble on that.

As the two were about to slip through the Jie Jie gap, Xu Xiaoshou drew the finger blade from his waist. For the sake of the performance, his fake smile had nearly turned real...

With a snap of his fingers, blood splattered.

“Jin Zhao Tian Fen!”

He tilted his head, making no other visible move, and invisible flames instantly ignited on Shao Yi's body, crackling as they burned.

This Ling Ji of unknown rank was the only one Xu Xiaoshou could use right now. The others were either too distinctive or not powerful enough at this range.

He absolutely couldn't use “Cang Ku”; if these two didn't recognize that sword, he'd eat it upside down...

No, only “Jin Zhao Tian Fen” would do—unknown to anyone and impressively powerful.

Sure enough, as the invisible flames took hold, Shao Yi's face turned ashen. He instinctively summoned his Ling Yuan for protection, but the fire eroded it anyway.

He panicked. “What the hell is this?!”

In his mind, the Xu Xiaoshou before him was now synonymous with horror and strangeness. This “ghost fire” completely shattered his mental defenses.

“Shao Yi!”

The gap in the Jie Jie wall was narrow, and Feng Kong had already squeezed through. Seeing his companion still inside, he shouted through a voice transmission.

“You go first; I'll cover the rear!”

Shao Yi struggled fiercely against the eerie flames. To outsiders, he looked almost normal, since “Jin Zhao Tian Fen” was invisible.

“You know what I mean!” Shao Yi said something cryptic, and Xu Xiaoshou watched as the serious man outside sped away.

What was going on?

A signal?

Only the fleeing Feng Kong understood. Shao Yi was skilled in seven types of Dun Shu, while he only knew one—Blood Dun. So, every time a mission failed, Shao Yi would cover the retreat while he escaped first.

Yet, every time, Shao Yi would catch up moments later, jug in hand, sprinting ahead of him, drinking and yelling in that weird accent for him to pick up the pace.

“Sizzle!”

Thinking of this, Feng Kong couldn't help but smile. That guy...

He had full confidence in Shao Yi's Dun Shu—seven types, rotating as needed. Who could catch up?

He never expected tonight's task to turn out so bizarre. Had Brother He hired others to assassinate Xu Xiaoshou without telling them? What a pain!

He didn't trust that unreliable Shao Yi, but not trusting him?

“Hah!”

...

“It's backfiring, Ge A'kong.”

“Maybe this time, I won't make it out alive...”

Shao Yi felt bitter inside. As a Xiantian pinnacle cultivator, he still couldn't withstand this “ghost fire.”

Was this some kind of Yao Shu?

He had never seen such a bizarre Ling Ji! It seemed to burn everything; in just a short time, it had consumed more than half of his Ling Yuan. When it ran out completely, his body and soul would likely burn away too.

Shao Yi glanced at the white-robed figure in the rain, tightening his grip on his short sword.

Why wasn't he attacking?

Did he want to watch me burn to death?

What a twisted sense of fun...

Perhaps, in the eyes of these big shots, my level of cultivation was no more than an ant!

Fine, I'll just buy some time!

Ge A'kong, whatever you do, don't look back...

“Under suspicion, Passive Value +1.”

“Under contempt, Passive Value +1.”

“Under mockery, Passive Value +1.”

“Under curse, Passive Value +1.”

“...”

Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what this person was rambling about in his head. He just had to act as nonchalant as possible, making the atmosphere even more terrifying.

He worked hard to evaporate the falling rain, stir up boiling water vortices on the ground, and make the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees tremble...

That was it.

He couldn't make a move; doing so would reveal that he was really only at Lian Ling ninth realm. Then he'd be done for by this guy!

Don't be fooled by his stupidity; this one was at least Xiantian pinnacle!

Xu Xiaoshou was panicking inside.

“What to do, what to do?”

“A Lian Ling ninth realm against a Yuan Ting realm pinnacle—any chance?”

“Is there anyone to save me?”

“Help—!”