Blood Fiend thought to himself, I don’t see how normal you are right now either!
“Didn’t you say she was an eighth-rank martial arts master? Why is she only seventh-rank now?” An Jiu asked.
Blood Fiend was surprised. “You can even tell someone’s rank?”
When An Jiu first headed toward the magistrate’s bedroom, Blood Fiend had assumed the magistrate was a formidable expert. It was only after seeing Yu Ji with the magistrate that he realized the true expert was Yu Ji.
Seeing An Jiu tacitly confirm this, Blood Fiend continued, “She’s pregnant. Perhaps her body was damaged back then, making it difficult to carry the child, so she’s using ten percent of her internal energy to protect it.” A vague sense of jealousy stirred in his heart—whether it was envy of the magistrate for possessing Yu Ji or of Yu Ji for finding the ordinary life they all secretly yearned for, he couldn’t say.
In his mind, his relationship with Yu Ji had only ever been about seeking fleeting warmth in the darkness through each other’s bodies. As for emotions, he had never given them a thought.
“Let’s go back,” An Jiu said.
“Women are truly formidable,” Blood Fiend sighed.
Emotions ran through every fiber of a woman’s being. The killings in the Crane Control Army might numb them temporarily, but they could never be extinguished. Once exposed to daylight again, they would quickly revive. But for men, once their blood ran cold, it could never boil again. Rich emotions made women fragile, yet they could also make them indestructible.
Blood Fiend wore a gentle smile, but his heart had always been cold.
He wanted to set himself ablaze, but the spark that ignited him would never be love.
The two hurried back to Hexi overnight.
The night was deep, the dew heavy, and the moonlight obscured by thick clouds, making visibility poor. Yet An Jiu remembered the path clearly, deftly avoiding obstacles in the dark.
After traveling for over an hour, An Jiu suddenly sensed people ahead—all of them martial arts masters!
“Blood Fiend, slow down,” An Jiu whispered.
They gradually came to a stop, but the martial artists continued to close in rapidly.
An Jiu knew their horses’ hoofbeats had drawn attention. With no way to tell if these people were friend or foe, it was best to avoid them. “Dismount and hide!”
The group was still too far for Blood Fiend to detect, but hearing the caution in An Jiu’s voice, he knew they were dealing with formidable opponents.
They dismounted, led the horses into a nearby grove to hide, and then concealed themselves not far away.
An Jiu didn’t tie the reins, giving the horses a chance to escape if danger arose.
She crouched on a thick horizontal branch of a poplar tree, peering through the dense foliage to faintly glimpse the horses’ silhouettes. Blood Fiend hid in a tree about ten feet opposite her.
The group approached with terrifying speed, their murderous intent so palpable even Blood Fiend could sense it.
In the dimness, a horse suddenly whinnied and bolted.
Blood Fiend’s eyes widened as he saw about twenty people chasing the horses, swift and ruthless like wolves hunting prey. In the blink of an eye, the two horses were killed, and the group pounced, tearing into them. The thick scent of blood quickly spread through the woods.
After their bloody feast, they suddenly turned alert and began gathering in their direction.
Blood Fiend had been discovered!
An Jiu tightened her grip on the longbow strapped to her back.
The group advanced, reeking of blood. A slightly plump man at the front raised his hand, and three figures leaped into the trees. In an instant, the entire group surged toward Blood Fiend’s hiding place like lightning.
Realizing he was exposed, Blood Fiend swiftly tossed down a poison pill and gripped his sword hilt.The poisonous fumes quickly spread, yet they didn't slow the approaching crowd in the slightest.
Blood Fiend's pupils contracted as he swung his blade, launching an attack against the three figures descending from the trees!
Two against over twenty. Blood Fiend knew they were likely doomed today, but after witnessing the horses being torn apart, he refused to meet the same fate. He unleashed his full Internal Energy in a desperate bid to break through.
An Jiu drew her bow.
Whoosh!
Her Mental Strength—Startling String—shot forth alongside the arrow, embedding itself precisely into one man’s chest. Yet, the man thrashed wildly before finally collapsing.
An Jiu’s heart chilled. Her Mental Strength could conceal her presence, but against these people, it had lost its offensive edge!
Just like that, her greatest advantage had been halved.
She shifted positions while the others remained unaware, continuously firing arrows. Each shot was measured, striking true despite the chaotic movement on both sides. Though her accuracy suffered slightly, she still managed to carve an opening for Blood Fiend to escape.
With his wealth of combat experience, Blood Fiend seized the chance, enduring two arrow wounds as he burst through the encirclement and sprinted toward the main road.
Having achieved her goal, An Jiu swiftly moved to rendezvous with him.
Originally, she had planned to use her advantage for an ambush, but with her Mental Strength ineffective against these foes and her position now exposed, her situation was no better than Blood Fiend’s.
After a split-second assessment, she decisively abandoned the fight and chose to flee.
Though these pursuers moved swiftly, it was clear they hadn’t initially targeted the two of them.
The pair raced ahead, but the crowd behind them clung stubbornly to their trail.
Blood Fiend couldn’t hold back any longer. "What the hell are these people? Why are they so fixated on us?"
"You ask me, but who do I ask?" An Jiu snapped.
What rotten luck! They hadn’t provoked anyone—just traveling at night—and now they were being hunted down!
"Damn this cursed fate!" Blood Fiend spat, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself faster.
After running over ten miles on foot, their pursuers still clung to them like shadows.
"Let’s fight!" An Jiu called out between breaths.
"What?! They outnumber us!" Blood Fiend replied in disbelief.
"We won’t reach Hexi anytime soon. This can’t go on—those people don’t seem to tire, and they’ll catch up soon! Better to make a stand now than be run down exhausted!"
Blood Fiend saw the logic. "Fine!"
"Turn!"
In unison, An Jiu and Blood Fiend skidded to a halt, drew their swords, and charged back toward their pursuers.
The group clearly hadn’t expected this sudden counterattack. Caught off guard, several fell before the two warriors’ blades.
The fat leader let out a shrill cry, and the attackers began to form a more disciplined offense and defense, encircling An Jiu and Blood Fiend.
Both sides stood in tense silence, neither making the first move.
Back-to-back, An Jiu and Blood Fiend took the chance to catch their breath.
"We bear no grudges, past or present. Why do you hound us like this?" Blood Fiend demanded coldly.
No answer came.
"Don’t bother. Look at their eyes," An Jiu said.
Blood Fiend studied them closely. Their eyelids were unnaturally flushed, and the whites of their eyes were streaked with red veins, giving them a terrifying, inhuman appearance. Recalling how they had torn into the horses earlier, he realized these people might have lost all human consciousness.
"Kill the fat one," Blood Fiend said.The fat man seemed to be the leader of the group, as the signals he issued could command the others.
"Cover me." Swiftly drawing her bow, An Jiu aimed at the fat man and loosed two arrows in rapid succession.
Caught off guard by An Jiu's speed, the fat man failed to dodge in time, and an arrow struck him in the right side of his chest.
The wound enraged the fat man completely. With a furious roar, the others lunged forward like rabid wolves. (To be continued...)
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