Chereads / The Eight Descendants / Chapter 32 - Episode 11 : The Midnight Killer - Chapter 2

Chapter 32 - Episode 11 : The Midnight Killer - Chapter 2

They got off the boat and headed for the river bank. It was late at night, Jinshui secretly looked around and tried to find Xu Qiao, Liuxin, and the others nearby, but all he could see around was an old man looking for some snakes among the grass.

"Laoyezi (old man), this place is dangerous," one of Lin Tongtian's subordinates approached the old man and spoke to him.

"I'm looking for snakes, it is dangerous," the old man replied calmly. "There's a snake smell around here, have you seen it?"

"There are no snakes around here," said the subordinate.

"Are you sure?" the old man asked again. "I smell a snake. A big and very venomous snake, you better be careful."

"Hua Jinshui," Lin Tongtian was already holding a large blade in his hand. "You can start now."

"Die," Lin Xiaoyan said, "We just put the medicine on his wounds."

"I don't have much time," said Lin Tongtian coldly. "Hua Jinshui, what are you waiting for?"

Jinshui realized that Huang Yu's two servants must have already taken Xu Qiao and Liuxin away to safety, and he didn't have to worry about getting them involved. He had to fight Lin Tongtian, and he couldn't do so worrying about the girls.

He drew his xuanlong sword, put forth all his inner energy to the best of his ability, and started to strike at Banye Xiake. His wounds still hurt, but he tried not to feel them, in the first few moves also only played simple techniques to save his energy. The goal was to buy as much time as possible, endure as hard as he can, and get through the fifty moves safely.

Lin Tongtian could read his tactics. But he did say he will give Jinshui a benefit in the first three moves, and he really did not fight back during the first three moves. Just in the fourth move he conjured his signature energy bei feng qi, and caused the motion of his huge blade and even his sleeves to carry a heavy storm-like strikes.

Jinshui knew that he couldn't directly engage his force because of his current condition. He didn't want to be easily knocked down by Lin Tongtian's pressure. He mostly eluded, occasionally using his sword to clash with the huge blade, then by shifting his strength he moved the sword, making sparks on both weapons, and he was able to escape.

"You have a good self-defend method," Lin Tongtian praised him.

After the thirtieth move, Lin Tongtian began to be able to confine Jinshui in his circle of energy, giving him trouble as each huge blade's attack became faster and more dangerous, several times almost splitting his body. Jinshui felt that his own strength had weakened, his head felt dizzy, and it really wasn't easy to keep his life attached to his body.

In the forty-third move, Lin Tongtian managed to force Jinshui to his knees, resisting the huge blade strike with xuanlong sword. Jinshui couldn't move the sword, and just as he lowered his body and was about to roll to the ground to break free from the pressure of the opponent's force, Lin Tongtian kicked his chest, sending him flying three spears away.

Jinshui was still able to get up, used his sword and wiped the blood from his lip, then attacked in a circular motion. Lin Tongtian knew this attack was just a reckless attack, Jinshui was no longer using his inner strength and he would be able to easily parry and throw it back.

However this time Lin Tongtian suddenly tilted his body and moved aside, giving Jinshui the opportunity to attack once again in the same way, until the last move.

"Thank you Lin Daren for giving up seven moves," Jinshui said, still standing where he was with the sword stuck in the ground used as a pedestal. He was in worse condition and another attack might be fatal to him.

"You're wasting so much energy just for me to let him go?" Lin Tongtian asked him, pointing at Huang Yu.

"It's fifty moves already and I can still stand up straight," Jinshui said, "This Huang Xiongdi is the son of the late Huang Zongbiaotou of Hailang Biaoju. Considering his parents are good people, I sincerely hope Lin Daren is willing to let him go. Hua Jinshui has fallen into your hands, you can torture or kill me."

Lin Tongtian looked at him, knowing that Jinshui could still speak at length actually while enduring excruciating pain. He had to secretly admit that the primary descendant of Yumen had a very high sense of friendship.

"You two can go now," Lin Tongtian finally said. "I told you today you can go. Tomorrow I hope you've gone far away, because Lin-mo will use all his might to hunt you down and recapture you, uprooting the remnants of the Yumen sect."

He grabbed his daughter's hand before Lin Xiaoyan turned to either Jinshui or Huang Yu, bringing her back to the ship. His subordinates let go of Huang Yu and let him approach Jinshui, then followed their master to the deck.

Just as Lin Tongtian and his men had boarded the boat, Jinshui had already fallen to his knees on the ground, fresh blood gushing out from the corners of his lips. Huang Yu tried to support him to his feet, but he himself was also injured and knelt on the ground too.

"Drink this," someone suddenly held out two black pills to them. Jinshui's vision had already blurred, but he still quite recognized the man handing him the pill as the snake seeker old man he saw earlier. Apparently, during his fight with Lin Tongtian, no one paid attention to the old man, and he was still standing on the edge of the arena watching everything.

Jinshui had no other choice but to take the pill and swallow it. His condition was very severe, his life was only a strand, if what was received was poison then it would end his suffering. Huang Yu did the same, he didn't care much for now.

The ship belonging to the Lin Family lifted anchor and left the place. Jinshui and Huang Yu sat down for a while to recover some energy. The snake seeker old man remained standing in front of them, waiting quietly.

Not long after, Jinshui and Huang Yu were able to get up, and the old man asked them to follow him. They headed for the hills and found a cave there, it was quite hidden, inside the cave there was a natural pool of water. The old man asked Jinshui and Huang Yu to rest there and left.

Jinshui sat back down to recuperate, managing his pure inner energy and trying to get rid of the remaining poison in his body. Huang Yu cleaned his wounds with pool water, the cold reminded him that his beloved long blue robe had been damaged. It was left on the ship when Lin Tongtian's men gave medicine for his wound.

The snake seeker old man returned a few hours later, bringing them two sets of new clothes, clean enough though made of rough materials. The old man also brought medicine and some bandages, gave them to Jinshui and Huang Yu, and let them treat their own wounds.

The old man took off his grass hat after, revealing his smooth face even though he was an elderly, as well as his silvery gray hair. Huang Yu didn't know him, couldn't guess the old man's identity for a while either.

"Who are you?" he asked warily, not sitting down quickly to treat wounds or restore his inner energy. "Why did you help us?"

"Who said I was helping you?" the old man asked back. "I just don't want him to die." He pointed at Jinshui with his fingertip.

"Do you know who he is?" Huang Yu asked.

"Hua Jinshui, the primary descendant of Yumen," said the old man.

"How'd you know?" Huang Yu asked again.

"He told me himself, of course, "said the old man. "Young man, you've been poisoned, and you've just been beaten," he reminded. "My medicine just now was only enough to keep you alive for half an hour. If you don't quickly heal yourself, then even gods can't help."

Huang Yu was still wary, but he sat down as well, closed his eyes, and exerted the inner energy given by Chailang in his body to get rid of the remaining poison that he had taken from Liuxin this afternoon.

The snake seeker old man collected some firewood and lit the fire, reaching the basket he had brought. There was a large snake in that basket and the old man stroked it for a while, patiently waiting until Jinshui and Huang Yu had recovered enough, then skinned and cut the snake into several pieces. part, roast it in the fireplace.

He seemed to be deliberately spreading the smell of roasted snakes throughout the cave, gulping several times as if he couldn't wait for a delicious meal.

Huang Yu was a bit sadistic person and he was able to kill a man without blinking. But he had never seen people kill a snake and roast it, he really almost threw up.

"What's wrong?" The old man scolded him, "You've never eaten a snake?"

"Laorenjia, there are still other wild animals in this forest, we can hunt some," said Huang Yu, "why do you have to eat such disgusting food?"

"It won't be easy to find other food in the middle of the night like now," said the old man. "You two cannot hunt in current condition, and my old stomach is starving already. I can't wait for you to recuperate."

The old man was drooling as the snake flesh began to give off a stink that Huang Yu found very repulsive. From inside his bamboo basket, he took out a pair of chopsticks, then he started to eat the snake.

"Feng Yeye, how did you get here? You still remember Jinshui?" Jinshui moved closer and asked the old man.

"Of course, I still remember, you are the young man who was with that girl on the mountain," said the old man while eating, "how is that girl by the way, did you manage to practice a higher level of wuqing xue and save her? I leave my valley to look for Yanzi now, unexpectedly saw you there fighting with Lin Tongtian."

The snake seeker old man was none other than Laofeng, the medicine-gathering old man on the mountain whom Jinshui and Xu Qiao encountered three years ago. Based on Yanzi's statement at Bai Tu Shanzhuang a few days earlier, Jinshui also knew that this Laofeng was actually the owner of Wansui Gu and Zhou Sangong's master, Lao Duxie Zeng Baifeng.

"Yanzi? Feng Yeye, you haven't left Wansui Gu in a long time and haven't heard of in the martial world, coming out of the valley to find Zhou Guniang?" Jinshui asked. "All I know is that she was last with a friend of mine, Lin Jixuan, Lin Daren's son. Only just now did Lin Daren not mention anything about a girl who was with her son, it was likely that Yanzi had already left on her own."

Jinshui briefly told about Yanzi's appearance at Bai Tu Shanzhuang and how Lin Jixuan then took her away with Li Jue. Laofeng laughed and said that Yanzi was a wayward child, there was no way Lin Tongtian's son could hold her for long.

"The daughter of my rotten disciple Zhou Sangong, when she was little was often victimized by her father and elder sister to try new types of poison, but she always managed to survive," the old man seemed excited to talk about Yanzi. "I am Zeng Baifeng, in my entire life I always liked medicine and poison, at first I was only interested in her extraordinary endurance, then took and took care of her, considered her as my own granddaughter, and taught her all the medicine and poison arts in Wansui Gu. I must tell you, she's quite talented."

When Nan Xinglie and Luo Tieyun stole Zhou Sangong's medicinal book three years ago, they thought Zhou Sangong need the book to help Yanzi who was poisoned by her sister as an experimental victim. Zhou Sangong rejected the book and told them that he didn't need the book to help his daughter because Yanzi had been taken by Zeng Baifeng.

"You are Lao Duxie Zeng Baifeng?" Huang Yu suddenly asked.

"Feng Yeye, this is my friend Huang Yu," Jinshui introduced. "Another descendant of Yumen, the sole disciple of another guardian, Chailang Shishu."

"You are the descendant of Chailang," replied Laofeng. "Chailang is known to have knowledge of the world's martial arts figures better than anyone. His disciple doesn't recognize me, it seems that my efforts to stay in the valley for decades were not a waste."

Zeng Baifeng gave Jinshui the cooked snake meat, and also offered it to Huang Yu. Jinshui ate it without much thought, Huang Yu politely refused and tried to move aside.

"There is no enmity between me and your Yumen Jiao," Zeng Baifeng repeated the same words he had told Jinshui at their first meeting three years ago. "I left the valley this time to find Yanzi, take her home, and will not interfere in the affairs of the martial world, including the intentions of the descendant to resurrect Yumen or anything."

"Being able to meet the owner of Wansui Gu could be considered great luck for Huang Yu," Huang Yu said. "Laoyeye, although I don't really like the Wansui Gu people, also don't like Yanzi much, but today you have helped me and Jinshui, I have to thank you."

"This snake meat doesn't taste good when it's cold," Zeng Baifeng told him. "For me, it's rude if you don't try a bite."

Huang Yu was forced to accept the snake meat and eat it. Zeng Baifeng just laughed at the look on his face, then gave Jinshui more snake meat, asking him to fill his stomach as much as possible.

"For Yanzi's sake, I came out of my valley by applying the three rules," Zeng Baifeng said, explaining it himself why tonight he was just a simple snake catcher old man who couldn't fight in front of Lin Tongtian and his people. "First, it is forbidden to use neigong (internal energy) to fight with anyone. Second, don't use poison. Third, I can't kill anyone."

"Feng Yeye, how so?" Jinshui asked. The rules applied by Zeng Baifeng to himself were a bit strange.

"Xiaozi, you already know that my fate is not much different from yours, even worse," Zeng Baifeng replied. "Everyone in the mainland thinks of me as a criminal, because of this matter if they know Zeng Baifeng is back again there will definitely be many who are looking for a chance to take my head."

"Is it because of the news in the martial world, that thirteen years ago, you killed Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang who at that time was seriously injured?" Huang Yu asked. "Everyone said that the owner of Wansui Gu had already taken the opportunity when his enemy was helpless."

"I also don't know where the news came from," Zeng Baifeng said casually. "I'm old, and I'd been enjoying a quiet life in Wansui Gu and so far was doing well. Somehow, someone was not happy and then spread that news. Well, I don't want to talk about it. My old belly is full enough, and it's time to sleep."

He really didn't say more to Jinshui and Huang Yu, laid down on the dried grass by the fireplace, and quickly fell asleep. Huang Yu watched him for a while, thinking about his words just now.

The news in the martial world said that Zhang Zheliang the Sword God was seriously injured after the fight with Wu Youwei, the former leader of Yumen, then went to Wansui Gu to seek treatment from Zeng Baifeng, and there instead was killed along with his first disciple. If Zeng Baifeng himself mentioned that this news was not true, then what had actually happened?

"Yu," Jinshui called him, "what Lin Tongtian said regarding the guardians, regarding your parents, I can guarantee that all of them are not true. The death of your parents three years ago has nothing to do with your duties as one of Yumen's descendants."

"I know," replied Huang Yu, momentarily forgetting about Zhang Zheliang. "Those two mysterious men, if they killed my parents to provoke my resentment towards the righteous parties in the martial world, they would have blatantly used their identity as our Yumen enemy from the first place."

"They intended to kill me when I perfunctory said that they were members of the Jianyin Bang," Jinshui said. "If their goal is for us descendants to have enough hatred as a reason for reviving the sect, then hatred towards Jianyin Bang is the best reason."

"You don't have to worry, I know Chailang Shifu," replied Huang Yu, "I have also thought about this matter for some time. I believe Yumen guardians are honorable men, and they will not use such heinous means as Lin Tongtian said."