Ling Yun did not climb onto the monster's body this time. Despite it's huge size, humongous strength and deceptively quick speed, the Moshui only had one eye. It was a trait that was both a strength and a weakness as it allowed the creature to focus completely on a singular target but left it exposed to surprise attacks.
In essence, it was a nightmare to fight alone, and surprisingly easy when fought in a team. However, that requires its opponents to reach a certain Pugilist ranking to even break past its skin. That - or a really, really good weapon.
From his first death, Ling Yun had learned the dagger in his hand could indeed puncture the Moshui's defense, yet it was too short to reach any vital organs, thus he had to slash at the tendons of the creature or stab the dagger through its eye in order to reach the brain.
Judging by the fact that several sect members were pretending not to notice anything, Ling Yun was sure that he couldn't just ask for help.
'This man must not be well-liked, even by an evil sect.'
This thought made Ling Yun hesitate. If even an evil sect was willing to watch him die, then how evil must this man be? That doubt lingered in the back of his head, yet his movement did not pause. He jumped into the river, the water reaching just below his chin, and swam towards the Moshui.
This took seven seconds. He had 23 seconds left. At this point, the Moshui heard the loud splash and looked away only to realise that a weak bread crumb was swimming closer. It raised one of its fists and crushed the bread crumb, leaving the water a bloody pool.
Ling Yun gasped aloud as he found himself hidden in a bush, 53 seconds away from his previous position. 'Okay, so no jumping this time.'
Knowing the man's life was still in trouble, he ran to the riverstream giving him an extra ten seconds of time to save the man's life. He edged into the pull before swimming. This time the Moshui did not look back.
Ling Yun arrived at its back. Since it was straddling Gu Luofan with its weight, the creature was a low enough height for Ling Yun to climb. Of course he did that the first time and died, so he was not going to climb it this time.
Instead, he dove his head under the water, and spent a moment adjusting to the murky green water before finding his objective. Two plump cheeks were in full view, and in between laid a wrinkled hole.
He raised his dagger, apologised in his heart and jammed it into the hole. The Moshui immediately stood up and screamed in pain. It turned around and found the ant responsible for the violation of its sacred palace.
Red coloured the edges of its vision as it grabbed at the ant desperately trying to swim away. The corners of its lips pulled apart as it sneered and snatched the ant out of the water. Raising the tiny figure above its head, it was about to grind the body into a fleshy pulp with its teeth when something tickled its back.
The tickling then grew into blistering heat as the smell of flesh burning greeted the Moshui's nose. It jerked its meaty neck to the side and had a lick of bright blue flame scorch his eye. "WAAAAARRRRGH!"
It dropped the ant and clamped both its hands over its eye as a milky spot blinded the centre of its vision. The Moshui was partially blinded, and it was now about to burn to death if it didn't snuff out the flame.
It rolled onto the river, snuffing out the flames only for a certain 3 Star Pugilist to take advantage of this weakness to jump on its head, stomp on its throat to get it to open its mouth and pull out a transparent glass bottle filled with pitch black liquid out of his water-logged bag before pouring it into the Moshui's gaping maw.
The creature attempted to screech, but the viscous black liquid clogged its throat, allowing only a soft gurgle to escape its mouth. It was choking to death.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold. Do you feel cold?" Gu Luofan growled. He twisted his hip and kicked aside one of the arms reaching for him. Although he had deflected it, the kick left his leg feeling a bit sore. After all, the Moshui was still a tier stronger than him.
He hopped off the creature. The substance he threw in its mouth was a sticky liquid that would solidify and permanently adhere to its surroundings once it had cooled, blocking off its airway. No martial opponent was idiotic enough to ingest it, but a simple river demon would only know how to eat, defecate and sleep.
That meant the moment the Moshui had consumed the substance, it was as good as dead. After all, all living creatures need oxygen to survive.
Gu Luofan grabbed the boy who saved him and retreated several feet back to stay clear of the creature's death throes. Eventually, it exhausted itself and collapsed unmoving. Gu Luofan walked back and grabbed the Happy Fun Lotus from the top of its head, placing it in his bag, before turning to his saviour.
It was a boy with phoenix eyes, soft features and a thin frame. His long black hair was drenched and scattered messily over a simple red dress. Now that Gu Luofan looked closer, he felt like he was mistaken.
With their looks and the fact that they are wearing women's clothing, they had to be a girl instead, right? "Junior Sister, what's your name?"
"This Junior Brother's," Ling Yun corrected. "Name is Ling Yun."
Gu Luofan folded his arms. He couldn't think of a reason as to why this girl would try to disguise her gender. However, he wouldn't poke holes in his saviours statement such as their dressing. That would make him ungrateful, and while there were many principles he was willing to cross, gratitude was not one of them.
"Apologies, Junior Brother Ling, my muddled mind brings me shame. Your voice is quite hoarse, and I happen to have a medicine to set your tone back on course."
'Is this guy rhyming intentionally or not?' Ling Yun was amazed that every sentence this man spoke ended in similar syllables. "No need, I like it this way."
"Then I won't insist." Gu Luofan grabbed Ling Yun's arm and pressed a finger down. "In exchange, you tell me if you're really just a One Star Pugilist." This question was the only curiosity he had to have sated immediately.
As a 3 Star Pugilist, he could naturally detect the aura that whiffed off a person, allowing him to guess their estimated power level. He could not find a single wisp coming from this girl, and in fact, from the simple press of her arm, he knew that she had yet to even unlock a major meridian point. This meant that she had yet to even reach the realm of a 2 Star Pugilist.