Qiao Wei shoved the younger man aside, sending a spray of blood erupting from his body. Groaning, the man crumpled to the ground.
Around him, the bound disciples stirred, rising one by one like puppets on strings. Their eyes, vacant orbs devoid of life, stared straight ahead. They stood ramrod straight, their feet entwined by serpents that hissed menacingly at Qiao Wei.
Gritting his teeth, Qiao Wei pressed several acupuncture points in his body. The pressure helped lessen the bleeding from his stomach, but the exertion sent a fresh wave of blood surging up his throat.
"Who are you?" Qiao Wei, his breaths ragged and shallow, rasped a question at the figure who had just plunged a blade into him. The attacker, his arm transformed into a thorny vine slick with Qiao Wei's crimson lifeblood, landed on the ground with a chilling silence.
