The guardian probably realized that it stood no chance against his opponent and turned away to leave, but Ruan Yanjun would not let that happen.
With a snap of his finger, Ruan Yanjun shot an arrow of energy into the back of the guardian's leg. The beast fell to the ground, grunting in pain.
As Ruan Yanjun approached, the guardian had no choice but to fight back.
I took a few steps closer to have a better view. I could not see Ruan Yanjun, but I could hear a barrage of fists hitting the guardian from all directions. He was that fast he was almost invisible.
Disoriented, the guardian's only option was to swipe his claws across the air in random directions and hope luck came his way, but such a thing was a futile attempt against an immortal cultivator.
I noticed that Ruan Yanjun was not using his internal energy with his strikes. I was puzzled. If he wanted to, he could easily finish off the guardian in one hit, but he seemed to be playing with the poor creature for his own amusement.
Suddenly, Ruan Yanjun stopped and the guardian immediately took a few steps backward, panting.
I was beginning to feel sorry for the guardian, even if I knew that when the Molun herb appeared again, this same creature would reincarnate to keep guarding the plant. If Ruan Yanjun had to kill him, he should at least do it quickly and spare him the torment.
"A-Fan," Ruan Yanjun called.
I kept my eyes on him, wondering what he wanted from me.
"Come over here and finish the job," he continued.
I froze, my jaw dropping.
So that was why he did not kill the guardian.
However, he should have known my body's condition the most. Even if the guardian was exhausted, there was no chance I could defeat him.
When I remained still, he slowly turned his head to look at me. "Are you going to wait for him to recuperate before you finish him off?"
I shook my head. "Lord Ruan, I cannot—"
"I will not do everything for you," he interrupted. "If you want the herb, you have to earn it."
I swallowed hard before I dragged my feet forward. When I made it to his side, he stepped aside.
"I know you still have some traces of your martial arts left in you," he said as he stood near a boulder with his hands joined behind his back, his stance like the overbearing devil he was. "Now's your chance to start honing your talent once again."
I tightened my trembling fingers around the stick.
This devil must be trying to amuse himself at my expense. He just wanted to see how pathetic I would handle a dying opponent so he could laugh at me.
Just twenty steps away from me, the guardian stood up straight. His breathing was not that labored anymore, which meant he had recovered some of his strength.
The more that I was doomed.
I took a long, deep breath to calm my nerves and to focus my mind on the upcoming battle. Almost at the same time, I and the guardian dashed forward.
He was probably four times my weight. Even if he just stood still, I'd still be thrown several feet away the moment I clashed against him. Just as he thrust his claws out, I glided sideway. I wasn't as fast as Ruan Yanjun so he had easily followed my direction and surprised me with another swipe of his claws.
I ducked. The instant his arm went past my head, I countered with a thrust of my stick under his chin.
He grunted in pain and stepped back.
I thought I'd have at least a few seconds to rest, but he immediately charged at me in a swirling motion. He looked like a hurricane on the ground with claws about to shred me into chunks.
I leapt several times to escape his deadly claws but he kept coming at me. That brief moment he paused when a tree blocked his way, I flipped over to his back and lashed my stick at the back of his knees, hitting at one of his acupuncture points.
He fell to the ground, face up. I remembered this guardian's weak point that I had discovered two years ago. Beneath the thick fur covering his belly was a soft spot where his spirit core nestled.
With him on the ground, his weak spot was exposed.
I was about to thrust the stick into his belly when his hand suddenly swatted it away and thrust his claws toward me instead. It happened so fast that I barely made a step back and lost my balance. Just as I fell to the ground, his claws followed me.
I stiffened. There was no escaping this. The moment I dropped to the ground, his claws would pierce through me.
It's over.
Just as I began to accept my fate, a swirl of energy exploded right in front of my face. Blind as I was, the light still hurt my eyes and caused ringing in my ears. A heavy load then dropped on top of me, squeezing the breath out of me, but the claws that I had anticipated did not land.
I blinked several times.
What happened?
The heavy load was lifted off me and I pulled in a deep breath. A shadow went down on his haunches beside me, his head so close to mine that I could feel his breath over my face.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Hearing Ruan Yanjun's voice relieved me. I had been so disoriented for a moment that I did not even recognize this man's form.
I tried to speak, but something clogged my throat. I coughed twice before my voice came out. "Is… he dead?"
"He is," he replied. "His spirit is flowing back to the herb. He just showed us the direction."
Although I could not see the flowing spirit, I had seen it before. The moment the guardian died, his essence would return to the herb and reveal the herb's location.
"I tried," I said in between tight breaths. "But he's too strong I could not finish him."
"Regardless, you did well," he replied. "I'm impressed by what I've seen so far."
I frowned. How could he be impressed by that? "If you did not save me, I would have been dead by now."
He sighed and held my hand as he pulled me up to my feet. "If it weren't for your poor choice of weapon, you could have finished him by yourself. Do you still insist on using that stick?"
Speaking of my stick, where is it?
I looked around. Knowing too well what I was looking for, he shoved the stick into my hand.
"Thank you," I said.
He sighed and turned around. "Let's go get that herb."
I followed right behind him, but after just a few steps, he stopped.
"We have another visitor," he said. "And it looks like he's been here for a while, waiting for an opportunity to steal the herb."
I was suddenly anxious. That plant was my only chance of survival. If someone else had found it before we did, I didn't think I'd have long to live.
Even if my senses weren't as profound as Ruan Yanjun's, I managed to hear the rustling of leaves. As fast as the wind, a shadow flew right above our heads and immediately disappeared.
I panicked.
No matter how fast that shadow may be, no speed could possibly escape from an immortal's senses, but for some reason, Ruan Yanjun did not stop the man. He just stood there.
"He's taken it," he said calmly, as if he was not at all bothered that someone had taken away the plant that we had come for.
"Lord Ruan, why did you not stop him?" I asked anxiously. If the herb did not mean much to Ruan Yanjun, it meant a lot to me.
He laughed. "Don't worry. We will get it later."
"Do you know the man?"
"Of course," he replied. "And you know him too."
I was dumbfounded. "Who is it?"
He laughed again. "You'll find out later. Let's go."
I needed reassurance from him, but I held myself back from saying another word. I did not want to offend this immortal. I must trust that he knew what he was doing.
We made our way back to the carriage where the coachman had been waiting. As we headed for the center of Qushan, I was restless.
I really needed that herb. If I couldn't get that, I'd rather start counting my remaining days.