Boarding out a carriage in a riverside city, Soha's red mask reflected the sunlight. He pushed up his bamboo hat and, with a smile, left the city. Just ten kilometers from here, there was a mountain, and supposedly, a small bandit gang called the Rabid Dog Bunch lived there. He wanted to play them.
The leader was a 3rd Class Martial Artist, and he had been staying out of the radar of the officials by a thin line for a long time. Yet, the people of the dark side knew him very well since he was someone who helped them sell dark goods. Stolen goods.
Out of the city and through a meandering mud road, he walked for about half an hour before entering a thick forestry. His walk was paced just enough not to make himself exhausted. He didn't plan to fight the 3rd Class Martial Artist. He just needed the heart of the person's lackeys.
He would kill them, finish the quota for becoming a 2nd Class Martial Artist, and return. Luckily, he was faster than even his own expectations.
What he didn't know was that, he had already lost a significant amount of his own lifespan, so he obviously would have as fast a development. He was literally sacrificing more than 75% of his own life for a fleeting period of power after all.
Of course, that was only this body's lifespan.
The forest passed by, casting reflections of dancing leaves on his dark robes in the afternoon sun. Just as he passed through an area, suddenly, his eyes widened as an arrow blasted towards him at full force from the side, and he squatted.
Barely an inch away, the arrow passed through a tuft of his hair, and with a resounding thud, the shaft buried itself deep within a tree, the force causing it to shudder.
For a moment, all was silent before Soha burst out of the place with wide eyes to hide behind a tree, and his heart kept beating heavily.
An arrow?!
An ambush?!
As a Third Class Martial Artist, he already had way better reflexes than even an athlete. His hearing was top-notch, too. Faintly, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and briefly looked back, ready to pull back in case of another attack, yet, seeing the person running towards him, his face paled slightly.
A bald-headed man with bulging muscles. The man's eyes were cold, and his face was deadpan. Soha knew him. He was the Third Class Martial Artist, Iron Arm Bo Gui.
The leader of the Rabid Dog Bunch.
He immediately tried to distance himself from Bo Gui.
"Where do you think you are going?" With unrestrained laughter, Bo Gui ran towards him and pulled his bow once more, sending an arrow whooshing through the air towards him, yet it was not at all accurate.
He wasn't skilled enough to hit a target while on the run. Yet, the bow was as deadly as ever. One shot in the head, and he would be dead after all, Soha kept running around.
He leaped from tree to tree, his dark robes billowing behind him like a shadow flitting through the forest. Bo Gui's arrows were relentless, but Soha's reflexes were sharper. He could hear the man's grunts of frustration with every missed shot. It was evident that Bo Gui was not used to his prey being so elusive.
"Give me your martial art, and I will spare you, Heart-Eating Demon!"
Soha was speechless.
Only people of the Criminal Well knew that name.
Did that mean that the people of that place warned Bo Gui that he might come here?
He had underestimated the contact between thugs.
This person was also only as strong as himself but also more experienced. He wouldn't be as foolish as to set up an ambush with only himself while knowing that.
Why was he so arrogant? Was his gang also coming?
Soha's heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach, and he twisted on his underfoot, changing course and running towards Bo Gui. At first stunned, Bo Gui quickly pulled the arrow and shot an accurate shot at Soha. He moved his head to the side and caught the arrow with his powerful palm, but the arrow still sunk halfway into his stomach.
Without caring, Soha ran towards Bo Gui and reached him. He coldly removed his woolen gloves and attacked with his black poisonous palm straight for the middle-aged man's guts, yet Bo Gui put a hand barrier in front of himself, and Soha's powerful palm slammed into it.
Grunting, Bo Gui cursed, "Iron Arm Bo Gui wasn't a name as easy to gain as yours, arrogant youth." With a kick using his knees, he slammed right on the outside end of the arrow stuck in Soha's stomach, and the thing pierced even deeper.
Soha cried out in pain and tried to attack with his palm anywhere other than the iron-like arms of his opponent.
Bo Gui seemed to have trained in an art that allowed him to have powerful arms that were seemingly iron, and his movements were agile, keeping his other body parts safe. It was almost impossible to hit anywhere else.
Soha was entirely helpless, and the opponent kept throwing kicks that hurt his already wounded stomach. Suddenly, from the distance, he could also hear other footsteps.
With a shout, Soha moved as if for another palm attack and then suddenly stopped.
Snatching the bow, he tried to run with it, but Bo Gui was quick and took the other half of it in an iron grip. With a snort, Soha broke it in half with his powerful hold and ran.
Bo Gui followed him, but he wasn't faster than Soha, and his other gang members were spread throughout the forest, not knowing where Soha would come from. So soon, only he and Soha were on the run while the others had long since been left behind.
They ran through small streams of water, through the harsh forest, and still kept running. Bo Gui was relaxed since he had no injuries, while Soha was damp with sweat, his face pale as he lost more and more blood.
He checked a small pack tied to his side and drank from a small cloth bottle before throwing it away at the enemy behind him. Bo Gui only laughed at the pitiful sight.
They ran and ran and ran, and soon, he and Bo Gui found themselves in a short ravine. Soha's head roamed around in dizziness. Laughing, Bo Gui asked, "Done already?"
Soha breathed heavily, looking at him coldly.
At some point, he had lost his bamboo hat, but his red mask was still tied to his face. With a painful voice, he said, "I can't give you the martial art. The Li clan would kill me if they knew I gave it out."
Bo Gui smirked, his bald face squirming to form a vicious expression. "I will kill you otherwise. You are already at the end of your road."
Soha gritted his teeth.
He would be killed even if he gave it, he knew. Even he would kill if he stole someone else's Martial Arts just to be sure they won't be able to leak news. Li Yuntao had warned him of exactly this kind of scenario some time ago, too.
He put some pressure on his stomach, feeling the wrenching pain. He grimaced.
At least, his own poisonous palm didn't work against himself.
The getting used to that he had been doing for the past month by dipping his palm in the poison had also given him a high resistance to it, almost immunity, but that was no solace now.
There was no way he could betray the Li Clan this soon, either. He had to go there every week for the antidote. If the news was out, an early death was a surety.
Emma also remained silent.
They were in a dead end.